The group quickly gathered their belongings and left the warehouse, going to one of Sid's hidden safehouses. Bas couldn't help but feel proud of what they had accomplished. They had stopped Edgar Stratus and had saved countless lives in the process.
As they walked through the dark streets, Bas felt a sense of excitement. He couldn't wait to see what other adventures lay in store for him and his team. Together, they were unstoppable in Mortalee. However, seeing the purple light slowly lighting up the sky, Bas knew it was time for him to end his night adventure and return home.
He didn't want to worry his mother.
"You leaving, kid?" Sid Evans placed his hand on Bas' shoulder, looking the latter in the eyes. "You're strong, kid. Real strong. You'll only get more powerful in the future. Mortalee can never hold a sleeping dragon like you."
Sid gave Bas his contact information before continuing, "I need someone like you on my team. Bounty Hunters. We can do big things, and you gain access to more resources. Think about it, kid."
Bas glanced at Brenda, who smiled at him softly.
"You'll definitely see me soon," said Bas with a sly smile.
Sid frowned as he didn't like the look on this kid's face for some reason.
Brenda walked up to Bas after Nala and Sydney gave him their contacts.
"Bas, take care," She looked deep into his violet-golden eyes, close enough to kiss him. "When you open the War Chest, you'll be asked whether or not you'll share the spoils. Make the choice for yourself. We won't hold anything against you."
"Thank you, Brenda," said Bas in a low voice.
As he looked up at Nala's smiling face, he knew that he had much to be grateful for. She had been his rock through all of this, supporting him when he needed it most. And as he closed his eyes, he knew that he would never forget her kindness and her unwavering loyalty.
"Don't take too long to come and see me...we have some unfinished business," Brenda stood on her tip-toes and whispered in Bas' ear.
Then she turned and walked into the safe house with her father.
Bas felt his entire body heat, his truth record spinning on its own.
"Don't worry. I couldn't stay away if I tried," he said to himself.
For in that moment, Bas realized that he had found something that was worth far more than any treasure or reward. He had found a friend in Brenda, and for that, he would always be grateful. Merely, the truth record that had taken root in his heart at some point had started pumping its influence through every drop of his blood.
🐉🐉🐉
Several hours later, Bas sat in his room formulating his force by circulating his truth record. Due to the battles he had experienced and the danger of hunting Edgar Stratus and ending the WAR, Bas' formula had already stabilized. He was pleasantly surprised to see the rate at which he refined ryms had increased three-fold. Although he hadn't left his room all morning, he was still suspended, after all. His progress was startling.
The ambient ryms flooded his body in waves of milky white mist as he circulated the Evil Dragon Sovereign record. The mist entered his pores and was swept up by the momentum of the Celestial Dragon Pharaoh's truth. Bas already understood that this celestial path was called the Truth of Nova or Nova Truth, a path he still had to take some time to comprehend properly. What refining his force currently was teaching him was that this truth record prioritized three rym types.
Elemental ryms, heavenly ryms, twilight ryms.
Elemental ryms were simple enough, as these could be refined easily. One simply needs to visit different natural locations to form their power properly.
Heavenly ryms, however, were a lot harder to refine. Pure origin power could be considered heavenly energy, but ryms were a by-product of said energy. So heavenly ryms would have to include another heavenly power. Where would he find that in this mortal world?
As far as twilight ryms, this was the stuff of deities. It wasn't even worth contemplating. He would have to focus on progressing with elemental ryms. Even so, he couldn't help but gasp at his progress.
Vrrrrmmmmmm...
Vrrrrmmmmmm...
Every rotation of the truth record at his chest sent waves of energy through his meridians and into the dru at his root.
The dru is a natural manifestation of soul power.
It's a mystical soul base within the root that houses all the accumulated energy. In this case, hunt ryms! Within were also a purple-crystal flame seed and a tiny spinning seven-colored sword. There were also two shadows of white mist behind the sword. One of them sort of looked to be shaped like a small creature. Neither the sword nor the crystal seed tried to absorb any hunt ryms, only being slowly nurtured by his soul power.
However, the misty shadows seemed only to be attracting small lines of hunt ryms. How curious.
This was the home of Bas' entire hunter formula. Thanks to the dru manifestation, his formula was constantly integrating with his soul, making it truly a part of him. Without realizing it, he had found a way to combine two different formulation practices.
In the world a million years ago, the first step on the path to divinity was to enter the dru. This required soul power, at least at level ten. Back then, being a mortal hunter of the War System was a new profession that had grown wildly popular, as the powerhouses of this path had won many wars for humanity.
