n

n

nSeeing Jason, the man stood up, introducing himself first

n

"Hello my name is James Gray, you must be the young man who made his first soulbond yesterday.

"

n

"Hello my name is Jason Stella and it was me who called desperately this morning. I hope you can help me and my soulbond out.

"

nJason said with little hope.

n

"I already read through the file you sent me today and there are different problems the beast has to face. But I can't be sure without scanning the beast myself as my equipment is more advanced.

nIf you don't mind, we shall make a test right away.

"

nJames stood up and Jason followed without hesitation, holding the snowflake owl egg in his Jacket´s pocket.

n3 rooms further, they entered a room with a huge amount of equipment, Jason didn't know what they were used for.

nOne particular machine stood out, as it was the biggest and black in color.

nIt stood in the center and on an elevation was a cushion which was a dent in the middle looking like many eggs were already placed on it before.

n

n

"Place the egg inside the cushion right in front of you, please. The test itself won't take long.

"

nJason did as instructed.

nAfter placing the egg he stepped back to see that a transparent bell-formed instrument slowly descended, covering the whole egg.

nA small red light came out of the top of it while a *piep* resounded in the room and it scanned the whole area inside the transparent bell a few times.

nLess than a minute passed and the test was already finished.

nThe transparent bell was lifted and Jason took his beast egg again before looking at James intently

nMeanwhile, James was looking at the report on his quantum bracelet with shining eyes.

n

"Ohh so it's like that.. Interesting.

"

nAfter reading the report for five minutes James noticed Jason's desperate look next to him, before he smiled lightly.

n

nLooking down at Jason's small build, seeing his desperate expression, James felt weird.

n'Why is this boy so desperate and going around here alone? Huh, what's with his eyes?

"

nShaking his head to focus again James led Jason to the office where they sat down on a couch.

nJason was impatient right now, so he asked straightforwardly.

n

"What's wrong with my soulbond and how can I help it?

nJames sighed before he said.

n

"Right now our knowledge about beasts, mutations, and evolutions is shallow and we can only make theories about most things.

nReading both test files told me that your beast has a mutation.

nIt´s unsure if it really is an adverse mutation to be honest.

n

nIt is definitely true that without any countermeasures it will be hard to prevent birth disease and other issues, however, that does not necessarily have to be the case.

nI can't give you a perfect solution for your beast´s problem but both files gave me some clues about the main issue.

nBut to tell you beforehand, this is only my theory and not something thoroughly tested or acknowledged by the federation at the moment.

"

nListening to the professionals' reply, Jason´s heart felt heavier but a small rayof hope was still burning in him as he heard the theory.

n

"Even if your soulbond is a one-star wild beast it needs a certain amount of nutrition and mana to survive.

nI think you got the beast egg from the Beast Pagoda which means tens of thousand beasts have to share the same amount of mana in a small space.

nDue to your beast's mutation, the problem might be that it needs more mana to develop its body and mana core.

nOne solution could be a large mana supply as it has a deficit. It needs more mana to grow and is so small in size because of the scarcity of mana.

nTo solve this problem in a short time you would have to purchase mana stones.

n

nI don't know if you have enough credits to do that but right now I can't think of any other countermeasure before the beast hatches and it´s still unsure if this solution is 100% helpful.

nI´m sorry.

"

nJason listened to James carefully and he wasn't sure if he should be happy or sad.

nIt was only a theory and not a 100% solution but it was still better than nothing.

nAfter asking a few additional questions, Jason left an hour later.

nHe didn´t even have to pay something as Prof. Gray wanted to use the test files for his studies.

nHe got Professor James Gray´s contact details as the prof was fascinated about the files he read previously, hoping that Jason´s beast would hatch healthy.

nSearching for mana stones online, he found out that even the smallest mana stone was extremely expensive.

n50.000 Credits for a ping pong ball-sized grade-1 mana stone sounded horrifyingly expensive for Jason but after searching for more information he found out that the compressed mana inside such a small stone was already around the same amount as an unblemished beast.

n

nThis surprised Jason but thinking about it, it wasn´t as illogical as he previously thought.

nAn unblemished beast was comparable with a human Expert rank and to replenish his mana once a human expert would have to use up a whole ping pong ball-sized grade-1 mana stone.

nIt was extremely expensive even for normal Expert ranks as hunting Unblemished beasts resulted often in injuries that had to be treated with expensive medications.

nJason wanted to purchase three small mana stones but he had to set an address where to deliver the goods so before buying the mana stones Jason contacted the landlord from one of the apartments he visited today in order to sign a lease.

nThe cost was 2500 credits per month and the area around it was safe while everything needed was close by.

nSigning the contract on his quantum bracelet he could instantly move in.

nThere wasn't anything at his old flat as he brought all the important things with him in his storage space.

nThe new apartment was 55 square meters big with a bedroom, bathroom, living room, and a small kitchen inside.

nIt looked small and comfy when Jason visited the apartment but he didn't want to lease it instantly as he wasn't sure how expensive his beast's treatment would be.

n

nWith a little bit less than 150.000 credits left after deducting 3 small mana stones, Jason had more than enough left to lease the small apartment for half a year.

nCalling a shuttle to carry him to his new home, Jason arrived at 7 pm when it was already late.

nFinally purchasing the three small mana stones Jason set the destination from the parcel to his new address.

nAfterward, he wanted to stroll around in order to get to know his new neighborhood which he hasn´t done before.

nJason was like a small child interested in everything as it wasn´t that long since he regained his eyesight and everything looked special to him.

nSmelling nice food from the nearby food stall Jason ordered a big pizza which he relished.

nHe hadn't eaten anything good and savory for years and it was the first time for him to eat pizza and Jason enjoyed eating it.

nThe beast egg was inside a small bum bag close to Jason.

nAfter he finished the pizza, Jason's belly was filled to the brim.

n

nHe had never eaten so much before but he was happy and satisfied with his current life.

nIt wasn´t that every problem he had, was solved, but rather in the beginning, his biggest issue was his sight.

nAfterward, his almost nonexistent soul energy seemed to be a huge problem and now his soulbond beast was having some issues.

nJason hoped that the mana supply from the mana stones would be enough to solve his problems, which would solve each problem he had right now.

nHe wasn't scared that his new companion was useless as he had seen the dense color Jason had never seen before but the problem was that the color was feeble which caused him to hesitate when he saw it.

nBut getting to know that he could probably solve his issue made him excited.

nAfter strolling for an hour Jason went home to his new apartment where he would continue learning how to write difficult words.

nFurthermore, he enjoyed reading the beastarium which was full of beast's pictures, with their characteristics, strengths, weaknesses, rank, and many more information.

nIt was almost midnight when Jason fell asleep with the beastarium holographic screen still open.

n

n