“Hey, Arthur, you look terrible,” Tamara said from across the room the moment Arthur returned to their dorm.

“You should look at Simon,” Arthur rested with his back on the floor, not bothering to look for his bed.

The man mentioned stumbled into the dorm room; his clothes were dirty with dirt and sweat. Simon could barely walk, so he had Little Orange carry him back.

“God! Simon, what happened? I thought you were running around the yard, not crawling!” Stevan chimed in.

“A lady has been following me around and pouncing at me all this time! Sadly, this older brother is too prideful, so I refused her advances!” Even when tired, Simon did not change his personality.

“I call bull! Arthur, what happened to him?” Tamara did not believe him at all.

“Simon just got Karina to help motivate him. She is so pretty that Simon got too excited!” Arthur grinned, not ratting Simon out.

“Huh? Who is Karina?” Stevan asked, even Athena and Aroon looked interested.

“Well, you gotta ask Sergeant Hawkins. If she's in a good mood, she might introduce you to her,” Arthur couldn't help but brighten, thinking about their reaction when Layla introduced them to the giant Tiger.

“I know right? She is so pretty I could not help but shiver whenever I see her eyes,” Simon joined him by twisting the truth, knowing Arthur’s plan.

Tamara looked at them suspiciously but didn't bother with them. Meanwhile, Kale and Stevan seemed to fall for Arthur’s trick.

“Anyway, since you guys missed dinner, I took your food with me,” Tamara said, materializing some food out of thin air.

Arthur and Simon ravenously devoured the food, while Arthur noticed the food was still warm.

“Tamara, may I ask, how did you summon things out of thin air like that?” Arthur asked curiously.

“Huh? It's not out of thin air, you stupid. I’m keeping things in my spatial ring. It's like a bag but smaller, and I can fit a lot of things inside.”

“Is a spatial ring common?” Arthur was amazed by what he learned.

“No way! Do you think spatial rings are cabbages? Tamara is just rich! As expected from Ives family little princess!” Stevan said in an exaggerated manner, which earned him a kick to the shin.

“So, the sergeant is rich as well? Her house didn't look that big,” Arthur innocently asked.

“Stevan was exaggerating. It's not that rare, but not that common either. Anyone in the late stage of Amplification realm should have one,” Tamara corrected him.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Wait, Arthur, did you sleep in Sergeant’s house last night?” Simon changed the topic right away when he heard something he is interested in.

“Uh... yeah, kind of...” he trailed.

“Tell us, tell us. What happened? How far did you go? She invited you to her bedroom, right?” Simon was very excited about the topic.

“Nothing happened, really. We just had dinner, and she let me take a bath. She did invite me to the bedroom, but we only talked, and she gave me a haircut,” he tried to explain.

The other squad members were listening intently but got disappointed by Arthur. “Tsk, don’t lie, Arthur. We know something definitely happened,” Simon said with a dirty glance.

“Don’t push him, Simon. If he won't tell us, then let it be. Anyway, your new appearance looks good. I might even fall for you if you put on some muscle,” Tamara said jokingly.

*Squeak Squeak* Rat agreed with her.

“Right! Did you name your bond already? What did you name it?” Tamara asked once she noticed the bond.

“Ughh.. I forgot about that. Hmmm, let’s see...” Arthur started to think of different names.

“Picking a name is so hard. Can't I just name it Rat?” he mumbled while scratching his head.

*Squeak!* The rat whipped Arthur with its tail in protest.

“Alright, Alright... let me think...”

“How about Little Grey?” Simon suggested, which earned him a dirty glare from Tamara and the rat.

“You suck at naming things!” Tamara bluntly said while the rat squeaked to back her up.

Arthur, who was about to open his mouth, closed it because he was about to suggest the same name as Simon.

“How about Squeaks?” he asked after a lot of consideration, but the rat did not seem to be happy with it.

This caused him to bite his lips. ‘How can thinking of a name be so hard?’

“Then... how about Riley?” he asked slowly. Arthur could not think of any better name, and he had decided to postpone the naming if the last name he came up with was still inadequate.

“That sounds good, don't you think?” Tamara looked toward Athena, who returned a nod to her.

‘It seems that Tamara already got close with Athena. Even though she is quite blunt with her words, she is good at making friends,’ Arthur thought while the rat thought about his latest suggestion.

*Squeak!* It agreed with a thumbs-up after some thought.

“From now on, I will call you Riley, then,” Arthur patted his bond before summoning his system.

Name: Arthur

Bond: Riley (Rat)

Rank: 1st Deviation

Talent: Superior Intellect

Trait: Fast Hands

The system recognized the name given by Arthur and updated on its own without Arthur needing to input it manually.

‘Let’s see, I need to deviate a perception trait for Rat, so we won't be stuck at the Amplification realm later,’ Arthur looked at the Rat’s traits, looking for a trait that can be used to perceive Qi after a deviation.

Name: Riley

Rank: 1st Deviation

Species: Rat

Trait: Ever Growing, Night Vision, Omnivore, Social Animal, Lesser Predator

‘Night vision should be what I’m looking to deviate, but how?’

Night Vision: Bonds are sensitive to light and able to see clearly in near-total darkness.

‘I guess replacing light with Qi should do it,’ he concluded.

“Arthur, are you okay? You are spacing out,” Stevan shook him by the shoulder.

Arthur took a step back, uncomfortable from the sudden contact. “Uhh... I’m fine. I was just looking at the system. I think I know what to deviate next,” he said with a small smile.

“That's great! Me and Kale already know what to deviate to perceive Qi as well. As for Aroon and Athena, I think their bond already has such a trait,” Stevan told him.

“Of course, Eragon can sense Qi already!” Aroon said with a smirk.

‘That's the first time I hear his bond's name,’ Arthur thought, ignoring the boy's snobbish attitude.

“What about Tamara and Simon? Do you guys know what to deviate?” Arthur looked at the two.

“No, I don’t think Little Orange has any Perception Trait,” Simon looked a bit down while Tamara also shook her head in denial.

“I think you guys should ask Sergeant Hawkins about it. She might be able to help,” he suggested.