STRIKER: Independent Beast Tamer

Inside the mansion of the Night Family, a young man dressed in a navy blue suit gazes at a holographic screen. Tomorrow is an important day for him: every 18-year-old undergoes their Awakening at this age, and upon successfully awakening their talent, they can bond with a suitable beast.

”The Awakening Day,” Jeremy mutters to himself.

He reviews the list of successful awakens from previous years, noting that many have awakened A-grade talents, allowing them to bond with powerful beasts. A fiery glint flashes in Jeremy’s eyes.

As a descendant of the Night Family, he carries additional responsibilities. Not only must he prove himself as a strong Beast Tamer, but he also has to enhance his family’s status.

Currently, the Human Alliance leads humanity. After the mutation, the concept of nations dissolved, and people united to form the Human Alliance.

This alliance created different zones and countless settlements. They were numbered from Zone 1 to Zone 25, each containing numerous cities labelled from City A to City H and other unrecognised settlements.

Inside each zone, many small and large-scale settlements are still striving for City Status. This status is granted by the Human Alliance based on the number of Beast Tamers in that settlement.

The Night Family is one of the administrative families in City C, Zone 14. Three families collectively oversee the safety and governance of City C: the Night Family, the Ross Family, and the Glass Family.

Their main job is to protect the city from the attacks of the Corrupted Beasts.

The heads of these families are all Tier-5 Beast Tamers. Unlike the other two family heads, who have multiple heirs, Jeremy feels the added pressure of being the sole child.

If he fails to awaken a remarkable talent, it won’t be long before someone else replaces his family. It’s no secret that governing families must also possess personal strength.

After calming his racing heart, he decides to take a rest. He reminds himself that he is not inferior to last year’s successful awakeners. With that thought, he dismisses the holographic screen and takes a stroll around his manor.

About ten minutes later, he returns to his room, shuts the door, and changes into comfortable clothes. Lying back on his bed and looking at the ceiling, he reflects on his parents.

”Father and Mother have gone to meet their acquaintances. I’m sure they are going to buy some treasures,” Jeremy thinks to himself, a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.

He knows that his parents would do everything to improve his chances. The stakes are high, as not only the Night Family’s future is at risk, but his mother’s side of the family is also looking forward to his awakening.

”I don’t want to disappoint anyone.” These thoughts weigh heavily on his mind. Slowly, he closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep.

Creak!

In the middle of the night, a couple returns to the Night Family estate. They are the heads of the Night Family, Ron and Nora Night.

”I don’t know what he will do. The pressure on him is immense,” Ron Night says in a grave tone.

Nora’s heart aches; she doesn’t want her son to feel burdened. But the reality is different. Her son is intelligent, so they cannot speak unrealistic words to him.

Then they walk into their mansion. They don’t want to disturb Jeremy, as tomorrow is his awakening day.

”What should we do with the unknown object?” Nora asks.

Ron contemplates before saying, ”It was something found by your late grandfather. We don’t know its use. But as far as I know, the Pill is consumable, and we don’t know its effects.”

”Let’s leave it up to Jeremy. If he wants to take risks, then we should support him,” Ron adds, imagining the pressure on his son.

Then the couple went to sleep.

The following day, Jeremy wakes up early. He doesn’t know whether it’s due to excitement or anxiety, but he struggles to sleep properly. He gets out of bed to start his morning routine.

About an hour later, he walks out of the bath after taking a cold shower. Then, he begins to put on his school uniform. City C has more than ten high schools, three of which are elite schools where the children of Beast Tamers study. He attends Little Rock High School, the first elite high school.

Thinking about the awakening ceremony, Jeremy furrows his eyebrows. Deep down, he doesn’t want his awakening to fail. But in reality, all kinds of possibilities exist.

He might awaken a good talent, a mediocre talent, or, in the worst case, he might fail to awaken any talent at all.

After getting ready, he walks out of the room, dressed in a black blazer and pants.

”I think they returned last night,” he thinks, recalling his parents.

He hurries toward the study room. When he arrives at the door, he creaks it open and steps inside.

Ron, the head of the family, shares a similar hairstyle and skin tone with Jeremy and is sitting behind the desk. Right next to him, Nora, his wife, is seated as well. Both of them are not surprised to see their son.

”Jeremy, come here,” Ron says in a solemn tone.

Jeremy respects his parents very much; they built the family from scratch. His father is a Tier-5, 9th Rank Beast Tamer.

His mother was a Tier-5, 6th Rank. As long as both of them were present, no one could challenge the Night Family.

Jeremy approached the desk and stood before them.

”Father.”

”Mother,” he greeted them both.

”Jeremy, I understand that you are feeling the pressure of the awakening ceremony. We don’t want to offer naive words and give you false hope,” his father, Ron, said seriously.

”Talent is indeed important. If you awaken a talent of C grade or above, you can lead a good life thereafter. However, if you want to study in City A, you will need a talent of B grade or above,” he continued.

Hearing this, I grasped the reality of the situation. Each Zone has a university for Beast Tamers, but most of the prestigious universities are located in City A. City A is significantly larger and possesses more resources than other cities.

In contrast, City C has one or two Beast Taming Universities designed for students with grades D and below. Attending these universities is considered a significant achievement for those with lower talent levels.

On the other hand, City D has only one university, while City E and others below it offer special academies for students with low or ”trash” talents.

In a world where humans fight against beasts, every individual is seen as having some talent. There are academies available for those who fail to awaken their talents in the bottom-tier cities, allowing people from surrounding settlements to attend and learn.