Alex started laughing, a sharp edge in his voice.
"What, really? You bring someone home while they're on tour?"
RAAAAUUUUUNNGGHH!
The bear roared back, pure anger boiling from deep inside.
Alex looked at it, unfazed.
"Why so mad?"
The bear's ear was smoking—burned when Alex threw that fireball.
With a thunderous charge, the bear lunged, slamming Alex with a fierce lightning strike. But Alex stood firm, raw force holding strong. The electricity fizzled harmlessly around him.
Swift as lightning itself, Alex unsheathed his blade and plunged it deep into the beast's heart.
The bear staggered back, fear and pain clouding its eyes. Its strength drained, it faltered—about to fall.
Alex hurled the broken horn at the cub. It shattered, unleashing a surge of immense energy that flowed into the little creature.
Its body grew, wings bursting out with power.
The bear screamed in agony, but Alex didn't stop. Golden lightning crackled from his hands, striking the beast until it turned to dust.
He looked down at the cub, now towering and majestic.
"What should I call you?"
A fierce roar tore from the cub's throat:
"RRRRAAAHH!"
Alex smirked.
"Bad name. 'Leo'—that's a good name. Now, let's clean house."
The cub rolled its eyes but followed Alex inside the cave.
Alex breathed golden flames onto the walls. Slowly, the fire spread, devouring the demonic energy trapped within.
He glanced at Leo.
"Do your part—burn the floor clean. No bugs, no rats."
Leo inhaled deeply, then unleashed a massive burst of fire, scorching every plant and shadow inside the cave.
"Now blow all that ash away, Leo!"
With a powerful sweep of its wings, Leo sent the ash flying outside. Then, exhausted, it curled up and slept.
Alex picked up mammoth bones lying nearby, starting to carve them into bowls.
"Need a spoon?" he muttered. Then laughed. "Nope. Never need one."
He crafted a long training sword, then eyed the leftover bones.
"Hand weights, maybe?"
He wove thick ropes from mammoth hide and strapped the weights to his arms—ready for some serious training.
He made sure the guards were at maximum weight.
He opened all the books he brought from Heaven and arranged them on the land.
Magiswordsmanship!
Starfall combat arts!
Elemental and ruin magic!
"Hmm! Serious problem!" he muttered.
He started thinking,
"If we need to choose, we have one combat footwork and magiswordsmanship!" in his mind.
"That was a better combination!" he said.
He gripped the practice sword he'd carved from mammoth bones. It was heavy—brutally so—and just walking with it made his legs wobble like brittle branches. But he held on.
Alex swung the sword horizontally, repeating the same motion over and over. Each swing was exactly how the ancient book described. His posture, his breathing—he mirrored it all. Whenever weakness crept into his limbs or exhaustion clawed at his focus, he took a break. Then he returned. Over and over again.
All morning, he trained. Swordsmanship. Nothing else.
By noon, his hands were red, raw from gripping the rough bone hilt.
"Since I got dragon energy," he muttered, inspecting the swelling blisters, "this should heal fast."
After finishing a quick meal with Leo, he moved on to footwork. Step by step, over and over, he practiced until it was etched into muscle memory. Soon, he couldn't walk normally anymore. His body defaulted to the training steps. At some point, he even forgot how to walk casually—he either ran or shuffled like a fighter on the edge of battle.
Later, he observed the weather outside. The wind was cold and sharp, hinting at rain. He got to work.
He fashioned crude cups from skulls, tied three sticks together to hang a bone bowl over a fire, and poured in water. Then, he added direwolf meat and stirred it with a carved wooden stick. After he and Leo ate in silence, he went back into the cave, a book in one hand and using the golden flame to warm the dragon.
Sometimes Leo started playing with the egg like a ball, but when Alex saw it, he ran over, held his sword, and scolded Leo.
He started learning magic, absorbing knowledge about the energies flowing through the world around him.
Eventually, his body gave in, and he fell asleep right there—on the stone floor, with the pages still open, tucking the egg while sleeping.
The next morning, Alex trained again. Leo at his side, he used his newly mastered footwork while running through the forest.
He chopped down trees. Then he began crafting traps, placing them randomly around the area. He dragged thick trunks into his cave, stuffing them inside his infinity pocket one by one. Shouldering a heavy log, he returned to the cave, where he sharpened the ends and dug defensive lines around the perimeter.
When exhaustion threatened to stop him, he switched back to sword training.
Later, noticing their water supply was gone, he made the trek to the nearby lake. After drinking alongside Leo, he returned to the cave.
It took him two full weeks.
Two weeks of brutal work—setting traps, dragging trunks, sharpening stakes, constructing a fortified perimeter with thick logs stacked and supported in layers like a wooden fortress.
One morning, the darkness was slowly starting in the ocean demon; the dim sky was glowing from the stars.
Alex reached into his infinity pocket.
Empty.
The direwolf meat was gone.
"Tch…" he clicked his tongue. "Out of food. Guess it's time to hunt again. A pure beast this time," he muttered, eyes narrowing.
He grabbed his sword and stepped out of the cave. Leo followed, his lean body glowing faintly with awakened energy like the crimson lion's energy was rising in the cub.
Alex climbed the boundary walls of the makeshift fortress and leapt down. He took off running, body gradually adapting to the weights tied around his arms, legs, and chest. Every stride hardened his muscles. His abs had started bulking up, his arms thickening with raw, functional power. Even his recovery had gotten faster.
They soon spotted a pack of hyenas and wolves. Leo growled low, ears pinned.
"No, Leo! They're demonized. We need to hunt carefully—we can't eat tainted flesh."
