《Age of Teras: Monster Evolution》 Auxiliary Chapter: List of Beings & Basic Information About The World Name: Hundred-Spikes Bear Description: -"a gigantic beast standing at at least 20 feet tall" -"It looked like a brown bear, but it had ridges along its back on which thick needles bristled ferociously. Its claws were each a foot long, and its eyes shone intelligently" Type: ?? Abilities: -"capable of shooting the spikes on its back and hands with surprising speed" Potential: ?? Combat Role & Rating: ?? Name: Siberian Husky(Woof) Description: -"large" -"frigid blue of the husky''s eyes" Type: ?? Abilities: -Sense of smell Potential: ?? Combat Role & Rating: ?? Name: Flame-Tongued Viper Description: -"half-foot wide head, and a 10 feet long body with dark scales which shone in the sun" -"The name hadn''t been given to it because it had a literal, flaming tongue. No, it was because of its ability to shoot flaming balls of poison at its targets with breathtaking speed." -"the poison, which would numb those it came in contact with in under a minute, causing them to become defenseless meat to be snacked upon. In fact, the whole objective of the flame was to breach the thick defenses of other species so that the poison could take effect." -"move in a zigzag pattern, which would result in the viper becoming dizzy" Type: ?? Abilities: ?? Potential: ?? Combat Role & Rating: ?? Name: 4-Armed Gorilla Description: -6 feet tall when mature -"clapped twice, once at chest level and once at abdomen level, as that was their method of greeting. Of course, they did both at once because they had 4 arms." Type: ?? Abilities: ?? Potential: ?? Combat Role & Rating: ?? Name: Pink-Winged Butterfly Description: -"A large butterfly the size of a human''s head" Type: ?? Abilities: ?? Potential: ?? Combat Role & Rating: ?? Name: Tri-Horned Rhino Description: ?? Type: ?? Abilities: ?? Potential: ?? Combat Role & Rating: ?? Name: Crocodrill Description: -"settled disputes by using their sharp, pointed snouts to drill holes in their enemies" Type: Abilities: Potential: Combat Role & Rating:You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Name: Bewitching Fox Description: ?? Type: ?? Abilities: ?? Potential: Rare-Grade Combat Role & Rating: ?? Name: Foxtail Rabbit Description: Type: ?? Abilities: -can mimic a Bewitching Fox''s appearance to chase away predators Potential: ?? Combat Role & Rating: ?? Name: Horned Rattlesnake Description: -"lying in wait to shoot forward and strike to kill its opponent in one go using its sharp horn" Type: ?? Abilities: ?? Potential: ?? Combat Role & Rating: ?? Name: Bladewing Pigeon Description: ?? Type: ?? Abilities: ?? Potential: ?? Combat Role & Rating: ?? Name: Loudmouth Baboon Description: -gives speeches Type: Abilities: Potential: Combat Role & Rating: ------ Basic Information About The World: -"200 years ago, at the peak of the industrial age, an apocalypse was caused due to reasons that we do not yet know. Some say that someone, or something, caused all the nuclear bombs in the world to go off at once. However, that doesn''t explain the core of the earth, itself, rupturing like the yolk of an egg and reaching toward the surface which caused tectonic changes the likes of which had never been seen before. Billions were killed by the earthquakes, storms, and tsunamis. It took decades for all the catastrophic effects to die down and stop. When the remaining humans crawled out of the havens that they had used to wait for the cataclysm to pass, they realized that a new species had been born: Teras." -"The tectonic movements and the heat of the core which reached the surface caused much of the oceans to evaporate, resulting in a planet with much more land than before. In essence, the figures shifted: where before there had been 70% water and 30% landmass, after the apocalypse, the ratios shifted to more than 70% landmass and 30% water. Some say that the size of the Earth, itself, changed." -"each landmass is in the shape of an orange peel. In technical terms, the shape is called an ''ellipse'' with the top and bottom end being pointy. Three such ellipses lie side by side across the Earth, with oceans between them. These 3 oceans meet at their top and bottom at the two massive, round arctic areas which retained their names from the pre-apocalyptic times: the North Pole and the South Pole" -"The leftover radiation from whatever had caused the apocalypse was at a very high level at that time, resulting in extreme mutations of existing species that even gave these beings intelligence that could be comparable to us. That was also when this name was given to them. Originally, they were just going to be called monsters, but the leaders of humanity then, who had risen up to take charge when no one else was willing to, decided that a specific name was needed to differentiate these special. They derived the name from an ancient language called ''Greek'', in which the word ''Teras'' meant ''monster''. Adapting it, these intelligent monsters started to be called ''Tera''s. All of you must understand something. In this world, Teras exist, but so do beasts. Beasts are those which have deranged minds that only give them the urge to ingest food and procreate. They are not capable of higher level thought. Teras are those beasts which are capable of thinking beyond that level. Believe me, this distinction is very simple. A beast would try to eat you even if it saw that you were capable of killing it. A Tera, on the other hand, would stalk you and wait for you to let up your defenses before striking and ending your life in one go" -"The main threat that humanity faced after the natural disasters died down was these Teras, who came to rule the Earth. They were capable of commanding the other beasts, and they used these beasts to rain down attack after attack on the last havens in which humanity was holed up" -"The apocalypse had caused far more changes than anyone could ever have imagined. The elements that we were familiar with were all gone. In their place, new ones had appeared, with different molecular makeups. The iron we used in the industrial age no longer had the properties of strength. Gunpowder was no longer capable of explosively releasing energy. Uranium couldn''t be used to make nuclear bombs anywhere. I know all of these terms sound strange, but bear with me. You''ll be learning about them later, in history classes. To sum it up, humanity had once again returned to the stone age, where we only knew that stone was hard and could be used as a weapon, and that burning wood gave fire. Yet, we didn''t perish. Because we obtained different weapons" -"This¡­is a ''Core''. It is one of the most precious materials available to us, humans, as it allows us to harness the energy of the planet" -"You see, Teras aren''t the only ones who evolved. As the elements in the air also changed, we slowly evolved and adapted in order to breathe. In the process, and due to also being affected by the radiation that leaked through the doors of our havens, our bodies changed, just like the Earth. On the Earth, a new type of Energy had been born. Some said that it was just a type of radiation, but regardless, this is what we call it. The absorption of this Energy leads Teras and beasts to grow stronger and undergo more mutations in order to become better than their previous forms. We, humans, cannot directly ingest that Energy that is floating all around us. But what we can do is integrate our bodies with these ''Cores''. At the age of 18, each and every human body becomes capable of integrating with a Core. The Cores absorb Energy actively after the integration. With the absorbed Energy, we can do whatever we wish" -" the path of the Weapon Wielders, and more specifically, it was the sub-path of a Gunslinger. Infusing the Energy absorbed by a Core, a Weapon Wielder increases their offensive or defensive capabilities" -"The official name for that path is ''Energy Manipulator'', but many choose to call such people Mages. Absorbed Energy is manipulated and imbued into the world to cause changes in the surroundings of a Mage, giving Mages the ability to use elemental attacks." - ''Body Practitioners'', who ingest the absorbed Energy to train their body to move faster or stronger, and ''Tera Masters'' -"Tera Masters use the special ability of Cores which allow them to convert a subservient Tera into an Energy form which is stored inside the Core. The absorbed Energy allows the Tera to grow in strength faster, allowing it to grow powerful enough to accomplish anything the Tera Master might want. For a Core to absorb a Tera, its Energy must first be made to enter the mind of a Tera. This creates a link between that integrated Core and the Tera. Through the link, a Tera Master can send certain basic commands to the Tera, and, if needed, the link also has the ability to cause death to that Tera by causing a violent attack to assault its brain" -"The Path to the Stars. Kids, we humans didn''t just sit around and allow ourselves to be vanquished. We used every means available to us to establish foothold after foothold on the planet, beating back the hordes of beasts and legions of Teras which threatened to annihilate us on each step of the way. Finally, two centuries after the apocalypse, the best and strongest of humans gathered together to form the World Government: an alliance of the greatest protectors on Earth. "After a long discussion, it was established that if we want to thrive and not perish under the hands of the Teras, all of us must strive to ascend to the stars. That¡­was how the Path to the Stars was born. This Path is for those who wish to grow strong enough to help protect their race. Cores are the most precious materials we have: Jenny neglected to mention that they are so rare and have such mystifying abilities because they are the solidified remnants of the core of the Earth which came to the surface during the apocalypse. There are grades to Cores, too, which segregate them according to how well a Core absorbs Energy, or how powerful a Tera a Core can store. If they wanted, the World Government could hoard all the resources. Yet, they opened them to the world." -"Any human who proves themselves to be worthy can obtain better cores, better weapons, better manipulation techniques, better body arts, and even better Teras" -Method of Proving Worth: Defeating designated leaders of settlements Prologue The year 2212 In the vast expanse of space, outside a tiny, blue planet. At a specific spot, two people stood huddled around a small, transparent white ball that shone like the sun. Strangely, these two did not seem to be blinded by this extreme brightness. Their faces only contained boundless love, while they fondly took in the last sight of their son. Their faces were the only things that were clearly visible. Their bodies were blurry, almost as if they were just apparitions that had appeared there to witness this event. After a long period of time passed, the two moved closed to each other and hugged. They were a man and a woman, and even while they hugged, they couldn''t resist looking at the white ball again and again. The man''s signature trait was his broad shoulders which seemed to envelop the woman while she began to cry, and the woman''s were her extraordinary, breathtaking features that made her look like a fairy. Finally, a gruff voice sounded from the void. "It''s time." Nodding, the couple shot one last glance at their child. Stretching out their hands, they caressed the left and right cheek of the peacefully sleeping 10-year old boy garbed in white clothes while still holding each other. He had brown hair, and as he felt the love of his parents, an exceptionally cute smile appeared on his face that made the couple sigh as they, too, smiled unwittingly.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. "He''ll save them all," cooed the woman in a soft voice. Her tears had stopped, but the extremely melancholy expression on her face showed that she was even sadder than before. "Or he''ll choose to leave them to their fate. Let him decide. I just¡­want him to be happy. Whatever he does." As the man said this after letting out a deep breath, the woman nodded, wishing that this moment would stretch on forever. Sadly, the gruff voice appeared again, repeating the same message as before. However, this time, there was more of an urgent tone to it, so the two finally closed their eyes and turned away after removing their hands. Boom! As soon as they did so, that white ball shot toward the blue planet, entering its atmosphere in a few seconds before looking like it was being burned up by the flames of hell. Yet, these flames did nothing to it except result in the child inside frowning, as if he were having a bad dream. By the time the white ball landed in a forest in the middle of nowhere, the two apparitions were gone, as if they had never been there in the first place. Booooom! A loud sound accompanied the landing of the ball, following which fire started to spread that was quickly stopped because of the pouring rain. In a large crater, the ball''s brightness slowly started to fade. Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Suddenly, the earth itself seemed to shake as a loud stomping sound was heard coming from a specific direction. A few seconds later, a gigantic beast standing at at least 20 feet tall appeared near the crater. It looked like a brown bear, but it had ridges along its back on which thick needles bristled ferociously. Its claws were each a foot long, and its eyes shone intelligently while it studied the ball. With curiosity, it poked and prodded the ball, intrigued by the aromatic smell that told it that whatever was inside this ball was beneficial to it. Finally, losing its patience, the bear picked up the dining-table sized ball and swallowed it whole before stomping away to find it''s next target. ¡­ 8 years later, a smelly teenager with a large Siberian Husky by his side walked out of the forest. Closing his eyes, he sniffed the air before once again catching a hint of that alluring smell that had led him here. "Woof! Woof!" "Yes, I know, that direction! Let''s go! No matter which beast it is, we''ll have a feast today!" Saying so, the teenager hurriedly ran in a direction, while a chuckle sounded in that exact spot in space, as if anticipating the tale to come. Skystead Hamlet "Skystead Hamlet." As soon as Aaron laid his eyes on the wooden plank that was placed at the top of a large gate, this name appeared in his head. It had come in his way when he had been in the process of reaching that spot where that incredibly aromatic smell was coming from, so he had paused to see what it was. Huh? Weren''t those just strange scratches? Why did this name come into his mind as soon as he ran his eyes over them? Stopping on the spot, he scratched the mop of hair on his head while wondering how this had happened. "Woof! Wooooof!" "Ow!" Feeling a sharp prick in his foot, Aaron looked down to see the impatient eyes of his closest and only companion, Woof. In the frigid blue of the husky''s eyes, there was impatience and irritation at its friend who always got sidetracked in this way whenever he saw something interesting. 8 years ago, it had found him in a large pile of poo. It had hesitated whether to go forward and answer his cries for help, as from the smell, it had understood that that poo belonged to one of the most dangerous predators in the forest: the Hundred-Spikes Bear. As it was capable of shooting the spikes on its back and hands with surprising speed, no beast that wasn''t confident in its defense ever dared to go into its territory. Yet, those cries reminded the husky of its children that had been killed by a Flame-Tongued Viper just days ago. So, it had dug out that ball, from which this weak, 2-legged being had emerged. That being had started to spout sounds which it didn''t understand, but it could tell that he was malnourished, and close to death. Thus, using its mouth to catch hold of the white-colored garment he was wearing, it hoisted him on its back. The moment his hand touched the husky''s body, it had felt his thoughts: yes, he was very, very, hungry. The two rode away, covered in feces, and what followed was years of surviving together in the dangerous forest where a single moment of relaxation might lead to death. Finally, the husky had gotten wind of this smell, which had led them to a clearing with odd structures. This travel had gone on for a day, so the husky was starving. Yet, this damn guy whom it always had to save was delaying them here?! "All right, fine! Let''s go!" Focusing on the smell again, Aaron said this, which made Woof nod and go ahead. It was scouting for danger. In its eyes, he had seen that his hair needed washing again. His face was covered in grime, and his clothes were caked with dirt and mud, just like his hair. They were torn in many places, but they still surprisingly clung to his skin and protected him from the elements despite the years of abuse they had been through.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! He was almost 6 feet tall, or, by the measure he used in the forest, he was almost as tall as a mature 4-Armed Gorilla. Slinking forward in a slouched position so that he could spring to either side in case there was a threat, Aaron followed Woof and approached the gate. However, a few moments later, both he and the husky could only stop and stare at the figure which they could now see standing on top of a wooden structure. He was¡­another 2-legged creature, just like Aaron. Skin with no fur or scales for protection, muscles that definitely had no strength, and a body with no special features which would give it an edge for attack or defense. All in all, it was a creature unfit to live in this age. At least, that was Woof''s opinion, so it was pretty shocking to see another member of Aaron''s species. Turning around, it saw that Aaron was just as shocked as it was. "Halt! Is that your Tera, kid? Where are you from?" These words whose meaning he somehow understood startled Aaron out of his reverie. He¡­wasn''t the only member of his species in this world?! Aaron didn''t know what to feel. Suddenly, a major assumption of his about the world had been shattered, so he just stood there dumbly. Years ago, he had been helped out of that very smelly pile by Woof, whom he had simply named so because of the sound it made. Together, they had lived and fought their way through the jungle, always looking for a place where they could live safely. He had no memories of anything before that point, except for two sentences that he had found within his mind. One told him that his name was Aaron. And the other¡­gave him a clue with which he might be able to find out who he was. Yet, all of his time so far had been spent in the struggle to not find himself in the stomach of some large beast who wanted to try a new flavor of meat. Suddenly, the sun that had been hidden by that wooden plank appeared in Aaron''s wide open eyes, making him squint and unconsciously bob his head. To the guard on the watch-post, it looked like a nod that was accompanied by the relief of reaching a safe place. "All right, drag your butt in. You must be from some small gathering. Orientation starts in 10 minutes, so hurry over to the largest building you see inside." Even as Aaron was just about to comprehend what the second member of his species that he had ever met in his life said, both he and Woof zeroed in on the source of the smell that had led them here. It was a large plate held in the hands of another of his species, who seemed different in some ways. Yet, Aaron''s full focus was on the plate, which held 50 round, brown balls that were giving off that scent. Slowly, he turned his head toward Woof, and saw that it was ready to spring forward. No! This time, he would be the one eating more! At this moment, the day guard of Skystead Hamlet saw the strangest sight of his life. With a leap forward, both the large, wolf-like dog and the dirty kid whom he had just spoken to ran on all fours toward Mrs. Ernst, who was carrying the freshly baked buns which were supposed to be snacks for those taking part in the Orientation. The dog reached first, but the kid who had reached a surprising speed by using his arms to push himself forward stretched out his hand and swept away one of the legs of the dog, which made it roll into a ball and careen away. With an expression of triumph, the kid tried to snatch away the plate but it fell due to his momentum. Skidding to a halt, he started stuffing his mouth full of bread without caring that it had fallen on the floor while sheer delight shone in his eyes. The dog came back and started to grab a few for itself to wolf down, but a fight ensued. The kid kept kicking the dog away from the buns, repeatedly stuffing more and more into his mouth until it was completely full. This commotion attracted the attention of the entire hamlet, yet, the two seemed oblivious. Still fighting, they finished the buns, and the kids who had gathered even kept count and betted on who would eat more. The dog was defeated, which made some cheer, while others felt sorry for it due to its exceptionally cute appearance, even though it was snarling with anger at the moment. After finishing away even the bread crumbs on the grassy ground, Aaron finally looked up to see the audience he had gathered. He had sensed them coming, but as he felt no threat, he had prioritized the food, which was tastier than anything he had eaten so far, ever. Woof also looked around, before moving close to Aaron and nudging his leg. The thought it sent made Aaron exclaim something in an irritated tone, while shocked gasps appeared all around when the others understood the meaning of his words. "What do you mean by ''find a female to mate with''? I don''t want what happened with that female gorilla to repeat! You go find a mate yourself!" Flame-Tongued Viper "What''s going on here? Make way for the Chief!" A deep voice interrupted the atmosphere of shock and disbelief that had come over the area because of the weird utterance from the youth. This finally caused those watching to come to their senses. Some chuckled with mirth, a few blushed with innocence, but most frowned and looked like they were about to curse at him. As soon as that deep voice entered the ears of Aaron and Woof, both of them sunk to the ground and entered alert positions. They appeared identical: poised to leap at a moment''s notice to either fight or flee. The thick muscles of the wolf-like dog rippled under its snow-white fur that had splashes of brown here and there, and Aaron''s lean figure also displayed a potential for explosive power that had been honed after years in the jungle. Both of them had sensed a powerful threat. Seeing this scene, expressions of seriousness appeared on the faces of those watching. As they were people who lived in this age in a hamlet that was always at risk of being overrun, their senses were sharp, and right now, those senses were telling them that these two were dangerous. Together, the circle of onlookers expanded outward. It looked like this was a practiced move, as even the children kept silent on noticing the looks on the faces of those around them. They moved together with the crowd, causing distance to appear between them and the two in the center. Watching this, Aaron and Woof were surprised by the synchronization, but they kept their eyes on the direction from which the voice had appeared. In a few seconds, the crowd on that side parted to reveal a beast they were very familiar with. The sight of that beast made Woof''s hackles rise, as it had a special vendetta against this species. "Hisssss" A half-foot wide head, and a 10 feet long body with dark scales which shone in the sun. It was a Flame-Tongued Viper, whose angled eyes were fixed on the two of them. Right now, they were standing just inside the gate, where there was a large clearing surrounded by those strange wooden structures that they had seen from afar. Yet, they knew that even though there was only 300 or 400 meters of distance between them and the exit, it would be tough to cross it if they didn''t take care of this beast right away. Aaron still remembered the first time the two of them had crossed one of these beasts. They were quite common in the forest, but there were very few which grew to this tongue. The name hadn''t been given to it because it had a literal, flaming tongue. No, it was because of its ability to shoot flaming balls of poison at its targets with breathtaking speed.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. In fact, the name had appeared in Aaron''s mind when he saw the beast, and he had gone with it, before later finding out the reason. So, if they turned their backs and chose to run, they would find themselves bombarded by those fast-moving projectiles which would cause a nasty burn. Of course, that wasn''t even the most worrying thing. No, that honor went to the poison, which would numb those it came in contact with in under a minute, causing them to become defenseless meat to be snacked upon. In fact, the whole objective of the flame was to breach the thick defenses of other species so that the poison could take effect. Aaron and Woof didn''t even have to look at each other to decide on a strategy. They had done this so many times that it was drilled deep into their minds and bodies. As soon as the indication that the viper was about to spit out its first load of poison became visible, they would split apart and move in a zigzag pattern, which would result in the viper becoming dizzy, Through very painful experimentation, they had found out this weakness of the viper. However, the viper just reached within 200 meters of them before stopping and curling up into a ball. Closing its eyes, it laid down its head on top of the ball and¡­yawned. Seeing this, both Aaron and Woof got dumbfounded expressions on their faces. Woof even tilted its head to look at that ball, while suspicion started to arise in its mind. Hey, what''s wrong with you? Why do you look like you''re so drowsy? Is this some sort of trick to lull us into a false sense of security? "You made me wake up Ace during its nap. Who are you? Why are you disturbing the peace? Where are you from? You do know that I can lock you up according to the rules set down by the World Government, right?" A stocky man wearing coarse clothes walked up to the viper and stroked its head, which made the surprise that Aaron and Woof were feeling grow. So¡­other beasts could gain companions, too? Like the two of them? Now that they had a moment to take in the details of the viper, they noticed a few jarring facts that they had ignored before. The viper was fat. The ones they always encountered in the forest were highly agile, ready to move at lightning speed at a moment''s notice. Yet, this one only looked like it was only capable of strolling around lazily, which would make it prime prey for the many predators who would have loved to snack on its bulging, oversized body. Also, the moment that man''s hand touched the viper''s head, the viper closed its eyes comfortably and leaned forward, as if it loved how it felt. What the hell was going on?! Aaron turned to look at Woof, who only looked back with that same expression of befuddlement. Yes, something was definitely wrong. Yet, seeing their expressions, something seemed to dawn on the stocky man. "Oh, I see! You must have gotten lost in the forest and survived on your own after having your gathering run over by beasts or Teras! It happens, you know. Children get kidnapped and have no option but to survive on their own if they are lucky enough to escape captivity. Most die, but I''ve heard that some manage to survive with the help of a few kind Teras. How much do you know, boy? Do you know what year it is? Do you know anything about the world?" Aaron could understand what the man was saying, but most of it didn''t make sense. However, that last line made him shake his head. Seeing this, a burst of booming laughter appeared from the stocky man before he spread his hands and spoke in a grand tone. "BWAHAHA, I can''t believe I found someone rare like you! I''m Ernst, the Hamlet Chief of Skystead Hamlet! Ascenders always think twice before challenging Ace, my Flame-Tongued Viper! It''s the year 2220, and you, boy, are in the Age of Teras! You can keep your head low and live like an insect, or you can rise up and aspire to tread the ''Path to the Stars'' as an Ascender! Whatever you choose, be careful, as safety is something that no longer exists for humanity!" This grand statement made expressions of consternation appear on the faces of many who had gathered, yet Aaron''s eyes opened wide while his jaw dropped. His heart thundered in his chest, and his mind was in turmoil as he had just obtained a clue regarding the second and last sentence which had been in his mind from the moment he had awakened. "If you wish to find out who you are, then Ascend to the top of the Path to the Stars!" Ernst "Err¡­" After his grand proclamation, Ernst waited for some sort of reaction other than being frozen from the two in front of him. Yet, after an awkward silence which was punctured by another yawn from his Viper, he awkwardly dropped his hands while a few guffaws sounded from the crowd. It appeared that the people of Skystead Hamlet were used to such incidents from their Chief. The Chief was flabbergasted, as he usually saw one of two reactions from those whom he gave this speech to. There was either fear, or excitement. He had grand reactions prepared for both of these cases, but encountering someone like this who just stared at him as if he were a ghost, he had no idea how to react. Laughing sheepishly on realizing that he shouldn''t have tried it on someone who had probably spent years in the jungle, the Chief walked up to Aaron, but was stopped by a growling sound from the large dog that had stayed still till now. The crowd had already started to disperse on seeing that although this youth was interesting, he was nothing more than a poor kid who had had to live for years in the forest alone. Talking among themselves about what sort of hardships he must have endured, they went back to whatever they were doing before, while Mrs. Ernst wondered whether she was supposed to go forward and pick up the plate that had been knocked out of her hands before. So, there were few present to see this sight of such intelligence from the ''cute dog''. Raising an eyebrow on noticing the protective instinct of the beast, he stopped and said, "I mean no harm. I just want to talk to your master." Woof didn''t understand the words of the thickset man, but it could tell that he wasn''t here to harm them. So, it stepped to the side, as it had walked in front of its friend before on realizing that the kid was in too much of a shock to defend himself. This was the first time Woof ever saw Aaron enter such a state for such a long time, so it was pretty surprised, but it just chose to wait and protect him while he sorted his thoughts. After it stepped aside, the Chief shot another glance at it before reaching Aaron and laying a hand on his shoulder. This made Aaron finally snap out of the second time today where he let go of his defenses and just stood there, ready to be devoured by any passing beast. They were just¡­too many mind-numbing revelations for one day. For years, he had thought that he was the only member of his species, and right after that assumption had been shattered, he heard mention of the only clue about his identity. On lonely nights which were spent in trees hiding from beasts which they couldn''t defeat, Aaron would often mull over that sentence.