Ba-dup Ba-dup Ba-dup
Drip!
Drip!
Drip!
The nervous heart of an army of tiny men beat together in harmony as they gathered single file dripping with sweat from their nervousness and arduous journey as they finally stood before an enormous metallic gate, several glowing circular discs decorated its center, and with a hum and glow the gate actually opened for them!
Although they were told it would, these men couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief, they were biologically children but the brutal environment of the wasteland had no place for children and these teenagers had no choice but to be men to survive.
The feelings of unease, uncertainty, and fear of death created from the displeased glances of their fully armored escorts no longer had them on edge, this truly wasn’t a trick! Their ‘parents’ and ‘elders’ had not lied to them.
They truly had the opportunity to change their destiny and leap over the dragon's gate!
The youths couldn’t help but look around like curious and frightened animals, they had never seen such luxury before, such a massive gate made of precious high-grade metal, luxuriously paved streets paved with special ores several notches lower than the gate, so luxurious!
The gate and walls were so thick! It must be safe inside and not a hint of dangerous beasts was anywhere near here! Their escorts didn’t even have to move a finger here! Even the outside was rendered safe by its mere presence. Such large cannons, everywhere on the walls and inside the walls!
The line of tiny men thousands strong entered the city. Their eyes bulged and their necks twisted with an agile and curious mind.
So many tall buildings, clean streets, flying cars...
The clothes of the pedestrians were also smooth without holes and thin as they didn’t need to keep out the blade-like winds inside this safe haven.
As early as they saw their escorts easily kill beasts bare-handed and some even driving beasts to kill other beasts, they knew they were about to see an entirely different world!
***
Year 520 of the Dawn Calendar.
Black Rock Citadel.
It was the beginning of summer and the heat was searing the steel-like black rocks that paved everything in sight inside the Citadel.
The three gates of the city for the center wall, inner wall, and outer wall were all open. A large crowd accompanied a long stream of excited teenagers heading inwards.
Fireworks, chants, gunshots, explosions and many festivities were lit and sounded throughout the city. The life of the party was clearly in the outer wall area with the most people.
Parents, siblings and entire families saw off the teenagers going all the way to the inner wall before stopping unable to go further. They mixed with the group that came from outside the city on cue but did their best to keep some distance between them as if a mere graze was enough to give them a disease.
Dividing the long line of teenagers natives and outsiders all about 16-18 years old, were several raised platforms.
Unusual platforms were held by abnormal giant beasts, 5 meter tall apes with four arms, and lizards the size of two elephants, many beasts accompanied the children emanating an oppressive breath that caused both the excited group and the teenagers to keep a distance.
Several giant birds also flew above the parade of teenagers heading inside the city.
Droning voices echoed all around, telling a laborious tale of the struggle of humanity.
"Hundreds of years ago in the days of the old calendar, the world ruled by man suddenly changed, portals from different times opened releasing hell on this planet.
Our greatest weapons at the time did little damage to the invaders and instead rendered the planet uninhabitable for us instead.
As the years went by and more portals opened up, the earth expanded and aliens and beasts usurped humanity, death was as frequent as breathing. Thereafter began three hundred years of terror, the dark ages.
As humanity struggled the first ray of light from ruins space that held legacies of alien civilizations were finally unearthed by the efforts of our forefathers. Thus the three paths of transcendent evolution were discovered and developed. After another hundred years humans could finally use the knowledge gained to fight for a place in the new world. This-"
The excited teenagers felt their excitement drain away due to the lecture. Most were from beastmaster schools and families that had taught this common history countless times. The initial excitement, fear and admiration of the bloody history was gone and it was viewed as tedious.
Even the wild-looking outsiders clothed in rags and thick damaged pelts looked uninterested, history? Was it edible? Could it make you strong?
Only those who had experienced it would know how truly horrifying those days were.
These noble and common children had heard this same history retold again and again and couldn't be bothered to listen to the droning voice doing the ceremony.
"It's here it's here, finally, after years of waiting!" A handsome blue-haired boy dressed in leather armor quickly tapped his friend in excitement.
Feeling the hand trembling whilst touching him, the fat boy cursed, "Fuck don't touch me! You might rub away my luck or infect me with yours. What would you say to the city and humanity if you caused a future beastmaster with an innate ability to be robbed from them because of you."
The blue-haired boy rolled his eyes, "You wish."
"Hey guess what I'm choosing for my first beast? I'll give you a clue. It's among the top 10 of the known black iron beasts " He continued with a smug expression and one eye open practically writing 'beg me to tell you' on his face.
"Hut. Aren't you putting the cart before the horse? The awakening rate is 1 in 500. Even for a beastmaster family with several generations of beastmasters it's still only 1 in several dozen.
Geuerro from the Aster family from last year got an extraterrestrial beast for his first beast but he didn't awaken, his bragging only backfired. Both of us only have uncles and aunts as beastmasters, not a direct line from our parents. Our great-grandfathers were also not beastmasters. Our chances haven't improved that much." The fat man retorted casually but his clenched round fists told a different tale.
