In the morning, over breakfast, I tell Lizzy the plan and explain the reason behind it. After hearing what she would have to go through to follow me she seems fine with waiting behind until I get outside. She simply tells me to be careful and curls up to take a nap until I summon her.

So with Ekard riding my shoulder, as usual, I start heading up the stairs. My steps are fairly quick, in fact I am moving as quickly as I can. It has been days, I really want out of the underground.

Once I reach the top of the stairs I only pause long enough for Ekard to hide in the shadow pocket. As soon as he is safe I dive into the river and start swimming downstream. I could just let the river carry me, but I have been underground too long, my tolerance is gone.

As soon as I see sunlight above the water I burst out of the river with all my strength. In doing so I terrify several deer like creatures that were having a drink. While I feel slightly bad for scaring them, I am so happy to see the sun that I don't care.

After leaving the river I quickly find a clearing in the forest where the sun shines down. When I find a nice sunny spot I lay back on the grass and simply lay there enjoying the warmth. Ekard comes out of hiding once I stop moving and starts exploring the clearing.

Not wanting to have to chase him around I summon Lizzy and tell her it's my turn for a nap. And so, after saying that, I close my eyes and let myself drift off to a peaceful sleep. It feels absolutely amazing, until a little over an hour later when an Ekard lands on my face.

Ekard says "Mama! Hungry!"

The next sound I hear is Lizzy's laughter, and so, while grumbling, I open my eyes and sit up. After removing Ekard from my head I ask the two of them what they want to eat. After providing the two of them with their selections I pull out some for myself and dig in.

Lizzy says "So, what's the plan now?"

"We are going to head over to join Mercy, but we have two stops along the way."

Lizzy says "Alright, just tell me which way to go."

So I take out the map and show Lizzy where the beasts are and where Mercy's army should be. Our route is going to be north east through the forest and to the far corner of the kingdom. Then we will simply follow the border south until we run into Mercy and her troops.

So after we are done eating, Ekard climbs up to my shoulder, and I mount Lizzy. Then we set off, and almost instantly Ekard starts screaming in fear. The reason for that is that Lizzy is moving so fast that the trees we are passing turn into blurs.

After a few minutes he gets a hold of himself and his screams of fear turn into screams of excitement. He is having so much fun that he moves from my shoulder to the top of my head to enjoy it more. Then he spreads his wings and almost flies off, luckily I have fast reflexes.

Before the wind carries him off, who knows where, I manage to grab him by the legs. Of course, Ekard doesn't care, he is squealing in joy at the feeling of flying for the first time. I keep a good hold on him, but let him enjoy himself, while I keep an eye out for low hanging branches.

Every time he lets out a particularly ear piercing squeal Lizzy cranes her head around to look at him. It is obvious she wants him to stop, but when she sees how much fun he is having she can't bring herself to say anything. Since he is doing it anyway I start coaching Ekard on how to move his wings to control his direction.

This continues until Lizzy slows down, at which point the exhausted Ekard returns to my shoulder. He would probably go straight to sleep if he wasn't getting hungry. Once Lizzy slows down I am able to sense beasts in the area, bears to be precise.

Seeing them I am reminded of the first time I saw them, and of how they taste. However, since I am here to help them it wouldn't do to kill one to eat it. In fact now that I have the pouch there is no reason for me to kill anything that isn't trying to kill me.

You wouldn't think the bears are ferocious considering how they are acting right now. The bears are acting scared and refuse to come anywhere near me or Lizzy. I remember being told the bears were supposed to be solitary creatures, but there are over fifty of them in the area we have entered.

It seems what I was told is incorrect, either that or they are gathered here because of the bear I am looking for. She is the only bear that doesn't act scared of us, she is also three times the size of the others. From just a glance I can tell she is the one I am looking for, but I can also tell she is dying.

Ekard says "Mama! Hungry!"

"Alright, dinner time it is."

Lizzy says "Is that going to be alright? Some of these bears look like they are starving."

"Then we will just feed them too."

Lizzy says "Can you do that?"

"Should be able to. The goddesses told me I could feed an army with the pouch."

Lizzy says "I hope so. I could kill them easily enough, but it would be bullying."

"Relax, I've got this."

Not only do I pull out food for Lizzy and Ekard, but I also pull out over fifty trays of meat. The bears quickly overcome their fear of us, they are hungry enough to ignore their fear. Once everyone else is eating I walk over to the big old bear and sit down.

"Can you speak?"

The bear shakes her head.

"Do you know that you are dying?"

The bear nods.

"Do you know who the Great Mother Wolf is?"

The bear nods again.

"She has asked me to come here and try to help you evolve into a sacred beast. I cannot be sure, but it should extend your lifespan. Do you want me to try?"

The bear looks excited and nods.

Once I have her permission I cancel my cultivation so that all my sacred power is available. Then I reach out and gently put my hand on her neck and start scanning her. Not only is her core max rank for a mana beast but it is full of energy.

It turns out she is only missing a single spark to become a sacred beast. She should have become one already but she must be missing something. Either a bit of understanding or just a lucky situation would have allowed her to evolve already.

For me it is as easy as giving her just a few drops of sacred power to trigger her core to evolve. As she feels the process starting she lets out a loud and triumphant roar. Since I barely used any energy I use the rest to heal up her body, revitalize her cells, and infuse the rest into her core.