Time ticked on, and the two slowly grew closer. Sandwich came to rely on Jeremy for knowledge, and Jeremy on sandwich for companionship. Sandwich liked to hear about All-things but he especially preferred hearing about cultivation. You know, the process of internal alchemy that refines your body, and soul into that of a god’s.

Sandwich was informed that he too would be on this journey. As a lizard he had the potential to gain a humanoid form at the foundation realm. Were he a more powerful type of beast he would have to wait for higher realms.

In order to awaken Sandwich’s innate aptitude Baron Amrei took him to a special room that he had prepared. The room had a large enclosure full of bugs. These bugs were spiritual bugs that could help a beast awaken their aptitude. Each one had its own element, so it was important that a beast was given the right one.

“This is an ancient ritual where the beast's aptitude is left up to fate. In this way one is guaranteed a natural, and powerful outcome. ” The baron explained to his son.

“What? That’s dumb. Why not just give him a specially designed elixir or something?” Jeremy asked.

The baron shook his head. “True power cannot be bought.”

Jeremy let out a ha. “Yes, it can!”

The baron coughed. “Ok, I have no idea what I could possibly give to help a perfectly normal lizard. Surprisingly, most people do not take in lizards as spiritual beasts. There have been some instances, but they are typically rare lizards. This, as far as I can tell, is just a talented, but normal lizard. So, I'm just going to throw stuff at it, and I expect you to do the same.”

Jeremy nodded, and ordered Sandwich to find his aptitude. Sandwich jumped into the enclosure. Around him was foliage, and sticks, and a whole lot of magic bugs. Celestial marching ants, nightmare caterpillars, star butterflies, etc etc. Once again not knowing what to do, he relied on instinct and sniffed the air for the tastiest smelling bug. He sniffed around for a little bit, and dug a hole. Inside there was a small glowie slug. He ate it, and it was quite tasty. A surge of power went through his body. The power engulfed his torso, his limbs, and then his head. When it got to his head, a lightbulb turned on. He now had the power to produce a tiny amount of light. The golden rune activated once more. The lightbulb became a lighthouse. He could now produce a surprising, but ‘harmless’ amount of light.

Sandwich showed off his new ability.

"Neat!" Shouted Jeremy.

For status reasons, and because education is indeed good. Jeremy has to go to school, but the academy is a battle academy, and there will be an initial ranking tournament. Jeremy has great recovery ability, and is slightly stronger than the kids his age, but he has relatively little talent in both magic, and martial arts. This was why Sandwich was necessary. It was time to train!