Random village. Outskirts of the endless forests. Four months later.

*screeeeech*

The sound of hawk screeching could be heard throughout the village. If one looked up, they could see a great black hawk flying through the sky. It had a wingspan reaching almost a meter and a half. 

It flew in circles for a while, then dove down towards an empty plot outside the village. It adjusted itself a few meters above the ground, to land on an outstretched arm wearing a thick leather glove. 

Adam, still happy about his new pet, started petting the hawk. He bought said hawk four months ago during his previous shopping trip. He was stunned when he spotted the bird, along with many other animals. 

The reason being how similar to earth animals they looked, minus the sizes. According to the seller, the one he purchased was still in its growing phase, something Adam had a hard time believing given that its current size is considered mature back in his old world.

He had then decided to read more on how mana affected wildlife. It was a bit difficult to find anything relevant, given no one bothered to look for wildlife on regular planets to compare. 

What he did find was nonetheless fascinating. According to a few beast tamers and the like, size can vary greatly depending on the beast's environment and needs. 

Meaning that a critter living in an environment where everything is bigger than it will grow in size with every tier advancement it experiences. Of course, it will require higher sustenance to power through the transformation.

On the other hand, if size is not a factor to its survival; it may grow bigger only if it desires so. Something that rarely happens at lower tiers, given their low level of cognizance. They will of course still need higher sustenance to compensate. 

Beast tamers may also push certain beasts to grow by feeding them mana-rich resources. It will force the beast's body to slowly adapt, growing stronger and bigger to contain the excess energy over time. 

It is a delicate process, rife with past failed experiments. You need to find the proper balance to not exceed the beast's limits lest it explodes, gets mana poisoning, or any other unfortunate endings.

In the case of Adam's hawk, he will let it grow at its leisure. It is its own body after all. While he may consider them as pets; they still have a right to their own life. 

According to the seller, this black hawk, a name they use in Aurora instead of its actual name, Great black hawk, has the potential to reach tier 5 if fed well. Black hawks reaching tier 5 is rare, but the potential is there. 

Hearing a rustling sound near him; Adam looks over, while the hawk flies away to perch on a nearby tree. Next to the raven used by the council to watch over him.

Bending his knees slightly, Adam, with a slight smile, waits for his other pets to pounce. A few moments later......

*Rooowr*

Two jaguar cubs pounce on Adam, who rolls with the motion, ending on his back with them playfighting against his hands on his chest and stomach.

He also picked those jaguar cubs at the same seller where he bought his hawk. One is a black panther while the other has its regular coloration. 

They were about the size of a medium dog, still in their growing phase.

They had the potential to reach tier 6 at most. 

He has always loved feline predators, and jaguars were in his top three, along with lions and tigers. There was a tiger cub available, but the chance to own two jaguars instead of one tiger was too good to pass up. He did not care for their future strength, he only wanted to enjoy their company. 

He was tempted to buy the tiger cub as well, but with the addition of his last pet, he figured it would be too much. Maybe when he gets a more permanent domicile, he will think of adding extra animals.

His last pet is the jewel on the crown. The one he considers himself lucky to have found, despite the seller's advice to not purchase it. It was a creature of mythology, something part of the Chinese pantheon. 

In his old world, with his interest in mysticism; he has read many things regarding the pantheons spread throughout. With how the empires still existed, a lot of the information was still preserved, allowing him to learn many things. Like his current pet.

Getting up and leaving the jaguar siblings fighting each other, he looks behind him at a floating steel platform, shaped like a sphere cut in half, the flat portion on top. It was the size of a dinner plate. 

Laying atop said platform was a sleeping turtle. It would look like a regular black alligator snapping turtle; if not for the sleeping, curled-up viper extending from where its tail should be.

That's right, he was able to purchase a Xuanwu. The mythological Chinese tortoise of the north, also representing winter. The seller tried to discourage him from purchasing it. 

He told him it was something the council heads snatched from a cultivation world. It was an egg at the time, fiercely protected by its brethren. All of them tier 8 with a potential tier 9 hidden. But they did not care, performing the mother of all hit and runs. 

Exploding various avatars as a distraction and escaping with a single egg.

They were excited at the prospect of raising their own tier 8 or maybe tier 9 beast, to produce outstanding bloodline magi. Once it hatched though, all their hopes came crashing down. 

