"So Arthur..... what Fae did you pick?".
Arthur sat silently at the dining table, using a knife and fork to elegantly cut through the piece of meat in front of him.
His eyes glanced upwards at his elder brother, who bit down on the chicken leg in his hands eagerly, who returned his gaze with raised eyebrows.
Turning his head to the rest of the dining table, he saw that the faces of all his currently attending family members also shared this look. They were all interested in the Fae that he had chosen, and looked at their brother/son with curious expressions on their faces.
He sighed before putting down his knife and fork.
"If you're really that interested, then ask Elder Anatol. I'm sure he would be more than willing to tell you what I picked".
Standing up Arthur gave a slight nod to one of the maids standing behind them, letting them take away his plate as he returned to his room.
Over the past week, he had become increasingly focused on his cultivation, more so than any of his elder siblings before him.
His parents and older siblings didn't seemed that bothered by the fact, but were slightly worried about the amount of time Arthur didn't spend with them anymore.
Arthur was normally quite open with his family, and some of the people his age he could call "friends". He didn't normally talk to people when spoken to and never engaged a conversation since his talent awakening ceremony.
Even those people he could call classmates weren't an exception. There was plenty of opportunity for Arthur to interact with the others, even Randolf, but the fifteen year old boy seemed keen on being by himself most of the time.
"Isn't Arty acting a bit weird, Mother? He doesn't hang out with Ivan or I anymore?".
Ivanka poked the piece of meat on her plate, a saddened expression could be seen on her face.
Her mother patted her head, trying to dissuade her of those thoughts.
"Arthur just takes his cultivation as a Fae Master seriously, that's all. He isn't the most open of people in the first place, and probably just wants to focus on increasing his Rank as fast as possible".
The little girl tilted her head slightly.
"Why though? Is it so important that Arty needs to become stronger?".
Her mother nodded.
"Well, I'm sure Arty just wants to become stronger to protect his family. He wants the strength to be able to protect me, your father and all of his brothers and sisters".
The little girl smiled at her mothers words, her earlier impressions seemingly vanishing as a new one took its place.
"When I grow up, I want to be strong enough to protect everyone too Mother!".
"Yeah! Me too!".
All of the Fae Masters present smiled. This was what family was for, after all.
Arthur stood outside the door, showing no emotion as he listened to his family's words. Despite their closeness, and their desire to do anything for him, Arthur felt nothing when he heard those words.
The reincarnate felt his hand squeeze, the strength enough to draw blood.
His black eyes seemingly endless, as they reflected a depthless ocean of night.
"..... Tonight. It'll have to be tonight".
Arthur went back to his room, picking up a thick, old robe from his vast array of clothing. It was dirty, yet no smell could be discerned from it.
Jumping out his window, Arthur flicked the robe over his shoulders, instantly breaking off into a sprint as his feet touched the ground.
Origin essence by itself couldn't strengthen the body, however the presence of it did transform Humans bodies into that of Fae Masters. These people were, from the moment they awakened their talent, stronger, faster, more durable than the average Human.
The physique of a Rank 3 Fae Master, could run 100 metres within the span of a few seconds. Without any assistance from Fae or special techniques.
Despite the Clan Leaders residence being on the Southernmost edge of Parachenko Village, Arthur ran further and further south, entering the forests behind the Village.
Parachenko Village was built on a large plateau in Winter Rain Mountain. To get to Parachenko Village, one had to ascend halfway up a mountain, before arriving at the vast area of land where the Kovacs Clan built their foundations.
Behind the Clan Leaders residence was a forest. However, the forest didn't go very far, before one would arrive at the edge of a cliff.
Arthur silently looked down at the foggy abyss beneath him. It was probably a couple hundred metres to the bottom, and without proper equipment, the average person wouldn't even be able of dreaming of descending.
Even Arthur wouldn't be able to descend it without sufficient time and planning beforehand.
But-.
"It should be around here somewhere....".
In his previous life, there were a multitude of different events that rocked the Village to its core.
Most would happen a year after he underwent the talent awakening ceremony, however, there were only a couple which happened within the first several months of his awakening.
The first, being only a week since he awakened his talent.
During this past week Arthur did nothing but refine and cultivate his origin essence sea, only stopping to feed the Water Leaf Tree and eat and sleep.
The reasonings behind why Arthur picked the Water Leaf Tree was mainly for the long-term benefit of gaining Spirit Water. It was a Rank 1 Fae material that could be continuously supplied, allowing for Arthur to gain a steady stream of income.
Additionally, refining it to a Rank 2 Flowing Leaf Tree, he wouldn't just be able to gain more Spirit Water per day, but he would also be able to get the Rank 2 Fae material, Heavy Water once a week.
That would dramatically increase his wealth, and could be used even after he left Parachenko Village.
There were a couple more benefits to Water Leaf Trees, but for the time being none of them were available for Arthur to make use of.
Except for one!
Taking out a gourd from underneath his robe, Arthur gently placed the gourd on the ground beneath him, letting it sit upright, underneath the starry sky.
This gourd only had a 300 millilitres in it, an indication of Arthur's three days worth of saving.
Normally Arthur would worry about this meagre amount being enough to attract anything noteworthy, yet this time, and only this time, did he not worry in the slightest.
The clouds covered the radiance of the moon, but quickly vanished as time passed.
Arthur watched as the small gourd sat silently under the moonlight, raking in its fine silvery radiance.
His brow furrowed for a moment and he ducked behind a tree as he held his breath.
"It's time".
Arthur focused on making sure that he didn't move, didn't breath and most importantly, didn't blink.
If he moved even a centimetre, this was sure to fail.
He could feel the sweat form on his brow as the sound of wind rushed past the cliff. The sounds of hoofs knocking against air echoed throughout the area, as the scent of ozone filled their air.
Arthur felt a huge pressure overtake his body, as he froze up, unable to handle the force of the creature in front of him.
He stood there silently, watching the silver coloured lightning streak through the air, eventually coming to a halt, right before the cliffside he was standing on.
Arthur could hear the slight neighs from the beast, but didn't dare to move in the face of such a divine creature.
He heard a faint neigh, before the sound of the gourd breaking echoed throughout the cliffside. The faint sound of drinking could be heard before the creature neighed once more, fleeing back towards the Heavens.
Arthur let out a shallow breath, slumping his entire body against the tree smiling slightly as he looked towards the spot where his gourd originally lay.
In its spot, a large silver coloured silkworm lay silently in its place.
Arthur sighed for a moment showing signs of disappointment.
"A Rank 1 Moonsword Fae. Unfortunately, it wasn't the Fae I wanted".
Arthur's disappointed expression vanished has he picked up the Fae, his gaze turned upwards towards the moonlit heavens.
The divine beast that came down from the starry sky....
"A Sleipnir.....".
Divine steeds that were once the mounts of Gods. They only accepted the powerful, or the righteous as their owners and possessed the same intelligence as Humans once fully grown.
Wherever they are fated to come, people leave food and drink out, hoping that Sleipnir would accept their offering.
In return, they leave behind a Fae stored within their bodies.
A gift, for a gift.
Arthur sighed.
"Looks like I'll just have to try again next year"