Chapter 16 - Next step

"HEY, Art! Hurry up! We're going to be late!"

"Tess! Stop," I cried. "I give! I give!"

Tess finally let go of me, releasing me from the leg lock.

"Isn't there a gentler way of waking me up, Tess?" I grumbled, massaging

the feeling back into my leg.

"It's getting harder and harder to wake you up in the morning. I have to do

something, right? Besides, you should be grateful to have such a pretty lady

waking you up every morning." She fluttered her eyes at me.

"I find the maids here plenty pretty, thank you very much," I muttered under

my breath.

She must've heard that, because she gave me a pinch to the side.

What happened to the shy Tess, the girl who was too scared to sleep alone in

the tent? The sweet Tess who begged me not to go? Bring her back! I liked

her better!

In my three years of living in Elenoir I'd learned that elves awakened as a

mage much earlier than humans do. Whereas the average age of awakening

for a human is around thirteen, for elves it usually happens around the age of

ten.

Tess had awakened early, even for an elf. It had happened a few months ago

—and boy, did she awaken with a bang. It wasn't as big as when I'd first

awakened, but she'd managed to destroy her room upstairs and fell through the hole in the floor, creating a small crater in the kitchen just below. Since

then, she had been joining me in my training with Gramps. Since awakening,

she had become much more confident and bold—in more bad ways than

good.

She knew how strong I was physically, so she had no hesitation about using

me as her sandbag when she tried the new spells Grandpa Virion and other

conjurers had taught her. What she just didn't seem to understand, even after

all my complaints, was that I still felt pain, damn it!

As for me, it was a very special day; after more than three years, I had finally

completed the assimilation of mana into my body. Tess had turned nine a

couple of months ago, and it was almost my birthday, so I would finally be

turning eight. During my time in Elenoir, I hadn't been allowed to absorb any

mana from my surroundings and was only permitted to spread the innate

mana, formed in my mana core, throughout my body. The ceremony planned

for today was the final step of a beast tamer's assimilation.

I skipped showering and just changed into a more presentable robe, tucking

Sylvia's stone into my robe before heading out into the courtyard. Over these

past few years, I'd kept the stone close to me at all times, always panicking if

my fingers couldn't feel the stone's smooth surface in my pocket.

"Finally awake, eh, Art? And how did your wife wake you up today? Hah!"

Grandpa Virion was sipping tea at the small table outside.

"Ugh, wife? I didn't know you could marry demons. You're turning her into

a monster, Gramps," I groaned, but I kept my voice down, as Tess was just

moments behind me.

"She's going to grow up into a fine woman, Art. Better sweep her off her feet.

before it's too late," he chuckled, lifting his teacup in a toast.

Tess arrived in time to hear his comment, but she just blushed and elbowed

me in the side.

"Agh!" Why? What did I do?

"Well, Art, are you ready?" Gramps asked. "Today is finally the day. After this, you'll be a true beast tamer, not just one of those lucky adventurers who

has a beast will." He crossed his arms emphatically.

I gave him a firm nod as Tess headed to the table where Gramps was sitting

and settled herself in to watch.

It wasn't much of a ceremony; Gramps would just exert a large amount of

mana into my core, which would trigger a surge of mana that I would have to

direct and spread throughout my body.

"Do you remember the basic phases of beast tamers, Art?" he quizzed.

I recited the lessons he had been pounding into me these past years. "All

beast tamers have various forms they can will their bodies into. The number

of forms depends on the strength of the beast's will in the mana core. The

first phase, which all beast tamers possess, is known as 'acquire.' In this

phase, the tamer can utilize a small portion of the inherent ability of their

beast. The second stage is called 'integrate,' where the tamer's body is

wholly infused with the beast's will, allowing much better control over their

beast's abilities."

"Correct," Gramps said. "The phases that the beast tamers are able to unlock

simply show how much of their beast's will they can utilize. The stronger the

beast, the harder it is—and if the tamer can't get insight, it is impossible to

get past the first stage.

One thing to remember, however—the integrate stage

is not always more powerful than the acquire. The acquire phase involves

tapping into a specific inherent ability of your beast's, while integrate is at all-encompassing power-up using your beast's will."

His face was deathly

serious as he reviewed the material I'd been studying so hard.