"That was him!? Wasn't his mental power also very powerful?" The handsome boy jolted.
"Yea. It only goes to show, luck is number one. Talent means nothing. No, True talent is only that of a beastmaster. Being from the Aster family he can easily walk the path of a false beastmaster or evolutionary with his mental power would definitely give him a boost in basic abilities. He's different from us. But that extraterrestrial beast they prepared has definitely been confiscated, such a pity."
They both stood in silence afterward until they noticed a few people following them in the line towards the main square.
Different from the pair who wore tailored clothes and armor, or even those ahead of them in luxurious embroidered robes or exquisite armor, these teenagers wore tattered clothing.
Whitewashed and some even had holes in them, each one had different clothes clinging to their bodies but they might as well have worn nothing as holes big and small were too common. Some animal skins were also wrapped around them and these smelled awful or was it their body odour?
Several of their peers began pointing and muttering again, their initial disdain and ignoring attitude crumbled and they couldn't resist mocking.
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"Ptooh! Those wild bumpkins are here again! They really think they have a chance to awaken as noble beastmasters when even we of the nobility aren't sure.
God knows what the top level alliance was thinking, expanding the awakening range, requiring all the satellite gathering places including the wild abandoned towns who resort to eating the shit of beasts and covering in it."
Seeing the eyes filled with burning hope that were simultaneously taking in the city sights with surprise and desire, the blue haired boy joined in the pointing, he couldn't help but feel irked. Here he was worrying if he would awaken and rise up in the family and these bumpkins were so relaxed.
"There may be some truth to that but remember what our old men have said, whatever the starting point only the end matters, statistically speaking there are thousands of them. A handful will definitely awaken so offending them isn't worth it. Apparently, that’s what the alliance was thinking, beastmasters are already so scarce and we don’t have the privilege of being picky especially with the beast tides occurring more frequently in recent years.”
Despite uttering such words on their behalf, the fat man avoided looking at them too long.
"So what. Even if they awaken they'll only have access to charity…beasts given by the alliance. Their quota only extends to the middle black iron rank. We have an upper level allowance and can even pay extra to get peak black iron beasts!" The boy quickly felt the need to separate himself from them although he was also planning to take the alliance's quota.
His family was only at the bottom of the nobility and he was only a branch line. His family's savings could not buy a higher rank beast but a peak black iron beast plus a few years' feed was no problem. If he actually awakened and the main line had no one who awakened he could even be allocated a better beast!
The same was true for many in the crowd as family members glanced at each other frequently.
Each praying on the other's downfall.
"Hey hey you shouldn't be so stubborn. Don't you remember three years ago at the last ceremony!" The Fat man fanned him away as his attention was suddenly grabbed by a shapely girl a few paces to his right.
Three years ago …
"You mean the wildling who stepped on shit luck and got a Dirt Bronze level Rock Crusher Bear? That's like a one in a zillion chance."
The blue-haired boy's mood worsened at the thought of this, even he, no even his elders, and other noble families were tempted at such a thing.
Dirt Bronze racial potential!
That was on the same level as the mainstay of the city guard captains and the citadel lord's personal guard. The head of his family, his grandfather only had a few mid level Red Copper Beasts as his mainstay. That beast was enough to start a noble family by his lonesome!
This wildling caused a great wave to pass through the entire city, several noble families even secretly used methods to buy eggs from the Beast Research and Development Bureau.
Even with the tens of thousands of eggs inside the novice hatchery set aside for new beastmasters, the rush and acquisitions caused a noticeable decrease which enraged the city lord and each family was fined and had to put back new eggs inside.
The blue-haired boy couldn't help but feel annoyed and distressed.
Comparing upwards to deep pocket higher level nobles who don't have to use the hatchery allocated by the alliance and comparing downwards to the wildings who have a few awakened beastmasters every year.
The Fat man had finally returned to his senses after his heart was stolen and didn't bother looking at this brooding childhood friend of his.
As if a potential stock from the wildings wouldn't cause solicitation from his family.
If that beastmaster liked men, maybe his friend’s old man would even sell him for a relationship leveraging his handsome face. Even among the nobles beastmasters were a valuable resource.
Hell, he the fat man would offer his own sister to that guy if he appeared, well one of them. Assuming 5 beast masters awakened from the thousands of wildings.
Thud!
"Hey, watch where you're going wilding!" The blue haired boy barked after being bumped into and already on a short fuse.
"Oh my bad. Carry on." A pale young man quickly stated as he turned towards them. He had pitch black hair and deep pupils that seemed to reflect years of struggle and hardship. Gaunt cheeks, thin bones and scarred skin.
He was practically a copy of the mold of a wilding although his hair and eyes gave some impression.
"Who the Fuck are you talking to-!" The boy barked in response but the eyes of fear he expected didn't appear just an indifferent gaze, it looked at him once then ignored him.
"You mother-!"
The boy grabbed the shoulder of the departing wilding who stopped in his tracks.
