Athar, after his friendly spar with Ryler, went to the dining area where he had a fulfilling lunch.
Athar tried to eat as balanced a diet as he could. Although cultivators seldom paid any heed to their diet as it did not play a big role in their growth, Athar was not willing to ignore this.
He knew that for the first eighteen years of his life, he had hardly eaten anything nutritious, and the current phase was a phase of growth. Thus, he gave enough importance to his diet, and he intended to do so for at least a few months. There was not even a slightest aspect in his cultivation journey that Athar was willing to ignore. He wanted to get everything out of the golden chance that life had granted him.
After lunch, Athar returned to his room. Since only a few hours were remaining before the practical class, he decided not to dive into any of the battle techniques. He sat cross-legged, and in the next moment, a small black creature appeared out of nowhere and began slithering around his shoulder.
"How are you, Sarpinash?" Athar said with a small smile.
The snake hissed, as if trying to convey its feelings. Although Athar did not fully understand what Sarpinash was saying, he had a good sense of the creature's emotions. And at this moment, the little black snake was clearly expressing happiness at being close to him. Sarpinash was pleased and enjoying his time out of the Mindscape.
The physical appearance of Sarpinash had not changed much. Athar could feel that his scales had become a bit shinier. The other noticeable change was his length. Sarpinash had grown at least two inches in length.
Over the past four days, Athar had read quite a bit about tamed beasts. The more he studied, the more certain he became that his little black snake was a truly special creature.
There was no specific information about the Shadow Mist Snake in the Nawarin City Academy library. He had gone through more than a hundred books looking for specific information about Shadow Mist Snake.
However, Athar had managed to infer a lot by reading about the basic traits of beasts in their early stages. He had remained focused mostly on snake-type beasts.
For example, beasts in their initial stages were generally not able to communicate their emotions to their owners.
Even higher grade beasts like those of the Gold or Platinum class could, at best, convey only the most basic feelings. Yet, Athar had been able to sense Sarpinash's emotions from the very first day.
Either Sarpinash was more special than the so-called Silver grade beasts, or the bond between them was exceptionally strong.
The second thing Athar realized was that if he truly wished to hide the fact that his beast was a Silver grade beast and pass it off as an Iron grade one, he would need to downplay the abilities of the skill he had received from Sarpinash.
It was true that there was no foolproof method to determine the exact grade of a beast, at least in smaller cities, but it was also true that an experienced eye could often estimate a beast's grade by sensing its aura and observing the abilities it wielded. In the initial stages, he did not have to worry about Sarpinash's aura. For all practical purposes, Sarpinash appeared as any other ordinary snake.
The beast did not have any noticeable aura yet, as beasts only began to emit a noticeable aura once their rank increased. However, he did need to be cautious about the ability he had received from Sarpinash. An Iron-grade beast displaying an overpowered skill was certain to raise suspicions.
And the first skill, Shadow Mist, that he had received from Sarpinash, was definitely such a skill. A black mist which affected the visibility of the opponent and possessed a corrosive property was surely an overpowered ability. Athar had deduced that an Iron grade beast was not supposed to wield this kind of power in its early stages. He could not show people his black mist penetrating wooden blocks as if they were nothing.
Thus, Athar had made the decision to weaken the apparent strength of his first skill.
As Athar remained seated cross legged, a black, shadowy mist began to emerge from his body. The mist spread gradually, seeping through the room. Over the past four days, he had been working to improve his control over the Shadow Mist.
The mist, as mentioned, possessed a corrosive property. In a normal situation, whatever object the mist came into contact with, the table, bed, or anything else, should have started to corrode as if it had been bathed in acid.
But no such thing happened. Athar had trained himself to suppress that effect. It would only activate when he wanted to activate it.
In this way, he had reduced the observable power of the mist. The corrosive property would remain his hidden ace, a trump card to be revealed only in moments of extreme crisis.
The mist did not stop as it kept floating around him. It kept moving and began to shift into different shapes and forms. Sometimes, it surrounded Athar completely like a cloak. Sometimes it formed long threads or chains. Other times, it transformed into various weapons. Swords, spears, and more. It was all a display of Athar's growing mastery over the shadowy mist.
After around fifteen minutes, Athar felt all his mana completely drain. He had no choice but to stop the practice. The mist vanished, leaving behind only the slithering black snake coiled around his shoulders.
"Now it is time for you to return too," Athar said to his companion.
Sarpinash conveyed a sense of reluctance but nonetheless slipped back into Athar's mindscape without any fuss.
Athar rested and recovered during the remaining time before he had to attend the practical class in the evening.
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