Wraithwood Botanist

Cleansing elixirs sound nice, don’t they? They take all the disgusting gunk that’s making you age and die and release it from your body. Then, you feel pure and refreshed and full of vitality, not bogged down by the chains of your past diet, diseases, or ailments. It’s swell.

—until you take the elixir.

Once you do, you might think, Wow, this is delicious! and then enter the bath, thinking that you’re going to enjoy a pleasant night. But that’s a lie. The next moment, all that horrifying build-up ejects out of your body.

I don’t really want to explain what happens because it’s absolutely fucking disgusting, but I’ll tell you this. All sorts of nasty shit in your muscles comes out of every pore in your body. And all the internal problems get thrown up or otherwise gotten rid of.

Once again, I’ll save you the details. Just know that it was a terrible night that neither Kline nor I will ever forget.

My only consolation was that I went back before sunset so I’d get a lot of sleep.

Fuck.

2.

While Mira and Kline were suffering in a bathtub, Aiden was unknowingly setting off the chain of events that would make the two cross paths. It didn’t feel out of the ordinary. He was on Elionis, feeling frustrated that he still hadn’t established a real contract on the last day of the Trial of Trust.

"Are you sure they’ll be over here?" Aiden asked as they reached a clearing.

I did not say I knew where they were, Elionis said. I said that it is crindle mating season. If they were easy to find, we wouldn’t be seeking one out for distinction, yes?

"Yeah… I guess. What kind of contract will they need?"

They require no contract, human. They are famous for bonding naturally.

"So, wait… they bond naturally? Isn’t that the opposite of this test?" To Aiden, the test was about contracts. The stronger the contract, the more impressive it was.

How so? You have already used a contract to find this crindle, have you not? You have proven yourself capable of using one. Now, you should focus on rarity. And in that regard, a crindle is the ultimate prize.

According to Elionis, crindles weren’t rare creatures—but bonding with one was. That’s because they bond the moment they meet an animal that can protect them. It happens within a day of their birth, so people have to run into them at the exact moment to bond.

"Okay…" Aiden nodded and continued riding until sunset. Just as he was thinking that he would never find one, a tiny creature finally hopped into the path. It was the size of a rat, but it had long, straight horns similar to those of an oryx. It was an oryxalope, Aiden decided.

"You’re cute," Aiden said, patting Elionis and dismounting. Then he identified it.

—---

Common Name: Horned Crindle

Summary: Awwwwww! What a cutie! This little guy’s a crindle, an herbivore that’s famous for its magical symbiotic relationships with other creatures. It gathers food and trades information in exchange for protection. And guess what? This little guy is looking right at you! It’s a rarity to see a newborn, let alone have one seek you out. If you take this one, you’re going to rock this trial for sure!

Species: Harvet Crindle

Type: Spirit Beast

Key Facts:

The bonded party can borrow the crindle’s eyes and ears, allowing them to be in two places simultaneously.

…

—---

Aiden’s heart pounded in double spurts as he crouched down.

The crindle sniffed the air and hopped forward. Its eyes were big, and its movements were fluffy and cute. It was indescribably alluring, making him want to protect it for life. It was also useful, and it was also so damn cute. It was cuter than Alitalia’s animal by a massive margin. He wanted it.

Then a white flash tore across his vision like a blizzard, sweeping away the crindle. The only thing remaining was a trail of crimson blood where it was standing.

Aiden’s chest welled with unimaginable fury. He turned and saw a white flash zagging through the forest, and he, the wallflower, the man who avoided all forms of conflict, immediately got onto Elionis and charged. He rushed through the forest, forcing himself to ride recklessly despite never having been a horse person. His blood boiled—his mind was deranged and filled with bloodlust.

It’s that fox!

He was furious, but thankfully, it was still alive. He could feel it. He could hear it squealing in his mind.

Suddenly, Aiden crashed through an opening, where there was a twenty-foot rock face. That’s when something fascinating happened. The fox tried to jump over the rock as if it were only natural—only to slam into the ground, barking and growling and howling. And for the first time—Aiden understood it.

Frustration.

