As Flynn stood there listening he would occasionally glance at Nyx and she at him as he contemplated what he was being told and trying to come to terms that his soul and life was so tightly bound to someone he had just met and then a question struck him like thunder. From the way it sounded he had to willingly and whole heartedly accept having his soul bound but he had not. He knew nothing until it was done so how is it that a bond that was so strong completed without his acceptance.

“I'm certainly not complaining, but how did Nyx become my Soul Companion without me accepting? I mean I still would have accepted but I didn’t.”

“You really catch on fast boy, but the answer is simple. The essence that helped give life to her was the same essence that helped you break through. There were also the soul crystals that absorbed essence directly from your essence core and supplied it to her. How could there not be a bond between you. Even without the Soul Covenant she still would have become your Spirit Beast. I just chose the option that insured her the best future.

After it finished speaking it moved at a speed that Flynn could just barely see but was completely unable to re-act to. It bit deep into the left side of Flynn's neck and injected a small amount of its own essence into him along with something else. It then stepped back and looked into his eyes.

“Don’t worry boy just think of it as motivation to complete your end of the deal. If you die before you complete it then your bloodline will end with your death. Any descendants you sire will die with you. If you are ever able to remove it with your own personal strength then you would have no problem killing the king of this place.” it said. “But if you can kill it without removing it then it will be very beneficial for you. A blessing or a curse. Your own efforts will decide.”

Flynn looked back at the fox and a hint of rage flashed in his eyes for a moment before receding and calming down. He knew he wasn’t a match for the fox even in its weakened condition and even if he was he wouldn't make a move. He had already promised to kill the king of this forest so he would keep his word. The fox had already helped him more than once and he wouldn't turn on his benefactor if there wasn’t a threat to his life. He didn’t like what happened but he could understand and let it go.

“Stop wasting time boy. You just advanced from the 8th Tier of the Element Domain to the 2nd Tier of the Foundation Domain. Do you really think that you can completely control the power you have as you are now? It’s time to hunt”

____________________

“Aawwooooo” “Aawwooooo”

A Gale Wolf gave a final howl before a black long sword plunged deep into its skull ending its life and another wolf howled before fleeing. It hadn't made it very far when its life came to an end also as a black shadow flashed past.

“Nyx don’t forget to get the cores and I’ll store a few for dinner later” said the boy holding the long sword covered in blood.

“Yes Master” said the shadow that just appeared at his side.

“I told you that it’s unnecessary to call me master Nyx” sighed Flynn.

“True but you are indeed my master” she chuckled.

Obviously it was Flynn and Nyx that just finished a hunt. They were surrounded by the corpses of at least ten Gale Wolves, all of them being the Foundation Domain. They were now extracting the cores from them all before taking a break.

For the past two weeks they had done nothing but hunt. The only time they didn’t hunt was when they were cultivating or were unable to move. Then they would absorb essence and the hunt again. It was exhausting but not without good rewards. Thanks to the constant hunting, Flynn had gained control of his power and was even at the peak of the 2nd Tier while Nyx had advanced to the 1st Tier of the Foundation Domain.

He never expected that Nyx would advance so quickly. Although he was proud for having his strength at his age, he wasn't arrogant, but after seeing Nyx exceed his fourteen years of hard work in just two weeks, he felt that he had nothing to be proud of. Being shocked was being shocked, but he was far from discouraged. It actually made him work harder so he wouldn't be the one holding her back.

After taking a break they headed back towards the cave. With his power now stabilized it was finally time to start learning the things his mother left him. Although he had time before the test ended, he only planned to spend at most a year and a half completing it. He wanted to use the remaining time for his own personal reasons so he needed to get stronger faster and the techniques were a good start.

“I wonder if it has woken up yet”

Walking into the cave he couldn’t help but wonder about his benefactor. It had been asleep since the start of their hunting without showing any signs of waking up anytime soon. He would have believed that it died if it wasn’t for the shallow breathing that could be seen fromtime to time.

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“I wonder when it’s going to wake up or if it will wake up at all”

Sitting in the same place he stood before the crystals broke he took out half the cores they recovered today and gave them to Nyx so that she could absorb the essence. The other half he kept with the thought of selling them at a later time after he left the forest. He wasn't worried about money but it would be nice to not need to rely on the family as much.

