Standing with my hands clasped behind me, I focused intently on the golden light of my alchemic vision which revealed precisely where the Shimosaru dwelled in the snow plum tree.

For over an hour, I had been intently tracking its every movement as it zig-zagged through branches. Every time it paused for breath, I conjured up a blazing fireball just above its head; not to harm, but merely communicating that I was aware of its presence.

I heard the soft panting of fear as the creature ceased running. I set a spark of fire above it but this time, instead of sprinting away in alarm, it remained still and didn't flee from the flames. It seems our game of hide-and-seek is at an end.

"Yes, that's right," I whispered, locking eyes with a pair of inquisitive blue ones. "I see you."

As I finished my statement, its body was finally revealed to my eyes. The Shimosaru appeared to possess all the features of a small primate, with the exception of its additional set of arms and the fascinating iridescent fur that covered its body. The monkey stayed visible for only a brief moment before it let out a low, chittering cry and then disappeared from sight once more.

“Well done,” I praised, stooping to pick up the bowl I had placed on the ground when I first entered the courtyard.

After Noctus had left the courtyard and returned to the temple's warm shelter, I remained behind and set ablaze the remaining plums that were still clinging to the tree's branches.

By now, I figured the Shimosaru would be ravenous. Which was why I had prepared a bowl with half a snow plum and handful of dried fruit mix. Although I was aware that the meager amount of food wouldn't be enough to sustain the creature, it did serve its purpose in demonstrating that compliance reaps rewards.

If Noctus had interpreted this situation properly, the Shimosaru would be an adult male who had been booted from his polygynous family unit.

From previous discussions with Yuki, our guild's resident tamer, I was aware that forming a mutual connection with an older creature could prove to be more problematic than it did when connecting with Leo.

When we first bonded, Leonidas was only an infant and he was easily convinced to bond after our confrontation with the Komodo dragon. I knew this creature would be quite different from him, as it seemed more intelligent and thus unlikely that a domination bond like I used with Scorchers would work here either.

Placing my hand against the cage bars, I used transmutation to form a gap big enough for me to fit the bowl and created a small ledge on which to place it. As I pulled away my hand, the slight opening shut and I backed up six strides. My gaze fixed on the orb of gold light, waiting for it to approach the bowl.

I was expecting a lively response to the food, but the primate never moved. After some time had passed, I determined that it would be wise of me to leave; while my new pet could handle being out in these cold snow-filled conditions with ease, unfortunately the same could not be said for myself.

I strode through the hallway of origin, where my arrival was met with an emphatic chorus from the astrology disciples gathered around the orrery at its center. "Blessed is she, the High Priestess, Kadia!" As they spoke, I offered a courteous nod in their direction.

“Blessed be you all this day,” I responded, continuing towards the stairs and into my office without saying anything further. I had spent a lot of time thinking about how I wanted to go about interacting with the temple's disciples. In the end, I decided that maintaining an aloof demeanor would best suit my goals.

In many religions, and even in some guilds, it was rare for the general populace to interact with those of a higher rank. That is why I planned to restrict my interactions to the clergy and direct disciples, leaving the priests or priestesses to tend to the general populace.

The books within the high priestess's office contained a lot of helpful information regarding how the former high priestess had arranged the temple's hierarchy- something I would be reintroducing. It would take time, but eventually I hoped that, with the right systems in place, the temple would be able to operate smoothly with little input needed.

Previously, the temple's hierarchy was split over three branches: the disciples, the clergy, and the scholars. At the bottom of the temple hierarchy were the outer disciples. These were followers who had been granted access to the temple and its publicly available resources, such as library rooms in each hall; however, they did not have access to workspaces or resources for use in those workspaces. Furthermore, outer disciples were not allowed to reside in the temple.

Inner disciples were the next step in the hierarchy and were allowed to use the temple's workspaces and resources. They were also invited to participate in private lessons held in each of the three halls. The third rank a disciple could achieve was that of a direct disciple. These were personal disciples of the clergy or master scholars, and they were the only ones given permission to reside within the temple.

Once a disciple had become an inner disciple, there were two paths they could take. They could either follow the path of the clergy, rising through the ranks as an acolyte, curate, and eventually becoming a priest or an archpriest- with the archpriest being the highest rank achievable below that of a high priest. Archpriests were charged with the care of a single temple, whereas the high priest -or in my case, priestess- oversaw all.

The second option was to join the ranks of the scholars, not only engaging in the study of natural philosophy, but being sent on various quests. According to Hemera II's notes, these quests were related to searching for resources for the temple they served. Depending on the scholar's rank, starting as an apprentice, they could take on these quests in order to gain access to rewards offered by the temple.

