One week at Greenriver Beast Academy taught Kael something important.
Becoming a Beast Master involved an unreasonable amount of running.
“Why?” Finn’s voice came from somewhere behind him.
Kael didn’t turn.
He was too busy breathing.
“Why what?” “Why are we running?” “Because Instructor Hale told us to.” “That’s not a reason.
That’s oppression with extra steps.” Kael heard heavy footsteps getting closer.
Finn finally appeared beside him, red-faced and sweating.
Thunder trotted comfortably alongside his Beast Master.
The White Lightning Tiger looked almost insultingly energetic.
Finn pointed at him.
“Look at that.” Kael glanced over.
“What?” “Four legs.” “Yes.” “We have two.” “I’ve noticed.” “Fundamentally unfair.” Thunder gave a short growl.
Finn looked down.
“Don’t judge me.” Ahead, Nyx suddenly appeared from the trees bordering the running path.
Several nearby students flinched.
Kael didn’t.
He had felt Nyx approaching through their Soul Pact.
Nyx had grown again during the past week, though nowhere near as dramatically as before.
The black predator now stood slightly larger than an ordinary wolf, with a long tail that nearly doubled its overall length.
Its gray-black Stoneback ridges had spread farther across its spine.
Kael had learned several things about Nyx.
It loved hunting.
It tolerated training.
It disliked strangers.
And it absolutely hated morning runs where Kael refused to let it disappear into the forest.
Finn looked at Nyx.
“I’ve decided Beast Masters should ride their beasts everywhere.” Kael glanced at Thunder.
Then Finn.
Thunder was still far too small.
Finn followed his gaze.
He looked down at himself.
Then at Thunder.
“…Thunder.” The tiger looked up.
“We need you to grow faster.” Thunder walked away.
Kael laughed.
Finn pointed after him.
“You’ll regret that when I’m famous!” Their morning became worse from there.
Spear drills.
Footwork.
Strength training.
Dodging exercises.
By the time Beast Biology began, Finn collapsed into his chair.
“I finally understand why rich Beast Masters have flying beasts.” Kael sat beside him.
“For combat?” “No.” Finn placed his head on the desk.
“They hate walking.” Instructor Mira Vale entered.
Finn immediately sat upright.
Mira was one of Greenriver Academy’s evolution specialists, a thin woman in her early thirties whose calm appearance hid an unfortunate habit of asking questions when students least expected them.
She placed several beast skulls on the desk.
“Beasts change.” Nobody spoke.
“That sounds obvious.” She lifted one skull.
“But most Beast Masters forget it.” Her gaze moved across the class.
“Environment changes beasts.
Diet changes beasts.
Combat changes beasts.
Evolution materials, bloodlines, mutations and even relationships with Beast Masters can influence development.” Kael looked toward Nyx.
Nyx lay beneath the window.
Mira noticed.
“Never assume you understand your beast simply because someone wrote a book about its species.” Finn leaned toward Kael.
“You don’t even have a book.” Kael smiled.
“Exactly.” Mira continued.
“Which brings us to contracts.” Several students became more attentive.
“How many stable contracts?” “Ten,” the class answered.
“Correct.” Ten circles appeared on the board.
“Every one matters.” She pointed toward the first.
“Your first contract shapes your early career.” Then the others.
“Your later contracts shape your team.” Words appeared beneath the circles.
Vanguard.
Tank.
Assassin.
Scout.
Aerial.
Support.
Control.
Healing.
Ranged.
Mobility.
“A good Beast Master doesn’t simply collect strong beasts.” Mira turned.
“They build a team.” Kael looked toward Nyx.
Assassin.
Scout.
Possibly limited vanguard because of the Stoneback armor and regeneration.
Then his thoughts moved somewhere else.
The Infinite World Tree.
Countless leaves.
Ten contracts mattered because normal Beast Masters had to choose.
Kael potentially didn’t.
Someday he could have specialists for every situation.
Perhaps dozens.
Hundreds.
The thought should have excited him.
Instead, Rowan’s voice appeared in his memory.
A powerful beast won’t save a useless Beast Master forever.
Kael looked at his hands.
More beasts wouldn’t matter if he couldn’t coordinate them.
The classroom door opened.
Instructor Hale entered.
“Vale.” Mira sighed.
“You’re interrupting.” “Yes.” He faced the students.
“Today’s afternoon lessons are cancelled.” Cheers erupted.
Finn raised both hands.
“I always liked him.” “Because you’re going hunting.” Silence.
Finn lowered his hands.
“I withdraw my support.” Two hours later, the first-year students stood outside Greenriver Academy’s controlled wilderness zone.
Instructor Hale explained the rules.
Teams of four.
Three marked monster cores before sunset.
Students could fight monsters.
Avoid them.
Even compete for marked targets.
Deliberately harming another student meant immediate failure.
Teams were assigned randomly.
Kael read his group.
Kael Ashborne.
Finn.
Damian Cross.
Mira Fen.
Finn looked at Damian.
Then Kael.
