As the night caravan came to a stop, Seth stepped out and stretched his limbs, the cool early-morning air of Trogan enveloping him. He adjusted his cloak to be sure to conceal all three of the Black Hounds' pouches strapped underneath, then set off toward the Adventurers Guild's outpost. The streets were quiet, and only the faintest traces of dawn painted the sky.

Seth intended to sell his beaststones to Celine before heading to the academy for his selection match. For the gear, Escape scrolls, pouches, and the two additional Ocean Tears, he would wait. Selling everything at once would make it obvious he'd killed other Wielders—and while those three certainly deserved it, Celine and others might not see it that way.

When Seth arrived at the outpost, he pushed open the door and stepped inside. Almost immediately, a dozen pairs of eyes locked on him, following his every movement. It was as if, overnight, he had become someone worth noticing.

A man at a distant table raised his coffee cup in Seth's direction and shouted across the outpost: "Don't let me down, kid! I'm counting on you to become rich!"

Behind the counter, Celine snapped her head up and a smile spread on her face. "Seth! What are you doing here? You should be at the academy getting ready for your fight!"

"How do you know about my fight, ma'am?" Seth asked with a puzzled face. "And what is he talking about?"

"I've told you a dozen times to drop the ma'am." The silver-haired woman shook her head, then sighed. "And, well, people have been placing bets on your fight. Usually, nobody here gives a rat's ass about the academy tournament, but this time it's different. Our little greenhorn's in the competition."

Seth's eyes widened. "Seriously? What are the odds?"

"Eighty percent in your favor," Celine replied. "The only ones betting against you are convinced they'll forbid you from using your beast."

Everyone knows now, Seth thought, exhaling deeply while feeling a weight leaving his shoulders. Keeping Nightmare a secret for so long had been a constant strain, always having to watch his words, to hide what he could really do. Now, at least, that weight was partially lifted—though he would still have to keep lying about Link, Share, his core, and his bonus attributes.

"Right," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I guess someone from the Champions of Chaos told you?"

A flicker of annoyance crossed Celine's features. "Told me what? That you've been lying to me for months?"

Seth grimaced. "Sorry, ma'—Celine. Professor Reat ordered me to keep my mouth shut."

"That's fine," she answered, waving it off with a sigh. "I just would've preferred to learn it from you. And not after everyone else."

"You could still be the first in the city to know something else, though," Seth said, trying to make it up to her.

A smile instantly reappeared on Celine's lips. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Identify me," Seth said with a wink. "You'll see."

A second later, Celine's jaw practically hit the floor. "How in the world are you already Iron?" she exclaimed. "And with a subclass on top of that! Beastmaster? I never heard about that one."

Seth pulled the large wooden crate on the counter, removed his Endless Pouch from his belt, and upended it. In a matter of seconds, dozens upon dozens of blue beaststones tumbled into the box, filling it to the brim.

"By killing all these beasts," he said, grabbing his Fishlord hunting contract from his pocket and placing it onto the counter. "And yeah, I'm guessing I got it because I made a contract with a beast while Copper. I'll have to ask the academy's librarian to see if he knows anything about that subclass."

"For the love of Gods, Seth," the woman then blurted out, staring at the crystals, "did you even stop to sleep?"

"I got a lot of help," Seth answered with a light laugh while taking his vita out and putting it at the top of the altar on the left. "And yeah, we did sleep, at least a little."

'Tell her that I took out two-thirds of them,' Nightmare said.

'Not a chance.'

"No wonder why you broke through in less than a month," Celine said, astonished as she counted and sorted the blue crystal. "Some of these are Iron. Lots of them, actually."

When Celine finally finished, her eyes shone with a mix of awe and disbelief. "Alright. One hundred fifty Low- to Mid-Coppers stones for fifteen copper coins, one hundred twenty High- to Peak-Copper ones for forty-two copper coins, and sixty-nine Low- to Mid-Iron ones for ten iron and thirty-five copper coins. That's a grand total of ten irons and ninety-two coppers after taxes."

A bitter feeling nagged at Seth. Obtaining those stones had taken weeks of effort—and yet they were worth almost nothing compared to the loot from the Black Hounds' members. Barely one fifth of a single Ocean Tear, he thought grimly.

"Thank you, Celine," he said, taking the coin she was handing him.

Nightmare growled inside his necklace. 'We should just hunt humans instead of beasts.'

"The pleasure's all mine, greenhorn," Celine replied with a grin before pressing the dark base of the Vita Altar to her right. The artifact's runes pulsed brightly, flaring white before gradually dimming back to their usual soft yellow glow.

As the light faded, Seth picked up his purple Vita and channeled aether into it.

