Before Kana could say anything, the human faced fish once more disappeared under the water. Kana looked out over the water and then at the large cow fish and smiled widely. She clapped her hands, picked the fish up, and yelled happily: "Time to eat!"
With how big the cow fish was, Kana ended up building a huge fire. She did not wish to waste any of it as she had no place to store it after. She would only cook it all and try to eat it all in one sitting. If Kana stood in front of the cow fish, it would be a few heads taller than her and about three Kana's standing in a line thick. Luckily whatever she could not finish, Ako could easily take care of so nothing would be wasted.
After eating and filling her belly, Kana had Ako go back into her contracted space to sleep. Although Ako was reluctant, she knew this time was Kana's training time. So even during sleeping periods, Kana had to be on alert. This meant Kana could not actually go to sleep and could only cultivate while keeping her ears open for any kind of dangers that might be approaching her. Luckily cultivating did allow her to feel refreshed, but she was only able to stay up for a few nights before her body would not be able to take any more. Kana found a tree with a thick branch and climbed up and got into a somewhat comfortable position before closing her eyes to cultivate.
When the sun's first light rose over the horizon, Ako appeared next to Kana with a look of worry. She quickly checked Kana over to make sure she was not injured at all before letting out a sigh of relief. "Master, it is morning."
"Mmmm… Ako, I know this is not what you had expected, but I really need to do everything alone. I want to experience everything first hand as I walk this path. I am in a rush to get stronger, but at the same time, I can not go too fast and ruin my foundation. I must take everything one step at a time. You know, I saw my daughter when I took the trials in Phoenix Star Temple. She told me she would wait for me with everyone else. So I can't make them wait too long. While I say this, I know the path of cultivation is long. It will take me many, tens of years, even hundreds of years. But I have no choice. This world restricts my powers to the point that I am unable to use my true strength and must rely on the strength I gain in this world to breakthrough. I am only telling you this so you can understand that I am not trying to be mean by making you stand to the side and do nothing. I must grow stronger." Kana stood up and patted Ako's head. "So just bear with it for now, okay?"
"Mmm… But Master, at night, you can at least let me be the lookout for a few hours so you can get some actual sleep. It should not hinder your path." Ako was worried that if Kana was always sleeping outside that she would not last long. "You also have to remember that as I am your contracted beast, I am a part of your power as well."
Kana stared at Ako, whose eyes were full of worry, and sighed. "Alright." She gave in. Ako's eyes were pure and full of concern for her. She could not deny her this request.
Ako smiled happily, knowing she could at least do this much. Kana stretched and jumped down from the tree. She made sure everything was cleaned up from the night before turning around to leave. However, she stopped when she heard a voice call out from behind her.
"Hey! Girl!" Kana turned to see the human faced fish floating on top of the water staring at her.
"Can I help you?" Kana asked. She wondered what she did this time.
"Take this. It was just sitting at the bottom of the river. We of the fish clan have no use for it." The fish suddenly spat out a sword, sending it flying at Kana. It arced through the air and stabbed into the ground a meter away from her. Kana looked at the sword that seemed pretty ordinary at first glance, but when she touched the hilt, she felt as if something resonated with her soul. "Hmm? Strange…"
It only happened for an instant, and it was gone, so Kana thought maybe she was just sensing things wrong. She held the sword in her hand, then looked up at the human faced fish and smiled. "Thank you! If at any time you need my help with anything, I will do what I can to help you."
"Then, it's a promise." The human faced fish left these words and dived back into the water.
Neither the human faced fish nor Kana knew that this simple promise made this day would turn out to be something that would make their paths cross once more in the future. Kana looked at the sword in her hand and smiled. She did not know why but the sword felt perfect to her. She gave it a few swings and felt that it was just right. She undid her other sword and tied it to Ako's waist: "You hold on to this for now. If you use it, you use it. If not, we can give it to someone who is in need."
Kana's other sword looked in much better condition than the one she just got, but for some reason, Kana did not wish to give it up, and her other sword was still good and given to her by her new friends, so she did not want to part with it just yet unless someone she met really needed a weapon. Ako did not have any weapons, so for her to have one was a good idea.
"Master, would you mind if I trained in swordsmanship?" Ako asked as she looked at the sword now tied at her hip.
"You can if you want. I do not know how slimes prefer to fight but if you wish to use a weapon then please go ahead. I can even help train you at night before I sleep." Kana answered with a smile as she walked forward holding the hilt of her new sword.
"Really!? Then I will take Master up on that offer!"