Beast-Tamer: Limitless Evolution
Chapter 34: First Exercise

Chapter 34: First Exercise

First Exercise

If there was one thing Osho was glad for, it was that due to being metaphorical hotcakes in this situation, he and Ellie had a lot more leeway when it came to choosing who they wanted on their team, for the simple reason that everyone wanted to join them.

It took some effort, but they found three other students with beasts who had useful abilities while also having a strong enough bond with them to provide tangible benefits.

They were two girls and one boy. The first girl was a brunette named Sam, and she had a black cat that had a decent Affinity for shadows. The other girl had black hair and small eyes, hinting at her likely Asian descent before the creation of the Citadels. Her name was Irene, and she had a large monitor lizard beast that had yellow feet and prominent fangs. Apparently, it could release venom from its fangs and claws.

Then there was the boy who had dirty blonde hair named Kurt. His beast was a brown fennec fox, its large ears hinting at its great hearing abilities.

All of their beasts had Adept rank potential, and their bonds with them seemed satisfactory. Additionally, the variety served to make them good choices in the eyes of Osho and Ellie.

Soon after, the time they had to pick teammates had ended, and while not everyone was satisfied with who they eventually got teamed up with, they didn’t cause much of a fuss due to Mrs Jane being there.

As such, everyone was ushered to the buses, the teammates making sure to sit near each other.

The buses left the private spot, and Osho was content to let Ellie take the role of leader as she got an understanding of the people she worked with.

Sam’s cat was capable of hiding in shadows to make itself incredibly difficult to detect. It also had night vision and was very silent. Its claws and teeth were sharp enough to slice through tree bark, so its lethality couldn’t be underestimated either. As such, Sam was delegated as a ground scout with her beast who she called Blackie.

Next was Irene. Her monitor Lizard which she named Inagi wasn’t too fast, but it had decent durability. Moreover, its venom was necrotic in nature, and the fact that it could inflict said poison through its claws and bites made it an obvious frontline choice. That and the fact it had to get close to hurt something made it necessary.

As for Kurt and his fox, the fox, named Clyde, could manipulate sound as far as they could tell, it wasn’t great, but it was still an ability that could be very valuable depending on the sutuation, so they had him act as support. Moreover, it’s great hearing could serve as another form of scouting in case Blackie missed anything.

Ellie decided to take the role of tank, with Sugil being able to create durable crystals, she fit the role well. Finally, there was Osho, who would be the main damage dealer as well as air scout. Gale’s wind blades were lethal, so the role was fitting.

The convoy left the Outpost from another gate that wasn’t in the direction of the Citadel and was instead opposite it, meaning they were going deeper into the wilderness. At this point, the roads were truly harsh, and even with the great suspension each vehicle had, the bumps were still noticeable, with the occasional jarring hole that made one flinch, and it would be much worse if the drivers weren’t driving carefully.

Everyone watched as the forest grew denser, and the feeling of unease they had only grew. Many people fidgeted with their items, some keeping their hands on the handles of their knives, others fiddling with their whistles.

Their beasts also seemed restless some making more noise or moving more than usual. It was unnerving, to say the least.

Still, the convoy continued to move, and soon, they reached another clearing that wasn’t that large, and Osho judged that they were about 2 kilometers (1.242 miles) away from the Outpost.

"Everyone disembark." Mrs Jane ordered and everyone stepped out of the buses.

The soldiers also opened the backs and took out the many supplies that were there.

As the students gatherer, they watched as temporary tents were put in place. One looked like a command tent with a table, computer, and even a small satellite dish. There were also medical tents, feeding areas, and so on. It was all set up so fast that the students couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer efficiency the soldiers showed.

Osho continued to look around, though, at the surrounding trees. It felt a bit unnerving, knowing that at any moment, a beast could jump out at them.

’Guess that’s just the dangers of the wilderness. Anything can happen at any time.’ He mused, then paused as he picked up a strange sound in the distance, and judging by how the others paused, he wasn’t the only one.

It took just a few seconds for everyone to pinpoint the noise that was coming from the west, and when they looked, several students paled.

In the sky, there was a dark cloud... no, not a cloud, but a swarm of insects.

His constant cultivation didn’t just increase his strength but also his senses. As such, he was able to somewhat see what made up the swarm, and even he felt a tingle when he saw the massive number of black wasps, their red eyes filled with hostility.

Several students stepped back in fear, and the beasts became even more restless, some even showing signs of ignoring their masters and bolting.

The soldiers raised their weapons and summoned their beasts, but that’s when Mrs Jane stepped forward, her eyes as impossible as ever.

She stepped out in front of everyone gathered and stood between them and the incoming wasps that were now only less than fifty meters away, the buzzing sound becoming not just louder but plain disorienting.

However, she wasn’t perturbed. Instead, the red salamander on her shoulder that one often forgot was there due to it hardly ever doing anything moved.

It looked up at the swarm, then opened its mouth.

What followed stunned even Osho.

There was a brief orange flash, then a powerful stream of fire whose coverage increased the further it moved shout out of the mouth of the Salamander..

Osho felt his skin prickle as the intense hit heat him, and he wasn’t even the target! As for the wasps, they were engulfed in the powerful stream of flames that covered almost a hundred meters of area, the clearing turning a clear oraglnge from the light.

The stream lasted for about 5 seconds before the Salamander closed its mouth, and the onslaught died down.

What remained of the wasps were some ashes that rained slowly.

Everyone watched in stunned silence as the Salamander closed its mouth and blew out two small puffs of smoke from its nose before settling on Mrs Jane’s shoulder.

She rubbed its head fondly before turning back to everyone and said casually.

"Moving, let’s get started with our first exercise, shall we?" She saounded calm as ever, as if her beast hadn’t just unleashed several gas stations worth of fire in a single breath to reduce a swarm of large wasps to ashes.

The small, almost imperceptible part of everyone’s minds that wondered if the fear they had for Mrs Jane was even warranted died after that display. Even after the fire faded, the heat was still palpable, and most of them were sweating.

Osho felt what seemed like begrudging respect from Gale, who no doubt was also taken aback by the display. As for Osho...

’How exciting.’ His lip quirked up ever so slightly as his eyes glinted.

’That was just a casual display of power from an Expert ranked beast tamer, what woukd her full power look like? Or the combined power of all her beasts? Or better yet...’ His gaze shifted to Gale and his smile widened.

’What would Gale be capable of when he reaches that stage or higher?’ The thought was appealing, to say the least.

Off to the side, Ellie noticed the smile and couldn’t help but shake her head.

’That maniac.’ She sighed in her heart, she had a feeling on what he was thinking about, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t feel a similar way.

"Five teams will have a teacher assigned to them and will venture approximately half a kilometer away from this position in all directions. As for the exercise today, your task is focused solely on observation. You are to scout and observe every beast you cone across. Unprovoked combat will lead to use losing points. As for how this should go, you will find five beasts in total, and you must give a comprehensive report containing at least ten key habits each beast possesses. Is that understood?" She finished, and there was a collective ’yes’. No one daring to delay after what they just witnessed.

"Good, now, let’s assign you to your teachers."