First Binding.

---

A few hours have passed since Christopher's visit, and it had started to turn dark outside even if the moon still shone. Edwin's father, Steffen had just returned from work and both Edwin and Elene welcomed him with a warm hug.

The family of three was currently gathered around the kitchen table, on top of which lay the Index, a sewing needle, a tiny brush and small bottle of cleansing alcohol. Steffen, a rugged man of the hunters' profession was carefully cleaning the needle.

''Are you ready?'' Steffen asked a few seconds later.

Edwin eagerly nodded his head before laying his hand on the table. Steffen picked up the needle before taking his son's hand into his own and quickly poked a small hole into his skin. Edwin flinched from the prick but his father's hand held firm.

A small red globule of blood appeared where the needle pierced his skin, Steffen quickly picked up the small brush and let the surface tension take the globule. He then brushed across the center of the green crystal, leaving a small red stripe over the center of the gemstone.

The book soon started to emit a green glow. A green mist started to appear, which soon spun itself into a small thread of the same colour. At the same time, a faint white glow started appear around Edwin's body. This glow quickly manifested itself into an aura and started to weave a small thread of its own.

Soon the two intertwined and started to become one. Many sensations assaulted his mind, as he became aware of all his contacts, and a small book inside his newly acquired spatial storage.

''Whoa...'' Edwin quietly muttered. The two parents turned at each other and suppressed a quiet chuckle. Their child had just bound his first artifact, naturally that would be a strange sensation.

''So, any plans for now?'' Steffen asked. He was briefed on the visit but was curious about what his son would do for now. He would personally like for his son to just go to bed, he was tired from work, and would like to still get some quality-time with his wife.

''I'm feeling sleepy. I would like to message Christopher, and then go to sleep.'' Edwin said, looking at both of his parents' faces.

''Yes, just make sure to clean your teeth.'' Elene said before giving him a hug which was quickly accompanied by Steffen's. (A/N Yes, this universe has dental hygiene even in the pseudo-medieval era.)

Edwin did as instructed and quickly went to sleep.

---

The next day he woke up late. He quickly went down stairs, in hopes of having breakfast with both of his parents. His father was often out hunting, both game and the occasional beast. Although it was quite lucrative it often forced him to stay out during the night together with his crew.

The Starling family's house was a rather humble, two-story building located in the outskirts of Rotherlint Village.

Rotherlint village was a peaceful and quiet place, located among the golden wheat fields in the southern parts of the Osswell empire. It was just 13 kilometers north of Edenburg, making it quite a popular traveling stop for merchants.

When he arrived in the kitchen, the first thing he saw were his parents. They had already been waiting at the kitchen table. The kitchen table was covered with a simple tablecloth and various kinds of fruits, bread and a jar of northwestern queen's jam. They had bought it at Elene's insistence. Apparently it was quite popular right now and both Edwin and Steffen had nothing to complain about.

Quickly moving to his chair he sat down while joining his parent's conversation.

Apparently his father had been through quite the adventure out in the wilds, and met several copper rank and even a Bronze rank beast.

Having finished both the story and breakfast, he quickly pulled the Index out of his pocket. He opened the small book and went to page 7 where he would receive his messages

There he saw a message pop up on the slightly yellowed pages of the book. 'Come to the Church with your parents by 9:30'. Looking at the ink-colored letters of the inbuilt clock, at the bottom-right corner of the page he found that it already was 9:13.

Elene urged him to pack some lunch. He groaned at the idea of wasting time, but quickly had an epiphany. He went into the kitchen, pulled his book out and then touched a fresh loaf of bread and a package of butter to one of the pages.

He felt the uncomfortable sensation of energy being sucked out of his body, as the items disappeared. Luckily the weight of his lunch wasn't high, which meant that it had a minimal essence drain.

He rushed up to his parents before quickly tying his shoes. ''Alright son, are you ready for the last part of this exam?'' Steffen asked while looking proudly at his son. 'Children sure grow up fast.' He thought before turning to the door, after receiving an affirmative nod.

They soon arrived at the church where they spotted other families waiting for the exam. Almost all of the children here were proudly donning their Magic Index. The Starling family quickly mixed into the crowd looking for their neighbors' family.

They and the Farland family were good acquaintances. Their son, Allan often played with Edwin. They quickly found their neighbor's family and the parents started chatting about life and the world, while the two children were having their own discussions.

Soon the crisp voice of Christopher rang across the area. ''I believe I gave all of you sufficient information during our little conversations.'' He said.

''It's time to get to the last part of the examination.''