It was evening but Howell was strolling around the city. For that time, Howell considered visiting the Beast Tamer Association.

Beast Tamer Association was the world-renowned organization that gathered most of the beast tamer under its wings. It provided beast tamer with lots of services such as beast nurturing, information center, even to the point of beast selection, and beast taming guidance.

"It's been a year since I came here." Howell stood in front of the bustling entrance of the building where the Beast Tamer Association in the city was located. Fortunately, it was in the middle where the restaurant he worked for and his school dormitory were located so he could save a lot of time.

 

'Master, this is the place where you choose me in the school group.' Little Red had gathered all the information of that time specifically since it was an unforgettable moment for her. She only remembered blurry images and room when she was at Wildbeast rank but now she was capable of even reconstructing certain events if provided with clues and signs.

Little Red was seeing the time when Howell of the freshman chose a certain beast egg. Some of the other students chose the beast that was sealed inside the hibernation chamber, life support crystal, or the other kind of beast egg.

 

"Well, Little Red. Since I have become a Conscript Rank beast tamer, it should be time for me to have a second beast companion. What's your thought about this?" Howell was communicating with the link between them. Little Red went silent for a while before replying, 'It is fine. A beast tamer must at least have several beasts to not only ensure his safety but also improve himself.'

'But Master, it will not be safe for you to get the beast from the association. They had to register the beast tamer ID and the power rank.'

Little Red was right but Howell was smiling. Then Little Red was silent before she declared, 'No! Master, my event in the Beast Idle Training Dimension is more of a good luck. It will not happen again.'

"It is not about that Little Red. You know exactly what I am going to do." Howell walked to the place where the association was going to discard the useless soon-to-be-tamed beast.

'Does Master want to get a treasure from the heap of trash?' Little Red was asking a rhetorical question. It was exactly what Howell wanted to do.

'No one cared about the things they perceived as trash. But one's person trash is a treasure to another. And better, they don't even need to register ID if we do it this way.'

 

"Ahem. Do you...want to throw away this trash?" Howell covered his face with a mask. It was not because of hiding his face since most of the people of the association could bypass that. No, it was to give the impression that he was another kind of person with another personality.

He was truly releasing his power rank at Conscript Rank, not using the Pure Concealer technique at this moment.

The staff in charge saw two people, one was the man with the mask and the other was a stunning beauty with red hair and an indifferent face. Her eyes only tell him that she would only conduct business and nothing more.

"Do you...want to scavenge these?" the staff already had a hunch as to why the two came to him.

"Yes. Is there a problem? You don't want these anyway, don't you? I might as well take it all for a better purpose." Howell's tone of speaking was hoarse and sharp.

"But..."

"No buts! You should feel glad that our presence can reduce the trash and dispose of it in the way we want. And this is also in line with the association. Give it to me and I can compensate you." Howell was holding two Stella coins with his fingers. Exchanging two coins for the trash was actually kind of profitable.

"Store it," Howell ordered Little Red like a servant to show the staff that he was someone with a backer despite being weak. She proceeded and swept her hands through the entire trash and then it disappeared.

"Spatial...armament!?" the staff was shocked beyond recovery. It was because he knew that only big shot at Admiral and Tamer King Rank had such things. Who were these two?

"Master, don't." Little Red began her act as she held the hem of his clothes. The clothes was different from the school uniform Howell had since this was a robe with the image of a dragon on its surface. The staff also saw the robe and was convinced that the robe was not for show, different than when he saw it for the first time.

And the best part was that the robe had Anti-Mimetic Frame, which made people hard to recognize the features of a person.

"Doesn't matter since this is like a pen name to the novelist. People often call me Dawnstar, don't know why they name me or get to label me as such. Here's your Stella coins." Howell then flicked the sleeve of his robes as he and Little Red disappeared from the scene.

Of course, the moment they left several Commander Rank beast tamer came to the scene. It was because they suddenly sensed the change abruptly that they visited.

The staff was holding two Stella coins in his hand but when several Commander Rank beast tamers came, he was frightened to the point of standing still.

"Who is it that can even lock the space around?" these beast tamers were curious like cats but suddenly they felt the energy fluctuation of a Tamer King Rank beast tamer.

"No need to further investigate. You are not even a match for them. They are not harmful yet so just keep watching their movement and monitor them." that was the instruction of the Tamer King Rank beast tamer. They all knew that was the one who resided at the Olive High School and had a connection with their Beast Tamer Association.

 

-

 

"We are safe now, Master." Little Red was lifting the restriction around them as she changed Howell's clothes back to his high school uniform and they went back to around the building but a bit further away near the restroom.

"Masquerading as a big shot is not bad but I have to keep my caution. I have to be strong and capable just to obtain additional resources and opportunity..." Howell pursed his lips in annoyance. Was this the reality of living beings or the reality of human society?

