Month- May 14th, Late Sunday Night.
Ryder had spent 2 weeks learning about runes and practicing his fighting styles. He focused mainly on swordsmanship for his knights class while also going into the library to research about beasts.
He had made time so he could gather as much information he could about their trip. He had even requested private lessons with Caleb teaching him about the different ways to use runes before Ryder was given an allowance of 10 gold coins every month.
This was the first time he had received so much money all at once however that didn't stop him from going into town to buy materials for his runes.
Currently Ryder only had 50 copper coins and 25 silver coins left. At the moment he didn't mind it to much, instead he was focusing on something much more important.
Sitting their on his bed was Ryder meditating with a weird looking plate in front of him and a jade green bottle to his left.
He extended one arm to touch the plate, instantly it began to light up with mental power before a barrier surrounded the plate as soul force began to get drawn in from every direction.
Next Ryder opened the bottle close by before pulling out a clear sky blue pill the size of a small marble. He quickly bit into the pill chewing it before swallowing it as a large wave of soul force began to skyrocket up into his Soul Realm.
'Looks like I was right… if I eat the pills like this instead of swallowing them whole I can absorb the full effects of the pill… why is that? Does it have something to do with my Soul Form or little gold?'
He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, these questions only clouded his mind for a moment as he went back to training.
Celestia had been watching from the other side of the room. She sat in a comfortable chair protecting her master as he tries and breaks through to the silver rank.
'You got it this time Ryder! Breakthrough that bottle neck in one go!'
She was silently cheering for him as his energy skyrocketed. All of the soul force flowing off his body was caught by the plate before being fed back to Ryder stimulating his breakthrough!
His eyes opened wide as his body began to shake, he could barely contain the energy anymore before cracking sounds started to fill the room. Finally with one last push against the barrier blocking his cultivation he smashed through becoming a 1 star silver realm expert!
Ryder immediately fell backwards, his bed caught him as he gasped for air. His body felt like it was on fire! The temperature of his body, as well as the pain he had to endure was getting a little out of hand as he waves Celestia over.
"Please… just pick me up and drop me in a nice cold bath… I'm burning up!"
It was currently the middle of the night, the next day would be the expedition. He decided that now was the time to break through, if he was going to go up against mainly silver rank beasts then he needed to have more strength to make sure he got a good score during the test.
"As you wish"
She picked up Ryder, his limp body shaking all over as she stripped him down before placing him in the bathtub now filled with cold water.
As he sat in the bath cooling off he began to circulate his soul force before he finally noticed something different.
He looked around his Soul Realm looking for something but he couldn't find it! Little gold was gone from his Soul Realm!
'H-how! Where did it go! Was that why I went through so much pain!? Did little gold some how leave my body?'
'L-little gold? W-who?'
'Huh! Who said that?'
He looked around frantically, he even explored his consciousness using mental power trying to find where that voice came from.
'What… are you doing?'
The voice spoke out noticing Ryder had been looking so hard for something.
'Who are you? How are you speaking to me in my head!'
'W-who am I? … Who am I!? Wait! Where am I!'
The voice was now equally concerned, it had taken a second for the being to realize something was wrong. As it looked at itself it howled out of frustration before lunging at Ryder.
'What did you do to me! Why am I inside your body!'
'What!? How am I supposed to know!'
He couldn't see the creature at the moment but he could feel it's presence getting closer before he felt a cold air go through his consciousness as the creature stood behind him.
'Let me out right now human! Or I'll eat you and all of the people you care about!'
'Hey! You can threaten me all you want but leave them out of this! I don't even know how you got in my Soul Realm! So I can't help you leave even if I wanted to!'
Upon hearing the threat to his loved ones he had tried to use some of his power releasing a golden light before the being finally appeared in front of him. To his surprise it was a golden wolf that stood before him, it had grown from a pup to a teen.
It was growling at Ryder as it tried to bite him only to go through his body causing him no harm.
'Little gold? Wait! Little gold you are the one who had threatened my loved ones!?'
'Little gold? Wait is that the name you gave me! How dare you! A mere human would call me such an insulting name!'
'Like I care! Ever since I started cultivating you have been inside my soul realm! You eat the soul force I gather leaving me with only scraps! If I could make you leave I would, sadly I don't know how!'
'Hmph! So what if I eat Soul Force, you aren't going to live long anyways! When I find a chance to kill you I will! Then I'll free myself from this prison and devour your entire planet!'
