Chapter 58: Nine now

Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Nine now

Karl’s words wouldn’t leave him alone.

Jared lay in the infirmary bed with the blanket pulled to his chin, staring at the ceiling, hearing them again and again. Beast devolution is real. Trust me. I learnt it the hard way. They rolled around in his head like loose marbles. By noon, he’d made up his mind.

He needed a way to train his beasts. Not eventually. Not when he felt better. Now.

[It’s very funny, you know,]

’What is?’

[That you can even be considered a beast tamer.]

Jared turned his head.

[Think about it. You transmigrated into a rich boy’s body, inherited his gems, and pulled ten SSS ranked beasts out of a magic bowl. You didn’t tame a single one. You didn’t track them through a forest, or spend time bonding with them, or bleed for them. You didn’t take part in the taming at all. It’s the most hands off tamer career in the history of the world.]

"I’m doing my best."

[I’m sure you are.]

"I’ve used a lot of them though."

[Have you?]

"I’ve used..." He started counting on his fingers. "The Ground Dragon. The gorilla. The ant. Starfire. The cat. That’s, um. That’s five."

[That’s five if you count the one that got stolen.]

"Right."

[So really, you’ve used four.]

"Four."

[You have ten SSS ranked beasts, and you’ve used only four.]

Jared winced.

[Nine.I mean nine. Sorry. Slip of the tongue.]

His eyes narrowed.

"You did that on purpose, didn’t you?"

[I did not.]

"You said ten. You always say ten. You said it just now to make me feel bad."

[I said nine. I corrected myself. That’s called honesty.]

"It’s called a low blow."

[Both can be true.]

"Pull up my beasts’ status," he said.

[Which ones?]

"All of them."

[Are you sure?]

"Just do it."

The panel unfolded.

One by one, the names scrolled past.

[Dungeon Cat (SSS Rank)]

[A small, upright cat. On contact with its master, time speeds up for him. On contact with others, time slows for them.]

[Starfire (SSS Rank)]

[A fairy like beast, the size of an eye, resembling a small ball of light. Capable of firing blasts. Its maximum charge capacity equals that of an active sun.]

[Godtoad (SSS Rank)]

[The only beast capable of speech. Can grant most wishes. Will assign its master a mission to complete before the wish is granted.]

[Dragonfish (SSS Rank)]

[When summoned, everyone in the vicinity is pulled into a pocket dimension made entirely of water. The master is swallowed by the Dragonfish, which handles the threat alone. Primary trait: indestructible, with no vulnerabilities.]

[MountainSnake (SSS Rank)]

[As large as a mountain. Fires smaller snakes carrying poisons of varying combinations. The master can control the smaller snakes telekinetically. In the master’s hand, each snake becomes a weapon. The weapon is selected at random.]

[SwampGorilla (SSS Rank)]

[Matches its master in height. Serves as armor. The master can take swamp parts from the gorilla and wear them, increasing strike power or releasing plant gases.]

[AntBeast (SSS Rank)]

[An upright ant capable of shrinking and growing, up to the height of a skyscraper. Consumes matter. Its stomach functions as both a storage room and a chemical laboratory.]

He scanned the list, nodding slowly.

Nine entries. The Ground Dragon wasn’t there anymore. He swallowed and kept reading.

Then he stopped.

Two entries didn’t look right.

He leaned forward, squinting, a sudden prickle crawling up his spine.

[PowerWolf (SS Rank)]

[A strong, upright wolf, matching its master in height. Its howls grow stronger with each consecutive use, starting weak and building in intensity. Sound discharge and raw strength.]

[PositionTurtle (SS Rank)]

[A turtle the size of skyscrapers. Capable of teleportation and water beams. It’s beam possesses regenerative or degenerative properties. ]

SS.

Not SSS. SS.

He read it again. He rubbed his eyes. He read it a third time, slowly, mouthing the letters.

"What’s going on here?" he said. He had an idea but asked anyway.

[You see this, right?]

"It’s reading..."

His voice cracked.

"It says SS. It says SS rank. They’re SS. The wolf and the turtle."

[Yes,It’s started.]

The room went very still.

He stared at the two lines of glowing text.

’It started.’

He had known it was coming. Karl had told him. The system had told him. The guide in the void had warned him. A beast that sits unused begins to regress. He had told himself he’d get to it. He’d train them later. He’d make time.

And now it had happened.

[The devolution has started for some of your beasts,]

[Two so far. The wolf and the turtle. They’re among the ones you’ve never summoned.]

"I knew it."

[Don’t worry. They’re only a rank behind. It’s barely problematic. A single step down. They’re still extraordinarily powerful. Still far beyond most beasts in the guild.]

"They’re not SSS."

[They’re SS.]

"That’s not the same."

[It’s a small difference.]

"It’s not small."

[Your beast points will restore them in no time.]

Jared blinked.

"My beast points?"

[You’ve got a stockpile. Remember? You earned them in the wilds, and then again with the scorpion and the boss. They’re sitting there. Waiting. They can reverse a devolution. Reset the rank. Bring them back up.]

