Chapter 44: A New Teammate

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: A New Teammate

Completely unaware of the storm brewing outside...

Damon stared at the Gale Seed in his hand.

The small seed glowed softly.

Gentle streams of wind surrounded it.

Almost like it was breathing.

Damon observed it carefully.

Countless thoughts crossed his mind.

Could he form a contract with it?

Would it grow the same way Freya did?

How many spirit elementals could his second core hold?

And...

How would Freya react?

He paused.

Then shook his head.

"I’m thinking too much."

His smile returned.

"There’ll be time to worry later."

"For now..."

"Let’s see how far this thing can go."

Honestly...

The thought excited him.

Another spirit elemental.

Another element.

Another partner.

If it really worked... Then it would be incredible.

And looking around, Damon laughed softly.

"Heh."

"Fate really arranged everything perfectly."

Wind Ores surrounded him.

Aether Crystals filled the chamber.

Even the density of Wind Aether in the air was frightening.

There wasn’t a better environment than this.

His cultivation speed would increase.

And the Gale Seed had all the resources it needed.

Meanwhile, Freya continued sleeping peacefully inside the second core.

Without realizing it, she had already benefited from the Aether Damon absorbed ever since entering the room.

Damon glanced inward.

"Sleep well."

"I hope this won’t disturb you."

Truthfully, he didn’t know.

Would nurturing another spirit interfere with Freya?

He had no idea.

But curiosity won in the end.

He slowly sat down.

Crossing his legs, he entered his usual meditation posture.

Then...

He carefully connected with the Gale Seed through his second core.

Immediately...

Pulse.

The seed responded.

Damon’s eyes widened.

"It really works."

He slowly circulated his Aether.

The white core turned.

Its power flowed into the second core.

And from there into the Gale Seed.

Pulse.

Pulse.

The connection became stronger.

Again.

And again.

Just like he had done with Freya.

Damon repeated the process patiently.

And then... Something changed.

The Gale Seed moved.

Not physically.

But instinctively.

Wind Ores placed around it began losing their essence.

Streams of green energy flowed into the seed.

Damon froze.

"It can absorb them on its own?"

His eyes brightened.

"It really can!"

His earlier guess had been right.

The reason dormant spirit cores awakened...

The reason they could absorb elemental essence...

It all seemed connected to his mysterious second core.

He didn’t know how long the Gale Seed had remained in this place.

Hundreds of years.

Perhaps longer.

Yet now, the little thing absorbed the wind essence greedily.

Like a starving child finally finding food.

And as its connection to the second core grew... Its appetite only became greater.

More Wind Ores lost their glow.

More essence entered the seed.

And slowly...

The tiny Gale Seed became brighter.

Brighter.

Brighter.

Until finally It stopped.

The seed had reached its limit.

Satisfied, it became quiet once again.

Damon smiled.

"Rest for now."

"We have time."

And while the Gale Seed rested... Damon continued cultivating.

His white core absorbed the rich Aether around him.

His Aether veins strengthened.

His cultivation grew steadier.

At the same time... The second core continued nourishing Freya.

Who remained asleep inside.

Even in her sleep, Damon could feel her happiness.

The little fox seemed completely addicted to the warmth and comfort inside the second core.

Damon chuckled.

"Honestly..."

"You’re spoiled."

Yet his smile remained.

As the rich Aether flowed around him and the room sparkled with countless treasures, Damon quietly trained.

And somewhere deep inside, he could feel it.

His white core.

His Aether veins.

And even Freya.

All moving steadily toward their next breakthrough.

*****

A smile slowly appeared on Damon’s face as he ended his cultivation.

Without hesitation, he called Freya out.

A flash of silver appeared.

"Squeee!"

Freya immediately leaped into his arms, almost knocking him backward.

"Haha! Easy there."

Damon laughed as he caught her.

The little fox buried her face into his chest and rubbed against him affectionately. Her six tails swayed happily behind her.

She had been worried.

But just like Damon promised, he had survived.

And now she was finally back where she loved staying the most.

"In my arms again, huh?"

Freya let out a satisfied sound and snuggled even closer.

Damon gently rubbed her soft fur.

"Missed me that much?"

"Squee!"

Her response came immediately.

Damon couldn’t help laughing.

But it wasn’t just happiness.

He could feel it.

Freya had grown stronger again.

Another tail.

Six tails now.

And through their connection, Damon could clearly feel her excitement.

She wanted to show him.

She wanted praise.

Too bad there wasn’t a single beast around to test her new ability.

Still, her mood was excellent.

Until—

Her ears suddenly twitched.

Freya stopped moving.

Her eyes shifted toward the nearby cluster of crystals.

Toward the Gale Seed.

The little seed rested quietly between several Wind Ores. It pulsed occasionally, almost like it was sleeping after eating too much.

Freya froze.

Then she slowly turned back toward Damon.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Squee..."

Damon blinked.

Then realization dawned on him.

"Oh."

He coughed awkwardly.

"You noticed."

Freya pouted immediately.

Her tails stopped wagging.

She looked at the Gale Seed.

Then at Damon.

Then back at the Gale Seed again.

The meaning couldn’t have been clearer.

Another spirit elemental.

Which meant another teammate.

And more importantly...

Someone else to share Damon with.

Damon had prepared himself for this moment.

He smiled helplessly.

"Come on now."

He gently stroked her head.

"Don’t tell me you’re jealous."

Freya turned her head away.

"Hmph."

Or at least that was what the gesture looked like.

Damon almost laughed.

"Hey."

He scratched beneath her chin.

"You’ll always be the first."

Freya remained stubborn.

He continued patiently.

"You’re the one who gave me a path in this world."

"You’re my first partner."

"We’ve fought together."

"We’ve almost died together."

"We’ve grown together."

"No one can replace that."

Freya’s ears twitched.

Seeing that she was listening, Damon pressed on.

"Besides, who says having another teammate is bad?"

"You’ll have someone younger to bully."

Freya looked at him.

"Squee?"

Damon quickly corrected himself.

"Ahem."

"I mean, guide."

"You can teach the little spirit"

"You’ll be the big sister."