'You say that but you are no where near strong enough to kill me right now! You couldn't even eat Jacob let alone the planet!'
This fighting had gone on for an hour now, his body was fully relaxed in bed after Celestia helped him out of the bath.
He was still having his mental argument with the wolf before a few words caught his attention.
'How unlucky I am! Having such an untalented person like this training with my body as his soul form and while using my heavenly gold devours the heavens as well! Such a waste!'
'Wait… what are you talking about? Your technique!? Did you create the technique I use to cultivate…?'
'Of course I did! Back in my time I was the overlord of the great Spirit Beast Galaxy! If someone even looked at me funny I would devour their entire existence and their planet if I was in an especially bad mood! Heavenly Gold Devours The Heavens isn't just some cool name! The technique is used to consume everything including the heavens!'
Ryder was dumbfounded, the little wolf pup that was in his soul realm used to be a grand figure who had personally created the technique he uses! His brain couldn't handle the shock, who could believe that a once godly being was now residing in a commoner kid from the outskirts of the dynasty.
'Prove it!'
The boy replied as he got up, he forced his shaky body to go sit at his desk as he read over his cultivation technique.
'Why is the book so torn up!? Who did this! How dare they disrespect something I personally created! I'll slaughter their entire family and anyone associated with them! How could my cultivation technique I spent 100 years crafting be reduced to only a gold rank technique! This is unacceptable!'
'This is how the book was when I got it, I was hoping to find the rest of the pages when I become a gold rank martial artist… however if you are truly the creator of this technique then you should know how to train it past the gold rank!'
'Of course I do, but why should I help you? Your the reason I'm stuck here unable to leave!'
'Then let's make a deal, I'll help you find who tried to destroy your legacy as well as try and find a way to release you if you help me when I need it'
The golden wolf looked at Ryder for awhile, he was examining the kid as he thought about his situation before letting out a sigh.
'Fine, I'll help you get stronger. However I don't want you to exclusively look for who destroyed my legacy. No I want you to kill my enemies who have put me in this position!'
It was Ryder's time to think, he didn't know who the wolf's enemies were but he knew this wolf was some kind of god like being who ate anyone who displeased it. Just thinking about the type of being able to become little golds enemy and still be alive terrified him.
Unfortunately he was out of options, if he didn't agree to help little gold he would be forced to find the missing pages of his technique. If he wasn't lucky enough to find any page he may be forced to stay in gold rank his entire life.
It was between potentially becoming a god like being similar to little gold or be stuck at gold rank till he dies from a more powerful enemy or old age if he was lucky.
'I accept… I will help you kill your enemies in exchange for your help, but! I want you to write a runic contract with me!'
His mental power began to gather as a white page is created in his Soul Realm. Soon runes began to appear on the page as it forms a contract only needing both parties signatures now.
A runic contract bound both creatures souls to the contract. As long as both beings agree and sign the contract willingly they will be forced to uphold their end of the contract or else their soul will be destroyed by the contract.
Usually Ryder would not be able to casually use a contract like this. If he tried to create a complex contract like this one outside of his Soul Realm using his mental power he wouldn't even be able to make the 10th rune before passing out from exhaustion.
Inside his Soul Realm he could use his soul force and mental power for the runes. Especially since the contract is between two beings in the same body, they could share each others energy to complete the contract.
'… If I sign this I will be forever binding myself to you. You understand how much of a gamble this is? If you die or don't have the talent to ascend to my previous level all of this would have been for nothing'
'I understand, but you don't have any other choice in the matter. Currently you are trapped inside my body where I have full control. Either you sign this or you sit and wait as I go about my life without your assistance'
The wolf took a minute to think it over, he didn't want to be trapped in the body of a gold realm martial artist for potentially hundreds of years! Even though time flew by quicker for the wolf that doesn't mean he wants to sleep for hundreds of years just waiting for the boys death.
He bit his paw before reaching up and placing his paw print on the paper as his signature.
'So what, even if you are human or untalented that doesn't mean I should give up! Even if you have the lowest talent in the universe I will still make you strong enough to kill gods! As long as you follow my teachings and do what I say with my technique then you will become a godslayer in no time!'
Ryder instantly signed the contract after little gold as the contract vanishes turning into white chains that launched out before entering little gold and Ryder's body through their chest as the chain wraps around their soul.
'Now then first things first… Why the fuck have you not been eating more Soul Force!'