Chapter 6: First Soul Pact

Soul Crystals were rare organs found in soul monsters. These crystals contained the purest, condensed form of a soul monster's powers and abilities. Soul trainers fed these crystals to their beasts to increase the chances of them learning a new skill, talent, or affinity.

Many soul trainers sought out these soul crystals to strengthen and improve their monsters. Unfortunately, soul crystals had their limitations. First, soul crystals were exceedingly rare, and there was no way to know if a soul monster had one before killing them. Secondly, soul crystals could only be used once per phase. Because of this limitation, most trainers used soul crystals to stimulate their soul monsters' level to the next phase. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, soul crystals needed to be used on the same attribute monsters to have the most effect.

It was possible to add a new attribute to a soul monster with a soul crystal, but only if either it was either a pure elemental attribute crystal or a crystal whose main attribute aligned with the soul monster.

In this case, the crystal in Loudy's hands was bright yellow and shaped like a horn, which indicated it was a primarily beast type crystal with some hidden attribute. The problem was that neither Loudy nor Rao Wu had the knowledge required to decipher any invisible attributes accurately.

Rao Wu's eyes glowed as he looked at the crystal. Grinning, he slapped Loudy's back and then said, "Loudy, this is perfect for you! You're still in the second phase, right? Why don't you try it out and see what you'll get?" The chances of mutating into a different species through crystals were much higher in the lower phases than it was in the upper phases. Loudy was thus the best choice to eat the soul crystal.

"Guoo~" Loudy hesitated. Soul crystals were immeasurably rare. He felt Rao Wu should give it to one of the Dusklight Wolf cubs.

"Nope. You earned this! It's yours." Rao Wu firmly shut down Loudy's protest and then ordered him to stuff it in his mouth.

"Guoo~" Loudy let out an appreciative gibber and then laid down to focus on absorbing the soul crystal.

Rao Wu nodded as he observed the Steelback Ape. Crystal strengthening could take hours, so he did not bother waiting. Instead, after asking some Dusklight Wolves to watch over his friend, the little man picked up the cleanly cut carcass, and then made his way to the caves. Rao Wu greeted many Dusklight wolves as he descended the cave system until he reached the blackout zone.

Unperturbed, Rao Wu walked blindly through this zone with practiced steps until he eventually popped out at the underground Eternal Spring Lake. As usual, he found Uncle Twilight staring at the lake with melancholic eyes. Rao Wu felt a stab of pain in his heart when he saw the many tufts of gray hair that embellished the once night-black fur.

"Gruu~" Twilight's ears twitched, and he turned to see Rao Wu walk in with the carcass. The old Star Dusklight's eyes lit up, and he trotted over with a toothy grin. "Gruu~."

"Yeah! It's the Berserk Wild Warthog!" Rao Wu grinned and boasted as Twilight inspected the carcass. "I caught it with Loudy's help."

"Rraff!" Twilight approvingly nodded and then dipped his head to sniff the carcass. Seconds later, he looked at Rao Wu with puzzled eyes. "Gruwuu?"

"Uh... about that." Rao Wu hesitantly scratched the back of his head and weakly chuckled. "I kinda gave the soul crystal to Loudy. I wouldn't have gotten the warthog without his help so..." Rao Wu bent his head and apologized, "I'm sorry!"

Thonk!

Twilight used its paw to strike Rao Wu's chest softly. It then grinned and barked approvingly when the child raised his head. "Rraoo!" No matter what, loyalty and friendship were of the utmost importance. A sacrifice today could become a life-saving grace tomorrow. Rather than be angry, Twilight was glad that Rao Wu had learned this lesson.

"Gruao~."

"Oh? It's finally time?" Rao Wu's eyes lit up with stars. He had been waiting for this exact day since he began training under Uncle Twilight. Rao Wu excitedly dragged the carcass and then ran around the lake until he came to the mouth of a small cave. Once at the mouth, Rao Wu paused and then shouted, "Guys, I'm here!"

"Rraff! Rraff!"

Rao Wu's eyes beamed as six little wolf cubs scampered out of the cavern, excitedly barking at the top of their lungs. "Today's a big one! Eat well, guys." Rao dumped the meaty carcass and then watched with a small smile as the six cubs fought over the best, meaty parts. Rao Wu made no move to stop them. This, too, was part of their training. Only the strong would survive in the jungle.

"Gruu~."

Suddenly, Rao Wu's smile turned stiff as he turned to look at the large Star Dusklight Wolf that menacingly walked out of the cave. "Gulp~" Rao Wu swallowed hard. Aunt Midnight's presence was as scary as ever. Compared to Uncle Twilight, who joked and played around a lot, Aunt Midnight was reserved and always had cold eyes. Rao Wu never knew if she was planning on killing him or praising him.