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. He would stare at the stars, wondering whether he was supposed to find some sort of aerial beast and literally fly to reach them. So, when he felt that weight fall on his shoulders suddenly, he first leaped back with alarm on his face, thinking that he was still in the forest. There, if he really had allowed something to get this close, the next moment would have involved him being eaten. "Whoa there! I just wanted to help you to calm down. I know that it''s too much to take in. If you were someone normal, I would give this speech and either tell you that everything will be Ok as the strongest humans are out there, protecting us, or I would encourage you to grow stronger so that you can join those humans. But I don''t know what to say to you." Hearing this, Aaron furrowed his eyebrows, but he, too, didn''t know what to say. First of all, how was he supposed to greet someone of his own species? If it was a 4-armed gorilla, he would have clapped twice, once at chest level and once at abdomen level, as that was their method of greeting. Of course, they did both at once because they had 4 arms. As he thought about it, this question was answered in the same way he had been able to read those strange scratches before. A gesture surfaced from his memory, and it felt as if he had done it a lot of times. He stretched out his right hand, seeing which the Chief felt surprised before walking forward and shaking that hand. Yet, Aaron''s memory ended there, so he couldn''t figure out what to do next. These memories were usually like that: things which he felt he had done a lot of times, such as the action of riding on Woof which he had been a natural at even though he had been unconscious, would appear forth and give him a hint about what he was supposed to do. However, they were seldom complete, as if their tail ends had been cut off by whatever wall was in his mind which prevented him from remembering anything from before the time when he had been found by Woof. So, Aaron squeezed Ernst''s hand hard, as if it were one of the river reeds he would pull out of from the bank to make ropes from. This made a glint pass through Ernst''s eyes, as he often loved putting his muscular strength on display by handing out excruciating handshakes which would end only when the other party acknowledged that he had grown stronger since the last time they met him. However, the moment Aaron squeezed, a yelp almost escaped Ernst''s lips while a grimace flashed across his face. How the heck was this scrawny kid so god damn strong?! Gritting his teeth, he tried to squeeze back, but it was to no avail. Aaron was busy trying to decide what to say, so he didn''t notice the weird expression of constipation on the Chief''s face. It was only when the Chief finally gave up and yelled "Ok, you win!" did he realize what he was doing and let go. Ernst first hurriedly looked around, making sure that no one was present to see this embarrassing incident. Thankfully, there was only his wife, who was stronger than him anyway, especially at home whenever he tried to get away from doing the chores. "Kid, are you a body practitioner or something?", he asked, while he massaged his hand that almost looked swollen. Aaron could only look at him with a puzzled expression again, which made the Chief sigh and say, "Attend the orientation first. You''ll find out everything there. After that, come meet me. We can decide what to do with you. With that kind of strength, I bet you''ll fit right into the body practitioner group we have in the hamlet. For your sake, I hope you''re not a lot older than 18. Martha! Can you lead this kid to the orientation? You can bake more bread later!" After shouting the last two sentences toward his wife who glared at him briefly before heading in Aaron''s direction, the Chief nodded at him before walking toward the viper which was fast asleep. After reaching it, he did something so otherworldly and astonishing that Aaron rubbed his eyes, wondering whether he was seeing things. The Chief reached out with his hand to touch the viper, and between his knuckles, a transparent, white gem appeared out of nowhere which flashed like a star. The next second, the viper disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of dust in its wake. This time, even Woof stared as if it couldn''t believe that it wasn''t dreaming. Together, the husky and the human had the same question in their minds. Wh-where the heck had that fat viper gone?! Orientation(1) Slowly, both the husky and the human made their way toward the spot where the large viper had just disappeared from. After reaching it, they started to circle the area, wondering whether it could have burrowed into the ground¡­or done something which didn''t completely defy common sense. They had seen a lot of strange monsters and attacks in the forest, but this was their first time seeing something so incredible. The thing could have easily weighed 200 Kilograms! How the heck could it just vanish like that? Hearing someone chuckling behind him, Aaron turned around to find Mrs. Ernst, who had walked forward. "Curious, aren''t we? Come on. Let''s get to the orientation. They''ll explain about this, too, there. Did you like the buns, by the way?" Despite the fact that they had devoured all of that food, there was no anger in Mrs. Ernst''s tone. Instead, she only had a warm expression on her face which made Aaron feel something he couldn''t understand. Why¡­did it feel as though he shouldn''t have done that? Back in the forest, he had never felt something like this, as the situation was always ''kill or be killed''. Before he could think more on the matter, Mrs. Ernst reached forward to pat his head, and this time, Aaron didn''t react like before. He still became more alert, ready to move and roll backward if needed, but he didn''t spring away like the last time. Mrs. Ernst was almost as stocky as her husband, but she didn''t look overweight at all. Instead, it appeared that her body itself was more or less thickset. She was wearing a green dress over which she had draped an apron, which had stains of flour on it. The moment she touched his head, the smell coming from Aaron finally hit her. Frowning, she said, "You haven''t bathed in ages, right? Come on. We have time for a quick shower before we reach the spot." Saying so, Mrs. Ernst led the way, causing both Aaron and the husky to follow. Woof still kept looking around suspiciously, as if it was sure that some or the other threat might be hiding behind one of the wooden structures. Aaron, on the other hand, paid attention to the structures and people. Each structure looked almost the same: there was a rectangular base, over which a roof made of two angled wooden planks was present. The empty area between the top part and the bottom part were unique for each house: although they were also filled with wooden plans, the decorations on each were different. Some had placed flowers, while others had carved words into the area. "The Campbells." "The Summerbys." "The Shahs." "The Yois." Names like these were present on the largest structures, inside which Aaron spotted tens of people. Everything was fascinating, but his mind was still hung on the case of the disappearing viper and the ''Path to the Stars''.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. After a few seconds, they reached a spot where a row of wooden stalls was present, each having enough space for a man or woman to stand in. Opening one of the doors, Mrs. Ernst nodded while smiling, which made Aaron cautiously step inside as it was one of the most dangerous places anyone could be in: a place with only one entrance and one exit. As soon as he entered, Mrs. Ernst pulled a branch-like lever on the side, which made it rain. How the¡­ No, it wasn''t raining. Above him, there was a metallic circle with holes. Water streamed through the holes, falling on him and making him think it was rain. "Clean yourself well. Use the green leaves to scrub your skin like this." On a small pedestal in the corner, a bunch of palm-sized green leaves had been placed. Picking one up, Mrs. Ernst demonstrated the ''scrubbing''. Seeing Aaron nod, she went out and closed the door. Woof was just outside the door, and it shot a look toward Aaron as if to say that it would be guarding the door. Everything was strange for it, too, but all it cared right now was that it was full, and that there were more places with great aromas nearby. So, as there seemed to be no danger, staying might not be a bad idea. A few minutes later, Aaron walked out, and Woof almost didn''t recognize him. He was wearing the same torn white clothes, but his skin shone in the sun healthily. His face had the most changes. His features, which were indiscernible before due to the grime, were now apparent. High cheekbones, a straight nose, sharp chin, and keen eyes. His brown hair was slightly curly, and it fell to his shoulders. Aaron didn''t feel that much different. The leaves had been surprisingly useful in wiping away the layers of dirt, so he remarked that it felt good to not stink. Just when he was walking toward Miss. Ernst, three species of his race who looked slightly dissimilar to him stared at him and started¡­giggling between each other. "Girls, I see you dallying around and gossiping about guys again, I''ll make sure you''re married before you know it." Hearing this, serious expressions came on their faces while they ran to three stalls and closed the doors before shooting one last look at Aaron. "Let''s go." Putting everything else out of his mind, Aaron looked forward to finding answers and followed Mrs. Ernst to a structure that looked different than the rest. Instead of a rectangle with two angled planks joined together on top, this one had multiple rectangles stacked together. It was the tallest building all around, with at least 3 stacks above which there was even a metallic roof. Marveling at this artificial structure for a moment, Aaron followed Mrs. Ernst inside the door, where he found a large, open room with 15 people inside. Aaron was already numb due to all the shocks, so he switched off his mind and just prepared to listen. Often, this was what he used to do when he needed to singlemindedly focus on something, such as running for his life from a Hundred-Spiked Bear which had been angry that someone entered its territory and rummaged around in its feces. Most of the people inside were children, and funnily enough, on seeing the cute husky, they ran toward it which made Woof spring back with caution. This amused them, as they felt that the dog wanted to play with them. Woof could have chomped down and killed any of the little two-legged things in front of it, but it controlled itself for Aaron''s sake. It knew that killing a member of a species was definitely not a good idea if they wanted to stay at that species'' abode. So, it could only haplessly be chased around the room, while the laughing little things ran after it. Finally, the other mature woman in the room clapped her hands and said, "Children, assemble. Let''s start the orientation." She had been chatting with Mrs. Ernst till now, who had been pointing at Aaron and explaining something. Aaron had been watching amusedly while his friend was being chased, but when the woman called out to them, they walked to her side with utmost obedience. "Good. Now, can I know your name, young man?", she asked. Her features looked quite similar to Mrs. Ernst, and she was wearing a blue shirt which was similar to his. "A-Aaron." "Good! Hello, Aaron! My name is Jenny. Come on over." Seeing her wave her hand, Aaron nodded and walked over. They were standing near the door, where a rectangular area depicted a blue ball with many red spots. "This is our planet: The Earth. 200 years ago, at the peak of the industrial age, an apocalypse was caused due to reasons that we do not yet know. Some say that someone, or something, caused all the nuclear bombs in the world to go off at once. However, that doesn''t explain the core of the earth, itself, rupturing like the yolk of an egg and reaching toward the surface which caused tectonic changes the likes of which had never been seen before. Billions were killed by the earthquakes, storms, and tsunamis. It took decades for all the catastrophic effects to die down and stop. When the remaining humans crawled out of the havens that they had used to wait for the cataclysm to pass, they realized that a new species had been born: Teras." Orientation(2) Teras. Hearing this name that had been referred to in front of him multiple times already, Aaron''s eyes lit up as he was looking forward to finding out more about all the mysteries of the world. All of this still seemed¡­ethereal. As if he was in a waking dream that he wished wouldn''t end. Many times, especially in situations where it had looked like that was it for the two of them, Aaron used to wonder whether this was all there was to life. Hunting, running, sleeping. Years of his life had gone by doing just those three things, and it would have been surprising if it hadn''t gotten monotonous. Still, he had always been grateful for Woof, who stood by him no matter what danger threatened to end their lives. On multiple occasions, Woof could have run away to save its own life, but it had stayed back to help protect him. These fights were mostly the reasons behind the many scars on its body, which were hidden underneath its snowy-white fur. It wasn''t just him: the eyes of the rest of the children also started to shine when the woman mentioned that name. Seeing this, Jenny chuckled and continued. "Yes, Teras. I know all of you have been hearing that word since you were born, but I bet most of you don''t know about how it came to be. Well, it''s time for you to find out." Saying so, Jenny first led the group to the second rectangular plaque on the wall, on which there was a picture of a globe that was very different from the one they had seen before. There were two images of it: one showing each side, and it looked as if the entire landmass had shifted into just three regions, unlike before when there had been many. "Before that, let''s see what the Earth changed into after the core quieted down. The tectonic movements and the heat of the core which reached the surface caused much of the oceans to evaporate, resulting in a planet with much more land than before. In essence, the figures shifted: where before there had been 70% water and 30% landmass, after the apocalypse, the ratios shifted to more than 70% landmass and 30% water. Some say that the size of the Earth, itself, changed." The way the woman phrased each sentence allowed the children and Aaron to imagine and understand just how much of a drastic change this was. Many gasped with shock, while others ''aaaw''d and ''ooo''d. "What you see before you is the final form of the Earth. Yes, each landmass is in the shape of an orange peel. In technical terms, the shape is called an ''ellipse'' with the top and bottom end being pointy. Three such ellipses lie side by side across the Earth, with oceans between them. These 3 oceans meet at their top and bottom at the two massive, round arctic areas which retained their names from the pre-apocalyptic times: the North Pole and the South Pole." Hearing so many details, confused expressions appeared on the children''s faces. Some even started to enter a daze as they tried to understand everything the woman had said. Laughing out loud on noticing this, Jenny said, "Leave all of that. I get a bit carried away because it''s so fascinating. You just need to know that there are three major continents which are separated by oceans. Got it?" "Yes, ma''am!" The children all chimed the answer, feeling happy that they didn''t need to study what these ''ellipses'' were. Aaron, on the other hand, just nodded and followed along.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He had understood what an ellipse was the moment the woman uttered the word. A few facts about the north and south pole even started to surface in his mind, such as the fact that the conditions there, which had been hostile even before the apocalypse, were even more extreme now. No human could step foot there normally and not freeze to death, no matter how many layers of clothes they wore for protection. Initially, Aaron had only been excited about finding out more about the world, but now, as he saw that what he was learning was triggering more memories to leak from the ''wall'', he truly felt that that fluke accident that had led them in this direction had truly been a stroke of fortune for him. With his eyes wide open, he followed along with the group as they were led to the next mosaic. This one was of someone from his species, a human, using a spear to keep a large monster at bay. This monster was more unique than any Aaron had ever seen. At its base, it had 6 legs, three on each side, while it''s upper body had a scaled torso followed by numerous grotesque tentacles sprouting from where its head was supposed to be. In other words, it seemed to be something straight out of nightmares. Seeing this terrifying being, a few children covered their eyes with their hands, but many actually showed courageous expressions, as if they weren''t afraid of it. "Yes, yes, I know some of you saw this beast many times when you sneaked in here. These¡­were the first Teras. The leftover radiation from whatever had caused the apocalypse was at a very high level at that time, resulting in extreme mutations of existing species that even gave these beings intelligence that could be comparable to us. That was also when this name was given to them. Originally, they were just going to be called monsters, but the leaders of humanity then, who had risen up to take charge when no one else was willing to, decided that a specific name was needed to differentiate these special. They derived the name from an ancient language called ''Greek'', in which the word ''Teras'' meant ''monster''. Adapting it, these intelligent monsters started to be called ''Tera''s. All of you must understand something. In this world, Teras exist, but so do beasts. Beasts are those which have deranged minds that only give them the urge to ingest food and procreate. They are not capable of higher level thought. Teras are those beasts which are capable of thinking beyond that level. Believe me, this distinction is very simple. A beast would try to eat you even if it saw that you were capable of killing it. A Tera, on the other hand, would stalk you and wait for you to let up your defenses before striking and ending your life in one go." This finally caused the courageous expressions to crack. Right now, that tentacled monster looked much more terrifying, causing the children to slink back. Meanwhile, Aaron turned to look toward Woof, who looked back at him lazily. Yes, there were definitely differences. In the forest, there had been many instances where they encountered intelligent beings, like Woof, who would wait for an opportunity to guarantee a kill. But there were also other beings which would charge without any thought. Against these beings, traps would work, as they had no intelligence whatsoever. Often, these beings ended up being the major food source for the other ones. So¡­Woof was a Tera? "The main threat that humanity faced after the natural disasters died down was these Teras, who came to rule the Earth. They were capable of commanding the other beasts, and they used these beasts to rain down attack after attack on the last havens in which humanity was holed up." The next picture showed that same tentacled beast¡­No, Tera standing behind a horde of creatures of various types while groups of humans were trying to fight back using simple weapons. "Miss, I heard that humans had so many weapons that could have easily killed all of those creatures? Why didn''t we use them?" "I''m glad you asked that, little girl. The answer is simple. The apocalypse had caused far more changes than anyone could ever have imagined. The elements that we were familiar with were all gone. In their place, new ones had appeared, with different molecular makeups. The iron we used in the industrial age no longer had the properties of strength. Gunpowder was no longer capable of explosively releasing energy. Uranium couldn''t be used to make nuclear bombs anywhere. I know all of these terms sound strange, but bear with me. You''ll be learning about them later, in history classes. To sum it up, humanity had once again returned to the stone age, where we only knew that stone was hard and could be used as a weapon, and that burning wood gave fire. Yet, we didn''t perish. Because we obtained different weapons." Saying so, Jenny raised her hand into the air. Aaron, whose back had been slouched till now suddenly straightened himself up on seeing the similarity between this pose and what the Chief had done earlier. Yes! He had been right! Again, a shining, white gem appeared out of nowhere between the knuckles on her right hand before flashing like a star. A large butterfly the size of a human''s head appeared in the air, and as it flapped its wings, a gust of wind blew back the hair on Aaron''s head. Orientation(3) ¡°Grr!¡± Seeing the butterfly appear out of thin air, Woof raised its hackles and growled. The gust of wind seemed to have been involuntary: the hair on the heads of the kids had been blown back, too, but they looked like they were used to it. Aaron was still as amazed as the first time he had seen this, but he only looked at Woof and made a hand sign that indicated that he was telling it to take it easy. This was mainly because the poor butterfly¡¯s wings were shaking on the sight of Woof, who looked like a big bad wolf. In fact, the butterfly had even gone so far as to hide behind Jenny¡¯s shoulders, hovering there while shooting frightened glances at the two of them. Sighing, Jenny said, ¡°Can you ask your Tera to stand down, please? I understand that you must have been living in the jungle, where everything can be a threat. But we¡¯re in a Human Settlement now. It¡¯s safe. Just¡­relax. My poor Pink- Winged Butterfly is very timid, you know.¡±Hearing this, Aaron scratched his head and quickly moved to Woof¡¯s side, who was still staring at the butterfly as if it would make a tasty snack. As he laid a hand on the husky¡¯s fur, he sent it the thought that they shouldn¡¯t be hostile in someone else¡¯s home. This made Woof finally look away reluctantly, before it sat down and started scratching the spot behind its ears. Jenny had been watching, so when she saw the ferocious-looking husky sit, she turned around and cupped the butterfly in her hands, before speaking to it in a soft voice. ¡°It¡¯s all right, J. It¡¯s all right. That wolf won¡¯t hurt you, ok?¡± After eyeing Woof for a few seconds, the butterfly finally bobbed its head before landing in Jenny¡¯s hands. Turning around again, she resumed the orientation. ¡°Where was I? Oh, yes, Teras as weapons. All of you must have noticed these white gems that flash whenever your parents summon their Teras, right?¡± Saying so, Jenny held out her right hand and made that gem appear again. Now that he could take a closer look at it, Aaron noticed that it was in the shape of a dodecahedron. Again, he didn¡¯t know how that word appeared in his mind, but he somehow knew that that was what it was called. It was very small- about the size of a third of her middle finger, and its edges looked rough. All in all, it looked like a shard of some gem that had fallen away while carving it. Glinting in the sunlight that was entering the room through the windows, it looked mysterious and captivating. At least, it had definitely captivated Aaron, who couldn¡¯t peel his eyes away. He could tell that it was extremely precious, even though he didn¡¯t know exactly what it was yet. ¡°This¡­is a ¡®Core¡¯. It is one of the most precious materials available to us, humans, as it allows us to harness the energy of the planet.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Hearing such a grand statement, a puzzled expression came on Aaron¡¯s face. The energy of the planet? What the heck was that? Seeing the same puzzled expressions on all of her audience, Jenny smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m getting ahead of myself. Gentlemen, please enter!¡± She yelled out the last sentence, following which a door on the far end of the room opened to let in four people. Their sight made Woof stand up, as it could sense danger from them. One of the three was the Chief, who nodded in Aaron¡¯s direction. His hand which he had used to shake Aaron¡¯s hand before looked like it had had some sort of white past applied to it. The second was a man who was even stockier than the Chief. He was at least a quarter of a foot taller than Aaron, which made it so that his hair was almost brushing the ceiling. He wore a yellow sleeveless shirt and yellow pants, and the parts of his body which were visible were rippling with rock-hard muscles. The third was a woman, who had a wreath of flowers in her hair. Wearing a yellow dress, she looked delicate. Finally, the last person was also a man, but he had a strange weapon on his back. It was a long, black tube with an angled handle at the end, which seemed to be designed to hold it. From where he was, Aaron could tell that that tube was hollow. The tube had many imperfections over its surface, which made it look quite crude and primitive. At the spot where the handle connected with the tube, there was a rough, oval area which was transparent, almost looking like it was a bubble that had been trapped inside the metal. How strange¡­was that supposed to be some sort of club? This question appeared in Aaron¡¯s mind, but the next moment, he muttered a word which had just occurred to him. ¡°Gun.¡± Raising an eyebrow, Jenny looked at Aaron and said, ¡°Yes, a gun. To be more precise, an Energy Gun. So you do know something after all.¡± The one who had been referred to also shot a glance at Aaron, which was when the latter realized that he was wearing some sort of strange apparatus on his head. Over one eye, there was a glass goggle that was affixed to his head. When all 4 people took their places in the center of the room, Jenny looked at the ones taking part in the orientation and said, ¡°Listen up, children. This is the most important part of the orientation. Here, you¡¯ll learn the most common professions of humanity in this age. You see, Teras aren¡¯t the only ones who evolved. As the elements in the air also changed, we slowly evolved and adapted in order to breathe. In the process, and due to also being affected by the radiation that leaked through the doors of our havens, our bodies changed, just like the Earth. On the Earth, a new type of Energy had been born. Some said that it was just a type of radiation, but regardless, this is what we call it. The absorption of this Energy leads Teras and beasts to grow stronger and undergo more mutations in order to become better than their previous forms. We, humans, cannot directly ingest that Energy that is floating all around us. But what we can do is integrate our bodies with these ¡®Cores¡¯. At the age of 18, each and every human body becomes capable of integrating with a Core. The Cores absorb Energy actively after the integration. With the absorbed Energy, we can do whatever we wish. For example, one can infuse that Energy into special weapons¡­¡± The moment the last sentence was uttered by Jenny, the man wearing that apparatus on his head grabbed at the handle that was sticking up from his back in a practiced motion. Pulling it forward, he placed his other hand on the lower part of the ¡®Gun¡¯ for stability before pointing it toward the open door. Squinting, Aaron noticed that the man was holding the gun in such a way that his index finger was touching that glass ¡®bubble¡¯. Instantly, the white gem appeared between the knuckles of his index and middle fingers and flashed, following which a white gas came into existence inside that bubble. Boom! With a loud sound that made the children squeal while Woof stood up and barked, a small, pointed, solid object shot out of the end of the tube and flew toward the door. Only¡­instead of passing through the open door carefully, it impacted the room at a spot right beside the door. Wood chips fell to the ground as a hole appeared, and after a few seconds, the solid object fell to the floor. Its end which had been sharp was now blunt. The Chief looked at that spot with an appalled expression on his face before walking up to the guy who had given this grand performance and hitting him on his head. With this, the demeanor of an expert completely disappeared from the man, who hung back his gun and hung his head with shame. Seeing this, the Chief growled, ¡°You idiot, I told you you couldn¡¯t take the shot! Now look what you¡¯ve done! Reminds me of that time you shot a spike at Hannibal¡¯s arse instead of at the beast that was charging at him! The guy couldn¡¯t walk for weeks!¡± Orientation(End) Folding his hands, the man declined to answer, which led the chief to curse under his breath before heading back to his position. Meanwhile, that statement from the Chief had resulted in peals of laughter erupting from the Children, with even Jenny placing a hand over her mouth to hide the fact that she was laughing. Aaron, though, had a very serious expression on his face, just like Woof, which was keeping its eyes on that man even though he didn¡¯t look like that much of a threat. They could tell that that projectile had the power to penetrate the scales or thick flesh of most of the beings they usually encountered in the jungle. In fact, a hit at a critical spot might even guarantee instant death. Although the aim seemed to be a problem currently, if it was mastered, it would definitely become a devastating weapon that could rule the jungle. After the laughter died down, Jenny pointed to the woman, saying, ¡°All right, that was the path of the Weapon Wielders, and more specifically, it was the sub-path of a Gunslinger. Infusing the Energy absorbed by a Core, a Weapon Wielder increases their offensive or defensive capabilities. Next up, we have¡­¡± Even before the last sentence left her mouth, the delicate-looking woman raised both of her hands and made a cup with them. ¡°If any of you are feeling cold, come right up!¡± Shouting out this weird sentence with glee, this woman, too, made her ¡®Core¡¯ appear, which flashed. After the impressive performance of the one behind her, everyone, including Aaron, was expecting something even more awesome. Yet, 10 seconds passed, and there was no change. With impatience, the children started to move forward, but they gasped after they took a few steps. Even though the sun was up, Skystead Hamlet was in a location where it was mostly cold all year around. However, the area near the woman was warm and even toasty. Raising a hand, a little girl said, ¡°Y-you¡¯re a magician!¡± Aaron, too, moved forward, and he was amazed when he felt the warmth. Obviously, it wasn¡¯t as majestic as that projectile being shot, but it was still something to behold. Yet, the next moment, this thought of Aaron¡¯s was wrecked. Fire sprang into being on the clothes of the woman, who yelped and quickly began to put it out. The Chief, too, leaped forward to help and together, they managed to douse the flames. Once again, Aaron¡¯s jaw dropped. This woman¡­could make flames appear out of nothing?! Almost like a Flame-Tongued Viper? Disbelief clouded his face, but Jenny¡¯s explanation made him understand and shake his head, realizing that the world really was much more wondrous than he had thought. ¡°Little Kaitlyn, yes, that¡¯s one name. The official name for that path is ¡®Energy Manipulator¡¯, but many choose to call such people Mages. In that fashion, poor Ying Yao here is a budding Fire Mage. Absorbed Energy is manipulated and imbued into the world to cause changes in the surroundings of a Mage, giving Mages the ability to use elemental attacks. Ying, you¡¯re excused, go start sewing up your dress.¡± Nodding, the delicate woman who had fair skin and narrow eyes left with a bashful smile on her face. At this moment, Aaron noticed something.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Why were both the demonstrations so far¡­such failures? Were these people weak, or was that power really that uncontrollable? The children whose eyes had gone as round as saucers on seeing magic for the first time were made to refocus on the bulky man by Jenny. ¡°Let¡¯s move this along. Lastly, we have ¡®Body Practitioners¡¯, who ingest the absorbed Energy to train their body to move faster or stronger, and ¡®Tera Masters¡¯.