Thus, I started out the normal way, at the bottom of a new job, with no experience. I wanted to find a quick way out, a cheat, or some OP skill that would allow me to skip the beginning and become an immediate powerhouse in this world. But just like in any life, success is not something you are given. It is earned, and if you want to build something from the ground up, you will need to be okay with being weaker than others. And so, my path to become the worlds greatest Beast Tamer/Master, will need to start with the world's weakest beast.
So Siya, tell me where I can find lower level creatures.
'The current part of the forest, is home to magical beasts ranging between level 27-43. All of these beasts will be extremely difficult to tame, as you will not be able to enforce your will onto them at your level. You need to have the respect or fear of a magical creature in order to tame with one. This is why battling is a good way to get the approval of a magical beast, or if you have a stronger affinity/magical power they would be subservient. As of now, you have nothing to truly offer any of these creatures.'
"Do not tell me what I can't do, I need you to give me a guide on what I need to do!" I screamed.
'Low level magical beasts still occupy the lands of higher level creatures, they will just be further down the food chain, as the magical beasts need to hunt for food. These smaller beasts will be lower levels, especially if plentiful.'
"Get to the Point" I said impatiently.
"You need to find the bottom of the food chain. And if you didn't know that would be either a small rodent or an insect in these parts."
You got to be kidding me, I was not planning on taming some bug... especially not a mosquito or a fly, which seemed to be in abundance around here.
'The creature, needs to have some semblance of mana in order to be tamed, a creature with no mana will be categorized as level 0' Siya spoke before I could ask the question. Which I was glad to know. Those fleas surronding the dead carcass were surely level 0 beasts, so I finally headed out a few paces from my initial summoning zone to find a new habitat.
With thick dark trees signaling a path deeper into the forest, i chose to walk in the opposite direction where a small amount of sunlight could be seen. My initial thoughts were of trying to tame a bird like creature, so as Ari and I left I kept my eyes peeled on the passing tree branches for any birds.
The path we were walking seemed to have been an old trail, as I noticed a trampled path. Eventually we ran upon our first bird, yet, the second I came close, it flew away as quickly as we saw it. I attempted this for the next hour, slowly crouching throughout the dense forest, pulsing out my mana in a friendly aura to attract the bird when I'm close, but still no avail. These red and black birds were only around level 14 when I asked Siya, but it seems that I still don't have the necessary power. Keeping my head up,
Ari and I set out again with no real destination in mind, we just kept out eyes peeled again. After a good 30 minutes of walking, I knew I needed to come up with a legit plan. So, I decided to camp for the night, as the sun was falling and put some thought into this task.
I pulled out my book bag that I had been carrying since before the summoning and checked the contents, I had one water bowl, a leash that was now to small for Ari, 2 Granola Bars, a pouch of dog food, my wallet, apartment keys, and two chuck-it balls. Man, I really was not prepared for this journey.
I snacked on the first Granola Bar, trying to enjoy, what could be one of my last meals for a while, when an idea came to mind. I dropped a few small crumbs slightly to the left on where we would sleep for the night, to see if I could catch a small rodent, or some bird in the area with the measly amount of food I had, yet it was my first true plan, and I was hopeful.
As my eyes became droopy, i took one last glance at the crumbs before calling it a night, and I had a hit! A small white mouse/rat (so type of rodent, I wasn't really sure at the time), slowly crept up to nibble on the leftovers. I knew this was my chance, I knew not to move, but rather send out a ripple of mana towards the mouse with my intent, praying that this mouse even had mana in the first place.
I watched the mouse's reaction, and rather than back away or attack like all the other creatures had done, instead, the mouse dropped the food it was holding, and turned his green beady eyes towards me, almost judging my intent. It was then I told him, I wanted his friendship, and for him to have the honor of being my first tamed beast! With a quick nod, announcing his agreement, a small pulse of magic rippled throughout the clearing, connecting both the mouse and myself. I was ecstatic, and I was not the only one. I could just barely feel the emotions of my new partner.
Siya, give me some information on our new friend.
'This is a Mayan Mouse, a rare variant of a Mana mouse, the weakest mana creature listed in the Human Beast Encyclopedia, and it is a he for your reference.'
Hearing this news could only bring a huge smile to my face. The weakest mana creature,,, HAHAHAHA I laughed out loud. Maybe it was the loneliness sinking in, but this was the best news I had heard in years. I was feeling powerless compared to Ari, Yet I knew my goal, and what I could accomplish, and now I have the perfect partner to do that with. I looked down at the Mouse, taking in his features. The mouse was strange, it had a shining white coat, but around the coat, it had green symbols surrounding its body, almost like brandings, but from what I could gather, it was for mana in some capacity.
'You are correct, what you are seeing are the mouse's mana veins, due to the small stature of the magical beast, he needed to grow his veins outside of his body in order to hold the mana that circulates him'
Perfect, now I need to assign him a role in our party, Siya, what class would you say best fits Ronin?
"Vet... hhh Heal" Yet before Siya could answer, Ronin had an opinion of his own.
"You are a healer" I inquired
"Yessss," Ronin, then scurried over to Ari, and touched his smallest injury and touched it. A green glow, similar to the color of the mana veins on Ronin came out of the mouse, attached to Ari. Over the course of the next few seconds, the wound slowly enclosed and no further injury could be seen. I was amazed, this really couldn't have worked out better, my first Magical Beast and he will be our veterinarian! This is perfect. Yet, as I was day dreaming of our path to the worlds strongest magic user, Ronin, was heavily breathing and patting hard. It seemed just that small amount of magic had run his powers dry, and now would need a nights rest before he could do any more.
Thinking, we would deal with his mana efficiency and depletion in the morning, I followed suit shortly after ronin and went to bed after a crazy first day in Mearth.