This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Thankfully the rest of Kain's journey was uneventful and less than 20 minutes later, while making sure to move at max speed and no breaks, he reached the opposite shore.

Kain exited the water looking like a drowned rat, his clothes uncomfortable soaked through.

He pressed a hand to his aching side as he moved, and removed the Aqua-Fin Bands which had burned through most of their charge during his desperate dash across the lake. While they'd propelled him forward at incredible speeds, his muscles were still stiff and sore from the effort.

But despite his physical discomfort, he was ecstatic.

He looked at the massive black wall in front of him. The black stone shimmered faintly in the moonlight, giving it an otherworldly appearance. Its smooth surface was devoid of seams, cracks, or any discernible entry points.

Its sheer size dwarfed anything Kain had ever seen, appearing to stretch into the clouds, while the length of one side stretched so far in both directions it may take an hour at full sprint for him to reach another side of the wall.

"Of course, no obvious entrance," Kain muttered under his breath, running a hand through his still-damp hair. "That would be too easy."

Using a temporary shelter made by Aegis as cover while he changed, Kain made himself look more presentable before beginning his journey along the wall in search of an entrance.

After exhaustedly walking along the same side of the wall for what felt like an eternity, he still hadn't even reached the point of intersection with another wall.

Just as doubt began to creep into his mind if perhaps this was not the correct location, he hadn't seen any other people either, a low mechanical whirr broke through the still night air, causing him to freeze mid-step.

From the seamless black stone, a small rectangular section of the wall suddenly retracted, revealing a doorway no larger than a person.

"What the—?" Kain's voice trailed off as he stared at the newly-formed opening, his heart pounding.

The space beyond the doorway was pitch black, an abyss that seemed to devour any faint source of light that filtered into the clearing. There were no lights, no sound—nothing to indicate what lay beyond that lightless tunnel.

Kain took a cautious step toward the opening, his instincts and the evident glow of the Threads of Destiny letting him know that at least there should be minimal to no danger to him present within these walls. But the oppressive silence and the impenetrable darkness set his nerves on edge.

"Guess there's no turning back now," Kain muttered, steeling himself as he stepped toward the waiting shadows. After all, if he came all the way here only to turn back because he was scared of the dark, that'd be idiotic.

Due to the narrow fit of the tunnel, he had to recall Aegis, but still had several of the Vespids in front and behind him, along with Bea, to give him a greater sense of security.

Kain took slow, cautious steps as he entered the pitch-black tunnel. The oppressive silence was broken only by the faint buzzing of the Vespid guards flanking him, their presence offering some measure of reassurance.

Bea's mental threads were also extended all around them, scanning the environment for any potential threats, but the darkness ahead seemed completely devoid of life.

Kain's footsteps echoed faintly off the walls, amplifying the eerie atmosphere. He tried not to dwell on the disorienting feeling of being swallowed by the blackness, focusing instead on the Threads of Destiny that faintly flickered at the corners of his vision, constantly reassuring him that it was safe ahead.

After several minutes of walking, a faint light appeared at the end of the tunnel, growing steadily brighter with each step. Kain's pace quickened, relief washing over him as he neared the exit.

Emerging from the tunnel, Kain found himself in a fluorescently lit sterile room with light grey tiled floors and bare walls and ceilings. The stark contrast between the natural beauty of the forest and what looked like the inside of an empty factory, was jarring.

However, the room was spacious. Allowing for the dozens of beast-tamers present and their contracts to roam around comfortably.

Along the walls were several large screens, each displaying various scenes of the forest Kain had just been in.

They would frequently change the location of broadcast, but each one tracked the movements of individuals making their way through the terrain. Kain quickly realized these were the other participants, all fighting their own battles to reach this destination.

Another screen caught his attention. Instead of broadcasting a contestant, it showed a countdown timer ticking down. Next to the timer, three numbers were displayed in varying colours.

The green number read 27, which, after a cursory look around at those gathered, Kain immediately associated with the number of people already present in the room.