"I didn't tell you earlier, but now that you are about to become a true beast

tamer, you should understand the differences in how a tamer acquires a

beast's will. If the beast is killed and the mana core is extracted with its will

still intact, a mage can absorb the will to gain insights. That mage would be

considered a forged tamer. While it is easier and straightforward to be a

forged tamer, the likelihood of gaining insight is very limited. One of the reasons it took me so long to be able to break into the second phase is that I

am a forged tamer. I consider myself lucky to even be able to break into the

second stage, though. Arthur, you are one of the extremely rare legacy tamers

—a tamer whose beast voluntarily imparted its will." Grandpa Virion's eyes

studied me intently as he spoke.

He paused for a moment to let that sink in before continuing, "My first phase

doesn't really make me that much faster, but I'm able to erase a bit of my

presence and blend myself into the shadows. But you haven't seen my second

phase, have you? Watch carefully. It took me more than ten years to make the breakthrough into this phase."

I flinched as a powerful surge of mana surrounded Virion. Suddenly the mana

around him seeped back into his body, and my eyes widened.

Grandpa's skin had turned pitch black. Even the whites of his eyes had

become black, while his pupils had narrowed to sharp, cat-like slits, and his

irises had turned a bright, glowing yellow. His white hair, now unbound from

its ties, was also a rich, shiny black. The aura surrounding him made me

shudder and take a step back.

"This is the integrate phase," he growled, his voice much raspier than before.

"I'm going to sneak up behind you. Pay attention."

Is it really 'sneaking up' if he tells me—

But then he disappeared from my vision. I couldn't feel his presence at all,

but when I looked behind me as he had instructed, his finger was already

pressed against my jugular. He gazed down at me with his glowing yellow

eyes.

Fast.

It seemed like instant teleportation, but I knew it wasn't—there were

marks left in the earth at the site of his initial position. It was a speed that

even I couldn't begin to keep up with. But the scary part wasn't his insane

speed. It was his complete lack of presence. Even when he was directly

behind me, I couldn't sense him.

His appearance shifted back to normal, his face slightly flushed, and Tessia began clapping as if this were a show. He was breathing heavily.

"Using that form always takes a toll on me," he said. "After training with it

for a couple of decades, I'm able to maintain the form for a bit less than an

hour. In my acquire phase, I am simply channeling a small portion of my

beast's will, and I'm able to borrow the speed and stealth of the shadow

panther. However, with my integrate phase, not only do my speed and stealth

increase, but my senses are also heightened to keep up."

I nodded in understanding.

"Good! Now let's begin the ceremony," he replied, clasping his hands

together.

We stood face to face, only an arm's length apart. Tess was leaning forward

in excitement.

"Just let your mana come out freely," he instructed.

"Don't try to control

anything. I'll restrain you if necessary. It's crucial that you keep a

relaxed state of mind and rouse the particles of mana you've assimilated over

the years."

When I nodded in response, he began exerting mana into my core, flooding

my core with his mana along with my own.

I instantly felt a warm sensation, like a gust of hot air flowing in and out of

my pores.

I felt my body reaching its limit—then a loud explosion startled me out of my

concentration. I looked around in time to see Gramps being flung back; Tess

fell back into her chair, as well.

An unbearable pain surged through my body, as if my very skeleton was

trying to crawl out of my skin. I couldn't summon even the strength to

scream. My vision darkened and I welcomed it, because I knew it would

relieve me of my pain.

I woke up back in my bed.

I sat up, feeling surprisingly refreshed. Sitting at my side, her head resting

across my legs, was Tess.

Looking at her sleeping like this, I was reminded of when I had escorted her back home after saving her from the slave traders.

After a few minutes, Grandpa walked in and sat down on the other side of the

bed, not bothering to wake his slumbering granddaughter.

"How do you feel, brat?" His lips curled up into a half grin.

"I should be asking you that, Gramps. I saw you get sent flying; even Tess

was knocked over."

He let out an embarrassed chuckle. "I have to admit I wasn't expecting such a

great force. I know you probably have a good reason for not wanting to

answer me, but I'll ask just one more time: What sort of beast gave you its

will?"

