Chapter 211 - Leisurely

Adion woke up refreshed as the sky started to brighten.

That was the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time.

I kind of don’t want to leave White’s fur, though.

Adion decided to lay still for a while, White appeared to be sleeping still.

I might as well get some meditation done.

Adion took a deep breath and started pulling the surrounding space mana into his core.

After an hour or two, Adion could feel that White was waking up, so he stopped his meditation and got up to his feet.

“Good morning, White,” Adion said with a smile, “Do you want to eat some breakfast?”

“Yes!” White let out a loud bark, rising from his lying position, “Let’s hunt.”

“Er, there is still meat left from yesterday. No need for a hunt,” Adion said, pointing to the body of the Gold beast from the day before.

“Oh, that’s also good,” White said, laying down again. 

“Alright, I’ll cook,” Adion said, lighting a fire. 

He felt that his Will hadn’t gotten very exhausted yet, but he still took a small sip of profound Water just in case.

“I found some good stuff in the mountain,” Adion said, showing White the Profound Water and explaining its effects, “If your Will gets tired later, you can drink some to recharge. It should work for beasts too.”

“Okay,” White said, lying down his head to rest.

Just slept for the entire night and now you’re immediately resting? 

Adion shook his head with a smile and started grilling the meat. 

“By the way, White, do you have any plans? Do you want to come back to the human kingdoms with me?” Adion asked.

“Yes! You promised to take me, I’m curious to see what it’s like,” White answered happily.

“Haha,” Adion laughed, “Okay, I’ll make sure to show you around. But there won’t be any beasts to fight, just so you know.”

“That’s okay,” White said.

“Good,” Adion said, happy that he would continue to travel with White for the remainder of his journey. “Do you know how much further it is, by the way?”

“Adion, I don’t know,” White said with a small shake of his head, “I don’t understand west, east, and all that.”

“You’re a diamond beast now. You should have some common knowledge,” Adion said and began teaching White how to judge direction based on the sun’s position in the sky. He also pulled out some of his painting material to draw a rough map to show White what Shiora looked like.

He continued pointing out the different places he had visited as they ate, preparing White for their journey to the sapi part of the continent. 

White interjected with things he heard from other beasts from time to time, and Adion had to dispel several rumors that apparently were well-known among the beasts in White’s tribe.

“Alright, let’s go, White,” Adion said after they finished eating.

White immediately got energetic, jumping to and fro and looking at Adion.

“Let’s go, Adion,” White barked out in excitement.

Adion climbed on top of White’s back, and they set off.

This is a much more comfortable way to travel.

“You don’t have to run so fast anymore, White. We should be far away from those beasts now. Save your energy,” Adion said as he once again had a hard time breathing.

“Okay,” White said, slowing down to a much more comfortable pace.

“I have a lot of places to show you once we get back, White. I’m sure you’ll like it,” Adion said, looking up to the sun with a smile on his face.

“What’s the best place?” White asked curiously.

“Er, I haven’t thought about it. I guess the Academy,” Adion answered.

“Am I allowed to go there?” White asked.

“I didn’t really see any beasts during my time there, so maybe it’s not allowed usually. But I’m the disciple of the Headmaster, so I’m sure there won’t be any problems,” Adion assured.

“Sounds fun!” White said.

“I actually have a girlfriend there,” Adion couldn’t help but brag to his companion, “She’s very pretty and nice; you’ll like her.”

“You have a mate already?” White asked, surprised.

Mate…

“Well, I suppose,” Adion nodded. “How about you, White? Have you ever liked any of the beasts back in the tribe?”

“I don’t think so. Beasts usually only start to feel those things once they’re close to their bloodline potential, so that their children can inherit the best genes,” White explained.

“I see,” Adion said, “Then what is your bloodline potential?”

“I’ve heard that my tribe had Soul beasts before, but I think it’s hard for most of us to even reach Diamond. When I reached the Gold stage, I felt that it would be really hard to continue to advance. But that changed after I drank that blue blood. Now, not even the Soul stage seems difficult,” White said happily.

“That’s great,” Adion said, relieved, “You should never give up on getting stronger. Beasts have an advantage in that they can advance very easily in the early stages because of their bloodline, but they are also limited by that very bloodline later on. But that’s not a sure thing. It can be surpassed. It seems like Fellion had a hard time raising another Soul mage from the Wise Soul Owls, so his bloodline shouldn’t be too strong. But he managed to become such a powerful Soul beast despite all that. I’m sure he’s at least a Hard Soul beast. 

“If you feel like you’re stuck in the future, you should come to me, and we’ll figure out a way together. I’m not letting you give up before you become a god.”

“A god,” White repeated with some excitement. “I wonder how cold my snow would be if I became a god. It would probably be colder than the sun is hot, right?”

“Well, I don’t know,” Adion said, doubting even gods had that kind of power, “But even if it’s not, can’t you just keep getting stronger until it is?”

“I see. You’re right, Adion,” White said, “If I’m that strong, I won’t have any problem finding mates. By bloodline will be the strongest of them all.”

“Mates? You’re going to have more than one?” Adion asked.

“Of course,” White said, a little confused, “As long as you find a suitable match, you should mate and continue the bloodline.”

Adion frowned a little. He realized that it was probably normal behaviour for beasts; it wasn’t even rare among sapi, after all. But he still hoped his friend would act with some propriety. 

