[Father: Is that the sick child with the malleable World? I remember him. Odd child. You cried a lot when you couldn’t see him.]
[Father: And you are still in contact with him?]
Typical. Dad never really listened. Then again, sometimes it felt like he wasn’t listening—or simply not bothered by the things happening around him—yet he remembered.
[Mom: A Soilback, you say? How is it that he can control a juvenile Soilback with a special trait when his World is so tiny? His Soulkin should be a 2-Star Wild if it can freeze a mature Bloodbath Deer for 0.56 seconds.]
Mom followed up with a few more questions. She’d read the files. Better yet, she didn’t tell me to cut contact with Adam!
Taking a deep breath, a holographic keyboard manifested before me, and I started typing.
[Aureus is indeed a 2-Star Wild. However, it does not have the physical attributes of a regular Soilback. My theory is that Aureus will never rival a regular Soilback. Instead, its main power will be the spiritual attack. And that, if nurtured properly, can be transformed into a deadly weapon. If used properly, of course.]
I answered a few more questions but froze when another message from Mom popped up.
[Mom: The information package you provided is detailed enough to conclude that their bond is firm—relatively, given that we’re talking about a rookie Blessed and a juvenile beast. It makes me wonder if you altered the information. Are you certain their bond is not yet four weeks old?]
Did she think I was lying? I grimaced, but I couldn’t hold that against her. After all, I had considered modifying the data slightly to make Adam look better.
[The bond is roughly four weeks old. The exact date is written in the file. However, Aureus hatched only three weeks ago.]
A string of messages filled the chat after I sent mine.
[Mom: I see.]
[Father: Did he ask you to do this? Like the time he begged you for the beast egg?!]
I could already feel Father’s presence descending, and I shuddered.
[Dad! You know that last time wasn’t Adam’s fault. He never asked for anything—just like he didn’t ask me for this. This—all of this—is my doing!]
My fingers swished across the keyboard faster than I could think as I added:
[I even offered him money to pay for his debts because he was too worried about his family and their financial situation. That idiot nearly forfeited the opportunity to bind a perfectly compatible Soulkin!]
Silence filled the room, broken only by the muffled sound of my feet pacing. I half-expected the worst when Mom sent a final, long message after several minutes of utter quiet.
[Mom: I just read the report. Your friend’s situation is peculiar. His father nearly killed himself for your friend’s sake. I also agree that it would have been no issue repaying their family’s debt. Yet, as foolish as your offer was, I am happy you told me. As a worried mother, it feels even better to hear that Adam didn’t accept it.]
Huh? What was going on here?
[Mom: We will be back in a few weeks. Until then, you will give me a weekly report.]
Too stunned to type a response, I stared blankly at the chat as several messages popped up—each containing documents. My stomach tightened, and my eyes widened as I opened them, recognizing dozens of videos and study materials I’d long since studied. They were etched deep into my mind after my parents had forced them upon me years ago.
[Mom: Prep him up. You can also go outside with him. However, I do not want you to tell him about this—any of this. If you’re serious about this, you better make sure to keep this between us. His character seems acceptable, and he looks determined as well, but I want to be certain. We cannot afford to make any mistakes.]
Mom didn’t send any more messages. As for Father, he couldn’t be bothered. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’d closed our group chat after the first few messages.
Anyway… My eyes lingered on the documents and Mom’s responses. She hadn’t outright rejected my request. Quite the contrary, she saw potential in Adam.
It worked. I made it! I could do nothing to cast aside the smile that bloomed on my lips. Not that I could be bothered, either way.
It had been a while since Mom had been interested in one of my friends. Adam was probably the only one she didn’t scare off—not that she didn’t try. However, the incident in our childhood had been my fault—a misunderstanding that escalated out of proportion. But even that wasn’t enough to push Adam away. Sure, it harmed our friendship, but that was all the more reason for me to try harder. To fight for our friendship.
At last… At last, it had paid off.
Coco bleated aloud and sent arcs of electricity through our bond, ripping my wishful thoughts apart.
“Yeah, right. We’re just getting started. Mom didn’t accept Adam just yet. This is but the first step.” I patted Coco’s head and sent waves of gratitude toward my Soulkin. Sometimes—more often than not—the Thunderhorn Bull kept me grounded.
“But I don’t think I need to worry about Adam. We’re both stubborn folks. If not for that, our friendship wouldn’t have survived this long.”
Adam had been hard-working and as tenacious as an Endless Cockroach Empress, even when he was unBlessed and his body was a wreck. Now that he was a Blessed and his body possibly a blessing in disguise rather than a curse, he would thrive.
He always went against the odds. Against fate.
And I was certain he would surpass my mother’s expectations.
Adam was not alone this time. I received Mom’s permission to help, and I would make sure to give it my all.
“So… how do I deal with him?” I grimaced, staring at the files.
“Will he take them just like that?”
No. Adam wouldn’t accept them if he knew how valuable they were. As invaluable as knowledge, tutelage, and safe techniques for overly excited children could be. Even my parents had to pay a hefty price for them.
Adam would… I shook my head, switched to Adam’s chat, and typed away.
[Hey dude, I attached a few files and videos. It took me a while to search for them in the ethernet. Don’t worry about their rarity. You can easily find them online as long as you’re in the right forums. Since you’re still relatively new to all of this, I thought I should help you.]
Nothing I typed was a lie. Not exactly. All the files and videos could be found in the right forums. It was just that both forums and files were hidden behind paywalls—walls that were even expensive for my parents to crush.
That wasn’t something Adam needed to know. Not as long as he didn’t ask directly. I hit send after reading through the message, only to forget the most important part.
[Message me when you want to hunt again. I will make time for you.]