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Crystals Of Tame

Chapter 3

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Surrounded by a thick forest whose inhabitants were mostly novice-level monsters, Woodfield village lay at the southern point of Monsterra. It was a peaceful village, with a population of a handful of people and the nearest town, Twinrock town, east of it. The village was primarily composed of houses made of wood with a thick patch of grass that served as a roof to the houses, protecting them from the weather.

[https://i.imgur.com/bcxovKU.jpg]

And on this particular day, a sweet and delicious aroma was encasing the kitchen of a certain house in Woodfield village. Inside the kitchen, a young woman who appeared to be no older than twenty years old was happily baking.

She was wearing a white dress with a brown apron and a brown headband that covered the back of her blonde hair, which was styled over her shoulder. In her hands, was a plate with a thick brown loaf of bread that looked like a birthday cake, and by her side, was a medium-sized black and white bear monster, named Maidanda.

[https://i.imgur.com/oGEVRDb.jpg]

The aroma of the bread was something the people of Woodfield village adored.

“Good morning, Lily,” an old woman with grey hair said, as she walked into the kitchen. She was wearing a brown shirt with brown pants, and a green apron over it.

[https://i.imgur.com/sDQRVfV.jpg]

“Something smells extra good today.”

“Good morning, Mom,” Lily said, putting the plate down on the wooden table that was inside the kitchen, letting the bread cool off.

“Is it for Lex?” Nana said as she took a seat across from Lily.

“It’s a very special day today, isn't it Mom?”

“So, where’s the birthday boy,” Nana said, raising an eyebrow,

“I’m sure he’s around,” Lily said, smiling.

“Is he now…” Nana said, not pleased with how much freedom her daughter gave Lex at times. Even when she prohibited a lot of things surrounding monsters, he always found a way around it and it was all thanks to Lily’s carefree nature.

“You spoil him too much.”

“ He’s a kid, this is the only time he can be spoiled a little,” Lily said, smiling.

“Is he in the forest?” Nana asked, knowing the answer to her question already.

“Perhaps,” Lilly said, petting Maidanda’s white and black fur.

“Maidanda,” the bear monster said, smiling.

“Haven’t I told him that is dangerous to go alone without one of us?”

“You know we can’t stop a boy his age from not listening,” Lily said,

“No doubt he went to try and get a monster partner, didn’t he, “ Nana said, not happy about the fact.

“He should forget about being a tamer and just dedicate himself to the art of baking.”

“We can’t blame him for having a dream every single young boy and girl in Monsterra has had at one point or another, especially now that he’s thirteen.”

Nana looked outside the window that was in the kitchen. The light from the sun was peeking through the window, warming the kitchen.

Lily reached for her mother’s hand, noticing her sad expression.

“Mom is what Anita would have wanted.”

Nana took her hand away, not wanting to deal with that memory.

“Well, what she wanted took her from us,” Nana said,

“Either way, now that he’s thirteen he’s planning to take the Monster Taming Exam, but, we’ll see about that.”

Nana got up from her chair and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Lilly and Maidanda at the table, as well as the sweet aroma of the bread that lingered in the kitchen.

Lily didn’t blame her mother for being protective of Lex when it came to monster taming. Especially considering what happened to Anita, Lex’s mother, and her older sister. But he also didn’t blame Lex for wanting to be a Monster tamer. He knew what happened to his mother that day. Choosing not to hide it from him, after all, what she did was courageous, and he should know about it. But despite knowing the dangers of taming, he still wanted to be a tamer like his mother. He adored her, and her life as a tamer. And even if Nana didn’t want to talk about her life as a tamer. She did, she admired her sister. She admired her courage, which she thought Lex should know about. Perhaps it was her fault he was so strongly adamant about becoming a tamer.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Lily looked at Maidanda and petted it, looking at Maidanda, it was hard to believe that this monster was once a contender for the old Monster Guild Battles in her mother’s younger days as a guild tamer for the Rock Shield guild, and whether her mother wanted to admit it or not, taming was in his blood.

“Lex, please be careful in the forest,” Lily said, as she looked through the window, the bright light from the sun illuminating the cake she had baked for this special day, for his special day.

She remembered how excited he had been in the morning when he left for the forest to catch his first monster partner. She wasn’t sure if he would be successful considering he didn’t have a monster crystal to tame a monster with. Yet, something in her told her that Lex would surprise her, recalling back to the strange occurrences that happened when he was a child.

“This was the right thing to do, right?” she told herself.

The images of the monster that used to go to their house, and sit and wait patiently outside, popping up in her mind. As if waiting for something. Thought at that time she thought of it as nothing more than one of the many weird occurrences that happened because of that night. But looking at it now, she was beginning to think it wasn’t just because of that fateful night that took her sister away. It was as if the monsters responded to Lex. Of course, Nana didn’t like to hear about that, for she wanted Lex to do nothing with monsters. Yet, Lily could see that Lex was destined for something big.

Perhaps that was why she was so lenient when it came to monsters and Lex, to her mother’s dismay.

***

Lex rushed toward his home, his monster partner, Mirabit, sitting on top of his head. He ran passed some of the other villages on his way back home.

[https://i.imgur.com/ahiMB03.png]

“Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Greenview,” he said, waving at a couple that were standing

outside their home, getting ready to plant some more harvest to sell no doubt.

[https://i.imgur.com/mrsTEoD.png]

“Good morning, Lex,” they said, as they saw him run with the biggest smile on his face.

“Was that a monster partner? “ Mr. Greenview said, noticing the small grey bunny monster on top of Lex’s head.

“Gush! It's already been eleven years, time sure does pass by fast.”

“Yes, dear, yes it does,” Mrs. Greenview said, remembering the incident that happened eleven years ago. Despite Tamers having a more positive image now, there were still people who feared them.

