The right way to forge a contract

Looking at the little thing bristling before him, Su Lin rubbed his chin.

Hmm, according to the formulas of the games and anime he had seen in his previous life, he should now appeal to its emotions and reason, touch it with sincerity and goodwill, dispel its wariness, and then forge their contract in a warm, tender atmosphere.

Probably with lines like "I know you're scared, but I won't hurt you" or "We'll all be companions from now on," paired with a gentle gaze and slow steps toward it...

With that in mind, Su Lin cleared his throat, raised both hands in a harmless gesture, squeezed out the friendliest smile of his life, and tried to soothe it. "Hello?"

"Squeak!"

The Lightning Rat tilted its head, as though asking where this clown had come from. In an instant, countless slender bolts of golden lightning erupted around it, shooting toward Su Lin like a dense net.

Su Lin raised an eyebrow. His mental power surged, spreading a pale red, translucent membrane of light before him. The golden lightning struck it without the slightest crash, dissolving into a sky full of tiny golden motes that drifted slowly away like fireflies, unable to stir even a single ripple.

At the sight, the Lightning Rat's tiny eyes filled with enormous confusion.

It could not understand why its attacks had no effect when the human cub before it clearly looked so weak.

"I was going to have a nice chat with you, but it looks like I'll have to treat you to some dragon fruit first." Su Lin sighed. He was a gentle, humble, good boy. Why was there always someone-no, some rat-forcing him to break his vows?

As his words fell, his mental power burst outward. Rich red light abruptly rippled through the space on either side of him, and two enormous, pale red fists of mental power, several times larger than the Lightning Rat, slowly took shape.

The Lightning Rat: "(((ﾟДﾟ;)))"

Looking at the little fellow frozen in place with its fur standing on end, Su Lin gave a kindly smile.

One minute later, after a friendly exchange, the Lightning Rat expressed its willingness to abandon darkness for the light and follow the great Lord Su Lin for life.

Su Lin was very pleased and magnanimously declared that nothing was better than recognizing one's mistakes and correcting them. What little rat never made mistakes?

He slowly crouched and gently pressed his fingertip to the center of the Lightning Rat's forehead.

The instant they touched, a dazzling ring of gilded patterns burst outward with the two of them at its center!

Where the glowing patterns passed, densely packed dark gold runes appeared in the air. Fine contract markings slowly emerged between Su Lin's brows and spread from between the golden Lightning Rat's brows as well.

A crisp thunderclap rang through the space, mingled with the soft click of a Poké Ball closing.

Motes of light showered down like rain. The lightning around the golden Lightning Rat completely subsided, and countless fragmented, unfamiliar images flooded Su Lin's mind-

The sensation of wind brushing past its ears as it leaped through the woods, the fragrance of a plump berry hidden beneath the grass, the cool comfort of moonlight spilling over its fur...

Su Lin paused for a beat before realizing these were fragments of the Lightning Rat's memories, the beginning of their shared perception after their souls had been linked.

[Su Lin]

[Level: 10 (0/500)]

[Skill slots: Electric Arc (lv0: 0/100)]

[Pokémon slots: Lightning Rat (lv23: 22/10000)]

[Learnable skills: 0/3]

Perfect.

"From now on, your name is Pikachu."

The instant the contract was forged, the mental space receded like a tide. Su Lin's vision blurred, and he returned to the clearing in the Soul Hunting Forest.

At almost the same instant, a gentle yet immense force erupted from deep within his dantian, climbing along the meridians of his spine. Everywhere it passed, his Soul Power meridians were widened and nourished. Finally, it slowly gathered above his head, forming the translucent phantom of a yellow Soul Ring.

The Soul Ring deepened in color and solidified from an illusion, slowly descending until it hovered steadily beneath his feet, radiating a gentle, substantial glow.

"..." Grant, who had witnessed the scene, fell silent for a while.

He had never seen anything so miraculous. Someone really could absorb a Soul Ring directly without killing a Soul Beast. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it.

Su Lin himself was actually astonished as well. He had originally thought capturing Soul Beasts and hunting Soul Rings would have to be done separately. He had not expected them to be two in one, and from the looks of it, the Soul Ring skill he obtained should be related to the innate traits of the Soul Beast he captured.

Still, this was no bad thing for him. In the future, he could simply claim that summoning Soul Beasts was his skill.

As for his other skills, he did not intend to reveal them, keeping them as trump cards instead. Otherwise, as a genius with no weaknesses, he would often become a target for other Soul Masters and even those in power.

"Uncle Grant, let's head back." Drawing the Soul Ring back into his body, Su Lin walked up to Grant and waved at him.

"Oh, all right." Grant nodded absently.

Since it was already late at night, neither of them hurried to travel. They merely returned to the safe area at the edge of the Soul Hunting Forest, where Spirit Hall had built several simple wooden cabins for passing Soul Masters to rest in. They spent a peaceful night there and did not set off home until the following morning.

Even the fastest carriage needed eight to ten hours to travel from the Soul Hunting Forest to Wealth Village. Along the way, Grant told Su Lin much more about the basics and taboos of Soul Master cultivation. By the time they spotted Wealth Village's uneven row of rooftops in the distance, it was already evening.

"Go back and rest first. I'm off to the village office to deal with some paperwork." Grant dropped Su Lin off at the orphanage entrance and yawned. "Last night really wore us out. Remember to catch up on your sleep after dinner."

"Got it." Su Lin waved to Grant and watched the Soul King's retreating figure disappear around the corner of the lane. Only then did he turn into the courtyard and return to his private dormitory room, pulling the door shut behind him, eager to study his newly acquired first Soul Skill.

He sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, sank his awareness into his body, and carefully sensed the newborn power hidden within his dantian.

Unlike his original gentle, smoothly flowing basic Soul Power, this force made of lightning power carried an extremely faint numbing sensation when circulated, tingling as it flowed through his meridians.

"Let's give it a try first." Muttering to himself, Su Lin raised his right hand and spread his fingers toward the empty chair in the corner of the room.

He focused and held his breath, concentrating on the tingling current deep within his dantian and trying to draw it toward his arm.

Su Lin could feel his palm beginning to heat up. An extremely faint golden glow appeared on the surface of his skin, and then...

"Bzzzt."

A golden electric arc barely thicker than a strand of hair shot from his palm. It traveled only about two finger-lengths before vanishing into the air, failing to reach even the chair leg.

Su Lin: "..."