¡± For his demonstration, the bulky man moved to the side and lifted up the Chief, who started to grumble that this was hardly necessary. Yet, the sheer strength that must have been required to lift up the heavily-built Chief made the children and Aaron feel amazed. After the Chief was set down, he raised his arm just like Jenny and made the Core between his knuckles flash, which resulted in that fat viper appearing again. Ah, so that was where it had gone. The viper, which had fallen asleep, lazily raised its head and viewed its surroundings before going back to sleep. Gesturing in its direction, Jenny said, ¡°Tera Masters use the special ability of Cores which allow them to convert a subservient Tera into an Energy form which is stored inside the Core. The absorbed Energy allows the Tera to grow in strength faster, allowing it to grow powerful enough to accomplish anything the Tera Master might want. For a Core to absorb a Tera, its Energy must first be made to enter the mind of a Tera. This creates a link between that integrated Core and the Tera. Through the link, a Tera Master can send certain basic commands to the Tera, and, if needed, the link also has the ability to cause death to that Tera by causing a violent attack to assault its brain. And that concludes the Orientation. Chief, please take over?¡± With a broad smile, Jenny watched as everyone slowly digested the information. It was all¡­so mind-bogglingly marvelous that anyone would require quite some time to understand it all. It was the same for Aaron. His mind felt as if it had been run over by a charging Tri-Horned Rhino, causing it to be such a mess that nothing made sense. ¡°Thank you, Jenny. Now then, are you all ready to hear about the Path to the Stars?¡± The Chief¡¯s words made excitement return to the faces of Aaron and the children. Seeing them nod, the Chief let out another peal of booming laughter before leading them to the next mosaic. By now, they had reached the other end of the room, which meant that the Orientation was coming to an end. Here, there was a depiction of a man looking up at the stars, while there was a stairway made of floating steps in front of him. ¡°The Path to the Stars. Kids, we humans didn¡¯t just sit around and allow ourselves to be vanquished. We used every means available to us to establish foothold after foothold on the planet, beating back the hordes of beasts and legions of Teras which threatened to annihilate us on each step of the way. Finally, two centuries after the apocalypse, the best and strongest of humans gathered together to form the World Government: an alliance of the greatest protectors on Earth. ¡°After a long discussion, it was established that if we want to thrive and not perish under the hands of the Teras, all of us must strive to ascend to the stars. That¡­was how the Path to the Stars was born. This Path is for those who wish to grow strong enough to help protect their race. Cores are the most precious materials we have: Jenny neglected to mention that they are so rare and have such mystifying abilities because they are the solidified remnants of the core of the Earth which came to the surface during the apocalypse. There are grades to Cores, too, which segregate them according to how well a Core absorbs Energy, or how powerful a Tera a Core can store. If they wanted, the World Government could hoard all the resources. Yet, they opened them to the world.¡± Speaking until here, the Chief took a deep breath, while an expression of pride and hope appeared on his face. ¡°Any human who proves themselves to be worthy can obtain better cores, better weapons, better manipulation techniques, better body arts, and even better Teras. And how to prove your worth, you ask?¡± With this, he led them to the last mosaic, which was blank. He first pointed at that bare spot on the wall, which made everyone focus their eyes there, before twisting that hand and pointing at himself. ¡°Simple. Defeat me. As the Hamlet Chief of the Skystead Hamlet, I am one of the first barriers you must cross. I am authorized by the World Government to hand out ordinary-grade Cores, such as the one I am using, to anyone who reaches 18 years of age. Likewise, I will also give you the basic materials and information you need to get started on any path. But, after that, even if you want to find out the next step, you will have to defeat me. Good luck, kiddos. Bwahahaha! No one has dared to even challenge me-¡± Bang! Right at that moment, a loud sound of a door being kicked open interrupted the Chief. Looking in the direction of the sound, Aaron saw that a young man with blond hair who was wearing shiny red clothes had appeared on the doorstep. As he looked around, his eyes paused on Woof for a moment, but on spotting the Chief, he raised a finger and pointed in the direction of the man and proclaimed: ¡°Skystead Hamlet Chief! I, Edmond, have come here to challenge you as an Ascender! Prepare to face defeat by my hand!¡± While the Chief blushed with shame on being interrupted and embarrassed for the umpteenth time today, the children and Aaron stared with disbelief, wondering who this guy who sounded so confident was. Edmonds Challenge Taking a deep breath to get rid of the embarrassment, the Chief closed his eyes for a second and turned toward the one who had spoken so impetuously. When he did so, he was pretty surprised to see a style of clothing that he had only seen in pictures. A red vest over a tight shirt, with tight pants and a traveling coat that reached the knees. Oh, yes, this was the style that was currently in fashion in the nearest city. Aaron, meanwhile, was shaking his head on seeing the extremely constricting nature of those clothes.The coat could be pulled by anyone to make the one wearing it lose balance, and such tight clothes would cause the wearer to move slowly. Edmond, on the other hand, who had just named himself with such valor, was taking in all the shocked gazes with pride on his face. It seemed that pausing outside to arrange his hair and dust his clothes which had gotten dirty during his travel had been the right decision. His black hair was combed perfectly to curve up and fall down like a curtain on both sides of his face, which, he thought, was quite a heroic look. Yet, when he heard the one whom he had come looking for answer, he stumbled and almost fell as he had just begun walking forward. ¡°Challenge hours are over. Come tomorrow.¡± His confident demeanor gone, Edmond quickly looked at the clock on the wall. It read 12:01. Raising a hand, he stuttered, ¡°B-but it¡¯s only been a minute! You can¡¯t-¡° ¡°Oh, yes I can. The Challenge hours were put in place so that you Ascenders won¡¯t disturb our lives all day. Get going! Just try to reach before 12 tomorrow! Now, then, children, where was I?¡± A defeated expression appeared on Edmond¡¯s face as he leaned on the wall for support. He had rushed over with great enthusiasm after braving countless Teras in the jungle. Now¡­he had to go back? Seeing his defeated expression, the Chief chuckled. ¡®Hehe, serves you right for interrupting my speech.¡¯, he thought, before turning back to the children. Yet, he raised his eyebrows and took a step back when he saw them looking at him with reproach. Wh-what the hell was wrong with these kids? Weren¡¯t they looking up to him just now? ¡°Mom was right! The Chief really does like escaping from his responsibilities!¡± ¡°Yes! I heard Mrs. Ernst telling my mom that the Chief loves to escape when it¡¯s his time for chores! We do all our chores!¡± ¡°Yes! Chief should fight! I wanna see the fight!¡± ¡°Fight! Fight! Fight!¡± This made a ray of hope appear on Edmond¡¯s face, while the Chief could only gape at the little kids. Right now, he knew that even if he tried to explain about the Challenge Hours, it wouldn¡¯t make any difference. In fact, other Hamlet Chiefs welcomed Ascenders at any time, as the Challenge Hours weren¡¯t compulsory. Yet, if a Chief wanted to quote them, he could. Sighing, the Chief realized that he would have to rouse his viper again. ¡°All right, fine! I¡¯ll fight! Let¡¯s go! Do you all want to watch?¡± This made the children¡¯s eyes light up, and they once again started to look at him with admiration. That wiped away the last hesitation in the Chief.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Turning around, he suddenly had to take a step back, as he had come face to face with the kid who had just been slumped on the wall. Weren¡¯t you looking defeated just now? What¡¯s with the enthusiasm? Edmond¡¯s valiant disposition was back; he was holding out a rectangular card, on which one side was filled with details. The other side was empty. Looking like it was made out of some silver-colored metal, the card looked very sturdy, and it even looked as if the material it was made out of was precious. Seeing the card, the Chief raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°An Ascender Card, huh? Seems you¡¯re prepared. Where are you from?¡± Beaming with pride, Edmond answered, ¡°Dion City.¡± This time, genuine shock appeared on the Chief¡¯s face, and even Jenny slightly opened her jaw with surprise. Bending closer, he whispered in Edmond¡¯s ears, ¡°Do you have any¡­¡± ¡°Err¡­no. I ran out of it on the way here.¡± Bending back and straightening himself, the Chief said, ¡°Well, too bad then. I was looking forward to tasting the famous City of Wine¡¯s specialty. You¡¯ve come a long way. Why here? Why not go to a hamlet closer to your city?¡± Aaron, who was watching, felt amused when he saw the one who had called himself Edmond raise his fist and use it to beat his chest twice. If a 4-Armed Gorilla were here, it would definitely go forth to answer the mating call. However, it looked as if Edmond treated it as some impressive gesture, as doing so made his eyes blaze with excitement. ¡°For a challenge! I know you¡¯re one of the strongest Hamlet Chiefs. You might even break through soon, right? I wanted to beat you before that, so I could boast that I took the hardest way. My father told me that when a man does something, he should do it in such a way that everyone looks up to him.¡± After a few seconds of silence during which the children stared at him with awe, the Chief broke out into loud peals of laughter. These surprised even Aaron, who had been expecting some sort of acknowledgment from the Chief. He had no social skills whatsoever, but this sight had reminded him of a face-off between two Crocodrills who had been leaders of their respective tribes. Crocodrills usually settled disputes by using their sharp, pointed snouts to drill holes in their enemies. Yet, these two had wanted to sort it out by communication, as there had been a bigger threat which wanted to eat both of them. So, the two fought, and the loser agreed to follow the winner. However, nothing similar happened here. After laughing for a few seconds, the Chief wiped away the tears at his eyes before laying a hand on Edmond¡¯s shoulder and saying, ¡°Yeah, great choice, kid. If everything went well, I would have retired in 3 days. I guess you¡¯ll be the last one I crush. That guy from the World Government always complained that I¡¯m unfair. Well, he can¡¯t blame me now, as you came looking for me by yourself. Time for some fun. Children, follow, and when you go home, tell your mothers what you see. Ok?¡± Aaron and the children didn¡¯t understand too much, but they nodded and followed, looking forward to the fight. Edmond only humphed, looking as if he would settle this in the ring. Jenny had stayed silent till now, but eagerness appeared in her eyes, too, meaning that she, too, was looking forward to the fight. Still chuckling under his breath, the Chief led them all to outside before heading to an open area. On seeing the crowd, the hamlet folk who were idle heard the news that there was going to be an Ascender Challenge and chose to follow. Finally, by the time they reached, the audience had at least 50 members. Aaron was more excited than all of them. The condition to follow the clue in his mind to find out his identity was to beat this man, and he was going to get a chance to see someone try. Hopefully, he would pick up some tricks. He still hadn¡¯t had time to clearly order all of his thoughts, but this was something he really wanted to do. His identity had been the biggest mystery that had haunted him throughout his life. Who was he? Who were his parents? Where was he from? What was that white pod? He had always been afraid that there might never be a chance to pursue these questions, but now that there was one in front of him, there was no way that he would let it go. Amid the cheering for the Chief, Edmond humphed again before artfully raising his hand. Instead of simply letting his Tera appear, it seemed that he had other plans. First, he raised his left leg, before bringing it down forcefully and shooting an uppercut with his right hand into the air. The moment his fist reached its highest point, the white gem appeared between his knuckles and flashed, resulting in a shape which seemed to be half the size of a human. That shape flew through the air before landing on the ground with flair, awing all the spectators and making a few even say things such as ¡®Cool!¡¯. However, when Aaron saw the Tera that had appeared, he scoffed. It was one of the weakest that the two of them usually encountered in the jungle: a Foxtail Rabbit. ¡°Goooo Bewitching Fox! Show ¡®em hell!¡± Wh-what? A Bewitching Fox- one of the strongest predators in the forest? Clearly, there was a case of mistaken identity here. This thought appeared in Aaron¡¯s mind, and it seemed to dawn on the villagers, too, as they started to chuckle among themselves. Edmond saw that something was wrong, but he just assumed they were jealous of his Rare-grade Tera. Yet, when the fat viper which appeared shot a single attack, the ¡®Bewitching Fox¡¯ jumped in fright and ran out of the ring, resulting in an automatic forfeit. Finally, even Edmond understood what was going on when he heard the words which floated to him from the villagers. Apparently¡­he had been cheated into buying a Foxtail Rabbit, instead of a Bewitching Fox. Shock coursed through his mind, along with panic and alarm. Yet, he had to save the day. So, touching the poor, frightened Rabbit, Edmond took it back into his Core and struck another heroic pose before saying: ¡°I seem to have misplaced my Tera. I¡¯ll be back. I assure you that I haven¡¯t been cheated! My Bewitching Fox must be¡­lost in the jungle! I¡¯ll go search for it now! Goodbye, everyone! It was really nice meeting you!¡± World Government Hub Turning around, Edmond was just about to quickly head out of town when he found his way blocked by a tall, stocky man wearing yellow clothes. He didn¡¯t recognize him, but Aaron did. It was the Body Practitioner who had demonstrated his power before. ¡°Excuse me,¡± he said, trying to find a way around, but as he looked to the side, he saw that the other directions were blocked, too, by two other men. Seeing this, Aaron inched closer as he wanted to see what these men might do to this man.Till now, he had quite enjoyed being the spectator. Yet, now, he decided that it might be time to take active action and find out more clues so that he could challenge the Chief.Woof, on the other hand, was incredibly bored. So, it just stayed near Aaron and idly looked around, wondering when whether it could have another meal of those fluffy items from before. Aaron had been hoping that he might obtain some information or the other from the fight, but sadly, that had been a bust. All he knew right now was that for some reason, exiting the ring that was depicted on the ground using some sort of rope meant defeat. Why was that? As soon as he got close to the pompous man who was blocked by those three men, he heard him asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, gentlemen? Why have you blocked my way?¡± The one with an apparatus on his head who had shot the gun before answered. ¡°The Chief would like to speak to you.¡± Gulping, Edmond stayed put, but when he looked to the side, he saw Aaron looking at him. Beside Aaron stood that white dog, seeing which Edmond had been quite amazed before. Momentarily, when he had first laid eyes on it, he had gotten a feeling that it looked very similar to a Tera that the City Lord, a figure who was revered by thousands, supposedly owned. Yet, that was impossible. Surely, a Tera in the possession of the City Lord would be above even Rare-grade. There was definitely no way that a Tera of that level could be here. Feeling a hand fall on his shoulder, Edmond turned around to find that the Chief had reached him. He felt a little bit of fear begin to spread in his mind, but he assured himself that this was someone authorized by the World Government. Yes, someone like that would definitely not engage in something illegal¡­such as fleecing him for all his money just because he had acted like that before. Remembering the matter of the Fox, Edmond almost felt like crying. It seemed that his slew of bad luck hadn¡¯t ended up. After successfully escaping the city, he had headed from town after town while being frugal with the money he had. Yet, that Tera vendor¡¯s words about a Rare-grade Bewitching Fox had completely captivated his mind. After seeing an impressive display of power, he hadn¡¯t hesitated to fork out all of his savings, following which he had headed to the farthest Hamlet he could find: this one. He couldn¡¯t let anyone get suspicions about why he was here, so he had put up that act. Well¡­it wasn¡¯t too much of an act, as he did like to act in that way. So¡­a lot had gone wrong, but Edmond struggled not to remember what had happened in the City. Closing his eyes, he braced himself for a beating, but it never came.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Did you really think I would hit you or something? Come on, kid. I¡¯ll help you report the fraud. Maybe you¡¯ll be able to get back some of your money.¡± A voice with a kind tone entered his ears, which made Edmond open his eyes with shock. The Chief¡­was offering to help him?! He couldn¡¯t believe it! Aaron was surprised, too. He had watched as a bunch of emotions cycled on the face of the youth wearing the red vest, yet one of those had stood out to him: it had looked exactly like the expression of Woof. On nights with a clear sky, Woof would often resort to stand and howl while facing the heaves. Whenever he touched the Tera, a strong emotion of loss would assault him which would make him feel like tearing up, too. Later, he had found out that Woof had lost its family, including its mate and 8 kids on the day it found Aaron. This man¡­had definitely also lost something. Aaron had never managed to understand that feeling very well, as¡­he didn¡¯t know what he had lost. He did know how it felt to not know anything about himself, but that was more frustration which caused pain, rather than sadness. Even if he had parents or loved ones whom he might have lost, he didn¡¯t remember how it must have felt to be with them, which meant that he had no reason to feel that sadness. Tears appeared in Edmond¡¯s eyes, who tried to wipe them away so that no one would see. Yet, the Chief spotted them and patted his shoulder, saying, ¡°I understand that you must have been through a rough time. Were you thrown out of the city? Where are your parents?¡± Hearing mention of the word he didn¡¯t want to hear, Edmond only nodded, choosing to ignore the second question. This made the Chief sigh, before he said, ¡°All right. Come on.¡± Turning around, he was going to head in a direction, but he spotted Aaron nearby looking at them with interest. Pointing at him, the Chief said, ¡°You- come with me, too. We need to get you registered in the system. It¡¯s mandatory. It¡¯ll definitely cause problems if you head to restricted areas.¡± Aaron nodded in response and followed along with Woof, even though he didn¡¯t know what the Chief meant by ¡®Restricted Areas¡¯. By chance, it just so happened that Edmond was walking beside him. Just to be polite, Edmond stretched out a hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m Edmond. Nice to meet you. From the Chief¡¯s words, I gather that you grew up in the jungle? What kind of Tera is that, by the way? What grade is it? What level is it?¡± Suddenly bombarded by questions, Aaron didn¡¯t know what to say. So, he just reached forward to shake that hand, but stopped when the Chief turned around and said to Edmond, ¡°Kid, if you don¡¯t want that hand to be bandaged for a week, don¡¯t shake his hand. I guess he must be rough in social skills. You two are of a similar age. Why don¡¯t you teach him a thing or two about society?¡± Hearing himself referred to as if he wasn¡¯t standing right there made Aaron feel unpleasant, but he didn¡¯t say anything. Edmond, too, only looked at Aaron¡¯s inhospitable expression and shrugged, as if to say ¡®What can I teach him if he isn¡¯t ready to learn?¡¯. This made the Chief shake his head, but he paused to take out a key and carefully open a door on the backside of the large building where the Orientation had taken place before. As Aaron viewed this door, he found it to be quite strange. For one thing, the ¡®house¡¯ it was attached to was tiny, with barely enough space for two or three people to fit inside. The oddest thing was that this small house which shared a wall with the tall building was made of some sort of metal which glinted in the sun, instead of wood. Holding the door open, the Chief allowed the two kids to enter. Aaron hesitated at first, but went in anyway after seeing Woof indicate that it would stay outside and make sure that he wouldn¡¯t be trapped with no exits. After that, the Chief entered and closed the door, shrouding them in darkness. ¡°Skystead Hamlet Chief, Ernst. Authorize.¡± Who was he speaking to? Aaron asked himself this question, but when a female voice answered, he jumped with panic, as he was sure that there was no one else here. ¡°Identity authorized. Holographic World Government Hub booting up.¡± What happened next would be burned into Aaron¡¯s mind forever. A light appeared on the floor in the center of the room, before it shone upward and caused a brilliant image to appear. No¡­it couldn¡¯t be called an image. It had edges and sides, but as Aaron raised his hand, it passed through them. After a second, a round shape, similar to the one he had seen in the second mosaic in the Orientation, came into being, before bright words appeared and started to rotate around the apparition. He had believed that there were other humans. He had believed those mystical cores, and he had even believed that those awe-inspiring attacks were possible. Yet¡­this, he couldn¡¯t believe. He had seen a ghost before in the form of a very peculiar beast, so that was what he assumed this was. Panic filling his mind to the brim, Aaron leaped toward the door, opened it and jumped out, before running in the direction of the jungle which was his home. This¡­was just a little too damn much to take in in a single day. His Fondest Memory Both the Chief and Edmond stared with shock as Aaron deftly opened the door and started running in the direction of the forest. Looking through the door, they saw that the dog was also following, and it caught up quickly with the youth who had started to run on all fours for speed. ¡°How is he going to¡­¡± All Hamlets had wooden spikes placed on the borders to detract any beasts or Teras from wanting to make their way inside. So, Edmond was going to voice the question regarding how Aaron would get past them. Hamlets were small settlements with around 100-200 members. As such, the area was small, which meant that Aaron reached the border in barely a few seconds. So, his actions were visible to Edmond and the Chief. The latter didn¡¯t even need to finish his question before he saw the answer. As if he had done it many times, Aaron used his hands and legs to propel himself onto the spikes. There was nothing to hold on to, but he still managed to hold on and jump even farther up before smoothly vaulting over the 8-foot high spikes. As for the husky, it was even more impressive. A single leap was enough, the sight of which caused even the Chief¡¯s jaw to drop. It looked so normal¡­but that was definitely a powerful Tera! He remarked this in his mind, while the Hub which was activated waited for a command. Even though 5 seconds passed, the two were still staring at the spot from where the duo had exited the Hamlet. ¡°Holographic World Government Hub shutting down because no commands were received. Have a good day.¡± This finally brought the two back to their senses. ¡°Why did he run like that?¡±, asked Edmond, completely stumped as to why someone would have such a violent reaction just because of a simple Hologram. True, it was supposed to be rare in Hamlets, but was it really that earth-shattering? Why had he looked like he had seen a¡­ghost? But, even if he had seen a ghost, what was so surprising about that? These questions revolved in Edmond¡¯s head while he saw the Chief sigh sadly and answer. ¡°How would you feel if you found out everything about Teras, Cores, the Apocalypse and the Path to the Stars all in one day? The poor kid was living in the jungle for years, for God¡¯s sake! I should have taken more care so that he wouldn¡¯t be inundated by the flood of info. I guess the hologram was the last straw. Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯ll be back. Come on. Let¡¯s upload your report.¡± Hearing this made Edmond finally understand the situation. So that inquisitive guy was one of those who grew up in the forest? Such people were truly rare, as the weak would be killed off and eaten the moment they were alone. The Hamlet Chief had limited access to unofficial information, so he had only been amused and said on seeing someone like that.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Edmond knew more.For instance, he knew that the City Lord of Dion City was someone like that. Apparently, if someone was able to survive by themselves in the forest, they would learn certain skills that would give them an edge no matter what path they chose. In fact, it was even said that those who walked out of forests with all of their limbs and sanity intact would definitely be capable of great things. Remembering these crucial pieces of information, gears started to turn in Edmond¡¯s head, while his eyes shone with the fire of someone who had spotted an opportunity that couldn¡¯t be wasted. Normally, he wouldn¡¯t have chosen to do something like this if he had any other choice. Yet, he was desperate. Tightening his fist, he let his anger wash over him for a brief second before returning to a cheerful mood. The Chief had turned his attention to the hub, so he didn¡¯t notice anything. While watching the hologram form again, Edmond finalized his plan and looked forward to Aaron¡¯s return. ¡­ Meanwhile, Aaron ran continuously for 40 minutes before finally stopping in a relatively empty spot. Looking up, he saw the familiar canopy of trees obstructing the sunlight, which helped him to calm down his thundering heart. He wasn¡¯t tired at all. On the contrary, he felt more energetic than ever, which made him wonder whether those ¡®buns¡¯ he had eaten were made of some sort of special ingredients. Years of running for long periods of time had built up his endurance to the state that he wouldn¡¯t even flinch at running near his top speed for a few hours straight. So, the reason behind his heart beating out of his chest was definitely everything he had discovered today. A second later, Woof caught up. Pausing and looking around first to make sure that there were no threats, it tilted its head and looked at him with a questioning expression in its eyes. The sunlight that managed to slither through the thick leaves of the trees fell on its snowy fur, making those spots shine and light up. Having no clue regarding what else to do, Aaron walked up to Woof and collapsed on its back. This was his earliest memory, and also his fondest. Back when he had awakened in that pod with a grumbling stomach and parched throat, he had only had darkness as his companion. He had screamed himself hoarse, but no one had answered for hours and hours. He tried everything. From banging on the door to shaking his whole body in an attempt to dislodge the pod, hoping that it was just stuck somewhere. He hadn¡¯t known that he was buried beneath a veritable mountain of feces, and that there was no one around for miles except for the Bear which had swallowed his pod in the first place. After a long period of time, the result of having no food to eat caused him to lose all his energy. He hadn¡¯t even had the strength to raise his hand and bang on the door. Yet, he still kept shouting, hoping against hope that someone or something would come. He was absolutely terrified that he had no idea regarding who or where he was, but the priority then had been to live. Finally, he had gone into a semi-sleep like state. With his eyes closed, he still kept shouting hoarsely, but his consciousness faded in and out. A few hours after that, even his shouts had been about to cease, but that was when he heard something. Even though he was startled awake due to it, he drifted away into unconsciousness soon after, as it was already too late. He knew that he was dying, and at that moment, his main regret had been that he knew nothing at all, except for his name and a meaningless sentence. Other than that, an extreme sadness also pervaded his mind, as he knew that he was going to die all alone. That was when a miracle had occurred. The door of the pod opened, and he vaguely felt himself hoisted by his collar onto something soft. An intense smell assaulted his nose, but he only clung on for dear life with all the strength he had left. That soft fur had been his symbol of hope¡­that had let him know that he was saved. Despite the smell or the feelings of hunger, thirst, and weakness, he had snuggled into it, feeling safe for the first time in his memory. He would never forget that moment, or just how much it had meant to him, who had given up all hope. So, now, he once again returned to it. His troubled feelings passed through his touch and appeared in Woof¡¯s mind, who responded in the same way as it had all those years ago, when it had first found him. ¡°Woooo oooo ooo. Woo ooo.¡± Lying down and letting him hug it, it cooed in a soft tone while laying down its head on its front legs. A thought passed through the bond, which instantly made Aaron feel better. ¡®It¡¯ll all be all right. I¡¯m here. I¡¯m not going anywhere. You''re not alone. You¡¯re safe.¡± ¡®It¡¯ll all be all right.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯ll all be all right.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯ll all be¡­¡¯ Returning to the Hamlet As his mind and heart finally calmed down after a few minutes, Aaron took a deep breath and recalled everything he had learned today. So far, his life had been simple. Eat, run and try not to get eaten. That was it. Now, with so many complex elements entering it abruptly, he just needed a breather. His mind just wasn''t wired for anything other than an instinctive lifestyle at the moment. Yet, Aaron was ready to change. If anything, he was adaptable. First, he decided on his motive. The question about his identity had haunted him for too long. So, he decided that he would tread this Path, whatever it was. Yet, he remembered that he hadn''t asked Woof. So, using his thoughts, Aaron tried to convey to Woof his intentions. Woof''s mind was simple: it understood direct thoughts, but complex sentences were a no-go. So, he tried to string together three ideas: first, he sent the image of a small family of Crocodrills that they had seen when they witnessed the fight between the two dominant leaders of those tribes. Aaron had learned this trick of sending images after a long time. It had come in handy loads of times, especially when there was something that couldn''t be conveyed using just thoughts. Using the image, he tried to get the thought across that he was referring to his identity by making the parents stand out. "Wowooow?" As soon as Woof understood, it made a questioning sound after raising its head. It also knew about Aaron''s quest, as it had often seen him enter melancholy periods of silence during which it had felt his emotions of wanting to find out where he came from. Next, he focused on the picture of the baby Crocodrill, isolating it in the process before joining it with the full image again. Instantly after that, he sent the image of the Hamlet they had just visited. Through this string of thoughts, Woof understood that if Aaron wanted to find out more about his parents, or identity, then he needed to spend more time in that place with those strange structures. Well, that was fine by it. With delight, Aaron felt the thought of acknowledgment enter his mind, which meant that Woof was ready to follow him. However, when he saw what it sent next, he burst out into laughter. It was the image of that plate of steaming buns which they fought over. Promising Woof that he would definitely obtain many more buns for them to snack on, Aaron got up. Determination shone on his face. With Woof by his side, he was confident that he could accomplish anything. He knew that his life was going to change he could never have imagined, but he fixed his goal in his mind: he would get to the top of the Path to the Stars, no matter what it took. Whatever he encountered along the way, he would just take it in stride and carry on instead of getting overwhelmed and running away like this. Once Aaron became fixed on something, he knew that he would definitely see it through to the end. Patting Woof, he took one last look at his home, before heading in the direction of the Hamlet. It was time¡­to move forward.