As the two continued to talk, night came before they realised it. Landor told Daren to sleep in his hut from now on. Daren lay wide in bed that night. He had to make a decision. Choosing the Body Anima meant strength and an assured future as a warrior. His Tree Anima meant another path– the path of survival. Daren unknowingly fell asleep in the comfort of the bed while he was deep in thought.
The next morning, Landor woke him up and took him out for some light exercise. "As a Body Anima User, you must exercise daily. You'll also eat beast meat every day. Your body should recover soon," Landor said. Daren asked, "Is it related to those warm currents that I felt yesterday after eating?"
Landor replied, "Yes. Those warm currents that you felt were the essence of the beast. Usually, you would have to exercise a lot to digest the essence, but thanks to your strengthened stomach, the process was expedited. Your body is already in a state of depletion, so that kind of worked in your favour."
Landor then guided his exercise, ensuring that Daren didn't get too exhausted. His body was much too sick for heavy exercise. His own routine was much more strenuous. After they were done, they had breakfast. Landor grilled some meat and some vegetables after covering them in the meat's fat. He then served that to Daren with a big glass of milk.
Daren subconsciously pouted after seeing the vegetables. They reminded him too much of the bitter roots. "You can't just eat meat. You need to eat vegetables too if you want to get healthy," Landor chided after seeing his expression.
Daren was surprised. Was he getting picky about food? The day before yesterday, he didn't even know if he would get a meal to eat, and now he was getting picky? He shook his head and dug in.
After he was done, his belly had swollen up, and he burped. "So, have you thought about what we talked about yesterday?" Landor chuckled and asked. Daren nodded and replied, "I'll major in my Banyan Tree Anima."
"Oh, and why is that?" Landor asked curiously. "There are many reasons. I want to follow my father's path and become a healer. You also have a Plant Anima, so you'll be able to teach me.
And… I could heal you if you ever got hurt by the beasts," Daren replied, although his volume dipped when he said the last part. Landor laughed and ruffled his hair.
He said, "You don't need to worry about me. Well then, let's get started. Summon your Anima."
Daren nodded, and the banyan tree appeared behind him. "Now sit down and try sensing the world through your Anima. It won't be as overwhelming as the first time, but it will still be difficult for you."
Daren did as he was told. And just like Daren said, it was still disorienting, but it wasn't like the first time. He heard Landor's voice, "Don't try to absorb the ambient essence. Just focus on sensing it."
Daren did as he was told. Even though his Anima really wanted to absorb the ambient essence, he tried his best not to. Daren did this until he got a headache. Then, he stopped. He opened his eyes and saw that it was already afternoon.
Landor was sharpening an axe. Daren just looked at him silently. Noticing his gaze, Landor looked up and said, "Ah, you're awake. Good. I have to go with the warriors to hunt. I should be back before nightfall. There is food in the pot; you can heat and eat it. And sleep on time. Don't wait up for me."
Daren nodded. Landor left after he was done sharpening the axes. Daren went inside and ate some food. After that, he sat down. For the first time in a long time, he had nothing to do. Usually, he would go around the village, looking for anyone who would hire him for odd jobs and chores in exchange for food. Though most avoided any association with him, some took pity on him. But even then, he would only get scraps.
Perhaps, in their eyes, even that was more than he deserved. He suddenly had an idea. That's right! He could do chores. He looked around the hut. It was luxurious, but it also had a lot of dust. With grateful resolve, Daren took off his shirt and tied it around his face as a makeshift mask. But then he realised something. He didn't have anything to clean the hut with.
He looked around but couldn't find anything. He unwrapped the shirt from his face and thought, 'You'll have to do.'
He took a bucket and went to the river to fill it up. But he was only able to fill it halfway. He hadn't been able to carry anything more than that. After bringing the bucket of water back to the hut, he dipped his shirt and cleaned the entire hut. The places he was able to reach anyway. He then took his shirt back to the river and washed it.
Back at the hut, he hung it out to dry and decided to exercise some more. He repeated the routine that Landor had taught him, although he wasn't able to complete it. By the time he was done, the sun had already begun setting. Daren lit up the firewood and heated the food before digging in. He made one last trip to the river. He cleaned the bowls and took a bath. After drying himself off, he returned to the hut and fell asleep.
When Landor returned, the first thing he noticed was Daren's shirt hanging outside. When he stepped inside, he saw the clumsy attempts at cleaning, and his heart warmed. He took a change of clothes and went to the river to take a bath. He didn't mind it, but he really didn't want Daren waking up to the stench of blood.
The next morning, when Daren woke up to the sound of blades sharpening. He greeted Landor with a good morning and stretched his body a little. "You didn't have to clean the hut, you know," Landor said. Daren was silent for a second before replying, "I know. But I wanted to."
Landor shook his head and said, "Alright. Let's begin today's exercise."
The next few days passed in a blur. Daren's life fell into a routine. Morning workout, breakfast, meditating, lunch, chores, evening workout, dinner, and finally sleep. This changed when Daren woke up one morning, and Landor wasn't back.