Drills.

"Sera, bring out Luna."

After sorting out all the mess, Lyric started her lecture as she stood in front of Kael and Sera.

"Yes!"

Sera nodded excitedly, and as she closed her eyes, a spatial crack appeared in front of her. 

A fox with violet eyes and white fur jumped out, quickly landing on Sera's head.

"Luna!"

Sera hugged her bond with a bright smile on her face. Her bond, Luna, seemed excited to see her as well and accepted her hug.

Kael, Elira, and Lyric smiled at the adorable sight. Kael's eyes turned golden as he stared at Luna, and a translucent screen appeared in front of him.

[Name: Luna]

[Race: Moonlight Fox]

[Rank: Epic]

[Age: 15 days]

[Level: 2]

[Strength: 5]

[Agility: 10]

[Speed: 12]

[Stamina: 7]

[Defense: 5]

[Mana: 11]

[Intelligence: 6]

[Charisma: 7]

[Strengths: Agile and Graceful, Natural Affinity for Illusions, Moonlight Empowerment.]

[Weaknesses: Fragile Build, Low Stamina, Lack of Offensive Power, Moonlight Dependency]

…

'Hmm, this is the difference between an Epic and a Mythical Rank Beast, huh…

Even at Level 2, she was no match for Igni when he was Level 1.'

Kael muttered to himself, and while he was at it, he also stared at Sera.

[Name: Seraphina Ashvein]

[Race: Human]

[Age: 12]

[Level: 11]

[Strength: 12]

[Agility: 16]

[Speed: 17]

[Stamina: 14]

[Defense: 11]

[Mana: 25]

[Intelligence: 19]

[Charisma: 18]

[Strengths: Moderate Mana Pool, Quick Reflexes, Clever and Persuasive]

[Weaknesses: Low Strength, Weak Defense, Inexperience]

…

'A Second Circle Mage, huh…'

Kael raised his eyebrow.

'As expected from the daughter of the strongest man in the Kingdom.'

He noted.

Even a little girl in this world wasn't a harmless stranger.

As Kael observed Sera and her bond, Lyric called out.

"Alright, Sera, shouldn't you introduce Luna to the Hero and the Court Mage?"

The Master Tamer spoke kindly.

"She is Luna, my bond!"

Sera nodded and started excitedly.

"Luna is a Moonlight Fox. She is an Epic Rank Beast who will become one of the strongest bonds in the future!"

Sera declared proudly.

"Kyu~"

Luna seemed to nod at her words, making Sera even prouder.

"Good."

Lyric praised.

The Master Tamer then turned towards Kael and,

"Do you remember all the basic training drills I taught you this past week? Are you following through with those drills with Igni?"

"O-Of course, I am. Why would I not? Hahaha~"

Kael nodded as he laughed awkwardly. Lyric stared at him for a while. Then, she nodded.

"Alright, since I cannot see your Fire Wyvern's performance myself, I will take your word for it. But today, for ease of my mind, let's start with Sera's Mystic Fox doing all those drills. You can watch how she performs and compare her progress with Igni. How does that sound?"

"Yes, that sounds very helpful."

Kael nodded.

Lyric's gaze lingered on him for a little longer before she nodded back.

"Sera."

She called out.

"You know what to do, correct?"

"Yes!"

Sera nodded excitedly as she rushed towards the props that were placed a few meters away from them.

Then, she started doing the drills with Luna.

The first few drills were nothing too complicated:

Repeatedly calling the bond by her name to build trust and familiarity, rubbing her fur to build affection.

Running together with your bond to build a sense of camaraderie. Most bonds also see this as playing; it keeps them cheerful.

There are also scent and sound drills where one introduces various scents and sounds to improve the bond's sensory awareness.

Obstacle navigation, where the bond is required to pass through a simple obstacle course. This mostly involves either jumping or crouching through the wooden obstacles.

There is also a drill that requires the bond to pull a heavy object through a rope or push it to build her strength.

Training that involves the bond dodging harmless projectiles that are thrown at them to increase agility and prepare them for combat. This also involves biting and clawing practice.

Then comes 'special ability' training. For instance, Luna's special ability is Moonlight Beam. This drill involves making Luna use her ability and constantly get better at it. And honestly, Luna performed all these drills masterfully.

So much so that Lyric leaned towards Kael and whispered gently,

"If Igni still cannot do some of these, or if his performance is not comparable to Luna's, don't be too tough on him or yourself.

Moonlight Foxes are known for their intelligence, so such drills are easier for them. Not to mention that even among other Moonlight Foxes, Luna seems a bit special. She is much more intelligent than beasts her age.

She is also a week older than Igni, so do not worry too much. Let Igni do things at his own pace."

Hearing those words, Kael smiled awkwardly.

"Yes, Instructor Lyric. I will be patient with Igni."

He answered.

"I am saying this because I noticed that every time I bring up the topic of these drills, you start acting differently. Give Igni some time, alright?"

Lyric spoke gently.

Kael smiled at those words, not knowing what to say.

He glanced at Sera and Luna, who were completing one drill after another and… 

His mind started recalling his time with Igni...

…

"Alright, Igni, we will now play some games. Are you ready?"

"Kyu!"

Igni nodded excitedly, his amber eyes shining in excitement.

This was Kael's third day here, and he wanted to try all these drills together with Igni.

Calling him by his name was simple enough; that is what he normally did anyway. As for rubbing his scales, he did that very often as well. If there was one thing Kael was confident of, it was his love for Igni and Igni's love for him. 

There was no need to 'build' affection between them. 

Next was the running drill. 

Igni's legs were still not completely developed, so while he was able to run a little, he often slipped and fell. But the little dragon stood right back up with an excited 'Kyu!' as he followed Kael again with a big, wide smile on his face.

Everything went well till then.

The problem, however, started with the sensory awareness drills.

Kael didn't know if it was because Igni was a dragon or if there was some other reason, but Igni's senses were extremely strong. He noticed things even Kael could not. Sometimes, while they played, Igni automatically jumped into his Sanctuary, and a few minutes later, Kael heard a knock on his door.

Yes, he sensed a foreign presence and their intention from a distance. A drill that trained his senses?

Honestly, Igni should be the one teaching Kael that.

And this did not end there.

No, this was just the beginning.