A giant gust of air hit the tree, almost throwing him off, and a shadow was cast over him. Looking up, he got a view of his executioner. It was a giant winged creature, many times his size, with four large wings, two of the wings shot straight out from its shoulder, while the other two draped down towards the thing’s body. As terrifying as this situation was, he had to say that those wings were one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. Swirling patterns of green and white adored the scale-like wings in mesmerizing fashion. The beast's wings were flapping at an astonishing speed, keeping the massive creature hovering in place. The effortlessness of it frightened him, as big as this thing was, it could move very fast. The body of the creature caught his attention. While its body wasn't as beautiful as its wings, it was still a sight to see. The beast had a long abdomen with three pairs of thin legs, which connected to its thorax and eventually to its head. Its body was a vibrant green and white lines with unnatural light shone across the beast’s body from the tip of its head to the bottom of its abdomen. Two beady eyes, completely devoid of light, were staring down at him, the beast’s antenna flying in the wind.

  A vague feeling of emotions and concepts washed over him coming from the beast. It was the same feeling as before except much more focused. Huh, how odd. The emotions washing over him, gave him the impression of something calm and soothing. It felt like everything was going to be okay. Was this creature saying that it meant him no harm? Why would such a creature want anything to do with him? There was nothing he could do to help it and he certainly didn’t have anything it wanted. Nevertheless, a wave of relief washed over him. Today wasn't the day he was going to die.

  As the emotions kept washing over him, he started to learn more about the strange sensation. Before when he felt the power coming from the beast, he thought something was reaching out and touching his mind, yet he knew for sure that was wrong. When he felt the emotions coming off the beast, it didn’t feel like it was transmitting his thoughts to him. He felt like the emotions were washing into his body, and he just knew what the beast wanted to say. This type of communication felt odd, almost instinctual, primal. He didn’t understand how it worked. Was it his mind that he was communicating with? Or was it his body? He could think about this for ho . . . . . Wait, think. Thinking wouldn’t solve anything. He would never understand it, so thinking about it was useless. What mattered was that he could feel what was happening to him?

  The emotions washed into his body. Imparting their meaning into him. They were like waves that flowed into his body. As they flowed deeper into him, they would slowly fade away. Something inside him was causing them to disappear. What was it? At first it was just a dot, something that he barely even noticed, but he felt it. A small spark of warmth echoed out from his head. Then there was another spark. Then another. They spread through his body like a wildfire until he couldn’t tell his body from the sparks. Another wave of emotions from the beast hit him and this time he could understand what was happening. The same sparks he felt inside him were being flowed into him by the beast. The moment they hit him he could tell that they were from something else. His energy was warm and comfortable, it felt right to have it inside him, yet when the beast's energy hit his, it felt wrong. His energy was fighting back. As the beast’s energy drove deeper and deeper into him, his energy would surround it until it eventually dissipated.

  The beast was communicating to him through this energy somehow. Maybe he could do the same thing. There was a connection between him and the beast, he could feel it. It was as if a line of energy, the same inside him was connecting them. This was where the beast's sparks were flowing into him. The line was connected to his head. He just needed to send his own sparks across the line and hopefully he could communicate with the beast. He thought it would be much harder than it was. Instead of having to wrestle control of the energy and try again and again until it worked, the energy simply flowed through the line, exactly as he wanted it too. He didn’t know exactly how the energy sent his emotions over, but he focused on feeling confused, hoping that would work.

  It seemed that what he did worked. Emotions of extreme shock and curiosity were sent out by the creature, and its wings faltered midflight for a second. He assumed what he did was not something he should have been able to do. Happiness and praise echoed out from the beast. A warmth rose in his chest, yet this time it was for another reason. It felt good to be praised. He gave his thanks to the beast through their connection. Learning to communicate with the beast must have distracted him, as he missed the fact that he got new skills.

  You have learned the skill [Spirit Manipulation] Lv 1

  [Spirit Manipulation] has leveled up 1→2

  [Spirit Manipulation] has leveled up 2→3

  [Spirit Manipulation] has leveled up 3→4

  [Spirit Manipulation] has leveled up 4→5

  You have learned the skill [Spiritual Communication] Lv 1

  Spirit, of course. They were communicating through their spirits. It was nice to finally know the answer to that question. He was surprised to have gained so many skill levels so fast, previously it took him hours. Having an affinity for something must make it much easier to gain skills. He didn’t even notice the skills effects when they leveled. Was that because he controlled it so easily? He didn’t know but his newest skill made him happy. It would become easier and easier for them to communicate as time passed.