Midnight looked at the little runts fighting over the carcass with hints of affection. She once thought she would never have children. Who would have guessed fate would bless her with six rugrats? Some might have been sad that none of the current children were monarch-ranked, but Midnight did not care. Having five general-ranked cubs was more than she could ask for. With focused training, it should not be too difficult to raise them to monarch-rank, and maybe even Emperor.

Thwack! "Rrrao!"

Midnight's gaze turned to the smallest of the cubs who kept getting swatted to the side. Through some twisted hand of fate, one of Midnight's cubs turned out to be servant-rank. It had to be understood that even the weakest Dusklight Wolf was warrior-rank. It was inconceivable that for a servant-rank Dusklight Wolf to appear, let alone one borne by a Star Dusklight Wolf.

Thwack!

However, that was the unfortunate reality. This little Dusklight Wolf's strength was far weaker than its siblings. It always ate last, living off of the rest's leftovers. "Rrao!" But, if there was one quality it possessed over its siblings, it was its tenacity.

The little servant-cub, no matter how many times it was knocked away, came back even angrier and fiercer. Unfortunately, its siblings were ruthless. They did anything to dissuade the weak, including biting and scratching. Worse yet, due to the nearby healing pool, they did not hold back at all! After all, as far as they didn't die, the Eternal Spring would heal all injuries.

Rao Wu sighed as he observed the little dusklight cub and then sat next to the carcass. Unsurprisingly, none of the cubs dared to fight him for space. Rao Wu had beaten them into submission multiple times since they were born. So, they unwillingly stepped aside as Rao Wu tore out pieces of meat for himself.

"Rraff!"

Ah, that's right. Rao Wu mulled as he looked at the snarling little cub. There was one cub who unceasingly challenged even Rao Wu for a place at the table. Rao Wu revealed a bloody grin as he glared at the servant-ranked cub. The servant-ranked cub's legs trembled in fear, but it gritted its teeth and still charged at Rao Wu.

Rao Wu's eyes gleamed approvingly, but he still punched the little cub. Bravery was one thing, but he had to ensure the cub learned not to overestimate itself. Whoosh! Rao Wu's eyes widened in shock when the casually thrown punch hit the air. To his surprise, the little cub danced under his arm, then with quick steps snatched a piece of meat and then tried to flee to his left.

Huh? This was the first time a cub had stolen from Rao Wu. The child's eyes narrowed, and his left hand shot out to grab the servant-ranked cub. To Rao Wu's shock, however, the cub kicked backward just as his hand closed over its head. Bam! The kick struck Rao Wu's palm, but the little boy was not so weak that the cub could move his arm.

Da-Da!

Surprisingly, the servant-ranked cub seemed to have predicted this, and thus used Rao Wu's palm as a springboard to project itself forward and out of arm's reach. Skshh! The cub lost its balance after dodging Rao Wu's grab, and painfully skidded across the earth as a result. However, moments later, it rose to its feet.

"Rrao!" The proud servant-ranked cub dropped the morsel in its mouth, then looked at Rao Wu and roared provocatively.

"This little..." Rao Wu stared at his palm in shock. He had always known that one day he would no longer be able to bully this little cubs. He had mentally prepared himself for the day one of the general-ranked cubs stole from his side. However, who would have thought the first cub to do so would be this little, weak servant-ranked cub. It had been practicing its speed and evasive tactics to make up for its lacking power.

Rao Wu looked at the proud eyes and chuckled, "Alright, you won."

"Rraff!" The cub barked as if to proclaim, 'that's right!' and then settled down to eat.

A couple of minutes later, when everyone finished eating, Midnight had the cubs line up in front of Rao Wu. Twilight sat to the side with a strange look in its eye. It recalled its ceremony and the many adventures that followed. Shaking the thought from its mind, Twilight looked at Rao Wu, and then softly barked.

Rao Wu's gaze turned solemn as he looked at the cubs. This was perhaps the most important day of his short life. It was the day he would choose his first soul monster. Rao Wu was already a stage six soul apprentice, which meant he could pick two soul monsters. However, with respect for Twilight and Midnight, who raised him, he had always reserved his first soul monster for one of their children per their wishes.

After months of waiting, the cubs were finally mature enough to understand the significance of a soul pact, and the danger and restrictions it entailed.

"Before we begin, is there anyone who doesn't want to sign a soul pact?" Rao Wu's soft but firm eyes searched the cubs.

Three cubs let out cries and took steps back. Rao Wu did not hold it against them. A contracted soul monster had to follow their trainer anywhere they went without complaint. It was a dangerous future, one especially so if the trainer was not adept at raising soul pets.

