"So I'm officially broke."
At the store owner's recommendation, he'd bought ten bottles of Spirit Spring, each priced at one core, for the beast. Then another sixty cores went into beast meat. That left him with a pitiful twenty cores for living expenses.
Luckily, he didn't pay rent or taxes.
With no money left for anything else, he headed home. The beast meat would be delivered in about two hours.
Once inside, he carefully set the Thornling on the windowsill to bask in the sunlight. The little plant twitched slightly, adjusting its leaves toward the light.
Then, with slow, deliberate movements, he uncorked one of the bottles of Spirit Spring and gently poured it over the Thornling's petals. The water shimmered faintly, almost unnaturally pure, and as it touched the plant, a soft glow ran along its stem.
YYIINNG
The Thornling let out a sound of excitement as its petals curled inward, almost like it was shivering in pleasure. Seeing this, Adeon's tensed expression eased a little.
He recalled the lessons on beast taming they were all given at thirteen.
There were three primary methods of taming a beast.
The first was to form a blood bond while the beast was still in its egg, a method akin to imprinting or parental bonding. The downside? Beast eggs were incredibly rare, and even harder to preserve without a specialized incubator.
The second, and by far the most common, was to earn the goodwill of a young beast. Feeding them, caring for them, offering shelter; small acts could go a long way. Among them, plant-type beasts were considered the easiest to bond with. A single watering with Spirit Spring was often enough to earn their complete trust.
Just like now.
The Thornling gently extended a thornless vine and wrapped it around Adeon's index finger. The gesture was small, but unmistakable, a sign of acceptance.
The third method was the harshest: forceful taming through brute strength. Often used by veteran tamers who didn't have time—or patience—to raise a beast from scratch, it relied on dominance. It worked, but came with the risk of rebellion or instability in the beast.
Since he had successfully cultivated good feelings with the Thornling, it was time to form a contract.
His grimoire shimmered into existence, appearing before him with a soft glow. At his will, it floated gently through the air until it hovered directly above the Thornling.
A beam of light, gentle, almost sacred, fell from the grimoire, illuminating the small beast.
Adeon took a pin and pricked his finger, just enough to draw a single drop of blood. Holding his hand over the Thornling, the blood fell, landing precisely on the spot where the light touched.
The moment the blood made contact, the light shifted from white to a vibrant, verdant green, like the first breath of spring.
The grimoire suddenly fluttered to life, pages flipping rapidly until it stopped on a blank one. New characters appeared, glowing softly, an entry for the Thornling now etched into the tome as if it had always belonged there.
The contract was complete.
SPECIE: THORNLING
BLOODLINE QUALITY: NORMAL
GRADE: NORMAL LV 3 ( SAPLING )
PROGRESS: 45%
CONDITION: HAPPY
SKILLS: BLOOD DRAIN(PROFICIENT), SPORES(PROFICIENT), PHOTOSYNTHESIS(MASTER)
EVOLUTION PATH: VERDANT THISTLEFIEND > THORNARCHON > YGGBLOOM > ???
EVOLUTION REQUIREMENTS: CONSTANTLY FEED WITH BEASTS AND ORGANISMS CONTAINING HIGH ENERGY LEVELS
"It is done."
His shoulders, tense from anticipation, finally relaxed as a wave of foreign emotions rushed into his mind like a tide crashing ashore. Despite the high success rate of contracts, there was always that slim, dangerous chance of rejection or backlash.
A sudden flood of dependence, and most prominently, hunger, assaulted his senses. For inexperienced tamers, such an influx could be overwhelming, even fatal. It wasn't uncommon for first-timers to lose themselves in the storm of another being's thoughts and instincts.
That was why schools distributed soul-nourishing pills to children upon awakening at thirteen, and why families were advised to purchase one beforehand if their child awakened late. The pill dulled the psychic shock of forming a bond.
Thankfully, plant-type beasts possessed limited intelligence in their early stages. As a result, the assault on his mind was muted, no more than a dull throbbing in his temple.
He exhaled slowly, focusing his thoughts, then let a smile stretch across his face.
"Now... let's see what my innate talent is about."
""GENESIS."
FWOOSH.
The air before him twisted and writhed, as though pulled apart by unseen hands.
Then—
RIIIP.
A sound like fabric tearing echoed through the room as space itself fractured. A swirling vortex bloomed into existence, pulsing with energy.
Adeon stared, stunned.
"I… wasn't expecting this."
The vortex spun ominously, its edges flickering with threads of light and shadow. Warily, he walked in a slow circle around it, yet from behind, the space looked normal. As if the rift didn't even exist.
A sharp spike of pain lanced through his head. The dull ache had evolved into a full-fledged headache. His Auron reserves, already meager, were nearly drained.
He clutched his temple, staggering slightly.
"It's my talent…" he muttered through clenched teeth. "What could go wrong?"
With a breath that tasted of doubt and determination, he steeled himself.
Without another word, he leapt into the vortex.
Then... Darkness.