Free Web NovelChapter 37: The Special Tamer’s Ability
"My turn! It’s my turn!"
The moment Cher finished her demonstration, Lara practically bounced on the spot before hurrying toward the training area where Silas and Cher had displayed their abilities.
However, after arriving there, she slowly turned around with a puzzled expression.
"Hmm... I think there’s a rather big problem."
She glanced around before letting out an awkward laugh.
"I’m a Tamer, but there aren’t any monsters here for me to demonstrate my ability on."
"Aren’t all Tamers basically the same?"
Silas’s casual remark was met with a chorus of strange looks.
"...You’re joking, right?" Lara blinked. When Silas remained silent, her expression stiffened.
"I thought Tamers simply controlled monsters using their abilities," he explained, genuinely confused. "The only difference should be the grade of monsters each Tamer can handle, shouldn’t it? Or perhaps the number of monsters they can tame at the same time?"
He searched the others for support, only to find sighs, averted gazes, and looks of disbelief. Apparently, his understanding of Tamers was completely wrong.
"Ahem."
Cher cleared her throat, rescuing him from the awkward silence.
"I heard he grew up in an orphanage. It’s understandable."
"I’ve heard orphanages in Eldrune can be terrible places."
Alfred looked at Silas with unmistakable sympathy, as though he had discovered someone who had endured an even harsher upbringing than himself.
"Can someone explain to our leader what being a Tamer actually means?" Lara asked through gritted teeth, taking Silas’s ignorance as a personal insult despite knowing it wasn’t intentional.
"Or better yet..."
Cher touched her wristwatch and navigated through the holographic interface that appeared before her.
"The training platform can generate realistic monster projections. Tamers often use them to practice."
Her eyes lit up as she found what she was looking for. A moment later, seven wolves materialised. Their bodies were covered in strange white feathers, and two serpent-like tails swayed behind each of them, looking deadly with their sharp spear-like ends.
"You can show him yourself."
Silas watched the exchange in silence. For some reason, he doubted Cher was acting purely out of kindness after having her pride bruised earlier. Even Darius remained quiet, though the sympathy in his eyes for his friend had only deepened.
The projected wolves retreated to one side of the field, baring their fangs and gathering together defensively.
Darius’s shoulders tensed up, while his gaze remained fixed on the wolves. He had seen creatures like that charge before, with fire marks, not feathers.
"The stage is yours," Cher said.
With another adjustment to her wristwatch, shimmering cage bars descended around the wolves, forming a virtual enclosure. The creatures reacted as though they had noticed nothing at all.
Then Lara stepped forward.
"Tamers aren’t Enhancers who happen to control monsters."
She spoke calmly, though she carefully avoided looking at Silas.
"We use entirely different methods. Some Tamers subdue monsters through brute force. That’s temporary taming. Once the ability’s effect fades, the monster regains its freedom."
The explanation reminded Silas of Cassian.
"As for me..."
Lara’s voice softened.
"I consider them my babies."
Her expression shifted into something bordering on obsession.
"My ability doesn’t guarantee success. But when it works, the monsters see me as their mother... and I see them as my children."
Stopping before the enclosure, she extended a hand toward the wolves. Silas recognised the gesture from their first Monster Studies class, but this time he noticed the crystal resting in her palm.
"Is she alright?" Darius whispered to Cher while subtly pointing at his head.
Cher rolled her eyes.
"People misunderstand Lara. The real problem isn’t her mindset."
She narrowed her eyes at her friend.
"It’s her success rate. Out of a hundred attempts, she succeeds only seven times."
"What?!"
Alfred stared in shock.
"Seven percent? A Tamer who misses that often is a liability."
"It isn’t that simple," Cher replied. "If you want the truth, Lara’s ability is far more frightening than mine."
Just before Cher would continue her words, Lara puffed out her cheeks, attracting everyone’s attention.
"I failed this one."
She raised her hand, revealing that the crystal had crumbled into dust. When everyone thought she was going to give up, she turned and gave them a deep look.
"People laugh when they hear that number," Lara said quietly. "Most assume I’m useless before I’ve even tried."
Then she turned to face the cage, a resolve forming over her face.
"I’ll keep trying until I show you how special my ability really is."
Another crystal appeared in her hand. Then another. And another.
"Still..." Darius hesitated. "In an actual battle, repeated failures like this would put everyone at risk. Especially her." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Darius stared at Lara as though he could not understand how someone so aware of her own shortcomings would continue throwing herself into danger.
"Then why does she still fight on the front lines? She shouldn’t go to battles or missions until she masters her ability."
Cher gave him a strange look but said nothing.
’Silas worried just as much as Darius.’
Unintentionally, she stole a glance at Silas. He showed no embarrassment over his earlier misunderstanding. If anything, his curiosity had only grown stronger. He genuinely wanted to understand.
Something about that realisation made Cher smile before she quickly looked away.
"Because when she succeeds, everything changes."
She stared at her friend; no one knew what she was thinking about.
"Just wait," she said. "You’ll understand soon enough."
Five minutes passed.
One crystal after another crumbled into dust between Lara’s fingers. The excitement in her eyes dimmed for a moment before reigniting with stubborn determination.
Then... The fifth crystal remained intact.
"I did it!"
Lara opened her eyes and jumped excitedly, clapping her hands as though she had just stolen first place from Leopard.
Yet for others, nothing seemed to have changed. The wolves remained wary and aggressive.
Silas frowned and glanced towards Cher. The pride look on her face told him all he needed to know.
’Lara has succeeded.’
’But succeeded at what exactly?’ frёewebηovel.cѳm
"Cher, remove the cage."
Without hesitation, Cher dismissed the barriers. Seeing this made Darius stiffen.
"This is bad. Even if they’re projections, they behave like real monsters. We can’t just leave her there, or else she will get hurt..."
"Stand back and watch," Cher interrupted. "Otherwise, you might be the one getting hurt."
Darius looked toward Silas for support, yet the latter simply shook his head. He trusted Cher’s judgment.
"Come to Mama."
Lara dropped to one knee and opened her arms toward the wolves. Then the beasts charged.
The moment that happened, Darius froze. For a fleeting moment, the memory of Lyra being torn apart by hounds overwhelmed him.
"Screw this!"
He couldn’t take it any longer and stepped forward.
"I don’t know what’s wrong with all of you, but I’m not standing here watching. Alfred, with me. You protect Lara while I deal with the wolves."
Neither Cher nor Silas stopped them. Cher knew her friend’s ability had succeeded. Silas trusted Cher enough to believe it.
Before Darius and Alfred could cover half the distance, the wolves reached Lara. Then they leapt into her embrace.
Silence fell.
The seven feathered wolves circled around her excitedly, rubbing against her and howling happily. They did not treat her like an alpha who had conquered them through strength.
"It really is like..." Alfred muttered in disbelief.
"...they think she’s their mother," Darius was stupefied.
To Silas, this was the first time he wondered whether strength in Eldrune always had to be born from violence. Until now, power had always looked the same to him, something coming from Mana through force.
Yet Lara stood before him, surrounded by monsters that loved her.
The three turned toward the only person who seemed unsurprised: Cher. Noticing their baffled gazes, her confident expression broke into a wide smile.
"You haven’t seen anything yet."
She folded her arms and looked toward Lara.
"The real show is only beginning."
