Even exhausted as she was, Samantha couldn’t help but smile. She closed the status page and wisely decided to get some proper rest before making an important decision like this. Setting the Lunar Hare down on the ground gently, she said, “I’ve got a lot of thinking to do and questions to consider, but I’m too tired to deal with it right now. Do what you want, I guess. I’m going to sleep.” It looked up at her as she spoke, bobbing its head once when she finished before bounding away into the nearest patch of flowers. She wasn’t in a state to properly register that it had apparently understood her, her mind fuzzy and clouded as it was. All that mattered at the moment was the bed roll on dirt that strangely felt so soft and welcoming for once. As soon as she laid down and closed her eyes, she was asleep.

She awoke when the sun shone from directly overhead, the semi-uncomfortable warmth stirring her more than the light itself. She rose with a grunt, rubbing her eyes and begrudgingly finding a nice patch of shade to perform her morning exercises and stretches. She contemplated searching the meadow for her new companion, but as soon as the desire came to her, she already knew its location. It was like there was a string that connected her to a small bundle of qi not 20 paces away. She couldn’t physically see her bond, but she was confident that this location was accurate. As if to confirm her suspicions, she felt the string shift during one of her spear forms, and a glance over in its direction revealed a subtle parting of the grass ahead. She spent the next several minutes tracking her rabbit through the clearing, and when she was satisfied with her familiarity with the new awareness, she reflected on her bond ability choices.

Prey’s Perception was pretty much a given. Enhanced senses had already saved her life when she dodged the Forest Howler’s deadly projectiles, and she could only imagine the improvements even better senses would grant her. The question was what to do with her second point.

Swift was the first skill near the top of her list. Admittedly, with only 10 qi currently at her disposal it could give her an edge in a fight at best, but at higher levels when she had a qi pool measuring in the hundreds, she could be untouchable. It was difficult to concretely measure exactly what Agility affected, but it’s often thought to determine movement control and movement speed. A general rule of thumb was that every point of agility gave a person around 5mph of running speed and increased processing and reaction speed by 10%. So, every 10 points of Agility would add a racehorse's worth of speed to her already impressive sprint and would double her perceptive and responsive capabilities. If she took the skill now, she could have anywhere from +11 Agility for 1 second and +2 Agility for 10 seconds, but would that be enough to make the skill worth it?

Herb Hunter was also a tempting prospect. Being able to just stumble upon more priceless herbs like the Starfire Sprig could make her filthy rich if she played her cards right. However, there were too many logistical issues with this option to make it worth it at this time. In short, she wasn’t an alchemist herself, she didn’t know an alchemist trustworthy enough to not cheat her, and word would undoubtably spread of her finds, making her a prime target for stronger cultivators. Not to mention, the skill doesn’t list the frequency of these discoveries, so it could activate several times a day or once a year for all she knew.

Poison Connoisseur was an interesting option as well, but she felt like it wasn’t her best choice right now either. Poisons that could take down a cultivator just weren’t that prominent on the 1st floor, and their use was generally frowned upon in duels because it meant the fighter was too weak on their own to defeat their opponent. The biggest poison risk she would encounter were the venomous Spirit Beasts around here, but she knew enough about them to avoid contact for the most part. Perhaps she would return to this skill later if poisons that could hurt her became more common.

Finally, there was Translucence. She couldn’t deny that it was an effective stealth ability, having seen her Hare nearly disappearing from sight even while being pinned by her. It could be useful hunting prey, hiding from superior predators, or make herself a difficult target to track in a duel, but would it be more useful than Swift? Samantha knew that sight was only one of the senses she would need to obscure if she was to hide effectively, and translucence would do nothing if her opponent had a heightened sense of hearing or smell.

In the end, Samantha comforted herself knowing that she could eventually get all the skills with enough training and progression. The important thing was what would save her life in a fight right now, and the rest could come with time. She selected Prey’s Perception and Swift and confirmed her choices.

*Ding* Bond abilities selected! Changes have been made to your status page.

Samantha opened her profile, skipping over her main stats to see what had changed in the bond ability section.

