Renjin and his father were ready for a battle, but then when something came out of the shadows, it was not a KI beast—it was... it was... a person, a kid around six or seven years old?? Renjin and his father were stunned to see the kid, not only because it was a child but also because he had shattered clothes, wounds everywhere, and looked super skinny. Instead of attacking like they were planning to do, his father rushed over to the child, asking him questions like: Where are you hurt? What happened? Where are your parents? Those kinds of things.
They set up a camp in the woods to help the poor boy, but Renjin saw it as an opportunity to train and hone his skills even further. For dinner, they ate the wild chicken beasts—and yes, they are indeed also KI beasts, but their KI is so weak it's barely noticeable, and it also made them easy to catch and cook on a campfire.
"So what's your name, kid?" Renjin said.
"Uhm... it's- it's B-Bairon," the child said softly. "Thank you for... the food, mister," Bairon said.
"No problem, kiddo. Everything will be alright. I will bring you to the city so that we can get you patched up and bring you home," Nico said.
"Uhm, well, I don't have a home, Mister Ashtorne. You see, the reason why I'm here in this jungle is because one month ago my parents and I were travelling to Solmere City to start a new life there after we left our small village. But we didn't know the way, so we mistakenly chose this path... and well, my parents tried to protect me. They fought and fought and fought till the bitter end, but it wasn't enough. They died protecting me, yelling at me to run, but I was frozen. I couldn't bear the thought of my dear parents being dead. I wanted to help, but instead I ran away like a coward, and I still hate myself for it," Bairon said.
"Kid... that's horrible. Don't you worry, kid. I don't know what I can do for you, but I'm gonna try my absolute best. I, Nico Ashtorne, hereby swear that I will protect you and care for you like my own son."
Bairon starts crying "T-T-THANK YOU, MISTER ASHTORNE, T-T-THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH."
And so, the next day Renjin, his father, and Bairon began travelling again. They were walking for a few hours when Renjin asked his father how long it will take until they reach Solmere.
"WHAT?! So you're saying it will take three days?? I thought we could be there in less than a day!"
Then his father replied, "Yeah, sorry, Renjin, but walking is the slowest way to go. With magic beasts like how your mother is going, it would only take about one day. But yeah, just see this as an opportunity to do more training in preparation for your Solmere Academy entrance exam."
"Uhm, Renjin, we could train together if you want to. I was going to apply for Solmere too, you know," Bairon said.
"What? You have already awakened your KI? How? You're about the same age as me. What level are you?" Renjin asked.
"Well, I awakened when I was five years old, and I just turned Level 2 while trying to survive in the forest."
And so, with the newfound discovery that Bairon has also awakened his KI, they begin to spar. Renjin's father gives Bairon a weapon of his choice. He chooses a scythe and turns it into a scythe specifically for water masters. As they battle, multiple things become clear—like the fact that Renjin is definitely stronger than Bairon, which was already suspected because Renjin had a KI level of three in comparison to Bairon's KI level of two. The other fact that becomes clear is that even though Renjin has more strength, it seems like Bairon's agility is better and his water magic is more fluid than Renjin's fire magic. Eventually, both of them fall on the ground, tired from sparring for the last couple of hours.
After the sparring, they went to take a bath in the nearby lake while Renjin's father was searching for the food they were going to eat. After the bath, Renjin and Bairon both help with preparing the food as well as making the campfire and setting up the tent. Eventually, everyone goes to sleep, but that was only Day 1 of the Elarion Forest.
*The Next Day (Day 2)*
At first, everything goes like normal. They wake up, eat some fruit for breakfast, and do some regular physical exercises. But then, when they go take a morning bath in the lake right before going to travel more through the forest, they notice something in the water. At first, they don't think anything of it, but then Renjin feels the huge KI surge and quickly jumps out of the water, taking Bairon with him.
At first, Bairon yells at him, but then they see the huge terrifying monster in front of them. Turns out it was a KI beast—and a very powerful one at that. They knew this because even if they focused, they couldn't read his KI level, which means he was at least a Level 5. At first they freaked out, but then as fast as they could, they ran for the camp to get their gear. Luckily, the monster wasn't very fast, so they could gear up before it could be there. But then, just when they wanted to turn back to face the monster, Renjin gets punched into a tree, breaking it in the process. Then Bairon slices the tree in pieces with his water scythe to make sure Renjin doesn't get hurt. He tells him to get up because the fight is just beginning, and Renjin's dad is still far away looking for food.
Renjin stands up again, and together they start to fight the monster. Even though they were outclassed, they just kept on going—slashing, using spells. Their advantage was that the monster was extremely slow and not agile enough to dodge attacks multiple times in a row. Eventually, they used a combo that they had never even tried or trained with: Renjin first launched a spell that looked like a fire dragon, but Bairon knew even with all his energy, that attack still wouldn't be powerful enough to beat the monster. So he imitated the attack, but with water. Together, they focused all their energy on it and—
*BOOM*
It pierces the monster right through the heart, and after a lot of fighting and struggling, they finally beat the monster. But they didn't get away unscathed. Wounds everywhere, slices, even a bite mark from a close attack that Bairon tried—and yet they were laughing, like it was just a game, like they were just playing. But the laughing doesn't last long, as they pass out a couple minutes later.
Nico finds them an hour later when he's back from getting materials and food. At first, he looks shocked, but then he gets to work: repairing the tent, laying them in bed to rest, making food—he fixes everything. Renjin soon wakes up, seeing Bairon already eating and his dad calling him because the food's gonna get cold. They have a nice meal, discuss what happened, and start traveling again.
While they are traveling, Renjin thinks to himself: "Wow, I almost forgot my past life for a sec. Just being here with my new friend and my 'father'—it's just so nice. Since I never had these types of moments in my old life. Everything was just: decide laws, train, eat, and sleep on repeat. So boring, honestly. Now I still do that, but at least I have people I care for now. That's the greatest pleasure I have in this new life."
The Next Day (Day 3)
This day went fully according to plan (unlike the other days). They ate breakfast, worked out, sparred, packed food for the next trip, and went on their way—just a couple more hours left till they arrive at Solmere.
As they were walking, Renjin kept having a weird feeling, but he just shook it off, thinking nothing would happen. But just then, no one could sense it—something attacked them. It was a tiger!
"WHAT? BUT TIGERS ARE S-CLASS BEASTS AND THEY DON'T NORMALLY TARGET HUMANS. WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?" Nico yelled out.
At first, they got ready for a fight—all three of them, even Renjin's dad. At first, they awaited the tiger's response, but it didn't respond at all. It just sat there. Eventually, it jumped in the air aiming for Renjin. His father shouted for him to duck, but then the tiger transformed into a cat?? And jumped into Renjin's bag.
They were all confused—especially his father, but not for the reason most people may think. Renjin's father knew that KI beasts also have KI levels, which they are graded on, but they also have a different sort of ranking: Grade E to Grade S, that determines how rare the beast is. But more often than not, the higher the rank of the beast, its power may also be way higher. And also, the beasts A-Grade or higher can sometimes choose their partner, and it appears that that tiger has chosen Renjin as its bond. But the part his father was confused about was the fact that the tiger transformed. He had heard about it in some stories, but didn't think it was real—well, until now.
"Renjin, congratulations—you're bonded with an S-Grade beast," Nico said.
"WHAT? DAD, ARE YOU SERIOUS?"
"Yep, completely. And once we are in Solmere, we are gonna have to see if he gave his powers to you."