He could tell that the behavior wasn’t a fluke. It was as if that motion, which should’ve been as simple as breathing, suddenly became untenable.

Yes, Aiden understood—but he didn’t give two shits about that creature’s plight. He jumped off Elionis and rushed over, throwing caution to the wind, preparing to pummel the fox with his bare hands.

You should thank me, human, a female voice said in his mind, despite being a ways away. Bonds with defenseless creatures will get you killed. That much is obvious after you blindly followed an enemy beyond your means, she said, glaring at him with her blue eyes.

Aiden touched Elionis. "Why didn’t you warn me?"

Elionis looked at her leg mockingly. She’s injured. There was a gash on it.

It won’t stop me from killing you.

Aiden listened with a sense of fascination, identifying the creature.

—---

Common Name: Lurvine

Type: Demigod (Cursed [Fourth Tier])

Summary: Omigod, omigod, omigod! The only thing rarer than bonding with a crindle is finding a demigod in the first domain. This three-tailed beauty traveled all the way to the Ethereal Gardens, stacking up four separate curses to get here. I’m not allowed to tell you why she’s here, but I’ll give you a hint—it’s tragic.

A demigod with four curses is usually as useless as a newborn human, but beware. This one has been here for almost a century and has nearly released one of their curses. If you attack, she will bite.

Key Facts:

Lurvines have alchemic flames that burn flesh but no organic matter. That allows them to fight with immense waves of fire without burning the forest down.

Their flames do not affect themselves.

This lurvine’s curse is preventing her from fighting with their flame magic.

…

—---

"What are you doing here?" Aiden asked the fox. "Shouldn’t you be behind the gate?"

Where do you think I’m going, human?

Aiden turned to Elionis, confused.

Curses prevent those in upper domains from oppressing weaker people. It does that by suppressing their power to the lowest possible level in a domain and restricting certain magic—like regeneration. It does that so people don’t return with advanced magic and experience to dominate. If they wish to stay in a lower domain, they must—

The fox suddenly shot to the right, and Elionis ran after her, cutting off her retreat. Then he chased after her. He was faster than her by a large degree—which proved how weak she was.

"If she wants to leave, let her go," Aiden said, touching Elionis’ fur. "She’s just trying to get home."

Cursed animals regain their strength over time. They are to be killed on sight.

"If they have multiple curses, what happens if they go up a domain?"

They are reverted to the lowest level of that domain.

"Then wouldn’t it be better for her to go up a domain?" Aiden reasoned. "She’s regained some powers—if you move her up she goes back to being worthless."

No, Elionis said, it’s better to kill her.

"Can we just… not kill animals? I’d take killing a human over killing an animal…." Aiden paused, knowing that this wouldn’t get anywhere with Elionis. Instead, he turned to the lurvine. "Hey. I’m taking a beast taming trial. If you create a contract to follow me back, I’ll let you live."

So go where there’s more animals and humans? she scoffed.

"Or die," Aiden said as Elionis stomped his hooves.

She looked between us before finally saying, Fine. But only on the condition that I stay far from the humans and animals, and you shall not take any action or give any order for any animal, least of all this slave, to harm me.

Elionis stomped his hooves and shook his fur, but Aiden calmed him with a stroke.

"I agree to your terms if we add that you’ll never call my friend a ’slave’ ever again," Aidan said. "He does this voluntarily to move up like you are. Now stop insulting him and make this contract."

Aiden got her to agree and then spent an hour making a comprehensive contract that didn’t allow them to harm each other then or in the future. It required another three hours to bind with a demigod, but he finally did it. When he finished, he got a notification telling him that he had contracted with a demigod and leveled up to Level 24 instantly, capping it until evolution, whatever that meant. Then, he got a second notification that shook his bones:

—---

Neophyte Aiden Roe has been offered a new Legacy Quest.

