“Your eyes changed when you used Paralyse earlier. They were golden,” Scott said after a quick briefing.
The Terror Ants were no more. Everything of value had been scavenged and safely stored away, and we were back in the cruiser on our way back to civilization. Well, to the Grand Camp, to be precise, but that was the best of society we had within several hundred kilometers.
“They were?” I spun toward Scott, struggling to keep replenishing the Ether Gate I’d drained in combat. “How can that be? I know there are some traits that change your body permanently, and I’ve heard of the visual effects of certain traits, but Paralyse is neither as far as I can tell.”
“Your eyes were scary,” Sophie added with an excited smile. She seemed to have forgotten all about the burns as she shuddered for a moment. “Your pupils shifted, and I was half-certain you’d transform into one of those abominations. It was insane! That presence of yours got the Lionaer Fiend really good!”
Shifted? What in the Rulers’ Names was she talking about?
We combined.
“What are you talking about?” I glanced at Sophie, who’d turned back to organize the recordings on our bodycams. She skipped through most of the fight and stopped only at her recording. A projection materialized at the front of the cruiser, showing the Lionaer Fiend in a face-off with someone who resembled me. No, the recording showed me, but I had never seen those vibrant golden eyes. Not on myself, at least.
“Those aren’t my eyes. They’re Aureus’!” I exclaimed as realization struck.
Our bond was firmer than ever and had reached the second Stage not too long ago. Henceforth, Aureus would no longer strain my World as much; even if he grew stronger than my World, it wouldn’t shatter right away. But no matter how beneficial that was, the greatest benefit of a second Stage bond was Soulfusion.
“How’s that possible?” I gasped, eyes locked on my golden eyes in the recording. “Isn’t Soulfusion a really delicate process that takes a long time to perform?”
“It is,” Scott nodded, “which is also why you – probably Aureus too – were in pain. Those bleeding eyes are an issue. Use them recklessly too often, and you’ll probably go blind.”
As severe as he sounded, Scott didn’t seem particularly worried. In fact, he was all smiles and slapped my shoulder with a little too much force.
“Maybe your World’s perfect compatibility with Aureus guided the Soulfusion. Anyway, you took the first step into fusing with your Soulkin. That’s great!” Daniel turned back to smile at me. “I always knew you had it in you! All you needed was a chance. You deserve to be in the Grand Camp more than anyone else.”
I choked a little on the praise. My eyes were oddly wet, and I had to turn away or I would have burst into tears.
It might not have meant much to others, but hearing that I deserved to be in the Grand Camp meant the world to me.
“You are strong,” Fabienne murmured, just loud enough for me to catch. She averted her gaze when I turned to her, but not before I caught the hint of a blush on her cheeks.
“I second that,” Scott added with a wink, while Sophie nodded like it was the most natural truth in the world.
“Guys…” My voice cracked. “You’re the best.”
Sophie and Scott chuckled, and Daniel only grinned, looking every bit like the best friend Razarn had to offer.
“So…” I cleared my throat, forcing down the swell of emotion. “What now?”
All eyes turned to Scott, who shared his broadest smile with us.
“Isn’t it obvious?” he asked, looking a bit too eager for my liking.
Was it, really?
“We’re going to rake in the fortunes of our first hunt,” he laughed out loud, “and become one of the first teams to finish our first mission.”
***
As it turned out, Scott was more than right; we earned a fortune.
Sure enough, Scott and Fabienne disappeared to hire a butcher to dissect the Lionaer Fiend and the Terror Ant Queen, as well as his apprentice to scavenge as many valuable parts from the Terror Ant carcasses, whether soldiers or workers. I didn’t expect too much since the exoskeleton of most Terror Ants had been molten in combat with the fiend, but the others were rather confident.
And they were right. Apparently, Terror Ants stored several useful ingredients in their bulging abdomens. Their exoskeleton and mandibles were worth harvesting too, yet they paled in comparison to the parts that could be used as a substitute for a serum stabilizer. In this case, the Terror Ants had a unique substance that stabilized Basic serums to a near-perfect degree. They had some effect on Intermediate serums as well, which was all the more reason to sell them for an upcharge. After all, even Master Beasters didn’t have a 100% success rate when it came to Intermediate serums.
