The new companion was not a regular cultivator, and Pef was a little wary.

No neolithic child would know to use a word like nuke. The glove wasn't all that amazed, since it had began considering what Pef could do, the norm for any pre-metal child, but Pef knew better.

"Want a bit more grilled spider, or turtle soup?" he asked the strange child.

"Mouuu. I want both, but I don't have any room in my stomach..." she complained while patting her full belly.

Pef smiled gently. Not all her reactions were fake.

"So, how do you train?"he asked, a bit curious.

"Why, want to steal my method?" the girl replied suspicious.

"I am stronger, why do I need a weaker method? I just asked to see how you've reached Nascent rank so fast"

"Hmpf. Fine, I'll show you, not like you can copy it!" the girl said, standing up and walking to a nearby tree, one filled with fungi and webs.

And then she gently placed a palm on the bark, and closed her eyes. Nothing else.

'Can you see what she does?'

'Of course. Adapting the tree to resist to disease, while in communion with a tier 1 entity.'

'Sounds great.'

'Barely costs a god anything. But they are draining years from the tree. Well, the girl gets days'

'Hmmm. Overall, the tree still lives longer, free of parasites.'

'At least double more. Which for these trees is 5000 years or so.'

'All right then. Not a Legion target, yet.'

'Exactly sir. Scanning local wildlife for adaptation markers. Hundreds of animals, thousands of trees to the west of here'

'So, animals like her, because she's a veterinarian.'

'Beasts which receive such adaptations...will grow bigger and faster. She could cause a eco-disaster'

"Okay, I have seen enough" Pef spoke loudly, disrupting the trance.

"See what?"

"You're doing too much. Plants can adapt to eat animals. Deer can grow big enough to eat forests in days. Frogs can jump high enough to reach eagles. You're messing everything here"

"Ah, but...they hurt..."

"Also, this continent doesn't have Earth ranked sages. If a tiger you healed goes to a city, nobody could stop it" Pef explained, a bit harshly.

"But the animals stay in forest..." the girl pleaded.

"What I'm saying is, that you can't control everything that happens after. A hunter comes and provokes an animal, maybe kidnaps a cub. Tiger goes beserk ."

"Ah, but that would be the hunter's fault..."

"If the tiger stopped after eating the first human. Maybe it will like the taste?"

"I'm here to make sure that never happens." she claimed with some uncertainty.

"No, I'm here to make sure that never happens. That tree you healed? You didn't stop at adapting it to resist the fungus. You gave it 20 more perks. In thousands of years, its seeds will spread and replace most of the trees around."

The green girl fumbled for some explanation, while Pef ran up the tree, and began pruning the worst parts. For an hour, he just worked, happy at doing a normal job for once.

Ripping off sick branches, kicking off spider nests, although he kept a few fattier looking ones for dinner.

As the evening came, he descended from the tree and began collecting wood in the glove compartment.

By the miracles of the Legion smiths in the tier 8 homebase, the glove could store a lot.

Then he lit up the stove, and began tenderly snapping spider legs and placing them to fry.

When the smell of arachnid delicacy filled the forest, Pef heard a tiny voice behind him.

"Can you spare one for me?"

"Sure, come and eat" Pef agreed warmly, then passed her an arm sized leg.

"You're not upset?" the girl asked timidly, then began nibbling on the juicy leg.

"You don't know the consequences of those actions. How old are you?" Pef answered instead.

"I don't know. Maybe 10?" she said with a slight hesitation.

"No, you're not. At least 200, maybe more." he concluded with a sad headshake.

Silence fell as they both munched their food.

"How do you know?" she asked after some time to think.

"Basic math. Plus other people experiences. My ma' needed a hundred years to form her Core. A hundred more to reach Nascent soul."

"Maybe my method is better..."she argued with a few eyelashes bats.

"Then you'd have been stronger than me. But your method does keep you young."

"Fine. You got me. I just look young." the woman replied in a more dignified if still young voice.

"So, I need to take out every ability except the fungus adaptation?" she asked to make sure.

"Yes. Or you'll be responsible for entire species disappearing, because they can't eat this kind of leaves, or the acorns."

