It has already been a year since I left for adventuring. I'm twelve and a half now, and I've risen to the position of an A-ranked adventurer as a result of my efforts to raise my classification.
I arrived at the magic guild a week ago with Ku.
I would have come home sooner, but I wanted to strengthen my powers and skills after encountering some adventurers and magical beasts during my adventures.
As a result, I've remained an adventurer to this day. When I wasn't on missions or exploring low-level dungeons, as well as high-level ones not far from the middle area of the Wilderness, I practiced by myself with my partner, Ku.
With that, I managed to integrate Ku's mana flow into my mana core, resulting in awakening our connection to the first and second stages. This granted me, as a tamer, the ability to borrow Ku's inherent strength and transformation.
Generally speaking, as a beast tamer, the contract pact between the magical beast and the receiver allows us to borrow the beast's abilities upon progressing together while integrating the contracted magical beast's mana flow within the master's mana core.
Progressing would result in the awakening of different stages of abilities that the master can borrow from their contracted magical beast partner.
From what I have read in the magic guild about Beast Tamers, these stages comprise the first stage to borrow the beast's inherent strength, and the second stage to borrow the abilities of the beasts while being able to transform our body to a particular point. It is also said there are more stages according to legends, but it's still not clear, and no one has seen any tamers awakening beyond the second stage of taming.
So, along with Ku, who is also trying to get stronger, I made it a point to meditate for at least a few hours before going to sleep.
I broke through to the second stage of aura, which I considered an accomplishment given how much time I had spent meditating. Now, I can hide my presence while using mana, and I can also intimidate my foes with aura pressure or an intent to be precise.
The only thing bothering me was that even when I was able to absorb lots and lots of mana while cultivating and training, my yellow-light-staged mana core's reserves were too wide to fill, and I don't think I can break through anytime soon.
Considering that, I concentrated on mastering the basic quadra-elements and my mana flow to use all four elements at the same time. Using Aura amplification while manipulating mana greatly improved my mastery and control over my techniques, spells, and attacks, resulting in the awakening of the Ice attribute, amplified from my water mana flow, and the gravity attribute, amplified from my Ground mana flow.
Although I can't use gravity and the ice element properly, I was able to draw out several useful skills and understand some things about magic and stuff.
My body was unquestionably the most improved at this time. Because I wasn't using mana as much, I had to take a step back to recall how to utilize my body and sword efficiently so that I could be even more effective when I use mana to reinforce myself.
I couldn't claim I was at a hundred percent strength because my limbs' physical reach and muscles aren't as developed as they were when I was an adult in my previous life, but I no longer felt awkward or restrained when I fought. Some of my sword methods were fine-tuned to better fit my current body, which I'd need to develop along the way.
It wasn't an easy trip, and I had scars to prove it, even if it was only for a short time, but I knew it was worth it.
Ku, on the other hand, had become stronger. Not to mention that he possessed the fire elemental attribute. He was able to alter his shape at will and seemed quite enthusiastic now that he has grown up hunting many magical beasts during our adventures.
As a result, he generally shifts his silver-furred body with white flames into a snow-silver furred body to preserve mana, and the horns he had are gone completely.
His white flame tail was turned into a snow-silver fox-tail. Overall, he is no longer in the tiny and adorable shape he was in; he now resembles a tiny silver fox.
For some reason, he had the ability to control magical beasts and suppress them with his power, but it only worked for beasts weaker than him. Even so, he did command a troop of crow-like magical beasts to survey any bandit activities in almost a two-kilometer radius while we were taking up an escorting mission.
Guess I shouldn't be surprised after noticing his cultivation even before he came out from his egg.
Whatever he does, he was getting stronger, and I could sense, however, how much he'd developed over the course of the time period. We could now exchange conversations, and his emotions had grown considerably more nuanced than before.
While I went home a few times to meet my father and my friend back in the academy and celebrated my birthday along with him, it seems like most of my friends, as well as Helen, graduated from the Mage Guild apprenticeship. I met her a couple of times, and the third time was at her graduation.
After arriving here, I wasn't staying in my dorms now that I had graduated, so I stayed with my father for this week. My father said Uncle George would be here today to pick me up, as I had to go to the central city of Atlas to enter the Central academy.
I was certainly preparing myself by packing my things and getting myself well-mannered, but I couldn't help but feel sad for leaving this place and moving on to the next part of my life.
"Ryan! They are here!" My father called me out as soon as Uncle George was here to pick me up.
With an exciting journey ahead, I started buttoning my shirt.