Legacy Quest: Curse Tamer

Summary: Well, look at you, you little demigod seducer, you! You just went from contracting a worker spirit beast to a cursed demigod in three days. You’re on a roll—so let’s turn it up a notch. There’s a spicy sitch brewin’ in the Fourth Ring, and we need a courier who can bring goods between here and there. Unfortunately, everyone about to take the request is about to die during the tryouts. :(

That’s where you come in! Tame a cursed avian in the third ring and drop off packages if / when they come in. If you do, you’ll get a request equal to the packages you drop up. And lemme tell you—they’re tasty.

Duration: N/A

Requirement(s):

Make a contract with a cursed avian.

Drop off supplies in the Fourth Ring.

Rewards:

Legacy offer.

A beast taming skill (epic).

Rewards equal the highest request used by the neophyte in the Fourth Ring for successful deliveries.

Warning: Couriers are punished for failed deliveries. The punishment for failed deliveries is designated at the beginning of each drop.

—---

Aiden read the notification over and over again. His heart was pounding, and fear was spurring through his veins, threatening to attack him like sparking wires over a water source. He laughed and said, "You’ve got to be fucking kidding me."

3.

Alitalia, the test proctor, sat on a bench outside the conservatory visitor’s center, watching the forest. She was frustrated when Aiden didn’t return. He had gained a healing spell and made a contract with the notoriously uncooperative liscan on the first day. Then, according to Elionis, he went off in search of a crindle. She wanted to know whether he would get one—and whether he could use its eyes on the first day.

So she waited and waited and waited until her stomach was growling and the sun was setting.

"I suppose I should get a bite," she sighed, standing.

"You waiting for Aiden?" Everen, the arrogant, sharply dressed man who showed off in the first day, said, walking up to her. The young man was sharply dressed and confident as ever. He stopped and leaned against a wall.

"I’m interested."

"As am I."

"Why? You searching for a rival or something?"

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I do not compare myself with others. That would imply that we play by the same rules. It’s absurd."

"You were all given the same rules."

"No we weren’t." He looked at her. "We were told to find animals—but not why. Or what we aimed to do with them."

"That’s true…" She looked at him. "So? What do you want with animals?"

He smirked at her and then looked back toward the forest. "The same thing I wanted in my last life—wealth."

"You should’ve chosen alchemy."

"Why? So I can be a slave for a few centuries. Please. There’s a niche here, and I aim to exploit it."

"This isn’t the most lucrative business, so I’m not sure what to say about that," she said. There was a pause after, followed by her asking, "So what? You see Aiden as your meal ticket?"

"A potential partner," Everen said, "yes."

"I wonder what he’d think of that."

"He’ll say yes. Assuming, of course, that he’s actually special."

Alitalia went to walk past him, but before she could do so, she saw something in the distance. It was small, but it caught the setting sun just right. "Is that him?"

"I think so."

The two waited for another thirty minutes until Aiden came into view—and frowned.

"Nothing, huh?" Everan said disappointedly.

Alitalia narrowed her eyes, searching for a bulge for a baby crindle in his clothing or something near him. She was so fixated on it that once he got near and she got the notification, she didn’t check anywhere else.

—---

Neophyte Aiden Roe has completed the mandatory mission "Trial of Trust."

Beast Grade: Demigod

Distinctions:

Obtained communication with a spirit beast without a spell.

Healed a spirit beast.

Learned a beast healing spell.

Learned the contract spell.

Used a contract to find a crindle.

Bonded with a crindle.

Tamed a cursed demigod.

Used healing as a means of facilitating a contract.

Recommendation: Open all trials and rings to Aiden Roe.

Mandatory Requirement: Allow Aiden Roe access to the cursed pens in the Third Ring.

—---

"W-What the fuck…" Alitalia’s eyes shot around, searching for an animal near Aiden—but it was long gone. Whatever it was, it was invisible, and she didn’t notice because she was looking for a crindle. Son of bitch!

"What is it?" Everan mused.

"Nothing," Alitalia said. Then she watched Aiden casually wave as he rode Elionis to the range. She reread the mandatory requirement as he disappeared. It wants him to be the courier… she thought. There’s no way.

The Oracle’s intention was loud and clear because there was one—and only one—use for cursed beasts: taking trips into the Fourth Ring. There was a domain quest announcement—and the Oracle found a new candidate.