"Okay, I'll try" she said softly, again pressing a hand against the tall tree,her eyes closed in meditation.

'Does it work?'

'Of course it does. Her goddess is doing it though. Our friend here isn't actually powerful enough to fuel genetic cutting. She'd need to be a Monarch or Saint for that. '

Pef rumminated at the news of even higher ranks, that even his mom hadn't heard about.

'After Saint, you step into tier 1?' he asked a bit worried.

'Well, there's Perfect Saint too. Like for humans who refuse divinity and remain bound to flesh. Some beasts and devils also prefer it, to maintain their form until death. The Legion never uses it though. Generally, a Saint rank recruit will just slay a dozen tier 1 gods and become a Soldier'

'With a Veritas gun'

'Or a knife, for the few Legion Swords I told you about'

'It's not actually a knife, is it?'

'Not during combat, no. Most times it would look like a great sword, glowing white with sword qi, thus able to pierce divine shields and sever divine souls'

'Oh. Sword Saints. Now it makes a bit of sense'

'It does?' the glove wondered in confusion.

"All done Pef. The tree is back to normal"

"Okay. You should go and fix every tree or animal you've changed. Leave them one nice trait, like stronger skin, or delicious fruits. And then come find me in the city. I will help you reach Spirit in a few years."

"Buh, in a few years?"

But Pef didn't wait to explain. He ran up on a tree, then jumped high in the air, then landed on his airship. Hot air from the stove pushed the hot air snake higher up, and soon winds pushed them away, closer and closer to their destination.

'Her goddess won't be too happy with losing those years'

'I doubt she has just one druid. The gods have simply ignored this continent since it has not enough qi. That Saint Rock Worm in the Tian Mountains drains most qi on this continent'

'Great, now you tell me'

'It was not relevant. The worm appears to want a Perfect Saint rank. Which is great, because worms are a major pain for the Legion. Their ganglia become superbrains and...'

'Fine, I get it. Mind worms and stuff. Now how do I reach Spirit rank?'

'Well, your trainer was supposed to pressure your soul to condense until it could project a defensive barrier. Takes like a minute, if a Soldier projects his kill intent at a recruit. Though he would do it to the whole class of a billion recruits at once, and revive those who die'

'Very efficient. But we don't have a Perfect divinity to torture my soul'

'Yea. We'll ask in the city. maybe we can adapt a local method'

'Or I can fight a Spirit sage?' Pef asked more realistic. He didn't want to wait 300 years for the next rank.

'Just fighting won't help. Much. You'd need like a thousand fights'

'So we fight a thousand times'

'If you could recover your soul wounds overnight, you'd reach Spirit in 3 years'

'Sounds like a plan'

'It will hurt really bad'

'Worse than Awakening?'

'About half. But in your soul'

'Deal. I'll need to temper my soul anyway' Pef concluded as he looked at the distant horizon.

The glove sighed inward. It wasn't a bad plan, given the scarcity of local resources. It just took so long! Then again, it had been lost on this remote world for a million years. It could wait a few more.

A month later, the forest began thinning out, and small villages appeared in the distance.

Pef munched on a roasted eagle leg, looking down with curiosity.

As the airship got nearer, he began seeing the aura around the locals.

Red and brown and dark green, a few black, a few white...

A few mixes too, only in kids. 'Possibly not decided yet?' he mused as the airship passed over a village.

The villagers bowed and bonked their heads in the dirt as they noticed the flying serpent.

'Neolithic cultures are fascinating'

'If you ignore the lack of clean water or roads or hi fidelity music' Pef replied amused.

'There are a few roads though. And big cities do have aqueducts and fountains. Just not here.

You do need Earth and Sky ranks to cut big stones and transport them'

'Interesting. So other continents have some higher civilizations?'

'Where there are Emperors, yes. They can subdue lower ranks and put them to work.'

'And in Lacrimosa City?'

'There's a hundred stone houses, and a million wooden ones'

'So the sages live well'

'None live past 500 years old.'

