The storm had calmed, but the air carried a pressure more suffocating than thunder ever could.
Fifty thousand participants stood within the boundaries of the sprawling summoning arena, a great stone platform etched with ancient sigils that shimmered with mana.
Floating glyphs hovered in the air above, crackling with runes as the first phase of the trial commenced, truly Grandmaster Halvar was no joke!
At the center of it all, Grandmaster Halvar said.
"Begin."
The ground rumbled.
Sigils burst open like blooming flowers of light and flame.
From each emerged beasts of every shape imaginable: serpents, feline shadow with blazing eyes, tusked moles, ice-plumed ravens, bats, cats, wolfs, foxs, wood spirit and creatures so alien they defied categorization.
Chaos, awe, and raw instinct flooded the arena.
Participants scrambled, some retreating, others charging ahead with courage or madness.
The wind stirred the grass as silence fell once more.
A low rumble echoed from the distant ashwood forest.
Grandmaster Halvar stepped forward, the scars on his face catching the light.
His voice, deep and guttural, spoke without need for magic amplification.
"Your first trial begins now."
A single motion of his hand, and the air trembled.
Dozens of summoning circles lit up in the air behind him, stretching like a wall of radiant pillars.
Each one pulsated with immense magical energy, from them, creatures began to emerge some noble, others terrifying… others look only so pitiful.
Wolves of ice, hawks wreathed in flame, serpents of mist, elemental spirits with vaguely humanoid forms.
And one, a silent, shadowy feline with glowing eyes, paced like a king, these creatures numbered well over 10,000 but of course not even one-tenth of them would be tamed.
This showed indeed how difficult this test is.
The crowd leaned back instinctively.
"These are Ashwood-born creatures," Halvar said.
"Many have never seen humans before. Some are young, some are ancient. But all of them are untamed."
He paced in front of the candidates now, eyes scanning.
"You will approach each of them!"
"There are three simple rules to pass… -If a bond forms, good. -If it attacks, survive. -If it ignores you… leave."
The rules were brutal, it not only showed that they had one chance each but they also had to choose wisely or risk losing it all.
No second chances.
Davi tilted his head, listening intently.
He could feel it that flickering hum, like magic brushing against his soul.
"Is magic this powerful?" He thought inwardly
Russell leaned close, whispering, "This... this is insane!"
"I've felt worse," Davi muttered, stepping forward.
Russell blinked. "You felt worse? You must know this is no joke right?"
"I fought a Nine-Eyed Bone Dragon once. Lost my left lung" Davi responded casually.
Slowly reminiscing his glorious day back in the world of forsaken saints.
Russell stared. "What?!!"
"Like heck i would believe you… Dragon… Are those even real?" Russell responded, clearly interpreting davi as being sarcastic.
"Long story" Davi responded.
Russell choose not to blicker with him and decisively paid attention to the first participant.
The first candidate stepped up.
A boy in blue robes, he looked scared… perhaps he was just a newly awakened or perhaps a normie (without magic).
One must note that feeling nen isn't a criteria to tame a beast even a normal human could but it came with a high failure rate.
He walked toward a glowing beast that looked like a silver stag wreathed in wind.
The creature sniffed, blinked sadly, it turned away.
Rejected!
The boy froze in shame.
"Next!" Halvar barked.
More went forward.
Some screamed as beasts lunged deflected only by barrier spells… Clearly this participant likely was a magic acolyte.
A few succeeded.
One girl, trembling, held her arm out to a tiny wood spirit. It approached… then curled around her wrist.
The glyph above her flared, sealing the bond.
Cheers erupted.
Hope invigorated the cheering crowd.
Russell clapped slowly. "Well. That's not terrifying at all."
Then his name was called.
Russell stiffened.
Davi reached to pat his shoulder. "Don't try to charm it."
"No promises."
Russell strode forward with too much flair.
He approached a creature that resembled a winged lion cub, its fur crackling with sparks.
He knelt.
"Hey there, little guy. You and I… we're gonna be …"
The creature roared in his face, sending him flying back ten feet.
Halvar didn't blink. "Next!"
"Why does this exam hate me?!" Russell wailed from the ground, cursing his bad luck.
Davi chuckled softly.
"You have an affinity with water… Why then would you want to tame a beast with a fire attribute and a silver winged lion pulp no less… isn't that an A ranked beast?" Davi said after Russell returned.
"Oh! I never thought of it that way brother… Hehe" Russell said as he laughed sheepishly.
"Now you know… Now carry me on, its time to shine!" Davi said in high spirit.
"Why do i feel like you would embarrass yourself brother?" Russell said as he led davi to the stage.
"Just watch me!" Davi said feeling confident that the system is bound to surprise him.
***
Candidate Gerald of Red Rock Mercenaries… Step Forth.
Gerald adjusted his crimson shoulder cape and walked forward with sure steps.
"Here we go," he muttered.
A wall of creatures growled.
Gerald studied them with the eye of a seasoned warrior, a large obsidian-furred beast with tusks, a scaled monkey with four arms, a twin-horned serpentine wyrm, and towering above them all a two tailed fox.
Its red fur glowed faintly as arcs of lighting rippled across its fur.
A gasp spread through the arena.
"He's aiming for that?!"
"He's overconfident… not stupid, right?"
Halvar's eyes narrowed as he watched on.
Walking straight toward it, the two tailed fox snarled.
Tension spiked.
Gerald knelt, not in reverence, but readiness.
He locked eyes with the beast.
Seconds passed.
A heartbeat too long.
The two-tailed fox lunged, not to kill, but to test.
Gerald met the charge with a blast of reinforced aura, casting an inferno spell in the process, skidding back but staying upright.
The two-tailed fox stopped , then it grunted and moved away.
A glyph flickered.
