After yesterday's Soul Training, I had not decided to tell Benladann about the current appearance of her soul, but I did tell her everything else, from the thing about her soul being shared with that entity, to the possibilities that it could entail, and more.
And I also told her about her soul being… strange, without telling her that it looked like a monster made of mold. It was hard, but I simply told her that her soul was different and that it seemed that it could become possible to train it, although I don't know how I could put any strain into such a strong soul.
It seems that Benladann's soul was inherently strong and possesses a large amount of Soul Density, yet it hasn't started on its Cultivation, so it is all just over accumulated power from I don't know where.
After that, Benladann began to consider if it was actually worth it to befriend such an entity, and she felt overall very thoughtful, most likely she has a lot to think and consider, so for the rest of the day we simply did exercises and then trained Mana through Group Cultivation.
As Benladann was doing push-ups in front of me, I began to consider what could I do to strengthen her soul…
Wait, if I strengthen it, wouldn't it strengthen that consciousness as well?
Yeah… Then, what do I do?
Perhaps simply training her will is the way.
As she trained physically, I was training my soul.
Unlike the young miss here, which is actually older than me by like… 22 years, I was training my soul and discovering new ways to strengthen it! Mostly because I felt ridiculed by seeing her monstrous soul, and I felt like I also wanted a giant soul.
I mean, my soul is very big but not as gargantuan as hers…
I will not train her soul for now, until there is some way to defeat that consciousness of the mold.
I had already told her this right about now.
"No soul training?" she asked, as I was extending my soul into several threads over my body, shaping them and moving them like tentacles to train my soul manipulation. I've also been trying to use mana and infuse it into the tentacles to make them physical, but it hasn't been working completely. You still need a nice grasp over the soul manipulation, which I am slowly training through repeated use of Phantom Body.
"Nope, your soul is way too big, I think it is stronger than mine. As you can see and if you remember what I told you yesterday, the power that the consciousness used against you was… your very power. If we train it and begin soul cultivation with it, it will become even stronger, putting you at a disadvantage as it will use such new power to overwhelm you…" I said.
"Oh… You're right," sighed Benladann.
"What we need to do is simple!" I said.
"Eh? What?" she asked.
"Aw come on, Benladann. We already talked about this, we need to train your will and help you harbor your emotions, to not be so passive when that entity emerges and to fight back," I said.
"To fight back! You're right!" said Benladann, as her hands gripped into tight fists.
"That's the spirit… Let's keep training together. But we won't stay here for too long," I said.
"Eh? We won't train more here?" she asked.
"Benladann, we can't hole ourselves here any longer, I believe we have cultivated enough for the journey ahead. We must grow stronger as we adventure through the world, I had already reached a big progression wall, no matter how many mana cores I eat or how much I cultivate, I can't get over my current Rank, we need to explore new areas and find new prey," I said.
"Ah… You're right, we have spent almost an entire month in here… I suppose it is… time to keep going," she said.
"Yeah, we'll go through the skies," I said.
"The skies? Oh right, you can fly! Oh, but what about Frost and everyone else?" asked Benladann.
"Frost and his pack can follow me through the snow and the mountains, they're Ice Wolves, so they're made to run through long distances. As their Pack Leader, they instinctively follow my scent and reach us no matter how far away we go. The pups had just become adults, so it should be a good time to get going," I said.
"I see… So when are we doing it?" she asked.
"In a week. Let's spend these next 7 days training rigorously as much as we can, alright? Although I will be training my soul more than anything, as my physical body can't get any stronger by doing exercise… and my Mana Core is too strong to gain any power through normal mana core refinery," I said.
"Okay then! I am all pumped up if I am going on an adventure with you, Drake! I think my tribe should not be so far away, perhaps we could find them!" said Benladann.
"I sure hope so, for now, let's keep training," I said.
"Aright!" said Benladann. She seemed to have regained a lot of vitality since the first day we met, she seems a bit different too. I guess I've done a good job at helping her recover…
And then she walked towards me and hugged my belly.
"Thank you… Thank you for being at my side for this month, Drake… It really… means a lot to me," she said, her yellow-gold eyes were about to cry, but she contained her tears.
She was very big, as she was already an adult ice giant woman, but to me, she was still small… and I knew that deep down she was still growing.
"Ah, it's nothing, don't worry about it," I said, as I petted her.
This whole encounter with her was all out of a sudden, but it really changed my perception of the life and the world I am living in now…
"I hope I can stay at your side… In the future too," she said.
"Sure, if you want to, why not?" I asked.
I often wonder if this was set by fate…
I wonder if Benladann is…