“This is going to become competitive, isn’t it?” “No,” Kael said.
“No,” Damian said simultaneously.
Finn nodded.
“Definitely competitive.” Their fourth member, Mira Fen, sighed.
She was a quiet girl with short brown hair whose contracted beast was a Vinehorn Deer.
The creature’s antlers were covered in tiny green vines.
“Can we just pass?” “That’s my plan,” Kael said.
Damian nodded.
Finn looked disappointed.
Across the gathering area, Kael spotted Lucian Veyr.
The Bloodsteel Mantis stood behind him.
Lucian noticed Kael looking.
He smiled politely.
Kael looked away.
Something about Lucian continued bothering him.
The gates opened.
The hunt began.
Mira Fen immediately proved useful.
Her Vinehorn Deer lowered its head.
Green light moved through its antlers.
Several vines touched the soil.
“Something large passed east about twenty minutes ago.” Damian looked upward.
His Thunder Griffon launched into the sky.
“I’ll check ahead.” Finn pointed at Thunder.
“Scout.” Thunder ran toward the trees.
Kael looked beside him.
Nyx was gone.
Damian paused.
“Where is your beast?” “Scouting.” Finn nodded seriously.
“Probably.” “Finn.” “I’m helping.” Kael closed his eyes briefly.
Nyx was ahead.
Far ahead.
Moving through the trees.
Then an impression reached him.
Prey.
Kael stopped.
Another impression.
Large.
Alone.
Armor.
“Nyx found something.” They followed.
Several minutes later, they spotted a Shellback Boar feeding beneath an enormous tree.
A small blue mark glowed on one tusk.
“Marked target,” Mira whispered.
Damian studied it.
“Heavy frontal armor.” Kael nodded.
“Rear joints are exposed.” Damian pointed.
“Griffon forces it left.
Thunder pressures right.
Vinehorn binds its legs.” He paused.
“And Nyx…” Everyone looked around.
Nyx had disappeared again.
Damian sighed.
“Does whatever Nyx does.” Kael smiled.
“Works for me.” The battle began.
The Thunder Griffon dived.
Lightning struck the ground beside the boar.
The monster roared and turned.
Thunder attacked from the opposite direction.
The Vinehorn Deer slammed its hooves down.
Roots wrapped around the boar’s rear legs.
It tore through them.
But that hesitation was enough.
Now.
Nyx dropped from a branch.
Its tail struck the rear joint.
The boar stumbled.
Kael ran.
He didn’t remain behind.
His short spear drove into the opening between two armor plates.
Damian attacked from the other side.
The boar collapsed.
Silence.
Finn raised his arms.
“One!” Thunder roared proudly.
Nyx immediately began sniffing the dead boar.
“No eating.” Disappointment struck Kael through the bond.
“Later.” The second hour went smoothly.
Perhaps too smoothly.
Kael and Damian began competing without admitting it.
Damian spotted a monster trail.
Kael identified an ambush location.
Damian landed a clean strike.
Kael landed a cleaner one.
Finn watched both of them.
Eventually Mira Fen stopped walking.
“Are you two going to measure your spears next?” Silence.
Finn collapsed against a tree laughing.
Kael looked away.
Damian suddenly became extremely interested in the sky.
The good mood lasted until the Barkfang Hyenas appeared.
Five of them.
The first attacked Thunder.
Finn blocked personally.
“Left!” Thunder moved.
Lightning flashed.
Damian’s Griffon dived toward another hyena.
Nyx moved simultaneously.
Kael felt the problem before he saw it.
Competition.
Nyx’s tail whipped toward the Griffon.
“STOP!” Nyx froze.
The tail stopped centimeters from the Griffon’s wing.
The Griffon shrieked.
Electricity erupted across its feathers.
Damian pulled it upward.
Kael immediately stepped between them.
“Nyx.” The predator hissed.
Damian landed.
His expression was controlled.
“That could have been bad.” “I know.” Kael didn’t make excuses.
“My mistake.” Damian looked at him.
“Then fix it.” Kael nodded.
He crouched beside Nyx.
This was different.
Nyx understood Kael.
It understood Finn.
Thunder.
Family.
But Damian’s Griffon?
Another predator.
Competition.
Kael touched his chest.
Pack.
Finn.
Pack.
Thunder.
Pack.
Then Damian.
Nyx stared.
Temporary pack.
A wave of absolute disgust crossed their bond.
Kael closed his eyes.
Finn noticed.
“What did it say?” “Nothing.” “Kael.” “It doesn’t like the idea.” Finn laughed.
Damian folded his arms.
“Your beast has an attitude.” “You noticed?” Eventually Nyx accepted.
Reluctantly.
They continued.
Near afternoon, the Vinehorn Deer discovered another trail.
This one led to an Ironhide Elk.
Unfortunately…
Another team had already found it.
Lucian stood across the clearing.
His Bloodsteel Mantis waited beside him.
Three students accompanied him.
Lucian smiled.
“Interesting.” Finn groaned.
“Of course.” Lucian looked toward the marked crystal attached to the Elk’s antler.
