PORTAL BEAST SLAYER

"It actually worked."

Zee was surprised at the fact that the bond actually formed, because despite her trust in Alrik, it still wasn't supposed to be possible. She had no idea if it was a good sign or a bad sign. It could be good, because it meant he would advance in power level much faster and be able to handle more abilities. But bad because it could mean the danger in the future was more than she anticipated, and Alrik was being prepared to face it. Either way, they would worry about it when the time came. For now, completing the bond called for celebration.

Alrik opened his eyes, and smiled as he saw the sunrise. He had no idea Eliza was beside him till she moved closer. He turned to face her, still with a smile on her face. She gasped.

"Alrik! Your eyes. They're golden, and not because of the reflection of the sunrise."

He frowned as she said that, then stood, and moved to the mirror. She was right. His eye colour was golden now.

"Umm, Zee. Is this normal? My eyes changed."

"Yes. There's supposed to be a physical change to reflect the new bond. My Amreth's hair grew to waist length overnight, and turned completely white after we bonded."

"How do I hide it? I can't exactly go around with faintly glowing golden eyes."

"Well, altering your appearance is an ability you haven't unlocked yet, but who knows, it just might work. After all, you've proven so far that your command of Mana is better than should be normal. Since it's just a small part of your body, it should be fine though, and not expend too much energy. Keep looking at the mirror, and feel the energy flow around you. Direct it to your eyes, and imagine them back the way they used to be. If you imagine some other colour, even by mistake, your eyes will change to that colour instead so be careful."

Alrik did as instructed and in less than a minute, his eyes were back to normal.

"One more thing. I'm pretty sure forming the bond drained me. I should be feeling weak right now, instead, my whole body feels light, and still refreshed. Like I could take on a whole battlefield full of beasts and win without breaking a sweat."

"The bond should have drained you, but since you just returned from a refill in the dream realm, it didn't affect you too much. And with the bond, I can draw Mana for you here till you can do it yourself, and keep you refilled."

"I also don't feel hunger, which is weird because I should be starving by now."

"That's a side effect of fortifying your body with Mana. It eliminates the need for a lot of things like food, and sleep, depending on how much of it you have stored away. With enough Mana, you can stay awake for weeks at a time, and stay hungry for just as long. It's a useful skill to have in battle. But you can still eat and sleep for fun, it just won't be compulsory like it is for regular people. Your physical strength will also improve greatly."

Eliza watched Alrik stare at Zee like he was having a conversation, but his lips didn't move at all, unlike before when he spoke out loud while talking to the sword. Alrik noticed the look on Eliza's face and quirked a brow at her.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing. It's just a bit weird to see you having a full conversation without speaking. At least before, it was only Zee that no one else could hear."

Alrik frowned, because he hadn't realised he was speaking with Zee through his mind. That hadn't been possible before now.

"I didn't realise I wasn't speaking." He said to Eliza.

"With the bond comes the ability to mind speak, to me alone for now. Later, when you've been trained, you'll be able to do the same with others. Read minds too, if you please. And manipulate minds, though this one takes more effort, and energy."

Learning of new abilities like these that he would have the potential to develop was mind blowing. He had no intention of manipulating people's minds, that sounded nefarious and too much like a violation. But reading minds might come in handy, and also being able to mind speak with his inner circle. Kellan would think it was awesome to hear Alrik's voice in his head. Mira and Ansa would accept it without much thought. Bruno and Gaya would be skeptical about it. Ren would most likely freak out.

"Let's go have breakfast. The others must be up by now. Bruno is trying to bring back joint physical training sessions, and I'm sure he'll nag me for missing out today." Alrik chuckled and he held her waist.

"First of all, we both need to brush our teeth and at least wash our faces before joining the others for breakfast. Secondly, your training with Zee seems to be more important, so I'll make sure Bruno doesn't nag."

As predicted, the other members of his family were waiting when he came down for breakfast with Eliza. With the frown on Bruno's face, Eliza knew Alrik was right about getting scolded, so she spoke before Bruno could.

"Alrik bonded with Zee this morning. Apparently, it's not supposed to happen this fast, but he did it. That means no more mishaps with his new abilities. Zee will keep them under control till he can do so himself." She announced with a smile.

"And I'm at level one of my power now. It feels good to have a number that's not zero, so…" Alrik trailed off as Zee spoke to him.

"Actually, you skipped level one and moved to level three. That's your current Mana control level, but your skill control is still at level one till you master the abilities you've already unlocked."

"...Actually, Zee says I'm at level three now, I skipped one and two." He didn't add the part about his skill control level still being at level one. That would ruin his bragging episode.

"They all congratulated him, and began to talk about the advantages of his new power level, and possible abilities. Bruno was distracted by all the talk going on as they ate, so he forgot the scolding he had been planning for Alrik. When Kellan suggested they throw Alrik off the roof to see if flying was one of his new abilities, Eliza gave him the stink eye. When she turned to see that Alrik was nodding to the idea, she pinched him.

"Don't even dare think about doing that, unless you really want me to die of a heart attack. Level three or not, until Zee says you can fly for sure, you're not testing that dumb theory." Eliza said sternly.

"So you do think it's possible for him to fly?" Kellan smirked.

"I watched the man set my curtains on fire. There's not much I think is impossible now. Still doesn't mean I'm willing to accept him being in any form of danger, test or no test." She huffed in response, and Alrik kissed her cheek.

"My Queen has spoken. No flying test." Alrik said, but since he no longer needed to speak to communicate with Zee, he used his new mind speak ability to ask…

"Can I fly though? Just out of curiousity."

"In theory, yes."

"In theory? You're not sure? You've been sure of most abilities I've unlocked or will unlock so far. But flying is a maybe?" He asked.

"Most abilities are just standard. Some can only be unlocked by necessity, danger, or your ability to shape Mana to your will. And trust me, it's not as easy as it sounds. So, forget flying for the meantime and focus on upgrading your skill control level."

They just finished eating when Gaya cleared her throat. She had an important message to pass along, but had waited till everyone was done eating breakfast because she knew that her words would ruin the good mood.

"You've been summoned by the High Commander to meet at the Knoxe Base with him and other high ranking Officials."

"Was this before or after you contacted him like I asked after the beast attack?"

"I got in touch with his office, but was unable to speak to him because he requested your physical presence, not a call." She replied and Alrik sighed.

Being summoned so abruptly wasn't a good sign. A phone call should have been enough to exchange information and call it a day. A physical meeting would just complicate things. While they were all still processing that news, a staff member came up to the table.

"Sorry to disturb you, boss, but security just passed along a message that you have visitors requesting entry at the gate. They're not on the approved list of guests, nor did they set an appointment beforehand, but they insist you'll let them in if we tell you it's your family."

"My family is here." Alrik said without much thought even if he knew who the visitors were.

The Zerdon family came to visit.