'Still decent for the neolithic'

'There's a small city ahead and left. And they have a Spirit rank'

'Okay. We're making a small stop then'

This time, Pef ejected from his airship above a rice field, at just a hundred meters. He nearly drowned, as he fell face down and blacked out for a minute, but otherwise he was fine.

'Damn it. Damn glove keeps trying to kill me!' Pef grumbled as he washed himself in a irigation ditch.

As he rose, he came face to face with a strange furred pig. On top of which was a muscled man, examining him curious.

"Hello" Pef said politely, while wringing his badger skin shirt and gorilla skin pants. Then he dressed in the wet clothes anyway.

"You fell from the sky" the man observed cogently.

"On purpose. There is no local airport to land my ship" Pef explained with a handwave. The pig rider blinked confused and ignored the explanation.

"Here to see the Spirit smith? The one who makes plows and scythes?" the man asked instead, assuming anyone who could fly was a Spirit.

"Precisely. I am Pef by the way"

"Mounted guard Shi Shi Shan" the man gestured, encompassing the pig, who genuflected a little.

"What do you guard against?" Pef asked curious, as the man had a white aura.

"Rats or snakes usualy. Sometimes pigs or bandits"

'Oh, there's a Core Viper and a few thousand small ones about 5 kilometers south of here'

'Are you thinking what I'm thinking?' Pef asked while he salivated a bit.

'Twin airship, armed with a pair of venom pump-canons?' the glove asked with a giddy inflection.

'Thousands of grilled snakes! But another airship would be worth something too' Pef answered with an inner head shake. Venom cannons! He would still build one, for kicks.

As Pef approached the small town, he checked for subtle signs.

The guard had a spear made from a Core rank horn and was himself a Practitioner.

Where farmers toiled the fields, they used plows made from deer horns and scythes mades from ribs of various beasts at Core rank.

The smith had found himself a niche here. And while it might have seemed a lowly job, the Practice of working the qi would slowly build up in the smith, until he would eventually reach Earth rank.

It would just take a long time, working with low grade materials and low density qi.

An hour later, the pair reached the smithy, where a queue of a hundred people waited for their new tools, with bags of rice or various other barter means, like live animals or dead ones.

Beside the smithy, there was a huge wooden barn, likely housing materials or such.

Pef looked over the host of people, searching for some special aura, but there were only normal ones.

Suddenly, a woman rushed out from the smithy, enveloped in a powerful golden aura, and a golden glowing scythe in her hand.

"Who dares to disturb me!" she yelled looking around for the culprit.

"Is that the smith?" Pef asked Shi Shi.

"Yea. She looks pissed. Try not to die, so young" the man advised him covertly, while his pig backed away on tiptoes.

Pef stepped up and unleashed his Nascent soul at the smith. At which the woman smiled and swiped the scythe to intercept, her golden aura extending to pierce his chest and throw him away a hundred meters.

"What's this? A mere boy, and has his Nascent soul already..." Pef heard as he woke up, sometime later, as it was dark.

He opened his eyes and it was still dark.

"You recovered pretty fast. But don't try that again, or you might die" a woman's voice said softly from somewhere in front.

Pef struggled to lift his hand and remove the damp cloth on his face, and then observed the lady smith who was bending a bone on a table. With her soul.

"Hello, Lady Smith. I am Pef Xi, 12 years old" he replied in a more formal voice.

"Yeah, there's not many bloodlines who mature that fast. We normal people need hundreds of years to form the Nascent Soul." she replied with a sad voice.

"I'd like to learn from you. Say for six months."

"Don't you have your own method?"

"My mom was murdered and dad roams somewhere, fighting Emperors and beasts." he explained with a fake sob.

"Of course he does. That's what the Xi bloodline does. What's the highest rank you've killed?"

the smith asked raising her eyes to consider him.

"An Earth rank frog, a few thousand kilometers west of here"

"Indeed. And that pushed you over the limit. Typical"

"Your golden aura...a hundred strikes" Pef explained in a weak voice.

"We shall see. I do need someone to harvest better materials. Could you bring me some Earth ranked bones?" the woman asked with an avid tone.

