This time Nadia was the one to wake me up. She tried silently sneak out of the bed, but I noticed.

- Where are you going? - I mumbled.

- To work.

She got on her feet and started to put clothes on. I opened my eyes to enjoy the view.

- Nadia... I'm going back to the woods, to hunt - I said suddenly.

- Why so soon?

- I'll go crazy if I spend another idle day here...

- What about Tam? You just took him from the person I asked to take care of him.

I sighed.

- Yeah... I didn't think that through. I think I'll take him.

- With you, to hunt? - She clearly found that ridiculous, I could tell by the slight smile and raised eyebrows.

- Yeah... I'll keep him away from the fray.

- Ehh... Peter... Just don't let him die, ok?

historical

- Yeah. I won't.

She finished her dressing and went outside. I remained in bed for a bit longer, then joined her at the cafeteria for breakfast. I took Tam with me. After finishing the food, we parted again. I went to the device, and she to her duties.

I had to wait a bit in line, as the hunters were preparing to depart. When my finally my turn came I bought the largest backpack I could and eight smaller ones. Then I bought provisions for both me and my summoned friend.

I went to my cart to grab two pudaos for a good measure. I fixed one to the backpack, and the other just kept in my hand. Equipped like that, our journey to bear hunting ground started. I tried to walk as fast as I could, which made Tam struggle to keep up. Eventually, I just grabbed him, used Shadow fusion, and ran at full speed trying to cover as much distance as I could.

Then we took a break, to eat, as we reached the wolf territory. From that point, our pace slowed a bit as there were some wolves to kill. I didn't take their crystals though and did my best to only get rid of an absolutely necessary amount to make my way past that place.

By nightfall, we already managed to reach the bear territory. Tam took the ridiculous travel rather well, to my surprise. He seemed to not care much, and just pecked his food from the ground at every stop we made.

The next day we made it finally to the den. I left Tam with summoned shadows and proceeded to clear the area. After they stayed at a safe distance, while I went underground, to lure the bears out.

Since I knew what to do, and already had a bit of practice, everything went smoothly, and my hunt went on for a total of ten days, then I was forced to return. I had only a little bit of food left, and I had to live it all for Tam. I ended up starving on my way back.

The return took two whole days because I could rush the shadows only this much, and they were necessary to bring back the score. Beautiful 2673 crystals.

I already knew what I'm gonna buy first after returning.

I reached the city on the late evening of the twelfth day and immediately went to sell what I've earned. A total of 6 682 500 founded my account, so I had finally enough to but hat stupid manual, and I did.

That very moment, my brain was filled with information. I knew exactly what was the purpose of the device, I knew what skills do, and about class combinations. Still, the unlocked ones remained a mystery. I tried to find anything about them in my memory, but couldn't. Angry, I looked at the device again and found the second tome of The Manual. Worth ten times more.

But back to the informations you probably want to know. The purpose of the device was simple, to make the users stronger. Just this, nothing more. So their creator, 'The Great One' had some purpose in gathering a lot of strong individuals. Maybe creating an army. So there probably was an enemy.

I just wondered why he didn't do anything when Xuvi destroyed his plans by tinkering with the sapling on a flying island. I knew very little back then, and it all didn't make any sense for me.

The knowledge about classes was worth way more. I knew more or less the limits of what we could achieve, and those were endless. I knew what combinations should Rishi pick, to make the magical equipment happen.

I also was also able to keep track of the energy I had. The numbers were just stuck in my brain, and I tested if they will change if I use some of them. I strengthened myself with ki, and the amount changed. I focused on breathing, using the appropriate skill, and it started to gather up faster than normal.

I also knew more or less how the device works. It was creating energy by itself. That energy was later on crystalized and left for us to grab, wrapped up in monsters. Challenge to be completed to make us stronger.

The challenge we all created for ourselves because the sapling was adapting to its users. Our minds influenced by games, and fantasy novels made this world under the dome determining the device's influence over this world.

The more we upgraded this strange object, the stronger its influence became, and it was able not only to spread further, but also create more energy, and change the world for us, to have more challenges to overcome.

That energy was altering our bodies. Giving us access to supernatural powers. It was still weak, and its influence was limited, but I knew with time and upgrades it will grow and grow. Its potential was limitless.

Even my Tam was not real. He was just a doll created from my memories about how a chicken should behave. A doll sharing the part of my own mind. That's how we understood each other so well.

The same was with the cat I created, but since it wasn't under the pact we didn't have the same bond, and Razzle was closer to a goblin than Tam. Like a programmed robot, while Tam was more like a toy controlled by a part of my altered brain. My subconsciousness in form of a rooster.

The shadows seemed to be a different case. I didn't really understand how they worked, because the unlocked classes were still a mystery, but from what I've seen they seemed to have something like a mind of their own. Fuelled by greed and violence.

Overwhelmed by all of those informations, I went to visit Hatta.