Intimidation

Jason stopped in his tracks and he risked exposing himself without any logical reason.

But somehow he felt it was the right decision, even if he wasn't sure why. His gut feeling told him so and he decided to go ahead with it.

"Greg… Why don't you form a soul contract with this bull calf?"

He simply asked the question to Greg without providing any further explanation.

His seemingly innocent question caused the old man to stop in his tracks as looked at the calf carefully.

"This is only a normal mid Evolved ranked beast cub called a 'reinforced horned bull.' Its chances to evolve into a higher unblemished being are lower compared to the other three potential bonds of Greg. Contracting this beast would be a waste."

Greg´s parents and his sister heard this and they nodded their heads, agreeing to the old man's explanation, while Greg´s sister threw a threatening glance at Jason.

Meanwhile, Greg looked at the reinforced horned bull calf in confusion, not knowing why Jason wanted him to pick this beast cub.

While Greg went closer to the bull calf, Jason who had been standing next to him said out loud.

"I think this bull calf is much better compared to the other three choices."

He simply stated his opinion without providing any further explanation.

In a near whisper, he added to Greg.

"You can pick whichever beast you want because it's ultimately your call but don't regret your decision later."

Somehow, Jason's words made Greg ponder.

He wanted to pick the newborn lesser orc which would be bound to his physical soul.

However, picking the non-elemental bull calf would make a difference of a whole rank as the lesser orc had the possibility to reach the unblemished rank with a certain amount of resources provided.

Seemingly confused, Greg turned to Jason and questioned him

"Why do you think this beast is better than the orc for example?"

It was weird for Jason to say something like that, without giving a reason. Greg believed that Jason wouldn't want to harm him, even if Greg didn´t know why he trusted Jason so much.

Jason was in a tight spot because he still thought that he had to keep his eyes a secret as he remembered the old man´s words that his eyes could be revealed.

Turning to the old man he asked him again to be certain.

"Old man, what you said earlier is still valid, right?"

The old man was confused because Jason didn't seem to bother calling him sir but he nodded his head

"Yeah, well..it is."

Turning back to Greg, Jason slowly loosened the bandage which had soaked most of the blood. It was now caked with dried blood that was still stuck to his skin at places, causing an unpleasant feeling while taking the bandage off.

His eyes were still closed because of the sudden light invading them.

After a short moment of adapting to the sudden stream of light, Jason opened his bright golden shining eyes and looked straight into Greg´s eyes without hesitation.

"W-Whats with your eyes? You're NOT blind???" Greg was astonished and his jaw dropped to the ground.

He had known Jason for many years and his eyes had looked like a dead fish every time he looked at him. He recalled feeling uncomfortable while looking at those lackluster and lifeless eyes, but now they were full of vigor and even sported a rich golden color.

It was the first time for Jason to see Greg and he was astonished to find a boy with a muscular build,  short brown hair, and eyes looking at him agape. However, a frown on that handsome face was destroying his facial features.

'If I can´t hide my eyes forever, I can just reveal a little, right?' Jason had to ponder how exactly he should put it, as he said.

"I had to gather mana for a long time to reactivate them. I ran into some problem previously that I had to fix, causing me to forsake absorbing mana into my mana core.

And my eyes are slightly special to add."

Thinking for a second, Jason further added,

"Back to the main topic. I recommended this bull calf because my eyes tell me that it's the right choice for you.

In the end, it's your decision to do what you think is right and don't let anyone hinder you."

Greg´s family only saw Jason taking off his bandage, Greg's astonishment, and his loud voice.

They couldn't understand what was going on but they weren't fond of this situation, one bit. All they knew was that Jason wanted Greg to pick the bull calf, which the old man said was weaker than the other three beast cubs.

Greg smiled at Jason who returned the smile and confidently said out loud.

"I want the reinforced horned bull calf as my soulbond!"

Hearing this, Greg's parents fell silent as they looked at their son with a dumbfounded expression while his sister had an exactly opposite reaction as she shouted in anger

"Brother, don't be stupid… What makes you think that this blind boy without any resources or background has more knowledge or wisdom than us? Don't be naive!!"

She approached the two youths who were still looking at each other. Jason was merely five meters away with his back facing her.

Frustration welled inside her and she wanted to hit Jason really hard in his face as she grabbed his shoulder, yanking him back.

This caused Jason to stumble backward, while he was forced to turn around due to the sudden and unexpected force.

Jason was completely taken off guard, still looking towards Greg, as his shoulder was unexpectedly pulled back.

The face of a gorgeous teenage girl with beautiful facial features, fair skin, big brown eyes, and long eyelashes swam into his view, distracting him slightly.

Meanwhile, the girl's expressions completely changed as the anger masking her beautiful face was replaced by astonishment before it changed to shock. She had a dazed look as she looked into the youth's golden eyes with surprise shining within them.

The golden eyes felt as if they were as deep as an endless pit of abyss but full of vigor.

Jason was a bit annoyed as he didn't like to be manhandled or touched by strangers.

The girl felt awkward and uncomfortable looking into Jason's eyes because it was as if she couldn´t hide anything from him.

His eyes unnerved her and she felt that she would probably expose her deepest secrets without the slightest hesitation if she were to look into those eyes even for one more second. Thus,  she backed off and loosened her grip, almost tripping.

Greg, who had shot out an arm to stop Jason from falling over, gave his sister a confused look.

While he understood his sister's rage slightly, he had never seen her backing off from clashes that surprised him a little.

That was until she had looked into Jason's eyes that had forced her to retreat. Greg found it to be oddly interesting.

The old man was annoyed due to Greg's sister's behavior and said,

"If you have finished choosing your soulbond, you can leave while I will help Jason in choosing his bond.

Your parents can help you with the last steps as they aren't difficult."

Greg was disappointed that he wasn't allowed to look at Jason's soulbond but he had to accept the old man's order.

While Greg said goodbye to Jason, his sister was suspicious of his intentions while his father threw him a glare.

The reinforced horned bull calf was brought to a different room by an attendant and Greg followed the staff with his family.

Now, Jason and the old man were alone in the big room. While the old man looked at Jason curiously, Jason was slightly apprehensive.

"Why are you so sure that the reinforced horned bull is better than the other cubs we had shortlisted earlier? Is it really because of your eyes?"

The old man was wary of him and also curious, while Jason got slightly nervous as he thought about a satisfactory answer.

If he were to tell him the theory about his eyes seeing the potential of beasts, Jason wasn't sure what would be the outcome so he decided to cook up a story instead.

"I'm not sure if my eyes are special, but after seeing the bull calf I got the feeling that it is stronger than the other beasts Greg wanted to choose from.

But to be honest, I could also be wrong. Hence, I told Greg that it was entirely his decision as to which beast to select but I hope I'm not wrong. "