AN: This week will be super busy for me. I will try and write a chapter a day but towards the end of this week I may not be able to do so as I will be in a place without internet for the whole weekend. I really hope I can write a few more chapters this week. Here's hoping!

P.S. I decided to just use Agor when doing dialogues instead of Uncle Agor since it is a bit longer and I am too lazy to add the word Uncle every time.

Chapter 3 - Starting Anew

On our way out of the forest we were met with quite a few monsters and beasts which were quickly disposed by Uncle Agor or Leon. At first the speed made me nervous but I eventually got used to it. It was actually quite nice riding Leon, its fur was soft and even running so fast I did not feel the motion as much also feeling the wind against my skin was quite fun. Clearly a sign of how great a hunter Leon is.

We stopped midday and Uncle Agor gave Leon the command to hunt for us something to eat. While Leon was gone Uncle Agor and I made a small clearing and he took some stones and made a pit so we can cook something for lunch. I wanted to be of help, if I just sat around I am afraid that Uncle Agor will think that I was useless and leave me here alone. So without him telling me, I looked around our location for some dry branches and twigs to use for a fire. Uncle Agor just looked at me at first, then he surveyed our surrounding one more time and after that even closed his eyes like he was concentrating on hearing something, opening his eyes one more time he again looked at me and smiled a little and went back to fixing the pit. Seeing that he smiled I somehow knew that he approved me being proactive with helping him. I put it into my heart not to be a burden to Uncle Agor from now on. He saved me and I will prove to him that he was not wrong in saving me.

Returning to the pit after a couple of minutes I dumped the branches and twigs my four years old hands can carry. I was proud to see that i was able to be of help to him. Seeing all the wood I was able to carry he came near me and then patted my head as a reward. It made me happy. He took them and placed them inside the pit. I then went near the pit and sat beside him.

Erina: "Uncle Agor, eating things from this forest is bad isn't it?"

Looking at me he once again smiled and pondered a bit how to answer me.

Agor: "Young Erina, normally it is bad to eat animals from this forest as they are most likely poisonous. But it is a normal thing for an Adventurer and more specially a Tamer like me to know how to deal with them as a potential threat to me and also as potential source of food. Do you understand? I hope it was not hard for you to understand."

I shook my head to say that I did understand what he said. But there are three things I was curious about and I decided to ask it to Uncle Agor while we were waiting for Leon to come back.

Erina: "Uncle Agor can I ask a question?"

Agor: "Of course you can ask anything as long as I know the answer."

He smiled once more and then patted my head again.

Erina: "What is an Adventurer uncle?"

Agor: "An adventurer is a person that goes to unknown places and faces unknown dangers in order to complete quests, find undiscovered wealth, new species of living things and so much more. It is a dangerous occupation filled with times where a person balances between life and death."

Erina: "That sounds scary uncle. Why would anyone want to be an adventurer?"

Agor: "Well there are a myriad of reasons why a person would choose to be an Adventurer, it can be both a noble and dirty occupation. The adventurer guild does not have a lot of criteria in accepting members. The only criteria is for the person to be strong enough to survive the entrance test. Backgrounds are never investigated, the guild only needs result."

I tried to ponder about what uncle Agor said, I tried to understand it completely but I can't comprehend it all. So i decided to just remember hsi words and just continue asking.

Erina: "So what is a Tamer Uncle Agor?"

Agor: "Oh. A Tamer is another occupation a person can get. They are actually called as a class instead of an occupation so that it cannot be confused with real occupations like Adventurer or Explorer and etc. A Tamer is someone who goes to the different places in search of beasts and monsters to tame and to make us their allies. I myself is a Tamer and Leon is one of my allies, we call them Battle Partners or BP for short."

Erina: "Wow so a tamer can befriend a beast as awesome as Leon and then travel with them?"

Agor: "Ha ha ha, pretty much. Although it can also be a very dangerous class. It is not easy to tame a wild beast or monster. You cannot just go and force one to be your partner. It can cause you your life if you try and tame a beast which is far stronger than yourself."

Erina: "How can you have Battle Partners then?"

Agor: "Well, there are three ways actually. The first one is when you find them as a baby or an egg. As long as they are still young they can get used to you and sometimes confuse you to be their parents. Of course, you need to take extra care of them and make sure they are healthy. They will imprint you and that becomes the Natural way of Taming. As the beast or monster continue to grow, a mental link between the two will naturally occur. Next is what we call entering into a Contract, there are two kinds of contract, the first is the Contract of Equality and the second one is the Contract of Servitude."

Erina: "What are those uncle?"