Then Little Red polymorphed back to her snake form and coiled around his left arm. With that, Howell went back to his dormitory.

After he arrived, Howell closed the door shut as Little Red placed Isolating Frame, Shield Talisman, and Spatial Lockdown Ruler.

Then the content of the trash was poured down to the floor. Lots of life support crystal was damaged if not the being inside was already deformed and dead. Most of the eggs had been rotten for a few days and some of them even cracked and the contents leaked out.

Howell was unpleasant by the smell and the sight but he endured. He used Insight Eye to check the trash.

[Decomposed Egg]

[Broken Life Support Crystal]

[Hibernating Caterpillar]

 

"!"

Howell and Little Red were surprised to see that at least one of the trash was in fact still survived the ordeal. Little Red wondered if her fate would be just like the trash in front of her if not for her master.

Howell picked that particular crystal that was apparently damaged.

"A miracle. Only the outer and superficial layer was damaged but not the inside. It is as if the inside is made from another thing to sustain the being." Little Red slithered down and stared at the crystal as she discerned it.

[Hibernating Caterpillar

The crystal was completely destroyed and it also disturb the assessment device of the Beast Tamer Association, letting the Hibernating Caterpillar bypass the disposal permit and was thrown away. If it were not for you, the being would likely not survive or live a short life]

"Should I establish a pact with this caterpillar?" Howell was not sure since he could not see the potential from the Insight Eye's information panel. But Little Red was different.

"Decent. Master should try it." Little Red transmitted her thought to Howell. Ever since Little Red returned, Howell could feel the proud and arrogant disposition that Little Red emitted. To him, she was as sweet and beautiful but to others she would only assess them once and then went to her matter. That was why when she said that, Howell had already leaned to try it out.

 

To make a beast companion or tame a beast, a beast tamer should know about the Beast Taming Pact first and foremost. Beast Taming Pact was akin to a contract, a bond between two individuals.

The pact would be effective when the two parties agreed. Of course, there were also cases where the pact could not be established or one of the two parties broke the pact.

 

Then Little Red somehow removed the crystal that covered the sphere. Howell could faintly feel a very small energy fluctuation because he paid attention to the sphere all the time. Then Little Red let its tongue out and the sphere was completely visible to Howell and Howell bit his thumb, letting out blood from it.

'A pact with the new beast...I am excited and looking forward to it.' Howell was filled with vigor as he drew something on his left hand. Little Red saw the entire process and maintained the armaments used in case something unexpected occurred. She also paid attention to the symbol that Howell drew as his signature Beast Taming Pact.

'Master's symbol pact is...different from the standard the populace knew of. I need to look into it...Oh, so that was what happened.' Little Red multitasked as she also gathered new information based on her acquired knowledge and dug through it and saw what happened in the past.

What Little Red saw was that Howell followed the symbol shown by the trainer. the issue came when the picture of the symbol was accidentally stained and Howell at that time was desperate and modified it a bit when he tried to make one. The issue came as the first time Howell modified the symbol, it injured his hand.

The second was fortunate since he somehow managed to create something a bit different than the majority, the divarication of the symbol pact.

'Master's symbol pact meant completely different than the ones introduced to the people. The standard symbol pact means the partnership between the two individuals but Master's symbol, signifies the deep relation and promise.' Little Red was somehow happy but at the same time concerned.

'What should I tell Master? No, I have to tell him all about this.' Little Red was thinking about this while Howell focused all his attention on the symbol pact.

Howell felt that this symbol pact was better since he was also sincere when he accepted the beast as his beast companion. He instinctively felt the difference in his symbol pact but not even the teacher commented negatively on that. So he was sure that his symbol pact was safe. It was not wrong but not completely correct either.

"Here we go. Link Start!" Howell willed his origin energy to flow to the symbol while also channeling it to the sphere. He felt a faint consciousness inside the sphere. The sphere was as big as a tennis ball but the dormant energy inside it was enough for Howell not to underestimate whatever inside it.

With the symbol pact as a medium, Howell tried to communicate with the beast inside. At first, it was faint but Howell kept 'touching' the consciousness of the beast so that it became active.

"Who is it?" the voice perceived in Howell's consciousness was the beast inside the sphere, the caterpillar.

"I want to make a pact with you. Can you...listen to me?" Howell could not be too overbearing or humble. But he had to be amiable at the same time since he wanted to form a relationship with the other individual.

"Why?"

Howell was not sure how to answer that. There were many reasons but it was because someone he trusted gave him a push to do it, because he found it pitiful to be judged as useless, because he could only do it at this moment, because of...

Many variables and many reasons and feelings intertwined when Howell thought about it. The caterpillar some way or the other felt Howell's feelings but did not like it. It did not like the pity Howell had for it but it also could not deny that its situation was one step from oblivion.

"Give me a reason why I should form this...pact with you." the caterpillar was putting on a brave front but it was already agreeing inside its core. It just wanted to know what Howell could do to it. Besides, this could be the last chance from the world for it to not only survive but also thrive and transcend its low existence.