Bond Abilities:

Swift (Rank 1) - 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

Bond Ability Points: 0 remaining (+1 bond ability point/cultivation stage advancement. i.e. Low Copper-> Mid Copper)

Swift (Rank 2 – Cost 2 Points) - For every 1 qi point spent per second, you will gain +2 agility. After skill ends, effects will persist for 5 seconds, losing 1/5th of total value each second until original agility level reached. 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

“Interesting,” Samantha mumbled to herself, “so I can buy the next rank of Swift if I have 2 points, and it will make every qi point invested increase agility by +2, instead of +2 as a baseline and +1 for every point after that. It also gives a sort of lingering effect, so I would basically get some free agility for no extra qi cost. There’s not an option to buy a second rank of Prey’s Perception, though. Maybe passive skills are already as advanced as they can be?”

As Samantha was pondering the new information, she felt the string that connected her and her hare begin to thrum with potency. Before she had much time to process the change, a jet of qi slammed into her from the bond, flooding her with power and insight that recalled the dark of night, hidden burrows, and the light of celestial bodies. The flow quickly tapered off into nothing and suddenly Samantha felt. She felt everything.

The sensations were overwhelming. Sounds seemed to amplify several times over and she heard more than she could have thought possible. Leaves falling from trees dozens of yards away, the flaps of bird wings flying overhead, she heard it all. Her sight sharpened to the point where she could pick out every individual blade of grass in the meadow, and she could somehow see entirely behind herself. Only a small area directly behind her head was not visible to her extended vision. She could smell the decay of animals long dead and being returned to earth by fungi and insects, she could practically taste the forest on the breeze with each breath, and she had never been more aware of the semi-rough fabrics of her cultivator’s robes as she was in this instant. She slapped her hands to her ears and shut her eyes to ground herself, but closing off two of her most prominent senses only served to further highlight her smell, touch, and taste.

Her panic must have called her bond over, seeing the bundle of qi in her mind’s eye quickly approaching her crouched position. It stopped in front of her, sniffing tentatively before nudging her knee with its head. When Samantha did not move or reply, a young, male voice rang out in her head, “Ignore.” Samantha snapped her eyes open at that, looking at the furry creature in astonishment. She had to quickly close her eyes again when every piece of fur seemed to stand out in exquisite detail, feeling dizzy at the sensory input. The hare huffed slightly, speaking into her mind again, “Block,” this time accompanied with images of a dam clogging a river.

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me,” Samantha bit out in irritation, falling to the ground in the fetal position, trying in vain to focus on only one thing at a time. With yet another huff, the hare moved closer and pressed his nose against her forehead. Disjointed segments of knowledge began to flow into her, maddening when stacked upon the increased senses vying for dominance in her awareness. Piece by piece though, she finally understood what he was attempting to say. With a flex of her will, she imagined the Prey’s Perception ability with a dial next to it and turned it down until she returned to human levels. Freed from sensory overload, she took some calming breaths and just lay back in the grass for a while. The hare snuggled up to her side, keeping her company as she wound down.

“So, you’re a boy, huh?”, Samantha asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes.” the hare responded.

“And you can understand me and talk back?” she asked.

“Little.” he said.

“Do you have a name?”

“Name?”

“I can’t just call you ‘hare’ or ‘rabbit’ or ‘spirit beast’ forever.”

“No,” he said, the tone in her head giving the impression of mild disappointment.

“I’m not particularly good at naming things… but don’t worry, I’ll find you a good name. It just might take me a while to decide, okay?” she offered cheerfully.

“Name!” he replied, the tone sounding much more enthusiastic.

If she were to describe his voice in human terms, the ‘sound’ reminded her of a young teen’s. It was more a feeling than anything, given that he was communicating telepathically, but her gut feeling rarely led her astray. She wondered if all this was just going to be her new normal, now that she was a cultivator. Talking with animals, gaining abilities that pushed you to the edge of insanity... what other crazy things lay in her future?

Putting those thoughts aside, Samantha refocused and steeled herself for the training that she had originally been planning on today. This qi nexus was a rare stroke of luck that may never come again in her lifetime, so there was no way she was going to leave it before she’d gotten all she could out of it. If she was able to break through to Mid Copper before returning to Yivesh, not only would she be able to unlock her first meridian and begin her body cultivation, but she’d make a name for herself immediately. If she could garner a reputation of being someone quickly rising through the ranks of power, it would make dealing with merchants or fellow cultivators much easier. You didn’t want to swindle or offend someone who could quickly be your superior and get revenge for it, after all.

Telling her companion of her intention to do intensive training for however long the fount remained, she ate a Howler Steak to gain +1 endurance and got to work.

