As Finn's eyes scanned the entire place, he saw many creatures of different sizes and forms. First it was a fluffy rabbit-like mammalian creature with large ears and nose but Finn didn't like it one bit, and so he moved on to the next one.
A slime-like transparent creature with jelly-like body. It had no discernible features.
"All the monsters here are weak," he said aloud. Something in him kept telling him that these creatures were all weak.
"Weak?" Tim asked him and looked at the beasts. 'How can he call these large monsters weak? Can't he feel their aura?'
"Let's go to the other side," Finn said and walked over to another section of the arena.
'A plant monster?' Finn had never seen a plant monster before so seeing one now was surprising to him, not to talk of the fact that it was a D-rank monster.
"No, I'll pass this one too," he said and moved away from it. He moved to the next one but he couldn't even bear to look at it.
Among all the monsters he had seen in the arena, this one was better but it wasn't the best. 'Ugly!'
"This is one is good," Tim told him, staring at the poisonboar. "The aura is incredible."
"Yes but it's not my taste," Finn replied and Tim looked at him in disbelief.
"The heck are you so particular about these beasts, it's not like you are going to tame any of them now. You have seen enough, it's time for us to leave."
"Yeah, let's go. I can't continue," he shook his head as he spoke. Finn was utterly disappointed in not only all the beasts there but in the school also. He could not believe that a school whose aim is to save their world did not dare to even have a high ranking beast, even if it's just one. How Disappointing! He had given up already but he didn't know was that there was one beast he failed to notice until he heard a sound coming from the extreme of the arena. It sounded like the cry of something.
"Hey, I need to check something over there. Wait for me, I'll be right back," he said to Tim. He didn't wait for the latter to reply and dashed off, towards the direction of the sound.
When he got there, he saw a rusty old cage and deep within the cage laid a lizard-like looking creature. The description on the cage read 'Salamander'
It was safe to say that it was the worst beast he had seen for the day but instead of being disappointed or disgusted at it, he felt something else for the creature — Curiosity and attachment.
"I think I'll need this one," he said and opened the he cage. "Hey, come here. I promise I won't hurt you."
The salamander crawled out slowly, it was wary of the human boy staring at it.
"Come on, I won't hurt you," Finn said again and after a while, the tiny creature came close to him. "Good now. From today, you are my beast and I am going to take care of you... But first, we'll need to treat these wounds on your body."
After taming the beast by cutting his wrist and letting his blood drop on the creature, he then hid it inside his sleeves and then left to meet Tim who was still waiting for him.
"Hey, what took you so long?" Tim asked Finn as he saw him walking toward him.
"Sorry about that. Let's go," Finn replied and they hurriedly left the beasts' arena.
When they were a far off, Finn stopped. "I need to go do something but you don't need to come with me," he said to Tim.
"Are you sure?" Tim asked him. He was curious what Finn was up to but he didn't want to pry.
"Yeah, we can meet at the hostel," Finn replied and Tim nodded and left afterwards. Finn didn't move from his spot until he could no longer see Tim's back, he then turned left and continued his own journey.
Soon, he arrived at the school clinic and went in. There, he saw a young nurse treating a student's injury.
"Welcome, kid," the beautiful nurse said to Finn who was taken aback by the nurse's appearance.
She was young, could be said to be in her early twenties or even less than that.
"What do you want?" She asked him, not comfortable with the way he was staring at her.
"Can I use your first aid kit?" He asked her.
She stopped treating the student's injury and rose to her feet. She faced Finn with a confused look on her face. "What do you want to use it for?"
"I just want to treat a friend's injury, I promise to bring it back as soon as I finish."
"Why don't you bring your friend here?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. She obviously didn't believe what he was saying.
"I have my reasons," he said. "You are a nurse, you should know how important a life is so I think you need to help me or you will be going against the law of nature."
"You can go," the nurse said to the student who thanked her and left. Now, it was just she and Finn.
"What do you say?" He asked her.
"I'll let you use it but I must see who you want to treat," she replied.
Finn knew that she wouldn't let him leave with the first aid kit no matter the reasons and he didn't have enough time to waste either so without a choice, he stuck his hand inside the sleeve of his shirt and brought out the salamander.
"Fine, just help me treat it's injuries and I'll forever be grateful," he said to her.
"Where did you get this thing from and why do you want to treat it so bad?" She asked him, staring at the creature like it was something insignificant.
"I do not think you have any business with my personal choices. All you just have to do is treat it and make sure it's completely healed," Finn replied.
"I am not supposed to be following your orders but for the sake of heavens, I'll overlook your arrogance and do my job," the nurse replied and took the salamander from Finn. She laid it down on the bed and began to treat it.
Finn, scared that she might do something funny to his new pet didn't leave his spot. He stood there, watching keenly as she treated the creature.
And after an hour, she was done. She carried the salamander and returned it to the owner.
"Here you go, I hope you get lost now!" She said.
Finn didn't see it coming but nevertheless, he collected his pet and left after giving her a mumbled 'thank you' as a reward.
After he left the clinic, he went straight to his hostel and when he got there, he didn't see anyone. He was relieved because on his way back, he was thinking of what to do with his pet. He didn't want it to be seen by anyone just yet. As he laid down in his bed, he brought out the salamander and began to stare at it.
"The nurse said you are female so I guess I should give you a female name but what should I call you? I am not good at giving names," he mumbled while the creature kept tilting her head and staring back at him. Finn closed his eyes and began to think of the female names he knew, it was difficult for him to pick one.
After a while, he came up with one. "Lui, I'll call you Lui."
The salamander tilted her head and blinked twice.
"I assume you love it so from now on, you will be called Lui," he said to her and caressed her head.
"Don't worry, Lui. You might not look like anything significant but I swear I'll make you strong! We will become the strongest force in this world. It's a promise!"
As if understanding what her master said, Lui wagged her tail and then climbed on top of him. She rested her head on his chest and then closed her eyes to sleep.
------
It was night time and Finn had fallen asleep right after his discussion with Lui, his pet. The door to their room opened and Tim walked in. The noise woke Finn up from his sleep and when he saw Tim coming inside, he felt something was off about him.
"Hey," he called him. "What's the matter with you?" He asked.
"It's nothing," Tim replied and headed for his bed. But the more Finn stared at him, the more he felt that something was really off with him.
He was concerned about him so he got down from his bed and gestured to Lui to hide before heading over to his side. "If you don't tell your friend what is happening, how is he supposed to be aware? Or haven't you heard that friends don't keep secrets from each other?"
Tim looked up and gazed at him, then looked past him, towards his bed. "I think you should be telling yourself that and not me."
Finn knew what he meant by that and then sighed. "Fine, I didn't want to tell you about it because I felt you were going to laugh at me."
"That's your excuse," Tim mumbled. "Why should I make fun of you?"
"Sorry," Finn sighed. He knew just how hurt one could be when he feels left out or betrayed by close ones. "Lui, come say hi."
Lui crawled out of the blanket and jumped down. Then she crawled over to Tim's side and climbed on his bed.
"What is this tiny creature?" Tim asked and caressed Lui's back. "Its scales are so smooth."
"That's a salamander, a baby one and she is a she."
"A she?... She's cute but of all the monsters there, why you choose this one?"
"Because I know she is a special one," Finn replied.
"Hmmm. Alright," Tim said.
"Now back to you," Finn said, seeing that Tim went back to frowning once more. "Tell me what is bothering you."
Tim was reluctant to do so but after much persuasion, he agreed. He raised his shirt up and Finn saw something horrible on him.
"What are those things?" He asked, staring at the thick black veins that spread on Tim's belle like vines.
"It's the curse."