I Was The Weakest Beast Tamer

The air at the Therya Spiritual Training Ground was thick with the scent of dry earth, sweat, and burning fur.

This was where a young man's future was decided. Taming a high-tier beast was one step closer to power.

For the dozens of young nobles standing tense in the middle of the arena, this was a battlefield. But to Evren Tristan, it was nothing more than a cheap comedy show.

He lounged in the back-row seat, his legs crossed over the wooden barrier, one hand propping up his chin. His eyes were half-closed with boredom.

In the center of the arena, a young man draped in expensive silk robes was shouting an incantation.

A brightly glowing magic circle spun beneath his feet. Before him, a Golden Bear struggled against the constraint of spiritual chains.

"Submit!" the nobleman shouted, raising his staff high.

To ordinary people, the bear merely let out a rough roar.

But to Evren, its voice sounded entirely human.

[Not interested.]

Evren rubbed the corner of his lips, holding back a smile.

"I said, submit to your destiny!" The nobleman poured more energy into his flow.

The bear snorted, scratching its ear with a claw.

[Id rather die. Not carrying your stuff. You smell like a gutter, human.]

Evren's shoulders began to tremble.

In the neighboring arena, a girl was casting a taming spell on a Shadow Panther. The beast let out a wide yawn, glancing lazily at the seal flickering weakly in the air.

[Its been an hour. Stupid woman. Dont try again. I'll bite your hand off.]

"Pfft—" Evren couldn't hold it back anymore. A small laugh slipped from his lips.

The blonde youth next to him turned with a sharp frown. "What's so funny, Evren? Your cousin is struggling for his future out there."

"Sorry." Evren looked back ahead.

"Next! Evren Tristan!" The instructor's voice echoed across the arena.

The cheers slowly died down, replaced by murmurs. Scornful gazes from the stands followed Evren's every step.

"The second son of Tristan."

"I heard he has zero magical talent."

"His swordsmanship is nonexistent too. His older brother's a genius, but this younger one..."

Evren walked down into the center of the arena with both hands in his pants pockets.

Three beasts had been prepared for him. All of them low-tier: a Baskerville Hound, a Blue Tortoise, and a Fire Bird.

Evren stopped in front of the Baskerville Hound and held out his hand. A faint, thin trace of spiritual energy flowed out, attempting to form a seal.

SNAP.

The seal shattered into shards of light before it even touched the hound's fur.

Muffled laughter rippled from the edge of the arena.

Evren let out a short sigh before shifting to the second target, a Blue Tortoise.

Evren clicked his tongue quietly. "That turtle won't even stick its head out."

He tried again, but the seal flickered once, then went dead.

The audience's laughter grew louder.

Evren stared at his last target perched on a wooden post. The bird tilted its head, looking Evren up and down.

Before Evren could even raise his hand, the bird flapped its wings.

[Look at his face. Like a corpse.]

The bird bolted straight into the air before he could cast a thing.

"Hm. Fair enough," Evren muttered. He had only slept two hours last night.

Outbursts of laughter filled the arena. The instructor covered his face with one hand, shaking his head slowly.

"He even got abandoned before he could cast a seal!" someone shouted.

"You can laugh while we fail, Evren. But look at you. You can't even tame a single beast."

Evren just shrugged and walked away from the arena. Staying any longer would only make his ears ring from the complaints of beasts refusing to submit.

His steps led him toward the outskirts of the Tristan estate, where an old mansion stood. It used to be his mother's private residence.

He walked toward the back porch, intending to lie down on his favorite stone chair shaded by the trees. However, his steps came to a sudden halt.

[Go away. Don't come closer.]

It was a beast's voice. Yet the tone was far clearer than any beast voice Evren had ever heard.

He stepped slowly, peeking from behind the remnants of a collapsed wall.

In the darkest corner, a black-furred fox lay helplessly. A wide, torn wound exposed a cracked beast core, glowing faintly beneath its ribs.

The fox looked up weakly, staring at Evren with its remaining silver eye.

"Oh? You speak so clearly," Evren muttered, voicing his thoughts unconsciously.

The fox's silver eyes widened.

[...You can hear me?]

Evren fell silent. For over a decade, monsters had only chattered in his head without ever knowing he could understand them. This fox was the first beast to react.

Evren took a few steps forward.

[I said don't come closer!]

The fox growled hoarsely. Blood dripped from between its teeth.

[Get out of here. Your presence will only draw their attention. This place is my hiding spot.]

Evren stopped in his tracks, raising an eyebrow. "Your hiding spot? This place is mine. I have more right to chase you out."

[But the owner of this building gave me the right to stay here seven years ago.]

"Hm? The owner?"