***

Nana walked inside Anita’s room, her room had stayed the same since she left for her Monster taming journey. The only difference now was that her Monster Taming crystals and a picture of her sat on top of her wooden drawer.

[https://i.imgur.com/Jzo6VMf.jpg]

“I’m doing the right thing, aren’t I?” she said, staring at her portrait, and remembering that sunny morning when the red night clouded her world.

“I know that boy is set on becoming a tamer, and I can’t bear to lose him like I did with you.”

[https://i.imgur.com/70ZHl9o.jpg]

***

“Lily!” Lex yelled as he opened the front door to their small little house.

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“LILY! I DID IT!”

“I CAUGHT MY FIRST MONSTER PARTNER!”

Nana heard his voice and the words she had hoped never to hear from him.

He had somehow tamed a monster partner without any crystals of tames, which, if she was honest with herself, she wasn’t surprised by it. She had watched him grow up, and in his early childhood, she had witnessed his love of monsters, and the monster loved him back too. This was one of the reasons she forbade him from getting a monster partner, she had done all she could to try and get him away from wanting to be a tamer, and now she had to do the final thing that would crush his dream of being a tamer once and for all, for his safety.

“It’s for his good,” she said, leaving Anita’s room, she looked back at her deceased daughter's room and nodded. She was going to keep him safe, she wasn’t going to fail him like she did Anita.

Lily came rushing out of the kitchen and was surprised to find a small light grey monster sitting comfortably on top of Lex’s head.

[https://i.imgur.com/OCnP9nx.jpg]

“Well, he’s cute,” she said, not surprised at the fact that he had done it, he had somehow tamed a monster without a crystal of tame.

“Mirabit “ Mirabit said, sniffing the air,

“He’s more than cute, he's very strong,” Lex said, petting his monster partner, and smiling.

“Mirabit!” Mirabit said as it sniffed the sweet delicious aroma inside the house, jumping from Lex’s head, and heading toward the delicious smell.

“Mirabit!” Lex said as he and Lily saw the small bunny monster rush toward the kitchen.

[https://i.imgur.com/FRKIRoc.jpg]

They both went toward the kitchen after Mirabit, where they saw the small bunny monster munching happily on the piece of bread that was on the table.

“And he likes your bread a lot,” he said, smiling.

“Cute pet,” Lex heard his grandmother’s stern voice, as she came down the stairs that lead to the kitchen.

Nana saw the small bunny monster, inspecting it, as it ate the piece of bread happily.

“Morning Nana,” Lex said, nervously smiling at her, no doubt she was not too happy with him this morning.

“You look great today.”

“What’s its name? ,” she said,

“Mirabit,” Lex said,

“Mirabit come,” he said, and the monster obeyed, running toward him, with a piece of bread in its mouth.

“If I had to guess its type, it’s probably a Field type, which is a common type around the village, ” Nana said, crossing her arms.

Lex looked at Mirabit,

“You hear that, you’re a field-type monster,” he said petting Mirabit’s light gray fur.

“Looks more like a cute pet than a monster ready to battle,” Nana said, there was a hint of disrespect that the small rabbit monster didn’t like.

“Mirabit! Mirabit!” it said, feeling insulted.

“He’s strong,” Lex said, defending his monster partner.

“Aren’t you buddy,” he said, petting Mirabit, and remembering how they took on the Ragepanzee. If Nana and Lily knew of what they did, they probably would not have approved, so he was going to keep it a secret from them.

“We'll see about that,” Nana said, recalling her daughter’s words in the kitchen. If her words couldn’t stop him from running at this meaningless and dangerous dream of being a Monster tamer, then her actions would.

“ Mirabit and I are going to pass the Monster Taming Exam, and we’ll become tamers, isn’t that right Mirabit.”

“Mirabit, Mirabit,” the small grey monster said, nodding its head and smiling.

“Since you’re thirteen now, and you can take the exam, I’m not going to stop you from taking it.”

Lex looked at his grandmother, usually, when she gave in to his requests, there was always a catch.

“But?” Lex said, raising an eyebrow.

“There are no buts. It’s simple, all you have to do is beat Maidanda and me in a taming battle.”

“Really?” Lex said, jumping for joy, he looked at Maidanda, the bear monster looked soft and cuddly. Lex couldn’t see anything but an easy victory, considering they beat a Ragepanzee in the forest.

“Mom!” Lily said, knowing full well that this was an impossible task for a beginner tamer with no knowledge or skill like Lex to do. Even though he somehow managed to tame a monster without the aid of a monster crystal, this was a real battle that she was sure her mother was not going to go easy on.

“If the boy wants to be a monster tamer, then he needs to prove it.”

“Is okay, Lily,” Lex said,

“I got this.”

“We’ll see,” Nana said,

“Let’s do this partner.”

Mirabit looked at Lex and nodded, feeling fired up to prove himself as well.

“Well see just how much you want to be a tamer,” Nana said, coming to terms with Lex’s dream, but making sure to stop it before he got hurt, or worse, lost his life, like Anita.

“I’m not backing down,” Lex said, confidently, not realizing that he was saying this to a tamer who had participated in the old Master Guild battles. Tournaments that guild tamers participated in before they were given a chance to challenge the Guild Leader, though now, since the Monster Taming Examination, that was no more. Instead, it was the Tournament of Champions that tamers participated in for fame, glory, and riches.

“Then your first battle is about to begin,” Nana said,

“Mirabit!,” Mirabit said.

Lex looked at his small monster partner and felt confident they could win. They had already shown just how much of a team they were when they defeated the Ragepanzee.

“The real battle is about to begin now, “ Lex thought.

“Let’s do this, partner!”