“One target.” Damian nodded.
“Whichever team kills it?” “Claims the core.” Fair.
The Ironhide Elk noticed them.
Then everything went wrong.
The monster charged.
Lucian immediately began issuing orders.
“Forward.” One teammate’s Flame Hound attacked.
“Right.” Another student moved.
“Hold it there.” The Bloodsteel Mantis waited.
Kael realized what Lucian was doing.
He was positioning everyone.
Not cooperating.
Using them.
The Elk suddenly changed direction.
One of Lucian’s teammates was caught.
The antlers struck his shield.
He flew backward.
His beast screamed.
The student hit the ground.
The Elk turned.
Charged.
Lucian had a perfect opening.
Its flank was exposed.
“Strike.” The Bloodsteel Mantis moved.
Kael stared.
Lucian wasn’t protecting his teammate.
He was taking the kill.
“Nyx!” Kael didn’t send prey.
Didn’t send hunt.
One intention crossed their bond.
Protect.
Nyx launched.
The Ironhide Elk slammed into it.
CRACK.
Kael felt the pain.
“NYX!” Nyx flew across the clearing.
It hit a tree.
Gray-black armor along its shoulder cracked.
Kael’s vision narrowed.
But Nyx stood.
The injured student was alive.
Regeneration already crawled across the damaged armor.
Kael tightened his grip on the spear.
“Finn!” “Already moving!” Thunder attacked.
Lightning struck the Elk’s legs.
Mira’s Vinehorn Deer summoned roots.
Damian’s Griffon descended.
Kael charged personally.
The Elk broke one vine.
Then another.
Nyx moved.
Damian’s Griffon approached the same side.
For half a second, Kael felt hesitation.
Then something changed.
Nyx lowered itself.
The Griffon attacked high.
Nyx went low.
Tail around the hind leg.
Lightning from above.
Kael’s spear struck the exposed joint.
Finn attacked from the opposite side.
The Elk collapsed.
The Bloodsteel Mantis’s blade came down.
The monster died.
Lucian walked forward.
He removed the marked core.
Finn stared.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Lucian examined it.
“My beast landed the killing strike.” “We saved your teammate!” “And I’m grateful.” Finn looked ready to explode.
Kael didn’t answer.
He walked toward the fallen student.
“You alright?” The boy nodded weakly.
Mira Fen began treating him.
Lucian watched Kael.
Something unreadable appeared in his eyes.
Then he walked away.
At sunset, Kael’s team returned with two cores.
Finn looked devastated.
“We failed.” Instructor Hale counted them.
“Two.” Finn sighed.
Then Hale looked toward the observation tower.
“Assessment complete.” Students exchanged confused looks.
“The cores were worth half.” Finn’s head rose.
Hale continued.
“Teamwork.
Judgment.
Beast control.
Risk management.
Personal participation.” His gaze moved toward Lucian’s team.
“And whether you understand that your teammates aren’t disposable.” Lucian’s expression didn’t change.
Almost.
Kael noticed the slight tightening of his jaw.
Hale looked toward the injured student.
“A monster core can be replaced.” Then toward everyone.
“A teammate cannot.” Results appeared.
Kael’s team ranked second overall.
Lucian’s team ranked fifth despite collecting four cores.
Finn stared.
Then raised both fists.
“WE’RE GENIUSES!” Mira Fen sighed.
“We almost failed.” “Details.” Kael crouched beside Nyx.
The cracked armor had nearly healed.
He touched its head.
Pack protects pack.
Nyx leaned into his hand.
Later, outside the academy gate, Damian’s Thunder Griffon approached.
Nyx watched.
No hiss.
The Griffon lowered its head.
Nyx’s tail touched one wing.
The Griffon tapped Nyx’s shoulder with its beak.
Finn gasped.
“Friendship.” “Don’t ruin it.” Finn’s expression became dangerously excited.
Kael walked away before he could speak.
That night, Kael entered the Infinite World Tree.
The second leaf had changed.
It was larger.
More open.
Rain poured across the prehistoric jungle within.
Kael approached.
Something moved between the trees.
Large.
White.
A claw pressed into wet earth.
Four fingers.
Long black claws.
Kael’s expression changed.
The creature disappeared.
Then two golden eyes opened within the vegetation.
Watching.
Thinking.
Nyx appeared beside him.
A growl came from the jungle.
Nyx hissed.
But Kael felt neither fear nor aggression.
Something stranger.
Recognition.
Predator.
Predator.
Then Kael saw it.
Beneath the second leaf.
Something translucent floated between the branches.
Small.
Oval.
Incomplete.
Kael stepped closer.
His heartbeat quickened.
An egg.
Not fully formed.
Not ready.
But real.
The second cinematic beast was coming.
Kael looked toward Nyx.
Nyx stared at the translucent egg.
Then toward the jungle.
Kael smiled.
“Looks like our pack might be getting bigger.” Nyx’s tail moved.
Deep inside the prehistoric world…
Something enormous growled.
And the unfinished egg pulsed once.