The Serpent They called useless

Chapter 2: The Bloodline That Owes No Explanation

Draven's iron-clawed bear slammed its heavy paws into the damp loam of Everbeast Forest. A low, aggressive rumble vibrated in its throat.

"We need one more body to enter the boundary line, support boy." Draven wiped grease from his jaw, staring at Kael. "You sit in the back. Keep your mouth shut. Don't get eaten."

He spat.

"If you pull us down, I'll feed you to the first timber wolf we run into."

Kael didn't answer.

He adjusted the strap on his tunic. Beneath his sleeve, Astra coiled tightly around his forearm—her tiny heat pulsing gently against his skin.

The four-man gate flickered green. Their badges scanned. Entry permitted.

Around them, towering ancient trees blocked out the sun. Jagged shadows stretched across the underbrush.

Astra's scales twitched.

Through their contract connection, a faint mental pulse washed over Kael's mind—an image of a valley three hundred yards east. Teeming with hidden life signatures. Though her Rank C scouting couldn't discern their power levels.

Ping.

[BEAST SOVEREIGN SYSTEM ACTIVATED]

· Environmental Scan: 2x Rank B Iron-Hide Serpents detected in Eastern Ravine.

· Target Flaws: Soft throat scales. Vulnerable to coordinated impact on the third dorsal segment.

· Terrain Alert: High concentration of evolution-grade ores buried beneath the nest.

Kael stopped in his tracks. Looked toward the dark ravine to their right.

"Turn east."

Draven sneered. Turned his head along with the other two teammates.

"Why the hell would we go east? The standard hunt route is straight up the northern ridge. My bear can smell low-rank rabbits up there."

"There are high-value beast cores down in that ravine," Kael said evenly. His voice dropped into a calm, unbothered rhythm.

Draven snorted. Step-dragged his heavy boots across the roots.

"Your little worm can't even tell a rabbit from a wild hog. You want us to waste hunting time on a hunch?"

"If I'm wrong, I'll hand Astra over to you. Use her as core-refinement fodder." Kael looked Draven dead in the eyes. "If I'm right, you hand over every Spirit-Iron Ore cluster we dig out of that trench."

Draven's eyes flashed with greed.

A Rank C support serpent wasn't worth much on the open market. But its raw essence could feed his bear for a quick attribute bump.

"Deal. But when we find nothing, don't scream when I take the snake."

They pushed through thick foliage. Descended into the damp shadow of the ravine.

The air instantly turned freezing cold.

The ground shook.

Two massive heads—each as wide as a carriage, covered in steel-plated scales—burst through the stone wall. Red eyes glared down at the four students.

The suffocating pressure of two Rank B beasts crashed over the team like an avalanche.

"Rank B!" Draven yelled. His face drained of color. His knees buckled. "Two of them?! We're Rank C! Run!"

"Stand your ground!"

Kael snapped, stepping forward. The rest of his team stumbled backward in panic.

"The third dorsal segment on the left serpent! Hit it now!"

Draven's bear reared back in terror. Refused its master's commands. The second teammate dropped his weapon. The third scrambled up the slick rocks, weeping in absolute terror.

The larger iron-hide serpent whipped its tail. Caught Draven across the ribs. Sent him crashing into the rock face with a sickening crunch.

Blood sprayed from his lips.

"They're going to kill us!" Draven screamed, clutching his broken side. "You set us up!"

Kael took a slow breath.

He reached out with his right hand toward the cowering beasts belonging to his teammates.

[ANCIENT BLOODLINE AUTHORITY DETECTED]

[FORCED OVERRIDE INITIATED: TEMPORARY TETHER ACTIVE]

A golden glow flared deep within Kael's irises.

A sharp, primitive pulse shot from his core, spreading across the glade.

Instantly, the panic vanished from the bear's eyes. Its pupils narrowed into slit-like points. Beside it, the wind-cleaver falcon and earth-hound snapped to rigid attention—completely severing their responsiveness to their original owners.

What... I can control their beasts?

The realization struck Kael like a physical blow.

