The Doctor's Beast Tamer System: Apocalyptic Survival

Ch 4 Weasel And Bunny

Bast stared at the rusty iron pole with its three empty holes for a long time. The pole was old, slanting, and completely swallowed by the surrounding nature.

'What happened?' Bast wanted to know what event destroyed his civilization. 'Don't you know?'

Bast dug deeper into Rotten Bast's memories. The drunkard and a few villagers had seen this object while foraging for firewood. They merely called it the 'Three-Eyed Pole' and considered it a weird structure.

No one knew its function. Memories of modern civilization had completely evaporated without a trace. The apocalypse that destroyed this Earth must have happened hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago.

Bast let out a long sigh, then turned his face away from the traffic light.

"Whatever." He wanted to know earlier, but not anymore. Now wasn't the time.

Bast stayed highly realistic. Knowing the cause of the world's destruction wouldn't heal his swollen liver, nor would it fill his stomach. The most important thing right now was surviving. Working hard, using his brain, and accumulating strength, exactly like he did in his past life.

And in this brutal world, the ultimate key to his hard work was the Tamer System.

"System, show my main panel," Bast muttered softly.

A transparent blue screen flickered before his eyes.

[Host: Bast]

[Physical Condition: Critical (Gastric Inflammation, Liver Swelling)]

[Stored Beast: Forest Wasp (Lv. 1)]

[Reputation Point Balance: 8.4]

Bast smiled wryly, looking at the number on the bottom row. His points looked absolutely pathetic. That sabertooth bear earlier probably needed hundreds of points to tame.

However, these 8.4 points served as his starting capital. He had to utilize them as efficiently as possible. And his most efficient targets right now were Jarek and Elara.

The two of them currently weighed the option of throwing him out, but they still trusted him the most.

Bast would take advantage of that and farm points from them; only then would he have bigger assets to drastically boost his reputation score.

"Alright... what should I do?" Bast frowned.

He already gave honey to Myra—an item that easily impressed people but carried the risk of inviting a direbear. Bast wouldn't approach a beehive again without adequate preparation.

"Meat." Bast found another precious item. In this poor village, nothing held more value than fresh meat.

"I need a hunter. Something small, cheap, but deadly," Bast muttered.

His eyes glanced at the forest wasp still perching on his shoulder. A wasp didn't prove very useful for hunting. It could only hunt bees.

"Can you keep an eye on the surroundings? Give me a warning if a large beast approaches."

The wasp buzzed, responding to Bast's mental command, then darted low along the dark thickets. Bast followed it with his rusty machete ready in hand.

Bast now walked following Rotten Bast's memories. Despite being rotten, some of his memories actually proved useful.

Rotten Bast knew of an animal den that would work perfectly for hunting, which he accidentally discovered while hiding from debt collectors.

It didn't take long for Bast to arrive above a hole under the roots of a giant banyan tree. He sneaked closer.

From inside that hole, a pair of glowing yellow eyes stared at him warily.

A brownish, furry animal crawled out. It sized up to barely an adult's arm, possessing a long and slender body, yet its claws curved as sharp as fishing hooks. Its mouth hissed, revealing a row of terrifying pointy teeth—threatening Bast to stay away.

[Target Detected: Root Weasel (Low-Tier)]

[Characteristics: Aggressive, agile, burrow-hunting specialist.]

[Taming Cost: 6.5 Reputation Points. Does the Host wish to tame it?]

Bast's smile widened. He made the right call; the taming price for that weasel perfectly fit his budget, and he still had a few points left over just in case.

No hunting dogs or wolves? A weasel will do!

'Tame it!' Bast commanded internally.

A warm sensation flowed through his head once again. This time, a faint light darted and spun around the weasel's head.

[Tamer System activated. Taming process complete! Point Balance: 1.9]

The Root Weasel that hissed aggressively just a moment ago instantly lowered its body, crawled closer, and rubbed its head against Bast's worn-out shoes like a spoiled kitten.

"Good job," Bast crouched, petting the weasel's head while suppressing a grimace of pain in his chest. "Now, prove you're worth taming. Find some fat prey. Enough meat to feed a whole family."

