By the time she had made it back to the fount it was late in the afternoon. She had to take a few detours on the way to avoid the Spirit Beasts attracted by the smells of the corpse she carried, but any worries that she was still being trailed by unwanted predators faded as she activated the protections of her meadow. She dropped the Forest Howler on the ground, grimacing at the stickiness that clung to her upper back and the soreness that hadn’t subsided yet. She swore to herself that she would take a bath as soon as she was finished cleaning the kill, but there was no sense washing up right now just to get covered in blood all over again.

Retrieving the supplies that she stashed in a tree earlier, Samantha grabbed her skinning materials and got to work on processing the four-armed ape. Occasionally she would look up to the sky, judging how much daylight she had left before dusk arrived and, by extension, the how long the window of opportunity remained open for a dip in the stream. By her reckoning she had about 3 hours, which if she hurried would be just enough time to finish up everything.

Her practiced hands flayed fur from flesh, removed viscera, set aside prime cuts of meat, and sorted bones into various piles. Many people would find being elbow deep in the chest cavity of any animal to be revolting, but oddly, Samantha found a sort of familiar comfort in the grim task. The expertise gained through years of helping her parents around the shop allowed her mind to wander while the quality of her work remained high.

She reflected on the hard-fought battle and the surprising difficulties that she had encountered. The nine-foot weapon she wielded was undeniably versatile and suited her needs well in combat, but it was more challenging to maneuver in the tight spaces of the forest than she expected. She had trained for fighting in close quarters before coming to the Eastern Reaches of course, but she found that practice rarely gave the same experience as the real thing. Even countless hours of form practice and sparring couldn’t fully prepare her for the utter chaos of actually fighting for her life. Unlike in sanctioned competition, there was not always a perfect parry or rebuttal for every move that the opponent made. Sometimes she just had to dodge like hell and hope for the best.

She knew now that she had been extremely fortunate in fighting two opponents that were as interested as killing each other as they were her. If not for the free moments she got when they fought amongst themselves, getting stuck in an unfavorable location or her weapon catching on the surrounding plant life could have meant her end. She recalled a few dicey incidents when she swung and her spearhead would knock against low hanging areas of canopy, or she would pull back for a thrust and the butt of the spear would scrape a tree trunk, but her advanced attributes luckily compensated for these mistakes.

She sighed and looked over at the weapon that was significantly worse for wear than it had been several hours prior. The spearhead tip was entirely gone, likely broken off on or in the carapace of the Rock Beetle. In addition, the blade’s edge had several chips, and the wooden shaft that the spearhead was mounted to had cracked with the force of her attacks at some point. In short, it was entirely unsuitable for combat now. If she went out again without doing some sort of repair first, she was asking for trouble.

With that thought, she concluded dismantling the Forest Howler and brainstormed for a feasible fix that wouldn’t take more than 30 minutes. She had about an hour of daylight left, and she knew that if she didn’t want to be stuck literally rolling in dirt to try and get off some of the gore before sleeping, she had to mend the weapon quickly. Making a snap decision, she chopped off the first few feet of wood that had cracked and removed the damaged spearhead. She then pried a wickedly sharp canine from the skull of the primate, figuring that it was better than broken steel. Carving a couple notches into the tooth so that she could easily fasten it to the remaining 6 feet of unblemished wood, she tied it to the shaft with cord made from the beast’s tendons. With her crafting session completed, she looked over her new spear, uncertain whether to be embarrassed or proud of the somewhat grisly result. Just for fun, she used Inspect on her creation.

Primitive Bone Spear (Low Quality)

This six-foot-long spear was hastily constructed in the desperate pursuit to bathe. Made from the remains of an Average Quality Qiang and a Rank 1 Forest Howler fang and tendon, the result could best be described as ‘crude but effective’. It’s not going to win any beauty contests, but it just might kill your enemies.

Samantha read the message and shrugged, “Yeah… that’s fair.”

