STRIKER: Independent Beast Tamer

Special Base (4th Zone)

Rosalie Rose was watching the footage. At first, her reaction was neutral, but when she saw those extraordinary reflexes, she was shocked.

She knew it was not a normal thing. She also wondered what a Tier-4 Beast Tamer was doing here.

From the video footage, she heard those conversations as well, so she learned the young man’s name. While the others were discussing, she began to check Jeremy Night’s profile.

The profile of Jeremy Night appeared on the device. As she went through it, her eyes widened in surprise because the profile contained complete information.

It detailed where the young man was born and how he had arrived at the special base.

”He was born in the 14th Zone,” she said to herself.

She had never been to places outside the top three zones, but she possessed a great deal of information. She knew about the territory of the human population under the Human Alliance.

The 14th Zone was the least populous, and the natural energy there was extremely weak, making it hard for people to give birth to children with great talent.

Next, she grew curious about the young man’s journey, so she checked his talent. She then saw that the awakened talent of the young man was the A-Grade Supreme Combat Body Talent.

Now she understood where his insane reflexes came from. She then tried to check his Lifeline Beast information, but a pop-up appeared stating that access was restricted.

She was surprised. They were here to recruit, so who had put the restrictions in place?

However, she shook her head the next second. She reasoned that no matter his talent, she could not recruit him at his current tier.

Tier-4 was simply too low. If the young man were a Tier-5 Beast Tamer, she might have done something, but a Tier-4 stood no chance.

She had only 15 limited seats and had to select the best combination among them.

”Alright, the young man has good talent, but he is only a Tier-4 Beast Tamer. We cannot take him with us,” Rosalie said.

Hearing that, the others agreed that they had wasted their time on the footage.

Only Rene felt differently. She didn’t know why, but she believed the young man was extraordinary. They were overlooking something simply because he was a Tier-4 Beast Tamer.

She saw the others return to checking profiles.

...

Meanwhile,

The entire special base was quiet. No one was stranded in the wilderness right now. Even the corrupted beasts out there would be surprised not to spot any humans today.

Inside the base, the beast tamers remained in their rooms. Some used the training facilities to make the most of the remaining time.

Those who had secured spots in the top 50 of the leaderboard rankings were resting in their rooms, skipping any last-minute preparation.

Jeremy Night was in his room as well. From time to time, he checked his device, but there were no new updates. It had been some time since the people from the 3rd Zone had entered the meeting hall.

Yet, there was no movement. If anything had happened, the members would have shared the news online.

Jeremy knew there were members lurking near the main hall, people who couldn’t contain their curiosity. He then thought of the elders.

He considered texting them, but changed his mind at the last moment.

...

Elder’s Office

The atmosphere in the elder office building was quiet as well. The elders were waiting for a call from Elder Sandra. They knew that Elder Sandra had not yet left the venue.

On the other hand, Elder John was tense. The suspense was killing him, but he understood the reality of the situation: the Beast Taming Association was just one of the factions in the top three zones.

Furthermore, only a representative of the 3rd Branch had arrived, meaning the number of recruits she could take was limited.

He weighed the probabilities, knowing the chances of the young man being recruited were low.

He recalled the backup plan he and Elder Sandra had discussed; he believed the probability of the backup plan succeeding was much higher. If things went south, he would discuss it further with Elder Sandra.

The other elders were in touch with factions in City A. Although the situation in City A was not entirely settled, the families backing the candidates were keen to learn what was happening.

Thus, the elders connected to them kept them updated with details.

Elder Leah was with her female colleagues. They had their own favored female students and were busy discussing them.

Meanwhile, Elder Carter and a few others from City A in the 4th Zone were discussing their personal interests.

Certain families had provided backing, hoping one of their own would succeed.

Elder Sandra sat in her office behind her desk. Her gaze was locked onto her device, expecting it to ring at any moment.

...

Meeting Hall

Rosalie Rose finished going through the list compiled by Ken. She realized that Ken had not assembled it randomly; the candidates had been selected carefully.

”Ahem.”

She cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention, and all eyes turned toward her.

”I went through the lists provided by Ken and Rene. Both of their lists look solid. After reviewing the lists prepared by the remaining six of you, I will make my decision,” Rosalie said.

She then collected the devices from the other six people.

Rene was growing restless. She couldn’t stop thinking about the young man named Jeremy Night, and she stood up abruptly from her seat.

Seeing this, everyone turned to look at her once again.

”I’m going outside to get a breath of fresh air,” Rene said.

Rosalie nodded to her. Rene’s companions stayed behind, as their lists were about to be reviewed by Lord Rosalie.

Ken wanted to go outside as well, but worried it would seem too intentional, so he stayed behind.

Rene, clad in a full-body armor suit, exited the meeting hall. She stored her helmet inside her storage ring and surveyed the area before picking a direction to walk.

She immediately noticed a few people lurking nearby and understood that they were keeping an eye on the meeting hall.