I stood there in utter disbelief that we had actually won. The Pondfang was passed out, its head curled around its body, and it was lying still. I could see that it was still breathing which gave me a little relief. I didn’t want to fight in the first place let alone kill a wild animal.

The arena we had been fighting in seemed to gradually fade back to a regular forest again. The grass grew, the trees relaxed and the earth became rough and rocky again.

The rush of adrenaline that was coursing through my body throughout the whole fight started to fade and I could feel myself becoming exhausted. I didn’t know if it was solely the running and the adrenaline spike making me tired or the fact I had to spend Stamina Points to activate my [Swarm] Ability. Seeing as I am not the most fit of humans, I’m going to lean a bit more towards my personal lack of physical prowess rather than the expenditure of stat points, but I could be wrong.

“We did it!” The grasshopper bounded down next to me so quickly that I had to stifle a scream. “We won. We actually managed to defeat it. We make a pretty good team.”

“Yeah, I guess we do. Umm… How are you holding up?” I noticed that its wing was still bent at an awkward angle, but the blood had stopped dripping on its mandible.

“I think I’ll manage but after all the excitement I’m definitely going to need to take it easy. Though—,” The grasshopper stretched out its legs, fluttered its wings and flexed its shoulders. “I do feel like I’ve gotten a rush of energy.”

Taking a moment to think about it, I felt a bit better as well. I was still super tired, but my shoulder didn’t hurt as much. I did as my Essemon did and stretched out a bit. There was a slight difference to how my body felt. I could even feel my exhaustion coming to an end quicker than when I would run in gym class.

I pulled up the ARC Band display and took a look at my stats.

Name Ben Hunting Level 3 ARC Rank 1 Title [Bug Catcher] Bonder Ability [Swarm] ★☆☆☆☆ XP Total 150

Bonder Stats Stamina 3 [Current 1] Logic 8 Heart 6

Essemon Designs Slot 1 [Insect] [Bonded] Slot 2 Locked Slot 3 Locked Slot 4 Locked Slot 5 Locked Slot 6 Locked

From the looks of things, I had gained two levels from the battle. Levels I had gained from the 150 XP I earned. As well my Heart and Logic Stats both increased by 1 point. I didn’t use any of them during the fight, only spending Stamina Points. So, they must have increased due to another reason. Maybe it was a static increase, or I did something during the fight that improved them? Very interesting.

I then swiped on the ARC Band and inspected the grasshopper's stats. The Essemon was also looking up at the holographic display with curious round eyes.

Name [Unspecified] Abilities Level 5 [+] [Unbonded] ☆☆☆☆☆ Rank 1 [Unbonded] ☆☆☆☆☆ [Unbonded] ☆☆☆☆☆ Traits Element [Unbonded] ☆☆☆☆☆ Stats Species [Insect] ★☆☆☆☆ HP 9 [Current 2] Territory [Unbonded] ☆☆☆☆☆ ATK 2 DEF 1 Rarity Uncommon SPD 5 [Current 2] Form Hopper SPT 3

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From the looks of the Essemon’s stat page the [Hindered] Status effect was gone but its SPD was still decreased along with its HP still being 2. Besides those two changes I didn’t see any kind of level up or upgrade to its stats. However, there was something new on the screen. A plus icon had appeared next to the Essemon’s level. I clicked on the icon and the screen shifted to something new.

Do you wish to spend XP to Level Up [Insect] Essemon Design?

Next Level Required XP: 150 XP

[Level Up]

I pressed the [Level Up] button and immediately saw a sparkle of energy around the grasshopper Essemon. His stat window changed reflecting that he was now Level 6. However, none of its stat points had changed like mine had. Instead, it now reflected a new number next to the Stats, [3 Free Points]. I touched the Free Points, and it asked how I wanted to distribute them between the five stats.

I thought for a moment on how increasing each individual stat would end up changing my Essemon. They seemed fairly obvious. Increasing the ATK would increase overall damage. Increasing DEF would decrease damage taken. Increasing SPD would make the grasshopper Essemon faster, that one was quite apparent after our encounter. HP was an interesting one. If I applied a Free Point to it now would that only increase the maximum or would it also increase the current HP. The last stat I had no idea what it could stand for so I decided I wouldn’t invest in it till I learned more.

I placed a single point in both ATK, DEF, and HP. All three of those stats would have come in handy in our first battle so it seemed wise that they would be important moving forward. After placing all the Free Points, I noticed that the HP did increase in both maximum and the current amount. I also saw that my total XP had now dropped to zero.

