Four weeks.

  For four weeks, the image of Renwal’s shattered arm had been fuel for Seth's fire. For four weeks, the face of Lucius had been the target he saw every time he killed a beast. Day by day, the sharp, blinding heat of his rage had turned into a cold resolve that settled in his chest like coals waiting for air—ready to ignite again at any moment.

  Hidden in the shadow of an oak tree, Seth watched two Red Foxes circling each other, growling and spitting out sparks whenever one dared to move closer to the glowing berry between them. The yellow and orange fruit shone brightly even in the afternoon light while its vibrant crimson petals sparkled like a fire in the sun. A Redsun Berry.

  The two orange-furred beasts had been locked in that little dance for quite some time, and Nightmare, crouched a few bushes away to Seth’s right, was starting to lose his patience.

  '' he grumbled, digging his claws into the dirt.

  '' Seth answered, unsheathing the long enchanted dagger he had bought from a Wandering Merchant one week prior. ''

  Despite gaining a lot of maturity over the past weeks, Nightmare had grown more prone to bouts of impulsivity and recklessness as his Rank had increased. But there was a deeper change occurring beneath the surface. Through Link, they shared a constant stream of senses, emotions, and perceptions. Without realizing it, Seth had transferred some his own humanity to the beast, granting Nightmare a grasp of complex human concepts far beyond what any wild creature should possess.

  Still, Seth didn't hold the occasional recklessness against him—even though he was now as large as a full-grown Boreal Wolf, the direwolf was barely an adolescent and had a few months to go before reaching true adulthood.

  Suddenly, the foxes leapt into action.

  Nightmare sighed. ''

  The larger of the two foxes lunged at the other, its claws outstretched, aiming for the other’s neck. The smaller reacted swiftly, dodging to the side, and countered by sputtering out a burst of fire that scorched its opponent's fur. The larger fox wasted no time striking back, imbuing its claw with vivid red flames before pouncing again.

  '' Seth said, spinning the hilt of his dagger in his hand. ''

  '' Nightmare answered as the foxes continued their battle, each trying to gain the upper hand.

  '' Seth teased before channeling aether through his Quick Step’s grooves as well as into his enchanted dagger. ''

  '—' Nightmare paused abruptly as the foxes began pulling away from each other, both panting heavily.

  '' Seth ran out from his cover, shouting to draw all the attention to him while Nightmare vanished to the side. Both foxes spun toward him then took a few steps back, sensing something amiss.

  Seth's lips curled up into a smile.

  Nightmare pounced at the larger one, phasing out of Illusionary Emptiness before going for a Shadow Bite. His large, sharp fangs dug into the fox's neck, and dark smoke billowed from his maw. The red-furred beast let out a piercing howl as its skin blackened around the bite, flesh melting away in only seconds.

  Meanwhile, Seth closed in on the smaller one, swerving to the side to dodge a wild burst of flames from the beast. As red particles began shimmering across the fox's fur, Seth lunged forward and threw a powerful kick that snapped its head back and interrupted its casting of Ember Shield. Grabbing the fox's neck, he then spun the glowing dagger in his hand and quickly drove it twice into the beast's underside before plunging it deep into its neck to end its life.

  The moment the limp corpse hit the ground, Nightmare arrived beside him and dropped a small, vivid red crystal at his feet. ''

  '' Seth answered, harvesting the beaststone of his fox before Identifying both crystals in a heartbeat.

  '' Seth joked, putting the two stones away in his pocket. ''

  Over time, they’d learned that when the direwolf consumed a stone from a beast of a higher Rank than his own, the attribute boost was noticeably stronger—but it came at a cost. The strain on his aether channels was heavier, sometimes lasting up to sixteen hours instead of the usual twelve. They hadn’t yet—and Seth doubted they would anytime soon—killed an Iron beast, so he had no idea if the same held true for stones from higher Tiers. For all he knew, consuming one might even be dangerous.

  '' Nightmare grumbled before tearing away and eating some of the fox's corpse.

  Seth said nothing as the direwolf ruined the pelt. During his early weeks of hunting, he’d wasted hours carefully skinning beasts, thinking he could use the hides for makeshift armor. But he’d learned the hard way that without the beaststone to anchor everything together, the residual aether in the hide, fur or claws faded within hours, leaving all parts of the corpse no more useful than any regular animal's.

