I brought out my resentment weapon quickly. The only way I would get out of this predicament would be to kill this gigantic serpent!

Capturing was out of the question. I was not strong enough to capture this massive animal. I was fighting with my life on the line!

My resentment weapon was not empowered with any resentment yet.

~~~

It was like your grandpa before he took out that little blue pill. It couldn't get it up. It was merely a simple dagger, forged with quality Tier-1 materials.

~~~

I hope my weapons strong enough to pierce this snakes hide!

"Ahh!" I said.

I stabbed at the belly of the snake repeatedly, opening hole after hole. I could not allow the anaconda wrap around me and constrict me. That would be my end!

The anaconda finally dislodged its teeth from me after being stabbed a few times and noticing it no longer had the upper hand. Yeah, you thought this young noble was an easy meal. Fat chance snake, you were the predator but now you are the prey!

The snake was now in flight mode; it wanted to escape. I would never allow that to happen.

As soon as I noticed the jaws dislodged I quickly placed my hand around the back of the anaconda's head. I now had proper control of the situation. My victory was in sight.

The fight continued for about a minute with the anaconda demon beast flailing around wildly attempting to escape. The anaconda managed to muscle me to the bottom of the mudhole with its strength.

I fought valiantly underwater with the anaconda. Strike after strike landed true. The water was dyed red with the anaconda's blood. It soon would succumb to its injuries. As the snake was on its death throes, I landed a killing blow on the top of its head.

The gash was large, mixed with blood and brain matter. I removed my blood-stained dagger and then took out my soul orb.

I needed to absorb the departing demon beast soul. It was filled with resentment from the snake's death. A faint trace of red could be seen around the demon beast soul as I stored it into my soul orb.

Perfect, this is the type of soul I need to practice the [Lumiid Serpesco Art]! This young noble will soon have a soul servant!

Climbing out of the mudhole with the pin-cushioned anaconda corpse in tow, I looked over my wounds. An Esquire anaconda would not have evolved venom, so the wounds were only skin deep.

I took out Tier-1 salve to cover the bite marks. The salve would help the wounds heal and ensure there was no scarring. This young noble could not be some battle scared cretin.

I had lassoed the capybara to a tree, it could not escape while I battled the anaconda. I wasn't concerned with it. This young noble was a master wrangler. How could it ever escape my masterful knot?

I needed to skin and process this large anaconda corpse before heading back. The corpse was much too large for me to fit in my storage bag. I spent the next few hours skinning the snake.

I flipped the snake over and cut all the way down its belly. Then I pulled the skin off and took the guts out. I also cut off the head and removed the fangs. I had to be sure it had not developed venom. Though mutations were uncommon, they still occurred sometimes. This young noble was an expert on wildlife safety.

The fangs and skin were the most important parts of an Esquire anaconda corpse. After I stored the skin and fangs, I made a barbecue with the snake meat.

This was a rare delicacy. I am the grill master, I will properly enjoy my treat. I didn't have any spices with me, but I would work with what I had. This was a victory meal I would savor.

I may be a spoiled young noble, but barbecuing is one of my favorite past times. I used my Soulfire qi to cook the snake meat. My temperature control was perfect. I cooked the meat medium-well.

Soon I had several nicely seared barbecued pieces of snake meat skewered in front of me. I left them and went to take a piss, planning to come back to an amazing feast. This young noble could not piss where he ate. That would be savage.

~~~

Looks like he barbecued. He made plenty for me too!

A large cat, with six legs and a long thick tail, suddenly appeared beside the barbecued snake meat. He quickly started devouring the snake meat with no regard for James. The fat cat was just enjoying his second piece when he heard a noise interrupt him.

~~~

"Theft! Stop right there!" I said.

There was a fat cat eating my victory meal. How could I let such a thing stand?

I was loud hoping to scare the large fat cat away. I was not interested in fighting another demon beast, and I had no idea what kind of demon beast this six-legged cat was.

The cat ignored me and continued to munch on my snake meat, paying me no mind.

Who dares stop the great Jurrath from taking what he wants to take? Thought the fat cat.

"You!" I said.

I was livid. My precious victory meal was being stolen by a fat cat. These are my spoils of victory, how dare you eat them.

I cooked plenty though, and it was more than I could eat alone. I conceded to my defeat to the greedy cat.

I was too tired to fight now, so I let it slide. I grabbed a piece of barbecue and stared at the cat as we both silently ate our meals.

The meat was tender and juicy. It was excellent, a true delicacy. I savored the taste of victor.

~~~

While the cat and devil were stuffing their faces. The capybara was passed out on the side.

Demon beasts could usually gauge the strength of other demon beasts from their demonic auras. Even though the fat cat had apparently concealed his it wasn't enough to stop the poor little capybara from being scared witless.

