This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

"How would that make us any different from them?!" She whispered to him harshly while keeping her voice out of earshot of Gabriel.

Kain winced, glancing over at Gabriel, who was engrossed in the laptop.

"It wouldn't," Kain admitted quietly. "That's why we can't force anyone into this. We need someone willing. Someone who understands the risks."

Serena folded her arms, her eyes narrowing. "You think anyone in their right mind would agree to this? Even if the reward is becoming a beast-tamer, the potential risks… It could kill them, Kain. You know that."

"I do," Kain said, his tone heavy with guilt. "But we also know there are people out there who would take that risk if it was their only option. Someone like Gabriel—someone whose life is likely to end soon if they can't extend it by cultivating."

Serena shook her head, pacing the room. "Manipulating emotionally vulnerable dying people to get them to agree will definitely not make my conscious feel any better."

Kain remained silent for a moment, his mind working through the problem. She was right—coercion through desperation wasn't much better.

Finally, he sighed. "What if we're upfront about everything? Lay out the risks, the uncertainty, and the potential rewards? If someone still volunteers after knowing the truth, then it's their choice. Whether it works or not, I'm not going to have it keep me up at night."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Serena stopped pacing, her gaze piercing into his soul. "And if no one volunteers? What then?"

Kain avoided her eyes. "Then the rest is my problem. I will find someone on my own, you don't have to worry yourself."

'Testing on a horrible criminal or even capturing one of the members of that organization to test on are both feasible options,' but Kain didn't say those thoughts allowed since she seemed averse to any actions that even remotely resembled what the organization that took Gabriel and Cherry would do—meaning that involuntary human experiments were a no go in her book.

'Sigh…'

Serena's gaze softened slightly, though the tension in her posture remained. "Fine. But if I think for even a second that you're crossing a line, Kain, I'm out and you can find someone else to make the array."

Kain nodded solemnly, grateful for her reluctant agreement. "Fair enough."

Serena sighed, rubbing her temples as she resumed pacing. "So, what's your plan? How are you going to find someone willing to volunteer for this? I'm pretty sure asking everywhere outright that we want to perform a questionable and dangerous experiment on another person will raise alarm bells at the college."

"Easy… look at the mission boards requesting spiritual plants that can slightly extend the life spans or treat the chronic illnesses of ordinary people."

There were always such missions on the mission board, not because they were so frequent, but because the acceptance rates for such missions were very low.

The issuer was usually a relatively wealthy ordinary person, but they were unable to offer truly valuable resources as a reward. And the monetary rewards often offered in addition to the school credits, while substantial amounts to ordinary people, were rarely enough to move most beast-tamers. Especially since locating rare herbs is usually a long and tedious process. Moreover, since little danger was involved, the school credits rewarded for missions at that level were usually quite low.

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Kain nodded. "If someone is willing to spend the majority of what they have to extend their life by a few months or years, it means they're at the end of their rope. Those are the people who might consider this."

Serena nodded in agreement with the current plan.

Kain continued, "We'll need to sift through the mission board carefully. Only people with no other options—those who've exhausted all traditional avenues for treatment."

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Kain and Serena found themselves in the Mission Hall sorting the missions for any dedicated to spiritual plants, using one of the touchscreens in the isolated mission acceptance areas.

Most were typical requests for herbs to treat common ailments or support low-level cultivation. But after about fifteen minutes, Kain's finger paused over a listing among the bronze-level missions.

"'Seeking Silverblossom Root'

"'Details: My condition is terminal, and traditional medicine has failed. The root may slow the progression of my illness, but my time is limited. Offering 10 credits in addition to a monetary reward.' I think this could be our guy. He most likely is an unawakened individual to request that spiritual plant, and with a terminal condition he doesn't have many other options" Kain said.

