6 Months Later:

2nd September, 3032 B.E.

It was evening. The sun was going down on the horizon slowly. The day was giving way to night and it was getting dark. The chirping of insects could be heard as birds returned to their nests to end their busy day. Night predators were also awakening to go on their hunts.

A figure could be seen standing outside of a lonely house in the middle of a small clearing of a forest. The figure was constantly staring at the tree line in front of him with a worried expression.

The figure painted a lonely bleak picture with a gradually darkening background. It was Jacob. He was standing outside of the house, waiting for his father to return safely from the city.

It had been six months since the war had begun. Jacob never visited the city even once during that time. While his father visited the city alone after every three months to sell some wood and buy newspapers in order to know the progress of the war.

This was the second time his father had gone out to the city. Every time his father left him at home, Jacob used to become worried for his safety and well-being.

He was aware that his father presented a perfect picture of a lone weak old man ripe for robbing to the criminals in the city. They could also ambush him outside of the city.

Those were some difficult days that Jacob passed, his each and every second overthinking and making his thoughts run wild, worrying about the safety of his father.

He was strong now. He was stronger than any normal adult, even if they were trained in the arts of arms. He wanted to use that strength to protect his father but he was strictly forbidden from following him to the city.

Jacob kept standing there for hours, trying to detect any sign of his father returning home. But it was darkening slowly and it was getting difficult to see into the forest clearly for any signs of an incoming person.

After waiting for so much time, it was becoming too dark to see clearly into the forest. It was time for Jacob to return to the house. But he kept delaying his return in the hopes that his father would arrive right now.

After delaying for a few minutes, Jacob became a bit disappointed and decided to return to the house. He was also slowly losing sensations from his legs due to standing still for hours long. Just as he was about to turn back, he caught sight of something deep in the dark forest in front of him.

Some kind of light source was quickly approaching the clearing. Jacob became a bit wary after seeing that. His father never used a torch or any other kind of light source when travelling through the forest.

As a result, Jacob quickly prepared for the unknown. He took off the bow he was wearing and nocked an arrow with his strong arms.

There was a high chance that these were bandits. No thief or robber would dare come this deep into the forest at night. Jacob was a bit nervous. This was something he was going to experience for the first time. But he believed that his strength rivalled a second-stage cultivator at least. So it allayed his worries a bit.

Soon, the light source approached the tree line and a figure broke out through the trees into the clearing. It was a white-robed bearded old man.

Seeing him, Jacob relaxed and a sense of relief washed over him. It was his father. He kept standing there and waited for his father to get closer to him.

Jacob realized that his father was neither carrying a torch nor any other kind of light source. He was emitting a soft white glow. His white robes were shining slightly. Jacob could also see some glowing butterflies fluttering around him.

The elder was in a dome of soft white light. Wherever he went, the light around him pushed the dark shadows back. It was as if he was a sole beacon of hope in a grim desolate world.

Jacob became mesmerised as he watched the scene in front of him. He stood there in a daze, his black-coloured eyes reflecting the pure white light in front of him.

Surely. Father is not ordinary. A smile unconsciously broke on his face as he thought about the unusual nature of his father. He kept standing there, watching his father get closer and closer.

Just as the elder got close enough, he opened his arms wide, beckoning Jacob to hug him. Jacob walked forward and hugged him.

He was six feet tall yet he was still a bit short from his father. He hugged him tightly as if afraid that he would go away again.

Seeing this, the elder smiled softly and started patting him on his back slowly.

"Let's head inside. I have a surprise for you." After a minute or two, the elder told his son to head inside with him.

Jacob stopped hugging him and both of them entered the house. By now, the elder had stopped glowing.

After entering the house, the elder took out a set of newspapers from the backpack while Jacob lighted a candlestick. He then took away the backpack from the hands of his father and placed it in a cupboard near them.

After that, he came to sit in front of his father, hopeful of what was to come next. The elder did nothing but handed him the newspapers.

Jacob took them and read the headline on the first page.

The war ends. The peace treaty signed.

Reading the news, Jacob smiled. A hidden weight that he was not aware of got lifted from his shoulders and he started feeling comfortable. He then read the detail below it.

"After about six months since the war was declared, a peace treaty was signed between kings of the Ursus Kingdom and the Red Horn Kingdom at the northwestern border. Both of the rulers shook hands and vowed to improve their relations in the future."

"During the war, many battles took place between the two countries on the border. Many soldiers from both sides lost their lives and many lost their loved ones. The armies clashed many times on the battlefield and inflicted heavy losses on each other."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Although all the battles were massive in magnitude, they could still not be compared to the first battle that took place on the plains at the border between the third armies of both the kingdoms. The battle was fought in the march and both the armies suffered devastating losses during the battle."

"The battle was so devastating that both the armies lost more than half of their combat strength in mere two hours. The estimated casualties are reported to be above the ten thousand mark. Several conflicting reports are coming about the exact number but all of them agree that more than ten thousand deaths took place in a single day. In addition to that, a core formation cultivator was almost crippled during the battle."

Jacob paused reading after that and his eyes became unfocused. So, this is war, huh. His back was already wet with sweat.

He shivered at the magnitude of the loss of life during a single battle. He imagined himself fighting life and death battles with enemies again and again on the battlefield, with a constant risk of death hanging over his head.

He became curious that why a simple border engagement escalated into such a deadly battle. So he focused on the newspaper and started reading again from where he had left.

"According to hundreds of witnesses that acted as soldiers in the third army, the reason as to why the battle became so deadly was the discovery of a very precious treasure."