"What? You going to hit me? In the awakening ceremony? Looking at you I wouldn't have guessed you survived on one brain cell at your ripe old age. Come on then, on with it." The wildling boy held a smirk as he looked him up and down exaggeratedly as if saying 'what a specimen you are'.
The blue haired boy's fist halted mid air when he came to his senses, he looked around and as expected a soldier was looking his way, he quickly put his hands in his pockets and spat at the wilding but as if he was gifted with foresight, the wildling backed away immediately.
"Hey leave it be." The fat man caught up and said exasperatedly. They were teenagers yes, but he was following the 'hot blooded' youth template a bit too much right?
Sure people coped with stress in different ways but why did he have to be such a hot head!
He secretly resolved to avoid this friend in the future even if he became a beastmaster. Just last month some blind beastmaster provoked the Cullman family and mysteriously died inside the city walls.
He would rather be completely unrelated to such a thing.
The fat man looked at the departing wilding who didn't seem to be fazed. Slightly interesting.
A wilding acting in such a way to a noble of Black Rock Citadel? Was he not worried of retaliation afterwards? Was he tired of living or was he certain he would awaken?
Just as he had that thought the fat man chuckled and denied it, such a thing was preposterous and impossible.
'Those nobles are as arrogant as the previous owner's memories tell. Just the gazes are annoying like dirty water splashed on my skin.'
The black haired boy quickly navigated the crowd realizing the nobles wanted to posture as elegant so they didn’t argue and the guards ignored him cutting in line.
The black haired boy. Zwei was actually not from this world, he died in his own bed after several days of a high fever caused by another strong virus strain which he had underestimated after being desensitized to them after so many began to appear.
He came to this world possessing this body a year ago. He was out of sorts at first thinking this was a lucid dream but eventually noticed that he had really traveled to another world!
This world may have been earth or was a parallel world. Whatever to case the current planet was unrecognizable. Beasts and alien races ruled the world rendering areas outside of the city and towns as 'wilderness'.
These beasts were of varying shapes and sizes, small as an ant, large as an Island blotting out the sky, but more importantly they could control the new energies that had appeared in earth giving them the power to drain oceans, boil seas, control lightning, shatter space, poison the sky and earth.. various supernatural powers were innate in these beasts and aliens.
Yet humans were handicapped until several centuries ago when they discovered a way to get stronger and channel vitality.
False beastmasters who cultivated like fairy tale 'qi cultivators'.
Evolutionaries, a product of human ingenuity mixed with the boost of alien civilizations similar to ours. Capable of awakening and using skills developed or taken from dangerous species.
Lastly, the most powerful of all and the symbol of nobility in the new world. Beastmasters, individuals capable of driving these horrifying dangerous species and using their powers as their own. Each is capable of being a one-man army hence their exalted status.
This was the profession he was now in a ceremony to awaken.
If the awakening rate wasn’t so abysmal and humanity was not threatened by dangerous beasts, then he wouldn't even have had the chance to awaken as a wilderness scavenger of satellite towns.
The army of teenagers was quickly filtered and a no nonsense approach was taken for the final step of awakening. In front of giant 20 metre tall foggy crystal glowing brillant blue, teenagers were awakened in tens but with a population of 9000 potential candidates, the process took quite some time.
“Awakening failed. Next!”
“Failed. Next!”
“Failed. Next!”
The same negative response was repeated consecutively and those failures infected the mood of the untested, the great hopes and illusions of grandeur were tamed as the hard reality hit. One in Five Hundred on average. It could be 1 in 700 on a bad day or 1 in 400 on a good day, either way, it was a brutal selection.
“Success. Congratulations, you can stand by to the left.”
The fat man hearing this felt his weight decrease and he had the illusion of floating away due to happiness. He did it! He really did it! And as his old man disclosed before he came here, this means he was the sole heir to his family as well. Take off!
The fat man couldn’t contain his excitement and trembled but eventually with the gentle urges of the staff he finally moved allowing others to come. Seeing their gentle smiles transform from scowls the observing teenagers were speechless, were these the same invigilators that threw crying girls to the soldiers to beat up and toss in a human pile for breaking the rules and interfering with the ceremony?
These were clearly grandsons!
But they also understood this was the weight of beastmasters, and the chasm that stood between ordinary people and them.
“Next!”
The blue-haired boy was next to his friend so he was next.
“Failure! Next!”
“What it can’t be I-!”
Smack!
“Guards.” The male invigilator with a mole and t-shaped scar quickly shouted, his smacking was like clockwork as was the toss he gave. He was well-measured with his blows and knew the status of each noteworthy candidate for a down and out noble such courtesy of not breaking anything was already enough.
The young man clenched his teeth and looked at his fat friend who was avoiding eye contact.
Why! Why! Why not me! Why him! I’m so handsome and He’s so fat! The heavens are unfair!
Such a basic thing as appearance was somehow what pissed him off the most.
“Success. Huh? This s-ssir, have you awakened an ability?”
Instantly there was an uproar.