He relaxed and brought out the book about absorption and started to read it silently and was confused for quite a while before finally understanding what had to be done. The book not only contained the absorption method but also the best types of places to absorb essence depending on the elements connected to in the Elemental Domain and that it was best to only use elemental stones and items of the same element to obtain twice the rewards for only half the price.

“I never knew that essence could be used to directly strengthen the body.” he thought. “I’ll also be able to strengthen my essence core and Quintessence Palace to a whole new level in the future. And this is only the first part. If I can find the right treasures and medicine and get them refined then I can also completely cleanse my body of impurities.” The rest of the book was blank but he didn't know why he felt something on the blank pages.

He started thinking of where he could find Items he needed and how much it would cost. A feeling of impatience and frustration started to swell in him because he couldn't find a solution. The cleansing had to happen while he was in the Foundation Domain for it to have the best effect. Although he could do it after that the effects would reduce significantly, the difference being as big as day compared to night.

A small smile of self ridicule appeared on his face as he placed the book back into the ring. “How foolish it is to think about something like that at a time like this. I can't even hold on to treasures of that level with my strength and the family would only have a few of them and it's a long shot to say the least if I could even obtain them.” he chuckled then sat in a comfortable position and put those thoughts to the back of his mind and began absorbing the essence. Figuring it would be better to improve his foundation and worry about the weapon techniques and the movement technique after having a solid base, he didn’t immediately take out the other books.

While absorbing and purifying the essence, instead of directly bringing it to his essence core he tried absorbing it into his skin, bones, and muscles. At first the essence just surrounded him and wasn’t being absorbed and it seemed like something was wrong and after a few hours of trying, when he was about to give up and stopped focusing, it happened. He noticed that a small part the essence was absorbed into his bones but not the skin or muscles. After observing a short while he tried again, and again he failed.

Thinking about why he couldn’t succeed he had a thought. He tried absorbing the purified essence only into his bones and wild joy flashed in his eyes and he laughed unreservedly for the first time since coming to this forest. Although it was a miniscule amount the essence was indeed absorbed.

“Finally I succeeded Haha”

His joy was so wild that he lost control of the purified essence and it dispersed back into the world. Cursing himself inwardly he finally calmed down but the smile was still on his face. He now understood that he would have to strengthen the different parts of his body individually instead of all at once. The process would be slow but he would be able to make his body much stronger in a few weeks to a few months.

Thinking back to the cultivation book he read he now understood that the body is more important than simply gathering essence. Everything starts with the body, the soul may reside inside the Quintessence Palace but that is still inside the body. Without a strong body you can only go so far. According to the book the stronger the body the more essence that could be stored and the faster it can be absorbed.

Before this moment he never paid to much attention to his body. All he knew was that it would grow stronger along with each tier increase. He also use to bathe in medicinal baths when he was younger but he never gave it another thought. Now that he knew that he could continue to strengthen his body and the uses it would have to him he was ecstatic.

“I wonder if mother cultivated this way?” he could only guess since he didn't even know his mother’s cultivation.

He exhaled a deep breath he didn’t know he was holding and calmed himself down. Feeling a little hungry he pulled out two of the Gale Wolves and started skinning them. He was actually starting to get a little tired of them since they were all that he ate since coming to this forest. He no longer controlled his sword to do it because it no longer increased his strength and it was monotonous so his control was no longer growing. Although the power of his mind didn't increase a substantial amount, his control over it improved quite a bit. Controlling the sword or dagger was now as easy as moving his limbs and added a new dimension to his fighting ability.

While cooking the wolves with a fire stone he glanced at the old fox sleeping in a corner before calling over Nyx. He rubbed her head and gave her the bigger wolf and they started to eat. It didn’t take long before they were finished and Nyx thanked him.

“Nyx you don’t have to thank me for something like this. We will always be together so it’s only natural right?”

“Of course Master but I'm still thankful for having you as my master” she again chuckled which caused Flynn to sigh again.

He chuckled and rubbed her head for a short time before deciding it was time to continue cultivating since he knew it really would be long road. Nyx cuddled up to his side and settled down. Absorbing and purifying the essence once again he started slowly but surely absorbing it into his bones. He could feel his bones slowly growing stronger and he was indeed happy. This slow process would lay the ground work for his future. He would become powerful enough to kill the king of the forest and that was only the beginning.

“I will become strong, strong enough to really live freely. Whether I can become the patriarch or not all depends on strength.” Looking down at Nyx he thought “and strong enough to protect what’s most precious to me.”