The Root Weasel squeaked softly, sniffed the night air, and then darted with incredible speed through the thicket. Its movements produced almost no sound, blending perfectly with the shadows.

Bast walked slowly following behind, the wasp continuously buzzing around his head. The buzzing occasionally grew louder. Even without spoken words, Bast understood and immediately took a different route.

The wasp warned him whenever Bast's feet stepped too close to a dangerous area. Bast called his weasel with a whistle—signaling it to find another path as well.

After changing to safe routes a few times, the weasel let out a sharp squeak. Bast quickened his pace. Upon arriving at a small clearing, he witnessed a satisfying sight.

His pet Root Weasel currently pinned down a horned rabbit—a wild, mutated rabbit the size of a puppy, sporting a hard bone protrusion on its head. It looked rather horrifying because it lacked the cuteness of a normal rabbit, but it definitely remained edible.

The rabbit struggled violently, but the Weasel's strong jaws locked tightly onto its prey's neck, severing the jugular in one efficient bite. The rabbit thrashed for a few seconds before finally dying.

"Incredible," Bast praised sincerely.

He picked up the fat rabbit carcass, weighing it in his hands. The carcass definitely contained about four kilograms of pure meat. He could already imagine Jarek and Elara's faces—they would surely jump for joy since they hadn't eaten meat in years.

Bast then chopped off one of the rabbit's hind legs with his machete, tossing it to the ground as a reward for the Weasel.

After shoving the rest of the rabbit carcass into the cloth sack where he kept the Earth Bile roots, Bast dusted off his hands. With a mere capital of 6.5 points, he had just transformed himself from a "burden" into a fully functional hunter.

"Weasel—your job isn't done yet. I need poultry."

Bast harbored a long-term plan. The people in his village had forgotten advanced civilization, so he would bring it right to them.

The weasel sniffed the air again and immediately bolted the moment it caught its prey's scent.

**

"IT'S GONE! THE MACHETE IS GONE TOO!"

Jarek's furious roar echoed all the way outside their yard. The bearded man then barged in and tore through the baskets and corners of the room with ragged breaths.

"Jarek, calm down. Maybe Bast just borrowed it to..." Elara tried to soothe him, though her voice sounded completely unsure. She couldn't even fabricate a logical excuse.

"Borrowed it for what?! Chopping wood?! That brat never even bothers to lift a dry twig!" Jarek slammed a wooden chair until it cracked. His face flushed bright red.

"Listen, Elara! That machete is our only tool for clearing the fields! And the flint... good lord, I paid a fortune for that flint in the city! Without it, we need hours of rubbing wood just to boil water! That damn brat definitely stole them in the dead of night and ran off to the city to gamble again!"

Elara fell silent. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Her husband's logic proved too strong to deny. Selling valuables from the house stood as Bast's usual habit whenever he ran out of gambling money.

But his actions this time stabbed much deeper. Bast just made a promise last night, yet by dawn, he vanished along with the most precious items in their home.

"You and Mother are truly blind!"

A sharp voice echoed from the threshold of the leaning wooden gate. Myra stood there, crossing her arms with a face full of disappointment.

Since yesterday, Myra has chosen to crash at her cousin's house. She came this morning solely to make sure Bast actually received his punishment.

"I told you, didn't I? His promises are pure bullshit!" Myra stepped inside. She heard her father's rampage, so she knew exactly what the problem was.

"He's just a parasite who only knows how to cause you trouble. Now he stole Father's work tools? His punishment is crystal clear. Don't give that coward another chance!"

Elara's defenses finally crumbled. The middle-aged woman slumped to the dirt, leaning against the door of her house while crying into her hands, starting to agree with Myra's words.

Jarek rubbed his face roughly. "Maybe we should just let him face punishment; he crossed the line," he muttered with a heavy heart.

"Who crossed the line?"

Jarek, Elara, and Myra turned their heads in unison.

Bast stood at the doorway, looking like a complete mess with dirty clothes and hair full of dry leaves.

