By the time Athar arrived back at his building, he had calmed down considerably. He knew that despite his intense fury and hatred, acting out of blind rage would achieve nothing. He needed to think calmly and clearly before making any critical decisions.
Fortunately, he had more than a week before Dervin would expect him to show up and pay thirty percent of his resources. For now, his absolute priority had to be focusing entirely on his upcoming entry into the academy. He did not want to mess up the starting first week of his academy. It was a very crucial time for his growth.
Putting those stressful thoughts aside, Athar sat down on the floor. With a single focused thought, he summoned his companion from the Mindscape, and the little snake materialized into the room.
Athar had initially been overjoyed when he first learned about the mysterious tree, thinking he would be able to instantly upgrade his serpentine partner. However, he quickly realized things were not going to be that simple.
First, the hatchling was not yet mature and strong enough to undergo an evolution to the next grade. It would need to accumulate sufficient strength to successfully ascend to the Gold grade.
While Athar was not entirely certain of the exact thresholds, he estimated the snake would need to reach at least D Rank or perhaps even C Rank before its body could handle a Gold grade evolution.
Second, a single Red Fruit would definitely not suffice for a beast of this caliber. It would require at least two of them to bridge the gap.
As the beast emerged, Athar felt as though the snake was offering him a smile as it hissed softly and slithered toward him. The connection between them was conveying that his partner was incredibly happy and pleased to be called out.
He knew that with time, their bond would only grow deeper, allowing him to understand his beast's thoughts perfectly. It was said that at very great strength, one could even talk to their beast. He did not know it for sure.
Athar crouched lower to the ground, gently sliding his index finger along the glossy scales of the serpent.
"Your scales are remarkably shiny," he mumbled softly. "And they look incredibly durable too, even though you are still so small."
The snake hissed rhythmically in response, as if nodding in absolute agreement with Athar's praise.
"Now, don't you think you need a proper name?" He asked. "I can't just keep calling you snake forever."
The beast hissed again, slithering up his palm and climbing onto his arm. Athar contemplated a fitting name while the serpent circled his wrist, settling down in the shape of a living, jet black bracelet.
"Sarpinash," Athar murmured testingly. "How does that sound to you?"
He immediately felt a wave of pure joy transmit through the bond from his companion, signaling that the newly named Sarpinash highly approved of the choice.
Satisfied, Athar stood up to test the very first skill he had inherited from his partner.
He raised his right palm, and a dark, shadowy mist began to erupt from his skin, rapidly coalescing into a dense, swirling sphere the size of a marble. With a flick of his will, Athar directed the misty orb toward the broken wooden chair.
Midway through the air, the sphere elongated, transforming into a foot long, rope-like strand of shadow. There was no loud crash upon impact as it crashed against the chair. The mist silently penetrated the wood, leaving a clean hole right through the centre of the backrest.
Athar felt his mana reserves instantly draining away, forcing him to loosen his mental grip and let the mist dissipate into thin air.
He approached the chair to examine the damage closely. It was not just a simple hole. The outer edges of the hole appeared frayed and dissolved, as if the wood had been corroded away.
The mist possessed corrosive and poisonous properties. Athar smiled, deeply satisfied with the sheer lethality of the technique. This was Sarpinash's inherent ability, and he hoped his partner would unlock even more devastating skills as they grew stronger together.
"I need to start practicing my mana cultivation right away," Athar muttered to himself.
While his body was naturally drawing in mana now that he was eighteen, the passive intake was pitifully slow. It might be a lot for a normal person but for a tamer it was insignificant.
To truly expand his internal reserves, active absorption of mana was necessary.
He tore open the paper bag the old man had handed him at the academy. Inside lay his new academy uniform, the guidelines booklet, and one another bookless. Basic Mana Cultivation.
With those resources in hand, Athar's true journey into the taming arts officially began.
.
.
.
It was the third day after he had registered himself at the academy, and today was the day when he had to report to the academy. Although the deadline was by the evening, Athar was already at the gates of the academy even before noon.
A small backpack was hanging on his shoulder. Two sets of spare clothes and the uniform of the academy, along with the two booklets he had received from the academy, had been placed inside it.
As per the rules, a student was obliged to wear the academy uniform only during classes. The rest of the time, he was free to wear whatever he wanted. It was not something that impressed Athar. He was not a rich brat who had a lot of clothes which he could show off to everyone else.
He entered the main hall and approached the New Registration counter, behind which the old man was again in a half sleepy state.
A knock on the glass from Athar brought the old man to a conscious state.
"Ah!" The man gazed at Athar. "It is you."
"You are quite early," the man mumbled as he pulled out his thick register.
He scribbled down something in it and then placed a rectangular shaped thin metal strip on the counter.
"Your identity card," the man said as Athar picked it up and started to inspect it.
The card was eight centimeters long and five centimeters wide. On the front, his name was engraved upon it with a number below it. It was his student ID. On the other side was engraved 'Class – A6,' which meant first year and the batch of the sixth month. 'Room – D4C,' which meant his room was in D block, fourth floor, and room number C.
"While you are in the academy, everything you do will be recorded through your student ID. The resources you receive, the rewards you get, or the punishments you receive," the old man informed further.
"Do you want me to show you your room, or can you manage?"The old man asked politely with a fake smile.
Athar had wanted the old man to show him his room, but the eyes of the man were clearly screaming to him, 'Do not dare to ask me to show the room. I want to sleep.'
Athar thus sighed with a shake of his head.
"I will manage," he said.
"Good," the old man smiled brilliantly.
Athar walked away with another shake of his head while the old man went back to his nap.
.
.
.
[Thank you for reading. Rate, Review and Comment on my novel. Also send the power stones]