Rao Wu looked at the remaining cubs. Amongst them were the second strongest, fifth strongest, and surprisingly, the weakest cubs. Rao Wu looked at the servant-ranked cub with shock. This little guy wanted to leave the safety of the pack? Did he understand just how risky that was?

Rao Wu did not linger on the cub. After confirming the remaining parties, he stated the second screening statement, "Whoever signs with me would have to suffer like me when I train... eh, maybe more. You guys are wolves, so your endurance is higher than mine."

"Rrao!" Two more cubs stepped back. The cubs had seen how Rao Wu trained. He often slammed himself against the wall or punched and kicked rocks until he bled to build his body's toughness and strength. Other times Rao Wu would claw rocks or bite bones until his nails and teeth broke. Granted, Rao Wu healed quickly with the Eternal Spring, but the pain remained the same.

The cubs had no desire to train like Rao Wu. As general-ranked monsters, their path to Emperor-rank was smooth as long as they trained well and ate enough strengthening soul crystals.

Rao Wu revealed a bitter smile. Yeesh, he didn't think his training would have scarred the cubs this badly. He had hoped to spur their fighting spirit by training near them. Who would have thought it would have the opposite effect. Rao Wu sighed and then turned to apologize to Twilight. After all, he could not force the cubs to sign a soul pact. It seemed he had to search for his first soul pet elsewh—

"Rraff!"

Rao Wu turned in shock when he heard the challenging bark. He looked at the servant-ranked cub who still stood in the front row, gray eyes hesitantly looking at him. The servant-ranked cub was trying to hold its head high and proudly, but its shaking legs gave away the fear in its head.

It was afraid that Rao Wu would think it was too weak and refuse it. There was nothing more damaging to a soul monster than being rejected by a trainer it admired.

Rao Wu's brows rose in shock as he looked at the little cub. "Are you sure? You heard what I said about the training, right?"

"Rraff!"

The servant-ranked cub did not care. It was servant-ranked. The only way for it to grow was to forge a ladder of blood, sweat, and tears. Even then, its growth was not guaranteed. As such, it was far better for it to follow Rao Wu, and hope that Rao Wu's focused training would somehow help it break through its latent shackles.

Rao Wu, for his part, looked at the little beast with a slight smile. He did not care about the cub's rank, just its attitude. Since it was ready to risk its life to chase the highest heights, Rao Wu would happily oblige it.

The little boy smiled and took out a rather thick book from his spatial ring. Of the few things his parents left him; this book was the most important. There were four of them titled 'Soul Monsters & You Volume 1 – 4.' Rao Wu had read through these books, which documented thousands of soul monsters cover to cover countless times until the leaves turned brown. So much so that he didn't even need to think when he flipped to the right page.

On this page, a little mantra was written, with instructions on what to do when signing soul pacts with soul monsters.

Rao Wu had recited this mantra a thousand times and knew it by heart, but just to be safe, he read through it one more time as he muttered the ones. A few seconds later, finally convinced that he did not get any word wrong, Rao Wu shut the book and then looked at the little, proud servant-ranked cub.

"Here we go, little guy," muttered Rao Wu as he began reciting the mantra.

When a trainer tried to sign a pact with a soul monster, they sent a branding mark with their soul energy into the soul monster's core. Then they had to wait and see if the soul monster accepted or rejected the mark.

If the soul monster accepted, then the mark will take root and bind their souls together in a master-slave relationship. In this relationship, the soul monster would most times listen to and worship their soul trainer. Some theorists suggested it was a form of brainwashing, but there had been cases of soul monster rebellion, which also indicated that soul monsters retained some personal ego. If their trainers treated them poorly or unfairly, it was not unheard of for a soul monster to not fight seriously, or, in worse cases, desert the trainer.

At the other end of the spectrum, if a soul monster rejected the pact, it caused a small backlash to the trainer's soul. Usually, a trainer would then have to wait for a few minutes before attempting the pact. For this reason, trainers often beat target soul monsters into submission before attempting a soul pact.

Of course, there were exceptional cases like Rao Wu's, where the soul monster readily agreed. In these cases, the soul trainer could boldly carry out the pact, safe in the knowledge there would be no backlash.

Whuuu~

A small ball of light containing a piece of Rao Wu's soul emerged from his forehead, and then slowly drifted into the little cub's. The cub trembled slightly as the foreign soul slowly branded on its soul. This was the moment where it could choose to reject, but the cub wholeheartedly accepted the brand without a single struggle.

Moments later, both trainer and soul monster opened their eyes and looked at each other, smiles forming on their faces as they felt the new emotional bond between them.