Chewing on my bottom lip, I stared out of the window that overlooked the courtyard in which I had contained the Shimosaru.

There was so much to be done, but I relished in the work as it kept my mind busy enough that I wasn’t left to dwell on things I’d rather not think about.

I leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, lost in my thoughts, when something caught my eye - golden letters glinting from above me that I hadn't noticed before. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a quote from The Kybalion; an ancient book of teachings from Hermes Trismegistus written in the nineteenth century on Earth.

"The possession of knowledge, unless accompanied by a manifestation and expression in action, is like hoarding precious metals—a vain and foolish thing. Knowledge, like wealth, is intended for use. The law of use is universal, and he who violates it suffers due to his conflict with natural forces." A fitting quote to be placed within a library, one that reminds me of the purpose for which the temple should serve.

"What does one need to create a temple dedicated to learning?" I mused, grabbing one of my dwindling supplies of vellum-bound notebooks and my fountain pen. I paused, thinking of all the possibilities ahead. My mission was to bring this temple back into its former glory and make it a place where knowledge and wisdom could be shared - a place where people of all backgrounds and ages could come to learn, explore, and create.

"I've already got a priestess for astrology, and I guess one for transmutation if the instructor from the academy shows up. I also need to get my hands on Finnic in order to work out where Tris has hidden Kelnose, so I need to add people to the hall of alchemy until then." I scribbled my thoughts in the notebook, muttering under my breath about stupid alchemy gods making my life difficult.

"I almost decided against bestowing this, considering your current attitude, but here," Trismegistus said into my mind."You have succeeded in gaining three hundred followers to our path. However, in punishment for your insults, I have decided to alter our agreement regarding the increments of your rewards. Your next reward will be bestowed when five hundred disciples have joined the path."

"What! But–" An golden light flooded the area and an overwhelming power swept through me, causing my protests to dissipate.

I looked around and saw a simple wooden box on the desk before me; its lid inscribed with the number three hundred. With a disgruntled groan, I opened the treasure box to discover a glass jar.

Lifting it out of its container with anticipation, I held up the jar to my face as my eyes followed the now empty loot box fading away. There was a small amount of clear liquid inside the jar, and floating on top of it was a thick layer of what I initially thought were bubbles. But upon closer examination, little dark spots could be seen in the centers of the clear spheres, which I concluded must be eggs of an amphibious creature.

“If you are a benevolent god,” I called to the empty room, “these will be the eggs of a Glacis Bufo,” I received no response—not that I had expected any.

I ran my fingertips over the cool jar, pondering what to do with its contents. If these were Glacis Bufo eggs, then they'd need a cold, watery habitat in order to hatch- their natural environment for spawning tadpoles. However, if it was an alternative amphibious creature that had been sent from the god, introducing them into one of the courtyards could be a death sentence for those little unhatched critters.

I let out a heavy sigh of frustration as I left the library, carrying my jar to my laboratory. There, I separated the eggs into three large containers, one of which I carefully placed next to Pyr's furnace for warmth.

Next, I carried the remaining two jars out of my private quarters and into the courtyard where I had caged the Shimosaru. Crouching down in a sheltered section of the courtyard, I partially buried one of the jars in the snow, making a note of the location so that I could find it later.

I brought the last jar to a spot near the snow blossom tree, and its caged occupant. Pressing my hand to the earth under the snow, I sent a pulse of mana through the transmutation amulet to create a shallow pond. After filling the pond with water by melting some of the snow, I emptied the jar's contents into the newly formed pond.

Satisfied that I had done enough to ensure at least one lot of eggs would hatch into whatever creature they would be, I turned my attention to the stone cage, where a pair of blue eyes watched me with interest. Seeing the overturned bowl and the snow plum pit discarded on the ground, I guessed the Shimosaru had eaten the offered food.

"Show yourself," I ordered, staring into the blue eyes which blinked once before disappearing from sight.

Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I watched as the Shimosaru leapt onto a branch high in the tree. I summoned a flame above its head, sending it flying around after the small primate as it moved quickly through the tree. This time, the Shimosaru conceded defeat much faster; its six limbs trembling with a mixture of fatigue and hunger, it made its appearance, clinging to a branch.

With a pleased smile, I walked closer to the bars of the cage and, after retrieving the bowl, added a single plum. This time, I did not move away after closing the opening in the cage; instead, I stared at the Shimosaru who gazed back at me with fear-filled eyes.

Cautiously, the monkey moved closer, stopping every few inches as it made its way to the bowl. When it was only a few meters away, the Shimosaru disappeared from sight as it leaped towards the bowl, and snatched the plum before retreating back to the tree. Watching the snow plum being eaten by an invisible mouth, I pondered whether I should force the Shimosaru to reveal itself again or leave it for now and return later.

