The Summoner And Contractor System

Continuing, the group arrived at a clearing in the forest. The clearing was a large open space with small trees, a clear blue pond without the slightest pollution which amazed Rentaro - who only recalled the sights of polluted water sources in his previous home - and small animals hopping around without a care in the world.

There were a few dozen trees, all of which seemed to be hollowed out. While the trees within the clearing weren't as tall as the 56 meter tall trees around Krose village and the other sections of the forest, they were still a good 45 meters tall on average.

Their branches were wide and sturdy with animals walking along them, who seemed to be opening holes in the wood and creating new homes. Poking out their heads from other holes in the tree, the animals seemed to be different types of birds and hybrids of squirrels and possums. Many burrowing animals were seen walking along the ground, digging out holes and making their own homes and passageways.

There were several differences between these animals and the ones from Rentaro's previous life. For one, the animals' fur, skin, and eyes were strange colors here if compared to their other worldly counterparts and the animals seemed to have stronger physical abilities.

Not to mention, their bodies were also covered in strange patterns, tattoos, and markings. Rentaro reasoned that such characteristics were caused by this world's vast quantities of energy and elemental energy in the atmosphere.

"Interesting, right? Beasts usually don't develop intelligence until their cultivation increases, but this bunch of small animals seem to have enough intelligence to have developed a village of their own." A voice rang out, coated in gentleness.

Rentaro was startled out of his observation before he realized it was Haz who spoke up, his serious expression wiped off his face leaving Rentaro with one thought, 'How does his tone and facial expression change so fluently?' While he thought that, his response was much simpler.

"Ye-Yeah, it's really amazing."

"All of these little guys are at the first Foundation Establishment stage. Because they're not very strong, they group up. Let me tell you this, if they all group up on a second stage Foundation Establishment, they'll manage to win in the end. The casualties they'd suffer would be immeasurable however; such a large disparity between each stage."

Rentaro felt his mind buzz as his outlook on the small animals changed once again. Strangely enough, a lot of the animals had their gazes focused on Rentaro. Rentaro was stunned before breathing a sigh of relief as his sixth sense - Extrasensory Perception - stirred up, telling him the gazes were filled with happiness and attachment, rather than hostility.

[People with strong connections to nature and purity are generally well-liked by Creatures of Innocence, Rentaro. Summoners and Elementalists have very close ties with nature, which makes them lean towards you even more. Not to mention, you can use your Spirit Whispering talent to talk to them. Pretty much, all of your innate talents have a degree of connection to life and nature, thanks to your inner d.e.s.i.r.es.] Wilhelm offered a brief explanation.

'Creatures of Innocence?' Rentaro asked.

[Uh-hm, the term is rather broad and every individual has their own concept on the meaning behind innocence. The general explanation is that the creatures are embraced by nature; they try to live lives of simplicity, purity, and peace, without the d.e.s.i.r.e to bring harm to others. The markings that cover their body signify their Innocence, in case you're curious. They are born innately with the ability to cultivate the Sigil of Nature, a special cultivation technique blessed by the laws of nature.]

Haz spoke up, Don't worry, although these little guys aren't the most intelligent, our village has formed quite the relationship with them. Awhile back, they had been attacked by a Foundation Establishment third stage. We happened to be passing by and saved the little guys, they're rather inviting towards us now."

"That about sums up the story. Now, let's set camp here for the day. Today and tomorrow, we'll be teaching you some of the basics. These little guys will naturally help us teach you as well, hehe."

Icrin, who was playing around with a small squirrel-like creature, suddenly jumped, "What do you mean, 'set up camp here for the day,' I thought we were returning home before night!"

"Oh, why'd you think that?" Haz replied, a sly smile forming on his face.

"Be-because Gramps said so!" Icrin stuttered.

"Hehe, you know Elder Astrona is as mischievous as you are, so it's not that surprising. Anyways, your bag is already packed full. Did you not think about why he'd pack food and water for you, Icrin?"

"Uh... he forgot we'd be there for only a day! And he just really worried about me...." Icrin's voice weakened as he responded this time, a bad feeling bubbling up inside of him.

"NOPE! He just didn't want to tell you that you'd be here training with me..." Just when Icrin thought that would be the worst part of the sentence, "for an entire seven days, that's right, a whole week, Icrin!" Haz's face warped in excitement, whereas Icrin's face only continued to deepen through shades of pale by the second, until he looked deathly pale.

Icrin finally couldn't handle it anymore and he fell over, seemingly passed out. Rentaro mused that Icrin looked like a sick dog, all he was missing was the foam at his mouth. Three animals hopped onto his stomach, holding sticks with leaves attached to them like flags as they took on poses of victory, prompting the corners of Icrin's mouth to raise and blowing his cover of being passed out.