Adventurer Vita ( Iron 2 ☆☆) Name: Seth Adventurer specialty: Beast-Hunting Class: Primalist Beast slain: Rank-30 Fishlord Aquamancer Subclass: Beastmaster Number of contracts: 6 Rank: 24 (Low-Iron) Contract difficulty: Iron 3 Branch: Champions of Chaos

I skipped Iron 1, Seth thought, tucking the Vita and coins back into his Endless Pouch before looking up at Celine. There was still something he had to ask her. "Did you hear about Arthuri's outpost?"

The woman's smile vanished instantly. "Yes, I did. I'm still trying to convince Warsis to come here. He acts like it's all his fault, when it isn't at all."

"Why didn't the Adventurers Guild step in?" Seth asked, frowning. "One of their outposts was shut down solely because of intimidation and dirty politics."

"The interim head decided it wasn't a fight worth risking," Celine said with a heavy sigh. "My hands were tied—I couldn't do anything about it."

Seth opened his mouth to argue but then shut it, seeing the pain in the woman's eyes. Pushing harder wouldn't accomplish anything besides hurting her more.

"You're young," she added. "You'll find out that not all battles are won with swords and spells. Being strong sometimes isn't enough."

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

'She's just not strong enough,' Nightmare muttered.

'Exactly,' Seth answered to the direwolf while giving Celine a grateful nod. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks… for everything. And have a good day."

"You too, greenhorn," she said, flashing him a thumb-up. "And good luck with your fight. Remember—eighty percent of us are rooting for you."

Seth smiled back. "I hope you're among them."

"I sure am!"

Morning light bathed the city in a golden glow as Seth stepped out of the outpost and headed for the Champions of Chaos headquarters next door. One last stop before the academy.

The moment he walked inside, the smell of coffee and roasted meat hit him. At a nearby table, Yline and Toren sat eating breakfast, while Lyria meticulously cleaned her bow in the corner.

Toren's face brightened. "Kid! Long time no see!"

"Good to see you, sir," Seth answered, crossing the room.

Lyria looked up, and her eyes widened in shock. "Calvin wasn't kidding—you really are something else!"

Yline and Toren exchanged startled looks, then turned to Seth and stared at him for a second. "You're already Iron!" Yline exclaimed. "And you got a subclass!"

"Not just that, he's also Rank 24!" Lyria chimed in with a grin. "That's six Ranks and a breakthrough in a month. That's beyond genius."

Feeling a little flustered by their praise, Seth scratched the back of his neck. "It's mostly thanks to my direwolf."

"That's still impressive," Lyria insisted. "At this rate, you'll be able to hunt with us in two or three years!"

"That'd be great," Seth answered with a chuckle, restraining his joy. Hunting with the strongest branch of Kastal would be more than great.

Toren took a swig of his coffee, then cut in, "So, why did you drop by, kid? It's surely not to brag."

Seth shook his head. "Actually, I came to see Yline. See if she could help me with something."

"Me?" Yline said, pausing with a forkful of eggs halfway to her mouth. "You want new weapons since you're now Iron?"

"Yes, ma'am." Seth took his father's gauntlet's crafting recipe out of his Endless Pouch and handed it to her. "I was wondering if you could make these for me at some point in the future. I'm not sure a regular blacksmith is the right person, since they're not entirely metal, so that's why I came to you."

Yline's eyes widened as she examined the piece of parchment. "Where'd you get this?"

"I bought it from a Wandering Merchant," Seth explained, supplying the lie he had come up with during the carriage ride. "He said it was a weapon used by Primalists from another country."

Yline nodded, her gaze still fixed on the recipe. "These are combat gauntlets. That's not something you see every day—mostly a west continent thing. But are you sure this is what you want to fight with? The recipe looks impressive, probably from a top-tier blacksmith, but… I don't know if they'll serve you as well as a sword or dagger would."

Seth's excitement shot up through his chest. "I want to give them a try."

Yline mulled it over, then nodded. "I can craft you a prototype with some basic materials I have on hand. That way, you can test them out first. One of the ingredients in the actual recipe is incredibly rare, and I'd hate for you to go through all the trouble of getting it only to realize you don't even like fighting with those gauntlets. Sounds good?"

"That's perfect, ma'am!" Seth replied, a broad smile spreading on his face. "How long will it take?"

"I can make them right away," Yline answered. "Give me two or three hours. But you'll need to cover the cost of materials, which should be around twenty irons."

Seth considered it for a moment. With the Black Hounds' Endless Pouch and the weapons inside he'd have plenty enough. "Is it okay if I go sell a few things while you craft them, so I can get the coins?"

"Sure, just come back before noon," Yline said, setting the recipe down. "I have an appointment with a buyer for something else at one o'clock."

Seth nodded and turned to leave, striding toward the door. There was no time to waste.

Time flew by as Seth darted from shop to shop, carefully selling one or two items at a time to avoid drawing unwanted attention. As far as he could tell, his strategy paid off, and the coins steadily added up in his pouch without any strange looks or suspicion. Of all his loot, the Rare giant battle ax once wielded by the Warrior, Quill, fetched the highest price, earning him seventy iron coins on its own after the selling tax.