Gerald exhaled. "Sad… At least I tried my luck."
***
Participant after participant faced the trial.
Davi waited for about seven more hours after Russell but was yet to be called.
Russell bruised but alive, leaned on his shoulder.
"Okay… your turn. Show us how the blind guy tames a beast."
Davi smiled faintly and went forward confidently.
Then…
Candidate Davi L. Vermillion …Step Forth
Silence fell…
"Did he jut say L vermillion? Are those people still alive?" A grandmaster from Craynwood Institute asked himself as he looked on with suspicion.
***
As the onlookers watched, the murmured amongst themselves.
"Is he serious?"
"Didn't the call up a single candidate? Why then do I see two people proceeding towards the arena?" A crowd asked himself in confusion.
"He'll be shredded." said another.
"Ohh! Is that the blind one? I saw him at the mercenary guild when he signed up for the test… turned out he is a naturally awakened… Although blind, lets see what this Davi could do."A short dark skinned man spoke up in reply to the previous question.
~Gasps
"Did he just say a naturally awakened?..." Another set of murmuring erupted from the crowd,
Everyone knew that before this Exam that the had conducted an wakening ceremony a day before… Technically no one was a normie except those that got the information late or came today.
Nevertheless, the crowd was still shocked on this discovery.
***
Davi walked forward, unhurried, steps guided by instinct. His sightless eyes gazed ahead as if he saw a world others could not.
The moment he neared the beasts, the air changed.
The Asura System rang...
[Ding!!!]
[Pet Store Feature: Unlocked]
[Spiritual Beast Affinity: Detected]
[Origin: Ashwood Forest]
[Ashwood Compatibility: 93.68%]
[Scanning Optimal Beast Candidates...]
The list appeared within his mind's eye:
[Feline Cat- Rank C (Nervous – Light Affinity)]
[Fang Hawk- Rank D (Unstable – Wind Affinity)]
[Gloomling Fox- Rank D (Playful – Shadow Affinity)]
[Eclipse Howler- Rand A
[Crimson Fang Pup- Rank C (Loyal – Bloodline Locked)]
[Mist Scorpion- Rank B (Dominant – Poison Affinity)]
[Duskwisp Drake- Rank E (Injured – Decay/Earth Affinity)]
[...]
The list went on for about thirty more entries, however he had limited time due to the huge participants, he had to choose wisely.
Davi didn't bother looking below the tenth entry.
"Which of these beast would aid me significantly? Considering i have no actual affinity with any of them?" Davi thought to himself
The Fang pup and feline cat came to his thought but he quickly dismissed that idea as soon as his gaze fell on the seventh beast.
The injured status of this beast stirred something in his soul.
A massive three-tailed wolf, dark as ink, stepped forward.
The crowd gasped.
"That's an Eclipse Howler!"
"Rank A beast… impossible!"
But the wolf didn't attack.
It walked slowly… Just as it was few meters away from Davi, it lunged mercilessly at him.
Russell that was already back in the crowd rushed forward to save Davi… However he was a bit to late and what happened next stunned him.
"System give me the windcaller!" Davi requested in the nick of time.
A red staff with strange symbols appeared in his had som mysteriously that it was difficult to comprehend… Using the same method as in the caravan, he infused asura qi into the staff forcefully as his skin devoured the concentrated nen energy furiously making Davi portray an endless vortex that absorbed everything.
Truly a spectacular sight to witness.
Davi lunged at the howler… Thank God the system had warned him about this beast… Soon the staff and the beast paws collided.
BOOM!!!
Davi was sent flying meters away coincidentally towards the direction of the drake.
Vomiting a mouth full of blood, Russell rushed forward towards the platform screaming.
"Davi!"
The Howler looked at Davi in shock clearly confused… That strike could have killed him ten times over what happened?
Davi slowly stood up using windcaller as support as he slowly made his way to the drake.
Crimson threads of light extended visile to only him.
"Little guy… What do you say? Your injured so am I... we are a match made in eaven don't you think?"
The drake watched suspiciously as this strange human extended its hand towards it, out of instinct it began to decay its immediate environment releasing a gas so repulsive that other beast around gave it some distance.
Just then the system made contact with the drake.
[Spiritual Contract Request: Initiated]
[Compatible Host Found.]
[Warning: Core Synchronization Unstable. Proceed? Yes/No]
"Yes," Davi whispered.
[Bond Established!]
[Name The Beast: ???]
"You shall be called Gravilis!" Replied Davi.
[Naming Successful!]
[Pet: Duskwisp Drake]
[Name: Gravilis]
[Rank: E]
[Status: Injured]
[Affinity – Decay/Earth Affinity)
A surge of emotion hit Davi like a flood, loneliness, howling rage, and fragile hope all these came from Gravilis.
He placed a hand on the creature's head.
"You and I… We've a great journey ahead of us."
***
The crowd erupted.
Even Lady Stacy sat forward, intrigued.
"That nen devouring ability of his… I must bring this lad back to the academy" She thought to herself.
Grandmaster Halvar wasn't an exception.
The Archon himself nodded silently, although he still tried to understand where the staff came from.
Davi was about leaving when… The Eclipse Howler as well as few other creatures began approaching.
Some lowered their heads.
Others hovered protectively.
The Asura System blared.
[Warning: Multi-Bond Detected]
[Host Rank Incompatible…Restricting Overflow]
[Temporary Limiter Applied: Beast Slots: 1 Active, 2 Locked! Remaining Denied!]
Russell stared, slack-jawed. "Is he my brother?"
Davi turned towards Gravilis who was limping unsteadily beside him.
"I'm done here" He said
Not long after Russell arrived and lead him slowly down the platform starring at the deformed lizard barely resisting the urge to laugh because of Davi's injury.