บท 16: Growing Fast
The next morning, Rita returned to collect Karl's homework before breakfast, and then came back with a small bag for their class work.
"Alright, I got you what I could to see if the resources actually help a pet beast grow faster than the average. This isn't going to be a short process, the Windspeed Hawk is going to need the whole semester to make it to Awakened naturally, so if you can do better than that, you should get good marks on your training.
We will still work on your martial arts skills, though. If you get targeted by the opponents in a mock battle, you need to be able to defend yourself, and you do have at least one attack method of a magical variety." She informed Karl with a smile.
"Well, at least I'm not expected to run and hide while someone beats up Hawk. What did you manage to find us?"
Rita dumped the contents of the bag on the table, and Hawk went crazy in Karl's mind. There were two strengthening stones, an entire litre of infused monster blood, and six blue wind stones that were giving off an incredible aura of power.
"The Wind Stones were made by the headmaster personally. He was part of the first batch of successfully injected elites, and he is now an Overlord Grade Mage. He says that if the Wind Stones really can be a cultivation resource for the Windspeed Hawk, he will gladly make you more, and look into ways to awaken more elites in the same direction." Rita explained.
[I take it back, evil lady is actually nice lady.] Hawk screeched as it stared at the buffet in front of it.
Karl ignored the bird's antics in his mind, and placed one of the strength stones in a small dish full of monster blood. The energy seemed to seep from the stone to the 'soup', but Karl wasn't sure what to do with the wind stones.
"You can't crush the wind stones, it will break the spell. But if he just sleeps beside them, or wears one as a pendant, the mana should help. Assuming he can use it, anyhow. That's how the new air magic users do it."
Karl called Hawk out, and the bird immediately went to the soup, and licked the entire bowl clean before turning its head to the Wind Stones.
Each was no bigger than the diamond on a wedding ring, but the energy contained inside was immense. Sleeping next to them shouldn't be a problem, and Karl could even make a little pouch to carry them around Hawk's neck.
But the bird immediately ate one, and swirling winds began to build around the balcony, tearing leaves from trees and nearly knocking over planters for the smaller varieties, before Karl pulled Hawk into his mental space.
[What are you doing?] He demanded of the tiny bird that was now radiating magical power.
[It's food. Amazing powerful food. What else would I do with it if not eat it?]
Inside the space, winds whipped, and power flowed constantly from Hawk to Karl, strengthening his body as if he were the magical beast. But from the outside, from Rita's perspective, everything was calm, and Karl was meditating or distracted by his thoughts, with no sign of external stimulus.
All she could do was patiently wait until an hour later, when Karl finally opened his eyes and gave an exhausted sigh.
"The Wind Stones are indeed an excellent resource for Hawk. Come on out and let her see you, my friend."
The Windspeed Hawk appeared on the table, looking exactly as it always did, with cream feathers covered in mottled brown patterns that matched the common trees of the forest. But now it was much larger, as long as Karl's forearm, as a nearly full-grown Windspeed Hawk should be.
It was also giving off the aura of an Awakened Grade monster.
"Well, we can say for certain that feeding a Wind Stone to a Windspeed Hawk will cause an immediate growth breakthrough, and it will progress from fledgling to a young adult state within a few hours. He's also starving again, and he has eaten everything I stored, so I'll pour him some more blood into the dish." Karl offered as an explanation.
"It really worked. There actually is a way to cultivate tamed monsters. How do you feel? Is it a strain on your body? Did you gain anything from the process, perhaps more mana, or a new power?" Rita asked, ready to take notes for the Academy.
"I feel stronger, but I don't know how to check my mana levels. Is there a device for that?" Karl asked.
"No, the mages know instinctively, but I'm not a mage. We can bring you to one later, and they can give us a reading for the records. But meanwhile, you can try to use your abilities and see how long it takes for you to get tired."
Karl ran off to the closet in his small room to get the gauntlets, and came back out. A quick flex of his arms gave him a sense of great power, and once he got to the railing, he found that the resistance of the [Rend] spell on his actions was negligible. He had more than enough strength to move his arm normally, and the four thick arcs streaked through the air and out over the Academy courtyard.
"Impressive. That is definitely at the Awakened Rank in power, but how many times can you do it? If there is no stamina, the Academy will classify it as a Common Class burst ability on your part, where it is an Awakened Ability for the Hawk." Rita explained.
Three more at full power was enough to leave Karl panting, but he had an idea.
"Give me a few minutes to recover, and I think that I can do better."
A short break, and a bit more to eat, had Karl back up to full strength, while Rita quietly made notes about his recovery speed.
Karl tried again at half strength, and the drain on his energy was negligible. The feedback from Hawk was enough that Karl felt he could do this for hours, but instead he did it a dozen more times, alternating hands and directions of the cuts, as if he was shadow-boxing with [Rend] as the strikes.
"Fifteen minutes at half output. That's still Common Grade strength, but on the strong side of it, and it looks like you are improving as the Hawk improves. Once he is stronger, you should really become an Awakened Level fighter, or rather Beast Tamer, with the advantage of an Awakened Level beast to help you."
"Not bad for the first week, right? If you leave those resources here, I think that we can do better by the end of the month. We might even have enough strength to fight with some of the second year students by the time the exams come around."
Rita laughed at Karl's enthusiasm. "You had better make time in your day for combat training then, or even with Hawk, you'll get beaten to a pulp."
She had a point. This whole Beast Taming thing would be a lot easier if he had a giant rhino or something scary in front of him.
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