After exiting the private taxi he booked for his ride home, Raiden entered his duplex home in a hurry, placing the precious egg on the table.
He walked into the kitchen, took a knife from it, and walked back to the table and sat in front of it.
Looking at the beautiful egg that was resting on a cushion in front of him, it hurt. It hurt him so much that he felt like he lost a million credits just by picking the wrong egg.
"It is what it is, no point in thinking about it. From now on, it will be my precious partner. Now I just need to drop my blood on the bronze card and learn how to bond with it."
He took the card out of his pocket and placed it in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the knife in domineering fashion.
Acting like he was about to sacrifice himself, he made the teeniest, tiniest cut possible on his finger, acting as carefully as possible.
"Damnit, that really hurt!!" He looked at the drop of blood on his finger and swiped it on the card.
Instantly, countless pieces of information surged into his mind, giving him a headache.
After a while, he came back to normal again, looking at the information in his mind.
It consisted of two things. One was a chant called 'Basic Meditation Mantra', and the other was 'Foundation Physical Exercises'.
According to the information in his mind, he needed to practice the Meditation Mantra for 15 minutes and generate a wisp of mental energy before dropping another drop of blood mixed with his mental energy to bond with the Terra Beast.
As for Foundation Physical Exercises, it was a set of exercises that rapidly strengthened his body when paired with the Mantra.
'No wonder the Battle Master card was so expensive. It came with hacks to become superhuman.'
After removing all distracting thoughts from his mind, Raiden sat cross-legged on the ground, with both of his hands resting on his knees as he started following the Mantra to meditate.
At first, he found it hard to concentrate and remove all thoughts from his mind. But after trying for a while, he was successfully able to enter the zone and found himself lost in the meditation, forgetting about time and place.
After what felt like forever, he felt a wisp of white-colored energy being successfully generated in his mind. It felt cool and refreshing, like a gentle breeze flowing through his thoughts, making him feel clearer-headed and more alert.
"Yes, finally!!! Now I can finally form a bond."
Wasting no time, he quickly picked up the knife again and carefully made another small cut, wincing in the process.
He tried to merge the energy with his blood on his fingers. But he soon faced another problem.
Even after using the Mantra, the white-colored energy refused to move. By the time he managed to drive it to his fingers from his brain, the blood had already dried up, with the wound closing. As soon as he stopped circulating the Mantra, the energy ran back up to the brain once again.
"Damnit, what kind of bullshit is this?! No matter, I know how to move it now, won't make the same mistake again!" He picked up the knife again, making another tiny cut on his thumb this time, before immediately circulating the Meditation technique once again.
Once again, by the time he brought the energy to his fingers, the blood had dried up once again, sealing the wound.
"Damnit!! I refuse to believe such a small thing can hold me back from forming a bond today!!!" Raiden started trying once again.
Once. Twice. Thrice.
He tried to do it again and again like a man possessed.
By the time of his 69th try, he looked like a mental patient.
Both his hands were full of small nicks and cuts, his eyes bloodshot red. His stomach growled from hunger, but he ignored it.
Ignoring the growing pain in his hands and ever-increasing headache, he picked up the knife once again and made a cut on his hand. Unlike the first few times, the cut was much larger than before, with blood flowing freely from it.
Acting on instinct, Raiden circulated the Mantra once again, far faster than before. The energy, which seemed very reluctant before, now flowed freely through his body, reaching his hand and merging with his blood before he even realised it.
For a moment, he didn't realise what happened and reached for the knife again instinctively, trying to make another cut to start the process once again.
A second later, he realised what happened and broke out in cheer.
"HELL YES!!! FUCKING FINALLY!!! YOUR DADDY DID IT!!!!!"
Wasting no more time, he slapped his blood-soaked hand on the egg, coating it red.
A second later, he felt a subtle connection develop between him and the egg, and he heard faint beast cries in his mind.
A second later, the egg started glowing white with a thunderous white flash, making Raiden go blind.
Five seconds later, three things happened simultaneously.
{Ding! Congratulations Host. You have successfully activated the...} A voice started ringing in his head.
"Big Brother?! What are you doing?!" A loud, panicked shout came from the doorway.
Woolie~!!
A cry erupted from within the white light.
Facing the exhaustion, severe blood loss, and sensory overload, Raiden fainted.