Being the strongest under heaven seemed like a nice dream for most people, but not for Arthur.

"Whoa! Is that roasted chicken? You are the best, Rat!" the boy thanked his companion for its effort.

For Arthur, his dream was to live comfortably, to be able to eat every day. He didn't need to be the strongest; he just needed to be able to feed himself!

For the last two weeks, Rat provided food for them by taking it from some busy shops. It was smart enough not to get caught in the process.

Thanks to his companion, Arthur gained some weight. It wasn't enough to reach his ideal body weight, but enough to make him not look starving.

"That was good! I think chicken is one of my favorites," he said the same thing for most food the rat bought him after their meals.

Arthur wasn't the only one gaining weight; Rat also grew since the first day. It was palm-sized, but now it was easily twice as large.

"I hope we can live like this forever," he thought.

But Arthur knew it wasn't a realistic plan. The rat was growing bigger, and soon it would be too big to go unnoticed while stealing food. Arthur also didn't want to be a thief forever. He even asked the rat to tell him which stall it stole from so that one day, if he had some money, he could pay them back.

"Also, the shop owners have already noticed some of their sale items missing and have already reported it to the city guard. It will be too risky for Rat to keep stealing. It will get caught if they dispatch bonded dogs or some beast that can track it."

"I need a job," he thought.

Realistically, there were only two places he could go: either he joined the sect and attended Bond Academy or he joined the military.

Both places were actually run by the sect governing the city, but there was a major difference. Joining the academy meant joining the sect and pledging loyalty to the city lord. Anyone who joined the academy would be given an allowance and raised to be a proper animal cultivator.

Meanwhile, joining the military meant working for the city, protecting it from spirit beasts. Anyone who joined the military would be taught how to fight spirit beasts while getting paid according to their performance and rank.

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Getting employment anywhere else was out of the question for Arthur since everyone had already denied him apprenticeship.

"I would prefer attending the academy, but... Nah, forget it. I have no choice to begin with. Military it is," Arthur dispelled the illusion of choice he thought he had.

Even though both the military and the academy publicly said that the only requirement to attend was to have a Bond, Arthur was not naive enough to believe he had a chance of joining the academy.

"They will only mock me if I tried to sign up for the academy," he grimaced.

It was no secret that only the rich and talented could join the academy. Arthur had lived on the streets and had not attended any school. Unless he got a 2nd gen bond, there was no chance he would be accepted at the academy!

"The military won't care whether I'm a beggar or a prince, as long as I can fight, they will accept me, even if only to add more people."

Arthur went toward the recruitment office near the city hall with Rat on his shoulder. When it wasn't stealing food or doing rat business with the other rat, his companion liked to stay on his shoulder as if it were a throne.

"Look at that kid, did he live in a sewer or something?"

"Do you even need to ask? Look at his shoulder; even his bond is a rat. I've never seen anyone bond with a rat before. Only someone living in sewers would ever think of bonding a rat."

Arthur could clearly hear people talking about him as he walked toward the recruitment office. He was anything but eye-catching, as he wore rags as clothing!

Arthur could feel his companion's displeasure at people's reactions toward him. It might not understand human language yet, but it could feel their words hurting Arthur, even if only slightly, since he had gotten used to it after all these years of roaming the streets.

"Halt!" a couple of guards stopped him in front of the recruitment office. They were tasked with stopping people from causing trouble in the building and stopping suspicious individuals from entering.

They crossed their spears, barring Arthur from entering the door, while two dogs as tall as the guards bared their sharp teeth at him and his companion.

"What are you doing here, kid? You can't beg for charity here," one of them sternly told him.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm not here to beg. I want to join the military," Arthur quickly explained while the guards still wanted to hear him.

Arthur had no doubt that if he didn't explain himself fast enough, they would not give him the chance to and would directly chase him away.

Both guards looked at each other before they lowered their weapons, allowing Arthur to pass.

"You should have said so from the beginning, kid. Anyone is welcome to defend our city," the guard's attitude changed immediately the moment they knew his purpose.

They wouldn't stop Arthur from sacrificing himself for the city and for their own safety! They didn't care if Arthur died after joining the military. Even if Arthur died without killing any spirit beasts, at least there would be one less beggar on the street!

Had Arthur come to attend the academy, he would have been chased away by the guards and their bonds for sure.

"Those guard dogs should be at least in the Amplification realm! One bite from them and I would never wake up ever again," Arthur grimaced as he walked in. The rat on his shoulder was also trembling in fear.

Arthur's Bond didn't need to fight the dogs to know it didn't stand a chance. Even against a dog in the same realm, it might not come out victorious, let alone against something at least one major realm above it!