She didn’t allow herself to dwell on the description any longer though. She buried the offal a ways off so it wouldn’t attract predators to the glade, and secured her supplies along with the usable Howler parts and fur in a tree a bit further than normal. With about 30 minutes to go before the sun set, she left for the southwest at a fast clip. Being familiar with the route after two weeks of going back and forth gathering water, she navigated the trees unerringly to a stream not 5 minutes run away. Without ceremony she stripped, washed the blood from her body and her robes in the frigid water, and ran back through the woods in clean but wet robes, staying vigilant for any unusual forest activity.

She arrived back to the safety of the nexus with minutes to spare, the sun dipping precariously low and the stars beginning to sparkle in the dimming light. After retrieving her things and setting a choice cut of Forest Howler meat over a small cooking fire, she began to wander the glade to pass the time as her dinner roasted. She took time to appreciate the general peacefulness after her hectic day, and it was when night truly fell that she noticed something odd in the path of her stroll. It was a plant that she had never seen before, and the only reason that she saw it at all among the countless others was because it glowed slightly. She knelt to get a closer look and noticed that it wasn’t in the best shape, as far as her untrained eye could tell. The purple plant stood about 3 inches tall with a handful of thumbnail sized leaves sprouting from its stem. Some of its leaves had bites taken out of them from bugs or some other small spirit beast, and Samantha speculated that the somewhat wilted appearance was the result of the tall surrounding plants preventing it from getting enough sun. Curious, she used 3 qi to inspect the mysterious herb and her eyes widened at what she saw.

Starfire Sprig (Quality Legendary – Poor Condition)

This herb is rarely seen on the 1st floor, requiring high concentrations of qi to grow and so only appearing in Rank 3 Qi Nexuses or above. If dried and crushed into a powder, ingesting this plant will give the consumer a small, permanent increase to the rate of cultivation until they reach low Bronze.

Samantha couldn’t speak for a moment, wholly shocked into silence. With shaking hands, she dug the plant from the ground and stored it in her pack beside the beast cores. Legendary quality was something she never thought she’d see in her lifetime, only whispers of such even existing on this floor. Even the most powerful nobles or Yivesh’s ruler himself were rumored to have only a handful of Rare or Epic items between them all. What would something like this be worth? She could probably buy a dozen of the highest-grade qi forged spears with the money she’d get from a find like this, but did she dare sell it? How much time could she save if she ingested this herself? She’d probably be viewed as a prodigy!

She didn’t hesitate to scour the meadow for more glowing herbs after she finished eating dinner, and that was another pleasant surprise in itself. Spirit beast meat was ridiculously expensive considering the additional dangers in acquiring it versus eating meat from bred livestock, but it was a staple among cultivators who could afford it or hunt for it themselves. Different types of meat gave different benefits, and after she finished her steak Samantha got a notification that her endurance would be increased by 1 for the next 6 hours. She practically cooed as she felt the life energy in the meal suffusing her muscles and finally pushing the aches she felt to the background. Feeling revitalized, she channeled that energy into her search. A few times she caught sight of the familiar glow, but upon closer inspection all she discovered was disappointment. Every place she checked had only broken and munched on stems remaining. By the 5th chewed stalk she found, she decided to call it a night.

“That darn rabbit, I bet he ate them all! And of course, he ate all the best herbs around and only the wilted one was left behind. Ugh, if I had known…! No, I probably couldn’t have stopped it from cleaning out the meadow anyway. It has some den around here that even my enhanced awareness hasn’t been able to pin down. I guess I should be lucky he left anything standing at all.” She huffed in frustration, trying not to let greed get the better of her. She had one legendary find already, and that would have to be enough. Glumly returning to her bedroll for the night, bone tired after the long day, Samantha lay down and went to sleep.

An undetermined amount of time later, an unusual sound by her head abruptly woke her. Her eyes snapped to the origin of the rustling and she found herself face to face with the Lunar Hare, her bag chewed open and the last glows from the legendary herb disappearing into its mouth. It took her a split second to register that this horrible moment was not a dream, but wretched reality, and a strangled scream escaped her lips as she watched on impotently. The hare had seemingly scattered the entire contents of her bag in its search for her Legendary Herb, even her spirit pearls lying out in the open.

It gave a startled hop at her sudden movement and shout but didn’t immediately run off as she would have expected. It had, however, landed over near a fallen Beast Core and inspected it with inquisitiveness.

