The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 399: Competition: Druid Mode (3)

Chapter 399: Competition: Druid Mode (3)

The Bond of Hearts is a concept. It refers to the level of familarity between a Druid and an animal. The stronger it is, the lower the chance of any of the two betraying each other.

"Are you saying that all the animals on this farm have pledged their loyalty, so to speak, to you, preventing me from increasing the strength of the bond between them and me?" Hex asked after mulling over the information he received from the old man.

"In simple terms, yes." The old man patted him on the arm. "I am actually surprised you managed to create any bond at all. That too in such a short time. Usually, it would take an inexperienced Druid at least a month to have any sort of connection with an animal, especially one that, to use your words, pledged itself to someone else."

"I didn’t do anything other than the daily stuff," Hex said, confused. ’I didn’t even employ my Heart to create some sort of wonder. I just did what his son and grandsons already were doing.’

Erina’s grandpa sighed. "I know. I heard that from my son."

The old man looked a bit downcast as he spoke. Something must be bothering him. Hex realized the old man didn’t just approach him on a walk outside. He had intentionally found him.

"Did I do something wrong? As I said, I am here just to complete the task assigned to the Druids during the first round of the competition. If there is something bothering you or your family, I can leave." Hex enjoyed the farm life and had not experienced anything weird with the family, so far, which is why he stuck around. Erina’s lively presence also helped, of course. But if they were bothered by his presence, for whatever reason, he would leave. He had other options.

"No, not at all," the old man shook his head hastily. "Please stay here as long as you wish to. Erina and the boys like having you around."

Well, it did feel nice to know that he was welcome. But that didn’t answer the old man’s behavior. His questioning look didn’t escape the old man. After another round of silence, the old man started to explain himself.

"I...I just wish my son or grandsons had your talents, even if it was a fraction of it. You might have sensed it already. All three are stuck at the Squire Stage. With luck and resources, I might be able to push one of those boys into the Knight Stage, but that’s it."

"Is...Is that why your family is living like...this?" Hex probed carefully. Calling them poor seemed callous but he really wanted to know. A Refined Stage Knight with Druid abilities shouldn’t be living this poorly. Not when running a farm with plenty of animals.

"To some extent, yes," the old man nodded. "I...We are saving every bit of our resources to give the children a better future. I didn’t have enough when my sons were growing. Two died early on, trying to survive with me in this harsh land. It wasn’t developed like this when we started to live here. I was also only a Knight then."

Hex listened without replying. It took generations to propel a family to prosperity. If he didn’t have his Heart, he wouldn’t have managed to reach the height he had.

"What are the other reasons?" Hex asked. The old man hadn’t attributed everything to investing in his family.

"The woodland wolves. There are packs of them roaming around, attacking the farms in swarms. I had gone to a farm a few fields up to help them defend against an attack. I fear we will suffer some attacks in the coming days."

"I will help, if I am able to," Hex promised promptly. It wouldn’t be too hard. And perhaps he could develop some more Druid-like abilities with the help of the old man.

"Excellent," the old man replied. "And I will teach some basic stuff about being a Druid. If you want to."

...

"Your control over the Nature element is the best I have seen."

The old man watched how Hex handled a newborn calf and marveled at his delicate control and application of the element. To practice his abilities and learn the basics of being a Druid, the old man gladly offered to train with a beast with no bond yet.

When he asked about the calf not being loyal to him, the old man laughed. "As long as you don’t order it to disobey me or do something weird, I don’t mind. But don’t overdo it. If the bond reaches the state of Bond of Hearts you will have a hard time staying apart from the animal. The calf will also die of heartache."

That sounded awful. Hex immediately put more focus on his control. He knew he wouldn’t be able to take care of a farm animal. It would be pure torture to put a newly-born calf through such an ordeal.

Hex followed the instructions and helped the calf take its first feed. He sensed a bond forming. Two actually. One with him. It felt like a thin thread forming between him and the calf. A second one, a bit thicker than the first one appeared. It was a bond between the calf and its mother.

"If you want, you can disrupt the bond with the mother. Some Druids dislike any other thread around their chosen animal."

Hex shook his head. There was no way he would do something like that. It sounded too selfish. If he wished to partner with an animal, he would rather trust it. Observing the bond, he realized it was forming quicker and with more strength. It was indeed the blockade from the Bond of Hearts.

"When do I need to pull back–?" Hex started to ask. It was a nice experiment but he didn’t want to sit with the consequences of overdoing it. Just as he believed he had to pull back, something happened that shocked him.

"What happened?" The old man exclaimed. He too had sensed the bond being broken. He looked worried at Hex about to deploy his abilities when he noticed Hex shaking his head.

"I am okay," he said. He still looked absent-minded.

"Are you sure? What happened? Why did the bond break? Your control was too good. It couldn’t have collapsed just like that."

"I didn’t," Hex said, taking a deep breath. "It was broken."

"By whom?" The old man looked startled. He looked around in panic, suspecting a force from the outside. Hex just sighed.

"It wasn’t an outsider," he said. "It came from inside me. My soul beast snapped it with its claws."

The soul of the Dragon Bear roared furiously in response. It didn’t like Hex forming a bond with someone.

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