~~~

"Meow. You will be my personal chef from now on," said the cat.

He shrunk himself and took a nap on my shoulder, as if I was his property.

It appalled me. Since when was I some demon beasts servant?

The cat talking also shocked me. A demon beast that could speak had to at least be a Viscount.

How was a Viscount demon beast just walking around this area? Who is derelict in their duties? And who's he to denote this young noble to chef? This young noble does the denoting of duties!

I tossed the sleeping cat on the ground and tried to leave with the passed out capybara. However, as soon as I looked around, I would notice the cat back on my shoulder.

I tried multiple times to sneak away to no avail. I guess I can't get rid of this freeloader for now.

I ignored the cat since I couldn't get rid of it. I made it back to the Hazel Canopy Knight camp and turned in the capybara. Now I was free until my next assignment. They recorded many merits for my valiant efforts.

I headed to my hut and read over the [Lummid Serpesco Art] it detailed how to turn the serpent demon beast soul into a soul servant. I would first have to temper the soul with my Soulflame qi removing all the resentment on it. Then it would be docile enough to forge into a soul servant.

I would then bind the demon beast soul to the snake fangs with my Soul qi. That would make it my bound demon beast soul.

This process would require me to carve Soul and Fire formations on the snake fangs. Once the snake fangs were properly tempered it would allow a fire serpent soul to be born. This fire serpent soul had abilities tied to my devilry level.

When summoned, it would use the snake soul as a catalyst fueled by my Soulflame qi to battle. The natural instincts of the anaconda demon beast soul would allow it to fight independently of me, I only needed to provide it Soulflame qi.

Currently, I could have one of these soul servants summoned at a time. I would have to improve my Soul Dao and temper another soul to summon another one.

I spent a week tempering the anaconda soul with my Soulflame qi to burn away all the resentment. I captured it in my dagger, making it a proper resentment weapon.

The dagger now had a serpent mark on the blade, when I attacked with it enemies would feel the fury of the resentment bound to the blade.

I named the complete blade Lokkar. I would continually temper this resentment weapon along my journey in the Soul Dao.

While I was busy working hard, the cat had taken up a comfortable spot in my room. I created a nice bed for the cat to get him off my shoulder.

Since the bed was comfortable, he would not follow me unless I left the hut. The cat was sound asleep, but somehow it did not want to separate from me.

It probably was dreaming about its next meal. Damned fat cat!

A day after I finished creating my fire serpent soul, the cat woke up and disappeared. I thought my troubles were over with the cat leaving suddenly. Sadly, when dinner time came around the cat was back!

"Meow. Here chef, cook me another meal," said the cat.

He presented me with fresh meat.

"Sir cat, this young noble is not a chef," I said indignantly.

I refused to be a chef. How was a young noble going to be some demon beast's servant?

"Meow. I said you're a chef so you're a chef. If I said you were a dog, you'd be a dog," said the cat.

"But…" I said.

Before I could even finish my sentence, it transformed me into a dog. I looked around and was frightened. I started whimpering.

"Meow. So do you want to be a dog or a chef?" said the cat.

"Bark bark bark," I said.

'This young noble is not a dog!'

"Meow. Good, now cook me a delightful meal," said the cat.

It turned me back into my proper, devilishly handsome form. I felt my face as a smile crept along it. This beautiful young noble is back!

What kind of technique was this? With a simple slip of the tongue, the cat had turned me into a dog. I could not provoke this cat!

Chef duty wasn't so bad, I began cooking an enjoyable meal with my Soulflame qi. That was the only thing the cat wanted. If I didn't cook the meat with my Soulflame qi he wouldn't eat it.

"Since I am your chef now you should be giving me some compensation, right?" I said.

"Meow, your compensation is not being a dog," said the cat. He was arrogant and unruly.

"This is unfair, you are bullying me and I don't even know your name. How does a wise, strong, and powerful demon beast bully the younger generation?" I said.

"Meow, this cat Jurrath has elevated you to be a prestigious chef. You were only a dog before. How am I bullying you?" said the cat.

I had met my match. This cat was unreasonable. At least I knew who I was dealing with now.

I will tell my mother that this demon beast Jurrath is bullying me. Humph, she should be able to handle this stupid demon beast.

"Meow. Your mother would be glad you are this cat's chef!" said the cat.

My back drenched with cold sweat. I had never met someone who could read my mind. What devilry was this? This demon beast was dangerous. I would plot while it slept!

This lazy cat loved to nap around. Soon I will escape its paws. This young noble will not be some demon beast's pet.