Once only the awakened were left I was able to scan the room. I counted 52 people. The odds seemed bad this year for first time students to awaken. The average was only 14% of people from each grade or age group to awaken. There were 512 in my grade. Less than average.
"Congratulations to all of you for successfully awakening. Four hundred years ago the first spacial tear appeared. It was only days after that when the first beast tide happened. It took 150 years before the first tamer rose from the ashes. The Human race is estimated to have had only 20% of its original population at the time.
As you know Beast Tamers are our best defense against the beast tides. So I am happy to see so many of you joining our ranks today!" There was a flash of light and a form took shape beside Stephen. "Soon you will be selecting your first beast egg. This was my first beast."
Name- Flareleo
Type- Fire
Rank- Lower Bronze ☆☆
Potential- Mid Silver ☆☆☆
Bloodline- Lavapon
Nature- Hesitant
Skills- Slash D+, Heat D, Charge E, Sprint D+
Affinity- 87
"There are many things that go into how a Tamer picks their beasts. However, the biggest factor is the Affinity you have with the beast. The highest Affinity you can have with a beast is 100. Having a high affinity means you are compatible with the beast. I can not stress this enough, if you have low affinity do not force the bond." With that we all followed him to the nursery. Could this be my golden finger? My cheat to get ahead?
The nursery looked like a giant greenhouse with a glass ceiling. "This nursery is divided into 2 sections. Behind me, here, all the eggs have been appraised. Giving you the species and star level of the beast within. Their potential is clear. Remember though that a good beast master will consider affinity with the beast over level. All the eggs here are great for beginners."
There were already dozens of students from other schools. Most of them had already selected their eggs. "You are the last group so most of the good eggs have already been taken. Which leads to the second area. If any of you would like to try you luck at an unknown egg you may. These eggs only have the region they are from. Make no mistake if you choose wrongly there will be no one to save you from this mistake."
Lei smiled, "My family has already provided an egg for me."
"Mine as well," the class representative said. Everyone stared at them with envy. A preselected beast egg could only come from a breeding facility. Their potential was already very clear and there was very clear lineage.
Stephen gave them a nod before turning his attention back on the rest of us. "You may begin!"
We poured into the shelves of the eggs. My eyes scanning the listed names of each one. If I lingered on an egg the floating words from earlier would appear.
"Ow!" A girl cried. "The egg shocked me!"
"A sign of very low affinity," Stephen called out.
My eyes immediately went to bloodline and affinity. I had high affinity with every egg I looked at. My skill. I remembered reading that those with higher skill rank attracted the attention of more beasts. All of them were missing bloodline though. So with a sigh I turned and headed for the unknown eggs. I heard a few people laugh as I did so.
Name- Flahawk Bloodline-none Affinity-100
Name- Icechick Bloodline- Froststork Affinity- 100
On and on I looked. Until I saw it. I froze. It was a green egg with light grey stripes.
Name- Nikit Wolf Type- Dark Rank-lower Bronze ☆☆ Potential- Middle Gold ☆☆☆ Bloodline- None
"What is taking him so long."
"Just pick one already!"
"Not like he knows in them anyway."
I kept looking anyway. Even as I heard my classmates complaining.
Potential- High White Gold ☆☆☆ Bloodline- Kisune Affinity-100
I did not even think about it as I grabbed the egg. The dark blue egg clearly belonged to a water series environment. As I turned I saw Stephen.
Beast ranks started at White. They were the most common beasts. Anything below a four star white was pretty much useless in the grand scheme of things. White, Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold, White Gold, Rose Gold, Black Gold, Platinum, and Titanium.
"Finally decided then?" He asked me. I looked around and realized that the others were gone.
My grasp on the egg tightened. "Yes. I have the best affinity with this egg," I said.
"You were looking high affinity?"
"Yes."
He nodded then. He looked me over. Seeming to note the way I clenched at the egg. "Come then, let's get you settled then." He lead me to another room. It was filled with other kids clutching their eggs. The were standing in a line heading for the rating array. It would also the intal binding of new tamers. Most new tamers could not bind a beast on their own so they had to either enlist the help of another tamer or an array such as this one.
Several of my fellow classmates turned to look at me.
"So he finally picked one," someone sneered.
"Bet it was weak affinity," someone else laughed.
I watched as one boy preened as we all looked on. "That's a death series!" The black egg had sharp lines of white. Poor guy probably thought he would get something cool like a Skelton Kinght. Even so he had chosen well. Dark eggs were rare as well. He sliced his finger and let his blood dripping onto the egg. The array on the floor lit up as light formed, displaying the light screen.
Night Caterpillar
Potential: Silver ☆☆☆☆
Very lucky. My skill gave me all that information and more. Silver was quite high grade for the free selection eggs that were appreased. Normally anything over Bronze ☆☆☆☆ would be sold off to help cover costs. I ran my hand over the smooth surface of my own egg. More people went forward. Egg after egg. Then a gold appeared. It was Lei. Of course. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes.
Earthen Bear
Potential: Gold ☆☆☆☆
"A gold!" People gasped in shock. Lei was not pleased.
"Earthen?!" Lei sneered down at the egg. "It was supposed to Lightning!"
Earth was a great element. He only really needed to worry about the water element. Assuming the other elements weren't more powerful in grade. Earthen Bear had great defense.
"Earthen Bear has great defense. As long as it is raised well it will be a great asset to any team," another professional stated. Lei had a narrowed gaze on the egg but there was nothing he could do now. He would not be able to dissolve the bond until much later. Not to mention doing so would be a huge hit to his power base.
Stephen nudged me towards the array. I was the last to go. Of course I was. I seem to be the last one to pick my egg. So naturally I would be the last to go.
I stepped onto the array and dripped my own blood on my egg. The array lit up displaying my first tamed beast.
Aqua Vulpe
Potential: White-Gold☆☆☆
Gasps sounded through the room.
"I doubt it will ever reach its full potential. Everyone knows Aldric comes from a poor family. He doesn't have the money to support such a high level beast," Lei sneered.
"Where did you get that egg?!" A few people cried out.
"The unappreasied eggs," I said with a shrug. There were a couple decent eggs still in there. Although most of them missed bloodlines and as such were pretty useless for me. Children pulled out cell phones and called people as they rushed towards the unappreasied eggs. Jackson rushed to me.
"Help me pick out a second egg! Uncle sent us extra money for me to get a second one since my skill is so good!"
"Come on then! There was only one other egg worth taking," I told him quietly as we headed for the unappreasied eggs. The place was packed with other students. They were all with facility staff.
I lead Jackson to the green and grey egg. "This one is a good fit for you. It will go well with the Winter Wings your other egg will evolve into." Jackson picked it up without hesitation and went to pay for it. While he stepped onto the array with his egg I stopped by the front desk to get my starter kit.
The woman smiled at me. "No doubt you will be getting offers from the top Universities. To pick a White Gold egg from random unappreasied eggs takes incredible skill," the lady at the front desk said as she smiled at me. "Four liters of nutritient solution, a basic care guide for your egg, and your form as an official Tamer. Keep that with you until your ID arrives. Best of luck to you."
I thanked her and left to head home. Jackson caught up to me and nearly pounced on me. "You are amazing! You picked out a Gold egg for me! I already told my family. The main family is so happy they are sending us more funding so if you need something let me know and we'll help as much as we can."
I smiled at him and agreed. We talked about a bunch of things as we walked home. No one would think to steal our eggs as they are already bond to us. Plus stealing eggs from high school kids was not worth it. Most of them were low ranked and really only for starting out.