“I think you should focus on finding someone you like, and stick to her,” Adion said, “If you’re always running around for new mates, you’ll make your partner sad.”

“That…doesn’t seem right,” White said hesitantly. 

“Quality over quantity,” Adion argued, “My parents only had each other, and because of that, my siblings and I turned out great. What’s better having a bunch of useless children, or a few talented ones?”

“A few talented ones,” White answered, but Adion could tell he was confused. White didn’t hide much of his aura when communicating with Adion. He was completely unguarded. So Adion could perceive some of his emotions. 

“Well,” Adion said hesitantly, “I guess you should do what you feel is right.”

White is such a good friend. I shouldn’t preach too much.

“Do beasts feel love?” Adion asked. He figured that if White found someone he loved, he would definitely be loyal no matter what.

“We should, right?” White answered.

“That’s good,” Adion said, “By the way, can you have children with other races of beasts?”

“I can,” White said, “Most wolf-type beasts can have children together, even if they are different races. In some cases, other races of beasts should be possible too. I can somewhat feel if someone is a suitable mate from my bloodline.”

“Interesting,” Adion said. 

Maybe I should see if there are any beasts suitable for White at the Academy. That way, he won’t be so lonely when I’m not around.

The two continued their journey at a leisurely pace while talking. Of course, it was still a lot faster than when Adion was traveling. He couldn’t help but feel that Shiora must appear a lot smaller for beasts.

I wonder how long it would take Fellion to travel from coast to coast. Could he make it all the way to Quemer?

I hope I can figure out a way to fly someday.

As the sun began its descent toward the horizon, Adion and White stopped for the day. 

Adion felt that there was no need to rush now that he was traveling at such a fast speed. 

White only found a Silver beast to hunt this time, but Adion didn’t mind. Eating Silver beasts was considered a luxury, let alone a Gold beast.

I wonder if we could manage to find a Diamond beast before returning. I’ve never had meat from that before.

But…Diamond beasts are pretty much as intelligent as sapi. It would feel a little wrong just to kill them for more tasty food.

I guess it's fine if they attack first.

Adion looked to White, carrying the dead Silver beast toward him.

Then again, White doesn’t seem to mind. It’s probably the most natural thing in the world to hunt for food for him. 

I’ll just leave it up to him. He can decide when it comes to matters concerning beasts, and I’ll decide when it comes to sapi.

Adion prepared and cooked the meat, and as usual, White ate more than ten times his portions. 

“If you’re still hungry, we can head out to hunt again,” Adion said, noticing that the food had run out.

“It’s okay. I’m full,” White said, swaying his tail gently. 

“Do you want to do some experiments then?” Adion asked.

“Okay. Sounds fun,” White said, raising his head in anticipation.

“Just conjure some snow. Try to manipulate it. Control it as long as possible,” Adion instructed.

White casually conjured a pile of snow, and Adion noticed that there seemed to be quite a lot of it.

Isn’t he just a Diamond beast? Where is the mana coming from?

“How much mana did you just use?” Adion asked, “Or, how many piles of snow like that can you conjure without running out?”

“Hmm. It should two, I think,” White answered.

“You used half your mana?” Adion asked, then he sighed, “Whatever. No need to conjure so much next time.”

He walked up to the snow and asked, “Do you still have control over the snow?”

“I do,” White answered, “It’s my snow, after all. As long as I keep an eye on it, the sun won't melt it.”

“Can you control it for me to see?” Adion asked.

White obliged, and the pile of snow changed shape, turning into a ball of snow that was gradually getting more compact.

“And the Will of the World isn’t fighting you on this?” Adion asked.

“No,” White said.

“Then don’t you have Authority? Did it use to be like this before you drank that blood?” Adion asked.

“Now that you mention it,” White said, narrowing his large eyes, “My snow used to be a lot harder to control. But I’m smarter now, so that makes sense, right?”

“Hehe,” Adion chuckled, “This isn’t quite normal, no. I don’t know how hard snow is to control, but it shouldn’t be much different from water. You being able to control it like this for such a long time without the Will of the World fighting you means you have Authority.”

“That’s…good, right?” White asked.

“It’s excellent,” Adion said with a smile, “You should play around with your Authority going forward; it’s a great source of power. Combined with your powerful concepts, you’re seriously ridiculously strong.”

“Okay, I will,” White said excitedly, as he kept changing the shape of his snow.

“But don’t mention this to anyone else. And don’t show off in front of others,” Adion warned, “It’s a very rare ability; not many will understand it. They’ll probably capture you and question you about it.”

“Okay, I’ll do as you say,” White agreed.

“Good. I’ll remind you going forward,” Adion said, not entirely trusting White to keep it hidden. 

To think he didn’t just gain those concepts but Authority as well. What kind of beast was this?

Too bad there isn’t any snow around yet, or we could have seen what kind of Authority it was.

Adion knew that Immortal mages had Authority over the element they conjured themselves, and it was only gods who could control even elements of the world, like Adion.

Either way, that beast must have been incredibly powerful. I wonder what kind of beast it was. 

Could it have been another phoenix? A Snow Phoenix?

Probably not. I don’t think a skeleton would have been left behind. And it should have been reborn like the Fire and Celestial Phoenix.

Adion looked at White as he manipulated his snow with intense focus.

I can’t be lazy, either. Adion thought, sitting down and preparing to train as well.