It grew exceedingly slow and it needed a lot of energy-rich resources to advance through the tiers. It was also useless as a battle companion, only waking up once in a while to eat. It was currently one hundred years old and it was still so small. About the size of two adult fists.

Adam, on the other hand, did not care. Even if it took time to grow to its full potential, having it is better than not having it. Especially with what he planned to do with it if he could live long enough to see it grow. 

He was hoping it grew big enough to build a house on top. Granted its spiked shell would make it a hard endeavor, but it's something he'll worry about in the future. The idea of having a mobile residence, atop of a mythological creature, traveling the cosmos appealed to him. 

Especially if it could grow to tier 8 or 9, it would be easy for it to travel through space and the void between universes and multiverses. 

Looking back at his jaguars, laying on the grass enjoying the sun, he exhaled in satisfaction. He loved animals, and seeing so many, especially a legendary one, made him happy.

He walked over to his attendant, lounging in the sun in her combat-ready uniform. This time she had all of her weapons. On top of the previous bastard sword, and her daggers, she had a spear laying nearby along with a recurve bow made of some sort of bone. 

Adam himself was dressed in a similar outfit, with leather, armored pants instead of a battle skirt. He had the weapons he commissioned from Allan on his body.

The sword cane turned out satisfactory, albeit different from what he expected. The whole cane was shaped like a snake. Slightly wavy with a straight center. 

The top of the cane featured a four-headed snake, biting inwards on a sphere. Each snakehead had a single horn coming out of their heads. The sphere had enough space for his hand to manoeuver the cane. This whole design would serve as a mace head.

The bottom of the cane ended in the snake's tail. A tail reminiscent of a rattlesnake's in design, allowing him to firmly grip the mace. It was long enough for a double grip. It was also used to unlock and unsheath his sword, leaving half the tail on the sheath and half with the sword. 

The half on the sheath allowed him to still grip and use the mace while dual-wielding with his sword if he wishes so. The sword handle was hidden when sheathed. 

It was made of immortal wood, allowing it to mold to his grip at any time with a simple mana injection. The sword was about two fingers wide, double-edged, and ending with a sharp point. 

Despite the design being unexpected, he was quite satisfied with how well the cane turned out.

The daggers and shortsword on the other hand were very basic. Double-edged, immortal wood handle as well, with a crossguard. The daggers blades were a little less than half a foot in length, reaching almost a foot with the handle. It should be easy to hide one, but two at all times will require some thinking. 

The shortsword looked plain as well, a crossguard along with a blood groove running along most of its blade. The blade was about three and a half feet in length, the handle adding an extra foot. 

As for the helmet, its contours were shaped to fit Adam's skull perfectly. It was only a bit larger at the front to fit his nose. There were no eyeholes or any other distinguishing features. Just faceless polished metal. Despite the lack of them; Adam could see clearly, even if he wore the helmet. 

This was due to a small deception done by Allan. There were actual holes for him to see and breathe through. The holes were covered by regular tempered steel, polished to blend with the vibranium flawlessly. 

It was almost impossible to enchant vibranium with the current knowledge of inscriptions available to Aurora. It was not one of their specialties. 

So Allan decided to enchant regular tempered steel, a feat much easier, and use it to cover the eyes holes, and whatnot, providing an almost flawless camouflage. This enabled Adam to see and breathe normally while still protected. 

The helmet also had tempered steel at the bottom, protecting his neck and a few inches of his collarbone. The steel was enchanted to be malleable once mana was injected, allowing Adam to remove the helmet easily. Once equipped, a simple mana injection will harden the steel, providing him protection.

The helmet itself made Adam look quite intimidating if he wore it along with his usual attire. A faceless polished and reflective steel-head, along with a three-piece suit, is quite unnerving to look at. Along with his cane, he enjoyed the overall look he presented. 

Wearing it with his current attire on the other hand looked weird. It did not fit well with leather.

The recurve bow was similar to Elenas, using lesser wind dragon's body parts to construct. A dragon can only be considered a true dragon at tier 7 and up. 

Of course, they may call themselves whatever they wish, but if they meet a genuine true dragon, they may get killed and eaten or enslaved for such an offense. Other than genuine true dragons, only their direct descendants may call themselves as such, without repercussions. 

Even beasts had nepotism...

Adam approached Elena and tapped one of the two void bags he had attached at the hips. A lounge chair appeared beside his attendant, on which he sat down, to wait for David, his second attendant.

