Chapter 28: Small Celebration

The sky was about to turn red by the time Ain finally returned home.

Upon arriving home, Ain promptly summoned Nox, allowing it to play with the cat. The two of them had grown close over the past week.

“Wooo….” Nox immediately floated over to the cat and circled around it while making joyful sounds.

The cat came up to Ain briefly before playing with Nox.

Ain noticed a smile on his face when he glanced at himself in the mirror. He seemed to smile more after becoming a spirit tamer, particularly since forming a contract with Nox.

Ain quickly refocused and began unpacking his belongings, then took a refreshing shower. After spending two days and a night in the wilderness, he was starting to feel uncomfortable.

Following his shower, Ain finally settled down in a chair.

Now that he was back, he intended to maintain his regular routine. However, he was also aware of his current condition.

‘It will take a few days before I fully recover. I'll need to skip my body tempering training during this period.’

Patience was key. He couldn't afford to neglect his body and risk its deterioration.

With ample food, medicines, and resources at hand, Ain anticipated a substantial improvement in his comprehensive training efficiency.

The only aspect lacking was techniques—both meditation and body tempering methods. Ain hadn't forgotten about his innate talent. With an array of techniques, he could utilize Deduction to craft unique and personalized techniques. This would greatly amplify his training efficiency and strength.

Having pondered these thoughts, Ain put them aside for the moment. His stomach had been grumbling for attention for a while now.

He already had a plan in mind.

For the first time, Ain was going to order food from outside. It wasn't just a meal; it was a celebration of his accomplishments thus far.

Since he was orphaned, there had been no celebrations in Ain's life. While his mentor and Ms. Livia would offer their congratulations on such occasions, Ain always felt a surreal sensation, as if those moments lacked significance.

Starting from now, he wanted to mark his life with celebrations.

To commemorate his journey so far, he planned to feast with Nox and the cat tonight.

Without further delay, Ain searched for restaurants catering to spirit tamers and placed an order. Opting for regular wine instead of spirit wine due to the price, he planned to experience alcohol for the first time.

Ain's wait was brief. In less than half an hour, a rover delivered his food.

After opening the containers, his modest apartment was enveloped in the tantalizing aroma of delectable dishes. The spread included a variety of meats and vegetables, prepared in diverse ways. Ain uncorked a wine bottle and poured himself a glass. Instead of a proper wine glass, his container of choice was a stained regular glass.

With his table set, he called for Nox and the cat.

Nox would benefit from the Ghost Stone and the Grim Bark, two new resources.

As for the cat, its ordinary food was upgraded to a premium version. Of course, Ain didn't forget to place the Ice Crystal next to its bowl.

Once everything was prepared, the modest celebration commenced.

Nox enveloped the two ghost resources with gaseous body, absorbing their energy with evident delight.

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Meanwhile, the cat exhibited a voracious appetite, devouring its meal and curling its tail around the Ice Crystal. It resembled a hungry ghost more than Nox.

Ain deliberately savored his meal, fully indulging in the sumptuous feast. Occasional sips of wine accompanied his feast, as he noted the wine's mild effects on his body.

An hour later, Ain finally finished his meal. Nox and the cat had already satisfied their appetite and had been entertaining themselves in a corner.

“Phew, it was well worth the expense.” Ain was satisfied with the food and mentally left a positive review for the restaurant.

With his stomach satiated, Ain decided to pace around his room while reflecting on the past two days.

Right from his departure from the city, Ain had encountered an evident issue.

The problem was transportation. While he could tolerate the couple of hours it took to reach the Forest Gate from his home, every additional minute spent outside the city increased his vulnerability to danger.

Though the forest naturally inhibited his mobility, there were ways to circumvent these constraints.

Throughout his journey, Ain had observed various personal vehicles used by spirit tamers for travel. Some higher-ranked spirit tamers even employed them to bypass the forest's periphery and delve deeper into the Duskfield Forest.

