Free Web NovelChapter 4: Views of a Beast Ecologist
"Hello. I’m Kiren, and I’ll be your guide today."
With a strange-looking black band tied on our wrists, the two of us entered the Dome, the hood that was covering our faces still present.
"Hello." Lexie greeted the guide, the man with green hair who wore a special gown that the guides of this particular dome had to wear, while I simply bowed to him.
’I know this one.’
While I had not seen most of the people associated with the Cradles, the people who later on made a name for themselves were different.
Kiren, this guy here, managed to become a key figure during a monster outbreak that happens five years from now in the port town.
At that time, a giant monster that was supposed to live far off the coast made its way to the shore.
There were few people with the power to defend against that kind of disaster present, and even fewer people who had the skills to evacuate the citizens on a large scale.
’Kiren has a Historical-grade beast with a skill similar to the Firefly queen.’
Thanks to the beast’s ability to divide itself into smaller parts, he saved more than a thousand people, making the work of the coastal guards much easier.
’I don’t think he has that special beast yet, but it’s not a bad idea to keep an eye on this one.’
If he is a cradle guide within the family at this point in time, then it is certain that he is at least a graduate of appropriate subjects from a reputable institution.
The training to be a guide is not easy either, so he must also be a capable person.
"We will go from this side and travel all the way to the left area, then the middle area, and lastly–."
"We aren’t here for a tour." I had to interrupt his well-memorised introduction. We weren’t here to sightsee, and we did not have to follow the instructions of the guide for everything.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
The little white bird was already too excited to come here.
He was so excited that he ran off on his own the moment we entered the greenhouse, which seemed just like a forest.
"I’m here to see the Uncommon beasts, so you don’t have to worry about us, Mister Kiren."
The sixth cradle wasn’t supposed to have the uncommon grade beasts since they were much rarer than the Professional or Rare-grade beasts.
The most common beasts that were called household beasts were the Normal-grade beasts. The younger beasts were given that rank, while on the other hand, the beasts that reach a certain level of maturity obtain Rare-grade.
It’s not certain that all the beasts will go from one rank to another. Some beasts are born into a rank and stay in that rank all their lives, while some grow past the common ranks of their general species.
’The study of how a beast would evolve into different kinds and types and how different environments would influence their behaviors, powers, and habits is something that a Beast Ecologist studies.’
While I have never been to this particular cradle, there was nothing in this place that I would not know.
From the plants present here, the trees that were grown here for a long, long time, and the flora that were grown in recent times were too distinct to my trained eyes.
In fact, the moment I looked around this place, I was reminded of some of the most common Cradles that I had seen around the world.
"Skaaaaaa..."
"Chiiiirp~. Chiiiiirp~."
"Seems like there are quite a few reptiles and arthropods here. Would you say there are more than thirty different groups, Mr. Guide?"
My little chick had run off in a certain direction, so I started walking in the same direction while keeping an eye out for certain materials.
While walking, whenever I came across any beasts, instead of approaching them directly, I used the different plants and fruits I gathered on my way as a token of my friendship.
The creatures, be it the small mammals that seemed to be miniature versions of their adult form, or the giant forms of insects that would not be that big, be it the <Finned bluewing> butterflies, or <Dark scaled Kittens>, or even the <Blaze owlets>, all the creatures I met on my way showed a unique familiarity towards me.
It seemed much easier to communicate with them through different non-verbal clues, noises that I had spent years mastering, or establishing a certain level of basic trust between us.
’It is not easy to make the beasts like you. They do not come to trust the individuals they do not know so easily.’
It takes years of training just to not get attacked by them, and decades to build a kind of nature that attracts them.
Even if you were an ’elf’ blessed by the ’guardian tree’, you would still have to work if you want to make these beasts like you.
But I’ve already spent decades doing that.
Decades that are far more dangerous and difficult than the rest of the people around the world might experience.
"Wow..."
"I’ve never seen something like this."
Lexie was stunned when she saw how I was now surrounded by tens of the special beasts who all wanted to play around with me.
Kiren was genuinely stunned to see someone being liked by so many different kinds of creatures.
’They had already seen me communicating with these creatures, so they knew this wasn’t my first time doing this.’
You cannot identify the things that so many of these different creatures love in this vast cradle and use certain ’calls’ to attract them.
Many of them were difficult creatures for even the guides to deal with. But there I was, laughing with these beautiful creatures, playing with them as if they were children.
’But they are children.’
To me, they are precious children who have so much of the world to see.
They are children who, sadly, still have so many things to do after they grow up into even more beautiful creatures.
"Alright. Now then, where is that little troublemaker?"
The little ones here were fun to play with, but we can do this sometime later as well. Right now, I was here for something else.
And to get that, I needed to get my little birdie back.
"Um... excuse me."
"I understand you have questions, Sir Kiren. However, right now is not the right time for questions."
We will get our chance once I pass the ordeal that was waiting for me.
But right now, I’m looking for someone here.
Someone who wasn’t supposed to be here.
Someone who would be discovered much later, someone who would destroy this place, someone who would be a tremendous help to me.
I was looking for an Uncommon beast in a place where only the normal and rare beasts were present.
Still, I know for a fact that the one I’m looking for is somewhere around here. But before I get to it, I walked ahead and found my little white bird banging his head on something that seemed like a large piece of quartz growing out of the ground.
"Wow. You found yourself a Mana ore, I see~."
He must have been hungry.
He had not eaten anything. I tried to feed him back at the estate, but it seems like the diet of a being who did not even have a ’rank’ mentioned on their essence card was something just as extraordinary as their unknown, mysterious powers.
"Do you wanna eat that thing? Are you trying to break it because it’s too big for you?"
If I assume that this little one is a special kind of phoenix like his mother, then it kinda makes sense that it ate something as strange as Mana ores.
"Lexie, can you help me with this one?"
"I just have to break this, right?"
"Yes."
Lexie did not need any special instructions this time.
She simply walked up to the big piece of crystal, something a normal person would never even budge, and crushed it with her bare hands.
"Here you go, young master."
Kiren’s face had dropped to the ground. It was clear that he had not seen something like this either...
But what can we say? Lexie wasn’t an ordinary individual to begin with.
"Chirp..." From the looks of it, even the little white bird was stunned by the display of strength.
It calmly took a step back and avoided eye contact with Lexie.
’It seems like the two of them will become good friends soon enough.’
I had a good feeling about this strange relationship the two were displaying.
Anyways... now that we have found my bond partner, the only one left is the Uncommon-grade special beast.
"Meow~!"
And from the looks of it, it seems like she had already heard all the commotion and was making her way to us at this moment.
