Beastforged Bond

Flying back home didn’t take long. In fact, I hardly noticed anything, caught up in a world of thoughts and doubts.

Killing the Spawn was one thing. It wasn’t the first time I’d eliminated one, and this one wasn’t even the strongest I’d fought. Turning its body to liquid was new, but the Insignia’s power worked well against that.

The Insignia. Created by consuming Volca’s Mark, it was something extraordinary. That much was fairly obvious, yet it hadn’t been apparent just how extraordinary it truly was. ‘Very special’ was the right answer, because not only did the Fire Spirit not care about having a portion of his power consumed, he started to call me ‘Primal Heir’ as well. He treated me like I was the solution to some of his problems. A Spawn – or Devourer – problem, if I wasn’t completely wrong.

With how easily the Spawn fell, unable to do much against the Insignia’s power, Volca’s attitude made sense.

Though looking down at my now bare chest, firm muscles twitching as I soared through the air, I could barely see the white sphere bearing the Insignia’s mark. It was dull, and if it had been any weaker, it would probably have been invisible.

Volca wanted me to do something about the Spawns. He made that much clear in the last few years, and that made me uncomfortable, to say the least.

Make use of that. Tell him to give back Volix if he wants you to hunt down Spawns.

Sapsie pointed out the obvious, and I could only agree. Fighting the Spawns, making sure they wouldn’t be able to consume all life and ether on Razarn, was important, yet it was nowhere near as high on my priority list as Volix.

“I hope Jura talked to the Spirits.” That would make many things much easier.

It didn’t change two facts, however; the Insignia was not omnipotent, and I couldn’t afford to stop growing stronger. Not that I ever planned to. However, growth and strength were interesting qualities that did not have to relate directly to combat prowess. At least, not entirely. I could always walk down a slower path to build a firm foundation and move forward much faster once that foundation was complete.

And that was exactly what I planned to do. I couldn’t afford to slow down much, yet I could divert some of my attention back to those Spirit-forsaken nodes.

“I think I need some help.”

***

I found myself back in the arena where I fought Orieath.

The Fire Caldera wasn’t present, though I was sure Orieath would have come if I’d messaged him. The Fire Caldera blessed by Volca was quite talkative and asked to spar at least once every day. In all likelihood, he would have asked more often if he had known that my World had fully recovered. But that and my daily chats with the Fire Caldera were beside the point.

The Mikoniv scout standing beside the upper benches in the small coliseum, on the other hand, was not. He was the very reason I came here, being the only higher-ranking Mikoniv I’d seen until now.

Approaching the Mikoniv scout watching a rather boring spar between two young Blessed, I caught his eyes flicking in my direction three times before he finally turned.

“How may I help you, human?” he asked in accent-free Common.

The Mikoniv scrutinized me for a long moment, his eyes narrowing as the seconds passed by. “I remember you. You were with the Fire Caldera, were you not?”

“The Fire Caldera are my friends,” I confirmed. “My name is Adam.”

“Greetings, Adam. Did you change your mind? Are you interested in joining our company as a guard?” His eyes lit up momentarily, yet whatever he saw in my eyes seemed to dull the spark.

“I am not.” The Mikoniv let out a soft sigh at my answer, but I wasn’t done yet. “But I do have a business proposal, if you’re interested.”

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That caught his attention, though he said nothing as he looked up. Seeing that the Mikoniv wasn’t about to respond, I told him about my leaking Gates, my research into Gate Outflow Syndrome, and what I planned to do with nodes. Or filters, vortexes, or whatever ether swirl would help me absorb and annex ambient ether.

The Mikoniv scout listened in silence, yet it was clear that he wanted to hear more – and that he was interested. At least that was what it looked like to me.

“I want to hire a Mikoniv proficient at creating nodes to help me,” I proposed. “I can pay good coin. And no, before you ask, I won’t join the guards. I will stay in Draccos and focus solely on my growth, training, and my beloved.”

The last few words seemed to catch the Mikoniv by surprise. His pitch-black eyes opened a little wider than usual, yet he quickly regained his decorum. Still, the faintest hint of a smile played on his lips.