"Ah. The frog was incinerated. I used the cursed sapphire arrow that killed my mom"

"So, that rumour is true. Removing the arrow makes it explode..."

"Done after death, the explosion is delayed nine days. Enough to toss it far away from a city"

"Or somewhere far at sea. Maybe where a few Earth ranked seabeasts prowl for ships" the woman proposed with some not so hidden intent.

'Underwater detonations would work too. If we can find a few more arrows'

'And murder their innocent hosts'

'Ah. That's a problem. I'll keep an eye out, although the arrows are highly concealed by the life in the host. But once they die...'

"It might be possible, if I reach the dead targets before they are burned. After that, the arrow will transmute the soul towards whatever goddess is behind the assassins"

"And leave no evidence behind. Very clever, this scheme. Perhaps you should wait a few years, kids shouldn't have to deal with death cults" the smith lady said with a shudder.

"If I do encounter them, I'll offer justice. But yes, I suspect I'm yet too weak for such conflict."

"So, what else can you offer me?"

"A flying ship!" our hero offered gallantly.

"Oh, you have my attention young man..." the woman spoke a bit excited, raising from the table to sit on the side of his bed.

"There's this Core ranked snake, to the south. I'll go hunt it and make an airship for you"

"And teach me how to make more. Then you get one year" the smith demanded with burning eyes.

"Deal!" Pef exclaimed, offering a weak hand to shake.

The smith just smiled and patted his head.

'Damn it. Being a kid sucks'

'At least she agreed. Spirit ranks are few here, and likely busy. You got lucky this time, Aspirant'

Three days later, Pef had recovered enough to go hunt the viper, and its delicious nest of smaller snakes.

He kept the huge fangs for a later date, when he might need a venom cannon, while the skin and some ribs he used to construct an airship, under the interested gaze of the lady smith.

As he was inflating the new airship, he felt a soft hand on his head.

"Boy, you got smarts. You could be a real Soul Smith. Live a peaceful life. Marry someone and have some kids..." the woman said with a weird tremble in her voice.

"In a hundred years, I will be a Sovereign, maybe even a Monarch. We will meet again then"

Pef spoke in a soft tone, not refusing her offer, just delaying a firm response.

"Perhaps you will be. Leave the snakeship for now. I've seen enough. When you wake up again you can take me flying" she demanded in a forceful tone.

"What do you mean?" Pef asked, turning around, as a golden spike plunged in his chest.

'She meant to spike you, Aspirant. And study the ship without you knowing'

'Eh, it is hers anyway'

'Golden auras are usually those who make our Captains and Colonels. It takes a special kind of soul to fight a Mindlich or an Eldritch horror. Most Soldiers die instantly, without even firing the guns'

'You're saying I should keep her.'

'Yes, and any gold aura you might find. This universe is full of potential recruits. And you will use any means to indoctrinate them. Although for humans it's very simple. Love and lots of sex'

'Huh. I'll think about it' Pef replied with an inner head shake.

When he opened his eyes, he got an eyeful of this ladysmith's chest, as she slept with him in her arms. He poked one of the large pillows, to check for air leaks.

"Mou, so young and already playful. Go make some more fried snakes for us, naughty boy" the woman said in a teasing voice, pushing him out of the bed.

"Lady Lin, I can't pilot this ship if you're crushing my ribs..." Pef said in a pained breath.

The woman was scared of flying, who knew?

"We're too high! What if the cradle breaks? What if some bird hits the ship? What if..."

the smith complained, while her powerful arms held onto Pef like a lifeline.

"Then we fall and build a new ship" he answered firmly.

"You think falling is a joke? I can see the sea from here, and that's like 30 kilometers away!" she exclaimed in outrage.

"We're only 500 meters high. I once jumped from this height and I was fine" Pef related with a careless handwave.

The woman stopped arguing and her arms relaxed a little, as her fear was slowly replaced by wonder.

The scenery was beautiful indeed, without pollution or obstructions, you could see around for 50 kilometers. The world's curvature was wider too which also helped.

"The ship is kinda slow..." the woman observed after some time.

