Chapter 101: Finding a beast companion
The line soon vanished as the students were swallowed into the entrance of the invisible barrier.
Vlad was clearly reluctant to go through the array, his frown deepening with each step he reached closer.
"Let’s just get it over with," he muttered before stepping inside. He closed his eyes, his muscles tensing as he prepared himself for the annoying splash of mana into his body.
No such thing happened. He slowly opened his eyes, finding himself standing in the dense forest. The air was cooler here, carrying the earthy scent of moss and damp soil. From behind him, Chloe and Max also entered.
To him they seemed as if they appeared out of thin air with no entrance visible behind them. Everything looked normal behind him, the trees, the bushes and the sunlight filtering inside through the canopy of leaves. What difference was that he could not see any other students who were behind them or Bjorn standing on the other side.
It was only then that he realised it was not a teleportation array but an illusion array that hid the presence of those outside the barrier.
"Tch, not a teleportation array," Chloe said, clicking her tongue as if she was disappointed.
"You brat, do you feel happy seeing me suffering?" Vlad muttered, clenching her head with his hand.
"Ang...Bully Vlad," she muttered, trying to lift his hand with both her hands. Her small fingers pushed against his wrist with futile determination, her face scrunching with effort.
"Pot calling the kettle black," Vlad scoffed, removing his hand, turning his focus to the front where he could see bright light in the distance, the end of the forest.
Unlike the forest outside the barrier, this area was brimming with numerous magical beasts. At one side, Vlad could see a pack of dire wolves staring at them from the distance, their amber eyes gleaming with cautious curiosity. On the other side, there was a crystal fox resting peacefully below the shade of a tree, its diamond-like body reflecting the sunlight in dazzling patterns.
The students did not dare move from their places, gathered just inside the barrier, close to each other. Their hesitant whispers created a low murmur, the tension palpable among the group. Some clutched their identification cards as if they were lifelines, while others kept their eyes fixed on the beasts with a mixture of wonder and dread.
Once all the students were inside, Bjorn entered as well and announced, "Don’t be scared kids. Most of the beasts here are friendly with humans. Unless ya don’t offend ’em they will not attack ya. Follow the instructions Ay gave ya and come back with a beast companion."
He sat outside the barrier with a heavy thud and declared, "Ya have two hours to show me yer beast companion. If ya return empty, ya will be expelled from Beast Taming course."
A few students moved out as soon as they heard Bjorn’s announcement, their courage bolstered by the professor’s words. It took less than a few minutes for others to spread out as well, obvious nervousness visible in their hesitant steps. They moved in careful, measured strides, their eyes darting between the trees and the creatures that watched them from the shadows.
Vlad, Chloe and Max decided to look for their companions separately as well, since it was necessary to approach the beast alone.
"I will go to that direction," Max said, pointing at their right where they had spotted the Crystal Fox.
"I will look for a beast there," Chloe pointed to the other side, the direction where the Direwolves were present. Her voice carried her usual neutral tone with no expression on her face.
"In that case, I will go just ahead," Vlad said since he had not decided what kind of beast he wanted.
With a slight nod, each of them moved in a separate direction.
After walking for over ten minutes, passing by several trees, Vlad saw a group of medicorns chewing at the bushes. Medicorns were magical deers that were taller than regular deers. What made them different was their long auburn mane reaching all the way to the ground at their neck and their white antlers gleaming with purity as fireflies danced around them. These magical creatures possessed the power to heal wounds, with a few rare cases even possessing the ability to cure some diseases as well.
"Medicorns as a beast companion does not seem like a bad idea," Vlad mumbled, rubbing his chin as he slowly moved closer to them. "I will not get nagged by Chloe for getting injured if I have a medicorn healing me." A small smile tugged at his lips at the thought.
"Hello guys," Vlad said in a calm tone as the distance between them remained less than a dozen feet.
The medicorns lifted their heads, looking at Vlad with their deep black eyes. Their ears twitched, their bodies remaining still as they assessed the intruder.