This mission had been up for what appears to be months now since the Silverbloosom Root is pretty rare, but only really helpful for ordinary individuals, meaning most beast-tamers would not even bother to pick it if they came across it in the wild. So it was understandable that it was an unpopular mission—hopefully, the requester was still alive…

They used the contact information provided in the request to arrange a meeting with the issuer of the mission at an office Collin had set up for him in the city for the company, but Kain rarely used. However, now it was the perfect location to get away from prying eyes and ears.

The person who issued the mission was named Ferrin Voss. He appeared to be in his late twenties, his gaunt frame and pale complexion a testament to the illness ravaging his body. Despite his frail appearance, his gaze was sharp and focused.

"I appreciate you meeting with me," Ferrin said, his voice steady despite his condition and filled with hope. "I was beginning to think nobody would ever take on my mission."

'Well this is awkward…'

"Technically, we aren't planning to take on your mission." Kain said, trying to appear steady and not suspicious.

Ferrin's face twisted in a mix of confusion and anger. "Then why are we even meeting? To mock me for posting a mission nobody wanted? To waste my time?"

"Not at all," Serena interjected smoothly, her voice calm but firm. "We're here because we believe we can offer you an alternative. One that, if successful, could likely eliminate your illness due to strengthening your body and change your life completely."

Ferrin's frown deepened, his eyes narrowing. "An alternative? You mean a spiritual plant other than Silverblossom Root? Just so you know, I likely won't be able to afford the price of a spiritual plant at a much higher grade."

"No," Kain said, waving his hand dismissively at the suggestion. "We've been working on an experimental method. One that might not just extend your life but give you the ability to cultivate as a beast-tamer."

For a moment, there was only silence. Then Ferrin let out a short, bitter laugh. "Beast-tamer? Seriously? Why not promise me a royal princess as my wife while you're at it? That's more believable than someone without an affinity becoming a beast-tamer."

Kain sighed in annoyance, but he kept his tone even to try and convince him. After all, Serena who was watching from the side wouldn't exactly tattoo the array on him unless he was fully willing. "We understand how it sounds. It's unprecedented. Impossible, even. But the research we've been conducting suggests it might not be as impossible as people think."

"And why me?" Ferrin asked, his voice sharp. "Surely, if your results were feasible, plenty of people would jump at the chance. Why pick someone like me?"

"Because it's never been tested yet and you have nothing left to lose," Kain said deadpan, meeting his gaze head-on.

The words hung in the air, heavy and unflinching.

Ferrin's expression flickered, a crack forming in his defiance. "What exactly are you proposing?"

Taking this as the opening he needed, Kain vaguely touched upon how they planned to go about allowing him to form a contract without an affinity. Of course, he also mentioned that there was a very real possibility that he could die immediately…

Ferrin stared at him, his mouth tightening. "So, you want me to gamble my life on an unproven theory? And you expect me to believe this isn't some scam?"

"It's not a scam," Serena said firmly. "But yes, it's a gamble. We won't lie to you about that. We don't know for sure if it will work, and we can't guarantee your safety. But we'll take every precaution we can to minimize the risks."

Ferrin shook his head, leaning back in his chair. "You're asking a lot. Even if I am dying, this... this sounds insane."

"Maybe it is," Kain admitted. "But consider this: what are your other options? Even if you manage to get the Silverblossom Root, how much time will it really buy you? A year? Two? This might be your only chance to truly change your fate."

Ferrin's fingers drummed on the armrest of his chair as he mulled over their words. His gaze flickered toward Serena who, despite her perpetually cold demeanour, was clearly more hesitant about the whole scenario compared to Kain. "And you? You're okay with this? With performing a dangerous experiment on someone like me?"

Serena hesitated for the briefest moment, then nodded. "I'm not comfortable with it, no. But I believe in being honest about the risks. And I believe in giving you the choice. If you say no, we'll walk away, and you'll never hear from us again."

The room fell into a heavy silence as Ferrin stared down at his hands, his thoughts clearly racing. Finally, he looked up, his expression a mixture of fear and determination.

"Alright. Let's do it." Ferrin said, resolved to not just give in to his current fate.