Memories of my time with Sylvia ran through my mind. Mentally I replayed

the scene where she had cautioned me never to tell anyone I had met her. But

Virion was one of the only people I could trust, and he had the right to know.

If it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't even be alive.

"Well, using her own words, it was what we would call a dragon."

A thick silence filled the room, and Virion's face seemed frozen into a

stricken expression. At last he began mumbling to himself, the only words I

could make out being 'possible' and 'never happened.'

"Dragon…" he finally managed to wheeze, his eyes staring blankly at me.

"Dear lord… a dragon tamer. In all my life, I never thought I'd live to see the

birth of a dragon tamer… And I… I'm even the one who trained him!" He

was becoming more animated by the second, and now he burst into wild

laughter, shouting, "A dragon tamer!"

His shouts and whoops woke Tess up, and she stared at him, confused.

He suddenly sobered, then grabbed both my shoulders and looked at me

intently. "You did right in keeping this a secret. Do not tell anyone else. This

power of yours must be kept a secret until you have the strength to protect

yourself and those around you."

"I'm beginning to believe that more and more, Gramps,"

I responded

seriously."Good. Although I would like to know the whole story, I am more than

satisfied with what you've told me for now." He beamed at me.

"What is it, Gramps? What did Art tell you? That's not fair, keeping secrets

from me." Tess was beginning to pout.

"You'll know when the time is right, little one. Now, Arthur! I have good

news. The teleportation gate wasn't supposed to open for another two years,

but it will be opening early. There will be a tournament in the city of Xyrus

four months from now. It's a very important event for the future, because

both the dwarves and elves are sending youths—both as representatives for

the tournament and as preliminary students to your human academy. With the

hubbub of the tournament, we can sneak you back into Sapin without the

humans knowing," Virion said with a smile on his sharp face.

"Really, Gramps? I can go home soon?" I shot out of bed.

I would finally be able to see my parents again! I had been sending messages

to my parents every once in a while through Elder Rinia, but hadn't been able

to see them again using the water divinationtechnique, which was very

taxing for the ancient diviner.

"Y-you're leaving soon, Art?" Tessia asked, crestfallen.

"Yeah. I have to go back to my family soon. Don't worry though—I'll visit

you again! And maybe you can come visit me in Sapin," I said, hoping to

cheer her up.

"We still have four months, Arthur," Gramps said. "Until the day the

teleportation gates open, I expect you to train harder than ever, brat. Your

mana core hasn't developed at all these past three years because of the

assimilation you had to do. Don't focus on training your beast's will—that

should only be used as a trump card. Understood?"

He was right. Though I had yet to activate even the acquire phase of my

dragon will, I knew that using it would only bring unwanted attention. I

should avoid using my beast's will, if possible.

Grandpa slapped my back and said, "Now! Take a bath and rest some more.You reek of something rotten.

Little one, let's leave Arthur alone so he can recuperate."

Tess still looked depressed at the sudden news of my leaving. Living with her

for the past three years had given us a bond as close as any siblings. More

than that, although she was only nine years old, she was already showing

signs of blossoming into a beautiful woman, and I did feel a twinge of regret

that I wouldn't be here with her as she grew up.

"Tess, cheer up, okay? I'll still be around for a few more months—and even

after I leave, it's not going to be permanent. I'd like for you to someday come

and meet my parents too." I gave her a sincere hug.

"What are you doing?" she squealed with flushed cheeks as she pushed me

away and ran out of the room.

"Ah, youth! Sleep well, Arthur," Gramps chuckled, shaking his head as he

closed the door behind him.

Was Tess going through puberty already?

I hopped back into bed, feeling too lazy to start my day just yet.

"I'll just lie down for a little while first, then take a shower," I muttered

aloud.

I was distracted by a rustling sound. At first I thought it must be the wind, but

then I realized I didn't usually hear the rustling of leaves in my room. Just

when I was about to put the sound out of my mind—

*crack*

I sat up and looked around, trying to locate where the sound was coming

from. More crackling noises filled the room.

I turned my gaze toward my robe, which was lying on the chair.

"Kyu, kyu!"

Kyu? My robe was making 'kyu' sounds? My brow furrowed as I tried to

assess what was going on.

There was another, sharper cracking sound, and I tensed.

"Kyu!"

The stone!