“No! No… nice bunny. Nice…” Samantha pleaded, starting to get up from the ground. The hare’s gaze appeared to turn mischievous, and it leaned over the pearl while looking her dead in the eyes. Samantha tensed her muscles in preparation to punch the dreadful creature into oblivion, but before she had the chance it seized the beast core in its mouth and nearly vanished in a burst of unreal speed. Utterly flabbergasted at this development, all coherent planning and strategy fled from her as she was consumed by one thought: she was going to turn that blasted rabbit into a scarf once she got her hands on it!

She relentlessly pursued the agile beast through the meadow, following the trails that it left behind as the speed with which it fled from her caused grass and flowers to blow over. A few times she lost sight of it entirely, but a quick session of cultivation and using her sphere of perception allowed her to locate its hiding spots time and time again. Hours passed as they continued their game of cat and mouse, but Samantha didn’t notice the passage of time in her murderous trance. She snatched at fur as it leapt over her head, she kicked out nearly indiscriminately as she arrived at hiding spots and its camouflage hid it from her sight, and the extra point of endurance kept her energy up while the hare began to flag and take more rest breaks. For some reason, it refused to leave the boundaries of the nexus, and that suited Samantha fine. One way or another, she was going to win.

It was as the sun began to rise the next morning that the rabbit’s diminishing energy stores finally ran dry. It was laying panting in a patch of grass when Samantha gleefully pounced on it, her quarry finally in her grasp and the beast core still in its jaws. The core, to her dismay, was nearly spent, only the barest glimmer of light remaining in its center. This wasn’t enough to completely dissuade her from her goal of retrieving it though, so she pinched the pearl between her thumb and index finger and tried to pull it free, but the Lunar Hare redoubled its efforts to keep hold of it. She pulled harder, and the rabbit stubbornly squealed and attempted to thump her with its back legs as it was pinned to the earth. The third time, she yanked with even greater force and could swear that she felt its spine groaning under the strain, but still it refused to let go. This time, its entire body turned somewhat see through, presumably attempting to use whatever hiding techniques it had left to escape. She had a sneaking suspicion judging from the way things were going presently that if she continued to play tug of war with the stupid creature, she would take off its head before it let go of its prize.

Samantha growled in annoyance and debated whether to just kill it outright in retribution for the massive losses it had already caused her and for the merry chase it took her on. It gazed up at her with piteous, shining black eyes, and its nose and ears trembled as she glared. Whatever it was using to turn translucent was fading now, and she could see clearly the small body covered in dark brown and green fur that would blend so well with the forest floor. It was indescribably soft, reminding her of times when she’d touched rich silks or worked with freshly sheared cloudwool from Heaven Lambs.

She looked at the beast core still trapped between her fingers and the incisors of the hare and saw the light within it flickering out. The rabbit had evaded her long enough to nearly consume it in its entirety. If she were still in the heat of the moment, she would have struck the Spirit Beast down without remorse, she knew. Now though, to take its life while she had it in complete submission, while it was so vulnerable and—dare she admit it—cute? She would have no use for its meat or fur since she already was carrying the Forest Howler remains, so she had to face the fact that she would be killing it for vengeance’s sake alone. She turned her focus back to the animal tiredly, feeling the fires of her rage guttering low in disappointment after so many hours wasted pursuing a lost cause. Somehow, as the animal locked eyes with her, its expression became even sadder looking than before.

She took several cleansing breaths, letting herself fully embrace the feelings of anger and frustration that lingered in her chest, and then with the final exhale she let those negative emotions go. Maybe someday she would kill for vengeance, but not this day. It didn’t know any better, after all. It was just an animal.

“You’re lucky that you’re so cute, or else you would be stew meat, understand?” Samantha lectured, releasing the beast core from her grip at last. With the last barrier gone, the final spark of light was absorbed by the Lunar Hare, and a notification appeared in her vision.

*Ding* Hidden Objectives Completed: Spirit Bond Discovered

The Lunar Hare that made its home within the Nexus you discovered has been observing your progress. You have impressed it with your speed, tracking abilities, and determination, and it believes that you will be a worthy ally now and in the future.