Not far from the duo, a few feet away, lay two unconscious men, tied on a wooden sled. They were brought here by Adam, to use as bait in case of danger to his life. 

Although he was confident that Elena and David can protect him, if he has to run from a strong beast pursuing him, these men will be able to buy him precious time for either of his attendants to save him.

Other than meeting the information dealer David found, he came here to explore the endless forest with his new pets. He wanted them, as well as himself, to gain experience killing creatures out to kill them. 

It would be easy for him to arrange a safe environment to fight in, but he wanted a genuine experience. Well, as genuine as it can get with a tier 9 knight around, but the point remains. 

He will have Elena and David scour the surroundings, leaving only tier 4's and below around for him to fight with. His pets were weaker than him; the turtle won't participate, given its sleepy nature. The Jaguars were on the cusp of tier 2 while the hawk was a genuine tier 2.

He also wanted to explore besides fighting. He brought an expanded tent. Along with one maid instead of the usual two. Given how dangerous things could become, he figured it would be better to travel lightly.

The maid he brought; Cat, was as strong as a tier 1 human knight using only her base body. That is one of the advantages beastmen had over regular humans. Stronger bodies and senses. 

Some beastmen had even higher base strength, depending on the type of beast they were part of. Feline beastmen, excluding tigers and lions, were generally more agile than strong. Well, Jaguars were known for having the strongest bite force among the felines. He glances at the cubs lazing around proudly.

He did not know how many types of feline beastmen existed, or even what type of feline Cat-maid was. Given the shape of her ears, pointed, he assumed it was a regular cat or something similar.

About half an hour later, he felt that simply waiting was a waste. He decided to find names for his new animal companions. 

He will stay away from famous mythological and legendary names, given how their owners may be alive somewhere in the cosmos.

He's unsure if the owners of such legends and myths have power over their names, and he's unwilling to use his animals as test subjects to find out.

Thinking for a while, he decided to name the black panther Ghost, and the regular one Jag. Not original, but he felt it was appropriate. 

He then used his unoriginal sense of naming to find one for the Xuanwu. Tank. Hoping it would be as sturdy. He was tempted to call it speedy, but it was too comical to be taken seriously. As for the hawk, he decided on Onyx, based on its dark plumage. 

Satisfied, he decided to slowly use their new names to call them, to get them used to it. 

To this day, the Council is unsure of what factors affect a beast gaining sapience. Or rather, there were too many factors to take into account, making it hard to accurately determine. 

It could be depending on the strength of its parents or its bloodline ancestor. It could also be dependent on the resources consumed throughout its life, or maybe it's with age. Tier advancement is a guaranteed way, but at what tier? That is where those previous factors come into play.

The only pet he's sure is on the verge of sapience is Tank, the Xuanwu. Despite only being tier 1, it is already extremely intelligent for a turtle; understanding when it is being spoken to without constant eye contact. 

The tiers for beasts are different compared to what the magi and knights use. And the tier of knights differ from magi as well, creating a whole mess as well as confusion, sometimes causing the deaths of unfortunate and unprepared explorers. 

This is due to the later paths of magi being discovered relatively late and the Ascendants not bothering to figure out a new way to classify things.

A tier 6 beast, for example, would have a more durable body than a tier 6 knight on average. Durability also does not usually equate to muscular strength, so knights would still have the upper hand in many scenarios. Of course, some exceptions may apply depending on the type of beast. 

Knights also outclass beasts when it comes to versatility, with the help of their weapons. This creates a sort of tug-of-war situation; Where under certain conditions, one may prevail over the other.

It is the same thing for magi. The only difference is that they have higher firepower compared to the knights allowing them to fight shorter battles. Of course, having a good elemental matchup also helps.

A magus's overwhelming superiority only shows against other humanoids, not beasts. Unless they are at high-tier (Tier 7 and up), in which case their destructive power multiplies and allows them to overwhelm even beasts at similar tiers. 

While Adam was lost in thought, thinking how despite being a high-tier world, many things still did not make sense in Aurora; The Jaguar cubs perk up and start running in the direction of the village.

Looking at them, he notices Cat-maid, along with David and another person approaching. The usually stoic cat-maid smiles at the approach of the cubs. She crouches slightly with open arms, hugging the jumping cubs.

Adam is not surprised at their reaction to the maid. He assumes the reason for their fondness is due to her feline heritage. 

While the maid is petting the cubs, David approaches along with his guest.

