The Parasite Tamer : I Steal Talents From Beast

First taste of power

Kael didn’t sleep much that night.

The little border town of Edgewood was quiet, everyone had laughed at the parasite kid and gone home to tell their families. He lay on his creaky bed in the tiny rented room above the blacksmith’s, one arm behind his head, staring at the warped wooden ceiling. Fenrir curled up on the floor like a shadow, breathing steady now, the scrawny pup already looking a fraction less pathetic.

The Beast Evolution Nexus floated in his mind, blue and crisp, mocking him gently.

Bonded Beasts: 1 – Fenrir (Shadow Wolf Pup – Low Mortal Rank+)

Stored Talents: Shadow Fang (Basic), Flame Strike (Low Grade)

Mutation Energy: 12% accumulated from first channel

Next mutation threshold: 40%

Kael grinned in the dark. Twelve percent just from dumping Flame Strike into the wolf once. Not bad. Not bad at all.

He could still feel the echo of the parasitic link with Renn Tarvos, that brief, electric tug when he’d ripped the flame talent right out of the bully. Renn would wake up tomorrow with a headache and weaker flames. Kael? He got to keep the upgrade forever.

“Stealing feels pretty damn good,” he whispered.

Fenrir’s single golden eye cracked open, reflecting the moonlight like a predator’s. The pup let out a soft huff that almost sounded approving.

Morning came too fast, with the town square buzzing louder than usual. Word had spread. The parasite loser had somehow beaten Renn’s Rock Boar with that half-dead mutt. People stared as Kael walked through the market, Fenrir trotting at his heels like a loyal shadow. Whispers followed him.

“Did you see? The wolf tore chunks out of solid rock hide.”

“Renn’s still in bed. Says his talent feels… drained.”

“Parasitic Bond. Maybe it ain’t so useless after all.”

Kael kept his lazy smirk on, buying a cheap slab of dried meat for Fenrir and a stale bun for himself. He wasn’t here to make friends. He was here to farm.

He spotted his next target near the training grounds on the edge of town, a group of low-rank tamers showing off for the girls. One of them, a cocky guy named Jax with a Wind Cutter talent, had a decent Gale Hawk circling overhead. Fast bird. Sharp talons. Perfect for testing speed.

Kael leaned against a fence post, arms crossed. Fenrir sat beside him, ears perked.

“Watch and learn, buddy,” Kael muttered. “Time to expand the collection.”

Jax noticed him first. “Oi, parasite! Heard you got lucky yesterday. Want a real match? Or you just gonna suck talent from the air?”

The small crowd laughed. A couple of girls,  daughters of local merchants, covered their mouths, eyes sparkling with second-hand drama.

Kael pushed off the fence. “Sure. Friendly spar. No hard feelings if your bird loses some feathers.”

They squared off in the dusty ring. Jax whistled, and the Gale Hawk dove like an arrow, wind blades forming around its wings.

Fenrir exploded forward without waiting for a command. The bond thrummed, Kael feeding it the tiniest thread of Flame Strike for flavor. Black-shadowed jaws met wind and fire in a messy clash. Feathers flew. The hawk screeched, pulling back with a scorched wing.

Jax’s face twisted. “What the hell? Your mutt’s faster than yesterday!”

Kael didn’t answer. He activated Parasitic Bond mid-fight, the invisible link snapping onto the Gale Hawk for a heartbeat.

Talent copied: Gale Wing Slash (Low Grade)

A rush of airy power flooded his senses. He grinned wider.

Fenrir felt it too. The wolf’s legs blurred with sudden gusts of wind, dodging the next talon strike like it had been born flying. One Shadow Fang bite later, and the hawk was grounded, flapping weakly.

Jax stared, mouth open. “You… you copied my talent? That’s cheating!”

“Copying is my talent, genius,” Kael said, voice light but edged. “You offered a spar. I accepted. Win-win.”

He channeled the new Gale Wing Slash straight into Fenrir through the Nexus.

Mutation in progress…

Fenrir howled as wind energy ripped through its body. Bones lengthened with audible cracks. Fur rippled, darkening at the edges while faint translucent streaks appeared along its flanks, like blades of air woven into shadow. The missing eye socket itched and sealed smoother, the scar tissue shifting. When the light faded, Fenrir stood taller, leaner, with a faint wind aura making its movements whisper.

The crowd went quiet again.

One of the merchant girls, a pretty thing with chestnut hair and wide eyes, stepped closer, staring at the wolf. “It… mutated. Again. In one fight.”

Kael met her gaze. She flushed but didn’t look away.

Interesting.

He didn’t push it. Not yet. The girls would come later, when the real power showed. For now, he needed more beasts, more talents, more mutations. Small fish first.

By afternoon, he’d hit three more low-rank tamers around town. Each “friendly” spar ended the same: a quick bond, a talent stolen, a dump into Fenrir, another small evolution. His wolf now had faint wind-enhanced claws and a stronger flame coating on its fangs. The Nexus bar climbed to 28%.

Beast Evolution Nexus

Fenrir – Shadow Wolf Pup (Mid Mortal Rank)

Current abilities: Shadow Fang, Flame Strike, Gale Wing Slash

Synergy detected: Basic chimeric traits forming

Kael felt the hunger growing in his chest. This was just the beginning. Edgewood was too small. The real stage was Azure Academy, the prestigious school that scouted talents from border towns every year. They took scholarship kids if they showed “potential.”

He had potential now. Violent, greedy, parasitic potential.

That evening, an official notice was nailed to the town board.

Azure Academy Recruitment Test. Three Days Hence.

All awakened tamers welcome. Top performers receive full scholarship and entry into the preliminary Beast Tower trials.

Kael ripped the notice down and folded it into his pocket.

Fenrir looked up at him, tongue lolling in what might have been a wolfish grin.

“Yeah,” Kael said, scratching behind the pup’s ears. “We’re going. And when those academy geniuses laugh at the ‘useless’ parasite… we’ll show them what real evolution looks like.”