"How many do I have?"

[You want the number?]

"What’s my total points accumulated?"

[1,780.]

Jared’s mouth fell open.

It was much larger than he’d expected. He’d thought a few hundred, maybe a thousand if he was lucky. But 1,780? He did a quick mental calculation. The ManShrubs, the golems, the Dust Hounds. And the boss. The A rank boss, the Veil Warden, the thing Karl had called an A. A monster like that could give a staggering amount. If that was where it came from, he would gladly accept it.

’1,780.’

It felt like winning a lottery he hadn’t known he’d entered.

He tried to sit up. His arms shook. His stomach rolled.

He still couldn’t move.

’I can’t train them like this.’

It would take a while. A few days, maybe more, before his body recovered enough to stand, let alone fight. And he couldn’t wait that long. Every hour he lay here was another hour of rot ticking through his gems.

’I could summon them here.’

The thought arrived slowly.

’Right here. Right now. Just drop a gem on the floor.’

He imagined it. The infirmary. The curtains. The monitors. A skyscraper sized turtle appearing in the middle of a sickroom. A mountain of snakes. A wolf howling at the ceiling.

’I can’t afford to pay for anything if they destroy anything.’

[You mean when,]

[When they destroy anything. Not if. When.]

Jared stared at the ceiling.

A hot, stinging pressure rose behind his eyes.

He blinked, and a single tear slid down the side of his face. Then another. He didn’t make a sound. He just lay there, jaw trembling, tears running into his ear.

[You’re crying,]

"I’m not."

[You are. I can see it. Your eyes are leaking.]

"It’s the lights."

[I knew you were weak. I’ll admit that. I’ve known since .....But I didn’t take you for a...]

It trailed off.

"That’s not why I’m crying, fool," Jared said, thickly.

[It isn’t?]

"No."

[Then why?]

He wiped his face with the heel of his hand and let out a long, shuddering breath.

"This is an actual challenge," he said.

The system said nothing.

"A real one. Not a trick. Not a lucky draw. This is something I have to fix. With my own hands. Something I can overcome." His voice shook, but it was steady underneath. "And if I can overcome it, that would mean I’m improving. In my own way. Little or not."

He stared at the ceiling.

"That’s why."

[Oh,]

It was quiet and a little startled, with none of its usual snark. For once, it didn’t have a joke.

[Oh,] it said again.

* * *

The day passed.

Jared did nothing but watch TV.

He lay in bed with the remote clutched in one trembling hand, flipping through channels. A cooking competition. A nature documentary. A game show with a spinning wheel. A very old movie about a horse. He watched them all without absorbing a single frame. Nurses came and went. A cart rattled past. A tray of soft food appeared and vanished. The light in the high window slid from gold to orange to blue.

He fell asleep before dinner.

He woke late, in the dark, with a start. The infirmary was silent. The monitor beeped softly. A thin strip of moonlight lay across his blanket. He lay still, blinking, listening.

’Zoey.’

She hadn’t come.

He’d expected her. She had promised. She’d come the by, and she’d said she would visit every day. He had counted on it.

A pang of worry shot through him.

’What if something happened?’

He tried to push it away. He told himself she was busy. She had missions. She had a team now and her own life to live.She couldn’t be expected to spend every hour at his bedside.

He closed his eyes and slept again.

When he woke, there was light. And someone was sitting on the end of his bed.

"Hi."

Jared blinked.

Zoey was perched on the edge of the mattress, hands in her lap, dressed in her full Team B uniform. A crisp gray jacket. She looked bright and eager and slightly guilty.

"I came to say hi," she said, "before I leave for patrol."

Jared blinked again.

"Patrol?"

"Yes."

"They let you go?" He pushed himself up on his elbows, frowning. "Isn’t patrol only for high ranking beast masters?"

"It is."

"But you’re..."

"I know." She smiled, a little sheepishly. "It’s a special case. They said I showed promise. They want to see how I do."

"Who said? I mean ’they’ who?"

"Julius."

Jared’s jaw tightened.

"Don’t worry," Zoey said quickly. "I’ll be fine."

"I’m not worried."

"You look worried."

"I don’t."

"You do."

"I’m just..."

"I’ll be with Julius, after all."

She said it brightly, as though it settled everything. Jared opened his mouth to argue, and nothing came out.

Zoey stood, smoothed her jacket, and bent to give him a quick, awkward pat on the arm.

"Get well," she said. "Okay? Eat your oats. I brought some. Rest. I’ll see you soon."

She hurried toward the curtain.

"Zoey..."

"Don’t worry about me," she said again, over her shoulder.

She was gone.

[Well,]

Jared didn’t answer.

[That was nice.]

He stared at the curtain.

[She really does like him.]

"I know."

"I know."

"I.... I... Know"

"I know." He said finally with a long sigh.

[You,] the system said, with a long, delighted sigh, [don’t have any shot.]