  He signaled to the beast that he wanted to keep talking. He wasn't sure how clear his message was, but it seemed the beast understood. Back and forth they went, talking about everything and anything. Communicating with concepts and emotions made it hard to be precise but he started to learn. Transmitting emotions of confusion was the same as saying why. And if he wanted to talk about a specific thing or object, all he had to do was to keep that image in his head and somehow his spirit sent over the right idea. It didn’t take long for his Spirit Communication skill to level up. As it leveled up, he felt a shift in his spirit, concepts that he didn’t understand before became easily understood, and communicating became much faster and easier. His affinity for spirit became quite obvious as the skill reached level 5 since they started talking. The skill had leveled enough that he was able to have a real conversation.

  “ I must say, I am quite impressed with you, young one. Your affinity for spirit is great even among your species. You will grow up to be quite strong,” the beast praised him.

  “Thanks, that’s kind of you. I guess that means I am not normal,” he remarked.

  A wave of happy emotions and humor echoed out from the beast. He hadn't experienced it before so it took him a while to understand it. When he did, he wasn't too pleased. The beast was laughing at him. He did not enjoy being laughed at.

  “Normal. Ha. You are one of the farthest things from normal I have seen in quite a while. Without a doubt, you are one of the most talented spirit users I have ever seen. Let me guess, you got Blessed with Knowledge?”

  “How do you know that?” shock filled him.

  “Spirit larva and by association spirit moths are one of the most intelligent insects. Comparable even to other species of creatures. Yet it is obvious to anyone that your intelligence surpasses that of a spirit larva by quite a bit. It isn’t an extremely rare trait, not common by any means, but I have seen it a few times in my life.”

  “Wow, you must be pretty old then,” he responded.

  “Bah, I forget how young you are. If you were any older, I would smack some sense into you,” annoyed energy flowed out of the beast.

  “What, why would you do that?” he wasn't sure why the beast got upset.

  “ Calling a beast old is quite rude. It is the same as saying I am not as strong as I should be and am weaker than you. Many beasts will take being called old as a threat to their power. Be careful, who you call old or you may one day end up in a fight you can’t hope to win.”

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  “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know about that,” he hoped he wasn't transmitting his fear to the beast.

  “Don’t worry about it. You're young so you wouldn’t know any better. I am curious about something, what were you doing before I arrived here?”

  “Oh, I was climbing the tree. I was hoping to find a hole so I could use it as shelter.”

  “Hmmm. Why didn’t you just burrow into the tree, surely that would have been easier for you?” the beast responded instantly.

  A heat filled his body. This was not a comfortable heat. Shame slithered to every corner of his body. How could he have been so stupid? Why didn’t he think of that sooner? That was the simplest solution and he decided to take the most roundabout way to solve the problem.

  “I uh . . I didn’t . . . I didn’t think of that. That was stupid of me.” his spirit seemed slower, it took forever to get the words across.

  “Ha Ha Ha Ha. Don’t feel so bad, kid. It’s one of the problems that comes with Blessed with Knowledge. You are much smarter than others, but because of that it comes with its own set of problems. Your mind overrides your instincts. A normal larva would have just burrowed into the tree. And we both know you are not a normal larva. Your instincts are there to help you, you need to learn how to block out your mind and act according to your nature. If you don’t it will hurt you in the long run. But you are in luck, I will help you learn how to listen to your instincts.”

  He really didn’t like being laughed at again. Shame filled him, as well as a tinge of anger, yet he ignored it as he was too focused on what the beast said. The beast was going to help him learn how to follow his instincts. And that was supposed to help him. Why? What did the beast get out of it? It didn’t make any sense.

  “Why would you want to help me? It doesn't make any sense. You are a lot stronger than me. I don’t have anything to offer you.”

  “ Of course you do, kid. You are super talented. And just because you aren't strong now doesn't mean you won’t get strong. If anyone can get strong it is you. As for why I want to help you, well it is quite simple. I need you to do something for me that I can’t do myself. In exchange for you helping me out I’ll help you out. I’ll give you shelter and training. I’ll also turn you into one of the strongest beasts in the forest. Doesn't that sound like a good deal?” enthusiasm and excitement was pouring out of the beast

  “Yeah, I guess that sounds like a good deal. What is the thing that you want me to do?” he wasn't sure if he wanted to enter into something without knowing what he was going to have to do.

  “There is an evil beast in this forest. He is truly a monster. He experiments on the beasts in the forest, causing them endless suffering and agony. He doesn't care about anything else but gathering more and more power. I’m not strong enough to take him on alone. So I need your help to stop him. Don’t be afraid though. I’ll train you to become strong enough so you will have nothing to fear. And you won’t be alone, you will have me and others to fight alongside you. I’ll warn you though, if you accept this deal, then you can’t back out midway through?”

  That was a lot to process. If he accepted his deal he would get a lot, both shelter and training. But he would also have to one day fight against some powerful beast. That didn’t sound like fun. That sounded scary. He could get hurt. He didn’t want to get hurt or hurt anyone else. Pain felt bad and he wouldn’t wish that feeling on anything. But if he didn’t accept this deal then he would be left in this forest. Alone. He wasn't too sure on his chances of survival. Another thing that bugged him was the beast kept talking about making him strong. Why was being strong so important?