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡­ On reaching the gate, Aaron saw that Edmond was actually leaning on it and looking around. Spotting him, he waved, saying, "So you did find your way back. Come on! The Chief asked me to bring you to him the moment you arrived." Nodding stoically, Aaron followed after Edmond, remembering the expression he had seen on the man. Well¡­why not ask? In the forest, if he encountered something he didn''t understand, he would just ask Woof. There was never any need for thinking twice. So, Aaron just went with it. "Why are you so sad? Did you lose someone?" Hearing his question which was asked in a straightforward tone, Edmond stumbled and almost fell on his nose. Straightening himself, he chuckled nervously and said, "Wh-what do you mean? I''m not sad!" Oh. So he was wrong. Shrugging, Aaron just assumed that maybe, he had been mistaken. The man said he wasn''t sad. So, Aaron had no reason not to believe him. Nodding, he replied, "Ok. I thought you looked sad when the Chief stopped you before." Putting it out of his mind, Aaron followed Edmond, but the latter''s mind was in turmoil. How the hell had this guy managed to figure out that he lost someone just by his expression? Was he one of those who were said to be able to read minds using Energy Manipulation? No¡­this guy definitely didn''t even have a Core. He was just a normal human. No matter how much he thought about it, Edmond couldn''t figure it out. Resolving to conceal his emotions more effectively, he went over the plan he had formed in his head. ''This guy definitely has no idea about Teras and the ways to subdue them. He won''t know what hit him. I''m sorry, my innocent friend. If you want to blame something, blame your lack of knowledge.'' Saying this in his mind while he looked at Aaron, Edmond walked on, but after he turned away, Aaron glanced at him with a pondering expression on his face. He was very sensitive to the signs given out by any being that was in his proximity. After all, it was essential when he was on the hunt. This man seemed¡­nervous, but also excited. When he thought about it, Aaron realized that he reminded him of a Horned Rattlesnake which was lying in wait to shoot forward and strike to kill its opponent in one go using its sharp horn. Even Woof growled in a low voice, giving Aaron the signal that it had picked up something, too. Just as he decided that he would be wary around this man, he looked up to see that they had arrived at that same building where the orientation had taken place. Entering it, he found the Chief, who only waved at him in greeting and waited for him to reach him. After he did, the Chief spoke in a solemn tone. "I understand that it must have been pretty overwhelming. You had already found out so much that must have blown your mind away, so I should have been more tactful. Well, I won''t be making the same mistake twice. Here. All the basic orientation information is in this. Go through it, and take some time to adjust. I''ve assigned a room for you. Come on." Saying so, the Chief handed over a sheaf of papers, which Aaron felt curiously while that word, ''paper'', appeared in his head. They were coarse, and the scratches on them indeed contained all the information that Jenny had explained before. In response to the statement about adjusting, Aaron nodded, as he knew the importance of taking things slow. As he followed the Chief, he was led into a small house nearby which had a bed. "Read, and rest up. I''ll talk to you tomorrow. My wife will send you your food. I asked her to send a lot for your companion, too. I just want you to ease into this, slowly. So, just take it easy. See you later." Nodding again, Aaron and Woof watched as the Chief locked the door. There was an open window, so they weren''t very concerned about an exit path. The rest of the day passed peacefully, with Woof choosing to nap and Aaron going through the papers, which fascinated him even though he had heard most of it before. There was some information that hadn''t been told by Jenny, too, so he took the time to go through them all completely. At night, they enjoyed those same buns again, which made Woof quite happy. As night approached, the two prepared to rest. ¡­ Meanwhile, outside, Edmond was watching that house. Through the window, he could tell that both of them were awake. Seconds, minutes and hours passed, but the two gave no indication of going to sleep. Finally, at 2 A.M, Edmond finally saw the dog lying down, while the guy was also motionless on the bed This was his chance. Tiptoeing, he made his way to the house before entering it through the window. Quiet breathing greeted his ears, and his eyes locked on to the sleeping husky, which was his target. All it would take was a second. That piece of information he had recalled had also contained another fact: the Teras of those who survived in forests were usually those with high potential, as only those beings were capable of the instinct to protect. He wanted the Tera. It was unbound, so if he walked forward and used a tool he had bought in the city, he would be able to own it easily. After reaching the Tera, Edmond reached in his pocket to take out a syringe-like object before bending. Yet, at that exact moment, the clouds covering the moon outside parted, resulting in a ray of moonlight to fall on the Tera. In that instant, Edmond''s heart froze, as he spotted the open eyes of the Tera looking at him as if he were prey. In a flash, it lunged for his throat with its fangs. Aarons Curiousness ¡°Stop, Woof.¡± A calm voice emanated from the bed, which had been completely still until now. The Tera which had been about to puncture his skin like it was butter froze, while its breath floated into Edmond¡¯s nostrils. Beside the cold feeling of those sharp fangs which were touching his neck, this was what made him understand just how close to death he was. The Tera¡¯s breath weirdly smelled of bread, which was so out of place that Edmond almost felt like chuckling despite his nervousness. That was mainly because he knew that it was all over. He had seen the look in the eyes of the Tera right before it lunged. In fact, it was seared into his brain.Those were the eyes of a hunter, which wouldn¡¯t think twice before gobbling him up. It seemed that¡­just like everything else in his life so far, he had failed in this too. And this would be his last failure. ¡°What are you waiting? Just end it! I wanted to make your Tera a slave! Doesn¡¯t that make you angry!¡± Woof didn¡¯t understand the meaning of the word ¡®slave¡¯, but from the fury that erupted in Aaron¡¯s eyes the moment he heard it, it could tell that it was something very bad. Infuriated, it moved even closer with its maw wide open, tasting the blood of this weak human.It had never tasted human blood or flesh before, as, of course, Aaron had been the only human it knew. Yet, it could already tell that it wouldn¡¯t like the taste very much. However, this weak thing had been about to cause harm to it. So, it would have no hesitation whatsoever before chomping down. The only thing it was waiting for was Aaron¡¯s signal, but even though he had gotten angry on hearing that word, he told Woof, ¡°Back off for now, Woof. He can¡¯t run away¡­I was watching him when he came in. And his speed is appalling.¡± He said this out loud, but it was slight gestures he made with his hands that Woof understand. Woof had always been Aaron¡¯s only companion, so, even though it didn¡¯t understand the language he had in his mind, he still talked to it as if it did. And in fact, over time, Woof had come to understand most things through the sounds he made even if he didn¡¯t use the set of signals that they had made together. With a hissing sound, Edmond had taken in a sharp breath of air when he felt those fangs dig into his skin, causing two rivulets of blood to flow down his neck. After that, he had closed his eyes, waiting for the God of Death to take him. So, when he heard Aaron speak, he felt relief, first, before getting angry. He didn¡¯t mind if he was killed, but his father had always said that whatever a man did, he had to do it with dignity. Hence, he had no intention to beg for his life. From the way these two had been prepared for him, he had already understood that he had somehow given away his plan. After the Tera moved back and sat down while still keeping its eyes fixed on him, Edmond shrugged and pushed himself back, before finding the wall of the window through which he had sneaked in. Propping his back on it, he adopted a sitting position. The cold, night wind caressed the back of his head, making a small smile come on his face.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. He had nothing more to lose, so although there was a deep frustration that he would die without fulfilling even one of the wishes he had, he realised that nothing mattered any more. All he could do was hope to find forgiveness when he met his father among the stars. Seeing Edmond look completely relaxed, Aaron was puzzled. Was it that he thought that Aaron might be letting him go? Or could there be another reason? Aaron just didn¡¯t understand it. The basic, core objective of life was to survive. Even tiny beasts which were going to be eaten up by a larger predator would put up a fight, unwilling to give up their life without at least trying to escape and live on. Yet, this guy looked like he was ready to die? What was wrong with him? ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±, asked Aaron, taking a seat on the bed and looking straight into the eyes of Edmond. His hair which had been immaculate in the morning was now completely tussled, and his clothes were dusty and torn in some places. He was no longer the man he had been, and this was even reflected in his eyes, where all the valor and confidence that Aaron had seen before were gone. Aaron was¡­curious. He couldn¡¯t deny it. After living for years in a simple environment where almost all questions could be answered with two answers: fight or flight, encountering something complex like this which he didn¡¯t understand intrigued him to no end. He had always liked puzzles. In his life, he, himself, was the biggest puzzle, so he loved to solve smaller ones as they always gave him a sense of accomplishment. For instance, he would often try to find the nest of a Bladewing Pigeon from the traces it left behind, and if it was killed, he would try to figure out which of the tens of predators that were nearby could have killed it. Woof would ridicule him when he failed in these ¡®simple pursuits¡¯, as that was how it saw them. With its superior senses, it would give him the answer, or let him know if he was wrong while gloating when he asked it. This, along with one other past time which Woof always scowled at, were some of the main reasons why he hadn¡¯t gone insane because of the tough life. Hearing the question which was asked in a tone which made Edmond understand that the other party wasn¡¯t ridiculing him, he was pretty shocked. He had been expecting scorn, derision or contempt, but he now remembered that this guy wasn¡¯t someone who had grown up in human society. He had grown up among Teras, and usually, Teras wouldn¡¯t bother to show such emotions. Realizing this, Edmond saw a tiny chance that he might live. He couldn¡¯t understand why, but something told him that the best decision right now would be to answer everything he was asked. He trusted his gut, even though it had let him down multiple times before, and spoke. After all, the man in front of him couldn''t be assessed using any standards he knew. ¡°Do you mean to ask the reason behind me aiming to enslave your Tera?¡± This made Aaron frown. He knew simple emotions and motivations such as greed, so he had assumed that it might be that. Still, wanting to confirm it, he said, ¡°Yes. That, and why you are ready to die without fighting.¡± This response made Edmond take a deep breath before letting it out and beginning his tale. ¡°Where do I start? I guess I can begin with my childhood¡­¡± ¡°GRR!¡± A loud growl from the Tera which was within arm¡¯s reach of him made Edmond yelp with fright and stop speaking, before he regained his composure and looked at Aaron questioningly. Smiling, Aaron understood and said, ¡°Woof doesn¡¯t like it when any beast¡­or Tera, as you call them, speaks too much. It could tell that you became too relaxed, so it wanted to remind you that you¡¯re still on its to-eat list. You should answer clearly, fast.¡± Aaron wasn¡¯t even lying. Last time it had encountered a Tera of its own species which had gone on and on about other things, such as its troubles in finding food, without answering a simple question about the location of a predator, Woof had leaped at it and wrestled it into submission, making it spit out the answer. Aaron¡¯s answer and the cold smile on his face made Edmond gulp, before he decided that eloquence was definitely not something he should pursue now. So, he chose the short version. ¡°My mother left my father for someone more powerful, and because he tried to stop her, he is imprisoned and is going to be killed. I want a strong Tera so that I can go back and save them.¡± A Choice ¡°So?¡± Aaron answered nonchalantly, which made Edmond¡¯s eyes pop out of his skill. So? Did you just really say that? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be some sort of primitive guy who would be awed by something like this? Seeing him look so surprised, Aaron chose to explain. ¡°It¡¯s a common scene in the forest. A female Tera leaves the side of a male one if something else shows that it is stronger. The first male Tera tries to grow stronger and get revenge, but it does that with its own power, as otherwise, it would have no meaning. If other means were used, the female Tera would scoff and start looking for another mate. Power is¡­I think ¡®King¡¯ is the word. It does not explain why you wanted to enslave my friend.¡± The last sentence was uttered in an ice-cold tone, which made Edmond understand that that was something which really touched the bottom line of this guy. As for the rest, Edmond wasn¡¯t that surprised to hear it. ¡®Common behaviors of Teras¡¯ was a class he had had to sit through, but he had never paid that much attention. Now that he thought about it, he vaguely remembered something of the sort, but he couldn¡¯t have expected that this guy would associate the actions of those wild evolved animals with his story. At least, one thing had become clear; the one in front of him was definitely not as primitive and simple as he had thought. True, he might be unaware of social propriety or other complex social topics, but he wasn¡¯t a fool either. So, Edmond firmly decided not to treat him like one. Setting his face into an expression of determination, he decided to just tell the truth. Aaron watched as the various emotions flashed through Edmond¡¯s face. Seeing the determination at the end, he leaned forward, eager to solve this puzzle. ¡°Desperation. I was desperate. I was cheated out of all my money. I won¡¯t be becoming an Ascender, which would qualify me for better materials and a little bit of money. I have barely enough time left to get back before my father will be hanged. So, I just chose the easy way out. I know that your Tera is powerful. All Teras of those who survive in the forest have high potential and battle ability. This was my last chance. Now that it has failed, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ll do.¡± Towards the end, Edmond sighed sadly and hung his head low. Hearing the reality of his situation, he truly felt lost. Looking down and thinking for a bit, Aaron said, ¡°Start from what happened to your parents.¡± Nodding, Edmond took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking. He still kept the adage from before in his mind, so he made sure that he didn¡¯t go into the details too much. ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s a pretty cliched tale¡­it¡¯s told in stories everywhere. Cases of women falling for men who are much more powerful than their husbands or boyfriends. But this¡­is different. My mother and father were happily married! They had been childhood friends for more than a decade before they chose to be wed¡­I know that my mother would never do something like that. But she saw him in a City Square, and it was as if a spell came over her. My father even tried to enlist the help of a friend who was an Energy Manipulator, but he just said that there was no spell there, but he looked afraid. No one came forward to help. My father tried to take matters into his own hands, but he was imprisoned and sentenced to death because that guy had connections with people in the top echelons of the City. The guard who arrested my father even said that there were no charges! But there, I got my only chance. The Chief Guard said that if I got a strong Tera and managed to beat an Ordinary Ascender that he chose, he would let us leave and tell that guy that we are dead. That is the only chance I have¡­I wanted to get far away so that my actions wouldn¡¯t be known to them. I wanted to surprise them with a strong Tera. But all that was for naught. Everything¡­is over now.¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. BAM! Edmond had just been about to hang his head with a hopeless expression again, but he got up with a start when he heard a loud noise. Looking to the side, he stepped back with fear when he saw something lodged in the thick wooden wall right beside him. If that thing had flown just a little bit to the left¡­his face would have been smashed in by now. Clutching his heart, he tried to calm it down before turning to notice that Aaron had stood up at some point. However, looking into his eyes Edmond¡¯s face started to burn. There was such a strong aversion and disgust in Aaron¡¯s eyes that¡­Edmond started to feel more shame than he ever had in his life. He was about to look down as he couldn¡¯t afford to look at those eyes anymore, but he was stopped by an angry shout. ¡°Stop being so pathetic. I hate to see anything of that sort. You have a father you want to save, but you¡¯re sitting here, telling me your story instead of trying in every manner you can. That¡¯s just disgusting.¡± Aaron wasn¡¯t kidding. His anger had started to rise the moment he had seen Edmond bury his head between his legs. He didn¡¯t even know exactly why, but it had irritated him to no end. This was the first time he was feeling something like this, and when he thought about it, Aaron vaguely understood why. He had been among creatures which fought to live and survive with every breath of their lives for too long. In the forest, there were no useless species which wallowed in despair all day instead of doing something worthwhile. Even if there had been such species, they must have been killed off long ago. So, seeing something like this, where someone who still clearly had a chance to fight was giving up riled Aaron to no end. Right now, it was his opinion that such beings didn¡¯t even deserve to live. Edmond only stared on in shock, realizing that this ¡®primitive¡¯ guy was right. He still had methods left, but their low probability of success had made him feel hopeless. In his mind, that desperation slowly started to change into something else, something brighter, but he was interrupted by the Tera, which had just let out a sound. ¡°Woooof¡­¡± Hearing it, Edmond felt like rubbing his ears to make sure that he heard right. Why did it sound as if the Tera was being¡­disapproving? It was almost as if it was saying ¡®Here we go again¡­¡¯. As Edmond was busy examining the Tera, he didn¡¯t notice the cause of Woof¡¯s reaction: it was the expression on Aaron¡¯s face, which meant that he had decided to engage in his other past time. Each time Aaron did so, Woof remembered that it never ended that well for them, but he would still go ahead and do it. So, Woof could only follow. Smiling at Woof and knowing that it would follow him, Aaron said to Edmond, ¡°You have two choices now. You can either become a midnight snack for Woof, or you can come with me into the jungle where I¡¯ll help you find a real Bewitching Fox. After that, I¡¯ll accompany you on your journey to help your father. On the way, if I need your help, you will have to help me. Choose.¡± His second past time¡­was to help lost little Teras find their parents again, as he got a sense of accomplishment and joy on seeing them get something he wished for, for himself. A Mutual Agreement For a few seconds, Edmond could only stand there agape while staring at Aaron as if he were a madman. A Bewitching Fox! There was a reason that the Tera dealer had used that name to try and cheat people of their money. A Bewitching Fox was one of the only Teras in the surrounding areas with Rare-grade potential. Even if it only had Ordinary-level power, it was known to be able to strike terror in the hearts of other Teras, even if they were more powerful than it on paper. Edmond had had to spend all of the savings that his dad had accumulated by working as a Nature Whisperer, which was a non-combat sub-class among Energy Manipulators, for all his life. Now that he thought about it, he felt like hitting himself for getting fooled like that. That cheater must have run a double con: when he displayed the powers of the Tera, they had been exactly those of a Bewitching Fox. Yet, right before the transfer and bonding, he must have switched it out with a Foxtail Rabbit, which had the special ability to mimic a Bewitching Fox to chase away predators. His eyes shining with desire, Edmond shouted, "I''ll do anything! B-but can you really help me catch one? They are supposed to be¡­" Initially, he had been about to feel like he was over the moon, but slight doubt appeared in Edmond after he remembered everything he had learned about Bewitching Foxes in school. These were some of the trickiest creatures to catch, so he wondered how someone who hadn''t even integrated with a Core could be capable of such a feat. Yet, his excitement returned when he heard Aaron''s reply. "Don''t worry about that. Woof and I know all the tricks of those things. Are you sure about your choice? I have to warn you. If I see you being pathetic like before even once, I''ll consider it to be you choosing the first option. Is that ok?" In response, Edmond nodded hurriedly. First of all, he was happy that he wasn''t going to die. Although he had felt as if he had been ready to die, the resentment in him had also been so sizeable that it almost made him collapse to the ground due to the pain it caused. Second, although he didn''t fully believe Aaron yet, he felt as if this was an opportunity that he should use. No one could know a forest better than someone who had lived in one. Right now, Aaron looked like a savior who had come to help Edmond. He had heard those tales about passionate youths having chance encounters in remote places, where they encounter entities of magnificent power that would help them on their quest for revenge. Was that going to happen to him, too? A voice interrupted his daydream. "Oh, and, by the way, if you end up dying in the process, I won''t be to blame. I''ll try to save you, but if it means that I have to sacrifice myself, then you''re on your own. I''ll just be on my way. Is that ok?"The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Yeah¡­With this sentence, that image of Edmond''s was dashed. No magnificent entity would say stuff like this to the young hero whom it wanted to help. Edmond was prone to wild fantasies, which was something his father used to scold him about. Coming back to reality, Edmond realised that this was definitely a partnership in which he should be careful. From the tone in which his ''saviour'' had spoken, it had become clear that he really would be left on his own if he encountered a situation like that. Aaron had added this as an afterthought as he was now dealing with a human with whom he could talk to. At the end of the day, this was still a past time, so there was no way that he would heroically risk his own life to save someone who didn''t mean anything to him. His main motive behind this offer was actually different. ''Oh, yes, it''s better that I tell him about that, too.'' This thought came in Aaron''s mind, and it never occurred to him that he had to keep his motives secret. He had nothing to hide. But¡­at the last moment, Aaron decided to keep the reason under wraps, as it didn''t concern the one in front of him. "I''m only doing this for you on a whim, and because I need someone to help me with the ways of the world when I Ascend the Path to the Stars. I need to get to the top of it." If it was a random Tera in the forest, Aaron would have just made an effort to help it before going on his way if it was too dangerous. But this was someone of his own species, who could think like him. So, Aaron felt a need to be straightforward if he was going to spend some time with this man. Over the years, he had realized that he hated Teras which engaged in deceitful actions such as feigning weakness. Although such Teras were few, they did exist. He valued a straightforward fight the most, where the loser could attempt to flee if there was no chance at victory. He and Woof always adopted that thinking in their life, too. Although complex things intrigued him, he liked to keep stuff simple and direct. Meanwhile, Edmond had completely wiped away his thoughts from before and was just now closing his jaw that had fallen again. Setting aside the tall claim about Ascending to the top which he chose not to comment about, he realized that this was just a partnership for mutual benefit. Hell, he was even the one benefiting most. This was definitely an excellent opportunity that he had no intention of missing. Thinking like so, he stretched out his hand and said, "I''m fine with all of it. Let''s start over, then. I''m Edmond." Nodding, with a smile, Aaron walked over and shook his hand, which resulted in a scream that woke up the Hamlet dwellers in three houses around them. Understanding that the Chief hadn''t been kidding when he said that he shouldn''t shake Aaron''s hand if he didn''t want his to be bandaged for a week, Edmond left the room and went back to his own, massaging the swollen fingers and cursing due to the pain, all while looking forward to tomorrow and feeling very thankful that he had chosen to follow his gut and speak, instead of accepting death and feeling cheeky which would have led him to become that Tera''s chewtoy. ... The next morning, Aaron woke up refreshed. The bed was softer than 99% of the places he usually slept in in the forest. Also, there was no leaking water, loud roars or crawling insects to disturb his sleep/ "Owoow woof." Seeing him wake up, Woof stood up and made a sound. That meant that it had to relieve itself. Such moments were some of the most dangerous. Hence, one of them always watched the surroundings when the other went about their business. Usually, they would try to find a nearby stream or river so that they could also wash themselves. So, Aaron yawned and walked out of the door, but he was surprised when he saw Edmond waiting for him. In his hand was some sort of branch. Seeing Aaron, he smiled and said, "Good morning! Time for me to keep my end of our bargain. This¡­is a branch of the Sweetmint Tree, which you will be using a toothbrush. Time to get rid of those yellow teeth." Hunt(1) That morning was one of the strangest in Aaron¡¯s and Woof''s lives. Actually, if he didn¡¯t count a few days on which they had woken up just inches away from being eaten, this would be THE weirdest one. Frowning when he heard Edmond say ¡®yellow teeth¡¯, Aaron wanted to say that there was nothing wrong with his teeth, but he didn¡¯t when Edmond took out a vaguely round object on which Aaron saw his own face, exactly as if he were looking into the surface of a calm lake. The image wasn¡¯t very clear as there were imperfections on the object, which was called a ¡®mirror¡¯ according to Aaron¡¯s memory, but on it, he could clearly see that there was a yellow sheen when he opened his mouth. Even though he had never had access to tools, Aaron was used to taking care of his teeth and other bodily hygiene using water from a stream or lake whenever they had the opportunity to get near them. He would use his fingers and water, and he had always felt that that was enough. Alas, he had yet to realize that he was now in human society, where each and every aspect of a person could be judged. He was led to that same spot where it had ¡®rained¡¯ on him before, where he was pushed into one of the stalls before being shown the correct method by Edmond. Surprisingly, just one instance of using that branch which gave off a sweet smell resulted in his teeth getting whiter. After that, he had to relieve himself in a hole on the ground.A hole! ¡®How do these people have the time to clear these holes every day?¡¯, he wondered, while trying to aim properly during both his activities as he had been told by Edmond not to make a mess. However, it was only during his activity that he noticed that it wasn¡¯t just a hole in the mud; no, this hole had a layer of some sort of material, and when he opened the door and said that he was done after washing himself using the water placed to the side, Edmond pointed at a latch on the inside of the stall, which Aaron pulled. The sound of rushing water reached his ears, before a flood inundated the contents of the hole and swept them away. No more smell or mess?! His eyes open wide, Aaron marveled at the practicality before calling to Woof, who had been watching from outside with a very suspicious look on its face. It was obvious that it didn¡¯t like this, not one bit. Yet, on Aaron¡¯s insistence, Woof walked inside while Aaron walked out and closed the door. ¡°Wooow wooow oooww¡­.¡± ¡°Row! Row wow!!¡± First, they heard puzzled growls, before a loud bark caused all those in the stalls adjacent to the one Woof was in to run out in fright. Was there some sort of Tera attack going on? That, too, here?!When they heard Edmond who gave an explanation after letting out a sigh, the hamlet folk looked at Aaron strangely. Meanwhile, Aaron had opened the door to find that Woof had accidentally turned the faucet for the running water, and as the faucet was angled downward so that the water could be filled in a container if needed, Woof was currently fighting that jet of water as if it were an attack from some water-type Tera.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Laughing out loud, he went inside and turned off the faucet before giving Woof detailed instructions. Although Woof grumbled, Aaron just walked out, trusting it to adapt. Looking at Edmond, he asked, ¡°Why did you and the others look at Woof like that?