"You brought me up here when I was still an egg? A millennium ago? But, why would you?" Ash inquired the giant eagle, squinting his eyes slightly. He still couldn't believe that he had been in a dormant state for a thousand years.
"Yes, little one," answered the eagle. "During our exploration at the southern curve, we stumbled upon a weird-looking stone amidst the desert. At first, I thought it was just an ordinary egg-shaped stone that you could find at the rivers, but my mate insisted on bringing you up here by the time she felt a life-force inside. And it turns out she was right."
"Your mate?" Ash tilted his head to left and right, searching for the female eagle but she's nowhere to be seen. "Where is she?"
Suddenly, the giant eagle lowered his gaze, gloomy and anguish painted on his face. "She… She died a few winters ago. Killed by cultivators."
"I am… I am sorry to hear that."
"Don't be," said the eagle. He then nudged the meat closer towards the little phoenix. "Eat, while it's still fresh. You must be hungry."
Even though Ash's human consciousness told him that eating raw meat is bad for his health, his primal instinct as an Immortal Beast said otherwise. He couldn't possibly fight the hunger by the time his eyes laid on the delicious, juicy red meat, and dove right into the meat greedily.
After a few gulps, the warmth radiated from inside his body. Ash didn't notice it at first due to the extreme hunger. Then, the bluish transparent holographic screen hovered before his eyes with a loud 'Ding' notification sound.
[Level Up!]
[You have received these following rewards:]
[+5 Attributes Points]
[Feather Swords Gather Array Skill Book]
[Inventory Space]
[Beast-Taming Space]
[You may allocate the Attributes Points to your desired stats. Increasing one particular Stats might be great for a certain situation. Therefore, We advised you to balance your stats according to your preference.]
Ash dazed into the sky, contemplating his decision.
So, basically, a high STR point will grant me a high base attack. AGI is for Attack Speed and my overall movement speed. VIT and INT are for my HP and MP. It would be great to possess high basic attack points, but I don't want to get hurt in this early stage of my new life. Alrighty, how about this?'
After allocating the attributes points , Ash came with the most ideal Stats points for his current growth stage.
[Ash Flameheart] [Hatchling Phoenix LV.2]
[HP: 70/70]
[MP: 40/40]
[EXP:0/200]
[P.Attack: 20]
[M.Attack: 40]
[A.Speed: 80(0,8/Second]
[Attributes:]
[STR: 2]
[AGI: 8]
[INT:4]
[VIT: 7]
'Hmm? [Inventory Space]? Wait, it's very similar to the Magic Bag back in my home world. Hehe, this feature will come really handy in the future.'
And then, Ash clicked the book icon in the [Inventory Space].
[Insufficient Requirements. You can not learn this skill book just yet.]
[Skill Learning Requirements:]
[Level 10]
'Welp, that's to be expected. It would be a suicide mission if I force myself to learn complex skill at my current growth stage.' Ash muttered to himself.
Putting the book aside, Ash shifted his attention onto the [Beast-Taming Space] which intrigued him the most. He had never heard this before. Back in his home world, a Beast Master could only rely on a Beast Scroll to summon a Beast Companion. The stronger the beast, the more expensive it will cost. Even Glowpaw's Beast Scroll alone almost cost him arms and legs.
By the time he clicked the icon, his mind was transferred into a seemingly boundless white space.
'Woah?! This space is so huge! What is this place?!'
[Beast-Taming Space: A place where you can accommodate your Tamed Beasts. The dense Yang Qi energy of this space will allow your Tamed Beasts nurture themselves, healing the wounds or even making a breakthrough for their cultivation.]
[You can also enter this Pseudo-Dimensional space to do cultivation and make a breakthrough without being noticed by humans.]
'Wait, hold on a sec. I have heard about cultivation many times from you but you never explained what cultivation really is. Care to elaborate.'
The Beast Taming System was quiet for a moment as if being annoyed by Ash's less knowledgeable brains. At last, the system couldn't help but to excuse him since Ash was coming from the dead end universe where resources and wisdom are very scarce.
[In short, Cultivation is a method to achieve greater power or even a Godhood by incorporating natural energy to oneself. The methods vary from person to person due to the vast diversity of human's body constitution. One thing for sure, however, it would take tons of resources and time to climb from one stage and beyond.]
'Ahh…I see. So it's very similar to strengthening the Magic Circuit on Mages who want to advance to the next stage back in my previous world. Blergh, seeing the cost alone would makes me vomiting blood and guts!'
While Ash was busy conversing with the system, he wasn't aware that the giant eagle had a scrutinizing gaze on him. Ash returned to reality when the giant eagle tapped his head gently.
"Are you alright, little one?"
"Y-yes! Uncle eagle. This meat is so delicious! I was blown away by the taste and the succulent texture."
The giant eagle couldn't help but to wonder how the little bird could discern a complex explanation while just being born not very long ago. Normally, a hatchling would need a few months to reach fledgling stage, grow some feathers and be ready to leave the nest. Yet, this little bird was already covered with feathers and has the appetite of an adult beast.
By the time Ash had finished his meal, the giant eagle perked his head up, sniffing the air while at it. Once he did, he was ready to take off into the sky.
"Is there something that matters, uncle eagle?"
"Beast Hunter… Dozens of them. Let's get out of here before they notice your presence."