However, his appearance wasn't what made the three of them freeze. It was what he held in his hands.

The missing rusty machete rested snugly at his waist. His right hand gripped a burlap sack that looked full and heavy, while his left hand—most shockingly—held two wild jungle fowls struggling and flapping their wings.

THUD!

Bast dropped the burlap sack to the ground, then pulled its contents out. Two incredibly fat horned rabbits.

Jarek's eyes bulged until they nearly popped out of his eyelids. Elara's crying stopped instantly, replaced by a wide-gaping mouth. Myra widened her eyes into perfect circles, wanting to convince herself she wasn't dreaming.

"You..." Jarek stammered, slowly approaching the sack. His rough hands touched the mutated rabbit's fur, confirming it wasn't an illusion. "Fresh meat? Two of them? And... live wild jungle fowls?!"

"I originally had three rabbits, but I ate one last night because I was starving," Bast said casually, handing the two live fowls into the arms of Elara, who still sat in sheer shock.

"Don't slaughter the chickens, Mother. I already broke their wings a little so they can't fly. We're going to breed them."

Elara hugged the birds, then exploded into a much more hysterical and dramatic bout of crying. This time, tears of pure joy.

[Ding!]

[Massive surprise delivered. Doubts completely shattered!]

[Jarek +15]

[Elara +20]

Bast smirked upon seeing the notification. His all-night hunting effort with the Root Weasel paid off completely. Jarek's total points now reached 18, while Elara's skyrocketed to nearly hit 30!

However, one spectator always proved difficult to please.

"Which hunter did you steal those from this time, Bast?!" Myra accused, her index finger trembling as she pointed at the rabbits.

Bast let out a lazy sigh. He gave his sister an incredibly bored look. "Myra, go walk around the village right now. Make an announcement. Ask if any hunter just lost two fat horned rabbits and two live jungle fowls. I'll wait right here."

Myra instantly shut her mouth. Her face flushed red. Bast slapped her logic hard once again. Someone could perhaps invent an excuse for stealing honey, but stealing live game from village hunters served as an impossibility to hide.

Bast chopped one of the horned rabbits into two large halves, wrapped them in banana leaves, and handed them to Myra.

"Take this. Bring it to our cousin's house," Bast said calmly. "You don't have to believe me, Myra. But I told you, my current promise holds firm. I'll prove it."

Myra stared at the meat bundle hesitantly. Her starving stomach defeated her pride—they hadn't eaten meat in a long time. She accepted it awkwardly.

[Ding!]

[Myra +2]

A tiny amount of points, but at least her negative score vanished and started moving into the positive. Myra turned around, preparing to leave without saying thank you.

"Wait," Bast called out. He turned and walked into the house, grabbing a small clay jar from the table—the container where Elara transferred the honey last night. "Take this too. It's yours."

Myra glanced back and immediately shook her head. "I-I don't want it. That's a luxury item; just sell it or give it to Father and Mother."

"Just take it," Bast insisted, shoving it into Myra's hands. "That's my apology. If you run out, I'll just go find more in the forest."

Myra hugged the jar and the meat tightly, staring at her brother like she looked at a madman. "You're truly arrogant, and you clearly want to seek a death wish again! The forest isn't a playground!" she snorted sharply, then hurried away.

[Ding!]

[Myra +1]

Bast chuckled softly. At least Myra's total points now sat at 3.

Right then, Bast noticed something new on his system interface. He saw a progress bar displaying Myra's negative value slowly creeping up.

Next to the names Jarek (18), Elara (29), and Myra (3), rested a transparent progress bar with a maximum limit of 100.

'System, what is the function of this one-hundred limit?' Bast wondered internally.

[Answering Host: 100 points is the maximum reputation value obtainable from each individual. For special individuals, reaching the maximum value will unlock the 'Exclusive Reward Box'. The Host can choose from various rewards.]

Bast's eyes sparkled brightly. He glanced at Elara, who still stroked the jungle fowls while crying tears of joy.

'This woman is my gold mine. I'll target her to hit one hundred first!' Bast schemed internally with capitalistic zeal.