¡± Indeed, when he had led the husky inside, Edmond had given a strange look exactly like the other hamlet folk who had run out. His eyes darting around, Edmond looked like he was wondering whether he should answer. Finally, he just shrugged and said, ¡°Because Teras are usually led outside by most so that they can answer nature¡¯s call in the forest.¡± This made Aaron frown as a confused expression came on his face. ¡°But¡­why? They use this, right?¡± ¡°Err¡­yes. But they¡¯re the Tera Masters. Never mind¡­you¡¯ll take time to understand. You already bathed yesterday, right?¡± Aaron looked at Edmond for a few seconds with that same confusion, but he let it go, acknowledging that he shouldn¡¯t get fixated on things, as there was a lot of stuff he had to learn. This time, he bathed both himself and Woof, who found the leaves that he used to scrub the dirt off to be very tasty. However, after it bit into one of them, it wrinkled its nose and spit it out, sending a very strong thought that said ¡®bitter¡¯ through Aaron¡¯s hand. Aaron was slowly getting comfortable with where they were, so he laughed again. Usually, they did have moments of mirth in the forest where Aaron wouldn¡¯t hesitate to regale the trees with laughter, and more often than not, it was when Woof, who was captivated with food just as much as him, tried odd things and ended up having reactions to them. Of course, some times, it happened to him, too, but after one certain mushroom had resulted in a harrowing situation, he had curbed his curiosity. The only reason he had been so stoic the day before was that he was in a new place that he wasn¡¯t familiar with. After they were done, Woof¡¯s fur shone in the sun, causing a gang of kids who were passing by to stop and stare with their mouths open in an ¡®O¡¯ shape. This ensued in another chase, with Woof helplessly barking at Aaron and asking for help, while the latter only watched on with a snicker, remembering all the times Woof had allowed him to be chased around until the last moment before swooping in to save him. From time to time, he glanced at Edmond, who had an impatient expression on his face. Well, there was a deadline. Used to a carefree life, this concept of deadlines was new, so Aaron had needed some time to get used to it. After having a hearty breakfast of more buns, which was apparently the standard food and was made tastier by spicy condiments such as pastes made from certain plants, Aaron finally said, ¡°Let¡¯s go catch that Wolf for you¡±. This made Edmond¡¯s eyes light up, while electricity seemed to travel through his body, giving him unprecedented energy. He had been waiting for this for what felt like a long time, and it was the whole reason he had even been enthusiastic while showing Aaron stuff that was usually taught to babies. As he led the way toward the forest, Aaron entered a deep introspection about how the favorite thing he liked so far about human society was the food. On the side, Woof howled with joy, as if echoing his thought. He was still adjusting to this new life which was so different, but the food was definitely helping in that adjustment, even though he had only had a single dish so far. As for the joy that came from being able to finally pursue the biggest mystery of his life, that was firmly in his mind, along with a thrill that seemed to have been born recently which made him want to discover and experience more of this fascinating new world he had found. Finding himself at the edge of the forest, Aaron looked up and first remembered everything he had read in that booklet that the Chief had given him before. Looking at Edmond, he asked, ¡°You need an¡­Ordinary level Bewitching Fox, right? Because you only have an Ordinary Grade Core?¡± Nodding, Edmond replied, ¡°Yes. I see you¡¯ve read the booklet. Teras have Potential, which is basically the level they can evolve to. Teras with high potential are more powerful than other Teras with lower potential at the same level. Higher potential Teras also gain power faster. The level also dictates the number of abilities a Tera has. With each increase in level, a Tera evolves in some way. Right now, there is no specific way to measure the level except grade it according to the number of abilities, which is usually the same number as the number of special mutations which differentiates a Tera from the animal it was before the apocalypse. Unlike humans, Teras can absorb Energy and grow even when outside, but being in a Core increases the absorption of Energy drastically. Fighting results in more absorption and faster growth, too.¡± Seeing Edmond rattle away all the important information, Aaron raised an eyebrow before saying, ¡°I already learned all that from the booklet, but thanks for the recap. Unless you want to stop and give more speeches like a Loudmouth Baboon, let¡¯s go.¡± Hunt(2) 20 minutes later, Woof was yawning while Aaron had his arms folded, viewing the scene in front of them. A bird that looked like a woodpecker but had a beak which glinted in the sun was chasing around Edmond, who had just stretched his hand up and dislodged the nest that the bird had made, resulting in it becoming very angry. His feet kept getting stuck in the gnarly roots dotting the surface of the forest, and he kept bumping into the trees on his way as he was busy covering his head with his hands. These Swordbeak Woodcutters, which was the name that had appeared in Aaron¡¯s mind when he looked at them. It was accurate as their sharp, blade-like beaks looked like swords which were sharp on both the tip and the edges where the two parts of the beak separated. These creatures were known to target the skulls of those they attacked, so it was vital for one to cover their head when tussling with one. Aaron had actually been surprised that Edmond knew this, but after seeing him be chased around for 3 minutes, he realized that was all he knew. Clearly, he had no idea how to appease a Swordbeak Woodcutter so that it would go about its life and not fixate on digging its beak into it''s opponent¡¯s skull. These were pesky creatures which kept a grudge, and they were even hard to kill as they would just fly up into the air if they detected danger. ¡°Ow! Get off me, you damn bird! It was a mistake! I¡¯m sorry! What do you want me to do! Dammit, why are there so many roots here! Ow, that bark is sharp!¡± Laments like these kept spewing from Edmond¡¯s mouth, resulting in Aaron finally deciding to step in as he didn¡¯t want to attract more predators due to the din. This had been a small test to see how able Edmond was, and the man had failed with flying colors. ¡°Pick up the nest and put it back,¡± he said with exasperation, resisting the urge to add an additional word to his sentence. ¡°I know that¡¯s what I¡¯m supposed to do! But if I stop and bend, it¡¯ll kill me!¡± Indeed, in his classes in school, Edmond had learned about the most simple way to resolve a grudge between a Tera and a human. If a mistake was made by the latter which could be resolved, then it was better to set that right, as all Teras had at least the basic intelligence not to pursue someone at the risk of their lives if there was no reason to do so. It was common sense, in a way, but it had to be taught to deter the human population who were still stuck with the superiority complex that had existed before the apocalypse. He had been trying to reach the nest, but each time he did, he was scared that he would remove one hand from his head only to get a hole in his skull. Occasionally, he would look at Aaron and the very judging Woof by his side, whose eyes seemed to express what it thought of him. It was looking at him as if he was a fool. How the heck could a dog have such expressive eyes? Of course, Edmond had no time to think on philosophical questions such as these, as the Woodpecker seemed to be losing its patience. Jus like Aaron had said before, this was just a mutual agreement where he would do his part and not care about Edmond much. Initially, he had decided that he wouldn¡¯t take help unless it was necessary, as this was supposed to be a give-and-take.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Yet, now, he either had to kill his pride and ask for help, or accept that he would die in the most unfortunate way possible. Thankfully, Aaron spoke up at that moment. ¡°How did you pass through the forest if you don¡¯t even know simple stuff like this? A Swordbeak Woodpecker values its nest a lot as it spends months building it. If you are close to it, it won¡¯t attack.¡± ¡°Really? But it was still attacking when I went close before!¡± ¡°Dumbass, get closer!¡± Aaron hadn¡¯t been able to control himself any longer. So, he just used the curse word which came to him naturally, and it had felt as if this fit the situation the most. It made Edmond grit his teeth, but he chose to trust the jungle boy. Running in the direction of the nest that was still intact as it seemed to be made from some material which looked like thin reeds but was actually very resilient, Edmond braced himself and bent. His finger touched the nest, but his eyes were closed as he was expecting to feel his skull being pecked into at any moment now. Yet, nothing happened. Turning his head around, he noticed the Woodpecker which was the size of his palm hovering in the air with its eyes displaying its fury. Using the opportunity, Edmond immediately picked up the nest and put it back on the branches from where it had been knocked off by his hand. He tensed as the Woodpecker glared at him for a few more seconds, but after that, it made a sound that made Edmond feel as if it was saying ¡°Watch yourself if you don¡¯t want to get pecked¡± before flying back to its nest and ignoring him. It was a mistake! But this damn bird was showing so much attitude! Remembering a recipe for bird soup, Edmond smacked his lips, vowing to return here when he was more powerful. He was someone who held grudges, which was known by all the bullies in the City of Dion who had been beaten up when he became stronger even though the act of them bullying him had happened years ago. ¡°If you don¡¯t want our agreement to end prematurely because I would have to leave if you do more stupid stuff and attract something that is really dangerous, then keep your arms and legs close to you. And look at the ground while walking. You don¡¯t look up in a forest.¡± Hearing this, Edmond was at a loss for words. He had traversed through multiple forests on his way to Skystead Hamlet, but he had always been on the path placed down by the World Government for Ascenders to get between settlements. He had thought that doing that would make it so that going into the forest would be a piece of cake, but he was so, very wrong. The path was smooth, and only a few weak Teras had come in his way, which ran away as soon as his ¡®Bewitching Fox¡¯ appeared on the scene, which had further bolstered his confidence. Grumbling under his breath, he said, ¡°Fine,¡± and followed Aaron. Aaron knew that this wasn¡¯t the end of this clumsy human¡¯s blunders, but thankfully, except for a few stumbles and falls, nothing like the incident before happened. Finally, after 2 hours, Aaron raised a hand to stop Edmond, who looked as if he was dying. His clothes were completely torn due to the multiple thorny bushes on the way that he hadn¡¯t known he was supposed to avoid. Aaron always avoided them naturally, so there were no clues to pick up there. The clay waterbottle he had borrowed in the Hamlet had been broken long ago when he had been chased, so he had had no water and was parched. On the way, he seemed to have also touched a nasty Venom Ivy, as his whole body had become red and had become very itchy. All in all, he was close to giving up and asking whether they could come back later. How the heck was he supposed to know that the actual forest would be so terrifying? Besides, this whole experience was that much more irritating when he remembered that the entire journey had been filled with the husky laughing at him whenever he stumbled or fell. Wait¡­at one moment, it had laughed very loudly! Was that when he touched the Venom Ivy? Damn this sadistic dog! He was just about to curse out loud, but when he heard Aaron speak, all of that flew out of his mind. ¡°There¡¯s a family of Bewitching Foxes ahead. Get ready. How much time do you need to Bind one?¡± That was the official term used in the booklet to refer to the act of a Tera Master bonding his Core with a Tera. ¡°10 minutes. I don¡¯t need help defeating one, I have a special object that I used a lot of money to buy that will put any Ordinary level Tera in a trance long enough for my Core to Bind it. It was what I was going to use on your¡­never mind.¡± Of course, Aaron understood. Yet, this wasn¡¯t the time to squabble. So, he stated his plan, which made Edmond look at him as if he were mad. ¡°Get it ready. I¡¯ll grab a Fox and get it to you, while Woof distracts its father. That Fox has a vendetta against Woof, so it¡¯ll definitely chase for at least 10 minutes. I¡¯ll hold off the other, weaker Fox brothers and sisters while you finish. Oh, and, before that, you should climb that tree to the top so that you won¡¯t be a target. Just don¡¯t disturb more nests. And, I think there¡¯s a Giant Eagle nearby that can swallow you whole, so be careful. Got it?¡± Hunt(End) ¡°Up you go.¡± ¡°Rrrrraaw!¡± Before Edmond could voice any complaints about the many problems with this plan, this sentence from Aaron made Woof come near him with its fangs visible. Its growl was filled with the same ferocious might that he had seen when it had been about to rip into his throat yesterday night. By instinct, Edmond moved back and felt a tree, which he promptly started to climb using the low-lying branches that he could use to hoist himself up. Wait¡­did this mean they were really going with that plan? He didn¡¯t even know where to start! For example, weren¡¯t they going to think about what they would do if some aspect fails? For example, what should they do if Woof failed to garner enough interest from the Father Fox, resulting in a Rare level creature that could rip them to shreds coming to this scene when he was stuck on top of a tree? In that situation, if Aaron left, wouldn¡¯t he be a sitting duck? And what was that about a f*cking Giant Eagle? That was another Rare-grade beast which really would swallow him whole! Just as he was about to open his mouth, Aaron spoke again, cutting him off and making him shut up. ¡°We don¡¯t have time. Get up there fast. Woof says it smells food, which means they are eating. It¡¯s when they¡¯re most relaxed.¡± Gulping, Edmond realized that there was nothing more to say. All he could do was pray that nothing would go wrong. Well, just the day before, he had been ready to die, so, when he thought about that, this wasn¡¯t too much of a challenge. His teacher at school, who was a powerful Tera Master always used to say that in this age, only those who were ready to take risks would succeed. So, with a determined expression on his face, Edmond climbed higher and higher while taking care not to disturb the nests that were on certain branches. It was only when he was 10 feet up in the air did he stop. Nodding, Aaron shouted, ¡°Stay put. When I have the Fox, I¡¯ll throw it to you!¡± What? This high? Are you sure about that? Edmond felt like asking that, but he just nodded. Watching as the man and the dog both left, he found himself alone, with the sounds of nature all around him. He listened to this melody while trying to stay alert. 10 minutes later, a loud howl that was coming from somewhere nearby made him snap his head up. That was a Bewitching Fox! These Foxes had been given this name due to the hypnotic pheromones that they released whenever they wanted, which had the effect of making those affected feel drowsy and tired. A dulling of senses also accompanied these effects, and the intensity varied according to the level difference between the Fox and its target. However, even on a target of the same level, this attack of the Bewitching Fox was highly effective, giving it a way to gain an edge over any battle. Just as he was going to remember the type, combat role, and other information about the Bewitching Fox, he saw Aaron frantically running toward the tree he was on with a small Fox in his hands. This Fox looked like it had been knocked out cold by a rock, as blood was oozing from a wound on its head. It filled his hands, looking like it was at least a half a meter long and a 10th of a meter wide.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It had glossy, red fur, and this lent it a cute look that made it so that it was sought after by all the high-profile ladies in the City who could afford to buy one. Right as Aaron was about to reach the tree, he stepped on a boulder and vaulted himself into the air smoothly before throwing the Fox in Edmond¡¯s direction. Edmond was sitting on a thick branch with his legs coiled around it, and he was prepared. Using his legs as support, he bent forward and expertly caught the Fox. He hadn¡¯t been named his Street¡¯s most prominent Catcher in the game of softball for nothing. Even though it looked like the Fox was unconscious, Edmond decided to use the ¡®Trance-Infuser¡¯ anyway just to be safe. After all, there were numerous stories about how a Tera Master had his hand bitten off because he thought a Tera was unconscious and ready to be Bound when it was actually not. The three-pronged needle of the syringe with yellowish liquid easily punctured the Fox¡¯s skin after giving a little resistance. After the entire solution entered the Fox, Edmond made his Core appear. In anticipation of this Binding, he had already broken the link with the Foxtail Rabbit and allowed it to run away into the forest, as it was practically a worthless Tera which he didn¡¯t have any reason to keep. Touching the Core to the forehead of the Fox, Edmond followed the process that he had been taught in school. First, he had to close his eyes and focus on the feeling that was being transmitted to his brain via the Core. Cores which were integrated into one¡¯s body were practically a part of that body, like an extra appendage. Hence, just like the skin, one could feel tactile sensations from a Core. The fur on the Fox¡¯s forehead was soft, and Edmond focused on it while blocking out all other sounds and sensations. Then, he had to focus on the Core, which resulted in him getting the feeling that it was some sort of closed container that had a swirling, white mist inside it. This was the Energy naturally absorbed by the Core. Lastly, he had to direct that Energy into the fur. That was all he needed to do. He had to keep up this flow of Energy for 10 minutes, after which he would know if the Binding was successful. However, 3 minutes in, sharp pain raced up his left leg, which made him snap his eyes open and stop the process. Looking down, he realized with horror that a large chunk of his left leg, which had been dangling down from the branch, had been bitten off. As that state of concentration was gone, the full brunt of the pain hit him, making him scream out in pain. Yet, he knew that he wasn¡¯t supposed to attract attention, so Edmond quickly forced his hand into his mouth, biting down hard on it and tasting blood but succeeding in the mission of not making any noise. Looking down, he witnessed a sight he would never forget. Aaron was surrounded by 6 Bewitching Foxes which were all circling him warily. He was shirtless, exposing his lean, powerful muscles that were definitely capable of very explosive strength. His shirt was being used a rucksack, inside which there were numerous sharp stones neatly piled together. One of those stones was in his hand, and as a Fox on the right side lunged at him, he threw it as expertly and naturally as if he was a Flame Tongued Viper which was accurately shooting its Flaming Poison. In other words, this almost seemed like an ability of his which would have been recorded in the TeraTome, if he were a Tera. The rock squarely impacted with the soft forehead of the Fox, making it fall to the ground unconscious. This was when Edmond noticed that there were 10 Foxes lying unconscious around him, which made him take in a sharp breath. ¡°I can¡¯t hold them off for long! They know you¡¯re up there! Make it faster!¡± As Aaron shouted this, Edmond saw a specific Fox with bloody teeth which was chewing on something look up at him. The damn thing was chewing on his flesh! Gritting his teeth, Edmond took care to raise his legs while wincing before placing them on the branch so that they wouldn¡¯t hang down like before. Getting back to the Fox in his hands, he started the process again. Ignoring the pain, he managed to complete it this time, as there were no further interruptions. In his mind, the dodecahedron-shaped Core that he had visualized now had a white, slightly glowing ball which pulsed along with the heartbeat of the Fox that he could feel through its skin. Yes! The Binding was a success! Resisting the urge to whoop with delight, Edmond shouted, ¡°I¡¯m done!¡± before focusing on that glowing ball and the feeling of the fur together. He felt the weight of the Fox disappear from his arms, and, the next second, a faint image of the sleeping Fox was visible in his mind, inside the glowing ball. The Tera had been successfully absorbed into the Core. ¡°Good! Stay up there! No matter what you do, don¡¯t come down! We¡¯ll come to get you!¡± ¡°All right!¡± Giving his reply, Edmond took off his vest and wrapped it around his leg to stop the blood from flowing. Ideally, he would use the paste from a specific plant to completely stop the blood flow, but it wasn¡¯t available right now. So, he made do with the vest. ¡°Hey, you pathetic rats! Come chase me if you think you can catch up!¡± Taunting the foxes like so, Aaron bolted away on all fours in a direction, while the foxes surprisingly growled with anger and followed as if they had understood the insult. Time passed slowly, but even though Edmond tried hard to stay awake, the blood loss was making him feel very weary. Finally, a few minutes later, he laid his back on the trunk of the tree behind him before closing his eyes and losing consciousness. Right before the darkness took him, he wondered if he would ever see the light again. The Chiefs Opinion Edmond only remembered flashes of that. He didn¡¯t remember Aaron picking him up as if he weighed nothing and bringing him down the tree before he was placed on Woof¡¯s back who ran quickly toward the Hamlet. He didn¡¯t remember the Chief walking out personally to escort them to the Healer¡¯s Cabin, where the Energy Manipulator started to work on him. He didn¡¯t remember his eyes being repeatedly opened while the healer checked whether he was alive and responsive. All he did remember was one image that appeared in his mind over and over again. It was the image of his father- the man who had raised him being imprisoned and bound in barb-filled chains which made blood flow from his shoulders, back, and chest. He also remembered the screams which had reverberated in the underground cell, which were of his father begging the soldiers that his son be taken away so that he wouldn¡¯t have to watch his father being tortured. Although this had happened only a few days ago, he had already buried it deep in his mind, where it flew out from now that he only had his twisted self for company. That moment had broken him, and the only reason he was alive right now was the hope given by the leader of those soldiers who had promised that his father would be released, alive, if he managed to obtain a powerful Tera and defeat the one he chose. That motive was the only thing pushing him forward. He had lost too much blood, and this had given birth to a permanent darkness that wanted to engulf him and take him into its clutches, forever, so that they could be one. Yet, there was no way that he would give in. He clung on with all he had to the last straws which were helping him avoid that pit of darkness. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how sleepy he got, he hung on, knowing that giving up now meant a frustrating death. Each time he even went close to thinking about giving up just like how he had done in front of Aaron the night before, that image of Aaron looking at him with those eyes of disgust would float into his vision, giving him renewed strength to not look pathetic in the eyes of that guy. Finally, after an inestimable amount of time passed, that darkness receded and disappeared, following which Edmond completely lost consciousness. On his bedside, Aaron was sitting and staring at him with an indecipherable expression on his face. ¡°Oow wow wow rarr.¡± Woof, whose tail was touching his legs while it, too, gazed at Edmond¡¯s face, made this sound without looking at Aaron. ¡°Yes, of course, he was dumb to let his legs hang! But, cut him some slack. You remember how bad I was when you first found me?¡± ¡°Ooow! Ow Ow Ow!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t laugh! It is commendable that he hung on, you know. Remember that time when I lost so much blood after my back was mauled by a young Fire-Breathing Elephant? He lost even more blood than that. I had to run for a long time to make them confused. By the time I got back, he was so pale that I thought he was dead. I was even going to say ¡®Sorry¡¯ and bury him.¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Whoa, there! That¡¯s it? You were just going to say ¡®Sorry¡¯? He trusted you and entered that forest!¡± Interrupted by the Chief who had appeared at the door a few minutes ago, Aaron turned to him with raised eyebrows, as if asking what was wrong with that. He had already felt the presence of the Chief as soon as he entered, even though the man had been thinking that he was silently eavesdropping. Walking forward and shaking his head, the Chief first checked the round, transparent container in which there was a fluid that was being pumped into Edmond¡¯s body. This was apparently a mixture of certain mutated plants and other materials which was designed to allow a body to fight against an injury and even regenerate flesh slowly, provided the injury wasn¡¯t too serious. Apparently, it was a restricted resource distributed by the World Government to only authorized settlements. Even though it was magical in its own right, at the end of the day, at least, in this case, the Healer had said that it all came down to Edmond¡¯s will to survive. And in that department, Edmond hadn¡¯t disappointed. After making sure that the solution was still moving, the Chief took a seat on the opposite side of the bed and looked at the 18-year old and the dog admonishingly. ¡°You two are responsible for this. Even if not completely, you do have a part in it. If he had died, it would partly have been on you. And because of that, you should have felt regret and anger.¡± Huh? Really? With a puzzled expression, Aaron pondered on the Chief¡¯s words for a few moments before replying. ¡°Why? I already told him to be careful, and that I¡¯m not responsible if he dies. All we have is a mutual agreement, like when a Spike-Tailed Beaver partners with a Razer-Tooth Squirrel to fight off a predator when going after a spot with food. The two fight together, but if one is careless and ends up dying, the other goes ahead without any remorse.¡± This example made the Chief feel flabbergasted. He realized that telling what he wanted to say normally wouldn¡¯t have any effect. This guy had grown up in a terrifying world where power and survival was everything. He had probably led a simple life where emotions like these didn¡¯t figure much into his life. So, the Chief thought for a moment, and finally hit on an idea. ¡°Look, Aaron. That might be so with Teras, but humans are different. Humans feel compassion, love, respect, and a host of other emotions. I¡¯ve heard people say that in this age, Teras feel them, too, just like us, but I¡¯ve never seen a Tera like that yet. Let me put it to you in simple terms. Even in the forest, a family is everything to a Tera, right? It would do anything to protect its family?¡± Of course! Was that even a question? Aaron simply nodded, while the Chief continued. ¡°We humans are one big family. That is how we survive in this world. We help each other. We care for each other. We strive to grow better, together. This is also why the World Government set up the Path to the Stars: so that it could give a Path for all humans to grow stronger without greedily desiring power only for itself. Look, Aaron. I don¡¯t know if Teras are also capable of thinking like this, and I don¡¯t care. All I know is that if a human dies, I would feel regret and sadness, as it means that even if that human was my enemy or someone I didn¡¯t like, at the end of the day, the human race lost a soldier who could have done a lot to fight back against the Teras. Some might argue otherwise, but this is my opinion. You can take it or leave it. My advice is this: even though you grew up in the jungle, you should understand that you are among your own species now. Do not think of other humans in the same way in which you think about random Teras. Your outlook needs to change. I can only say this much. The rest¡­you should learn by yourself. Observe. Think. Reflect. But above all, grow.¡± Leaving these words, the Chief left the room. However, Aaron¡¯s sight remained on the spot where the Chief had been sitting while he tried to understand what he had just been told. Humans were all¡­one big family? One big family. Big family. Family. This word stayed in his mind, and as he looked at Edmond, he tried to feel something like what the Chief had said. He failed, as it just didn¡¯t make sense to him that he had to care for this useless guy whom he had known for a single day. Still, Aaron didn¡¯t give up. He stopped attempts to make him feel something, but he did continue to think on the Chief¡¯s words. Yet, he was constantly interrupted by Woof, who kept sending thoughts of food to his mind, which made Aaron sigh and get up to find Mrs. Ernst for more buns. However, just as he was about to leave, he felt a hand grab hold of his. It was Edmond, who looked straight into his eyes and exclaimed weakly: ¡°I¡¯m not pathetic!¡± A Goal of Humanity When Aaron turned around with surprise to look into Edmond¡¯s eyes, it was as if he was seeing two burning embers, defiantly combusting themselves to drive back the darkness. This was definitely a moment he would remember throughout his life. He had never before seen such undefeatable determination before, and it was even more shocking when he remembered that it was from someone whom he had considered to be pathetic just a day ago. He couldn¡¯t comprehend how someone could have changed that much in such a short span of time. In the forest, he had seen both types of creatures: valiant like the Edmond now, and pathetic like the Edmond before. Yet, he had never seen, nor heard of a creature that was like the former turning into the latter in the span of a day. Steady growth was possible, but such a polar shift¡­was unseen and unheard of. Even Woof was stunned. It kept staring into those eyes, wondering whether this was the same guy who had been about to become its snack the day before. Either he had been very wrong about Edmond before¡­or, there really was something special about humans. Aaron touched Wood¡¯s fur to take its opinion, but when he saw that it, too, was pretty shocked, he shook his head. This was¡­interesting. Another puzzle? Maybe. Edmond¡¯s hand was holding onto Aaron¡¯s like a vice, and when he tried to shake it off, it didn¡¯t let go. It seemed as if Edmond wasn¡¯t willing to let go unless Aaron agreed that he wasn¡¯t pathetic. However, before he could say anything, Edmond closed his eyes and went back to sleep. It looked like that was all he was capable of in this state, and even though he wasn¡¯t staring at Aaron and demanding an acknowledgment anymore, Aaron decided to speak anyway. ¡°I agree. You¡¯re not that pathetic.¡± ¡°Ooowwooowwow.