I Was The Weakest Beast Tamer

2. The Idiot Brother

From behind the book covering his face, Evren peeked through a narrow gap. There were five burly men. Rough striped tattoos adorned their necks—the identifying mark of a mercenary Beast Hunter syndicate.

One of them, a man with a large birthmark on his left cheek, held a heavy iron chain attached to the neck of a monster hound the size of a calf, its tail bristling with spikes.

"Boss! There's nothing here!"

The scarred man spat on the ground.

"Look again, idiots!"

The monster hound suddenly stopped. Its nose twitched toward the stone bench where Evren lay.

The scarred man grinned, yanking the hound's chain as he approached the stone bench.

The toe of his boot kicked Evren's leg roughly.

"Oi. Wake up, little rat."

Evren let the book slip slowly from his face. He opened one eye, staring flatly at the rough man.

"If you lot are a bunch of beggars looking for food," Evren's voice sounded hoarse and lazy, "the kitchen of the main Tristan mansion is just over the next hill. This is private property."

"What did you say?!"

"Oh. And you just broke my gate."

The scarred man frowned. His hand automatically went to the hilt of the sword at his waist. "Arrogant brat! Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?"

Evren let out a wide yawn while scratching the back of his head, then sat up with slow, deliberate movements.

"All I know is that I'm dealing with a bunch of stinking guys whose pets are just as ugly as their masters."

Two other hunters stepped closer, drawing their daggers.

"Should I cut his tongue out, Boss?" one of them asked.

"This is a remote area. Nobody will ever know."

The scarred man raised a hand, stopping his subordinates. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the Tristan family crest pinned to the chest of Evren's jacket.

"Don't look for unnecessary trouble. Our target is just the fox," the man muttered.

He looked back down at Evren with a dismissive smirk. "Sleep tight, Young Master Tristan. We're just going to check the rest of these ruins. Pluto!"

The man yanked the chain. The hound stepped forward and began sniffing near Evren's feet.

[This smell...]

The hound growled, its voice echoing sharply inside Evren's head.

[The smell of the fox's blood! Its blood... no, the Core! The Core is inside this human!]

The hound opened its jaws wide, preparing to howl and alert its master.

Evren stared right back at the hound. He used his Beast Tongue ability, which had grown stronger after absorbing Nox's Core. Now, he could beam his voice directly into the hound's skull.

'Bark even once, and I swear I'll have my family's chef chop off your dick, skin you alive, and serve you as tonight's broth.'

The giant hound froze instantly.

Its spiked tail instantly dropped and its ears flattened against its head. The hound let out a soft whine, backing up until it crashed into its own master's legs. Then, it yanked hard on the chain, pulling toward the exit.

[Nothing here! Boss! Boss! Empty! Clean!]

The scarred man stumbled forward from the sudden pull. "Hey! Stop dragging me, you stupid dog! What's wrong with you?!"

He struck Pluto over the head, but the hound only barked toward the outside of the ruins and kept pulling fiercely on the chain.

Evren leaned his back against the bench.

"Maybe it saw the ghost of my mother. This place is haunted, just so you know."

The scarred man clicked his tongue harshly. He kicked the dirt in annoyance.

"Damn it. Let's move! We'll comb the western forest!"

The hunters resheathed their weapons and hurried off, following the dog, which was desperate to escape Evren's presence.

Evren watched the scarred man's retreating back slowly fade away as his left eye throbbed violently.

Evren's vision suddenly distorted. The world around him dimmed, replaced by a spreading layer of white fog.

Nox's ability activated again. He saw the scarred man standing deep in the forest at night. Before him stood someone in a red cloak with a hood shadowing their face.

The red-cloaked figure tossed a coin pouch at the scarred man's chest. The pouch spun slowly through the air within the memory illusion. Evren widened his eyes as he spotted the symbol of crossed swords and a tiger's head clearly stamped onto the leather surface.

The crest of the noble Tristan family.

"Make sure that black fox dies tonight," the cloaked person's voice sounded muffled. "Don't let the Lord down."

The scarred man grinned as he caught the coin pouch. "As ordered, My Lord. That fox won't see tomorrow's sunrise."

The vision shattered as the hunters' backs disappeared deep into the dense trees.

Evren snapped back to reality.

"Hahhh... So the person who hired these mercenary hunters is someone from inside my own house."

Suddenly, a sharp pain flared in his chest.

"Ugh—!"

Evren dropped to his knees, coughing up black fluid onto the dirt. He clutched his chest tightly.

Nox's Beast Core was rebelling because Evren's body hadn't fully adapted to it yet. Silver-black veins crawled beneath the skin of his neck, throbbing painfully with every heartbeat.

He couldn't pass out here. The hunters could return at any moment, and he would die defenseless.

He had to get back to the Tristan mansion. The armored guards gave a brief, mechanical bow as Evren crossed the main gates, though their expressions barely concealed their blatant disdain.

He paid them no mind. He kept his still-shivering left hand buried deep in his pants pocket.

Evren had just stepped onto the staircase leading to his room when someone blocked his path.

At the top of the stairs stood a young man with golden-blond hair. A white robe draped over his athletic frame, and a long sword hung at his waist.

Lucien Tristan.

The eldest son and the young genius who had tamed a Storm Griffin at the age of thirteen—the pride of the Therya Kingdom.

And the exact same man Evren had just witnessed in his vision, dying with his body cleaved in two.

Lucien looked Evren up and down.

A crooked smirk, half-mocking and half-pitying, formed on his lips.

"Yo, my idiot brother," Lucien greeted. "I heard you made a fool of yourself at the training arena again today. That fire bird abandoned you before you even finished your incantation, didn't it?"

Lucien let out a loud laugh as he stepped down one stair. "Keep up that stellar track record of yours, Evren."