Agor: "Well the first one is when a Tamer meets a beast with high enough intelligence that the both can communicate somehow. If both the Tamer and the grown beast is of equal strength and they both want to be allies they will enter a Contract of Equality which connects them just like the Natural way will do. But there is no master and servant relationship. They are of equal standing in the relationship. This makes their bond stronger and makes it easier to gain its loyalty The Contract of Servitude is when the Tamer totally outstrips the Beast with regards to strength, the Tamer can forcefully apply a Contract of Servitude to the weaker beast or monster and there is nothing it can do. It will have to follow whatever the Tamer commands it to do."

Stolen story; please report.

Erina: "Is it bad to have a Contract of Servitude?"

Agor: "It is not necessarily bad, but it is looked down upon if a Tamer continuously use it just so the Master and Servant relationship is activated. A successful Tamer is not measured by how many beasts he has captured but how he Tamed his beasts. A loyal BP is better than a rebellious one."

Erina: "How do you apply a Contract uncle?"

Agor: "It is a spell that you will learn once you enter the Tamer Academy. It is not something that anyone can just learn. After all this contract is not made to just people but to the spirits of the world."

Erina: "Wow so it is magic?!"

Agor: "Ha ha ha yes it is. A good Tamer is versatile, good at both close combat and magic."

Erina: "So what is the last method uncle?"

I looked at him expectantly, I was getting excited in learning all of these things. I wanted to have a friend like Leon and wanted to hear all about being a Tamer from uncle.

Agor: "The last one is the rarest way of obtaining a BP. Authority Transfer, it is when an existing Tamer gives his authority of a certain beast to another Tamer. Although this way is riddled with restrictions. First The Original Tamer and the New Tamer must be of almost equal strength. The second is that the Beast must accept the Transfer of Authority. Meaning, the beast has the right to refuse the Transfer of Authority if he deems the new Tamer undeserving. This will also possibly decrease the loyalty of the beast to his Original Tamer. Of course if all the previous criteria were passed and The Authority of a Tamer was transferred to another a severe penalty still applies. Twenty percent of the total level of the Beast will be deducted to it making it weaker. This more severe at the higher levels since it takes quite a lot before a Beast even levels up."

I continued listening in earnest. All of this fascinated my tiny mind. This is a totally different world from my Farming Village. Suddenly we heard a disturbance and when we took a look behind us we saw Leon emerging from the see of trees carrying a bloody Illusion Rabbit between its razor like teeth. Seeing the Beats coming back, Uncle Agor motioned it to come nearer,

When it neared us it dropped the Illusion Rabbit and Uncle Agor praised Leon by rubbing its head a bit. It made Leon purr like a common house cat which made me giggle a little bit. Hearing me giggle Leon turned its attention to me and walked to where I was and then abruptly licked me. It surprised me but I was able to regain my calm quickly, I laughed because its tongue is both rough and ticklish. After a while it stopped, laid beside me and we both watch Uncle Agor as he prepares the Illusion Rabbit to be eaten as our lunch,

Normally an Illusion Rabbit is filled with a certain kind of substance in its blood that causes hallucinations to anyone who eats it. This gave it the name Illusion Rabbit, but watching Uncle Agor clean the Rabbit he assured me that with his process of draining the Blood and cleaning its inside by using water magic it took out the chemical causing the hallucinations and it is safe for us to eat it. Oh I forgot to say that the Illusion Rabbit can become our lunch since it is even bigger than the four year old me.

We continued watching him, we talked a bit more while waiting for the rabbit to roast. And while eating I continued asking him some more questions, he answered most of them simply so I can understand it and he even told me stories of his time as an Adventuring Tamer.

While cleaning up the place we used to rest in Uncle Agor suddenly asked me a question.

Agor: "So, how do you think I am connected with Leon?"

Erina: "Hmmm. You are nice to Leon and he is nice to you as well. I think you have the Contract of Equ...equa..Equalitiness Uncle Leon."

I was really proud of my answer. I was sure that they have that kind of link but his answer surprised me a bit.

Agor: "Ha ha ha it's Contract of Equality, Erina not Equalitiness. And you are wrong. What we have is a Contract of Servitude. I tamed Leon while venturing in another Forest but somewhere far away from here."

Erina: "Wow but Leon looks so powerful, does that mean your powerful as well Uncle Agor!?"

I was amazed by the thought of how powerful Uncle Agor must be.

Agor: "Well i suppose I am. Well enough about all this question, we need to continue with our journey if we ever want to get out of this damned forest by the end of this day."

We rushed getting ourselves ready and when we finally set off we did so with the same fast pace we had that morning.

And true to what Uncle Agor have said we finally made it out of the Flowergate Forest when the sun was finally setting in the horizon. I asked Uncle Agor where we were going next and he gave me this answer.

Uncle Agor: "Were going home young Erina, we are going home."