¡± Woof echoed this thought, and that was when a small smile spread across Edmond¡¯s face. Shaking his head, Aaron kept thinking about those eyes while he left the room and headed to Mrs. Ernst to get some buns. By the time he came back, Edmond was sitting up on his bed with a weak smile on his face. He was looking down and constantly caressing that spot between his knuckles where the Core always appeared from, but when he heard Aaron enter, he looked up and shouted, ¡°We did it! You held up your end of the bargain!¡± He didn¡¯t look like he was too unhappy about almost dying, which was something Aaron had expected. It seemed that the excitement over obtaining a Tera with Rare-grade potential was blocking out all other feelings right now. For now, Aaron pushed aside all the thoughts about what he had seen in Edmond and what the Chief had said.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. His conclusion after his ruminations had been this: he would just have to wait and see more before making any kind of judgment. Right now, he was most interested in the Bewitching Fox that he had thrown toward Edmond. Was that really it? Was that all that was needed to bind a Tera? According to the booklet and what the Chief had said, this relationship was one-sided: a Tera Master could kill the Tera if he wished by causing the Energy that was sent during the Binding to implode, but the Tera wasn¡¯t capable of anything like that. Wasn¡¯t that too one-sided? Wasn¡¯t that like slavery, almost? Woof was his friend, and when he looked at the husky, he couldn¡¯t imagine ever having it agree to such a Bond. The Chief had also come to check on Edmond after finding that he had woken up, so Aaron decided to ask. ¡°Chief, isn¡¯t the Tera Bond like slavery? Isn¡¯t it unfair to Teras?¡± This was something that had been bothering him slightly ever since he had heard the explanation about Tera Masters from the Chief. Yet, he had been waiting to see whether he could figure out the answer himself. Hearing his question, all three- Edmond, the Healer, and the Chief shot him a weird look. When Aaron was witness to this look, he realized that it was the same one that he had seen when he had asked Edmond about why Teras were required to go outside to relieve themselves, instead of using the bathroom stalls like humans. The Healer looked at Chief, and even Edmond did the same, as if deciding that he wasn¡¯t capable of answering this question. Seeing this, the Chief sighed and folded his hands. ¡°Yes, Aaron. It is unfair. But Teras aren¡¯t completely left without a way to escape, you know. You need to understand something which is not written in the booklet. Most times, it is best to entice a Tera into entering a Bond on its own volition, but tempting it with the increased rate of growth and other benefits. This results in an equal relationship, where the Tera would be willing and happy to coordinate with the Tera Master.¡± Hearing this, Aaron nodded. This was how he had imagined Tera Masters, too, initially, but that had changed after he saw how Aaron Bound that Bewitching Fox. ¡°However, the problem is communication. No matter how much humanity has tried, we haven¡¯t been able to form a language with which we can communicate with Teras effectively. The only thing we can do is use common gestures such as pointing. It is different after a Bond has been made, but even then, only the simplest commands can be sent. That is why those like you are so special. As you¡¯ve spent a lot of time with the Tera, you must have built some sort of system to communicate with each other. Many say that the true dream of humanity is to find a way to speak to Teras, as, then, we would be able to easily understand their thoughts and needs instead of having to guess, which would make the profession of Tera Masters so much easier. Yes, I know its pretty shocking.¡± The Chief said the last sentence on seeing the shock that had appeared on Aaron¡¯s face, but he didn¡¯t know that that shock had a different reason. Aaron¡­had always been able to send his thoughts and images to Woof through touch. He had always thought that it was something that all humans could do. Yet, now, he had found out that that was supposed to be impossible. What was he even supposed to think? Was he special, or was the Chief just not aware that this was possible? Either way, Aaron felt lucky that he had never spoken about this to any human yet. He knew that certain things about a person should be kept secret, just like certain attacks of a Tera were hidden by that Tera to ensure the success of a surprise attack. Also, for some reason, he felt as if this was something that might place him in danger if others found out about it. He didn¡¯t know why, but this feeling was very strong. Meanwhile, the Chief was continuing. ¡°So, the true test of a Tera Master is to see how good he is in figuring out the needs of Teras. It is something that requires practice, knowledge and a whole lot of hard work. Anyway, I¡¯ll get back to your question. It is one-sided, but not as much as you think. For instance, a Tera, if fast enough, can simply kill its master before the attack is triggered. You should be careful of that, Edmond. In fact, let¡¯s see your Fox now. If it needs to be constrained, my Viper will help.¡± Saying so, the Chief turned toward Edmond, who nodded after he saw the Viper appear in the room. He had been looking forward to this ever since he woke up, so he didn¡¯t hesitate any more. Punching the air, he made the Core appear and flash, following which a small Fox appeared on the bed. Everyone looked at it as if waiting to pounce and stop it in case it started attacking, but no one could have expected that this was what it would do. It looked around at everyone, and after it saw Edmond beside it, it raised one leg and started to pee on him. Relationship Between a Tera and a Tera Master As the yellow liquid started to fall on Edmond''s bed and made it wet, Edmond hurriedly tried to get up but failed as he was still too weak from the extreme blood loss due to the injury before. Thankfully, the Chief intervened, using his strong hands to catch the Fox and take it out of his bed before quickly hurrying outside and letting it complete its activity. Edmond could only stare at Aaron, who was equally stupefied. The name ''Tera Master'' would usually make one think of a grand figure who was capable of commanding respect from the Teras of whom he was supposed to be a master of. Of course, this scene was the complete opposite. It wasn''t even that the Fox had just happened to pee while on his bed ¨C it had done it on purpose after checking that he was definitely in its ''area of contact''. That had been visible even more in its expression, as it had looked as if it was very satisfied with what it was doing. Woof was the only one who began laughing, and as this became clear to Edmond, he glared at the Tera, who casually looked back at him and remembered what had happened before increasing the volume with which it was laughing. A few seconds later, the Chief reappeared in the room holding the Tera which didn''t seem to be scared at all that it was in a new environment surrounded by the ''dangerous'' humans who had captured it. It looked like it was taking a casual stroll through the jungle, and that it hadn''t been forced into a life of enslavement where it would have to fight for the benefit of its master. At least, currently, that was how Aaron thought of the Bond when he looked at the little Bewitching Fox. Of course, he could tell that there were different circumstances where someone could get the acknowledgment of the Tera before binding it, but this was definitely not the case here. If there was no love lost between him and Woof and this family of foxes, perhaps, he might not even have made the deal with Edmond. Right now, he was just looking forward to seeing what kind of relationship Edmond would have with this fox. If he somehow managed to entice the Fox with gifts or other things which it might be interested in, that would be fine with Aaron. However, he would never stand for a forced relationship where the Tera would have to fight after being threatened that it would be killed if it did not obey all comments. In fact, this was something that had become clear to him since the moment he read the booklet where it was explained how Bonds worked. He didn''t know if this strong feeling was because a Tera was his own best friend, or if this was just something he felt by himself because of who he was. He recalled many of the instances where he had seen families of Teras who were just happy that they could survive while in the company of each other, and he remembered how he had wondered whether that was how it had been for him, too, in the memories which were locked away in his mind. Even though the Chief had given that speech before and tried to convince Aaron that humans and Teras had to be thought of in different ways, he didn''t know yet whether that was something that he might ever be able to do. At least, so far, he hadn''t seen enough for him to be convinced that this should be the case. Sure, they might be a family, but that seemed no different from a tribe of Crocodrills who just wanted to take control of a part of a river and exist peacefully. Should he really change all of the presuppositions and opinions he had formed over the years of him living together with Woof just because of a single instance?Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Aaron highly doubted that, so, once again, he just decided to put it to the side and wait until he observed more of these humans before making or changing any sort of assumptions or decisions. However, at this stage, he was sure of one thing ¨C he would never be able to stand for slave contracts where the Teras were forced into bondage. At least, he never wanted to be associated with them, as they just felt so vile and repulsive. He was someone who always trusted his heart and went with it, just like in the cases where it had wanted him to help those lost Teras in finding their families. Even now, he decided that if Edmond tried to use that kind of relationship to make the Fox fight for him, he would definitely act to let the thing go even though he and Woof had a vendetta against it, in the same way that its father had one against them. Actually, there was another reason why he had agreed to them catching a Bewitching Fox ¨C it was that the custom of Bewitching Foxes usually dictated that the strongest of the litter would get the most food, while the weaker ones would have to fight for scraps and even starve. This was meant to be a mechanism for the weaker Foxes to get motivated to grow stronger in order to stay alive, and although it worked for the most part, Woof told him that in its life, it had seen a few little Foxes who died simply because they were born with strength that wasn''t as great as their brothers and sisters. Life in the jungle was harsh, and usually unforgiving. When seeing such children, the adult Bewitching Foxes might feel a little bit sad, but they would just move on thinking that this would have happened anyway in the future when they weren''t around. This was something that was common in other Tera families, too, but Aaron had noticed that it mostly occurred in predator families. Usually, those Teras which depended on plant life to live were different. Shaking his head to get rid of all these thoughts, Aaron watched with sharp eyes as Edmond took the Fox into his hands from the Chief. It wasn''t really that harmful at its age ¨C at least, an adult human could easily handle it if they were careful. In fact, it only had the ability to use its sharp claws to scratch enemies, as it wasn''t strong enough yet to use the signature ability of these foxes of releasing pheromones in order to make their opponents drowsy by "Bewitching" them. Usually, at this age, Teras were meant to be protected, as they couldn''t fend for themselves. "As you''re from the city, I guess you''ve already been through a course about how to handle Teras and build a bond with them, right?", asked the Chief, handing a bowl containing some sort of raw meat to Edmond along with the Fox. The Fox kept shooting glances at this bowl, but it did not move to ask for anything. Instead, it still had that aloof expression, as if everyone near it were not worthy of its attention. "Yes. I know the steps. The Tera should slowly be fed, cared for and trained by the Tera Master for a bond to form, which is the best method in most cases. And let me give you an answer to your question too, Aaron. The World Government has set down rules that state that a relationship which is forced must not be pursued unless that is no other option, as researchers found that such relationships often lead to the premature deaths of either the Tera of the Tera Master. A bond just isn''t considered to be real unless there is also trust between the Tera and the Tera Master. The greater the trust, the greater the power a Tera Master can put on display. I know how you must feel about Teras because you''ve grown up among them and because you probably consider that dog as your family. Don''t worry, I would never force one to fight for me. The Binding process, on the other hand ¨C I had no option there, as I don''t have a Tera in the first place to fight one fairly and entice it into becoming my Tera. Watch." While Aaron felt pleasant surprise at Edmond''s words who almost seemed like he had read his mind, he watched as Edmond slowly took out a piece of the meat and brought it near the Fox''s mouth. He showed no resentment because it had peed on him ¨C after all, he had snatched it away from its parent, so he shouldn''t expect anything less. In fact, he had to be thankful that it wasn''t being overtly violent. The Fox kept turning away, at first, but after a few attempts, it finally acquiesced and ate the piece of meat as it was starving. This made a smile of pure pleasure appear on Edmond''s face, which got etched into Aaron''s mind because of the innocent joy that it contained. The rest of the pieces of meat disappeared soon enough, after which the Fox burped and promptly fell asleep on Edmund''s lap. "Baby Teras usually have short spans of attention ¨C just like human babies. One can entice them using the simplest things. It''s really lucky that I got such a young Tera- I have a much higher chance of building a great bond with that. I-" Saying so, Edmond was about to expound regarding how he topped the class in this course, but he stopped and wrinkled his nose when a smell floated to his nose. Obviously, this Tera was much smarter than it looked. That was because it had decided to do the other ''Nature''s Call'' on Edmond''s bed, as if to say that it wouldn''t be that easy. This time, even Aaron started laughing along with the Chief and Woof, while Edmond blushed a bright red and looked out the window while trying to block out the embarrassment. Registration After heartily laughing for a while and wiping the tears that had appeared on the corners of his eyes, the Chief laid a hand on Aaron¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Come on. We still need to finish your process of registration in the World Government Hub. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a fake apparition created using the technology that we¡¯ve managed to develop after the apocalypse. Using the materials that had changed at the most basic level, it was found that technological marvels which were considered dreams even at the peak of the Industrial Age, before the apocalypse, could be made. The only limitation: materials. Still, the World Government ensures that all authorized human settlements will have access to the Hub, even though the value of each cannot be estimated by any terms I know. Edmond still needs to rest for a day, and because that¡¯s a baby Fox, it should be enough time for him to build apreliminary bond. Shall we go?¡± Aaron knew that the Chief was saying all this for his benefit, so that he wouldn¡¯t bolt again like before. Of course, Aaron was already mentally prepared for anything that might come his way. Seeing a way in which he could continue training his Tera without being embarrassed, Edmond snapped his head forward in Aaron¡¯s direction and said, ¡°Yeah, go on! We can set off tomorrow!¡± Aaron felt like chuckling, as it was obvious that Edmond just didn¡¯t want to be seen coaxing/begging the Fox into becoming his Tera, through and through. Although he was a bit interested in seeing the process, Aaron nodded and said, ¡°All right¡±. Woof laughed one last time, which caused Edmond to glare at the dog who glanced back, as if saying, ¡°What can you do even if I laugh?¡± Seeing Edmond grit his teeth on understanding this, Aaron chuckled and patted Woof, asking it to stop infuriating the already weak man. He had to admit that his impression of Edmond was slowly changing, mainly after that his incident just now when his hand had been grabbed in a vice-like grip while the guy¡¯s defiant eyes bored into his head. Determination like that was definitely something that had to be given its worth. As Aaron turned around and walked out, the Chief smiled at Edmond and followed, while Woof grabbed a few buns and started munching on them before leaving the room, too. ¡°To be honest, I didn¡¯t think you three wouldn¡¯t make it back. Bewitching Foxes are known to hold grudges. How did you steal a baby Fox and manage to get away almost unscathed? Well, you two look fine, at least.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t that hard. Woof distracted the adult Fox. We know the terrain, so we know where and how to run so that we can speed ahead while the Fox would be slowed. I stole a baby Fox and handed it to Edmond while holding back the rest of the smaller Foxes. After that, we switched. I led the smaller Foxes back to their cave, where the adult Fox had just returned after losing interest in Woof. It saw that a baby Fox was missing, so it chased after me, while Woof took care that some giant Eagle didn¡¯t eat Edmond. I made the adult Fox lose my trail and I returned to Edmond, after which we came back to the village.¡± Aaron kept walking ahead, but when he looked to the side, he noticed that the Chief was no longer walking with him.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The hulking man had stopped on the road and was staring at Aaron in disbelief. It sounded simple, but Ernst could tell how difficult it was in reality. An adult Fox was at the Rare level! That meant that its speed exceeded human limits! Yet, this kid and that Tera had managed to play around with it as if it were just a toy? Impossible! At first, the Chief was inclined to think that Aaron might be lying, but with his lack of skills, that wouldn¡¯t make any sense. What purpose could he have? In the end, Ernst decided to let it go. Perhaps¡­the Fox was injured. Or something else. He knew that he could ask Aaron for the truth, but, as a Tera Master himself, he didn¡¯t want to get demotivated. Even he had heard about how those who grew up in forests were special. Only, he had never expected that they could be THIS extraordinary. So, taking a deep breath, he made the smile return to his face and walked up to Aaron, who was waiting for him, and said, ¡°I apologize, the tale was just a bit too shocking.¡± Frowning, Aaron asked, ¡°Shocking? What¡¯s so special about it? I and Woof use a similar tactic to separate weaker Teras from stronger ones for food almost every day.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Kid, do you really have to be hell-bent on making me feel worthless? The Chief grumbled inwardly, but he maintained a smile on his face. This kid would definitely go very, very far, so this was a great opportunity to get in his good graces. Who knew? Maybe, in the future, using this relationship, he might be able to achieve his dream of upgrading their settlement to the next level? ¡°Err¡­Chief?¡± As he unconsciously descended into the land of daydreams, he heard Aaron¡¯s hesitant voice which made him awaken with a start. Barking out a short laugh, he just said, ¡°Nothing! Come on! There can''t be a better time to get done with your registration!¡± And took large strides in the direction of the World Government Hub. Aaron followed with furrowed eyebrows, wondering whether this man was sick in some way, while Woof kept looking around and trying to decide whether it should start to steal buns in the night from unsuspecting people, as it was getting too few during the day. A few minutes later, Aaron was once again inside that metallic room with strange lights and latches. As the ¡®ghost¡¯ like apparition came into being, this time, he just flinched but remained seated. As always, Woof was outside, keeping guard. After that same image of the changed Earth with the words ¡°World Government Hub¡± rotating around it stayed for a little time, it disappeared, following which a horizontal line of light scanned Aaron from top to bottom. ¡°Registration in progress. Scanning DNA. Individual scanned. Creating profile. Name?¡± ¡°Aaron, do you have any last name?¡±, asked the Chief, to which Aaron shook his head. He should be thankful that he even knew this, so, a last name was out of the question. ¡°Very well. It¡¯s all right, many people in the modern age have foregone their last names for various reasons. The trend is to edit Identity and Ascender Cards later on to add any title they see fit, but this is frowned upon in general. Hub, enter the name as ¡®Aaron¡¯. No last name.¡± The female voice continued. ¡°Name: Aaron Age: 18 Years, One Month Body Potential: ??? Location of Registration: Skystead Hamlet Credit Balance: 0 Welcome Credit Gift received! The World Government Hub welcomes you to the largest human organization on Earth! World Government Credits are accepted in all authorized settlements. Exclusive World Government Store is also accessible from any Hub! To know m-¡° ¡°Enough with the advertising, Hub. Get it over with. Give him his Ascender Card.¡± Aaron almost felt as if the voice was angry that it had gotten cut off. In a crisp tone, it said: ¡°Registration Complete. Identity and Ascender Cards being printed.¡± Soon, two rectangular, shining, silver-colored cards flew out of a hole on one side of the room, which the Chief expertly caught. As he handed them both to Aaron, he said, ¡°All details are uploaded to the World Government Hub, so the physical cards aren¡¯t that important. Yet, they are treasured by all Ascenders as they are they represent the achievements and glory of each citizen or Ascender. Now that the registration is complete, henceforth, you are also a citizen. Here, these are yours.¡± The Chiefs Bet Picking up the card which stood out, Aaron saw that one side of it was filled with his details ¨C specifically, the ones that the female voice had just listed. His name, age, area of registration, along with his photo were visible clearly, and as he turned it around, he saw from up close just what the patterns that he had seen before on Edmond¡¯s card were. There were 6 total shapes, with three in one row on top and two below. On the background, the last shape encompassed all the others. All of them were stars ¨C but the number of points varied. The first star had 10 points, and just like all the others, it was empty. The next one had eight, after that, it was six, then four, then two, and finally, the one in the background had zero points, which meant that it was a big circle like the sun. The cutouts of these stars looked like they were meant to be filled by something, and as Aaron traced his fingers on top of them, he felt an emotion that he couldn¡¯t describe filling him up. That was because he could guess what they were. ¡°Those are the Ascender Stars which symbolize your progress on the Path to the Stars. Each shape represents a type of settlement ¨C from the first, 10-pointed star, each of them correspond to Hamlets, Villages, Towns, Cities, Metropoli and, finally, the World Government, itself. ¡°The rest is pretty self-explanatory. To reach the top, one must defeat 10 Hamlet Chiefs, eight Village Heads, six Town Mayors, four City Lords, two Metropolis Overlords and finally one World Government Monarch.¡± Each of these words were filled with a certain level of majesty and power that was impressed upon Aaron even though he didn¡¯t know exactly what each of them signified. It seemed as if he wasn¡¯t alone in that matter. Shrugging, the Chief said, ¡°I only know the names from the list that is given to me. But their exact powers and other details ¨C one can only find out about them step-by-step, by beating each level.¡± This made Aaron smile. All this time, he had been aimless in his objective to find his past. Yet, he now had such a meticulously and perfectly laid out route that he could follow. ¡°Defeating me, a Hamlet Chief, will fill up 1/10th of the star that represents Hamlets. After you defeat 10 of us, you will officially gain the rank of a One Star Ascender ¨C which is a pretty awe-inspiring designation that will have value no matter where you go. Alright, enough of this. I don¡¯t want to scare you again with too much information. As a young man, your goal should be to be an Ascender. But if you want to take it slow, I don¡¯t ¨C¡° ¡°I will reach the top.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Seeing Aaron say this with determination after interrupting him, Ernst could only smile hesitantly, unwilling to kill the dreams of this kid. Everyone talked about Ascending the Path, but no one, or at least, no one that he had ever spoken to had ever heard of anyone who reached the top. It was so elusive that it had even started to become legendary ¨C yet, it was like that was the intention of the World Government in the first place. After all, only a legend could spur on talented individuals like these to grow stronger so that they could stand on humanity¡¯s side when they were needed. As his hesitant smile turned into an honest one, he sighed and patted Aaron¡¯s shoulders, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t have much basis to say this, but, from what I¡¯ve seen so far, I have a feeling that you¡¯ll definitely go very, very far. When you do, I hope you won¡¯t forget this moment- where it all started.¡± Aaron didn¡¯t know how to respond to this, so he just nodded, which made the Chief¡¯s smile broaden. Why would he forget something so important like this? No matter where he went, Aaron was confident that this village should always hold a special place in his heart as it was where he had found the clue which would hopefully lead to the truth he had always been searching for. ¡°So, why did you decide to help that lad, after all? It didn¡¯t look like you felt anything special about him.¡± Ernst had been observing Aaron carefully all this while, so he had noticed that except for the husky that was always beside him, Aaron didn¡¯t interact or feel much for anyone else. That was to be expected, as it would definitely take time to settle in. So, it didn¡¯t make sense that Aaron had agreed to help Edmund catch that Fox. Without hesitating, Aaron said, ¡°I need someone to help me with fitting in while Ascending the Path. So, we entered an agreement that I would help him with the Fox, and he would help me with this. He also has¡­¡± As he recounted the story of Edmond¡¯s father to the Chief, Ernst got a very serious expression on his face. After Aaron was done, Ernst said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of people in high places messing with normal citizens. That might be what is going on here, too. I¡¯ll tell you what. A childhood friend of mine became a Town Mayor of a Town not too far from here. If you need any help, you can go to him. He owes me, so he¡¯ll definitely not hesitate to do everything he can for you. To prove that you are who you say you are, give him this.¡± Saying so, the Chief took out a small, nail-sized pin that had the shape of an eagle engraved on top of it. Aaron was captivated by it ¨C he took it into his hands and viewed it from all sides, as he couldn¡¯t understand how anyone could engrave something with so much detail into something so small. Seeing Aaron¡¯s interest, the Chief chuckled and said, ¡°He¡¯s an official Weaponsmith. Engraving is his hobby. This is one of his best works ¨C he said that if I ever need his help, all I would need to do was show this to him. I promise that he¡¯ll be very resourceful. He was once known to be one of the most talented Energy Manipulators in this area, you know.¡± As he heard this, Aaron could tell that this was precious. Yet, the Chief and handed it over without any hesitation. Why was that? Of course, he chose to ask. ¡°Why are you doing this for me? I didn¡¯t do anything for you.¡± Hearing this, the Chief was stumped. Usually, someone normal would understand that he was doing him a favor now, so that he could collect in the future. Slapping his forehead and realizing that he would need to explain it clearly, the Chief thought for a bit before finally finding the words. ¡°Look at it this way. I¡¯m planting a seed that I hope will grow into something valuable. I¡¯m betting that you¡¯ll become someone famous, someone with power. So, I¡¯m doing you a favor now so that you won¡¯t forget me. Maybe, in the future, you¡¯ll be able to do something for me, too, which might be trivial for you. Look, don''t think too much on this right now. With time, you''ll understand. This isn¡¯t the only favor, by the way. There¡¯s one more. Come on. It¡¯s time for you to have your first Tera Master battle, and get started on the Path to the Stars.¡± First Challenge(1) Mulling over the Chief''s words, Aaron followed the man while he led the way out of the metallic room. He and Edmond had set out early in the morning on their quest to catch the Fox, so it was only noon now even though Edmond had been sleeping for hours. Aaron was trying to understand this concept of "betting" that the chief had just spoken about. The part that flummoxed him was how the Chief had been able to do this without receiving any confirmation or guarantee from Aaron that he would definitely pay him back. What was stopping him from benefiting from this favor, and later saying that he didn''t recall anything about it? Of course, he would never do something like that as actions like those were among the things he despised the most. Yet, the Chief couldn''t possibly know that. Viewing the broad shoulders of the man who was walking in front of him, Aaron asked, "How can you trust me like that? What if I say that I don''t know you in the future?" He was just trying his best to understand everything that he was experiencing as much as he could, so Aaron wanted to clarify each and every doubt he had right away. He wasn''t planning to refuse this favor ¨C as he knew just how valuable favors could be. There were multiple times when a few Teras who had been spared by him and Woof had ended up helping them in unexpected situations just because they remembered the deed. Only, it wasn''t all Teras which were capable of doing something like this. Through years of experimentation combined with the knowledge that Woof had gathered before he met Aaron, they knew which Teras they could trust in this way and which they couldn''t. Yet, the Chief had only met him a day ago. So, that was the main question that Aaron had. The answer surprised him. Turning around, the Chief sighed once again, as he was at his wit''s end. Explaining stuff wasn''t his forte, but he decided to put the best effort forward so that he could hopefully strike the right chord with this kid. Finally, he found a way in which he could express himself that the kid would definitely understand. "Instinct. After all these years of living in the forest, you must have developed an instinct about where to hide, when to fight and when to run, right?" Aaron immediately nodded. If it weren''t for that instinct that had been developed with Woof''s training and help, he would have died long ago. "Well, this is another kind of instinct that tells me that you are someone whom I can trust. I can''t explain it any further. Again, like I said, you''ll understand later." Seeing Aaron nod slowly with an expression that signified that he understood, the Chief let out a breath of relief and was about to turn around, but he stopped when he heard Aaron speak in a strong tone that he would never be able to forget. "I give you my word that I will definitely repay you. No matter when it is or where I am, I will never forget what you''re doing for me." Aaron had gotten the feeling that he wanted to say this, even though he knew that the Chief probably wasn''t expecting anything like it. Still, he wanted the Chief to know. At this moment, his impression of the Chief grew to new heights, as the Chief''s actions reminded him of the way Woof had helped him without expecting anything in return. Of course, the Chief might be expecting something, but just like Aaron had stated, there was the risk that he would get nothing. So, Aaron still saw it in this way.