Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

--

"...a lion cub?" Cedric raised a brow as he finally saw what came out of the egg.

Well, he's certainly not expecting a lion cub to come out of the egg. He was thinking of a snake, lizard, or some kind of reptile really, not a lion cub.

Kyu~!

"...cute." Cedric chuckled despite himself.

The little guy was palm-sized and pudgy, his skin was light beige, and has a birthmark on his forehead which resembled a circle.

According to what he knows, newborn cubs like this should feel weak, you wouldn't be seeing them staying awake for long because of how weak they were. However, this little guy's a bit different.

It's trying its best to stand up already to get close to Cedric. Its eyes resembled his so much that it was scary, it looked intelligent enough to recognize him too. Plus, its voice was tiny yet energetic as well.

"C'mere, you." Cedric giggled, gently picking up the cub with his hands and seeing it snuggle in their warmth.

Cedric could feel a strong connection with the little guy, must be the result of their bond since he's technically its parent.

The cub licked his hands in affection. Cedric then thought of something.

He wetted his free index finger with his saliva and swept it on the cub's head and the rest of its body. The cub keened and purred at this act, making Cedric melt because of its cuteness.

This act of his was similar to how animals groom their offspring. He's no lion, sure, but he could at least mimic this.

"What should I name you...? Hmm?" Cedric thought of a fitting name for his first pet.

Dozens of names rolled through his mind which ended up being rejected one after another because he didn't like them. Meanwhile, he just stared at his pet and found it fighting against drowsiness.

'It must've understood my words and is waiting for its name...' He thought to himself, somehow understanding what the little cub wanted.

"Aurelion." Cedric muttered softly.

He then saw the cub's eyes widen a bit before letting out an adorable whine. Somehow, Cedric knew that the little guy liked its name.

"Yeah, your name will be Aurelion. My cute and adorable murder cat." Cedric chuckled at this.

Finally, the little guy couldn't endure it anymore and fell asleep on his palms. Moving slowly and gently, to not wake up the tiny thing, he sat on the couch and brought up the System alerts he'd been ignoring since the cub's birth.

[Alert! Your 'Beast Egg' hatched.]

[Congratulations, you've bonded with a 'Radiant Sunlion' - the first of its kind! You may now view its stats and give it a name.]

[You named your Beast Companion - Aurelion. Name, registered.]

[Beast Companion]

Name: Aurelion

Age: 5 minutes

Lineage: Radiant Sunlion

Tier: 0

Potential - SS

Innate Skills: NA

Bond Level - 100 (Undying Loyalty)

[Alert! Acala applauds your luck and ability to incubate a Beast Companion that has never been seen before. She looks forward to its growth and for that, she decided to bestow you with a gift to help the cub grow strong and steady.]

[Congratulations! You received a 'Beast Soul Space'. Realm is automatically bound to User Cedric Stormrider. You may inspect it anytime you want.]

**

Cedric raised a brow. He sensed a disturbance within the depths of his being. More specifically at his spirit. Upon inspection, he noticed that a sigil suddenly appeared there and Cedric automatically thought that this must be the thing he just received.

[Beast Soul Space (T0 - Growth/Legendary)]

Type: Support Item

: A unique spatial artifact that could be used for raising Beast Companions.

: The space inside provides a suitable and safe environment where Beast Companions could live. This place increases the rate at which Beast Companions recover as well as increasing the chance of them comprehending an Innate Skill. Both effects increase with the growth of the artifact.

: This artifact grows in tandem with the owner and the Beast Companion.

**

Cedric blinked and hurriedly sank his perception to the sigil. The image of what's inside the Beast Soul Spacs reflected in his eyes as he did so.

The space inside wasn't that big, around 50 meters or so. It has an artificial environment which was enough to fool normal people. He also saw that there was a home built for Aurelion there, he didn't even have a do anything.

Once he discovered this, Cedric tried to transfer the little cub inside and it only took a thought before the little beast disappeared from his palms.

Checking it out, he saw Aurelion snuggling into a bundle of hay, purring happily in its sleep at the sudden change of environment without its notice. He smiled and retreated his gaze from it, leaving the cub to slumber as it pleased.

With their bond level, he would know once the cub wakes up or if it needs something so he's free to do as he pleases until then.

"Radiant Sunlion, huh?" He mused to himself as he rested on his couch. "The first of its kind too. Is it because of my Sage Aspect that it became like that?"

This was the only logical outcome he could think of, after all he was training to be the Sun Sage.

Cedric could still remember Aurelion's first feeding when it was still just an egg. It absorbed a huge chunk of his Ki - which was heavily affected by his Aspect, by the way, and attuned to Sun's attribute.

Even after that, to support its incubation, the egg would absorb some of his blood and Ki from time to time. So it wouldn't be surprising if Ki's attributes affected the growth and potential of Aurelion back then.

"It has an SS-rank potential too." Cedric mused, "It sounds impressive but now that I think about it, I don't know much about raising a Beast Companion."

"..."

"Might as well start now. I learn quickly anyway." Cedric shrugged as he began searching for the materials he needed online.

Just like that, Cedric spent the next couple of hours having a crash course about Beast Companions and how to raise them.

The materials he learned from came from Beast Tamers who graciously imparted their experience online. Some of them were paid courses but that wasn't a problem for him, after all he had way too many Demon Souls to spare. Granted that this is his first time being a Beast Master, of course he wouldn't be stingy.

Just from the first course alone, he already knew that Aurelion was different from regular beasts.

According to this, Beast Masters must Tame the Beast first...keep them loyal, and teach them how to not be hostile to everybody. They said that even if one were to use their efforts to incubate the Beast, their loyalties wouldn't go past '10' since they're young, meaning their minds are still underdeveloped.

So even if you were to raise them even before they were born, there's no way you'd receive its Undying Loyalty.

...but Aurelion did, so what's up with that?

Well, Cedric could think of a couple of reasons, but the one that's obvious to him is that, unlike regular beasts, Aurelion was much smarter. The gleam of intelligence in its eyes the moment their eyes met couldn't be mistaken. Cedric's Ki must've been an excellent food for the cub to develop this way too.

All Beast Companions could reach Tier 9, their innate potential - which was D at the lowest and SS being the highest, determines how fast they'd get there. Similar to humans, the better the potential, the stronger the beast would be.

At the same tier, a Beast with a D-rank potential wouldn't be able to match one that has a C-rank potential.

Since Aurelion was the first of its kind, Cedric wouldn't be able to find any guides on how to raise him properly. He could only rely on general information and test things to see what would work.

Since his bond with Aurelion already reached 100, which means he has its Undying Loyalty, Cedric doesn't have to think about it ever entertaining the idea of rebelling against him. Its loyalty will never waver nor would it seek out a different master either.

If Aurelion dies, Cedric will receive a serious soul injury because of how deep their bond is. On the other hand, if Cedric dies, Aurelion will not hesitate to follow him. Or maybe it will kill first whoever killed him before dying and following him in the afterlife.

Since Aurelion was just a cub, it could only digest liquids for now to satiate its hunger. Once the cub grows out more, he'd need to provide it with a balanced diet to support its growth.

As for elevating its strength, Beast Companions aren't different from humans. Cedric could use Demon Souls to increase its level or allow it to hunt on its own by taking it with him on his hell dives. There's also a chance for Aurelion to evolve by doing this but there are no guides out there so Cedric would have to research that on his own.

Overall, raising a Beast Companion didn't sound too complicated. Cedric should be able to do it even without someone guiding him intimately.