The following requirements have been met to create a Spirit Bond with Lunar Hare:

Force submission without fatal injury to the Hare Gift of 1 herb ranked Epic or higher Gift of 1 Spirit Beast Core

It offers to bond with you, do you wish to finalize this bond? Y/N

“Gifts, huh?” Samantha chuckled cynically as she read, the thrill of discovering how to bond a Spirit beast tempered by her overwhelming exhaustion and general disappointment. “Well, what’s done is done. So, I might as well profit from the loss, right?” she asked herself, speaking into the early morning air.

Spirit Bonds were not unheard of in Yivesh, but they were not common either for the non-nobility. Each species of Spirit Beast apparently had unique hidden requirements to bond with them. For the wealthiest and most powerful families, a popular practice was to breed one specific spirit beast that they already know the requirements for. This way, any promising cultivators in their family could get a Spirit Bond, so long as there was a beast available. The knowledge of the bond requirements themselves were heavily guarded, of course, as bonded cultivators are nigh unbeatable for any unbonded cultivator at the same level. This practically guarantees that those families will always be in power, especially since almost all noble houses possess or have access to a permanent qi fount in the region. Somehow, letting aspiring cultivators within their lineage use these founts does not count as giving them undue aid (as the final chain of the cultivation quest forbids), possibly because the nexus’s existence is considered “common knowledge” to the family in question. So, not only do they raise up an unusually high volume of cultivators, but with the addition of spirit bonds, their strength is only able to be held in check by other powerful noble families or Yivesh’s ruler himself.

Deciding her course of action, Samantha selected “yes”.

*Ding* You have chosen to finalize the Spirit Bond

To complete the binding ritual, feed your final spirit core to the Lunar Hare.

Samantha’s eye twitched. She looked down at the rabbit and she could’ve sworn that the furball winked at her. Her eye twitched again. Lifting it by the scruff of its neck, she carried its limp body over to where her second spirit pearl had fallen on the ground earlier that night. Bitterly, she picked it up and held it before the hare, promising herself that if this was some sort of sick joke, she would definitely strangle the creature this time around regardless of how cute or defenseless it was. As soon as the core was within reach, the rabbit’s head snapped forward to snatch it from her palm. But instead of it eating the spirit pearl again as she expected, the hare bit down on the orb and shattered it, releasing a cloud of blue, glittering mist around them. Tendrils formed in the vapor and wrapped around her and the hare, sinking into their skin and joining their souls with bands of qi.

*Ding* Congratulations, you have successfully bonded with Lunar Hare (Rank 4 – Low Quality)! You are the first human in over 600 years to bind with this species and have been rewarded one additional Spirit Bond Ability for this feat. While many cultivators will look down on your choice of companion, you know better. This animal is more than just a pest or a food source for other Spirit Beasts, but a clever forager with more than a few tricks up its sleeve. Select your starting Spirit Bond Abilities on your status page.

Samantha was dubious that something on the bottom of the food chain could have the highest Spirit beast ranking that she’d ever seen, but she could figure that out later. She promptly opened her status page to see the new updates

Name: Samantha Cray

Age: 17

Cultivation Level: Low Copper

Qi pool: 10/10 (+0.5 qi points/hour)

Body Cultivation: None

Combat Arts: Inspect (Base cost 1 qi)

Strength: 5

Agility: 8

Endurance: 6

Resilience: 5

Spirit Bonds: Lunar Hare (Rank 4 – Low)

Strength: 2

Agility: 12

Endurance: 5

Resilience: 3

Bond Ability Points: 2 remaining (+1 bond ability point/cultivation stage advancement. i.e. Low Copper-> Mid Copper)

Swift – For every 1 qi point spent per second, you will gain +2 agility. For each additional qi point spent per second, gain +1 agility. After the ability ends agility will return to normal levels Prey’s Perception – Gain increased passive awareness of your surroundings. Affects all senses Herb Hunter – Like the Lunar Hare, you have an uncanny ability for finding the best quality herbs around Poison Connoisseur – Inherit the toxin processing abilities of your bond. You will more easily gain resistances to any poisons you encounter Translucence – For every 1 qi point spent, you will become partially transparent for 30 seconds. Remaining motionless while translucent will make you exceedingly difficult to spot