Chapter 16. People

Ash meditated for about a couple of days; he healed up far faster than he had ever previously. He believed it was the benefit of now having a bond and eating the elk's meat. He was still weak on the side where his ribs had been fractured, but it would not hamper his movements.

The morale of Grim had been low so he was looking for an easier win this time. The elk was probably an f rank but because he and his partner had not efficiently worked together, they struggled harder than necessary.

Ash thought for a moment and decided to look for weaker monsters that live in small groups. Ash headed down into the forest like area again to train. He examined the surrounding beasts and slowly moved forward with Grim. Ash had seen a skull armored mantis, boulder crushing centipedes, yellow back sparrows and other beasts.

None of which were an ideal fight; they were all either too strong or too weak to fight. The tall trees and rocky earth gave Ash a feeling of calmness even in a dangerous environment. It reminded him of hunting with his father.

After an hour of moving, Grim alerted him to movement up ahead. He crouched low while having Grim stick close by his side. He focused on his hearing and listened to what seemed to be a conversation.

"There is something wrong with this realm. The elders did not say anything about a demon and the beasts are more ferocious than recorded. The realm is big but there are many beasts here that were not mentioned previously."

"I know, however, with our level of status do you think the elders would say much? We are better off focusing on getting our bonds."

"Your right… I still think we made a good decision to "scout" this area for young master Kraven."

"You're telling me, I get a cold sweat every time I see the guy. They lied about what life would be like in the Blood Seeking Sect; my dumbass thought we would at least get amazing skills but here I am a lap dog to some cannibal. They only give you the crappiest of skills, and even then, you need to give up a lot in exchange for those skills."

Ash was intrigued by the information he picked up; the Blood Sect was mysterious and elusive. The few things that were known were that there was cannibalism, some kind of paganism, and intense competition. Before he entered the realm, he saw what must have been their young master. He was one of the dangerous ones no doubt.