On the training grounds of Mazar Beast Tamer Academy, many people were standing in front of a portal. Then, at the front, they looked middle-aged; they were professors that were waiting for the students. They had to be alert 24 hours a day, as any time some student could need their help, there was a whole team behind them.
There were doctors and healers present to tackle any emergency situation. The man with the beard looked at the portal and said, "Isn't the exam way harder than previous ones? The conditions are too harsh for students to even survive. With the added burden of collecting points, I don't know how they must be feeling. If I were in their shoes, I would have felt betrayed."
"You are right, Roy, but the orders are from above, and don't forget that the rewards have also increased," replied the other man wearing a shirt; his muscles could not be hidden by it and made anyone exclaim who paid attention to him. His seven-foot-tall body made him look even more intimidating.
"Don't make it sound like the rewards are easy to get, Angad; they would need to work extra hard to get something useful. And who are you talking about when you say higher ups—are you talking about the principal or Director?" asked Professor Roy.
"You believe that," he laughed before continuing, "You believe this was an order by higher-ups of our Academy? How laughable! Use your brain, Roy. Why would the academy do something this radical out of nowhere? Do you think the academy would be able to take the criticism from others without any support?"
"Don't waste the words; tell me what you know about it," asked Roy.
"Ha haa, Look at your face. Are you that curious to know? Come closer," he signaled with his hand. Roy came close only to hear COS."
"What COS?" asked Roy in confusion, to which the other person replied, "Does it not ring a bell inside your head? Don't you know the full form of COS?"
The calm expression of Professor Roy changed to one of worry, and multiple patches of sweat appeared on his body out of nowhere. "Council of State, How are they involved in this? They handle states that matter. Why would they interfere in the Academies? Is there a reason?"
The other professors looked around to make sure no one was listening. Lower, are you asking for trouble? Don't you know their job and what they do?"
"I know they are meant to make the state perform better in the national competitions and interstate competitions, but why are they interfering with academies now? They have already caused a lot of destruction due to their policies. Do you know how the death ratio of Beast Tamers has skyrocketed since it was formed? Each year it is only increasing."
"It's all because of them. If they had thought about it and done their job right, not many innocents would have lost their lives. It was all because of them; their greed is endless. When will they stop? Then, when there are no people left, Our peaceful state has been ruined since it was formed."
"Stop it, Roy; control yourself. This is not entirely their fault; we were not getting attention from the center. This organization is formed to increase our performance in the national competitions; previously we were ranked 25 at the bottom, but now we are in the top 7," said the other person.
"While their motives and actions might be questionable, the result they provided in these past fifty years speaks for itself. Roy, we live in a secluded area away from the rich, resourceful land. Everyone here had to face danger to survive. While other states are more developed and have Money, Resources, better equipment, and teachers, all we people have is our lives."
"We are now getting more resources and attention from the center. Our state is developing at a rapid pace. It is all due to COS; from what I heard, our state's previous year's performance was not up to the mark. So this time they are preparing early for future competitions; this is their new policy."
"They proposed that academies guard their students very much, which hinders their individual development. A strong sword is the one that has been hammered the most. This time, they are preparing to push for the top five. This is only one of their policies; they might introduce other policies that are way more dangerous."
"We should be relieved that our Academy counts as a junior school. Here, they can't cross the line already set by the state government. In high schools, there would be a risk to the lives of the students, which could lead to a quiet mess. The reputation of the School could take a hit," said Angad.
"Quietly, a lot of students have gotten badly injured; I never predicted such an outcome. We should have prepared more thoroughly; by the way, how many have not been eliminated?" asked Roy.
"Only fit people were able to survive till today. Honestly, I am impressed. Even though I didn't anticipate so many would be able to survive, the ones eliminated also had the involvement of other students."
Roy, didn't you know that kid, Rishab? What do you think of his chances of winning?" asked the professor.
"He was at a disadvantage from the beginning. Do you know his first contract, Beast, is not present with him?" replied Roy.
Oh, now that's news. It would be hard for him to claim the first spot without his first Beast. How unfortunate; I had high hopes for him, but he is not fated this time," said the professor. He had seen Rishab grow and perform extraordinarily in the recent exams. He was excited to teach him; he had noticed that Rishab had a very powerful physique, but he was not able to bring out his full strength, which was a pity.
"Don't decide so early, Angad; He is not someone that could be understood by logic and measured like others. He is unpredictable; I have seen him, and I know he will be able to easily overcome this herd. Last time he didn't show up outside, but somewhere inside he was disappointed. He prepared this time for the Beast Company Exam too," replied Roy.
"That would make it more exciting; I wish we could see them fighting. It's always fun to watch new chicks grow and train to one day fly and rise, making a name for themselves. There is no better thing for a teacher than being known because of his student," said Angad.
....
Land of Mist, an Unexplored Region
A boy could be seen covered in mist and clouds. Around him were four beasts, counting the one with six wings on which he was riding. The other two were on his left and right sides, While a strange small creature was standing on his head, using his shiny silver hairs as a bed.
Strangely, three of them belong to the feathered type, while the fourth one is completely different. He looked like a red-colored creature; his black-colored eyes with a red-colored pupil made it look unique. It was the youngest member of the family and the laziest one; even in this serious situation, he was dozing from time to time.
They had all been here, A little above the mist, for two hours, waiting for someone. The Beast they were waiting for didn't come, and after waiting for so long, everyone was running out of patience. They waited for some more time, but when Rishi saw that the Beast was not coming, he decided to visit him himself, but just as he was about to move, he saw a strange creature.
It was a creature with a long, narrow body. It had four legs, each with small claws that looked harmless. It hissed, revealing his long black tongue that contrasted with his Blue body. It had a spiky mane from his neck to his back, and on his back was a white-colored shell.
The shell looked like it was made up of white, spiky crystals. It also had a small tail that moved as it walked. It was walking arrogantly with its long, snake-like head raised high. It was as if no one was worth paying attention to in his eyes.
The Beast caused a lot of chaos and destruction; anyone that came in his path was hit by a fish made up of water and blasted into pieces. The other creatures ran in the opposite direction. This Beast was a picky eater; he only took a small bite of the tastiest region of one corpse before jumping on another.
Many scavenger beasts saw this scene and were ready to pounce on their free meal, but no one dared to let their greed get the better of them. Even Rishi was impressed by their moral resolve to not give in to their urges. Their mouths were very full of saliva, and their eyes shone brightly, but still, no one dared to approach.
As soon as the Elite Beast passed by, it became a competition to see who could reach it the fastest and get the biggest piece of meat. Today, they didn't need to fight with each other as the food was enough to fill all the bellies.
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