Athar, after his friendly spar with Ryler, went to the dining area where he had a fulfilling lunch. Athar tried to eat as balanced diet as he could. Although, cultivators seldomly paid any heed to their diet as it did not have a big role in their growth, Athar was not willing to ignore his diet.
He knew that for first 18 years of his life, he had hardly eaten anything nutritious and the current phase was a phase of growth; thus, he gave good enough importance to his diet. And he was going to do it at least for few months.
After that he returned to his room. Since only a few hours remained before the practical class, he decided not to dive into any battle techniques.
He sat cross-legged, and in the next moment, a small black creature began slithering around his shoulder.
"How are you, Sarpinash?" Athar said with a small smile. The snake hissed, as if trying to convey its feelings. Although Athar did not fully understand what Sarpinash was saying, he had a good sense of the creature's emotions. And at this moment, the little black snake was clearly expressing happiness at being close to him.
The appearance of Sarpinash had not changed much. Athar could feel that his scales had become a bit shinier. The other noticeable change but his length. Sarpinash has grown at least two inches in length.
Over the past four days, Athar had read quite a bit about companion beasts. The more he studied, the more certain he became that his little black snake was a truly special creature.
There was no specific information about the Shadow Mist Snake in the Nawarin City Academy archives. However, Athar had managed to infer a lot by reading about the basic traits of beasts in their early stages. He had remained focused mostly on snake type beasts.
For example, beasts in their initial stages were generally unable to communicate their emotions to their owners. Even higher-grade beasts like those of the gold or platinum class could, at best, convey only the most basic feelings.
Yet, Athar had been able to sense Sarpinash's emotions from the very first day. Either Sarpinash was more special than the so-called silver-grade beasts, or the bond between them was exceptionally strong.
The second thing Athar realized was that if he truly wished to hide the fact that his beast was not a silver grade beast but an iron grade one, he would need to downplay the abilities of the skill he had received from Sarpinash.
It was true that there was no foolproof method to determine the exact grade of a beast, but it was also true that an experienced eye could often estimate a beast's grade by sensing its aura and observing the abilities it wielded.
In the initial stages, he did not have to worry about Sarpinash's aura. He did not have any as beasts only began to emit a noticeable aura once their rank increased.
However, he did need to be cautious about the ability he had received from Sarpinash. An iron grade beast displaying an overpowered skill was certain to raise suspicions.
And the first skill—Shadow Mist—that he had received from Sarpinash, was definitely such a skill. And a black mist which affected the visibility of the opponent with a corrosive property was surely such an overpowered ability.
Athar had deduced that an iron grade beast was not supposed to wield this kind of power in its early stages. Thus, Athar had made the decision to weaken the apparent strength of his first skill.
As Athar remained seated cross legged, black, shadowy mist began to emerge from his body. The mist spread gradually, seeping through the room. Over the past four days, he had been working to improve his control over the Shadow Mist.
The mist, as told, had possessed a corrosive property. In a normal situation, whatever object the mist came into contact with- table, bed or anything else should have started to corrode as if it had been bathed with acid. But no such thing happened.
Athar had trained himself to suppress that effect. It would only activate when he would will it.
In this way, he had reduced the observable power of the mist. The corrosive property would remain his hidden ace, a trump card to be revealed only in moments of extreme crisis.
The mist did not stop as it kept floating around him; it kept moving and began to shift into different shapes and forms.
Sometimes, it surrounded Athar completely like a cloak. Sometimes in long threads or chains. Other times, it transformed into various weapons—swords, spears, and more. It was all a display of Athar's growing mastery over the shadowy mist.
After around fifteen minutes, Athar felt all his mana completely drain. He had no choice but to stop the practice. The mist vanished, leaving behind only the slithering black snake coiled around his shoulders.
"Now it is time for you to return too," Athar said to his companion.
Sarpinash conveyed a sense of reluctance, but nonetheless slipped back into Athar's mindscape without any fuss.
Athar rested and recovered himself for the remaining time before he had to attend the practical class in the evening.
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