"Yes, for now. I plan to add a pair of steam thrusters, using large skulls and fangs to boil water then expel the steam for thrust and maneuver. These sails I made could also be made larger, if I could use better skins" Pef explained sagely.

"You really are a genius. But to boil water continuously would need tons of wood and water. And not that much force behind it" the real smith mused, after considering his plans.

"Well, other types of jets could be used. Fast burning things, like oils and resins combined with charcoal and saltpeter."

"The heat would be too strong and melt the bones. I've tried some things too, but Core bones are not that durable. Even my plows need to be sharpened every month, and they only heat a little as they plow" the smith said with a dismissive voice.

"Yea, in the end we'll need metals. Copper and tin maybe, to make bronze. Stone stoves lined with clay, should give us enough heat to melt the ore" Pef mused, as the snakeship began cooling down and coming for a landing.

'Eject us at 50 meters, glove. Don't scare her too much'

'Okay, sir. For the new recruit'

"How wonderful ideas! I shall send a thousand men to bring me different rocks and see which ones can be melt...Hey, isn't the ground closing too fast? Pef....aaaaaaa!"

Pef landed on his feet, this time, and sank to his knees in the grassy soil. Unbreakable bones and pain tolerance made this look easy.

Lin Mu fell head first, and smashed her face into the ground. A few pained groans were heard as she extracted herself from a small crater.

'She's fine. But you'll suffer anyway' the glove explained wisely.

Pef sighed and waited heroically for the golden spike. Such is the fate of heroes.

"You moron! Take this..." the smith yelled, as Pef lost consciousness.

Next day he awoke to the smell of ointment, as the smith has splashed her face with some cream. She still had some green chlorophyll markings embedded in her face.

Pef cupped her face gently. "Sorry for the green. It will go away soon"

"I sure hope so. People might think I rolled in the hay with someone." she answered half asleep.

"Are storage rings rare?" he asked to make sure.

"In Lacrimosa, yes. You need a Sky ranked smith to make them, and anyway those aren't large enough to hold a skyship. Can't you land otherwise?"

"Well, a dozen long ropes, and a hundred men to catch them, and you could land safely, then tie the ropes to something, like a huge rock..." Pef replied after searching his memories.

"Core ranks are stronger than you think, my young apprentice. I shall call for a pair, to assist the landing next time. You think like a normal boy sometimes. Can't you lift that ship with one hand?" the woman scolded him, as she tested his biceps with a smile.

Pef nodded a bit ashamed. He did think like a normal, sometimes.

"Yea, I could even at Core rank. But I thought I was special..."

"Two days of rest now. I mean, go help Shin and start building the big stone stove. We need your soul to recover more, as you're not yet grown" Lady Lin demanded, then pushed him out of the bed, again.

Time flew by, as Pef slowly tempered his soul with attacks from a Spirit ranked sage.

He also established a few air routes, to nearby quarries and riverbeds, and began smelting copper ore. Sadly, no tin was found anywhere near, so bronze wasn't yet possible.

A dozen hematite rocks made their way into the glove compartment, as no fire was able to melt them, yet.

But one day, he would find a way. Just not yet.

Copper working should do for now, and start the metal age on this planet.

Lady Lin became even more famous, for offering copper mirrors and trays, sometimes cups or daggers.

Then a year has passed, and Pef decided to move on into Lacrimosa City, with a much stronger soul and some wealth of Core armor and weapons, and even precious copper items.

"Don't forget about me, Pef. You're half there to the Spirit rank, and barely 13. Dear gods..." the smith murmured in his hair.

"Of course not, beloved lady. I also want to make many kids with you. Stay safe, and work with metal. You're halfway to Earth rank already" he whispered back.

"Oh? I thought I was 200 years away..." the woman wondered a bit confused.

"Not anymore. You hit me a hundred times with a soul strike, remember?" Pef replied playfuly, then poked her airbags one last time.

"It can't be that simple. I hunted hundreds of beasts with it..." she answered, while batting his arm away.

"Not Nascent rank, were they? No soul defenses" Pef explained in a gentle voice, then summoned the airship and flew away.

Next stop, Lacrimosa City, a den of scum and villainy larger than any on the continent.