Lucy was eating breakfast with her new friends, Ellen, Joseph, and Kristie. They were discussing the classes that they were taking. Each A-class student was forced to take 3 two hour courses and 4 one hour electives. The 3 classes were Advanced Mana theory, Advance Mana manipulation & advancement, & Practical combat training I. Lucy had chosen to take Basic Beast-bonding, Tactics & strategy I, Tracking Techniques, and Riding as her electives. Skills that would be no doubt useful for an aspiring beast tamer. Gary had found some of these lessons interesting. Learning how to properly move mana around rather than intuiting it proved rather useful. It would prove more useful once he learned to cast any spells. Of course He understood the basic Idea of having to imagine the spell, but there were weird chants, and strange gestures associated with it, that he didn't quite know where to begin. Gary felt lucky that he wasn't big enough to be ridden, as that did not sound very comfortable.

In the beast-bonding class Lucy learned that to control a powerful beast was quite difficult. They could be temperamental, proud, and demanding. She worried about the implications this had for Gary. He had suddenly gotten much stronger, and it would be difficult for her to control him. She still felt the bond connecting her to him, but worried about whether that would be maintained going forward. Gary could also feel the bond. It seemed to be a small rune around his heart that constantly told him the location of his 'master,' and her state of being. It also gave him warm feelings whenever he was around her. Of course, he could resist these feelings, but he found them rather nice. Surprisingly, he found that he quite liked being a cat. He was well taken care of, and he didn't have to do so much running around.

Back in her dorm room Lucy decided that it was time she attempted to strengthen her beast bond. This was a dangerous procedure that would greatly increase the connection, and loyalty between the caster and their bond. It was only performed on beasts that one would consider a part of themselves. If the beast died the caster would lose a piece of their soul. If the strengthened bond was rejected the caster would suffer from their mana going haywire, which could be fatal. Lucy had not made this decision lightly. She felt that Gary in his current state had great potential going forward. She didn't know what kind of cat it really was, but being able to kill a spirit wolf so quickly was a good sign that it was at least B-rank. Beasts were ranked S-F. The Spirit wolf being a E-ranked beast. A giant fuck-off bear being S ranked. Gary felt the connection between him, and the girl deepening. The rune on his heart was becoming more complex. He could tell that if he interrupted the process it would likely kill the young girl, but if he didn't interrupt it his body would be permanently tied to hers. He deliberated for a moment, before deciding to allow it. This was only one body, at worst he could lose it and reincarnate. He had yet to accomplish anything with it. The ritual was done. The two could now feel each other's emotions. Lucy was filled with relief. Gary was bored, and hungry. Lucy giggled, and went to feed Gary.

At night when Lucy had gone to sleep Gary attempted to cultivate. He had been having trouble cultivating as a cat. It seemed that the mana didn't flow as freely in this body as it had in his improved one. He had learned that beasts generally awakened on their own. They would naturally be filled with mana, and then one day they would simply wake up stronger. Gary did not have time for that. Cats did not live very long, and the only way he had to extend his lifespan was cultivation. He knew that in the True Soul realm he would be able to receive a human form. He focused on his sea of consciousness. He could feel a cool breeze. He came to know that this feeling was the many slowly entering his body. He had heard in the mana theory class that there were certain channels that made it easier to cultivate. A skilled individual could easily sense these channels. Gary was not a skilled individual, so he used a brute force method of his own design. He'd been practicing his mana control for the last couple of weeks. He used his new found control to push mana out of his dantian out into his body. Wherever the mana passed through fastest was where a channel was located. This method was very painful, and could only be performed for a few minutes a day lest one cause permanent damage. Unfortunately it was the only method a brute like Gary could use. If he could find all of the channels on this body he could easily accelerate the rate at which he would be able to achieve a human form. At the current speed of its natural cultivation he would be long dead before getting to the innate talent stage