  “You keep mentioning being strong. Is being strong really that important?” he asked.

  “It’s just question after question with you isn’t it. Kid, what is your favorite thing to do?” a deep sigh came out of the beast, as if he was tired of talking.

  “I like to eat good food and sleep,” he answered truthfully.

  “If you are strong you can eat the best, most delectable food and you can sleep in the most comfortable places imaginable. You also won’t have to be afraid of the other beasts in the forest. I’ll even give you a name to sweeten the deal.”

  “A name. Why would I need a name?”

  The beast did the spiritual equivalent of rolling his eyes, “ Everyone needs a name. Without a name you don’t have an identity. You wouldn’t have anything to call yourself. You would be the same as any other beast in the forest? Now I’m done with the questions. Are you going to accept my deal or not?”

  He thought over it for a little while, and he had to say he seemed to be gaining more than he lost. He would be able to get stronger and eat a lot of good food. There was a whole forest of things that he could eat. He couldn’t wait to dive into the buffet and devour everything. And not having to worry about the other beasts would be great. He didn’t think he would do well on his own. Having to one day fight a strong beast was a scary thought, but if he was getting all of this stuff, it was only fair that he helped out the beast. But what really pushed him over the edge was that he would get a name. He didn’t know why he wanted one so bad. Yet the moment he realized he didn’t have one, he knew he needed one.

  “I accept your deal,” he mustered up all of his confidence and courage conveying that message.

  Joy and happiness burst from the beast,“ That is wonderful, young one. I know you won’t regret it. Now that I am your teacher, we should start with your first lesson. You’ve got a lot of training to do. Don’t you agree?”

  “Yeah, I guess,” he wasn't sure what type of training he would do. In his opinion it sounded like a drag, but he wasn't going to say that after he had just accepted the deal.

  “ A different environment will suit our lesson better. Do not be afraid. This will last only for a moment,” was all the beast said before he shot off into the distance, his wings moving at a speed he couldn’t see. Not even five seconds passed before he vanished into the horizon. He was left sitting on that tree, stunned. Did he seriously just leave him? After all that. Before he could ponder further, a gust of air thrust him off of the tree. Instead of falling to his death, he was suspended in the air by some force. Only to then be thrust forward at blinding speeds. Trees passed him in a blur. He tried to keep his eyes open to see what he was passing by, but he was moving too fast. Wind slammed into his eyes, leaving everything blurry. Once in a while he would jolt to one side or the other. Up, down, left or right. It was probably so he didn’t hit anything, but he wasn't certain on account he couldn’t see anything.

  A moment to him and a moment to the beast meant different things. He was rocketed around the forest for five minutes before he was released from the hold on him. And he could not be happier. That was the absolute worst experience of his life. He had no control over his body and he could not see anything. But that wasn't the worst of it, the worst of it was the cold. The wretched, disgusting, terrible, cold. It was like little sharp pins and needles were stabbed into his body. It invaded his body and left him numb. Cold was his most hated feeling, second only to pain. When he was released from whatever held him in place, he floated down and landed on a tree.

  Hovering right next to him was his teacher, unfazed by their flight. “ This is where your first lesson will begin, now tell me wh . . . . Are you okay?” His teacher must have seen his shivering form. He didn’t even respond when a gust of hot air hit him, warming him up in an instant.

  “My bad, that windchill must have been terrible. Next time, I’ll remember to surround you with more wind next time.” So his teacher could control the wind. It didn’t take him long to guess that, but still. His teacher could control the wind. How cool. Was he gonna teach him how to control the wind? He really hoped that was true.

  “I’m fine,” he answered.

  “That’s the spirit. I’ll need you in best shape for what comes next. Now, tell me what do you see down there?” his teacher asked him.

  It was starting to get darker out, so it was harder to see, but a single glance was all it took for him to tell that he was in a completely different place. Still in a forest, but a completely different ecosystem. Below him, was a vast and expansive lake, a murky and brown color and covered in lily pads. Plants and weeds grew out and above the water. Animals that he had never seen before were jumping about on the lily pads. Around the lake, he could see that there were multiple beasts running through the grass, yet he couldn’t tell exactly what they were.

  “I see a large lake. There are small animals jumping from lily pad to lily pad. And some beasts are moving around in the grass.”

  “Hmm. Those are all good observations. But you are missing the big picture. This is the perfect training ground for you to learn the most important lesson of all.”

  He wasn't able to get a word across before he was hit with a gust of wind. The ground beneath his legs disappeared and he was weightless. Then he fell. The last thing he saw before he hit the ground was his teacher, staring down at him, his eyes seeming to suck up all the light in the world. “The most important lesson of all is simple. The strongest rule. Nothing else matters. You are either strong or weak. Powerful or powerless. You either kill or get killed. Show me your strength, Valen. Live or Die.”