“You want to hire one of ours?” he asked as if to confirm. “And all you need is someone proficient at forming nodes? Which nodes are you interested in? Stage? Efficacy?”

I knew I could learn all about nodes and filters by myself. Trial and error was nothing new to me, but was that really necessary? Since I could afford it, I might as well hire an instructor who knew what they were doing. And being a merchant race certainly made things easier. No secret was too valuable to remain one forever.

“I want to start with Gathering Nodes. Stage-1, high efficacy if possible, but I am more concerned about their permanence. I want Nodes that can, theoretically, become anchors and stay forever with minimal maintenance.”

The Mikoniv scout nodded slowly, his smile growing wider. Then the negotiations started.

“Permanent nodes are hard to create. Teaching someone who has little to no understanding of nodes or how to incorporate them into the body is very difficult. That means you need one of our best to help you.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “If you want someone to help you incorporate a Mikoniv technique into a human weave, doing something no one has done as far as I know, we would have to apply for a thorough examination. Creating a new Nodes Formation technique would be time-consuming and expensive, adding yet another zero to the price.”

The Mikoniv added a few more conditions, each of which made me regret having asked for help. Suddenly, I didn’t think I had enough coins to ask the maritime race for assistance.

“I want to learn the basics first. I do not need a new Nodes Formation technique either. No thorough examination is needed,” I said in a hurry. “All I want is someone to teach me their most basic technique. Maybe for... five silver coins an hour?”

“Five?” The shimmer of coins in the Mikoniv scout’s eyes faded right away. “Did you not say that you have coins? Five silver is not a lot. Even if we accept your conditions, you expect us to reveal our race’s greatest secrets. That alone will cost you ten platinum coins.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “I’m not asking for highly classified information. All I want is someone who can help me with information that can already be found in the archive. As for the archive’s records, I already checked them out and know what can be found and what can’t. My Soulkin and I technically know about the Nodes Formation techniques, the 18 Basic Nodes, and how to upgrade them. We know enough about the theory to try the next step, but practical application is the problem.”

The Mikoniv didn’t seem happy with my response, but nodded begrudgingly. “A thousand platinum coins is indeed not fair for what you expect. However, you would have to pay that price if you wanted one of the greatest Mikoniv to teach you all about nodes and how to incorporate them into your physical body. Only they have the means to help you. As for those meeting your requirements... they won’t help you for the money you offer. Five silver coins is simply not enough. It’s insulting.”

“More insulting than asking for a thousand platinum?” I raised an eyebrow at the Mikoniv scout.

“Fair point,” he said, his lips tilting into a faint smile. “Fifty silver per hour is more acceptable.”

“Ten.” I shook my head. “You do not have to send one of your Experts to teach me. A Journeyman should be more than enough.”

“If you pay 20 silver coins an hour, I can ask one of our most talented Adepts to help you. He has already formed his first Stage-3 Node and replaced most of his Stage-1 Nodes. He is also one of the youngest Mikoniv to ever form a set of five intertwined nodes. He loves working with nodes; however, he is not the best teacher. Still, he is one of our greatest talents, and he could learn a lot from teaching you, for 20 silver an hour.”

My first reaction was to reject the idea, but I didn’t follow through with it. Thinking about the offer for a long moment, I found myself nodding slowly. Aureus was the first to agree, his enthusiasm barely muffled by the exhaustion of the earlier fight.

“20 silver coins it is.” I agreed, holding out my hand. “When can we start?”

“That’s lovely to hear.” The Mikoniv shook my hand firmly, a toothy smile spreading across his face. “Let me give you his contacts. I will inform him, and you can begin training alongside him tomorrow. If he behaves rudely, pummel him a little bit. He may need a beating or two every now and then, and he will likely challenge you if you fail to meet his standards, but that should be fine... right?”

He didn’t seem all that worried, and neither was I. While his remarks were a little odd, I had a madman of my own.

If annoying, I will cut! Nox promised, and this time I did nothing to stop the Ferronox Mantis. Why would I, if the Mikoniv gave me explicit permission to teach my instructor a lesson? That was fine... wasn’t it? Or was I missing something? It certainly felt like I did.