"Alright, they did not seem wary of me," Vlad clenched his fist in excitement as he cleared the first stage. "Now, for the next stage... I need to slightly release my mana to offer them my friendship." He carefully recalled Bjorn’s instructions.
He took another few steps towards them and released the dark mana that surrounded his body like a shadow.
The moment he did, the medicorns released terrified grunts and ran away as if they had seen a monster approaching to devour them. Their hooves pounded against the earth, their manes streaming behind them like rust-colored banners.
"Th-that’s just mean," Vlad frowned, slightly taken aback. "They could have just said no instead of reacting like that." He watched their fleeing forms with a mixture of disappointment and bewilderment.
Vlad decided not to make a racist medicorn as his beast companion and looked for another beast. His footsteps carried him deeper into the forest, his eyes scanning for any creature that might show interest.
The next beast that caught his eye was a massive serpent as large as the trunk of the tree itself, lazily slithering through the dried leaves of the ground, its green scales shimmering through the sunlight. It was a Naga, a magical serpent that could cure any normal poison and most magical poisons, while also attacking opponents with its deadly venom.
"Hey big boy," Vlad called, making the Naga halt at its movement, its massive head turning towards Vlad, the scissors-like tongue flicking in and out of its mouth with the similar motion of eyes blinking as it looked at Vlad. Its gaze was curious, unafraid.
Noticing that it did not think of Vlad as a threat, Vlad carefully moved closer to it and released his mana.
HSSSHHHHH!!!
The Naga gasped, its tongue shooting out and eyes bulging from their sockets in terror. Not even five seconds had passed when the Naga bolted away as if its life was on the line, vanishing completely from Vlad’s sight. The leaves rustled violently in its wake, a trail of disturbed earth marking its frantic escape.
"Bwahahaha! Look at him. Even the beasts hate that extortionist scammer," a boy laughed from the group of students who were also present there looking for a beast. His companions snickered beside him, their eyes fixed on Vlad with cruel amusement.
Vlad snapped his head at them, his crimson eyes staring at him that did not seem very pleased.
His gaze caused an immediate flinch through the students who were from the Order of Blade and had witnessed the duel between Vlad and Victor firsthand. The laughter died in their throats, replaced by pale faces and widened eyes. "I-I should look for a beast as well," the boy that had laughed at Vlad blurted as they quickly scrammed away, their footsteps hurried and desperate.
"Tch, now my mood is spoiled," Vlad muttered before scanning another beast in the forest.
A smile formed on his face as he moved towards it with fresh determination. It was soon changed into a groan of frustration as the beast released a similar terrifying scream before bolting away.
An hour had passed as Vlad tried to bond with different species of beasts, each of them resulting in the same annoying ending. He had caused the whole area to shake with the rumbling of beasts as they ran away from him as far as possible.
"Damn it! All of these beasts are fucking racist!" Vlad screamed in anger, his voice echoing through the trees of the forest as he held his head in frustration.
He did not even realise when he had already moved out of the forest, reaching the endless terrains before him draped in a sheet of green grass like large but calm waves of ocean. The view caught Vlad’s breath in his throat as the cool breeze struck his body, swaying his crimson coat behind him.
The beasts in this area seemed a bit different from the ones inside the forest. Flaming birds, Griffins and Wyverns with their massive wings seemed to rule the sky, while the land itself was covered by distinct beasts like Ceralions, the three-headed lions, Hellhounds with their faces set ablaze, and Shadow Panthers with constant shadow-like smoke rising from their bodies. Each creature was magnificent in its own right, radiating power and primal beauty.
"Woahh!!! Is that an actual wyvern," Vlad gasped, his head stretched upward, looking at the massive predator flying high in the sky.
"That’s final! Only a beast as mighty as a wyvern is worthy of being my companion!"
Vlad announced, his earlier frustration washing away by the sight before him as all the beasts here seemed in a class of their own. Surely they would not get scared by the mana of just a D-Ranked puny human.
