"Spirit animals are such that have awakened as a result of a mature mana core. This is incredibly rare. Over the course of my life…" Ren read, he had scrolled through so many pages, nearing the last sections of the tome when he spotted a painting of what seemed to be a tortoise, although one that was robed like it was a man, and Ren had to stop. It was what he was looking for. Over the course of the great cultivator Mahābodhivān's life, he had met just one spirit animal, and the cultivator lived for over a hundred years.
This spirit animal according to the pages of the tome awakened when it fell into a pit that happened to be a mana well, and unlike the common occurrence where the unfortunate creature falls in this well and have their body incinerated from the inside out due to the overflowing mana present in mana wells, the tortoise survived, and it, Mahābodhivān and his disciples came together and created the first ever cultivation sect.
"Mio," Ren uttered, that was the name of the awakened tortoise. In one page, the tortoise seemed normal, sprawled on the ground like how most tortoises seemed except that it was wrapped with white fabrics, but then in the next page, this tortoise was standing upright, tall and gallant, and from the folds of its skin, it looked quite old, however, it was massive, and brawny with a face that seemed rageful yet one that was contained. Here, Mio had on a yellow robe that went across its abdomen from the shell of its back, right across its center. Its limbs were like old thick twigs, and on its hand was a stick.
"Mio bore great potential, I am not sure if this is a thing of spirit animals out there or if Mio is just peculiar." No more was said on spirit animals, and Ren had to move to the next page of the tome. He was on the verge of turning the page completely over, but he stopped as he noticed something. This was not a recent development, it had been since, but Ren never could observe with his eyes shut away from cultivation. However now, with Mana sense and mana perception, he could see the very thin walls of mana that latched on to each and every page of the tome. A firm, minute almost weak pink filament of mana on each page, and even the tome's covers.
"Fascinating," Ren muttered, as his eyes glowed blue under the lantern light. He tried to grab the mana sheets of the pages, but they remained unperturbed, even as he tried flooding with a little of the energy he had. He could try forcing in some more mana but he feared that that would have some unintended consequences, and possibly damage the tome so that couldn't be done.
"Cultivators have since multiplied since my journey, my notes, my training manuals have raised a small number of promising cultivators. Although the talent for cultivation is extremely limited, I have come to observe that it is even more likely than the potential to become a mage. Mages are tools of tyranny, instruments of destruction, they may speak the language of the gods, but with enough of us, maybe we would not have to fear their tyranny any longer."
"Hmm, I suppose no more on spirit animals." Mahābodhivān was the very first cultivator, and his journeys and travels were limited by the threats of the mages who ruled during his days, he also did not have the knowledge that was as commonplace today which was the existence of maps, he was limited in various ways, and as such, his research on spirit animals was very little, Ren knew there was more to know about them. The cultivators of today would have uncovered so much about them since then. The information he had gotten was of little help, he would just have to trust his instincts with this one.
'At the very least, it isn't hostile.'
"Hey there… rooster." Ren hesitated, calling it just a rooster did not suffice any longer.
"Firstly, we need to give you a name. I can't keep calling you just a rooster, is that not so?"
The evolved rooster closed its eyes in meditation briefly, and then opened them.
"I agree," It said.
"Do you have any ideas then? A name you would like to be called?"
The rooster merely shook its head, negative. Nothing.
"That's fine. I think…" Ren paused as he thought of an appropriate name, a name fitting for such a mysterious figure as it. It was not a man and it was not an animal either.
"Rokku, how do you like the sound of that?"
The creature's eyes widened, and Ren picked it up. That was the first tinge of emotion that the creature had shown, it reinforced the thought that it was evolved, it was so much beyond what it was, and this was all due to an apple.
"Rokku, I like the name, yes. From today, I shall go by the name Rokku."
This elated Ren, and he clapped, "I wonder if that makes today your birthday." He teased.
'Jokes aside, this creature is teeming with explosive mana.' His perception may not be entirely accurate as he has only had a little pool to base this point off, but the rooster's mana was quite close to his, which was scary to think off as Ren had grown his mana considerably since earning his class, and he had the gods' given system as his aide.
As he tried to wrap his head around the idea of how powerful this rooster could be, a message popped in his mind, drawing his attention.
[Two unopened messages]
[You have learnt a foundational cultivation skill: Convergence. For this, you have earn +10 mana]
[New Quest]
[The Lord of Balance and Order greets you.]
'That's a new one.' Ren thought, the god mostly kept to itself, but another god had drawn its attention to something it so despised.
[New Quest: Purge the anomaly.]