Duskfield Forest stretched southwards from the city. Various terrains and landscapes were present in the other directions, most of which were accessible with vehicles.

Ain resolved to settle this problem before his next expedition.

The next concern was storage. During his trek, Ain had been burdened by his loot and belongings. The final leg of his return to the city had been particularly grueling. He was determined to avoid such hardships in the future.

The simplest solution was investing in a storage device. These devices could hold much more than their own mass and volume, allowing for efficient storage of numerous items. Ain had seen some spirit tamers radiating formidable auras yet carrying no baggage. These spirit tamers likely possessed such storage devices.

However, even with his recent earnings, buying a storage device seemed financially out of reach.

‘I'll have to manage my harvest better to avoid this issue.’

Ain planned to tackle the storage situation properly once he had sufficient funds.

Then, there were the battles.

Although both confrontations had been brief, they had afforded Ain a deeper understanding of his capabilities.

He was now more acutely aware of his strengths and weaknesses.

His most obvious advantage lay in his physique and innate talent.

Compared to an average Beginner Rank-1 Spirit Tamer, Ain's physique was already quite formidable, akin to that of Beginner Rank-1 Spirit Beasts.

Moreover, Nox's Possession further elevated his physical prowess, almost matching that of Advanced Rank-1 Spirit Beasts.

While most spirit beasts inherently possessed powerful bodies, humans could attempt to bridge this gap through body tempering techniques.

Ain's physique could nearly rival that of spirit beasts two ranks higher, a tremendous advantage.

His innate talent also played a pivotal role. Its influence in combat might be subtle, but Ain no longer underestimated it.

Boosted cognitive capabilities provided Ain an edge in battle. The passive enhancements facilitated swift analysis and strategy, contributing to his heightened reaction speeds and combat awareness.

His clear thinking and quick decision-making stemmed from his innate talent as well.

Moreover, as evidenced by his encounter with the Razor Panther, employing Analysis and Deduction during combat yielded remarkable results.

A spirit beast he initially struggled against was dispatched with ease upon using the two abilities.

Hence, Ain's confidence in his offensive abilities was well-founded.

On the flip side, his disadvantages were equally apparent.

First, there was his lack of experience.

As an Advanced Rank-1 Spirit Beast, Ain should have anticipated that the Razor Panther possessed skills. However, in the heat of the upcoming victory, he had overlooked this fact, nearly leading to a fatal outcome.

This was merely the most severe instance; other times, such as falling into the trap set by the three spirit tamers, carrying excessive luggage, and being tracked, were all attributable to inexperience.

He was aware that this could only be mitigated over time, so Ain didn't dwell on it excessively.

Second, there were his sensory abilities. While not subpar, Ain recognized their limitations. Nox's aura detection range was currently modest, and relying solely on Premonition for detection was only a last resort.

For a Beginner Rank-1 Spirit Tamer, lacking these abilities was ordinary. Clear sensory awareness of one's surroundings was typically a characteristic of those at Rank-2 and higher.

Only specific spells enabled Rank-1 spirit tamers to possess such sensory prowess. But these spells were unavailable among the core spells in the academy’s spell repository.

Ain had only found partial information on this topic. He'd need to explore alternative avenues for this.

Lastly, there was his obvious lack of defense. While he capitalized on his physique for combat, leaving it unprotected against attacks was unwise.

The unexpected use of a skill by the Razor Panther had imprinted this lesson in his heart. He needed to invest into protective gear.

Before embarking on his next trip, Ain planned to address as many of these shortcomings as possible.

After this reflection, he settled onto his bed and began his meditation. The spirit tamer training required only peace and tranquility. His body's condition didn't hinder him significantly in this regard. Only his body tempering training was impacted.

Upon completing his meditation, Ain engaged with Nox and the cat briefly before retiring for the night.

While his recent experiences had been exhilarating, he still had to attend school the next day.