Kline's skill tree was almost insulting.
Kline Hill
Race: Felis catus
Level 25 (+24 - Capped Until Evolution)
Evolution: 0 (Pending)
Class: Phantom Cat
Spells:
Active Camouflage (Second Tier): Blend into your surroundings.
Phantom Claws (Second Tier): Create blades out of raw mana. Can extend claws or release them as an aerial attack.
Sharp Bite (First Tier): Use raw mana to sharpen teeth and jaws for bite attacks.
Mana manifestation (First Tier): Use raw mana to create physical shapes.
Warp Step (Fifth Tier): Teleport between shadows.
Pounce (First Tier): Increase agility when striking.
Wraithwalk (First Tier): Increased stealth of walking.
Wraithaura (Third Tier): Mute the sound of individuals nearby.
Summary: Kline Hill's willingness to challenge enemies that are multiple tiers beyond him to protect you has been acknowledged and rewarded by the gods. Armed with skills only possessed by Third Evolution beasts, Kline can now warp space to teleport between close areas and mute your steps to share his stealth with you. May his good decisions continue to bring you undeserved protection.
Note: Kline's advanced spells have been rewarded by the gods, not the Oracle. In exchange, his evolutionary requirements have increased significantly, and his skills will not improve without continually challenging stronger enemies.
I frowned after hearing the jab but lost my thunder when I felt Kline nudging my legs with his hand, demanding full appreciation.
"Come here," I said. I picked him up and petted him, walking back to the shelter. I still had rewards to go through, and I didn't want to be near this thing during revenge hour. That beast would soon be rolling on ecstasy if the description was correct, but its howl could bring friends. I didn't like beast friends.
Except my own, of course.
2.
The irony of the trial was that Aiden was staring at plants while Mira encountered big animals. It was as though their roles had switched, but he didn't mind it. He was amazed by all the plants and creatures within the Areswood Forest. It was dense and full of life, reminding him of the Hoh Rainforest in Washington. He loved how it smelled fresh, and he could see small birds chirping around, hopping from branch to branch, looking at him. Most of all, he loved that it was new. He loved the strange bugs that sounded like raindrops and the blue vines that linked trees like unlit Christmas lights.
During the trip into the forest, he identified everything he saw. The plants only showed him a name, species, and description because his Identify skill was only "basic." His animal Identify skill was a different story. It was "advanced" and showed him information on the species, its basic habits, warnings, weaknesses, and a section that was specialized for beast taming.
He was in nature—where he belonged.
It was far better than a place with humans—a place where he earned animosity and jealousy for helping an animal. The more he thought about it, the more it bothered him.
Aiden just wanted to work with animals. He liked the idea of speaking to them and having magic, but he didn't want people to hurt him for doing his job. It didn't seem real, but Elle's words rang out in his head.
Your burly animal-bribing brethren are known for betraying better beast tamers. So watch out~
It made him question if he should've just walked away and let it happen, but… that felt wrong. He just wished that he was the size of Dwayne Johnson so he could say, What? You gotta problem with me helping animals, punk? Huh, punk? You gotta problem? God, his rendition of what big people sounded like was cringe-worthy and only proved that he had no clue how to be an alpha.
"What do you think, Elionis?" Aiden asked the liscan, who was lying next to him in the shade, touching his snout. He didn't need to touch or attempt to communicate with the liscan for him to know his general thoughts.
Kill them, Elionis communicated.
Aiden's eyes widened. What?
Are you deaf? I said kill them. If people are amicable, seek an amicable solution. If people try to push you around, push back. And if people try to hurt you—kill them. It is The Path. It is the celebrated way.
Aiden shivered. I don't want to kill people.
The liscan snorted. Obviously. If you did, you wouldn't be worried about something so trivial.
Aiden smiled wryly and sat back against a tree for a while before touching the liscan again and saying. If I were to… protect myself… how could someone like me do that?
You're a beast tamer. What do you think?
I… yeah. I figured that. But… in my world, you can't tame alpha predators. Not like that.
You don't have contracts?
Contracts? What are contracts?
They're agreements between tamer and animal. Did you not get a reward for linking with me?
Huh? Aiden furrowed his brows and remembered the chime. Elle, did I get something for "linking" with Elionis? A pop-up materialized.
Neophyte Aiden Roe has completed a Hidden Mission for the Quest, "The Trial of Worth."
Hidden Mission: Soul Link
Hidden Mission Summary: Wow, wow! You must've nearly been able to talk to animals on Earth because you just linked a spirit beast without a spell. In the world of beast taming, that's like doing a double backflip, twisty twist slam dunk on your first try! Know what that means? Level up! You now have magic to make contracts with animals. Far beyond talking, it allows you to make deals with them in exchange for value. Give it a shot—I know you'll love it.
Value: Utilize animals for equal exchange.
Requirement(s):
Link Souls with an animal
Reward(s):
Minor Contract (Beast Taming)
Minor Contract (Beast Taming - Tutorial)
Yeah… I did get one, Aiden said. How does it work?
It's a spell, Elionis said, and unless I'm mistaken, humans learn those through chants. I lack understanding of how it works, as animals speak through their subconscious. That said, once you learn it, you'll find it's no different than what we did. You can offer me food in exchange for a ride to the forest. The only difference is that the magic binds you into a contract, which ensures that you both follow through.
What if one of us doesn't?
You'll get penalized. What it is determined at the start of the contract. At a minimum, you have to give up something or suffer damage to your soul. At most, it will kill you and destroy your soul.
Oh… Nice. That's um… Aiden took a deep breath, trying to process what he just heard. Do you want to make a contract?
