"Did you see the bright specks of light?" Saphandra asked.
"Yes, I did see them. I caught one too," Ning said.
"Good, but this time, try to catch the one that is the brightest," Saphandra said.
"Okay, and?" Ning asked.
"Then you make the bond," Saphandra said proudly.
"How? That's why I called you here in the first place," Ning said.
"It's just a bond. You say you will give them something, and in exchange, you ask for something in return," Saphandra said.
"Like? I need examples. I've never done it before, you remember?" Ning said.
"The most common bond to form is exchanging Spiritual energy. When you call for something, promise them that you will let them eat a part of your spiritual energy, and in exchange, they have to come here," Saphandra said.
"That's it?" Ning asked.
"Well, it's not that easy. Try it," Saphandra said. "Oh, and don't forget to put the clause where you are allowed to control all of its action. That is very important."
"Oh, alright," Ning said and closed his eyes to go back to that sea of darkness. He saw the many specks of light and saw a few that glittered brightly.
Since this was just a simple training exercise, he decided to go for a random one.
Ning caught whatever was closest and thought about what bond to make exactly.
Then he spoke in his heart of hearts. "Come to where I am and be controlled by me. In exchange, you will get to take half of my spiritual energy."
Suddenly, the darkness broke through and bright white light appeared in front of him as a summoning circle appeared in front of him.
"Woah, you did it!" Saphandra shouted and stepped away from the area.
In the summoning circle appeared a white horse with a flaming mane and tail. Its torso alone was about as tall as Ning. The rest of the horse was even taller.
"That should at least be a Rank 3 Spiritual beast," Saphandra said.
"Let me see," Ning said and used his Analysis skill to check. "It is indeed Rank 3."
"Well, that's amazing for a first-timer, you did great," she said.
'Well, I did choose it randomly,' Ning thought.
"Come here," he told the horse which neighed and moved towards him.
Ning pets him along its neck and mane without any fear of the fire. The horse did nothing and let him pet it some more.
"So, what can it do?" Saphandra asked.
"Well," Ning thought for a moment and a bunch of information came to his mind. "Woah, I know everything about it."
"Of course you do. You created a bond, didn't you?" Saph said.
"So they can never hide their abilities from us?" Ning asked.
"They can, but they usually have to mention it when you create a pact," Saphandra said. "Most beasts don't care and just go along with whatever you ask."
"I see," Ning said.
A few of the villagers came by to see his horse after someone spread the news, and soon Ning was parading it around the village.
The people looked at him in surprise and even Taron gave a look that said he was impressed. Of course, he was. Ning himself was impressed too.
The people shouted in excitement and glee, while some ran away in fear and terror.
The chief brought out his daughter and showed her to Ning. The girl was barely 12 years old and was on the verge of becoming a summoner as well.
Ning promised to teach her what he knew and continued with the parade. After showing around the horse for a while, it was time to send it back.
"To send it back, I just have to tell it the pact is done, right?" Ning asked.
"Yes," Saphandra said.
Ning nodded and talked to the horse. "It's about time you return."
A white light flashed below the horse and in the next moment, it disappeared.
"That was a good practice," Ning said. "Let me go teach the girl again. After that, we will leave for a city in the west."
"How far is it?" she asked.
"A few hundred kilometers from here," Ning said. "It's an ocean-side city, so it's a lot more developed than this place."
"Alright, I will prepare," Saphandra said and left.
Ning went to find the Village chief and met his daughter named Hana. He started teaching her not long after and taught her how to summon.
She couldn't do it by the time they left, but Ning was sure she would be successful after she went to the summoner's school.
The way out of the city was a small road that went in between the mountains to the next village.
After that, there was another similar road to go out. Because they could all fly away, it was fast, but they still only managed to make about 2 villages over before the sun came down.
Ning was perfectly capable of traveling at the night too, but Saphandra quickly became tired, so they had to find a place to stay again.
This village had a tavern, so it became easier for them.
He created some pearls to buy themselves 3 different rooms.
This wasn't any pearl, but rather a Spiritual Pearl. It was akin to Spirit stones from Kumia and contained a significant amount of spiritual energy.
The only difference was that when left in the ocean water for a significant amount of time, the Pearl could be recharged with Spiritual energy which people cared for a lot.
As a result, the value of spiritual Pearl with Spiritual energy was twice as much as Spiritual Pearl that were duds.
The only way to harvest them was through the Spiritual Oyster, so they were considered one of the most important beasts on this planet.
The 3 of them rested for a whole night before taking off in the morning. As they walked further and further west, the civilization got more and more urban.
And finally, after 3 days of walking, they reached the oceanside city known as Tirana City.