  '' Seth said, flicking blood off his enchanted blade and sheathing it back on his thigh. ''

  '' the direwolf growled between bites. ''

  '' Seth answered, walking to the red flower. ''

  ''

  Seth let out a slow breath as he crouched to pluck the vibrant berry from its thorny bush, holding it carefully in his palm.

  A broad smile tugged at his lips—it was only the third one they’d come across in over four weeks of scouring the forest. The first two had been used for Red Foxes’ Baiting Potions, but this one was meant for something different. Tomorrow, he would be leaving for Arthuri to grab a new beast-hunting contract and give Professor Reat his twenty stones, so he didn’t need anymore of the potions to lure the foxes out.

  'Let's go,' Seth said, tucking the berry into his pouch, next to the Agility Potion and his last Healing Potion. 'Time to go home.'

  As Seth stepped into his shelter, he grabbed a fresh set of clothes and started changing. When he had seen Marcus the previous week, the old Alchemist had warned Seth that if he ever were to step into the shop while covered in blood, he wouldn't be allowed to buy a single thing.

  , he thought, recalling the Alchemist's mold-streaked robes. As Seth peeled off his blood-soaked shirt and reached for a fresh one, a low growl from Nightmare, who was standing right beside him, made him freeze. Seth paused, the new shirt half-raised.

  The direwolf’s snout wrinkled as he sniffed the air. Then his red eyes then locked on Seth's chest.

  '' Nightmare said through Link. ''

  Seth looked down at his father’s pendant. The two bluish teardrops were shining with a faint, rhythmic light under the rays of the sun.

  “You can sense aether coming from this?” Seth asked aloud, his fingers brushing the cold metal. “Since when?”

  ' Nightmare huffed. ''

  Seth pushed aether into Identify’s grooves.

  Seth froze, his mouth agape, and stared at the necklace in disbelief. His eyes fell on two words at the bottom: adaptive domains. The description hinted at something designed specifically for bonded beasts. he thought.

  A wide grin spread on Seth’s face and he shared the necklace’s description through Link. ''

  Nightmare’s ears flicked, and his gaze narrowed. ''

  '' Seth answered, sitting by the firepit. ''

  As Nightmare slowly approached, Seth didn't need Link to know how stressed the direwolf was—his red eyes were darting around, looking everywhere except at the necklace, as if the artifact was going to swallow him whole.

  Seth laughed. ''

  '' Nightmare grumbled, laying next to Seth. ''

  '' Seth said, lifting the pendant. ''

  The direwolf sighed and dropped his large head on Seth’s lap. ''

  Seth channeled aether into the necklace, just as he had learned to do with his enchanted dagger and his Vita over the past weeks. Upon using five percent of his Well, a massive force erupted from the left teardrop and instantly sucked Nightmare into the necklace before he could even react.

  Seth froze, blinking a few times while staring at the necklace dangling in his hand. The blue jewel on the left had turned completely black. For a moment, he just stood there, trying to process what had just happened before finally reaching out with their bond.

  '' he asked, his voice tinged with worry.

  '' the direwolf answered, his calmness catching Seth off guard.

  Seth exhaled, his shoulders relaxing. ''

  '' Nightmare said while showing him what looked like a wolf's den, a forest, and a lake. ''

  Seth let out a brief chuckle, shaking his head. "Alright," he murmured to himself, shifting his focus to the black teardrop. As he infused the same amount of aether into the artifact, Nightmare materialized back to his side, stretching lazily as if he’d just woken from a comfortable nap.

  '' Seth said, pulling the direwolf back inside. ''

  After several minutes of trial and error, Nightmare finally succeeded and sprang out. When Seth asked him how he’d managed, Nightmare had shared that he’d just needed to push aether into his surroundings.

  Seth ruffled the direwolf's head. ''

  ''

  ''

  ''

  Rubbing his face in exasperation, Seth moved back the direwolf into the necklace and set off toward Sunatown. On his way, he made sure to set some ground rules, just in case Nightmare had the brilliant idea of popping out to scare Renwal.

  '' Seth said, glancing at the sun falling under the horizon. ''

  '.'

  After the incident with Lucius and Renwal’s brutal injury, the town had been buzzing with questions. Seth hadn't been able to hide the truth forever. He had eventually revealed his awakening—and his Primalist class—to Mael and a few others.

