I Was The Weakest Beast Tamer

4. A Taste of Power

[Why? Were you hoping I'd die? I'm not as weak as you.]

"But I saw your body fall apart."

[That's all because of your pathetic body, you damn human!]

Nox let out a long sigh before continuing.

[Good thing I'm awesome. I couldn't keep my physical body intact, but my consciousness survived.]

"What the fuck? So you're stuck inside my body now?"

[You think I want to share a body with you?]

Nox let out a low growl.

[My Core is already lodged inside you, you idiot. If you drop dead from a heart attack in this corridor, I'm going down with you. So get up before someone finds you and drags you off to the garbage dump.]

Evren winced as he pushed himself upright. He made his way toward the northernmost part of the family estate, heading for the Orchid Pavilion.

The old two-story building stood isolated behind a row of dead trees, not far from a pond whose water had turned black. Vines covered its stone walls, and thick dust coated the windows.

He stepped into a room lined with old bookshelves and immediately collapsed to his knees on the dusty floor.

"I-I think I'm going to die here." Evren struggled to catch his breath. "Everything's starting to go dark."

[Breathe properly, idiot. Don't go dying on me after dragging my Core into that twig you call a body.]

The soft patter of rain against the windows was the only sound in the room.

Evren lay on the floor, cold sweat soaking his entire body. Inside his chest, Nox's Beast Core pulsed wildly, sending alternating waves of heat and cold through his veins.

[Hang in there. If you pass out now, my Core will tear through your heart and turn you to ash.]

Evren gritted his teeth and dug his fingers into the floor.

"Thanks... for the wonderful encouragement."

[You're welcome. Now slow your breathing as much as you can. Don't fight the energy. Let it merge with your bloodstream.]

Evren had no idea how long he endured the pain. It gradually began to fade, and the wild pulsing in his chest slowly fell into rhythm with his heartbeat.

Only when everything finally settled did he drift off to sleep.

Evren slowly blinked awake as morning sunlight slipped through a gap in the curtains.

"Ah... finally over." He rubbed his chest and pushed himself off the floor, stretching his stiff muscles.

His gaze drifted toward a cracked mirror in the corner of the room. There was no significant change in his appearance, but a faint silver glimmer now lingered deep within his blue eyes.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Evren frowned.

"Who's looking for me this early in the morning?"

He carefully stepped past the piles of books and opened the front door.

A middle-aged male servant stood in the doorway, holding a tray with a bowl of warm soup. Behind him stood two younger servants, each carrying a thick blanket with a mocking smile on his face.

The older servant, Rick, looked Evren up and down with open disdain.

"Good morning, Young Master," Rick said. "Master Lucien instructed us to take care of your needs, so we've brought you breakfast and some blankets."

Evren raised an eyebrow, glancing between the bowl of soup and the blankets.

"Hm? Lucien? Has he lost his mind or something?" Evren muttered.

Rick deliberately walked past Evren without waiting for permission.

"This place really suits you, Young Master," Rick sneered, roughly setting the tray on a table and spilling half the soup.

The two younger servants behind him snickered.

Evren slowly closed the door. He leaned against it, folding his arms across his chest as he watched the three servants.

[These humans have quite a lot of nerve for lowly servants.]

Nox commented inside Evren's head.

[Let me borrow your body for a moment. I'll rip their tongues out.]

'Hm? You need my permission to take over my body?'

[Of course. I'm not some wild Beast. I have standards.]

'Save your strength, Nox. I want to see how creative they can get this morning.'

Rick turned toward Evren with a wide grin. The old servant deliberately picked up one of the thick blankets Lucien had sent and dropped it straight onto the floor.

"Oops, my hand slipped, Young Master." Rick snorted. "Besides, you must be used to sleeping without such fine blankets by now, aren't you?"

"You embarrassed the family at the training grounds yesterday, and now you're hiding in a place like this," one of the younger servants chimed in. "If it weren't for Master Lucien's kindness, who else would bother taking care of you?"

They laughed, clearly not considering Evren a threat.

[I'm not convinced your brother actually cares about you.]

A faint smile appeared on Evren's face as he slowly straightened up.

"Rick," Evren called quietly.

"What? Going to complain to the Duke? Go right ahead. But remember, you're nobody now. You really think anyone cares—"

Thud!

Before Rick could finish speaking, Evren's fist slammed into his stomach.

Evren glanced down at his fist.

"Hm? Since when could I move that fast?"

[Hah! That's only a fraction of my power.]

Rick let out a sharp cry. He staggered backward, crashed into the table, and collapsed onto the floor.

The two younger servants flinched and stepped back.

"W-what... what did you just do?!" one of them cried, trembling as Evren slowly turned his gaze toward them.

Evren picked up the blanket from the floor and gave it a light shake.

"My brother sent all of this for me. But instead, you ruined everything and insulted me."

Evren stepped closer. Both servants sank to the floor.

"I'm curious. Since when were the Tristan family's servants allowed to insult their own masters?" Evren whispered.

"P-please forgive us, Young Master! W-we were just—"

"Hm? Begging for forgiveness already? Boring," Evren interrupted.

He pointed toward Rick, who was still groaning in pain on the floor.

"Get that old man out of here. Oh, and please pass along my thanks to my dear brother."

The two servants immediately scrambled over and dragged the half-conscious Rick out of the room.

Evren let out a long sigh and tossed the dirty blanket onto a nearby chair.

[So, what do you think after getting a little taste of my power?]

Evren snorted and walked toward the window, watching the three servants flee across the courtyard.

"Nox."

[Yeah?]

"Can I form a Beast Pact with other Beasts?"

[In theory, yes.]

"And I can use their powers too?"

[Hm.]

"Interesting."

Evren closed the curtains and headed out of the room.

[Where are you going?]

"We need to get ready, Nox. It's time to meet my new friends at the Academy."

[Oho... You seem awfully excited.]

"Of course. They're a lot more creative than those servants."

Nox chuckled.

[You may be weak, but at least you won't bore me, you damn human.]

Evren grinned.

"Enjoy the show, Nox. Therya Academy never runs out of people who want to make my life miserable."