Beast-Tamer: Limitless Evolution
Chapter 22: Referral Code

Chapter 22: Referral Code

Referral Code

The difference brought about by the weights was immediate. As soon as Gale took off, it was clear that he was putting in far more effort to fly than before.

He was still startlingly fast, but at least Osho could see him now. Moreover, he could feel Gale’s mounting frustration through their bond and how he was trying to push himself to fly faster, but his speed seemed to have reached a cap due to the weights, which only caused his frustration to increase.

Osho felt a little bad. Just now, he acknowledged that as a bird, Gale’s freedom to move was something that was required, yet he proceeded to impede on that freedom. It was a sobering thought, to say the least.

However, he truly had nothing but Gale’s best interests at heart, something he relayed to the bird through their bond. As such, while Gale was unhappy, he didn’t act up with the constant assurances.

Osho had Gale just fly around until he started getting tired. At the same time, he decided to test something out.

He sat down cross-legged and channeled his Mana, and then he held up his hand. It was difficult to see, but the wind around his hand had condensed and turned sharp.

’Interesting, so the changes don’t apply to just Gale either. His wind Affinity improved after the evolution, so by extension, my control over wind has gotten better as well.’ He mused with a bit of mirth. He could feel it. His Mana drained at a significantly slower rate than before, and he had an easier time maintaining wind constructs.

Affinities were interesting in that regard. One could have a fire Affinity but not necessarily be good at using that fire, but they would certainly be better than someone who didn’t have the Affinity at all. The higher one’s Affinity toward a certain thing, the easier that thing would be to control.

Not only that but the Mana expenditure would also be cut significantly, allowing longer and more complex usage with lower energy costs. In short, the better the Affinity, the better the magic usage.

Osho was experiencing such a thing as of this moment. He started manipulating the wind. From creating things like blades, making himself float, creating strong and weak gusts of wind, and so on.

As he did so, he could tell that the energy expenditure was significantly lower than before the evolution.

Satisfied, Osho decided to do a few more tests before settling down to cultivate.

If an outsider were to observe this scene, they’d see a young man in his late teens sitting down cross-legged, his breaths even as he absorbed the Atmospheric Mana into his body.

At the same time, a four-winged bird was flying at incredible speeds, doing all sorts of tricks in midair.

This scene continued for a while, and Osho stopped cultivating as soon as he hit 5 cycles and immediately switched to the bond-strengthening technique. It was only after he was nearly finished that he felt Gale finally land on his shoulder, the bird’s exhaustion apparent.

Osho sighed and brought out some more food, which Gale dug into eagerly.

At the same time, he checked his phone and saw that it was almost noon. He got up, but he didn’t remove Gale’s weights and instead just put the additional weights back into the box and walked to his apartment.

His goal was for Gale to get used to the weights and return to his original speed and then surpass it. That way, when the time came and Gale needed to remove the weights, his speed would be nothing short of astounding.

He would take them off to shower the bird, though.

As soon as they reached the apartment, Osho poured more food for Gale while he went to take another shower. As he did so, he couldn’t help but admire his body and watch the water drops slide down his skin.

He was by no means eagerly built before now. He always made sure to work out, the result being that his body was quite toned.

However, there seemed to have been a gradual, qualitative difference brought about by cultivation. His muscles felt firmer, his skin tighter with a slight sheen.

Moreover, he noticed that a lot of the imperfections on his body, as well as the odd scar here and there, started to fade away. It wasn’t complete, but it was happening.

"Can’t wait to start punching through walls." He chuckled and immediately regretted it as he accidentally inhaled some of the shower water.

He finished up, grabbed Gale from the floor as the bird lay on his back after eating to his heart’s content, cleaned him up as well, and then he settled on his bed and started planning.

"The black market huh?" He mumbled as he took out an old laptop and started browsing.

Entering the black market wasn’t a simple affair. For all the rumors that circled around it, the truth was a lot more vague and elusive than most ever realized. It wasn’t a place one could just stumble into or enter just because they wanted to.

As mentioned before, it isn’t illegal in the conventional sense and is instead tolerated by the authorities due to its convenience. Well, that was just a part of it. It wasn’t hidden because the law forbade it. Instead, it’s because it thrives on locations that the law either cannot reach or has little sway over.

To be clear, not all the goods in the black market are contraband. A lot of the time, it’s just things that are too scarce to find normally on the normal market, so they appear in the black market at a significantly higher price than what one would pay if it was sold through official channels.

However, while not all were contraband, there were still things that would make regulators nervous. Things that one would never find in a store or shop. Ancient Artifacts, parts of beasts too rare to be classified, information worth killing for, substances with effects that couldn’t be believed until witnessed with one’s own eyes, and so on.

So that begged the question, how did one enter the black market in the first place, money? Most would believe so, and that woukd also be their first mistake, assuming wealth could guarantee passage. However, the black market had little care for credits, at least, credits without proper connections or backers.

No, what you needed was a name, one that meant something to someone already inside. A referral of sorts, or a favor owed by the right person. Without that, the doors remained shut.

There was no fixed entry point either. No permanent stalls or traceable addresses. One month it might be in the outer fringes of a Citadel. Then it could suddenly be in the wilderness by the end of the week. Not to mention, no one ever advertised where the entrance was or could be. The entrance was only ever whispered to those deemed trustworthy, pr dangerous enough to not be worth refusing.

Even some high-ranking officials frequented to black market, but they wouldn’t admit this, naturally. Some of them went in with disguises, others sent intermediaries. After all, if a good or service could t be found through the official channels, the black market was always an option. However, availability didn’t translate to safety, that’s something many failed to realize. The black market wasn’t the safest, and the smallest mistake could result in one... disappearing.

Osho needed to play his cards right, however, he had a way to get in. One needed to referral, and he had gotten a favor from someone whose word was good enough to get him in.

As he went through his laptop, he simultaneously dialed a number on his phone, his face impassive as he began to type a seemingly random string of numbers in the search bar.

The number rang twice before it was answered, a deep and calm voice sounding from the speaker.

"Yes?" The voice was calm and steady, not a hint of hurry in it, but it was also quite forward, not wanting Osho to beat around the bush.

"I want to cash in my favor." He said calmly as he pressed enter after typing in the random string of numbers. The instant he did, his laptop went dark, and then a moment later, a single dark image appeared on its monitor.

"What for?" The voice asked and Osho hummed.

"I need a referral." He answered as he stared at the image that had been fully realized. It was a black hat with a golden S on its front. Under it was a tab asking for a code.

The voice was silent for a moment, then it spoke again.

"What for?"

"The black market."

"... May I ask why?"

"No."

"I see. In that case, it shall be done. When will you be heading out?" Osho tilted his head for a moment before answering.

"By 6 pm." There was a hum.

"Acknowledged. The referral code is Severus." Osho nodded and typed in the code.

As soon as he did, his screen went black once more before lighting up again with a sentence.

’Littleton Lounge.’

That was all it said before going off and then turning back on to the Laptop’s normal screen, the string of numbers gone.

"That will be all." Osho said concisely and there was a hum from the phone before the lime was cut.

Osho exhaled slightly and decided to take a nap.