[Yes. The woman who was killed.]

Evren's mind raced. Seven years ago, in this mansion, and a murdered woman.

Evren's heart hammered so hard his ears rang. He stared at the fox with a hardened jaw. "The woman you're talking about..." Evren swallowed, his voice hoarse. "...did she have black hair and blue eyes like mine?"

[Oh... you're... that woman's child.]

Evren shook his head quickly. "No, no. My mother did die here. But because of illness, not anything else."

The fox looked Evren up and down, then let out a weak snort.

[Whatever. Listen... Beast Hunters... They want my Beast Core.]

Evren frowned. The core of a high-intelligence monster was bound to be worth a fortune on the black market.

[I can't run anymore.]

The fox coughed, spitting out black blood.

Evren tilted his head. He had no protectors or magical prowess. Fighting a group of beast hunters was basically suicide.

[If they take my core, all the memories I've stored inside it will be destroyed.]

Evren grimaced. "Memories?"

The fox forced its head up.

[I am the last descendant of the Moonshadow Fox.]

"Oookay... and?"

[What the fuck, human. I'm a high tier beast. I can make you strong.]

"Ah... I've never really had any ambition to be strong."

The fox clicked its tongue loudly.

[Dammit. Then save me, and I'll give you your mother's memories before she died.]

Evren let out a long sigh. "I told you, my mother—"

[Your mother died because a sword pierced her body! I am not lying!]

Evren's smile vanished. He stared coldly at the dying fox beneath his feet.

[Her memories are sealed inside my core. If my core falls into their hands, your memories of your mother will be taken too.]

The sound of snapping dry twigs cut through their conversation, signaling that the hunters were close.

"Damn." Evren approached the fox quickly. His gaze turned dark. "How do I hide you? I don't have a spiritual storage ring."

The fox growled weakly, baring its broken fangs.

[Damn it. As if I'd ever lower myself to be a human's pet.]

"I'm not interested in keeping a fox like you either," Evren hissed.

The fox let out a soft snort. The black core on its chest suddenly trembled and floated out.

[Beast Pact]

The fox's voice echoed directly inside Evren's head.

"Beast…what? What's that?"

[I give you a portion of my beast core. You give me your life energy to sustain my body and soul.]

The sound of the hunters' footsteps was now clearly audible from behind the mansion's outer wall. 

Evren reached out with his left hand, gripping the floating black crystal. A stinging cold pierced straight through his palm. Evren forced his spiritual energy flow into the crystal, trying to stabilize the shattered core.

Yet the cracks on the crystal only widened.

[Dammit. Damn it. Damn it. Why did I have to meet a human with spiritual energy this low?]

The fox's voice in Evren's head grew faint.

[Damn you... damn human. I... can't maintain my body.]

The black fox's body convulsed. Before Evren could react, its form dissolved into shards of silver light.

The crystal in Evren's hand vibrated, then melted and seeped straight through his skin. Suddenly, his eyes burned with sharp pain.

"Argh! What the fuck!"

He staggered and grabbed a nearby stone pillar. When he opened his eyes, the world before him had transformed. The empty mansion ruins were suddenly choked with fog. Vague shadows began to form on the ground.

He saw his mother.

Her body was covered in slash wounds and her dress was soaked in blood. She slumped near a pillar, breathing heavily. Standing before her was a man.

His face was distorted and unrecognizable. He held a long sword dripping with blood.

"Have you found it?" his mother's voice trembled.

The faceless man slowly raised his sword.

"Not yet. Your son will help me find it."

The world in front of Evren then swayed, and the mansion ruins tore apart. The scene shifted once more. Now, he could smell the stench of burning flesh and copper.

He saw the surrounding snowscape scorched black. Thousands of monster wings parted the clouds, blotting out the remaining sunlight.

Evren looked down, his eyes widening. Beneath his feet, the Tristan family banner lay torn and stained with blood. Beside it, his father lay stiff with a massive hole in his chest.

A few steps away, his older brother, hailed as a genius, knelt with his body severed at the waist. His broken sword lay beside him.

Evren slowly raised his head, staring toward the horizon. Piercing through the thick smoke and ash falling like rain, seven gigantic monster silhouettes loomed in the distance.

One of the largest monsters slowly turned its head toward Evren.

Its massive jaws opened—

CRACK!

The illusion shattered. Evren jerked violently, his back slamming against the stone pillar. He gasped for air, his chest rising and falling heavily. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, dampening the tips of his black hair.

He blinked. The daytime sky was bright and normal again. He then stared at his left hand, which was trembling. A crescent-shaped scar had been clearly branded onto his skin.

Evren then raised his face toward the sky. Lingering horror still gripped his throat.

"What... did I just see?"