Adam looks them over and proceeds to get up. Glancing at the still napping Elena, he pats his pouch to retrieve a spray bottle. He usually kept it on him, to use on the cubs whenever they get naughty, but he found it especially useful to wake up his lazy attendant.

*pssst psst*

"Argh! What the Fu- Oh, boss, I was just meditating, you didn't have to spray me." Elena says shamelessly while getting up and storing the chair in her pouch. He did not buy her the void bag, it belonged to her before working for him. Given her status, it is not surprising.

She spots the visitors, and waves David over; wanting to greet her lover. David glances at Adam, who nods back. 

Receiving permission, David leaves the guest's side to head over to Elena.

They start walking away, whispering to each other, when all of a sudden, Elena roughly grabs him by the neck for a kiss.

*psst psst*

"Argh! what the shi- I mean, boss why did you spray me again?" Elena complains while wiping the water from the back of her neck.

Adam nods towards the approaching guest "I'm about to meet someone, I don't want to have to deal with you getting it on while I'm speaking. Wait until our guest leaves then go do whatever it is you'll have poor David doing. Come stand behind me. Try to look professio- I mean look scary." He rephrases once he remembered who he was talking to. 

Elena, unbefitting of her stature and power, pouts slightly while mumbling "What do you mean poor David? You send away the only dick available to me while you got your maids. Ahh, I'll have to go check on my harem, they must be suffering without me.." She glances at David "Even David must have been lonely. Don't worry honey, I'll take care of you."

David, remembering how insatiable Elena is when she's horny, pales slightly. "Sweetheart, We can't do anything now. We have to make sure sir Adam is safe at all times. I've also spoken with Jason. He just broke through tier 6 and misses you. He will meet us once we're back at the residence. We should wait to make everything extra special. Me and Jason together, can you imagine?"

Adam, meanwhile, ignored the depraved conversation happening behind him and focused on his guest. It was a valiant-looking woman. Despite her slight wrinkles and graying blonde hair, she exuded an air of authority.

She was wearing a polished full plate armor, along with a knight's helmet that covered the face, held in her gloved hand, along with two longswords strapped to her hips. Adam imagined this was what a real knight would look like, plus a shield.

The lady approached Adam, one hand holding the helmet, the other on the pommel of one of her swords. She glanced at Elena, only to snort at her. Elena, under Adam's stunned gaze, flicks a booger at the lady.

"ELENA!" Adam yells, catching everyone off-guard. "You will show respect to ANYONE I treat as a guest." He takes a slight breath to calm down.

"Do NOT take my friendliness as permission to act as you wish. Act out of line once more, and I shall have the Council replace you. Not only that, I will ensure they send you to the worst mission possible. Is that understood?!" He intones, with barely hidden anger. Elena looks him in the eyes for some time, without answering.

"I said, is that understood?" This time he repeats in a lower voice as if daring and threatening her to give him the wrong answer. 

Elena, seeing how serious he seemed, impassively nods. She bows her head in apology and steps back.

Adam, receiving his answer, looks back at the Lady, who was watching the whole thing with slight shock and a little smugness in her gaze.

"As for you Lady Charlotte Stoller." He starts, staring into the grey eyes of his guest. 

"Being dismissive of my attendants, in front of me at that, is equal to being dismissive of ME! I will not accept such disrespect. Do not believe yourself valuable because I deigned to meet you. Whether it is your status as a tier 9 knight or your information network, you are not irreplaceable. No matter your affiliations, I will make it my job to ensure you live miserably. And what a simple job it will be. Do not forget my status. Is that understood?" He speaks slowly, without any trace of the previous anger present.

The now named Charlotte Stoller straightened herself and looked Adam in the eyes for a moment, before giving Adam a slight bow of her head "I apologize for my rude behavior, Sir Adam."

Adam waves her answer away "As long as you understand." He then stops speaking, still staring into her eyes. 

Only to start again a moment later."Given how this meeting started, I am not inclined to continue. Leave. I will call for you at a different time; And unlike this time where my attendant went to get you; You shall come at my call, at your fastest speed. Understood?" He says, all the while never breaking eye contact.

Charlotte nods her head "I understand. I apologize once again. I shall wait for your call." And started walking away, ignoring Elena this time.

As for Adam, he looked back at Elena for a moment then turned his gaze to David "Follow me, I want to hear your report along with any other information you gained." He walked a distance away, taking out his personal tent and stepping in.