  He had figured it was better to let the news spread organically in a slow burn rather than an explosion. That way, the dust could settle, and the villagers who still believed the old superstitions about Primalists being 'harbingers of doom' would have time to digest it.

  As he walked down the main dirt road, he noticed a group of children playing near the well. They stopped mid-game, pointing fingers at him. Some whispered in hushed tones, shrinking back in fear, while others watched him with wide, daring curiosity.

  '' Nightmare growled through Link from within the necklace. ''

  'No,' Seth replied, rolling his eyes.

  Throughout the twenty-minute trip, Nightmare practiced using their bond to see the world through Seth's eyes from within the teardrop. It was challenging at first, but by the time they reached Marcus’ shop, he had gotten the hang of it and could perform the action without much effort.

  As Seth walked into the dusty store, Marcus looked up and a fake smile spread on his wrinkled face. "Well, well, well, look who's back. The great botanist himself."

  Seth rolled his eyes. "Come on. How can you still be mad about that? the one who lost coins because of its bad condition."

  '' Nightmare asked through Seth's mind.

  '' Seth answered. ''

  '' the direwolf added.

  "And my elixir would’ve been of higher quality," Marcus groaned, stacking new green potions on a shelf.

  Seth threw his hands up and shrugged. "If you'd bought me an Endless Pouch like I asked, none of this would've happened."

  "Do you want my left kidney and half my liver with that?" Marcus retorted. "Get it yourself. I'm not your sponsor."

  '' Nightmare's voice echoed in Seth's mind. ''

  '' Seth replied to the direwolf. ''

  "I'll buy one when I have enough coins," Seth said aloud before walking up to the old Alchemist. "Now, let's talk business."

  Marcus waved his hand toward his counter. "Show me what you’ve found this time."

  A broad smile spread across Seth's face as he reached into his pouch and pulled out six colorful flowers: four Dark Nightshades, their velvety blooms as dark as Nightmare's fur, and two Bloody Roses, with long petals drenched in a crimson liquid that looked like fresh blood. He carefully arranged them in front of Marcus before delving again into his pouch and this time taking out two berries: the Redsun Berry he had just harvested, and a small blueberry wrapped in delicate white leaves.

  "Hmm, these two and that one are bruised," Marcus muttered, pointing at two of the Dark Nightshades and a Bloody Rose before inspecting the two berries. "But those two are in good condition."

  "How much for the lot?" Seth asked, already having a rough estimate in mind.

  "Normally, I'd say one copper and twenty common coins," Marcus answered, fishing out his money pouch. "But since it's you, sixty common coins."

  Seth let out an exasperated groan. "Oh, come ."

  The old Alchemist chuckled, handing him the copper and twenty common coins. "Use them to buy soap. You still smell like a wet dog, even if you changed clothes."

  "Smelling like lavender would be terrible for hunting," Seth retorted as he grabbed the coins. His gaze lingered on the brownish one that stood out from the rest, a faint shimmer of aether clinging to its surface—it was the first time he'd ever held one. After a pause, he shook his head and tucked them away.

  Marcus cleared the flowers and berries from his counter, placing them in empty jars behind him. "Don't forget to buy Lesser Healing Tulips in Arthuri if you want more potions."

  "Yeah, yeah, it's on my to-do list," Seth answered, fastening his pouch. "By the way, do you think I should sell my excess beaststones to a Wandering Merchant here to save on the Faertis' tax instead of meeting Sericar at Arthuri? For some reasons, the tax for selling anything related to beast-hunting or the Adventurers Guild is sixty percent instead of fifty."

  The old Alchemist shook his head while taking the jars one by one to the back store. "That’s a terrible idea. Any merchants here will offer half the real price because we’re so far away from any main cities. If you really wanna avoid the higher tax, Trogan is your best bet. It’s only thirty percent there."

  "Only thirty," Seth repeated with a sigh. "Better than sixty, but still."

  "Welcome to the trading world."

  "Thanks. I'll try my best to be as good as you." Seth flashed a smirk. "Ripping off youngsters by lying about their flowers' condition is a very important skill to learn."

  "Hold your tongue, or I'll cut it off," Marcus snapped back.

  "I’d better get going, then," Seth laughed, turning around to leave.

  Just as he reached the door, the old Alchemist called out, "Don't forget the soap!"

  "Yeah, yeah!"

  January 15, 2026 (7h15PM)

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