The days passed in a blur and turned into weeks, which turned to months, the process of being deep in cultivation warping Samantha’s sense of time so she could not clearly determine how long she sat in meditation. She only stopped to eat and sleep, and when the food ran low, she went to hunt so that she could eat and sleep some more. She noted that her cultivation speed was reduced because of her Spirit Bond, a portion of whatever qi she gathered being transferred down the soul string to her hare, but she accepted the fact without bitterness. He was not a slave to her, serving only to increase her power for nothing in return. The promise inherent in any bond was that the two would grow in strength together, and so she embraced the added burden with unwavering determination. She also made the decision to split the bounty of beast cores from her hunts with the Lunar Hare, learning from him that he could increase his rank from both her own advancement and ingesting spirit pearls. Samantha stored her share of the cores for later use when the fount inevitably ran out, and while she was fairly certain that he would not try to rob her blind in the night a second time, a firm conversation about boundaries ensured that he would not.

She would spend days at a time fully immersing herself in the currents of qi that swirled around the forest, cultivated qi supplementing her bodily needs somewhat. As she drew the flows into herself with the familiar breathing pattern, Samantha noted the thickening of qi in her core and how it became more and more difficult to pack energy into her dantian. She knew she was getting close to reaching the next breakthrough. It was then, nearing the cusp of Mid Copper, that the nexus ran dry and disappeared forever.

Samantha couldn’t hold back the groan that escaped her lips at this development, “Really? Right now of all times?”. She grunted in frustration, standing from the lotus position with slightly stiff legs.

“You’re close,” the lunar hare said. Over the last months his voice had become clearer and more mature sounding in her mind, and he was also now familiar enough with the common tongue to communicate to her in more than one-word replies. Though the sentences he sent were still short and primitive, it was remarkable progress considering he’d never even heard human speech until she came here several months back. Samantha supposed that having their souls tied together made learning things the other knew much faster than normal, and that applied to her as well. With his guidance on how to tune out non-critical sensations, she was now adjusted well enough to Prey’s Perception to always have it at around 75% effectiveness.

“Yes, but I wish I had more time all the same.” Samantha griped, fetching her bag from beside her. “Can you keep watch while I absorb these? Now that the barrier is gone, spirit beasts will be drawn to the spirit pearls we’ve accumulated”.

“Don’t worry. I will guard.” He replied simply, staking out a hidden spot near a tree.

Samantha sat with her back to a shaded boulder, grabbing the first of the spirit pearls from a pouch. “This will be a first for me, any advice on what to expect when I absorb them?” she asked quietly, trying not to let her voice carry too far.

“Don’t let memories eat you. Strong will needed”, he said ominously, falling back into silence.

“Thanks… I’ll keep that in mind,” Samantha replied, seeing a notification appear in her vision as she spoke.

*Ding* You have claimed Rank 1 Beast core- Low Quality (Wind Fox). Consume? Y/N

Samantha braced herself and selected yes, and the world faded to the background. Scenes of the creature’s life flashed before her eyes with increasing speed and intensity. Birth, the death of her mother, hiding from the sky hunters, maturing, a mate, a territory fight… one by one the images flashed past. Focusing her will and centering herself, she pushed the memories down and dragged the qi that powered them into her dantian. As the energy left the core and the shell dissolved in her hand, so too did the recollections of the animal vanish.

Samantha shivered involuntarily, the last memory she glimpsed was being speared through from above by none other than Samantha herself. Looking inwards at her core, the progress was comparable to half a day of uninterrupted cultivation at the nexus, certainly nothing to scoff at. And this was the lowest core possible to possess, she had greater ones to consume.

In total, Samantha had 4 spirit pearls left: two Rank 1 – Mid cores, one Rank 1- High core, and one Rank 2-Low core. She found that these were equivalent to 3 days, 1 week, and 2 weeks of cultivation respectively, and by the time she had finished integrating them she felt like her dantian was going to burst with qi. It had become easier with practice to suppress the memories, to the point where she hardly noticed them with the final core, but sadly it had not been enough to push her over the threshold to Mid Copper. If only the fount had lasted for an hour or two more, she knew she would have broken through by now, but she tried not to let frustration get the better of her. Her progress compared to normal was already staggering, accomplishing in a few months what most took more than half a year to achieve--and with a bond constantly siphoning a portion of her advancement. Dusting herself off and feeling encouraged by the comparison, she began her travels West towards Yivesh carrying her tired Spirit Bond in her arms.

