This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Huff Puff

Huff

“Wow…Who would think that a 6-star beast-tamer could be so out of shape?” Lina said somewhat ribbingly to the panting Pete.

However, Kain had to agree with her comment. Although 1-star level beast-tamers were only slightly stronger than the average person, with each increase in rank and increasing feedback from their contracts, their bodies would improve.

Kain personally felt like he wouldn’t have been panting so heavily even when just a 2-star beast-tamer.

As a 6-star beast-tamer Pete’s physique should be comparable to a decently powerful spiritual creature…but he sounded more like a sedentary couch potato on the verge of an asthma attack because he has to climb some stairs.

Now that Kain thought about it, more than even the now normal Malzahir, Pete requested breaks the most often. And during any stretches of travel that would exceed 10 minutes walking time he would summon one of his contracts to carry him.

Now in an environment where summoning a mount was impossible, he was really struggling.

This combined with his often sleepy appearance, made it hard to believe that he was one of the elites of the empire carefully recruited and screened to join the Order.

‘Is it possible to bribe your way into such a prestigious organization backed by the government? …Surely not.’

“Huff. Look…look what you’ve—huff—done. Even if you—ugh—want to tease me…don’t make the newbies doubt my supreme—cough cough—power. See how they’re—huff huff—looking at me now?” Pete replied before succumbing to a long coughing fit.

‘I don’t think Lina is the reason…It’s kind of hard to notice the loud wheezing noises coming from your direction with the enhanced senses of the Awakened…’

Seeing that Pete’s mouth was so dry he could barely string together a sentence without looking like he would end up coughing to death, but definitely wanted to clear his reputation, Zareth took pity on him.

“It’s a side effect of his gift.” Zareth clarified. “Think back to when we first left the Order, do either of you have any memory of Pete?”

Hmm…

Kain thought back long and hard, as did Serena, and no matter how much they scoured their memories they did not have any impression of Pete.

“Really—huff— guys?” Pete wheezed upon seeing their blank expressions, evidently hurt by their lack of recollection of him. “I went with you two and Zareth—huff— to the Obari tribe to find the antidote for the scorpion venom? Cough cough…My partner and I weren’t able to bring anything back—huff— but that’s no reason to forget me!”

“You did?” Kain asked, eyes rolling as he tried to recollect, “That wasn’t you…that was—” Kain compared the features of the male in the unsuccessful group to Pete and had to acknowledge that they did have some slightsimilarities—mostly the eyes. But they had one huge difference. The Pete before him now, while not stick thin, had a normal physique of someone with a bit of a beer belly. However, that teammate…had been huge. At least 4 Kain’s could fit inside of him.

Likely seeing the conflicting mixture of realization and disbelief on Kain’s face, Zareth confirmed his guess.

“That was indeed Pete. Pete’s gift allows him to convert the fat stored in his body into power. Therefore, the bigger he is, the more strong he is. However, due to the frequent battles since entering the ruins, and the lack of abundant food supply, Pete had burned through most of his fat stores and was unable to replenish them—hence his current weakened state.”

‘There truly are all kinds of gifts,’ Kain thought while looking at the powerful beast-tamer that looked as though he’d be helplessly outrun by a toddler.

After having his current state explained for him, Pete tried to stand upright with his chest puffed out to portray a more powerful front. Unfortunately, the thick layer of sweat and the wet hair sticking to his forehead made this front useless.

Thankfully, the idle chatter of the group helped to make the time pass quicker, and in what felt like no time—at least for everyone but Pete—the group arrived at the end of the ascending staircase.

At the end of the long winding staircase was a large chamber, which once again had the words ‘The Sanctuary’ written in Ancient Elvish above the arched entryway.

The moment they crossed the arch, a hush fell over the group—less from the weight of silence and more from sheer awe.

The Sanctuary was vast. Unfathomably vast.

Its ceiling arched high above them in soaring domes, carved with painstaking detail into scenes of a world long gone.

From floor to ceiling, every surface had been etched, inlaid, or sculpted with care. Realistic marble trees carved by a master wrapped around support pillars, curling their branches into the stone canopy above. Waterfall mosaics shimmered along the walls in rippling violet hues, with threads of gold leaf so fine they glimmered like liquid starlight.

The craftsmanship was divine. Regal. Timeless.

And yet—for all its beauty—it was not the craftsmanship of the room that demanded the group’s attention the most..

Encased in thick, off-white transparent crystals with a faint violet tinge, stood thousands of figures—all facing inward toward the center of the Sanctuary, as if waiting for something—or someone.. The crystals pulsed softly, like hearts caught in slumber.

Kain’s breath hitched in his throat as he slowly approached the nearest one.

Inside, a pure-blooded elf woman—a kind not seen by the Empire’s civilians in centuries— stood tall and proud, long silver hair cascading down like a waterfall of moonlight.

Beside her, preserved in an adjacent pillar, was a male elf with stern features and a sword clasped to his chest.

“They…might be alive,” Serena whispered behind him, voice tinged with disbelief.

And they just well may be. At least it appeared that way to Kain and the others. Not truly dead, nor wholly alive—just… paused.

As they moved deeper into the chamber, the diversity of its inhabitants became more clear. A few dwarves, bearded and broad, one wielding a hammer the size of a wagon wheel, the other clad in enchanted plate armor with a shield strapped to his arm. A female dwarf with a sturdy but curvy figure and calloused hands.

Beside them stood a pair of orcs, their tusks smaller than what Kain recalled seeing in paintings of their kind, likely young. Despite their youth though, their muscles were large and defined like action figures made of flesh.

A pair of cat-eared beastfolk, tall and lithe, stood curled together in slumber near the edge. Further on, Kain saw a trio of horned lizardmen, shimmering scales catching the crystal light, each with different tools or weapons clasped against their chests.

And then—creatures not seen in any age Kain had studied.

A seraphic wolf with six wings, each feather carved looked so delicate that Kain felt like they’d fly off if he breathed too hard in its direction.

A treeborn turtle, its shell a literal miniature forest with vines frozen mid-bloom. A two-headed stag, antlers covered in crystal blossoms.

A feathered serpent with some features of a rooster such as a comb and a wattle-like organ beneath its massive head.

There were thousands of crystals, and most of them contained only 2-5 members of the same species, and in every grouping, there was always at least one male and one female.

Kain walked the aisle in silence, his boots echoing too loudly.

‘Is this…’ he swallowed, feeling strangely small beneath the vaulted ceiling.

‘…Is this Noah’s Ark?’

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