"A beast core was discovered during the battle. As a result, the second half of the battle was fought over its possession. In the end, the Ursus army grabbed victory and retreated after obtaining the beast core. It is being reported that the beast core is in the possession of the Aumrin clan of Agoross."

Hmm?? Beast core? Jacob thought about the new term. He had no idea what beast core was. So he looked up from the newspapers and asked his father about it.

"Father, what is a beast core? A destructive battle has happened over its possession a few months ago."

"A beast core is something that is possessed by some beasts. It acts as their cultivation centre and grows with time. It is also very useful for humans because they can implant it in their bodies to increase their rate of cultivation by a significant margin." The elder replied as he looked into Jacob's eyes.

"How much increase are we talking about here?" Jacob asked curiously because he thought that anything that increased the rate of cultivation even by even a small margin must be very precious.

"It usually doubles the rate of cultivation. The exact figure may fluctuate but the multiplication factor is usually two more or less. What? Surprised?"

Jacob's expression became that of surprise when the elder told him about the doubled cultivation rate. He could not believe his ears.

"Indeed. It is too shocking. It is a full hundred per cent increase. Won't this treasure be precious beyond measure?" Jacob replied while maintaining a surprised expression.

"Yes, it is. That is why over ten thousand soldiers gave their lives in order to obtain it for their country." The elder replied with a nod.

Double the cultivation rate. Does not it mean that a cultivator who hypothetically takes twenty years to get to some point would find that time reduced to mere ten years if he got implanted with a beast core? What luck. Jacob could not help but click his tongue while thinking about the usefulness of the treasure and kept staring at the table in front of him.

He also became a bit envious of the Aumrin clan. They had a beast core in their possession right now. There was also a great chance that they had already used it.

After that, Jacob started thinking about ways to obtain a beast core for himself. Obtaining a beast core would shorten his future cultivation times by half.

He would be easily able to reach the core formation level and beyond. It was too tempting for him and he could not help but become envious of those who possessed it.

The elder silently kept looking at his son's changing expressions with an amused smile, his silver eyes full of majesty and age.

Jacob wanted it to be a lie. The utility of the beast cores was too broken. He wanted it to be a slip of tongue badly but he could never deny one thing. His father never lied. He would never doubt his father's words. So, the ridiculous boost that the beast cores provided was a certainty.

I should get one. No, I must get one. It is too important to pass. But how do I get one? Is there a market for that? Is someone willing to sell such a thing? Do I have to kill beasts to get one? Am I strong enough to kill them?

After a minute or two of contemplating ways of obtaining a beast core, he gave up and resorted to the ultimate move, asking his father.

"Father, I also want to have a beast core. Where do I get one? Is there some market for it?" Jacob raised his head from the table and asked his father with a longing expression.

"Unfortunately, there is no market for the beast cores. There is only one way of obtaining a beast core. That is to join the armies at the front line. Beast cores are extremely valuable and are treated as a strategic resource by them.

Most sovereigns nowadays always have a beast core inside of them. The armies barely let any pass through them. Even sects are not allowed to give them away. They are given as rewards to front-line fighters for their contributions. But exceptions exist, such as what happened on the border a few months ago." After giving a lengthy explanation, the elder became silent.

Jacob kept looking at his father with a fascinated expression. Truly, he was not disappointed with the reply. His father was like a walking library. There was nothing that his father did not know of.

He always gave Jacob replies to his queries in so much detail that he could not help but be amazed every time. It was as if he had immeasurable knowledge.

"Father, what is the source of your incredible knowledge?" Jacob asked with a fascinated expression. He knew what was coming but decided to go ask anyway.

Silence.

The elder did not reply and kept looking at him with his trademark smile. Jacob smiled helplessly and got up from the chair.

"Good night, father"

"Good night, lad."

After saying good night, Jacob entered his room and took off his shirt. He then laid down on his bed while in deep thoughts.

He was thinking about the army. He did not want to join the army and fight on the front lines for the rest of his life. He knew that if he got into the army once, it would be impossible to get away if he became a wielder of a beast core. The army would never let a strategic resource walk away just like that.

He wanted to become a cultivator of adventure and learning new things. He wanted to get strong to protect his loved ones. He also wanted to enjoy the boons of being a cultivator. These were his dreams. He did not want to become a cultivator to get hired in an army and fight tirelessly.

Jacob was an adult now. He had turned fifteen years old the previous month. He was fit to start his cultivation now. His dream was so near. After years of waiting and hard work, he was so near.

His body had hit its peak recently. He had decreased his exercise routine gradually over the months and only exercised once or twice in the entire day to maintain it. He was getting thirsty for new things. He was aware that they would set out for Agoross in a few days.

Now Jacob was conflicted between two paths. One of the paths led to joining a sect and realizing his dreams. Another path led to joining the army and snubbing his dreams.

On one hand, there were his dreams and on the other, there were the beast cores. Jacob was deeply conflicted between the two. He tossed and turned in his bed, trying to decide which path he would follow, the path of his dreams or the path of power and slaughter.

He compared the pros and cons of both of them, trying to decide which one was the two. He came to the conclusion that both of them were somewhat similar.

He would have to give up on something precious in both cases. If he chose the path of the army, he would have to give up on his freedom and dreams. Similarly, if he chose the path of the sects, he would have to give up on a beast core and greater power in the future.

It was very difficult to decide for Jacob. After half an hour of intense internal struggle, Jacob's anxious expression changed into an expression of relief. He had made a decision.

He decided to chase after his dreams in the end. A sense of relief washed over him as his internal struggle ended. Although his heart was a bit aching due to giving up on power, he was willing to make sacrifices for his dreams. With a smile, he drifted into a deep sleep.