The surname Veyron was not just a shared title with the academy. The legend of the first tamer—the ancestral progenitor who once commanded entire legions of wild beasts through bloodline supremacy—was his direct lineage.

The system remained silent on the full history. Displaying only a single line of locked text:

[Origin Data Sealed. Seek the Veyron Ancestral Tomb.]

"Bear, slam the throat," Kael commanded silently through the mental link. "Falcon, blind the right eye!"

Without hesitation, the three beasts moved with terrifying precision.

The bear launched its massive body forward. Drove its heavy paws straight into the vulnerable soft scales under the giant snake's jaw. The falcon dove like a black dart, piercing the beast's left eye in a blur of feathers.

The two Rank B monsters thrashed in agony. But under Kael's absolute, robotic coordination, their defenses were dismantled piece by piece.

Within minutes, both iron-hide serpents collapsed into the mud.

Lifeless.

Silence fell over the ravine.

Draven sat against the stone wall, gasping for breath. His eyes wide with horror as he watched his own bear walk back to Kael's side—obediently nudging his hand before the golden tether dissolved.

"You..." Draven whispered, his voice trembling. "What did you do to my beast?"

Kael ignored him. Stepped forward to harvest the glowing Rank B cores from the fallen monsters. Along with three heavy chunks of Spirit-Iron Ore buried beneath the roots.

An hour later, near the boundary gate of Everbeast Forest, Draven gathered the other two teammates behind a dense cluster of pines.

Kael checked Astra's scales nearby.

"We can't tell anyone what happened down there," Draven hissed softly, teeth clenched in pain. "If the academy finds out a support tamer commanded our beasts and saved our lives, we'll be the laughingstock of the entire continent. Our families will strip our inheritance!"

"What do we do then?" the third tamer muttered nervously.

"We cast him out. We claim he panicked, ran away, and we took down the beasts ourselves. He gets no credit, no cores, and no score."

When Kael walked up to the group, his face emotionless, the three dispersed immediately.

"Draven." Kael stopped a few feet away. "I won the bet. Hand over the remaining materials."

Draven turned around. A cruel grin spread across his blood-stained lips.

"Once we get out of the realm, I'll settle with you. Don't worry."

The moment they stepped through the dimensional barrier back onto the public plaza of Veyron Academy, Draven shoved Kael from behind.

Shouted at the top of his lungs for the surrounding crowd to hear.

"Get away from us, you useless coward!" Draven bellowed. Dozens of nearby students and instructors turned to look. "You hid behind a tree the entire time while we risked our lives killing those beasts! You don't deserve to stand on this ground!"

The crowd erupted into murmurs of disgust. Pointing fingers at Kael.

Before Kael could respond, Voss Thorne stepped forward from the spectator stands. His Rank C Crimson Flame Lion padded arrogantly at his heels.

"I told you he was dead weight," Voss said, walking up to Kael with an air of absolute superiority.

He smiled.

"Hey, beggar. Since your little snake is clearly good for nothing except hiding in your pocket, sell it to me. I'll give you fifty copper pieces."

He glanced down at his lion.

"My lion needs a soft chewing toy to sharpen its fangs."

Kael looked up. His eyes cold as ice.

"Keep your lion on its leash, Voss. Before someone breaks its neck."

Voss's face darkened instantly.

"Unforgivable trash!"

With a flick of Voss's hand, the Crimson Flame Lion lunged forward without warning. Its fiery paw struck Astra directly before Kael could fully pull her back.

A sharp crack echoed through the air.

Astra was tossed onto the cold flagstones. Blood dripped from her pale blue scales as she writhed in pain.

Kael dropped to his knees.

Gently scooped the bleeding, trembling serpent into his palms. His chest heaved. His face turned terrifyingly pale—before flushing a deep, dangerous red.

He didn't scream. He didn't cry out.

He stood up slowly, cradling Astra against his chest. His golden eyes locked onto Voss and the laughing crowd.

"Do not bully the young just because they are weak today," Kael said. His voice dropped into a razor-thin whisper that sent a sudden chill through the air.

"For no man knows what the dawn will bring."

Without waiting for the final score announcements, Kael turned his back on the plaza.

He walked away into the shadows of the academy gates.