Hidden from the eyes of nobles, deep within the haunted forests, lies Sunleaf Village—a place shrouded in ruin and mystery.
At the heart of Sunleaf Village, an edifice of pure gold stood as a testament to ancient grandeur. Its gates, eternally shut, could only be opened by a Beaster, a master of spirit beasts. Outside these gilded gates, a group of children, none older than seven, gathered in anticipation.
After a decade of silence, the gates creaked open. A hobbit with stark white hair and pallid skin emerged, beckoning the children inside. Among them was Eldon, an orphan taken in by the Grey family after being found on the forest's edge.
"Is that hobbit really our instructor? I bet even Eldon could beat him," whispered a few of the children, casting skeptical glances at the hobbit.
Ignoring their remarks, the hobbit's eyes scanned the group, lingering on Eldon—a boy smaller than most, with a thin face and unsteady gait, as if perpetually on the verge of falling.
The hobbit halted before a massive stone, causing the children to jump. Only Eldon, Liam, and Kane remained composed.
Clapping his hands, a gust of wind nearly blew the children off their feet. Only Liam stood firm, earning an approving nod from the hobbit.
"My name is none of your concern. Address me as Professor or Instructor, nothing less. Is that understood?" His voice boomed, echoing through the golden walls.
"Yes, Instructor," the children replied, covering their ears.
...
The children lined up for their evaluations. Eldon, at the back, felt the Instructor's gaze on him but remained indifferent.
Liam and Kane received high evaluations, as expected. Liam, tall and beautiful with long white hair, and Kane, the serious newcomer with a wild appearance, both impressed. The others received average scores.
Despite their age, the children did not cry over their scores. The Instructor noted this with a mix of confusion and satisfaction—this was the best yet loudest class he had ever had.
Finally, Eldon's turn came. He approached the stone, and the evaluation began. The students murmured, predicting his failure. As expected, Eldon's power was too low to be evaluated. Laughter erupted until the Instructor's stern command silenced them.
...
"Liam, what spirit beast do you think Eldon will get?" a student whispered.
Liam, son of the family that found Eldon, despised his step-brother but never showed it, maintaining his image.
"Shut up, Derek," Liam snapped.
The Instructor called Liam to awaken his Spirit Beast. Confidently, Liam took the key and approached the vault adorned with intricate patterns. As he opened it, a powerful gust and a mighty roar echoed. Liam stepped inside, encountering a creature with the body of a lion, a goat's head on its back, and a snake-headed tail.
The beast lunged at Liam, pushing him out of the vault. As he fell, the other students rushed to help, asking what he saw.
"A lion with a goat's head and a snake's tail," Liam stammered, both scared and excited.
The Instructor's eyes widened. "A Chimera, a fifth-grade Mythical Beast," he announced, astonished. "One of the most powerful and rarest of all spirit beasts."
The students buzzed with excitement. "Liam is Garrett's son; it's not surprising," one muttered.
The Instructor thought, "Like father, like son. Garrett also awakened a Mythical Beast—a Dragon."
As the class murmured and chuckled, it was finally Eldon's turn. The only person who couldn't be evaluated.
Eldon approached the Instructor, took the key without making eye contact, and walked toward the vault, nearly tripping with each step. The students laughed, and Liam's face showed disappointment.
The Instructor watched Eldon with a mix of pity and fondness. In just a few hours, he had grown attached to this unassuming boy.
In front of the vault, Eldon stood trembling—not with fear, but with exhilaration. He ignored the jeers and sneers of his classmates, focusing solely on the task at hand. With a twist of the key, a loud click echoed through the room, drawing everyone's attention. Eldon pushed the heavy vault doors open and stepped inside.
Inside, he found a rat the size of a bunny. Beside it lay a small pouch. As Eldon reached for the pouch, the rat darted out, racing towards the vault's exit. Determined, Eldon chased after it, finally finding his voice. "Come here, you!"
The rat leaped out of the vault, landing on a student's face. Chaos erupted as the students tried to dislodge the creature. The Instructor, however, remained calm. A gust of wind manifested around him, pulling the rat into his grasp. With a firm hold, he handed it to Eldon. "Take care of it. It's a fast little thing," he said, his tone steady.
"Thank you," Eldon mumbled awkwardly. It was the first time he had spoken directly to the Instructor.
The other students burst into laughter, their taunts echoing through the room. "Like master, like Spirit Beast," they mocked.
The Instructor's expression darkened. His voice, filled with a rare intensity, cut through the laughter. "If any of you dare speak ill of a spirit beast again, you will be expelled from this class. Is that understood?"
The students gulped, fear replacing their mirth. "Yes, Instructor," they chorused, their earlier bravado extinguished.
...
The instructor addressed the children with a stern voice. "Tomorrow, you will take an exam here in the edifice. If anyone scores below average, you will be expelled from this class. These are the basics every Beaster must master. Without them, you risk losing control to your spirit beast, causing untold destruction. The week after, I will select five students to accompany me for a competition against other Beasters."
With that, the class ended, and the students filed out of the edifice. Eldon walked ahead, ignoring the snide remarks from his peers. "I feel bad for his spirit beast, having a master who can't even be evaluated," they laughed, but Eldon paid no heed, as if their words were mere whispers in the wind.
The bullies grew irritated at Eldon's indifference. Annoyed by his lack of reaction, they plotted to teach him a lesson. Some hesitated. "What if Liam helps him? He is his brother after all," one student voiced their concern.
Their leader, Derek, scoffed. "Liam despises him. Haven't you seen the way he looks at Eldon? Even if Liam intervened, we could take him on," Derek said confidently. He knew the others feared Liam, especially now that he had awakened the Chimera as his spirit beast. Derek preferred avoiding direct confrontation to protect his reputation, but he didn't mind talking down to Eldon to assert dominance.
"Fine, be a bunch of chickens," Derek sneered, turning away.
...
Later that evening, tension simmered in the Grey household. Liam was in the middle of a heated argument with his parents. "I don't like him! He's weird and nobody likes him!" Liam shouted before storming out of the house. The argument revolved around his reluctance to bond with his step-brother, Eldon.
Eldon, sitting quietly at the dining table, overheard everything. He remained silent as usual, his face a mask of calm. Liam's parents apologized to him. "Don't take it to heart, Eldon. Liam's just being a brat," they said kindly.
Eldon nodded and retreated to the room he shared with Liam, alone with his thoughts about his past life. Yes, this wasn't Eldon's first life. He had lived two lives. In his previous life, Eldon was an assassin for an empire, but he was betrayed and captured. He endured years of torture, dying at the age of 21 from a blade wound to the neck.
He awoke as Eldon at the age of six, five months before the edifice doors opened, memories flooding into his brain. For this life, he wanted to live a quiet life, but those brats were starting to irritate him.