Bast pulled the wooden chair his father slammed earlier, sitting in a relaxed posture while pointing at his catch.

"You can't catch these horned rabbits using muscle, Father. You have to use your brain," Bast said, spinning his fabricated tale that sounded incredibly convincing. "Those fat rabbits nest under the tangled roots of the old banyan tree. If you force your way digging, they'll definitely escape through another tunnel."

Jarek frowned, growing intrigued. This old hunter knew the mutated rabbits' habits perfectly well. "Then? How did you catch them without hunting dogs?"

"I plugged the main hole with wet leaves, then built a small smoke trap from the wind's direction," Bast lied smoothly, hiding the truth about his Root Weasel.

"I just sat back and waited at the exit hole with this machete. The second they rushed out coughing, CRACK! Done."

Jarek stroked his beard. His eyes radiated a hint of respect, showing up for the very first time. "A clever tactic..."

[Jarek +2]

'Not bad,' Bast thought with satisfaction. He then turned to look at his mother, who still stroked the jungle fowl's back.

"But those wild chickens gave me the most trouble, Mother. Ordinary hunters would definitely shoot them with arrows, but I wanted to bring them home alive."

"Goodness... even though these birds run so fast and stay so alert!" Elara stared at Bast with sparkling eyes. That served as the exact reason why nobody kept chickens in the village—because catching them alive proved extremely difficult. "How did you catch them, Sweetheart? Your clothes tore to shreds like this."

"I had to crawl flat in the mud and ambush them from the thicket. The moment I caught them, I immediately snapped their wing bones just a bit," Bast pointed at the drooping chicken wings. "They can still walk, but they won't be able to fly over our fence."

[Elara +3]

Bast smiled. The time had come for the ultimate strike—an economic plan that would make any parent proud.

"We'll eat these rabbits," Bast continued, looking back and forth between Jarek and Elara with a serious expression. "But these chickens act as an asset. We'll lock them in the backyard and feed them vegetable scraps. They're a pair, male and female. If they lay eggs, we secure a daily food supply."

Jarek's eyes widened. He even leaned his body forward.

"And once the eggs multiply," Bast smiled triumphantly, "I'll take them to the city. The price of wild jungle fowl eggs in the border city brings in enough to trade for a month's worth of fresh wheat, right?"

A momentary silence swept through the room.

Jarek stared at his son as if looking at a complete stranger. The foolish drunkard who nearly sold his sister yesterday... now actively mapped out the family's food security and a business plan?

Elara couldn't hold it in anymore. Her tears burst out once again.

"Oh, Jarek! Did you hear that?!" Elara hugged her jungle fowls even tighter while sobbing dramatically. "Our son grew up! He no longer thinks about gambling! He thinks about our family's future!"

[Reputation Points exploded!]

[Elara +6]

[Jarek +4]

Bast leaned back in his chair, desperately fighting a wide grin as he watched the numbers on Elara's progress bar rapidly shoot past 38.

However, that point-farming session hit a brutal stop.

"Well, well... A meat feast bright and early in the morning, it seems?"

A plump woman with a fiercely sour face barged into their yard without permission. Marta—the next-door neighbor notorious as a small-time loan shark. Beside her, her seven-year-old son happily munched on roasted wild walnuts.

"Marta?" Jarek stood up immediately, his smile fading instantly.

"I just saw Myra walk past carrying incredibly fat rabbit meat," Marta said with a highly fabricated sarcastic tone, her sharp eyes darting toward the remaining rabbit on the floor of Bast's house. "It looks like your family has a lot of money right now, huh? In that case, it's time to pay off last month's wheat debt."

Jarek and Elara turned deathly pale. Last month, when their food supply ran desperately low, Rotten Bast stole their last two sacks of wheat and sold them to fund his gambling. Facing near-starvation, Jarek had no choice but to borrow half a sack of musty wheat from Marta.

[Jarek -3]

'Oh, DAMN IT!' Bast cursed internally, just realizing that points could actually drop whenever someone felt disappointed by his past actions. 

His struggle to reach one hundred apparently wouldn't go that smoothly.