It was good that I wasn’t in charge of selling the fiend and the ants. I’d probably have sold everything to the Grand Camp, losing us a mountain of coins. Instead, I was told to rest up, replenish my Ether Gate, and spend some time with Aureus getting used to the Soulfusion.
I wanted to reject, but both Daniel and Sophie were also told – or was it better to call it forced? – to leave and rest up. Even Fabienne was adamant about this, and that meant something.
Back in the dorms, I barely made it into the shower for a quick wash before I dragged my worn body into bed. Wesley made a comment, but I barely heard him before sleep overtook me.
I woke up well rested at noon and put on some neat clothes after washing. Fabienne’s Accelerated Regeneration was no longer in effect; however, traces of the potion I had consumed the day before lingered. So did the surplus ether, which latched tightly onto the weave.
I spent the next two hours redirecting the ether into my refined Gates in my room. I first refilled the Gates that had leaked only a little, then focused on the 1-Star Gate I had emptied to face the Lionaer Fiend.
“That worked out better than expected.” I got out of bed, more than happy with how my body felt.
The Gate I had drained was full again. Even better, I had enough ether left to fill the unrefined Gate I had been tempering for a while. All I had to do now was refine the Gate and attach it to the weave, which ought to seal it. My case was different, as the seal would never be placed on the Gate, which had caused the leak in the first place. My physique would only be augmented once the filled Gate was attached and locked in place.
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Should I just fill the remaining Gates and connect them to the weave once I’m done with all of them? I wondered for a moment, my attention lingering on the full but unrefined Gate. No ether leaked from it, which felt more like a slap in the face than I wanted to acknowledge.
“Whatever.” I waved dismissively and left for the Beastarium when there was no message from Scott or the others on my watch.
Most of the afternoon was spent with a handful of regulars. They had been waiting for me in the Beastarium and were excited to see me, especially with Aureus biding his time in my World. Those regulars, Soulkins whose Blessed I had yet to meet, occupied me for a few hours. Since there was no message in the evening either, I checked the status of our first assignment in the Group Combat class.
[200 coins have been transferred to your account. Reason: Primary Mission (Group Combat) has been completed within the first timeframe (7 days).]
[500 coins have been transferred to your account. Reason: Third to complete the Primary Mission.]
[Mission Board has been updated – Group Combat]
Seven hundred coins were a lot more than I expected to receive. It was likely no more than a drop in a bucket compared to the fortune we were about to earn from the ants and the fiend. But those coins were almost as much as I had made since I started working in the Beastarium.
“Well, it is not like I’m doing this purely for monetary gains.” I muttered to myself while ruffling through a Velorian Velociraptor’s plumage. Working in the Beastarium paid less than hunting with a group capable of hunting Evolved beasts would, but this was the bliss — the break from brutal murder — I needed to rebalance.
Plus, I was paid for barely doing anything. I didn’t do all too much, and I could focus more on working out and refining my World. That I did before I rewarded my hard work with a scrumptious meal. I paid a whopping 50 coins for two trays filled with all kinds of delicacies, and I devoured them all by myself. It was the first meal I had gotten in the last 36 hours, and I needed it more than anything.
My Soulkins, on the other hand, didn’t eat too much. Their bodies were changing, improving, but the serums had already provided them with a chunk of nutrition. The meat of an Unblemished beast provided the rest, be it a forest of nutrients or an ocean of ether.
I, for one, was filled to the brim when I returned to my room late at night. The most surprising thing, however, was not how full my stomach was. After eating two trays overflowing with dishes, I expected to suffer from a stomachache. Instead, putting my cramping stomach aside, I noticed an oddity about my weave. It hoarded much more ether than my Gates could have leaked since I had refilled them last time.
The dishes!
Beast meat was special and all, but the ether stored in it was not supposed to last long. I had read enough about beasts, their growth, and digestion to know that they had a special organ that spliced the ether from their prey or the plants they ate. Nutrients were guided down the normal path, whereas ether was led down a different one, stimulating a beast’s growth.
And that, as far as I could tell, was happening to me right now.
Are you doing something, buddy?
I was half-certain Aureus had his paws in the game. Why? For one, our bond shimmered brighter than the decorations of the crazy folk during festivities. I could clearly feel Aureus’ emotions. The sensation was more intense than I was used to, which led to the second point: the Earthheart was exhilarated.
You feel good?