As he exited the tenth shop, he had managed to gain a total of five silver and seventy iron coins from all his sales—including the forty irons he'd just spent to buy a cheap-but-quite-useful spell from the Adventurers Guild's Iron shop.

Seth glanced one more time at the scroll to cast Identify before putting it into his Endless Pouch.

Intermediate Identify (Standard)

Upgrading Spell-scroll

Tier: Iron

Grade: Common

Affinity: -

Restrictions:

- Identify

As he walked back to the Champions of Chaos headquarters, Seth took out his communication orb and infused aether inside.

Seth: I should make it on time for my fight. Anything important I should know? Do I have to wear my training suit, or is gear allowed?

Less than a minute later, words appeared within the crystal orb.

Elena: What do you mean you 'should' ? The night caravans arrived at seven…

Elena: Armors and weapons are allowed for the fight, but artifacts aren't. You can just wear your academy's uniform if you don't have better armor.

Elena: Oh, and they also added a new rule this morning: no contracted beast.

'Those filthy nobles,' Nightmare growled inside the beastholder. 'They don't want me to tear apart their kin.'

'It's fine,' Seth said, already knowing something like that could happen. 'I'll win even without you.'

Seth: Thanks for the heads up.

Elena: You're welcome.

Slipping the orb into his pocket, Seth sighed and kept walking. Without Nightmare, going up against Iron nobles loaded with Epic-grade gear and spells would be tough. However, since everyone would know about his subclass through Identify and assumed he'd gained a Revelation, there was no reason to also hold back on using Share. He'd just have to lie a little about its effects, so it wouldn't draw too much attention.

As Seth stepped inside the Champion of Chaos' headquarters, he found Yline at her anvil, hammering what seemed to be a sword, and Toren hunched over his workbench, tinkering with a small metallic orb which was the size of his hand.

The moment Yline spotted Seth, she grinned. "You're late, kid. I finished ten minutes ago," she said proudly, setting down her hammer and reaching for a pair of reinforced gauntlets.

Seth's eyes lit up as the woman handed them to him. His fingers ran over the dark, rune-etched leather, feeling the solid metal core beneath. The design was simple, but their durability was certainly not lacking. Like his father's, the protective plating extended from mid-forearm to the knuckles, offering unparalleled defense at the cost of nearly no wrist mobility.

Without wasting even a second, Seth cast Identify.

Black Steel Gauntlets

Weapon

Tier: Iron

Grade: Common

Effects:

- Ignores 4% of Toughness.

- Increases Toughness by 3%.

- Reduces aether cost by 5% for any spells.

"Thank you, ma'am," Seth said, his voice filled with gratitude as he took out the twenty iron coins.

Even if the prototype was only Common-grade, it would still give him the chance to test the weapon's fighting style—and that was what mattered.

Yline nodded toward her workbench. "Just put them over there, next to your recipe."

Seth placed the coins beside the piece of parchment, then turned back to the blacksmith. "If I manage to gather all the resources for the real one, how much would you charge me to craft them?"

Yline wiped her hands on her apron, thinking for a moment. "Since you're one of us, you get the sixty-percent discount. So…about fifty irons."

A smile spread on Seth's face—it would leave him enough to buy a new Primalist Iron spell. "Really? That's amazing, thank you, ma'am!"

"Don't get too excited." Yline's mouth twisted to the side, and her expression turned more serious. "There's one ingredient I'm not even sure you'll be able to find."

"Which one?"

"The Desert Snake's beaststone," the blacksmith answered. "As far as I know, it can only be found in a specific overgrown Iron Rift. Most adventurers gave up on crafting equipment with that stone in the recipe."

Seth frowned. "An overgrown Rift? What's that"

"A Rift with higher-Tier beasts inside," Toren said from behind them. "Like, an Iron Rift with Silver and Gold beasts inside."

"People also call them dead Rifts," Yline added. "For obvious reasons."

"How is that even possible?" Seth asked, trying to recall the theory he had seen about Rifts. "Wouldn't that go against the arcane laws?"

"Not exactly," Toren answered, leaning back. "See, it's different stepping into a lower-Tier Rift than being inside one. There's this famous Scholar, Eldric, who came up with a theory about aether being kinda like water. Plunge your hand inside it slowly, it goes through easily. But slap it real fast and it's like hitting a stone. Same idea. When you break through while inside the Rift, your aether doesn't just slam into the Rift's as if you were just walking in. It takes a few seconds to, uh, adjust, and that's why if you won't just drop dead on the spot."

"I see," Seth muttered, realizing that the additional attributes' from Link could be a huge advantage in those Rifts, since he could be at the appropriate Tier yet stronger than a normal Wielder would be. "Thank you."

"No problem, kid."

Seth then turned back to Yline. "Do you remember the name of that overgrown Rift, ma'am?"

The blacksmith scratched her cheek, thinking for a brief moment before answering, "I believe it's called the Desert of Misery."

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