“Eh?” Gerard exclaimed; a bit confused.
“I want you to delay it, two years, if within two years, I am unable to reach level 6 and tame a High-Grade Beast then forget such thing existed, If I’m not able to do so then I’d rather live a normal life Brother Gerard.”
Aeron said with resolve, he knew Gerard would still accept him as a sworn brother even if he failed to do what he promised, but he still had his pride. He had already seen something different from Gerard, this person was not born to be normal, if he became Gerard’s sworn brother and he turned out to be weak, then he would only become a burden to Gerard. Aeron had thought this to be the mindset of the others, Tamers were different than other Professions, however much potential Aeron showed, unless he proves himself capable after reaching level 6, then he would still become an uncertain factor. If it was just as a follower then it could still be acceptable to others, but if it was as a sworn brother then the others would really doubt Gerard.
Of course, Aeron didn’t doubt himself as he already had Arthur who was sure to become a High-Grade Beast, but this wasn’t something he could tell others. There was also another reason why Aeron was willing to be another person’s sworn brother. Being sworn brother wasn’t really as heavy as others thought it to be, this was because he had a memory of his father talking about it. The oath between sworn brothers was not that of benefits like the other should help if the latter needed help, it was more to the line of both people promising never to hurt one another intentionally. Thus, it is more symbolic, the important part was the individual’s sincerity towards his would-be brother, the oath only served the purpose of eliminating doubts from the people involved.
“Sigh….”
Gerard sighed, but his eyes shone with a different light, he had seen not just Aeron’s resolve, but also his confidence, there was no hint of doubt or hesitation within Aeron’s eyes. Gerard didn’t know why this is so, but it was enough.
“Alright then, 2 years it is.”
Gerard agreed, two years wasn’t short nor was it long, this was the length of time most Grade-2 Affinity would take to get past level 5, so in a way, it was a reasonable amount of time. But Gerard had a feeling this little brother of his would take even shorter.
“Then it’s a promise.”
Aeron said as he shook Gerard’s hand, he was already grateful towards this person before him. He didn’t know his true situation but every person has a secret, if the other doesn’t mention anything about it then he wouldn’t ask.
“Little Brother, you need to be careful, don’t worry about the fruit collection task, I’ll help you fill the quota, it’ll be for the best that you don’t go nearer the Endless Forest, if something happens, I’ll send you the twitter as well as a memory stone to send you the message.”
Gerard said seriously, things weren’t the same as the past, the birth of the king was not the same from before. This one might stir up the Endless Forest. He didn’t know why, but he felt something like an egging feeling deep inside, this little brother of his would not stay weak for long, and just as he had done before, he followed his instincts. Other times he would be uncomfortable, but since the person involved was already someone he empathized with and felt comfortable with, so he gambled, even if he lost, he wouldn’t lose anything but still gain a friend.
“I will Brother Gerard.”
Aeron said with a smile, he would remember everything Gerard had done for him, and return it the best he could. Of course, he was still a practical person, in his first life, and now. He wouldn’t be adamant into thinking he would not follow other people, but that was under the condition that the person wanting to subdue him is and can become much stronger than him, not just strong in strength but in potential. Although his thoughts were like this, which person could actually claim to have stronger potential against a Beast King?
Since Gerard had only offered to be sworn brothers, then he would not shy away from doing so.
“Oh right, little brother I have an advance gift for you, this was supposed to be a gift for our brotherhood but I’ll give it in advance, I think you’ll like it, Brock, bring it in.”
Gerard said with an amused look, as Brock came inside bringing something with him. Brock was also one of the four guards Gerard brought with him on his first trip, this person had an uninhibited aura, his build was large as he stood at 2 meters tall. Gerard took the weapon, as he faced Aeron with it.
It was a glaive, its pole was pitch black, while its blade shone with sharpness.
‘Obsidian!’ Aeron thought, this was not something that could be bought with mana stones.
“Thi..this is too precious Brother Gerard.”
Aeron said, but his eyes shined while saying so, if Arthur had this then it might even be able to cut through a High-Grade Beasts defense.
“Hahaha this had been sitting by my house collecting dust, most of my warriors prefer swords, and those who like polearms thought it to be too short, I only remembered this thing when I saw Richie, it should pair well with him.”