Each core had taken at least an hour to process, and so it was already nearing late afternoon. However, with Samantha’s impressive Agility level, she knew she could cover significant ground with the daylight remaining. She kept her senses keen as she ran, letting her companion rest as she did so. He had been working diligently on fighting his nocturnal nature to be awake for longer during the daytime, but he still had difficulties staying still and attentive for long periods like he had been while on guard duty.

She took this time to test out her Swift ability as she jogged, keeping it active for a second or two at 1 qi/second before cancelling the ability and giving her pool some time to recharge. She needed to get a feel for what the skill did, but it would be reckless to spend too much qi when she may actually need it to fight something off in the near future. It was a subtle change, but noticeable. Her steps became lighter and came faster without any extra effort on her part.

A pleasantly unexpected side effect of using the skill was that it seemed to give her steps better traction—like qi held her feet to the ground just enough to not let them slip. She gave this a test by making a pinpoint turn, and found that indeed, she did not slide at all even running at a pace faster than a courier’s horse. Shockingly, it seemed to reduce the effects of inertia as well, the hare in her arms remaining completely undisturbed after her harsh change of direction. With a little more experimentation, she discovered the ability even allowed her to defy gravity somewhat if she leapt between the trunks of trees, her feet finding stable footing as surely as if she were on the ground. She couldn’t help indulging in a bit of childlike joy as she flew through the air at speeds the past her would have had trouble following. The feeling of freedom was intoxicating, and she was so enamored by the experience that she nearly missed a passel of Iron Boars crossing her path a few hundred yards ahead of her. Her Prey’s Perception was already proving its worth, she was certain she wouldn’t have noticed them at this distance previously.

Immediately, Samantha changed her planned trajectory from jumping out to another tree to jumping up into the current one. With Swift empowering her body, the shift was seamless, and she landed neatly on a decently sized branch about 20 feet up the trunk. Her initial alarm woke the hare, and he was squirming in her arms before she soothed his concern.

“Iron Boars ahead, they just surprised me is all. There’s no danger yet,” she assured telepathically, not wanting to risk the sound of physical speech reaching the ears of the boars.

“High is dangerous.” He retorted, and Samantha could feel his unease at being up in a tree. It made sense, she supposed, since normally hares would have no good reason to be 20 feet in the air. If anything, it would mean some predator caught them and was carrying them off to be dinner.

“I promise I will not fall or drop you. We are safe for the moment.” Samantha declared confidently. No reply came from her bond, so she considered the matter settled for now.

Looking ahead towards the boars, she saw there were 6 in total. A larger male, 3 medium sized females, and 2 babies. Based on her knowledge of Iron Boar behavior, it was likely that this was the same group—or offshoot of the group—that she had run into right before she found the qi nexus. The boars were territorial animals and would chase off any other spirit beasts they felt were intruding on their claimed lands. Looking a bit closer, she noticed the male had some healing puncture wounds along its face and sides, giving further credence to this theory. A boar's go-to attack was a goring strike, so there must have been a dominance fight with another male around here. This one appeared to be the winner, considering he was still alive.

The question now was, what was she going to do in this situation? Going around the group was certainly an option, but with night falling soon she didn’t feel good about trying to make a detour like that and getting far enough away to camp safely. The safest bet would be to go back the way she came and make a tree stand to sleep in until morning, but a part of her loathed the idea of losing time and forward progress. A third, more stupid option presented itself. She could try and pick off the herd.

Iron Boars are practically blind, their terrible eyesight was their greatest weakness and the reason why she was able to hide in a tree to escape them last time. With night falling, she just might be able to kill them in the darkness without being discovered if she was quick enough. And she had just the skill to make “quick enough” a possibility. If she could pull this off, she’d have more than enough beast cores available to break through as well.

Iron Boars were typically Rank 1 – Mid or Rank 1 – High creatures, since they were sturdy and strong but did not possess any special abilities. Their hides would be tough to pierce, but with the 6-inch Forest Howler fang at the tip of her spear she had confidence that she could land a lethal blow if it were well-aimed. The bone of a spirit beast was naturally sharper and bit deeper than mortal grade steel like her orignal spearhead had been, so she knew that the boar hide would not deflect the blow at the least. All she needed to do was bide her time until they fell asleep, and then she would strike.