X-Rank Hunter

"Jim! wake up already! Don't you want to eat?"

"?"

Just as he was drawn in by thinking about his dream, Jim heard the loud voice of his mother echoing inside his room, he then looked to the window and noticed that the sun was already hung up high above.

"Ugh, it's already this late in the morning?" Jim thought as he replied to his mom, "Yes mom, I'm coming!"

Jim lazily got up from his bed as he stretched his back. He was still thinking about his dream last night. The blue light in his dream and everything the blue light just said that seemed to be unreal was just hard for him to believe. He couldn't believe that there was such kind of power inside of him that he was now able to use.

As for now, the only thing he needed to do was to explore the capability of his power.

"What is it again?" Jim thought in contemplation. "Is it Dominator's Vessel? And a power that rules over life?"

****

In the dining room...

"Mom, your cooking skills really are so bad!" Jim spoke to his mom with his mouth full. He was saying rude remarks to his mother but his expressions were saying the opposite.

"Damn kid! If you don't want to eat just go back to your room."

"Hehe I'm just kidding, you know mom's dishes are my favorite!"

"Heh! Better that way!"

He and his mother were so close to each other that they could have a friendly talk. Even so, he didn't take it as an advantage to disrespect her dignity.

"By the way, your younger brother will come home tomorrow!"

"Oh? Is that so..?"

Jim got serious for a bit after hearing the comeback of his younger brother. He knew that his brother became much stronger again while he remained as a weakling in the eyes of everyone.

The Academy put much attention towards his younger brother in raising him as a Hunter. He received special and strict training completely different from the other students. As a result, he rarely comes home.

He was just 7 years old this year but his eagerness to become stronger was beyond his age.

Because of the cold personality that he inherited from their mother when she was still the so-called 'Sweet Death', they were not pretty close with each other. Still, they were not in a bad relationship as well.

Now that he heard that his younger brother would come back home, he would be able to see him again after the few months he was gone.

"I wonder how strong he is right now..."

His younger brother studied in the Academy one year earlier than him since he already awakened his power when he was still 5 years old. Jim was already 8 years old at that time, and all he knew was his power was still yet to awaken.

Only one year later after his brother was admitted to the Academy, Jim's awakened power became noticeable to anyone and enabled him to gather the World Energy that an F-rank was capable of. He was then admitted as well to the same Academy with his younger brother. He was studying there for one year already but he still wasn't able to become an official Hunter.

It was still acceptable if a newly awakened Hunter couldn't become an E-rank for a year or two, but Jim was admitted to the number one school and it was a huge shame for him.

But his younger brother was different, just after two years of training, his brother already became a D-rank, so compared to him who remained as an F-rank after one year of training, he was more than nothing compared to his younger brother.

But that was before. Now that Jim had enough power to be envied by everyone,

"I wonder how strong I am right now?" Jim thought as a slight grin surfaced on his lips.

"Mom! I'm done eating, I will go back now to my room and rest."

"Ok son! rest well!"

Of course, he was not just going to rest. He was in a hurry to go back to his room to learn more about his ability. He just recalled what the blue light had said, that he could create a tamed beast of his own since most of the beasts would rather avoid him. He recalled as well the egg given by the blue light but he didn't know where it went or was the egg just a dream? Either way, he would find it out soon.

Just after he entered his room, he immediately closed the door and locked it, afraid that his mother would suddenly barge in. Then he rushed onto his bed, sitting down on it, cross-legged.

"Just how the hell my blood and soul will work?" Jim was staring at his palm trying to figure out how he would create a life-form or whatever it was.

As he was thinking of it, a drop of blood came out from the middle of his palm and it actually floated above his palm, forming a small bead of blood. His eyes widened seeing what just happened. He thought for it to float a little higher and it really did.

"Is this blood under my control?" Jim felt that whatever he thought for the blood to do, it would obey him somehow.

"If so, then what can I possibly form in this small bead of blood..." Jim pondered as he held his chin.

He felt that by thinking for his blood to form into something, it would obey him and form into whatever creature he thought. But since the blood was just too small, what kind of beast could it possibly be formed into?

In the end, he decided to form it as a little bird to determine if it would work.

He then thought for it to form into a sparrow and just like that, the blood floating in the midair started to change its form.

"What's happening?" Jim found his eyes widening yet again in astonishment.

The small bubble of blood with about an inch diameter was gradually changing its form till it became a little red sparrow. Except for its blood-red color, it was what Jim really thought for it, it was no different than a normal sparrow.

"Wow!" Jim's eyes revealed a spark as he couldn't help but fall in love with his own ability.

Then the sparrow flew, encircling him as his gaze was following it. Then it came closer in front of him as he raised his hand towards the sparrow, thinking for it to perch on his index finger. Just like what he thought, the sparrow perched on his index finger and stared at him, ready for the order at any moment.

"What can this little bird even do?"

His instinct was telling him that whatever the bird could see or experience, it would be transmitted to him if the bird returned to his body or if he put his consciousness to his bird.

He then got up from his bed and went beside the window and opened it up. His room was on the second floor and he could see many things up there.

The sky was clear with a few clouds hanging on it. The fresh wind grazed onto his body as he could hear the songs of the birds. He closed his eyes trying to hear everything in his range and it made his heart feel relieved.

Life really is good!

He then opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on the nearby woods, a few hundred meters away from their house. As he felt that the sparrow he created could transmit into him whatever it perceived or experienced, he then commanded it to go inside the woods he was seeing.

Just like that, the sparrow flew to the woods as he kept his watch on it. It was not fast but not slow either, it was just like the speed of a normal sparrow.

The sparrow entered inside the woods as he was not able to see it with his eyes anymore. But his connection through it still remained. He then closed his eyes trying to put his consciousness to his bird and it really did.

Jim could see whatever the bird was seeing. He willed for it to go a little further inside the woods to check how much distance his bird could go through with his connection remain intact. To his relief, it seemed that there was no limit regarding this.

He then opened his eyes as his face was flashing with an ear to ear grin, intending to create a lot more little birds under his command and send them out to the forest up to the very top of every mountain around or to the furthest it could go to gather information and to keep watch to the movements of the beasts lurking in the forest!