Gerard said as he showed Aeron the obsidian glaive, it was about 1.5 meters long. Aeron didn’t know if it was Gerard’s excuse but really, he wanted this weapon.
‘My debts are really starting to pile up’ Aeron thought wryly.
“Then I won’t refuse Brother Gerard, Richie!”
Aeron said as he received the glaive, then gave it to Richie.
“Ki!”
Richie accepted the glaive.
Zhoooh!
The people in the room felt the air shake as Richie swung the obsidian glaive down. Gerard and Brock looked at each other, they knew Richie was special when it jumped to protect Aeron from Alexis’s white rhino, if it were not for Aeron’s level then they would have thought that Richie was already a Mid-Grade Beast.
“Good Good! Hahaha!”
Gerard repeated as he laughed, this time he was even more convinced, Richie was probably a step away from becoming a Mid-Grade Beasts, even more so than Ursa. If either Richie or Ursa were to evolve into Mid-Grade Beasts, then he would not hesitate into investing some of his assets to accelerate their development, this was his plan for Aeron if Aeron wasn’t able to do what he promised, after all this world was very unpredictable. Of course, this plan was more of a passing thought, the only way to accelerate a beast’s growth was through special fruits which were very rare not to mention located in very dangerous places, such as deep within the Endless Forest or the Boundless Mountains.
“Thanks again, Brother Gerard.”
“There’s no need to thank me, but if you really want to do so, then don’t forget your promise.”
Gerard said smilingly, he had already committed himself to be Aeron’s brother. This was the brother he never had, his followers could never treat him like he wanted them to, even his closest friend Alexis wouldn’t.
“Okay then, I will.”
Aeron replied, if he doesn’t die, then the promise was already set in stone, nigh unchangeable.
“Oh right Brother Gerard, is there any news about the girl?”
Aeron said as he remembered about the task he was given from Isa. He didn’t know if the news about the Endless Forest already reached Isa but there wasn’t anything, he could do other than wait.
“Unfortunately none, I even had someone enquire those who went inside the Endless Forest, even they didn’t find a girl inside, maybe she went deeper inside the forest”
Gerard said, of course, there was another possibility, but he didn’t say anything about it or he would’ve already heard the news from Isa.
“Sigh, I hope she’s fine, this is someone the Governor of Isa is waiting for after all.”
Aeron said with concern, if he wasn’t wrong then the girl was possibly the Governor’s daughter, he really hoped she was fine beneath all this chaos.
“Don’t worry little brother, she should be fine if she was able to go inside the forest for so long then she should be strong, and Transcendents have their ways to know whether someone is alive, especially Necromancers.”
Gerard said reassuringly, this was a sort of secret but divulging so didn’t affect Aeron’s growth so Gerard just went ahead and said it.
“Also remember what I said, don’t go near the Endless Forest for now, I’ll handle the fruit gathering task, I’ll probably be busy in the City so I won’t be able to bring you your supplies, but there’s probably enough food for a few months underground right?”
Gerard asked.
“Uhn.”
Aeron nodded in reply. He had hidden the other fruits he collected as well as the black bear inside the secret bunker underground, Gerard’s people were only ordered to put the supplies they brought inside the storage area so it should be fine.
“Alright then, I should be going.”
Gerard said as Aeron lead their group out.
“Bye Brother Gerard.”
Aeron said as Gerard boarded the carriage. The Warrior, Jason suddenly approached him.
“When you reach level 6, I’ll challenge you again, next time I won’t underestimate you.”
Jason said, there was no hint of underestimation within his voice and gaze.
“Hehe, maybe by then I’ll have more than one surprise.”
Aeron said teasingly, this Jason was probably only a year older than him, but he was already a Level 5 Warrior, if he wasn’t surprised by Ursa’s speed then the fight would’ve gone much longer than it did.
“We’ll see by then.”
Jason said before getting on his mount, they might have hired some Tamers or the Tamers were part of Gerard’s people, Aeron was unsure. When his gaze met Brock’s, the latter surprisingly nodded at him.
‘Well, whatever it is, it should be a good thing.’ Aeron thought, though he thought it to be weird, a good thing was still a good thing.
