Zachary’s summons gathered around him to celebrate the moment. Only Wander could fully understand what had happened. However, they could all feel Zachary’s joy through their soul bond and couldn’t help but feel the same.

Onkie snorted loudly and spun around in circles until she was covered in dirt. Whiskers splashed the water in the shallows as if it wanted to crawl onto dry land. Blue flew from one tree to the next, bellowing what it assumed was a beautiful song. Boba stuck out its tongue like it always did and bobbed its head up and down as it watched the other beasts make a fool of themselves.

“Hahaha!” Zachary laughed at their antics. “It feels good. It feels really good!”

His sky path was wide open. It was no worse than before it was broken, perhaps even a little wider. Eternum surged in and out, in greater amounts than all seven other soul paths at the novice rank combined.

It was like he had been reborn. The cool air of the underground lake was as fresh as a spring breeze. The light rain falling around him was washing away his past life. Failures and regrets of old melted away as he reveled in the moment. His fate when he was imprisoned had been death. Now, after meeting Wander, it seemed limitless.

“It’s true what they say.” He mused, “The New World is filled with dangers but also unimaginable wonders. Those who are brave enough and lucky enough will emerge as a brand-new person!”

He looked at the markings on the stone slab. There were enough compasses for twenty-five weeks or five months. This meant that around six months had passed since he came to this land and only two more until the final competition for the four presidential pardons.

“Two months… there’s still time.”

“Well? What are we waiting for?” Wander’s barking interrupted his thoughts, “I want to see the jungle! And mountains! The ocean too! Big Brother Zach, let’s go!”

He bumped the back of Zachary’s leg as if to push him forward.

“Wander, do you even know the way out?”

“I… might?”

Zachary snorted, “Even if you do, we can’t just rush out there. We need to properly prepare. We need food. We also need to train.”

“Train?”

“Yeah, train and get stronger. Work on our coordination in team battles, improve our soul cultivation. The jungle above is filled with adept rank Ensouled and perhaps even expert rank Ensouled. If we go out like this, we’ll die.”

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“Oh, how do you train?”

“I’ll show you.”

This matter became their highest priority. There was still so much Zachary didn’t know about Wander. He had to find out their limits before they encountered another tough opponent like the black wolf pack leader.

“First things first. Apart from your shield and healing breath, do you have any other abilities?” Zachary asked.

“Nope.”

“Alright… then your shield will be the most important ability for us in the heat of battle. Being able to block powerful incoming attacks is just as good as having a powerful attack of your own. I know you can cast it around yourself. Are you able to do anything else like cast it around another object?”

Wander tilted his head and thought about it, “Huh, I never thought about it that way, I suppose so?”

“Okay, let’s test it out. Wander, stand about a meter from that piece of driftwood and try to cast a shield around it.” Zachary pointed to a bare tree trunk that had washed ashore a long time ago.

Wander waddled over to the right position and then sucked in a deep breath. After a moment of concentration, the markings on his shell glowed green. Eternum surged forth and gathered in front of the driftwood, forming a curved, octagonal shield that was semi-transparent and hovering in mid-air.

“Good! Really good!” Zachary said. “Wander, you’re full of surprises!”

“Haha, of course.”

Zachary shook his head. Wander had surpassed his expectations once again. This feat of casting an ability a short distance away was already the mark of an adept rank ability.

Normally, novice rank Ensouled had limited understanding of the world and of Eternum. Their control of soul energy was crude. They could only utilize Eternum within their bodies or expel it outward in an uncontrolled manner. They could choose the initial direction and intensity but that was it. This kind of ability control was evident in how Blue used its rain ability or how Arrow used poison. It was also how the baby forest elephant used its leaf blade attack and how the black wolves cast pack bond.

The way Wander used its shield just now was fundamentally different and on another level. It wasn’t just creating a shield around his body. He moved Eternum across a certain distance and then formed it into the proper shape with his will, with every step following his exact intentions. This was the exact definition of an ability that had reached the adept rank!

“Alright, let’s test its effectiveness. Wander, hold the shield there. Onkie, tackle it at full speed!”

“Onk!” Onkie grunted loudly, excited at finally having something to do.

She trotted a short distance away and turned toward the driftwood that was covered by the glowing green shield. She gave a shout and began her charge. She quickly built up speed until she was a rolling ball of fur, a furious mound of muscle and toughness.

Bang!

Onkie collided with the shield and bounced off, rolling a short distance. She scrambled to her feet and shook her head. The shield, on the other hand, was unharmed and so was the driftwood behind it.

“Good! Wander, now move another meter away from the log.” Zachary instructed. “Onkie, attack it again.”

“Onk, onk!”

The same process repeated. Onkie’s charging attack was once again deflected. The glowing shield dimmed significantly but it still held and the log was still unperturbed.

“One more. Wander, move another meter. Make sure the shield is as strong as you can make it. Onkie, go!”

Bang! Crash!

This time, the shield was unable to resist the heavy impact and shattered into fragments of light. Onkie’s momentum carried her into the driftwood, smashing it into splinters.

Zachary clapped his hands, “Well done! Wander, your limit should be somewhere between two to three meters for Eternum control. But this is only your first try. It will only get better with practice!”