Roy, ignoring the situation between Haz and Icrin, was busy playing with the small animals. Some of them stood up and tried to beat him in height, clambering on top of one another and forming a small tower of three squirrels holding one another up. Roy nudged the one on the bottom, tipping their small tower of squirrels over.

Ichi and Shin were laughing as they watched, their attention split between the interactions of the small animals and pitching the tents for the group; a group of small animals assisting them with setting up the tent, whereas others watched in curiosity.

Off to the side, Phu was busy practicing his sword techniques. Each slash he made was without any harm or destruction. He seemed to be practicing sword stances while also sharpening his control of combining energy with his sword techniques.

Tsyun seemed to be the most relaxed there, as he was lying on a small hammock that seemed to be made of a strong, rope-like plant. While it seemed as if he wasn't doing anything, Rentaro couldn't help but be under the strong assumption that he was meditating - that was until he heard the sound of snoring.

"Alright, Icrin, get up. I know you're faking it, don't make me force you up." Haz's voice, one again stern, rang out.

Icrin hopped up with the animals scurrying away, stumbling to Rentaro's side. Rentaro signaled Roy through their mental connection through the system, prompting him to return.

"Very good! Now, let's get started! You three have already learned to conceal your footsteps, at least to an extent. Covering up your traces is one key to preventing others from tracking you. If the person tracking you is high in cultivation however, they'll be able to track remnants of your aura. At your current stages, you three aren't able to hide your aura from such existences. As such, you can only fool beasts who lack intelligence or cultivators around the same cultivation stage as you when hiding your footprints."

"If the person or beast tracking you can sense your aura even when you conceal it to your best measurement, you need to use the method of sending your aura into multiple directions to trick them or at least buy time to escape further. Such methods would usually involve linking your aura to a moving animal, or an object, if you can launch said object very far away, like throwing a spear or something. Hehe."

[Well, that's a rather primitive and make-shift method there, huh?] Wilhelm expressed his interest in Rentaro's mind.

"The second topic we'll learn is tracking. Naturally, these little guys will help us teach you."

In response to his statement, the three gave him blank faces, except for their questioning glares. Icrin couldn't help but wonder if Haz had actually snapped this time, or if Haz had actually been insane this entire time and he merely pushed it off as a joke to prevent the situation from escalating.

Haz's response was to think over what he had just said, wondering if he had said something wrong that confused the three. He traded glares with his friends, who nodded as if to say they clearly understood his meaning.

"Hah, you three ignorant kids, already looking at me like I'm crazy! It's rather simple, we'll have a few of the animals run and hide, then one of you three will have to track them. Simple, no?"

The three gave simultaneous nods in response - still taking in to consideration that Haz may very well be insane - sparking a confident smile on Haz's face.

"Alright, Icrin, you'll start first." As he told Icrin to start, he signaled two birds and three squirrels to hide. The traces of their aura seemed to vanish instantly as they scattered from their original location.

The animals disappeared with leaving any footsteps, passing through bristly bushes without stirring the slightest wind or shaking nearby bushes. In fact, the animals managed to hit up sticks and leaves from beyond view, causing other bushes to slightly shake, in attempt to shake Icrin's thought process.

Icrin's eyes lit up as he looked towards their starting positions. His gaze followed the paths they took as they ran and hid, he seemed to not only be looking for their locations based off of following their aura, but also calculating how far they could've gotten based off of the initial speed they traveled at.

From there, Icrin took to the trees for higher ground. He not only had to find the three critters on the ground, but the two birds who took to the sky as well. Luckily, they stayed within the forest clearing. With the Krose bloodline increasing his mental capacity, speed of thinking, and exceptional eye techniques, he managed to track the five animals with ease.

Afterwards, Rentaro and Roy's turn followed. The two ended up working together with the reasoning of being a Summoner and Summon, starting their search by tracking the aura of the five animals from where they started.

Unlike Icrin who had a bloodline boosting mental capacity and thought processing speed, along with general tracking skills, the two were significantly at a disadvantage. The two started at the origin point, the location where the animals started running from.

Compared to Rentaro, Roy was in a better position to lead the tracking operation. With his lack of life experience, Rentaro's sixth sense wasn't sharpened enough to show its true capabilities, and so he allowed Roy to lead. Relying on his sharpened senses that he was born with, Roy managed to establish a path that the animals' aura traveled in.

They took longer than Icrin to accomplish the task, but Roy's sharp senses managed to track the five animals down in the end. Wilhelm's suggestion quickly followed the completion of their task, advising Rentaro to try his luck at summoning again soon with hopes of summoning a tracking-oriented summon.