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! He was someone who drew a clear line between favors and grudges. Even in the forest, they would go out of their way to help a tribe of Teras if it didn''t risk their lives, in cases where that specific tribe had helped them before to escape from some predator. And if there was some sly Tera that tried to take advantage of them, they would always make sure to hunt it down when they could. Hearing this, the Chief threw back his head and let out an uproarious laugh, which made the Hamlet folk in the houses nearby peek out of their windows, wondering what had amused the Chief so much. "Good, good. Come on. We shouldn''t keep Jenny waiting any longer." "Huh?" Aaron didn''t understand the last part, but seeing the Chief hurry forward, he followed. A few minutes later, the two reached the same spot where Edmond had had his very humiliating challenge. People had gathered here again, and in the ring, Jenny, the woman who had been in charge of the Orientation was standing with her hands folded behind her back. As soon as she saw him appear, she made a gesture as if she was waving him forward, which made the confusion increase in Aaron. The Chief finally explained. "Today morning, while you two were out on your adventure, Skystead Hamlet was visited by an Envoy from the World Government. He assessed my Tera, and told me that it''s very close to breaking through to the Rare tier. I was given a choice to step down as the Hamlet Chief, as Skystead Hamlet is supposed to be one of the easier settlements among the 10 in this area that are to be challenged by Ascenders. I''ve known this for a long time, and it has been very long since an Ascender last won against me. Usually, they just decide to go to a different Hamlet which is easier. I always say no, but now, because you two would benefit a lot from the resources that you would obtain if you beat a Hamlet Chief, I''ve decided to step down. Jenny is the new Hamlet Chief, and she is waiting for a Challenge. Don''t worry, go on. Newly appointed individuals are always the easiest to beat. I''ve seen the power of that dog ¨C it should have no problem beating a butterfly. Go." Now, this was a favour! The Path to the Stars was the main priority of Aaron''s, right now. Before, he had already imagined how a fight between Woof and the Chief''s Viper would be, and he had to admit that although the Viper was fat, the speed with which it shot out those poison balls made it so that avoiding it and getting close would be a chore, especially in that small area of the ring. If stepping out meant forfeiting, then Aaron wasn''t sure of victory. After finding out so many things, he was more excited than ever to get started on the Path. And if all he had to do was defeat that scared butterfly from before, Aaron felt it was a piece of cake. So, with a confident smile, Aaron marched forth to the same spot where Edmond had stood. Woof had already picked up on the excitement in the air, and it also barked in anticipation of a fight. The reason it knew a fight was coming was Aaron''s body language ¨C which meant that he was getting prepared for battle. It had already seen the way in which these battles progressed, so it enthusiastically walked forward. The reason behind it is being so excited was simple ¨C Woof really loved a challenge. Also, it was full right now, so a little exercise would definitely do it some good. "To make sure that no Teras get fatally injured, I''ll act as the judge. Today, we have Tera Master Aaron going up against newly appointed Skystead Hamlet Chief, Jenny. I''ll step in if either Tera is at risk of death. If either Tera exits the boundary of the ring, it will count as a loss. If there is no conclusive victory after 10 minutes, this match will be declared as a draw. Let the Challenge¡­begin!" As the Chief''s loud voice echoed across the clearing, cheers erupted from the spectators. With a smile, Jenny stepped out of the ring and gracefully raised her hand, causing that same, large butterfly with pretty patterns on its pink wings to appear. As for Woof, it was currently beside Aaron, who was sending it directions through his hand which was placed on its fur. "Make it scared enough to quit, or make it exit the ring." "Owow owo?" It looked like this was too complex a concept to send even through images, as they had never encountered a situation like this. "Rowow, rowo?" While he was thinking, Woof asked, "Eat, or not?" That was all it needed to know. Sighing with a smile, Aaron glanced at the Chief, and hoped that he would be fast enough to intervene. "Eat, but stay in the ring." "Rowowooo!" Barking with excitement on finding out that it could have another snack and completely forgetting its thought before about how it was full, Woof leaped into the ring. Bending on its haunches, it waited for the butterfly, which didn''t look as scared as before, to attack. Only¡­the Tera calmly flapped its wings and stayed at a spot 10 feet in the air, while not showing any intention of descending. While Aaron and Woof both stared at the Tera and understood the dilemma they were in, Jenny smiled coldly on the other side of the large ring. "You dared to scare my J, huh? Now let''s see what you''ll do," she mused, while ignoring the glares that the Chief was shooting in her direction. First Challenge(End) Ernst was honestly speechless. His whole intention behind stepping down and having Jenny take up the mantle was that these two kids would have an easy time. Of course, he had been fully aware that Jenny was in possession of a flying-type Tera, which had a natural advantage over land-type Teras like Aaron¡¯s husky and Edmond¡¯s Bewitching Fox. Yet, at least, in Hamlets, it was frowned upon if a Hamlet Chief used a type advantage to bring matches to a draw.The whole objective of Hamlets, or, at least, the easier Hamlets was to give Ascenders a boost of confidence. So, Hamlet Chiefs usually attacked and gave opportunities for Ascenders to defeat them even if they had advantages like these. After all, at the stage of a Hamlet, only one Tera would be participating. So, unlike in advanced battles where a Tera Master might have access to Teras of multiple types so that they wouldn¡¯t be helpless in similar situations, it was typically impossible for an Ascender to be able to beat their opponent if a type advantage was unduly used when they had just started on the Path. Even the crowd knew this, but they didn¡¯t say anything as they didn¡¯t want to mess with Jenny, who was the strongest Tera Master in the village if Ernst wasn¡¯t counted. So, they just kept cheering half-heartedly in the hope that some action would unfold. With a stiff smile on his face, Ernst walked to Jenny¡¯s side while Aaron and Woof stared at the butterfly in the air, trying to decide what they could do. ¡°Jenny¡­¡± ¡°Ernst, he scared J. J hasn¡¯t even been eating properly since that incident.¡± Seeing the tone of dead seriousness in Jenny¡¯s voice, Ernst slapped his forehead. Right. This woman was usually very kind-hearted and fair, but when it came to the matter of her Pink-Winged Butterfly which had accompanied her for a long time, she would turn into someone vengeful. Shaking his head, he considered whether he should be forceful, even though that might result in tension that would be bad for the whole Hamlet. This was supposed to be a favor, dammit! Seeing Ernst¡¯s expression, Jenny chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I just want to teach him a lesson. I¡¯ll make sure to have J attack in the next match. Let this be a draw. It¡¯ll do him good, right?¡± Sighing, Ernst was about to nod, as it looked like he had no other choice. Yet, he heard Aaron speak at that moment. Indeed, Aaron had been pretty flummoxed on seeing this situation. It was an empty ring, so there was nothing for Woof to use as support to leap up high and get the butterfly which even seemed to be gloating on seeing the helpless expressions on their faces. So, at that moment, Aaron had gotten an idea. He had been introduced as a Tera Master. Yet, there were 3 additional classes of individuals, too. How did they battle? ¡°How do other types of Ascenders battle?¡±, he asked, and the answer from the Chief made him smile.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°They enter the ring themselves, and the same rules apply. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°I want to enter the ring, too.¡± Hearing this, Ernst frowned. ¡°You can do that, but it''s not needed in Tera Master battles at the Hamlet stage. Weak Tera Masters have no abilities to defend themselves. Later, that gets rectified, but this is a glaring weakness of all Tera Masters who are starting out. Because of this, when the Path first came into being, Tera Masters couldn¡¯t progress at all as they were highly vulnerable targets when inside the ring. So, the World Government laid down a rule that Tera Masters taking part in Hamlet-level Challenges do not need to enter the ring. Their Teras can fight it out against the Challenger, no matter who they are.¡± Even Jenny didn¡¯t know why the kid was asking this. He was just a normal human who hadn¡¯t been enhanced in any way! Even the weakest Tera would be able to kill him. If he entered the ring, he would just be an easy target for J! ¡°Good.¡± As if he hadn¡¯t heard the warning in Ernst¡¯s words, Aaron stepped forward without hesitation. The butterfly was 10 feet up in the air. It looked curiously at Aaron, who looked at it with an odd expression. If it had known that this was the expression he usually got when he saw food, it would definitely have been feeling fear by now. After glancing at the butterfly and seeing that it kept shifting positions, Aaron came up with a plan and put his hand on Woof to communicate it. This made Woof bark excitedly, as it was also quite irked by this cowardly Tera, too. Bending down further, Aaron dig in the soft ground. A few seconds later, there were three rocks in front of him. Hefting each in his hands to assess their weights, Aaron told Woof to get ready. There was pin-drop silence all around. Everyone wanted to see why this kid had shown that much confidence when he had stepped into the ring. Even Jenny was frowning, as she felt a slight hint of danger. Yet, as she glanced at J who kept moving in erratic patterns to make sure that even if some kind of attack did reach it, it would be able to escape, she told herself that this would definitely be a draw. The ring had a radius of 10 meters, so there was quite a lot of airspace to exploit. Meanwhile, it looked like the preparations of the duo were done. Ernst kept glancing between them and the butterfly. Could they really pull off a victory, here? While he observed, Aaron carried the three rocks and moved to a spot near the border of the ring, while Woof went to the spot directly opposite to him. The ring was also equipped with special sensors that made sure that if a Tera exited the airspace above the ring, it would be detected so that a loss could be given. Otherwise, there would be no meaning to such battles. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! In a flash, Aaron shot all three rocks with slightly different paths of travel. Ernst hadn¡¯t seen Aaron¡¯s skill with throwing rocks before, so when he saw the insane speed and accuracy with which the rocks flew, he couldn¡¯t help but feel wonder. Yet, the butterfly had been prepared for this. It had been trained to escape projectiles, as that was one of the most basic training regimen that a flying type Tera was put through.With its full focus on the rocks, it dodged one, then the other. The third turned out to be a problem:it just so happened to come in the direction in which it had dodged. Still, with a quick flap of its wings, the butterfly dodged again and was about to let out a breath filled with relief. However, at that moment, the smell of bread washed over it, making it turn around in shock. A desperate scream from Jenny was also heard, while Ernst also shouted something. As it turned around, it got a close-up look of two rows of sharp teeth, with two canines standing out, ready to pierce its body and end its life. This was it, thought the butterfly, wondering why it had followed it''s master¡¯s plan. Only, just when it gave up, the scary dog snapped its mouth shut with an audible sound. The sound came from right beside the butterfly, which made it faint with fear. As Woof landed on the ground gracefully, the large butterfly started free-falling but was caught by Jenny who had run forward. Meanwhile, Ernst was rubbing his eyes. Was this much coordination even possible?! Aaron had shot out those three stones before running forward and giving a leg-up to Woof, who managed to reach J at the perfect time. How the hell had they estimated its reactionary path, and calculated the time of the leap so accurately?! As the crowd burst into cheers, Ernst finally reprised his role of the judge. In a booming voice, he announced, ¡°The Ascender wins!¡± Even as Jenny blushed with slight anger and shame, Aaron walked up to the former Chief and said something that made her feel even more infuriated. ¡°Thank you for the favor. You were right, it was much easier.¡± A.A(1) ¡°R-right! Let¡¯s go get your rewards! Jenny, you mind if I reprise my old post for this part? Your details haven¡¯t been recorded in the hub anyway¡­¡± As Ernst addressed Jenny hesitantly, he only got a glare in reply. Jenny was busily checking her butterfly from head to toe to make sure that it hadn¡¯t gotten injured. ¡°Great! I¡¯ll find you later then¡­¡± Taking it as a ¡®yes¡¯, Ernst quickly held Aaron¡¯s shoulders and led him away while Woof laughed out loud and followed. Of course, it was laughing at the foolish butterfly which had attempted to escape them by flying in the air. If it knew that they usually hunted low-flying Teras for food, it wouldn¡¯t have even tried in the first place. The crowd, on the other hand, had also stopped cheering on seeing Jenny¡¯s terrifying expression. Now that the Challenge was done, they dispersed and went back to their houses while excitedly discussing the details of the match. They had never heard or seen a Tera like this husky, and, so far, it hadn¡¯t even displayed any special attacks. Hence, they tried to speculate what its Tera ability might be. Could it be increased strength? Increased agility? Increased bite strength? It was always fascinating to find a new Tera and find out everything about it, so this became a hot topic of gossip in the village. Still, no one spoke about Jenny losing. This wasn¡¯t out of fear- a Hamlet Chief losing wasn¡¯t something shameful at all. After all, they existed to encourage and reward capable people on the Path to the Stars. In this endeavor, losses were to be expected. Soon enough, Aaron was back in the metallic room. Now that he was here, again, he decided to ask a question he had gotten the last time. ¡°What is body potential?¡±, he asked, referring to the field in the ID and Ascender Card that was filled with question marks. ¡°Oh, that? Well, body potential is a measure of how much fast an Integrated Core can absorb Energy. Those with higher potential are able to progress faster on any path they choose, as they will have more Energy at their disposal to use as they see fit.¡± Seeing Aaron widen his eyes, Ernst sighed and continued. ¡°Yes, it is that important. Body Potential is almost the same for most humans, except for a few anomalies who are heralded as ¡®geniuses¡¯. These people have the easiest time. Well, body potential can still be increased with the use of a few specific items, but all of these items are exceedingly rare and precious. Body potential can only be judged after someone integrated with a Core and allows it to absorb Energy. That¡¯s why there are question marks in that field. Now¡­are you ready to Integrate with your first Core?¡± Aaron was still digesting the information about this all-important factor. It reminded him of how some Teras had terrifying abilities from birth, while others were weak and had to work very hard just to survive.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Yet, when he heard the last sentence, he snapped his head up and nodded. He had been looking forward to this ever since he had discovered that integrating with a Core would allow one to grow stronger along with their Tera. Strength was necessary to march forward, and no one knew this more clearly than Woof and Aaron. In fact, he had considered whether he should get one before the match, but he hadn¡¯t said anything. Coincidentally, Ernst addressed that. ¡°Cores give benefits over the long run, so I didn¡¯t suggest Integrating with one before you won. Also, as part of your reward for defeating the Skystead Hamlet Chief, you¡¯ll be receiving an extra Core. I thought you might want to Integrate with them both at once to save time.¡± Seeing the former Chief¡¯s thoughtfulness, Aaron couldn¡¯t help but smile. He had to admit that it felt pretty good when someone else, other than Woof, was thinking about him and helping him. Yes, he would definitely never forget this debt. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s see what rewards you¡¯ll be getting. Give me your Ascender card.¡± As Aaron handed over the shining card, Ernst inserted it into a rectangular hole on one wall and said, ¡°Hub, this is Ernst. This Ascender has won against the present Skystead Hamlet Chief. Please record that, and give him his rewards. Also add in his first Core, too, as he just registered.¡± The female voice spoke up. ¡°Ex-Chief Ernst- message confirmed. Rewards: 3.¡± This made Ernst raise his eyebrow. Weren¡¯t there only supposed to be two? Yet, the next moment, his eyes lit up with excitement. ¡°Mass Production of Ascender Assistant has been successful. As such, deployment has been authorized for all Ascenders who have stepped foot on the path. Stand by to receive.¡± ¡°Kid, you¡¯re lucky! The A.A is famous for giving an edge to all Ascenders on their journey! I never thought that¡­¡± ¡°This message was sent 3 weeks ago. The Chief missed the message.¡± ¡°Oh, right.¡± Ernst smiled consciously, as he did have a habit of forgetting certain things. Well, it wasn¡¯t often that an Ascender won against him. In the last three weeks, there had only been losers. So, he hadn¡¯t bothered to check any changes in rewards.An awkward silence followed, after which a faint rumbling was heard from another wall. Here, there was a square-shaped thick door that glowed briefly before opening. Inside were 3 items: A velvet pouch, a fingernail-sized black, cubical object and a book with red leather. ¡°Come and take them! These are all yours!¡± With growing excitement, Aaron walked up the vault and retrieved the three items. The moment his hand entered the vault, another beam of light scanned him, as if to check if he really was the one who was supposed to get the rewards. As Aaron held the velvet pouch, he could feel two items inside, which he recognized to be Cores. As for the book, its title read ¡®Basic Technique for All Classes- Part 1¡¯. Only the small, black cube looked unremarkable, but Ernst walked up and said, ¡°May I?¡± Shrugging, Aaron handed it over, while Ernst said, ¡°Now, don¡¯t move too much. And don¡¯t bolt, again.¡± Aaron wondered why the Chief was saying that, but the next moment, his jaw almost dropped to the floor while he jumped into the air with shock. The former Chief had walked forward and placed the cube on the nape of his neck, right where his spine began. The cube stuck on to Aaron, giving him a cold feeling, but it was what happened after that that had elicited Aaron¡¯s extreme reaction. He heard the same female voice as the hub, but, this time, it was coming from inside his head. ¡°Ascender Assistant: A.A is booting up. DNA analyzed. No red flags have been raised.¡± "Congratulations on taking your first, solid step onto the Path to the Stars! I am your Ascender Assistant, or, in short, your A.A. I have been designed and deployed by the World Government to help aspiring Ascenders like you on their journey! I can analyze all Teras you come across that are in my database. Even if I do not recognize a certain Tera, I am equipped with a database of all pre-apocalyptic animal life so that similarities can be assessed! I can also lead you to where your next Challenge should be! I also have many, many more functions!The World Government thanks you for stepping onto the Path!" A.A(2) "Now, calm down, Aaron. The A.A is an ambitious project that has been in development for the past 50 years. An Ascender constantly needs to go out into the wild either to travel between settlements or to capture new and powerful Teras for their own purposes. As such, the problem that has always plagued the world is that there was no unified and easily accessible library of Teras and animals that could be used to identify whether a harmless looking beast is really just that, or a Tera lying in disguise to gobble down a tasty Ascender. The goal was to build something which had a Teratome inside, which is the compilation of all Teras that have been encountered so far by humanity. This is the result. The main target is, of course, an Ascender like you, so, there are many other functions that are also essential for you guys. For example, do you even know the next Hamlet that you need to go to to progress on the Path?" Aaron''s heart was still hammering away in his chest due to the shock of the voice that had spoken in his head, but when he heard Ernst''s deep voice, it had resulted in him calming down, more or less, while taking deep breaths. As the former Chief asked him this, he shook his head, as he really had no idea where they were supposed to go next. He had always thought that Edmund would lead them. "The A.A can show you a path toward the nearest hamlet, or any registered settlement that you indicate. Even communicating with it is easy. This technology was in development even during the time before the apocalypse, but it took 150 years just to recover the information from that time. The challenge after that was finding materials to implement it in this age, and I heard that there was surprising success in this matter because of a few factors such as the fact that materials which are capable of so much more than what they used to be in the age before the apocalypse were available. Now, you don''t need to worry that that thing is inside your head. It''s on your spine, meaning that it can access the inputs and outputs to your brain through your spine. Note that it can only access them and add in a few things ¨C it cannot hijack them in any way or cause any harm whatsoever. And if you want to interact with it, all you need to do is say A.A and speak in your mind. Try it, go ahead." Although most of what Ernst had said had gone over Aaron''s head, he still hesitantly decided to talk to this thing that had newly entered his mind. "A.A, what can you do?", he asked, as this was the most pressing question and the one he wanted answered. He had to admit that as the shock was dying off, he was simply fascinated by this amazing tool. He knew exactly how useful this could be, as there had been many instances where even him and Woof had been unable to identify whether a beast they came across was a harmful predator Tera or just a harmless grass-grazer. Also, he knew the importance of direction in the jungle. The two of them would always leave behind some sort of sign or the other on the rocks and trees that they passed if there were entering a new area, even though both of them had an exceptional sense of direction. So, just the idea of something that could direct the way was mind-blowing. "As this is a base-level A.A, I''m limited to the following functions: 1. Teratome Access: Teras and beasts encountered by the Ascender can be analyzed and compared against the records of the Teratome. If no records are found, the database of pre-apocalyptic animals is used to give an approximate result of the properties of the beast or Tera. 2. Global map: I can show you the way to any indicated, authorized settlement that is in my database. Details about these locations are also available, and can be accessed at a moments notice. 3. Personal Training Assessment: I can quantify and show you your progress on the path that you choose. In the case of Tera Masters, a Tera''s speed of development and combat ability can be analyzed.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Limitations: As this is base-level A.A, I''m not connected to the World Government Hub remotely. Hence, I cannot update databases or receive communication of any sort, and neither can danger signals be sent out. In other words, this is completely an off-line module. For syncing, please take the A.A chip to a World Government Hub that can be found in any settlement. Other features that are available in improved models are also not available." Even though Ernst had said mentioned it before, hearing it from the A.A itself give it a measure of realism that made Aaron gasp with disbelief. This was almost like magic! The sheer practicality of this tool just couldn''t be disregarded. "I know, right? I can tell that you understand just how important this is. That''s why the World Government pooled all of its resources into this project for the past 50 years and finally made it possible. I can tell you that you chose just the right time to come out of the jungle, kid. This is a really exciting age where there''s lots happening everywhere. It might just be the perfect time for you to make your mark on the world, and reach heights that you never thought possible. Also, you must have found out that it''s a base model. Advanced models can only be obtained after you defeat more settlements and obtain more stars on your Ascender Card. Anyway, let''s begin the integration." As soon as Ernst said this, everything else flew out of Aaron''s mind. In his hands, he felt the sharp edges of the Cores which were shining faintly in the light. "For integrating with the Core, a quiet and private place is required, so there''s nothing better than this room, right here. Begin by placing the two cores between the two knuckles of your prominent hand. That''s just so that you can access them easily when it''s needed. After that, put your hand, carefully, in the velvet pouch that the Cores came in. Tighter the end of the pouch around your wrist so that the Cores won''t move from their position: they should remain pressed to your skin. Then, put your hands together so that your knuckles are touching with the velvet in-between. This position is so that you can concentrate on the integration without worrying about anything else." Immediately, Aaron adopted the position that the former chief had said, and as he felt the cold, rough surface of the Cores on his hand, he felt excitement coursing through him. Power was always something that would cause any one''s blood to speed up and pump through their veins. He could never have imagined that he would have this opportunity, so he treasured it all the more. "Close your eyes. Each and every human body is already capable of integration. All it requires is for you to form a connection between your mind and the Cores, and make them a part of your body. In the same way that you control your muscles and the rest of your body, you need to be able to control them at a moment''s notice. Concentrate on the feeling of the Core touching your body. Envision it melting into you, and appearing in your mind. They will look like two glowing balls that you will be able to see inside your mind. The moment you are able to see them, it means that you''ve succeeded. Now then, the speed of integration depends on one''s body potential, so I don''t know how long this will take. Just keep trying! Don''t give up even if it feels like nothing is happening. Do you know that I took an hour before I could feel anything at all? So, don''t despair if you feel nothing at the moment. Just keep- why are your eyes open?" Ernst had been looking at Aaron''s face with full while continuously speaking in a low voice that was meant to lull the one integrating with the Core into a state of focus and concentration. So, when he saw Aaron open his eyes with a puzzled expression on his face, he was quite startled. When Ernst asked him this, Aaron thought for a bit and unfastened the mouth of the pouch around his wrist. Seeing him do this, Ernst assumed that, maybe, Aaron wanted to go into the forest, where it might be most peaceful for him. "All right, I can accompany you to¡­where are the Cores?! Did you drop them?" Interrupted by the sight of Aaron''s right hand which had no Cores pressed between his knuckles, Ernst exclaimed like so, but what happened next made him widen his eyes and stand up with a start. Waves of shock battered his mind, and he started to wonder whether he was seeing. He must be dreaming, right? In front of him, the Cores had just appeared from inside Aaron''s skin, as naturally as if he had integrated with them a long time ago. Reaching his finger forward, just to assure himself that he hadn''t gone crazy, Ernst touched the Core between Aaron''s knuckle, and as he saw that half of it was firmly inside his skin, which meant that it really was an integrated Core, he finally let out the shout that had been building up inside him. "M-MONSTER! YOU F*CKING MONSTER! IMPOSSIBLE!" Integration Aaron was just as puzzled as the former Chief. He had followed the man¡¯s instructions to the T, but the moment he had concentrated on the feeling of the Cores pressing into his skin, he had felt something in his mind connecting to them in an instant. That was when he felt that rough feeling between his knuckles disappear, as the Cores had gone into his skin followed by a momentary feeling of pain. A little bit of blood was visible on the velvet pouch, as small holes had had to appear when his body had pulled in the Cores. After that, he could feel them, hiding underneath his skin, and he knew, for sure, that he could control them just as easily as he controlled his fingers to move. Also, just as the former Chief had said, two glowing balls had appeared in his mind, which seemed¡­empty. Yet, now, even as he saw the former Chief scream that and take deep breaths to gather his bearings, he was focusing on the images of those globes in his mind. They were slowly¡­filling up with some sort of substance that looked like a gas, and, just like the globes, the substance was also glowing, giving off light in the empty cavern that was his mind and allowing him to gaze on them in his inner vision. He couldn¡¯t see where that gas was coming from, but watching it billow around the globe was mesmerizing. As for the process of letting out the Cores, again, it had felt like an activity that was as simple as breathing. All he had had to do was¡­push them, outward, and they had appeared between his knuckles, pressing against his skin on the sides and causing a slightly uncomfortable sensation to reach his mind. It looked like the former Chief had finally calmed down, as Aaron had just heard him say something. Even though his eyes had been open, Aaron had been completely focusing on the balls, so he had to look at Ernst with a puzzled expression and wait for the man to repeat what he had just said. Gesturing with his hands wildly, the Chief repeated himself with a loud tone. ¡°The A.A? What does it say?!¡± ¡°Er¡­ Nothing,¡± Aaron replied honestly, as the female voice really had said nothing in his mind since that moment when he had asked it to tell him what it could do. ¡°Ask it your status, dammit!