Aeron contemplated what he should do after Gerard and his group left. It was already too late to explore the forest, so he settled with training, and cooking some meat. The bear meat would stay for about a month, he wasn’t that excited about the bearskin as he was with the meat. The bearskin was the core of the black bear, if he took it, then the meat wouldn’t last two days.
“Oh right! I should get those.” Aeron suddenly remembered, the thought of cooking the bear meat reminded him of some peculiar plants in the forest. They were spice plants; these were special plants that bore small fruits that could remain for a day before disappearing. These small fruits contain a dense liquid that melds with whatever it is poured into, depending on the kind of fruit you use you could create different tastes, like salty, sweet, sour, and other combinations.
Aeron remembered that they had one salty plant at home, it was already pretty lucky for them to have one, most households didn’t have one in their village. Unlike other plants that could be planted by people, spice plants could only be found in the wild and subsequently transplanted. Many had tried to grow them but failed to do so. He didn’t transfer them earlier because transplanting should never be rushed as they were very delicate plants, if he were to put too much mana while transplanting it, then it would die, if the mana provided was lacking it would also die, so he had to maintain the same amount of mana as he carried it to his base.
The spice plants didn’t look different based on their looks, the only way to know the difference was to taste the fruits, as Aeron finished transplanting a total of 5 spice plants, he classified them as he tasted one fruit each, which were 2 salty, 2 sour, and 1 sweet.
“This should be fine.”
Aeron spoke out loud as he made his way to get the bear meat, the bear was massive, so he took enough meat so the meat would last for about 27 days more. It was enough to let Arthur, Ursa, and himself eat. This was not favoritism at all, the reason for this was because this type of meat would provide a small amount of mana to the consumer, Him, Arthur, and Ursa were the ones that needed it, for now, this along with the fact that the meat was in limited supply made it so that only three of them could benefit, especially Ursa and him.
Aeron started cooking the bear meat, first he sliced it into two small and one large portion each. He used three ore essence shaped like small columns before putting a big stone plate on top. He melted a mixture of the spice fruits, which he learned from his mother to the meat as he used the practical skill [Ignite] to start a fire. The smell started to spread as both Arthur and Ursa gulped. After a while, the meat was done.
“Uuhhwaaa yum!”
Aeron ate as he closed his eyes, the sweet juicy meat melted in his mouth, it’s almost been a month since he was able to eat meat, he also ate mana rice with a sweet fruit melted on top.
‘Ohhh taste like pudding!! I should’ve gotten those spice plants earlier.’
Aeron thought, as of now the spice plants fruits weren’t enough for the others, so it wasn’t good to let them taste this too frequently. Ursa was looking at Arthur and Aeron as its drool flowed like a river. Arthur blocked Ursa’s sight from its portion as Arthur ate in small bites, each time Arthur would close its eyes with happiness.
“HA! That’s what you get for being a glutton!”
Aeron said as he continued eating, Ursa already had a larger portion, but it ate its portion like it usually did, in large and quick bites. Before it realized, all its cooked bear meat was already gone.
“Next time, eat slower, we don’t have a lot and it’s also used for strengthening purposes.”
Aeron said as he took a portion of his bear meat to feed Ursa, it just looked too pitiful for him to bear. Ursa was after all recently starved to the point where it became thinner than a normal brown bear. Right now, Ursa already looked twice bigger than when Aeron first tamed it.
Grrrrr
Ursa rubbed its head on Aeron after it ate the meat.
“Hahaha no more! Wait for tomorrow.”
Aeron laughed as he petted Ursa on the head. Ursa relented as it laid down and started to sleep. Not long after, Arthur finished its portion as it started to train with its new weapon, the obsidian glaive. The pole was made from a very rare obsidian bamboo which was about 4 times better and rarer than an emerald bamboo, while the blade was made from black steel essence which was equally rare. After Arthur used [Gold Armament] the obsidian glaive turned into a dark golden glaive, the inscription also became more pronounced.
Zhuuuuu
The sound it made as it was wielded by Arthur was even harsher than when Richie used it, this time Arthur had gotten more powerful with the addition of a good weapon. Aeron meditated after his weapons training, he had planned to spar with the monkeys but he was still far too unskilled, doing so would only result in quick defeat. He was just too weak, but now he has accelerated strike to practice with so his time was also used well. He could already feel like he was a step away from becoming a level 3 Tamer.