The primate answered my question by reappearing on its own and tossing the plum pit aside. With a soft chitter, the Shimosaru began moving across the branches, never taking its eyes off me as it maneuvered through the tree towards where I stood.

It was easy to see why the creatures were hunted for their iridescent fur; the shifting of the colors was a beautiful sight to behold, and I could understand why people would desire clothing made of such fur. The issue was that the Shimosaru were not large creatures; adults grew no taller than a human toddler, according to Noctus.

This Shimosaru, in particular, wasn't much bigger than some human babies I had seen; thus, it likely wasn't an adult male as I had previously suspected. Though it was certainly a male; the genitalia, which could be glimpsed as it jumped across branches, made that more than clear. However, it was either a smaller specimen or a younger one. Considering this was the only member of its species I had encountered, I wasn't exactly in a position to determine if either of those theories were true.

Opening a hole in the cage, I carefully held out a snow plum, making sure not to put my hand through the cage. Instead, I held the plum outside the cage, indicating that the Shimosaru should reach out to get it.

Watching the fruit, the Shimosaru cautiously moved its front four limbs off the branch on which it sat. Partially stepping onto the ledge while keeping its tail and hind legs firmly on the tree branch, the primate lowered its head and peered out of the hole I had made.

I remained frozen in place, not moving an inch, while holding the fruit in front of the hand-sized gap in the stone cage. Blue eyes locked onto mine, and the Shimosaru made a low squeaking noise before stretching out its hand to cautiously take the fruit.

As soon as it pulled its hand back, the six-limbed monkey sprang away from the side of the cage, moving high into the tree to eat its plum. Unlike the previous time, the Shimosaru did not conceal its form as it ate, giving me an opportunity to better examine how its fur changed colors in the sunlight.

As a treat, I put two more plums in the bowl resting on the ledge and rummaged through my bag for what remained of the dried fruit mix. As I looked through my enchanted bag's inventory screen, a jar of thick amber liquid came into view.

"I wondered if it likes honey?" I mused, glancing up at the Shimosaru who was descending rapidly from the tree, its eyes locked on the replenished bowl.

Tapping a finger on the lid of the jar I had pulled out of the bag, I thought back on what I had learnt in school about the different species of primates. Many species of primates had been declared extinct by the end of the twenty-third century, but a few still populated sanctuaries around the globe.

In documentaries, various experiments were shown demonstrating the intelligence of these animals, and I wondered if I could recreate them here. Would this Shimosaru possess a similar level of intellect as real primates?

Noctus said that the Shimosaru were highly intelligent creatures, skilled at avoiding hunters. Thus, it surely could work out how to use a stick to scoop honey out of a tube.

"I don't think a glass test tube is a good idea," I mused, searching through my bag for something to put the honey in. "Aha! I have some empty clay tubes leftover from making smoke bombs; those will be perfect."

After pouring some honey into the tube, I placed one of the wax caps on the end. I heated my fingers with my inner fire to melt the wax enough to adhere it to the clay. Now, the Shimosaru would either need to retrieve the honey from the holes in the sides or remove the wax top. Of the two, I suspected the monkey would go for the easier method of removing the wax. But, I wanted to start with a simpler task before increasing the difficulty of retrieving the treat, just as I did when testing the mimics and Pyr in the maze.

The Shimosaru watched my actions closely as I prepared the test, a half-eaten snow plum held in one hand, while it stuffed handfuls of the cubed, dry fruit mix into its mouth with another.

When I placed the tube of honey onto the ledge next to the bowl, it froze, its hand halfway to its mouth as it eyed the new addition to its prison. Using a third hand, the Shimosaru reached out to pick up the tube, whilst bringing the hand holding the fruit mix to its mouth to continue eating as it examined the wax seal with its fourth hand.

Watching the monkey use all four of its upper limbs simultaneously, I wondered if both pairs of limbs had a similar range of motion as the second pair, lower on its torso, did not appear to possess a full shoulder joint.

In less than a minute, the Shimosaru peeled off the wax seal and, after sniffing the contents of the tube, tossed it onto the ground in a gesture that showed it had no interest in the honey.

Blue eyes met mine for a brief moment, then disappeared from sight. Only my alchemic sight, and the half-eaten snow plum hovering in midair, showed that the Shimosaru remained perched on the branch. Clearly, the monkey wasn’t impressed with my little test.

Smiling, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Pyr’s displays of contempt when I gave it tests that it deemed beneath its intelligence.

“I'll bring something harder next time,” I informed the Shimosaru, who gave a soft chitter in response.

Pleased with the small amount of progress I had made, I left the courtyard, my tails happily swishing behind me despite my attempts to force them to remain still.