The red number was 2, likely indicating those who had failed this final orientation test—either through death or withdrawal.

The yellow number, 11, likely represented the remaining participants who had yet to arrive.

"I guess that means I'm in the latter half of arrivals," Kain muttered under his breath, feeling both slightly disconcerted.

However, he wasn't too disappointed. As he assessed the spiritual fluctuations of those around him. The majority were clearly 6-star beast-tamers, with some at 5-stars. It was rare for someone as low as a 4-star beast-tamer, let alone a second-year college student like him to be recruited.

Kain scanned the room and quickly spotted Serena glowing white hair among those who arrived since she easily stood out. She stood near one of the walls, her posture relaxed but her eyes sharp as she observed the screens.

Seeing her brought a small wave of relief—at least there was someone he was familiar with in this unfamiliar environment.

Kain moved through the room to stand next to her and as he walked he noticed the quiet conversations taking place among the participants, each assessing the others as potential allies or rivals.

'Looks like everyone is trying to find someone to rely on in this unfamiliar environment, in case there are more tests.'

But Kain's attention remained fixed on the screens, particularly the timer that continued to count down, showing that there were less than 5 hours remaining. Even though they were not made aware of any time limit, it appears as though they were expected to arrive within 24 hours.

On one of the screens, Kain noticed a familiar face, who would likely be the next to arrive after him. The former Vice Captain of the Dark Moon College team—Ravi.

In fact, when Kain more closely examined those around him, he spotted several familiar faces that played prominent roles in the last National Tournament. Although, unlike Kain and Serena, most were seniors who had just graduated.

And even they would probably be considered a young minority, since more than half of the arrivals definitely looked as though they hadn't been a student of a college in years.

Kain's gaze lingered on the screen tracking Ravi. The former Vice Captain of Dark Moon College's team was seated on the forest floor near the edge of the lake, his normally commanding demeanour replaced with one of fatigue.

His light-attribute Dawn Butterfly hovered over his shoulder. Pulses of radiant energy flowed from the butterfly into Ravi's body, clearly working to heal the deep gashes and burns marring his arms and legs. Nearby, his other insect-type spiritual creatures stood on high alert, their eyes scanning the area for potential threats.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Looks like he's injured," Kain murmured. He wasn't surprised. Kain had run into indigo-grade spiritual creatures, and almost even stronger ones, several times. If he hadn't had the Threads of Destiny he likely would be an additional tally in the red number of deaths above.

Moments later, another familiar figure appeared on a different screen. Isolde, the Vice Captain of First Celestial Academy and now a fourth-year, trudged toward Ravi's location. Her usually pristine silver armour was battered, her movements sluggish as blood seeped from a cut across her forehead. Despite her injuries, her aura was still fierce enough for most to not dare and mess with her.

As Isolde reached Ravi's side, the two exchanged a brief nod. Though they had been rivals during the tournament, it appeared they were working together now, likely having met at some point earlier in the forest.

Kain wondered if they were both injured when they teamed up or if they'd run into something powerful enough to greatly injure the Vice Captains of the top 2 colleges at this past National Tournament while they worked together.

Kain watched as Ravi gestured toward the lake, his expression serious. The camera zoomed in just enough to show Isolde's furrowed brows as she looked out over the water, likely trying to strategize a way across.

If Kain remembered correctly, she had an attribute for creatures with an infernal bloodline, none of them would be particularly adept at moving under the water.

Likewise, Ravi's lineup of insect-type contracts also didn't happen to have any with a water-attribute.

Kain couldn't hear their conversation, but it was clear that both were struggling to come up with a solution.

"I wonder how they'll handle it," Kain thought aloud, his eyes shifting to the timer, hoping that he'd get to see and team up with the formidable former Vice Captain again.

"Kain." Serena's voice drew his attention. She was now standing beside him, her sharp gaze fixed on the wall opposite to the one Kain was looking at—a wall that was previously empty but now had pretty much everyone surrounding a newly appeared screen, packed so densely that he couldn't see through them. "It looks like this room isn't just for waiting."