However, being a mortal hunter seemed to be all they knew here, even though they didn't seem to know much about it. Bas couldn't help but wonder what plane he was in and what changes had occurred in the heavenly worlds.
Anyway, he had officially entered the dru. Having already reached level fifteen soul power before the dru manifested, his internal space was already the size of a sports stadium. The first time he ever entered the dru, his internal space was barely five meters. The difference was stifling.
According to Sebastian King's memories, the hunters of this world used their hunter souls to store their hunt ryms and stored soul power in their glabella. This was why they would find a compatible rym beast to fuse with their hunter soul once they reached level ten soul power to unlock more utility. Meanwhile, Bas could let his hunter souls be nourished by his soul power at all times after entering the dru. He also had a huge pool of hunt ryms he could send throughout his body at will.
'Should I let my hunter souls refine ryms on their own?'
Actually, Bas had yet to investigate his hunter souls thoroughly. He would wait until he reached the Hunt Expert rank of the Fourth Class. At that point, the evolution of his life form would allow him to process information better. The slow processing speed of his mortal mind was starting to weigh on him. Anytime he used his spiritual sense to investigate the crystal fire seed, he would get dizzy and feel hot, only capable of interpreting one word no matter how hard he tried.
Wonderflame.
Was that the name of this new variant of his eternal heritage?
Bas had even started to wonder if this was really a hunter soul. After all, when his spiritual sense engaged the tiny spinning sword, it suddenly stopped spinning and released a seven-colored shine. Radiance burst out from the sword, and information entered Bas' mind.
Neodawn Stellarward.
While Bas was stunned by the information that appeared in his mind, shocking changes occurred in the dru. When the seven-colored radiance burst out, his truth record started rotating frantically! Bas immediately had to center all his focus on the production of hunt ryms.
Vrrrrmmmmmm...
Vrrrrmmmmmm...
BINK!
Ninth Step Hunt Foundation!
Soul power level 18!
An hour later...
Vrrrrmmmmmm...
Vrrrrmmmmmm...
Vrrrrmmmmmm...
BINK!
Hunt Foundation Mastered!
Soul power level 23!
Bas sat back in his chair, feeling the exhaustion rooted deep in his bones. But he couldn't help the elation that washed over him at the progress he had made. He had mastered the Hunt Foundation, a feat that would have taken many other hunters years to accomplish. But he had done it in a matter of hours. His soul power had surged to level 23, an unprecedented level. In this world, hunters with soul power above level 20 were considered powerhouses. Bas's power was now incomparable.
He looked down at his body, seeing the milky white mist still circulating around him. The ambient ryms were now stronger than they had ever been before. Bas felt like he could take on the world and win. He felt a surge of confidence, unlike anything he had ever experienced.
But then his thoughts drifted to Brenda, the friend he had made during his travels. He couldn't help but feel a longing for her company, even though he knew he needed to focus on his training. But he couldn't ignore the feelings that were welling up inside him. Of course, he only needed one more step before he could contact Sable and make some power plays.
With a sigh, Bas stood up and walked out of his room. He needed some fresh air, some time to clear his mind. As he walked through the halls of the condo where his family was staying, he couldn't help but notice the stares he was receiving from his younger siblings. They could sense his power, his strength. He was now a force to be reckoned with.
"Bas, why aren't you wearing pants?" asked Dazzal with his little head cocked to the side and hands seemingly measuring something large in the air.
Ebony covered her eyes and screamed as she ran to their mother's room.
"MOM! Bas wants to eat me! HELP!"
"YOU LITTLE!" Bas roared as he slowly processed the fact that he was naked.
It seemed...his breakthrough had destroyed his clothes? Hah...
"SEBASTIAN! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE, AND IT BETTER BE WEARING PANTS!"
Bas suddenly felt a migraine coming on. Still, it was nice to be home.
"Don't worry, big bro!" Daz gave Bas a thumbs up. "Nudist at home! I support the movement!"
"Shut up, Daz!" Bas grabbed at his baby brother, who proved to be shockingly deft as he ducked and rolled away.
"MOM, HELP!" Daz screamed as he ran to their mother's room. "BAS WANTS TO EAT ME TOO!"
Bas stood there speechless. He shrugged before retrieving a spare set of clothes from his mother's storage ring and getting dressed. Bas gasped as he felt the immense power coursing through his body. He had never felt so alive before. His mastery of the hunt foundation with soul power over twenty was unparalleled, and he knew that he had the potential to become the greatest hunter under the mortal truth. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, feeling the hunt ryms flowing through his meridians.
He was exhausted, but exhilarated. He had made incredible progress in his hunt ryms and soul power, and he couldn't wait to see what other secrets lay hidden in his dru and truth record.