He kept running, weaving through the woods, passing animals moving in aggressive packs.
"They're hunting…" he realized. "No! We're prey right now! Leo, stay down and stay sharp!"
Three long, tense hours passed.
Then—
A saber-toothed beast emerged from the treeline. Muscles rippling. Eyes locked on them.
"It's pure…" Alex whispered. He suddenly heard a distant voice yell, "Darcy! Start running!"
A girl? But the saber-tooth didn't care—it saw only Alex and Leo.
And it charged—
With inhuman speed.
"Damn it! Why are the pure ones always this damn powerful?! Leo, no holding back. Be smart—we fight to survive!"
The beast lunged.
Alex barely dodged, the claw grazing his weighted training gear—
CRACK.
The reinforced bone armor shattered like dried bark.
Alex's eyes widened. "It cracked my armor with just a swipe?!"
He didn't hesitate. Sword in hand, he sprinted and changed direction constantly, keeping ahead of the beast's trajectory.
He activated his footwork—precise, flowing, unpredictable. He could feel his movements becoming sharper. Agile. Instinctive.
Smoke began to drift from his body—his battle spirit technique was activating.
He leapt onto a tree, rebounded mid-air, and came crashing down with blade aimed for the saber-tooth's skull.
He drove the sword straight from its eye into its brain. The beast twitched violently—
Then collapsed.
Alex landed hard, panting.
"Damn… if I'd been even a second late, I'd be dead."
He turned to check the remains. The training armor's bone guards were shattered.
"Just a nail… broke all my defenses," he muttered, stunned.
He raised his hand, summoning a faint golden flame. "Well, at least it's good eating."
With practiced skill, he began dissecting the beast, stripping its thick fur and hanging it from a tree branch. As he cut into the meat, the knife slipped—slicing his finger.
Blood dripped onto the saber-tooth's bones.
Suddenly—
The bones shimmered, glowing gold, pulsing with Qi. They melted, shifted, and reshaped.
A sword began to form—
Adjusting… evolving… syncing with his body.
Alex staggered back, stunned. "Whoa… awesome. But no time to marvel. I need to cut the rest of the muscle."
Then—
A voice echoed.
"Okay, master!"
Alex froze. Sword in hand. Eyes scanning.
He whispered, "Leo… stay on guard."
Leo stepped behind him, tail stiff.
"I'm here, Master. I've got your back."
Alex blinked. "Wait… who said that?!"
"I did… I'm in your hand. I am the sword."
He stared down.
At the blade.
"Wait—you're… my sword?! You can talk?!"
"Yes. And you are the only one who can wield me."
Tch… no food. Guess it's time to hunt a pure beast," he muttered, tightening the bandaged grip on his sword.
Leo padded beside him, his lean cub body glowing faintly with crimson Qi—like the ghost of a lion god stirring inside him.
Alex nodded, sensing danger in the air.
"I need to hurry. Blood in the wind… it'll attract every beast within ten miles."
"Yes, Master. You're right. Let's move!" the sword's voice echoed in his mind, calm and loyal.
Alex blinked. "Wait… you can hear my thoughts?"
"Of course! We're bonded. You think, I speak."
He narrowed his eyes at the blade, suspicious. "Don't you dare tell anyone what I'm thinking."
"I can't. No one else can hear me. Only you."
"Hmph. Then shut up 'til we reach the cave," he snapped.
"Yes, Master," the sword replied obediently.
With swift precision, Alex finished skinning the saber-tooth and wrapped the meat in leaves, sealing it with mud. One by one, he tossed the bundles into the infinity bag.
Then he froze.
A low growl rippled through the trees. White eyes glinted in the shadows.
Direwolves. A pack.
Alex's eyes widened. "Leo—run! It's a full pack!"
He flared his Battle Spirit—smoke hissed from his skin as Qi ignited.
Boom.
He vanished, leaving only a burst of dust.
Leo shot into the sky, wings blazing like phoenix fire, soaring above the treetops to follow his master.
They ran.
And ran.
The trees blurred into streaks of green and shadow. The world became motion, breath, and instinct.
Finally, Alex skidded to a halt beneath an ancient, twisted tree.
He dropped into a crouch, chest heaving, sweat trailing down his chin like rain.
"Breathing… controlled… rest," he murmured, sucking in air like it was liquid gold.
Leo spiraled down from the canopy, wings dimming, landing with a soft thud behind him.
Then came the voice—his sword's ego, sharp and cold in his mind.
"Master, why did we run? You could've fought them."
Alex chuckled, voice low and edged with old memory.
"You never mess with a wolf pack unless they strike first. That's what my Major taught me.
Lesson one: Survival is strategy."
Leo tilted his head, ears twitching.
But then—
"Master… I have bad news."
Alex's eyes snapped open.
"What now?"
"Your bond—it's ready to hatch."
He bolted upright, heart stuttering.
"Out here?! Now?! That's suicide! How much time?"
"Seven hours. Max. Your pocket watch won't lie."
"Shit."
No hesitation.
He dug into his pouch, ripped open a glowing elixir vial, and poured a few drops into his palm.
"Here goes nothing…"
Golden flames flickered from his fingertips as he inhaled the vapors.
Then came hell.
His lungs seized like they were filled with molten lead.
His heart thundered in his chest like a war drum gone mad.
He dropped to his knees, fingers clawing at the dirt.
"Damn it! It's burning me alive!"
He collapsed, gasping, pain splitting his ribs open from the inside.
The world twisted. His vision fractured into shards of white-hot agony.
"Bad idea… Very bad idea… I'm at my limit…"