Chapter 21
The time flew by. In a blink of an eye, several decades have passed. It was a big day today as the egg would hatch today.
The egg looked entirely different than before. There wasn't any change in the color of the egg, but all the eleven orange patterns shined brighter, and there was an addition of a new darker pattern.
Aakesh expected the egg to hatch when all the eleven orange patterns would start shining. But a few years ago, the egg suddenly had a change when all the patterns started shining, resulting in the emergence of a new pattern.
Compared to the darkness he saw in the emptiness, the newest pattern was darker. Today was the last day of the 108th year since he started transferring blood to the egg.
Aakesh firstly decided to do training today. Since he'll be getting a new companion today, he wouldn't train after the hatching of the egg.
"Hey, system, I'm ready for training," He informed the system.
He disappeared from the store and appeared in a familiar environment moments later. A variety of weapons were visible on his left side, while only a red circular switch was present on his right side.
The button was there to start the environment. He only needs to talk of the environment he wants to practice in and press the switch.
He has been practicing archery for the past few days, so he went on his left and selected the bow that didn't look anything more than ordinary, but in reality, it was made up of the wood of the World Tree: the same primordial who created the Elves.
"Moving archery arena," He said out loud and pressed the switch. The next moment, everything around him disappeared, and a strange scene happened.
Like a puzzle, several pieces of scenery appeared and started combining to create a scene. It wasn't the first time Aakesh witnessed such things, so he stood calm, waiting for the puzzles to complete.
After a few seconds, the pieces successfully combined to create a scene. A new ground appeared below Aakesh. He found himself on a wooden bridge that connected two mountains. Winds whipped through the bridge at high speeds, causing it to shake. He had to grab the rope to stand steady. He saw a bullseye floating in the air not far from him without any support. It looked as if it was tied to a string from the sky.
The wind moved in the opposite direction on the bullseye in comparison to the bridge. Above the bullseye, several numbers in red appeared. It said 3/10.
To pass this stage and move on to the next one, he needed to hit 3 out of 10 shots.
As Aakesh left the rope, he fell down the next moment. After standing up with the help of the rope, he then slowly let go of the rope as he tried to gain balance. Leaving it caused him to fall down again.
Having a few inches of space between his legs and putting all his weight on his feet, he eventually managed to stand steadily. In addition, his body also became accustomed to the wind speed.
He then thought about the bow, and it appeared in his hands. He held it in his left hand while he drew the bowstring using his right hand. As the bowstring got stretched, an arrow appeared on it.
After pointing his bow upward, he shot the arrow, but it seemed he used too much power, so the arrow crossed the bullseyes from above.
Time flew. He has been attempting to cross this stage for the last few hours. He must have tried the shot more than a thousand times, but he only hit the bullseye once. He knew the reason for his failure as body positions define the trajectory of the arrow, but he was barely standing steadily on the bridge.
He took another attempt, but he failed again, so he stopped. He decided to train again tomorrow since he was only wasting time.
He thought about exiting the training, and the next moment, he reappeared in the store.
"Hey, system, why would you design such a tough test for a beginner archer like me?" He complained to the system first after returning.
[Host, the stage was easy.]
The system plainly replied and fell silent.
"If this was easy, wouldn't there be only monsters in the Multiverse?" Aakesh scoffed to himself.
The next moment, his eyes fell on the shining egg. As he watched, the irritation he felt from failing to hit the bullseye twice disappeared, and a gentle smile appeared on his face.
"Today, I'll finally get to see what creature are you?" He said as he went forward and lightly picked up the egg from the shelf.
As usual, he cut his palm with his nails, and the dark blue blood dripped onto the egg. The twelfth pattern didn't shine like others usually did. The moment the last drop of the 1-liter blood flowed, he took his hands away from the egg. The cut healed immediately. He eagerly focused on the egg, waiting for the creature to come out.
When the last drop of the blood flowed on the egg, a dark blue light the same color as his blood enveloped the egg. Seconds passed, the blue light still remained, he nervously tried to observe the egg through the light-screen, but he wasn't able to see anything.
With time passing, Aakesh's heartbeat rose with nothing changing for the egg. "Hey, system, why is it taking so much time to hatch?" He nervously asked the system.
Before the system could answer, there was a change in the egg. The light that engulfed the egg slowly started backing out.
"Meow!"
The next moment, an anxious voice echoed in the store. Aakesh rushed to the light and saw a tiny creature floating in the air where once its egg stayed.
[Host, gently hold it in your hand. The creature is anxious without its parent.]
The system informed him as he observed the creature with curiosity while the tiny creature was anxiously meowing.
Aakesh nodded and took the creature gently in his hands immediately. It also stopped meowing as it found the heat of the person that gave birth to it.
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