So, it's like some kind of currency. Got it.

The grasshopper let out a happy shudder as it looked like the bruising that had been around his jaws had lighten somewhat and his wing had straightened out.

“Thanks for that.” The Essemon said with a smile.

“Don’t mention it.” I replied.

“Wow! I can’t believe you did it.” The girl from the tree dropped down with a thud and, after dusting off the sleeves of her jacket, walked over to the crates that had fallen over. “I would have done without potentially ruining my merchandise but hey I get what I get and what I got was…” She paused for a moment and scanned me up and down. “What is a beginner doing out here in Eversprout Forest?”

“Eversprout Forest? I don’t even know where that’s at. I don’t know what’s going on. Where in the world are we? Why are there crazy creatures with weird powers and why is this on my arm?” I raised my ARC Band to show her.

“Oh, this is wrong. Very very wrong. You’re not supposed to be here.” The girl said.

“Yeah. I know.” I retorted.

“All beginners are supposed to start in one of the five starting towns not in the middle of the woods.” She folded her arms, held her chin in her hand and started walking back and forth muttering under her breath. I thought about trying to ask her another series of questions, but I could tell she was deep in thought and likely to yell at me if I interrupted her. I turned to look down at the grasshopper next to me.

“Do you know anything? Anything at all?” I asked it.

“Nope. All I do know is that you’re my Bonder and I need Essemon Designs so that I can help you.” The grasshopper replied back.

“What’s it saying?” The girl stopped in her tracks and turned to face us.

“What?” I said in confusion.

“What’s your Essemon saying?” She repeated.

“You mean you can’t understand it?” I asked back.

“No. I can’t. Only the Bonder of the Null Essence can understand it.”

Trippy

“It’s saying that it doesn’t know anything except that it needs Essemon Designs. Whatever those are.”

“Wow kid… You really are a beginner. Man, you should not be here. K I will do my best to explain it to you but I’m no Essemon Tutor. So, stay quiet and listen to everything I have to say. Leave your questions till after. Got it?”

I nodded.

“Good.” She folded her arms again and rubbed at her chin. Finally, she continued talking much quicker than before. “This is the world of Asherik. People are brought here to become Bonders. Ah… Questions after. Every Bonder has their own Null Essence. Crap… Null Essences… okay. So, a Null Essence is a spirit or energy connecting to the Bonder. They share a special relationship, can talk to each other and even have a strange sort of physical connection. Some people use their Bond to become Bonder Trainers. They battle to become stronger, collect more Designs and compete in the World Championship.”

I rubbed my shoulder as she said that last line. Well at least there was an explanation to why I also got hurt.

“Null Essences are the only Essence in all of Asherik that isn’t permanently bonded to its environment, animal, or element. Yes, that green card you used to turn your Null into a big bug was an Insect Core Essence. I Surveyed it from a Windhopper a few days ago. Which reminds me. You owe me a new Core Essence. Why don’t you go Survey that Pondfang and give me whatever you find? I’ll call us even.” The girl pointed over at the large snake. “Go on. It’s fainted so it won’t wake up for a while. Plus, this is your best chance to Duplicate one of its Core Essences.”

I walked over to the snake, pulled up my ARC Band display and thought about Surveying the Pondfang. The display asked me if I wanted to Survey, and I touched yes. The blue and red orb appeared then disappeared much quicker than before. All the Pondfang’s stats were the same, but the Core Duplication percentage had changed from 19% to a whopping 84%. I hit survey and the red and blue orb once again showed up on the screen. It spun around first at a slow pace then quicker and quicker until finally it dinged a bright green color and right before my eyes a card appeared.

The card had materialized out of nowhere floating before me. It was blue, slightly transparent and had a navy-blue energy swirling inside. I grabbed the card and got an immediate notification.

Core Essence Acquired

Element Core Essence Analyzed

Water Core Essence Analyzed

I had received my first Element Core Essence and it was a [Water] Core. I didn’t know what to do with it but it was pretty cool, nonetheless.

“Alright hand it over.” The girl said reaching her hand out to me. “C’mon. You owe me one.”

“I owe you one? We saved your life.” I pointed my finger back at her.

“Excuse me… If it wasn’t for my Cores you’d be toast right now.”

“If it wasn’t for me and my new friend here, you’d be toast.”

We both folded our arms and looked at each other with deep glares. I realized that we were on the cusp of a fight and relaxed my arms.

“I’ll give you the core. On one condition.” I said holding the card up.

“What’s that?” She asked.

“Tell me your name.”

“Okay. My name is Lucy. Lucy Luna.”