¡±, the former Chief screamed again, as if this were something so simple and obvious that Aaron should have known it. Still not understanding why the Chief was so agitated, Aaron chose to play along, as this man really had helped him a lot till now. ¡°A.A, show me my status.¡± ¡°Name: AaronIf you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Age: 18 Years, One Month Body Potential: C+ Location of Registration: Skystead Hamlet Credit Balance: 50¡± ¡°it says¡­ That my body potential is C+.¡± As soon as Aaron said this, he didn¡¯t know what he had expected, but he could really never have imagined that the former Chief would have this sort of reaction. After a pause during which delight instantly spread across Ernst¡¯s face, he clapped his hands and threw them in the air before dancing a little, merry jig around the small room. It was quite amusing to watch, so although Aaron was even more puzzled than before, he waited for the man to finish. Of course, such an intense display of happiness was something that Aaron was seeing for the first time, too, so it got imprinted in his memory while he even smiled unconsciously in response. After a few seconds, Ernst even walked forward to catch his hands, saying, ¡°Dance with me, boy! Come on! If this isn¡¯t an occasion to celebrate, then I don¡¯t know what is!¡± Although Ernst said this, Aaron was more interested to find out the reason behind this man¡¯s revelry. So, he shook his head and said, ¡°What does C+ Body Potential mean?¡± Realizing that he should reprise the role of an elder and explain what the kid wanted to know, Ernst put aside his intense joy for now and put both his hands on Aaron¡¯s shoulders before saying, ¡°C+ Body Potential. A grade that only the sons and daughters of top grade families in towns and cities are born with. This means that you really will tread far on the Path to the Stars! Us Hamletfolk and those from villages are usually born with D to E grade potential, which means that we have to struggle to even reach the second or third level of power without external assistance. But you¡­ You¡¯ll have such a smooth path! I wasn¡¯t wrong to bet on you! Yes! We¡¯ll have a feast tonight, and you are the chief guest! The Gods have blessed my Hamlet with good fortune! I need to go tell everyone!¡± The words spilled out of Ernst¡¯s mouth one by one, which indicated, again, just how excited he was. Saying so, he immediately made a beeline for the door, but right before he exited, he turned around and said, ¡°One word of caution, kid. I¡¯ll not tell anyone what your exact Body Potential is, as that might bring you a lot of harm. There are some organizations which seek to kidnap innocent kids like you and brainwash them so that they can use you to their purposes. That is a fate that should never befall anyone, but even the World Government can sometimes be helpless. It is better to be safe than sorry. All that the Hamletfolk will know is that you have high Body Potential, and that it is really a cause for celebration. You, too, should keep this a secret, and never tell anyone that you don¡¯t trust about it. Got it?¡± Hearing Ernst say this with a tone of extreme seriousness the likes of which he hadn¡¯t seen before, Aaron furrowed his eyebrows and nodded. So, these kinds of dangers existed in this world, too? When he thought about it, he realized that he shouldn¡¯t be too surprised, as there were extremes in every species. Hence, it wasn¡¯t remarkable that it was the same in humans. One thing had become clear: in this world, just like in the forest, it was best if he acted cautiously, especially in matters like these which concerned his life and future. He should definitely not state his Body Potential to anyone else. On that thought, Aaron decided to hear it again, as it really was a cause for joy that he had talent on this Path, which would help him to tread it faster. He would not have been discouraged even if he had the bottom-most Body Potential, as his determination to climb it and reach the top wasn¡¯t something that could be dissuaded by anything. ¡°AA, show me my status again.¡± As soon as he said this, A.A repeated his status, but as he heard it, he saw that something was wrong. Just to be sure, he asked it to repeat it again. ¡°Name: Aaron Age: 18 Years, One Month Body Potential: A+ Location of Registration: Skystead Hamlet Credit Balance: 50¡± Why was it saying that it was A+, when it had been C+ before? As he asked the A.A this, the answer he got made him stare into space in a daze. ¡°Body Potential has been updated based on data collected subsequently. The measurement of ¡®C+¡¯ before was incorrect.¡± Feast Ernst had been so agitated on seeing C+ grade Body Potential¡­ So, Aaron couldn''t even imagine what he would say if he found out that it was actually A+, not C+. At the moment, although he knew that Body Potential was something very important, he still didn''t know exactly what each grade signified. Yet, he did understand one thing: this was definitely something that he should keep to himself, just like the fact that he was capable of speaking to Teras. Putting aside the risk of the organizations that Ernst had just spoken about, Aaron knew that calling attention to himself was definitely something that wasn''t advisable. The predator which slithered silently through the grass and struck a killing blow was always the one which succeeded the most times and survived the longest, when compared to those which blatantly assaulted their prey and oftentimes found themselves in tricky situations because they would attract other predators who could mince them to shreds. In other words, the tree which stood the tallest was always the one which was blown away first in the event of a storm. His only objective was to reach the top, and unveil the mystery behind who he was. For that purpose, he didn''t see any reason right now which would justify him telling others about this. Shaking his head, Aaron walked out of the metallic room to find Woof faithfully waiting there, guarding the door and making sure that it could respond in a moment''s notice if he faced any danger. As soon as he laid his eyes on the husky, Aaron felt like testing A.A to see what it would say about Woof. He wondered for a moment how he was supposed to do that, but after that, he figured that he would just ask. "A.A, I want you to scan the Tera in front of me." "Scanning. One Tera found. Searching in Teratome. No entry found. Searching in pre-apocalyptic animal database. Entry found. Retrieving entry. Name of species: Siberian Husky. Traits: intelligent, faithful, can quickly adapt to situations, has the natural instincts of a predator. It is likely that this is a high potential Tera, but as no entry has been found in the Teratome, this is all the details that I can give you. New entry has been made in local Teratome. Data shall be updated as soon as it is processed." With a sigh, Aaron started to wonder whether it really was as practical and useful as he thought. Yet, Ernst had said that humanity was still in the midst of exploring all Teras, and that the Teratome was constantly being updated by the World Government. So, it seemed that Woof was a new kind of Tera that hadn''t been recorded by humans before. As for the traits of the Siberian Husky, they really did match Woof. Yet, there was something that had bothered him since he''d been had given that explanation about Teras. Teras usually had unique abilities, like the ability of the Flame-Tongued Viper to spit out flaming balls of poison. Woof had no such thing. Even though it was faster, more agile and probably had more bite strength than most common Teras that they encountered in the forest, any of these didn''t qualify as unique abilities. What could that mean? Could it be that there was something that even Woof, itself, didn''t know about and hadn''t used in all these years? That was definitely out of the question, as they had gotten in multiple situations where Woof had pulled out everything it had. If there was some terrifying ability that it possessed, it would definitely have put it on display to save them. Then, the other possibility was that Woof wasn''t a Tera at all, but even this didn''t make sense as Woof was definitely highly intelligent and incomparable to those common beasts which only had instincts to guide them. Patting Woof on the head, Aaron decided to put this matter aside for now, and think about it later when he had more information. Heading in the direction of Edmond''s room, he heard snoring before he entered, meaning that the guy must''ve fallen into a deep slumber to recover from all the blood loss. Changing direction, he headed to his own room, where he fell on the soft bed and enjoyed the feeling for a moment before opening the red leather book he had obtained as a part of the rewards.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. This book had four sections, with identical headings. The first section read: Ordinary Grade Tera Master Manual ¨C Part One. The other three sections were the same: they were Ordinary Grade manuals for the other three paths. With excitement, Aaron first checked the globes in his mind. On seeing that they were already a quarter of the way full, he placed his full attention on the booklet and started going through each and every section. In this way, he completely lost track of time, as each and every piece of information that was in this booklet seemed invaluable and precious. Inside, there were clear instructions on how Teras were supposed to be pulled into a Core, how a Tera was supposed to be trained in order to pull out its maximum ability, how to increase the compatibility and coordination between Tera masters and Teras, and a host of other tips and tricks regarding what a Tera Master should do to become capable of beating the settlement leaders and ascending further on the Path to the Stars. He didn''t just focus on the Tera Master path, either. Right after he was done with that, Aaron flipped the pages to the next one, which was the manual for the path of Energy Manipulators. In this, instructions regarding how one should get started on the path and how one should choose an element to focus on and train were clearly written, followed by a list of ''spells'', which were just instructions on how to manipulate Energy to result in certain effects. Among these was the temperature growth spell which the Energy Manipulator during the orientation had displayed, much to the awe of everyone. The Body Practitioner Manual was actually the simplest: it listed a set of exercises and activities that one had to do while ingesting Energy from the Core into the body in order to digest it and make themselves grow stronger. After that, a very basic punching and kicking technique was given which had both offensive and defensive uses. Lastly, the path for Weapon Wielders was split into two parts: one which dealt with a simple bladed weapon, and the other which was regarding a weapon that was similar to the one that Aaron had seen during the orientation. In this, most of it was covered with instructions on what materials to gather and how to build one''s own weapon, along with exercises to increase one''s control and accuracy. All in all, the former Chief had been right: the World Government really rewarded Ascenders well for beating settlement leaders. Aaron could tell that all of this information had been collected over a long time and had been curated in order to give the best effect for those just starting on the path. He was incredibly grateful, and he couldn''t wait to get started on all of them, as right now, each and every path interested him equally, as there were merits and demerits in each which made it so that it didn''t feel right that he had to focus on just one. That was exactly when he heard a loud knock on the door, following which he looked up and out of the window to see that it was night time. At the same time, he heard his stomach grumbling loudly, as he hadn''t eaten in a long time, and as he looked to the side, he found Woof looking in the direction of the window, too, with its tail wagging and it''s tongue outside its mouth, dripping saliva onto the floor. As Aaron took in a breath, he realised the reason: aromatic scents which made the grumbling in his stomach intensify were wafting through the window, and as he heard the knock again, Aaron got up and went to open the door while still keeping his eye on the direction from which the smell was coming from. "Come on! Everyone is waiting for you! The food is ready, and I must say that my wife has really outdone herself!" The mention of the word ''food'' was enough. Nodding profusely, Aaron called Woof and the two of them followed the former Chief as he led them to the same clearing where the challenge had happened in the morning. Right now, there was a large bonfire in the middle on which a gigantic lump of meat that was half the size of an adult man was slowly being roasted. That¡­ was the source of the smell. As soon as the both of them had appeared, all the Hamletfolk who had gathered cheered and started saying things such as how they were really happy that he had such high Body Potential, but Aaron just ignored all of them and completely focused on the meat, which was glistening in the light. How¡­ Could meat smell so divine? So complex, yet simple? Wanting to dig in right away, Aaron wiped the saliva that had started to drip from the corner of his mouth while Woof had already starting to walk forward. Food was the one thing that could elicit this kind of reaction from him. As if catching the hint, Ernst laughed and slapped his shoulder, thereby stopping him before he walked forward by himself and whipped out a large cleaver from his waist. Expertly carving a large portion of the meat that was the size of a human head, Ernst took a large metallic plate that was handed to him and placed it on it before walking towards Aaron and saying, "Count yourself lucky, kid. We seldom have meat like this, but this is an occasion that warrants it." Again, Aaron''s full attention was on the chunk of juicy, red colored meat, whose aroma was literally blowing his and Woof''s minds because of how close it was. If they weren''t in a new place where they had to act with caution, they might already have pounced on it and begun tearing it apart while ferociously looking around for any Teras that might try to come and steal their food. Understanding this, Ernst laughed again and handed Aaron the plate, who licked his lips and chomped down immediately, biting away a large portion on top. At the same time, Woof jumped in the air and bit off a portion, too, and as both of them chewed, expressions of absolute ecstasy came on their faces. At this moment, all the fantastic things that Aaron had learned about since coming into the settlement were all shoved to the side. This¡­This heavenly feeling of the thick juices swirling in his mouth before he swallowed them dominated him, making him almost cry with happiness. Woof was the same. Its eyes were closed, savoring the flavor, and even it looked like it was ready to burst into tears at any moment. Their life in the forest had mostly been spent eating raw or occasionally roasted meat which had little to no flavor that could be savored. Over time, Aaron had picked up a few tricks to jazz up their food, but none of them could be compared to what he was tasting now. Sweet, yet spicy. Soft and tender. Juicy and chewy. With a flavor that was to die for. As Aaron completely lost himself in the moment, everything else faded away. Aftermath of the Feast "Thanks for not saving me any." Aaron had been having the most pleasant dream in his entire life. Meat! Meat so tender and juicy that it was to die for had been dangling in front of him, enticing him and calling to him, while he ran behind it with a lopsided smile on his face. Woof was beside him, smiling constantly with its tongue outside and laughing continuously while the both of them chased this heavenly being which had untold gallons of joy inside it. Feeling someone kicking his leg and hearing this voice, Aaron grumbled but quickly awakened. The skill of coming into a fully awakened state from a state of deep slumber was something that had been honed over the years spent in the jungle, so, the moment he opened his eyes, Aaron realized just how weird his position was. He was actually¡­ Hugging the plate in which the meat had been given to him yesterday, and, in fact, as he tried to remember, except for the feeling of continuously chewing the meat and enjoying it so much that he hadn''t wanted that moment to end, he didn''t remember anything else about the night. "Ernst told me that the meat was cooked with a very strong alcoholic juice that is a specialty in the area around here. I guess you must have been completely knocked out, but I''m really surprised that your Tera wasn''t. It really is special, I see. By the way, you can let go of the plate now. There is no more meat. Both of you finished the amount which usually lasts for a few days. That''s the reason I had to settle with more buns for breakfast." The moment he heard Edmond say this, Aaron quickly let go of the plate and hastily scrambled to his feet. In the process, he wiped his mouth and started to dust the dirt off of his clothes, as he had been sleeping on the ground. Looking to the side, he saw that Woof was close to nodding off. Ignoring Edmond, he bent and touched the Tera''s skin, which was when he experienced an intense feeling of wariness from the Husky. Judging from what Edmond had said, Aaron pieced together everything that might have happened last night. Now that he thought about it, he could remember eating more and more even while Ernst came forward and said that he might not be able to handle the alcoholic effects of the meat. Of course, he had been in a paradise of flavor the likes of which he had never felt in his life, so he had been in no mood to listen. After that¡­ It was blank. The most likely possibility was that Woof had stayed up all night, keeping guard, as the both of them always made sure never to sleep at the same time. Even though they weren''t in the jungle right now, this wasn''t a habit they would break, as it had saved their lives more times than they could count. Patting the Husky, he nodded, following which it fell to the ground and immediately started snoring.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. This made Edmond throw his hands in the air and say, "Hey, did you forget that we have a strict deadline? We need to get to the town where my father''s imprisoned!" Shaking his head, Aaron got up and said, "No way. Woof needs to sleep for at least three hours." Sighing, Edmond said, "Fine. We''ve been delayed by this long already. What''s 3 hours?" Hearing Edmond say this, Aaron nodded and sat down right next to Woof, with the intention of guarding it in the same way that it had stayed awake despite its wariness and protected him all night. Grumbling something that he couldn''t hear, Edmond folded his hands and turned around. Taking this opportunity, Aaron looked around to see that a few of the members of the Hamlet who were passing by were pointing at him and whispering something among themselves. "What are they saying?", he asked Edmond, curious. This made Edmond turn around and chuckle, before he said, "They''re probably gossiping about the odd sight of seeing a grown man and a ''ferocious'' Tera cry while eating meat!" Puzzled, Aaron asked, "What''s remarkable about that? It was really that good. I need to speak to Mrs. Ernst before we leave, because I want to find out how she made it." Oh. Right. Aaron really wasn''t¡­ educated in the various ways in which humans found amusement in seeing things which they usually weren''t used to seeing. Edmond thought for a moment, but he didn''t find a way in which he could explain that crying while eating was something which only babies did when they didn''t like the food, so the sight of both of them last night had become the talk of the Hamlet. So, he gave up. "Forget it. Another pitstop? Fine, just make it quick." At the same moment, over Edmond''s shoulder, Aaron saw the former Chief and the present Chief approaching them. Seeing Aaron looking at the spot behind him, Edmond also turned around, and as he did so, a smile came on his face. It was finally time to accomplish one of the things he had set out to do. Behind those two, there were 10 people who immediately went to a certain spot and started unearthing the rope which acted as the ring inside which the challenge was supposed to occur. "You ready?", asked Ernst as soon as he arrived, to which Edmond replied by nodding with confidence. "Alright. Jenny won''t be a problem, this time. You should''ve seen the way that Aaron defeated the butterfly. It was incredible! It''ll be talked about long after you two leave, I bet." Aaron didn''t understand right away what was going on, but he did see Edmond turn and shoot a glance at him when he heard Ernst say this. "Wait till you see what my Bewitching Fox can do. Humph!" Jealousy. Yes, Edmond was definitely jealous, and he had no intention of hiding it. After spending a day coaxing the Bewitching Fox with a lot of promises and bribes, he had finally managed to convince it to fight for him, only so that it could grow stronger because he would endeavor to provide it with all sorts of materials and techniques. Proud of his accomplishment, he had marched out of the healing quarters, only to find that Aaron had high-grade Body Potential, and also that he had already won the challenge against the Hamlet Chief and even integrated with two Cores. Although Edmond was very grateful for how Aaron had allowed him to form a bond with this Fox, it hadn''t stopped him from the burst of intense jealousy that assaulted his heart at that moment. He had always been someone who allowed himself to be manipulated by his emotions, which was partly the reason why he had schemed so much to get revenge on those bullies even if it took a lot of years. Back in the city, because of his background, although he had been happy, he always did use to be jealous of those individuals who were blessed with high Body Potential that would allow them to sail through life easily by virtue of their birth. He, on the other hand, would definitely have to struggle a lot. After coming here, although his entire mind had been on saving his father, he had been hoping that he would at least be able to show off a little bit as a City-dweller in a small Hamlet, but being out shadowed even here had caused him to feel quite sour, even though he knew that he shouldn''t be feeling so. Now, it might finally be time to change that, and snatch away at least a little bit of the glory that, right now, belonged to the guy sitting on the ground beside him. Edmonds Second Challenge Seeing Edmond confidently walk up to the ring, Aaron finally understood what''s going on. Shooting a glance at Woof to make sure that it hadn''t moved positions, Aaron focused his sight on the ring, while still keeping an eye on the surroundings which was something he was doing more out of habit than necessity. The Bewitching Fox that he and Woof had stolen was a very young, and they could tell that it hadn''t been born for more than a few weeks. Still, a few Teras were always born with more intelligence and capability than others, and they knew certain things that could allow them to take care of themselves even if a very short while had passed after being born. Aaron had used to think that this was random, but now he understood that this must be linked with the Potential that he had seen listed in the booklet regarding Teras. Indeed, that red leather booklet also contained more information about Teras, such as a list of what common terms meant. For example, there were 10 levels of Potential for Teras, with only the first three listed in the booklet ¨C they were Ordinary, Rare and Elite. Along with that, the power level gauge that was used to judge all beings on the Path to Power, whether it be a Tera or human, had also been written. Apparently, for simplicity''s sake, the same terms were used both for Potential of Teras and this power level. Hence, the Bewitching Fox that was now in the possession of Edmond was an Ordinary-Grade Ordinary-level one. The idea here was that it would be difficult and confusing for one to memorize 20 different terms which would always be used to describe a human or a Tera. So, it was simplest to use the same. Also, it fit because Potential was also the highest level until which a Tera could go. All in all, Aaron had been quite impressed by how well thought out this was, and how simple it was to follow. Even someone who was simple-minded would definitely be able to understand this and adapt quickly. Jenny didn''t have that smirk that had been on her face when she faced off against Aaron, and she looked much more subdued, as if she had learned a lot from being defeated even though she had assumed that that fight would definitely go her way. With a calm expression, she was standing on the other side of the ring, while Edmond reached it and started the same process that he had used the last time when he had gotten so embarrassed. Raising one leg, he brought it down forcefully while bending back and then moved his whole body forward as he punched into the air, almost as if he was hitting an imaginary enemy. "Go get them, Alee!" Apparently, that was what Edmond had named his Tera, and as the Core which had appeared between his knuckles flashed right at the moment when his punch stopped, the Bewitching Fox appeared in the air with a flash before gracefully landing on the ground. Seeing it, Aaron couldn''t help but widen his eyes. There was already a change even though it had barely been a day since he last saw it. He and Woof knew quite a lot about Bewitching Foxes, as they were one of their most common nemeses in the forest. Hence, he knew that the sign of growth of a Fox lay in both its size and the luster of its fur and skin. A Bewitching Fox released its signature attack through its skin, and more luster meant that there were more pheromones to release, which, in turn, meant that there would be that much more area and intensity of effect. After an attack, the red skin and fur would dim, which was actually a giveaway that they often used to judge whether they should attack a Fox or not. As soon as the Bewitching Fox reached the ground, it looked around lazily before yawning and promptly lying down. At the same time, Jenny also released the Pink-Winged Butterfly which actually got scared as it spied on Woof which was sleeping on the ground just a few meters away from the ring.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Only after it checked and made sure that the Tera was fast asleep, did it regain some of its confidence and start to fly around in the air right above the Fox, which couldn''t care less about it. "Alee, that''s your target! Use your ability on it!" With his face slowly starting to turn red, Edmond shouted this, while Aaron started to wonder why this guy was always the target of embarrassment whenever he acted confidently. Indeed, the image of Edmond was a far cry from how he had been just a few seconds before, when he had declared that he would show everyone what he was worth. The former Chief looked like he was trying hard not to laugh ¨C in fact, he had a hand over his mouth, while the rest of the Hamlet folk who had come to set up the ring were openly pointing at the Fox and chuckling among themselves. Jenny was the only one who spoke kindly to Edmond. "Don''t worry, and don''t get flustered. This is common in Hamlet-level battles. Different Tera Masters use different methods to entice their Teras to fight for them. At this level, it is seldom that the Tera Masters can accurately and effectively control their own Tera. To make it fight, I guess you have to reiterate what you promised it, or whatever you used before when you convinced it." Hearing this made Aaron understand. Of course, Ascenders at this level must be like the cubs of certain Teras which were actually quite harmless and silly when young and had to be protected and trained. He guessed the same applied to those other humans during the orientation, too. Edmond''s reply was strange. "Do I really have to?", he asked weirdly, with hesitation on his face, which puzzled Jenny, too. What exactly had this guy promised his Tera that he was acting so hesitant when he heard that he had to repeat it? The answer was soon made known to the world, as Edmond sighed and started to speak. "Alee, you have to remember that you promised to fight after I promised you three conditions: one, I''ll find as many materials and techniques that I can to make you grow strong enough so that you can one day go back to your father and show him that you aren''t weak, at all. Two, no matter how many Teras as I Bond with, you''ll always be the one which gets the most attention. And three¡­" As Edmond paused, the Hamletfolk and even Aaron sharpened their ears, waiting to see what the last condition was. In fact, even the Fox had gotten up at this point and was facing Edmond, as if waiting for him to repeat that third condition so that it could get down to business. This made Edmond blush fiercely and look down at his feet, before he finally said, "Three, I''ll personally search for and find you a great and handsome male Fox with a long tail so that you won''t be bored." Aaron couldn''t believe his ears. Edmond had actually¡­ Promised something like this to this little baby Tera? He only fell surprised, but the others actually burst out laughing while pointing at Edmond, which made him bend his neck even further while he looked down. The former Chief was actually laughing the loudest ¨C in fact, he even said, "Damn, it''s been a long time since I heard that one. Even we don''t use it these days, ''cos having a male and female is disastrous! Imagine you''re in a settlement and your Teras start doing their business! I heard someone was kicked out of a nearby Town cos his Teras did that even though he tried to stop them!" Even though he said this and caused even more laughter to resound around the ring, it seemed to have been enough for the Fox, which turned toward the butterfly and focused its eyes on it. The next moment, it looked as if nothing was happening, but its skin and fur slowly started to lose their luster and shine until they turned back to normal. After that, after a few seconds, the Pink-Ringed Butterfly which had been flying around merrily slowed down, more and more, until it finally fell to the ground and started to sleep while taking tiny breaths. This sight finally made the Chief stop laughing. Shaking his head, he said with a smile, "But maybe it was worth it. A Rare-grade Tera really is a Rare-grade Tera, after all." Hearing the laughter stop, Edmond also looked up and finally broke into a smile on seeing that his Tera had performed, after all. Running forward, he made an attempt to hug it, but it only raised one palm to stop him before strutting towards his hand. Understanding it, Edmond summoned the Core and pulled it inside, resulting in it disappearing in a flash to continue to absorb Energy while he stood up and turned around before waving to Aaron. He had done it! And at this moment, nothing else mattered. That feeling of jealousy washed away, while Ernst walked to him and patted him on his shoulder, saying, "Nicely done. Second time''s the charm. Even though your method is kind of unorthodox, it is not a simple feat to tame a Rare-grade Tera and make it fight for you in just a day. You aren''t that bad, either. Come on. Let''s go get your rewards, and then you two can be on your way." Seeing the former Chief say this and then lead Edmond away, Aaron turned his eyes towards Woof, who was sleeping peacefully. He was definitely awed by the incredible effects of the Core in just a single day, so, at this moment, he started to consider whether he should form a Bond and pull Woof inside, too. Only, he hated that idea of hanging a noose over a Tera''s head, by which it a Tera Master could kill it if he wished. So, he decided that he would leave it up to his friend, and as he made that decision, for some reason, a smile spread across his face, as this really felt like the right thing to do.