The tent, similar to holding bags, was also made using void beast skin. But unlike holding bags, there were no time enchantments to stop time from passing. It had space enchantments, along with various other enchantments, ensuring comfort on the road.

Adam, upon stepping in, finds himself inside the drawing-room, which is the first room one sees upon coming in. The tent itself had a master bedroom as well as a guest bedroom. It also had a storage room, a kitchen, a bathroom, a library/office, a lab, a training room as well as the previously mentioned drawing-room. Everything was fully furnished.

Such a tent was not sold as-is. It was something one had to order and custom make. Very expensive. As soon as Adam heard of such a wonderful and convenient thing, he ordered one right away.

Once seated, he waited for David to come in behind him. Spotting him come in, he waved him over to a seat. "Come, sit, and tell me why you only brought one broker instead of the two I asked for."

David promptly sits and gives his report "Yes sir. I tried to find the ones with the most comprehensive and trusted networks, avoiding the small timers as well as the untrustworthy ones. I managed to find three, but two of them refused, stating they already had an employer. Only Charlotte was willing to come. I asked around and found out she decided to leave her current employer, due to some sort of disagreement. As for what happened, I was unable to find out." Once done, he remained silent, waiting for Adam to speak.

Closing his eyes, Adam process what he was just told. 

'It looks like I was right, most useful people work for the special students in some way. Or rather most of them might be working for them while others probably work the council itself. Is it really only due to resources? Maybe it is due to our status. Allowing them more leeway for their personal activities; ensuring no one bothers them. Regardless, unlike Robert, the others introduced themselves right away. The person behind Robert is probably looking to make allies, something I can take advantage of. It is always better to have more friends than enemies after all.' 

Finished thinking, he opens his eyes and looks at David "You did well. You may go out. Send Elena in." David nods and leaves the room while Adam closes his eyes once again with his legs crossed, waiting for Elena.

A few moments later, he hears someone come in. Not opening his eyes he speaks "Elena, do you know why I reacted as I did?" he then opens his eyes, looking at his attendant waiting for her answer. 

Elena looks at Adam for a moment and responds "It's because I didn't act appropriately toward someone you viewed as a guest."

Adam shakes his head "No you're wrong." Elena looks at him slightly stunned, with a questioning gaze. "You want to know why?" She nods slightly.

"It's because you acted as such without my permission." He stares her in the eyes "In our private time, you may act as you wish. On the other hand, if I'm meeting with someone, you act how I want you to act. While we may be friends during our private time, you are my attendant, my employee, in front of others."He pauses for a moment, making sure she's following. 

"If I order you to spit at a guest's face before a meeting, you shall spit in their face once the meeting starts. Simple as that. The point is, you listen to what I tell you. While I won't order you to act in any way you deem uncomfortable or demeaning, I won't be surrounded by subordinates who believe they may act as they wish in front of outsiders. The way you present yourself in front of others reflects upon me. And while I may not care for the opinion of others; such a mentality is only something I can present if I have absolute power. Something I do not currently possess. Do you understand?" He spoke slowly, making sure she understands what he was saying. 

Elena, finally understanding what the issue is, nods and responds "I get it. And I'm sorry, I should've known better." 

Adam, satisfied, reassures her "Don't worry. It was bound to happen considering how you normally act. I just wanted to nip it in the bud, as well as make you understand my position and point of view." 

He then dismisses her "You can go spend time with your lover. Send in the maid, and have her bring the pets in. Tell her I'll be in my bedroom. Also, help her with the hawk." Nodding once, Elena steps out. Adam gets up and heads deeper in the expanded tent, towards the master bedroom. Ready to relieve himself with the maid and then rest for the day.

*************

Author: Eyoooo. How you peeps doing? I'm doing okay. Just started exercising again. Hard to do once you've been sitting on your ass for the past two years. Got myself a nice burrito belly. Muscles sore and lungs out due to past smoking, not a nice combo I tell you. Anyways, here is the chapter where Adam sets down the law. In case you haven't noticed, the MC has control issues. Something I noticed in most fictional characters with above-average intelligence, is the need to have everything within reach under control or within expectations. I don't know if I can accurately portray Mc as someone smart, but it is easy to show his OCD for control. And in case you haven't noticed, he also has pride bordering on narcissism. Something else that most smart Mc's have. Keyword being most. While it is not showing often, it is there. 

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

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Lazy, Out!