"I can make you stronger and I will not abandon you whatever the case. As long as you don't betray the trust I give you, I will also fulfill my part. Is this enough?" Howell was sincere in this aspect. For Howell, sincerity was the foundation when forming a pact with a beast. This could not only make the beast tame but also grow familiarity and fondness of each other.

And then the consciousness of Howell returned to normal, not in the symbol pact anymore as the blood that formed the symbol pact was flying toward the sphere.

"Success!" Howell wiped the sweat on his forehead. He felt a bit of fatigue but he started to feel another link. This time, it was between him and the caterpillar.

[!]

[Status update! Please check at your earliest convenience]

Howell glanced at the status panel and saw some changes.

[Ability:...Silk(F-)[shared]

Beast Companion: Little Red (Galaxy rank potential)

                                   Caterpillar (Star rank potential)]

"Ability Silk and...Star rank potential!" Howell chuckled in disbelief. How could the Hibernating Caterpillar he found on the trash disposal have such high potential?

"Are you my Partner?" the sphere finally cracked and a white jade caterpillar came out of it. Little Red was watching from the side and the caterpillar crawled to Little Red after recognizing Howell.

"What are you looking at?" Since the caterpillar felt immense pressure from Little Red, it was unhappy and spat out its thought through the link between them and Howell. He who understood what was going on decided to watch since this was going to be a reference of how he should manage his beast companions.

"What are you going to do? Going to cry?" Little Red let out its tongue in provocation. She continued, "I don't care about you and your personality but one thing you have to know is that you have to keep your side of the bargain. Otherwise..." while releasing her True Dragon Aura.

Little Red focused her aura completely on the caterpillar. The poor caterpillar was scared silly it froze on the spot. Little Red retracted her aura and slithered away from the caterpillar and to Howell's left arm.

As for the caterpillar, Howell decided to give it a few Origin Herbs since it was a kind of bug that could chew on plants. And the caterpillar did eat the herbs.

"Now that this matter is done, let me check the System first. See what has changed since that day." Howell opened the system and the system complied.

[Beast Tamer System]

[Function:

1.Beast Idle Training Dimension

2.Matter Processing]

He saw that there was a new function added. No, to be exact it was that the function became available to him. There were some others but as of now they were locked.

'The only thing I can relate to the unlocked function is that...I reached a new power rank. That's it!" Howell was sure that this was the reason and the prerequisite to unlock more features of the system.

While the caterpillar was nurturing its injured feelings by eating the origin herbs, he and Little Red was navigating the second fuction of the system.

"So this is what Master saw that day!" Little Red exclaimed.

"You can see the information panel now, Little Red?" Howell did not expect that part. He could only relate to the fact that Little Red had been used for Beast Idle Training Dimension and contacted the Administrator.

'So you are allowed to see this.'

'Yes. And that is why Master has to be careful with which beast Master put through Idle Training Dimension.' Little Red gave an advice to Howell and he had to remember that.

[Matter Processing

Extract, Purify and Grant a fragment of a matter.

It can be bloodline, information form, items, and even consciousness]

Howell understood roughly what it meant. So without further ado, he had a suitable target for this function.

 

He also double-checked to see if anything could be gained from the trash, but it looked like no more thing or even beast that he could nurture. He used Matter Processing to the trash and as a result...

[Processing Material...]

[Extracting useful part...]

[Host, you have gained Bluewolf Bloodline, Gale Bug Bloodline, Metal Rhino Bloodline, Illusory Firefly Bloodline, Nine Lives Cat Bloodline, Pure Magium metal, Damas mineral crystal, and an information about Beast Tamer Association: Trash Disposal Staff]

"Bloodline, metal, mineral, and information?" Howell pondered as the extraction went differently than what he thought he knew about it. As for Purification and Grant, Howell knew what Grant implied but Purification was something he had to see so he did that.

[Purification

Bluewolf Bloodline->Bluewolf Bloodline (10% purity)

Gale Bug Bloodline-> Gale Bug Bloodline (5% purity)

Metal Rhino Bloodline->Metal Rhino Bloodline (13% purity)

Illusory Firefly Bloodline->Illusory Firefly Bloodline (10% purity)

Nine Lives Cat Bloodline->Nine Lives Cat Bloodline (35% purity)

Pure Magium metal-> Cannot purify further

Damas mineral crystal->Damas mineral crystal (25% purity)]

 

"It shows the item that can be further purified. I understand if the items like metals and minerals are purified but what about Bloodline? In the textbook, they say that the purer the bloodline, the stronger the beast gets. But according to Little Red, purity of one's bloodline actually wanted to achieve the purity of the power in it. No wonder the beast with a mixed bloodline is weaker than the one with a pure bloodline. Of course, this is not absolute." Howell was in deep thinking.