Aureus sounded oddly hesitant considering how intense the excitement flowing out of our bond was.
So that’s actually your doing?
To say I was intrigued was the understatement of the year. Was that also part of Soulfusion?
I am. Exhausting!
Just as the words rang in my mind, I felt it too. Soulfusion itself wasn’t exhausting. But the way it was currently used wasn’t taxing for me — Aureus was the one on the verge of collapsing. Worse still, the hairline cracks on the bond had spread out, setting off alarms in my head.
You are doing great, Aureus. But how about you rest a bit? Our bond needs some rest as well.
I had a lot more to tell my young Soulkin, but I doubted Aureus would understand everything. Even I was struggling to get used to all the information settling in my mind, so I kept the theories flashing through my head to myself.
I definitely had to research a lot more about Soulfusion. I knew most experienced Blessed could use Soulfusion, but they had decades of experience. Their bond might not necessarily be much stronger than mine. However, those experts knew how to control the Soulfusion. They knew how much strain their bond could handle, how long they could maintain the fusion before someone would get hurt, and which fusions were dangerous and which weren’t.
“More to study, yay,” I muttered to myself and opened my watch to research the network for useful information.
I was so engrossed in my research I didn’t even notice Scott when he stepped into the room. Destiny had to jump onto my lap, waving her little arms before the watch’s screen to get my attention.
“Oh, hey there,” I looked up at Scott, while my hands moved toward Destiny to cradle the squirrel as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Scott raised an eyebrow at his Soulkin when she let out sounds that reminded me of a cat’s purr.
“I’m glad you’re doing fine,” he said once he had enough of watching Destiny enjoying life. “I doubt you heard about it, but Sophie will be out for a few days. Apparently, her burns were worse than she made them seem. The healer had to consume a lot more energy to heal her, putting her to rest until after the weekend.”
I nearly yanked Destiny through the air when I leaped out of the bed, but I caught her before she got hurt. “She’s fine, right?”
“I just told you that the healers took care of her.” Scott’s brows furrowed, and he walked over to retrieve Destiny. The squirrel squealed angrily at me, and I felt so bad I apologized half a dozen times.
“Anyway, we’ll be paid out for our spoils by tomorrow. Instructor Kalifer was very interested in the Terror Ant Queen and the Lionaer Fiend, so she bought them for a premium. Daniel managed to strike a deal with the Beaster he’s working for as well, and I managed to sell the intact mandibles and exoskeletons. The rest was sold to that guy with the Gluttonous Slug.”
I wasn’t quite sure what to do with the last part, but I nodded as if I did anyway.
Scott was about to turn away when he recalled something. “Ah, I forgot to mention something.” He looked back at me. “If you haven’t picked a special class yet, wait a little bit longer. Drop your mandatory classes while you’re at it. Most classes, seminars included, will be repeated quarterly. I know that may sound odd to you, but we’ll pick better classes once we’re done with this. I want you to focus on nothing but your growth.”
He must have noticed how that sounded, but he didn’t say anything right away. He looked at me for a good moment, hesitated, and added a quick explanation anyway. “I want us to complete Group Combat as quickly as we can to unlock the Mission Board of the Grand Camp. It’s special and thus a little hard to gain access to, even for those participating in Intermediate and Advanced Group Combat. Instructor Kalifer will have to recommend us, which means we need to impress her. So that is what we have to do. We have to impress her.”
The way Scott said it felt more like he wanted me to impress the instructor. Like my growth was the deciding factor.
“How do you know all that?” I asked, even though I knew he wasn’t going to answer.
Sure enough, he winked at me and ended the conversation without another word.
“You can’t leave me like that! At least tell me how much we earned from our hunt!” I exclaimed loud enough to earn a glare from Wesley. Even Spencer stared at me without breaking eye contact for once.
“Sorry, I’ll be quiet,” I muttered. Wesley turned around after a few more seconds of glaring like death itself, while Spencer pulled his blanket over his head.
Scott snickered silently and went to bed as well. A moment later, a notification flashed on my watch.
[Scott (Oracle?): You will see soon enough.]
That didn’t help at all, and neither did the second message.
[Scott (Oracle?): We’ll splurge everything either way.]
So… how much did we make, and what in the Rulers’ Names was the best way to grow strong enough to impress Instructor Kalifer?