I will help you practice, yes.
Okay… uh. Can I take the tutorial?
I have nothing better to do. Besides, this is nice.
Aiden smiled warmly. Elionis was lying under the shade of a tree. It was doubtlessly better than walking around with a clueless human on his back. "Okay," Aiden said. He went into the tutorial tab.
Spells
Tutorials (2)
Beast Taming
Contracts
Minor Contract
Healing
Minor Physical Healing
Aiden thought about choosing the Minor Contract option. A new pop-up opened up.
You are using a tutorial for the first time. Would you like an introduction?
He nodded. Suddenly, a fairy flew out of his chest, making him stumble back. She had a pixie cut with pastel pink highlights and wore a white sundress with a pastel blue sash. She turned to him and said, "Hmmm…" as she tapped her index against her lips. Then she smiled and said, "You're handsome."
Aiden blushed and looked at Elionis, who had thankfully shut his eyes. "What?" he whispered. "W-Who are you?"
"Humph!" she put her hands on her little hips. "Don't you recognize your guardian fairy when you see them? I'm Elle. El-e. Your master and savior—Oracle of all. Surely you're just pretending not to recognize me." Her tiny shoulders suddenly slumped, and her face became sullen.
"W-Wait…" Aiden said, reaching out his hand to her. "I just… I'm just surprised is all. I didn't think I'd be able to see you."
"Really?" Elle clasped her hands and held them against her chest. "Then let's get started!" She flew down and sat on Aiden's extended hand, making him stumble back and hit his head against a tree. When he opened his eyes, he searched for her and found her sitting on his hand still. He couldn't feel her.
"Your face is so priceless right now," Elle giggled. Then she flew off him and picked an orange flower off the ground. He watched it happen, and it left no flower on the stem. "I brought you something…" She held it behind her back, all cute. Then she extended it to him. "Be mine~?" Elle asked.
Aiden was taken aback. He could see the orange fuzzy petals and smell them. They smelled like dandelions but sweeter. "Um… okay?" He grabbed the flower, and his fingers passed through it, touching each other. Yet the stem bent as if he had pressed it as hard as he could.
"You're breaking it, you're breaking it!" Elle grabbed the plant and pulled it out. Then her hands lit up, and the flower healed to its original form. Then, she presented it again with a bright smile. "Softer this time."
Aiden complied, grabbing the stem lightly. He couldn't feel it, but he could move it like a normal flower. A light breeze even rustled the pedals, and the smell was intoxicating. "What happened to the…" he looked back and saw that the flower she ripped off the stem was still there. So there was a fake flower in my hand and one where she picked it. It was an illusion.
"Do not try 'n bend the flower," Elle said, mimicking the voice of the spoon-bending kid from The Matrix. "That's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth."
"There is no flower," Aiden whispered.
"Bingo!" Elle threw up her hands, and the flower exploded in a rain of pixie dust. Then, a parade of flying whales flew overhead, blocking out the sun. "This is all in your imagination… sort off," she giggled. "Just kidding. It's augmented reality." Then she flew down and sat on Aiden's shoulder, kicking her legs. She was about a foot tall, making her face around ear level with him. "But it is pretty cool for allowing me to teach you stuff. Don't you think?"
Aiden's eyes flitted around nervously. "Yes?"
"Aw, you don't seem convinced," she pouted. "But what's done is done. Now that I've nailed the introduction, you wanna learn some contracts?"
His heart fluttered when he realized that everything he saw was actually an introduction—and it was badass. There was so much power. Also, it was kind of fun to meet Elle, who was just as delightfully obnoxious as her text responses made her seem.
"Let's cover the basics," Elle said. "When you open up the spells tab, you will see a bunch of words. Try it out."
While she said to try it out, she did it for him. It started by going into his spells, which were broken down like a group of menus, starting with categories like beast taming, followed by subcategories like contract and healing, which housed his spells. It was like the skill tree, but it was sparse, only showing the Minor Contract and Minor Physical Healing spells he earned.
Spells
Tome (2)
Beast Taming
Contracts
Minor Contract
Healing
Minor Physical Healing
The screen shifted as Elle chose Minor Contract, and it explained a single line of unreadable text:
"Nel midenar di una verel'zarra, mi tra il serithia es Quorin'del."
"So this's what's called a chant. It's not exactly what you humans think it is. You don't just say silly things like, Mighty wind! Be thine trumpet and vanquish my foes. Let your gales bring destruction and wrath to those below!" she reenacted in a mocking king's voice, "before things go woosh and boom!" she giggled. "No, these chants are equal parts mantra and meditation. By chanting the unique tones it helps you to reach the part of your subconscious that uses these spells. Now close your eyes and repeat after me. Nel midenar."
Aiden closed his eyes. "Nel midenar."
"Di una verel'zarra."
"Di una vary ul zara?" Aiden said hesitantly.
Elle giggled. "No, no. Ve-rel 'zar rah."
"Ve rel… zar rah?" Aiden said.
"Yup! Well, kinda. You still need the accent, but you have centuries to master it. Let's try again. Nel midenar."
Aiden cleared his mind. "Nel midenar."
"Di una verel'zarra."
"Di una ve rel zar rah."
This continued for five minutes until he could say it. Then, his words became distant, with the sound of leaves and trees disappearing. He lost touch with his body, leaving him suspended in a state of limbo. There, within him, he could feel a seed of energy in his chest. He instinctively knew that it was made of energy, a webbing that connected the world and its people and animals.
Suddenly, there was another seed of energy in the blackness. He continued chanting the spell, hoping to get closer—but something else happened instead.