The Beast Tamer's Path: Rise of the Dragon Tamer

Chris could hear them behind him.

The beasts were getting closer. Their howls echoed through the forest, growing louder with every passing second, while branches snapped behind him as something large forced its way through the trees. The sound of claws scraping against the ground made him curse under his breath.

”Damn it...”

Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself forward despite the sharp pain shooting through his side with every step. Blood had already soaked through his clothes, and his breathing had become rough and uneven.

His legs felt heavy, but stopping wasn’t an option. Not yet.

He had to find shelter before dark. The Wilds were dangerous enough during the day, but once night came, even the areas he knew became death traps.

Chris glanced over his shoulder. He couldn’t see them, but he could hear them, and that was enough.

Turning his attention back toward the forest ahead, he continued running as quickly as his injured body allowed. His movements were becoming slower, and the wound in his side was taking its toll. Every time he pushed himself harder, pain spread through his whole body.

’Just a little farther.’

He jumped over a fallen tree and nearly stumbled when his injured leg failed to respond properly.

”Shit...”

Catching himself against the trunk, he immediately pushed away from it. He couldn’t stop. Not here.

Weaving between the trees, he ran as quickly as his exhausted body allowed. The forest seemed endless, with trees surrounding him in every direction and their thick branches blocking much of the sunlight above.

The distant sky was already beginning to darken. He didn’t have much time.

Eventually, he reached another large tree and stopped behind it, pressing his back against the trunk while covering his mouth with one hand and forcing himself to breathe as silently as possible.

His heart was pounding, and his chest rose and fell rapidly. For a few seconds, he simply stood there.

Nothing. No footsteps. No growling. No snapping branches.

He slowly lowered his hand.

’Maybe I lost them...’

He knew better than to get his hopes up. Carefully leaning around the tree, he looked through the forest, but nothing moved. The area ahead appeared empty.

He released a quiet breath.

Then a howl echoed from somewhere behind him, and his expression immediately changed.

”Of course...”

Pushing away from the tree, he started running again. He couldn’t afford to waste another second.

The beasts had picked up his trail.

Chris ran deeper into the forest, using every ounce of strength he had left. The pain in his side became worse with every step, but he forced himself to ignore it.

He had survived in the Wilds for years. He wasn’t going to die here. Not after coming this far.

A sudden rustling came from his right.

His eyes widened as something moved between the trees.

Fast... Too fast.

He barely had time to turn before a large wolf burst out of the bush.

”Fuck!”

The wolf lunged at him. Throwing himself backward, he narrowly avoided its claws as they barely missed his chest.

He fell onto the ground and rolled away just as the wolf landed where he had been standing. The beast turned immediately, its yellow eyes locking onto him.

It was enormous. The wolf’s body was covered in dark gray fur, and its fangs were long enough to tear through flesh easily.

As Chris slowly pushed himself up, his hand moved toward the knife attached to his belt.

The wolf growled.

He tightened his grip.

”Come on! Let’s see what you got...”

The wolf lunged again.

This time, he didn’t retreat.

He waited.

One second... Two...

Then, at the last possible moment, he moved to the side. The wolf’s claws scraped against his shoulder as it passed.

Twisting his body, Chris drove the knife upward and buried the blade just beneath the wolf’s jaw.

The beast released a strangled growl.

He shoved it away, and the wolf collapsed onto the ground, its legs still twitching and its eyes bloodshot.

For a moment, Chris stood there, breathing heavily while looking down at the dead beast.

Then his gaze shifted toward the forest behind him.

More howls answered from the distance.

His expression darkened again.

’Not good.’

Pulling his knife free, he wiped the blood against the wolf’s fur before putting it away. He didn’t have time to stay.

If one beast had caught up to him, the others wouldn’t be far behind.

He started running again, this time without looking back.

Pushing through branches and climbing over fallen trees, he felt his clothes being torn apart by the forest while his wounds continued bleeding and every breath became more painful.

But he kept moving.

Eventually, his legs began to shake.

He stumbled, caught himself, and continued forward, only to stumble again moments later.

’Come on...’

Forcing himself forward, he felt his vision blur for a moment before finally stopping and grabbing a tree for support.

He lowered his head and took several deep breaths. His entire body was screaming at him to stop.

He wanted to, more than anything, but stopping in the middle of the Wilds wasn’t rest. It was suicide.

Raising his head, he looked around and noticed that the sunlight was fading.

’Damn it... I need to find shelter.’

Pushing himself away from the tree, he continued forward. He didn’t know how much longer he could go.

He only knew that he had to keep moving.

A few minutes later, something appeared between the trees. At first, he thought it was another shadow, but then he noticed the dark opening.

A cave. Chris stopped, his eyes widening slightly.

’Finally!’

Changing direction, he hurried toward the entrance. It wasn’t particularly large, but it was big enough for him to enter.

The moment he was several meters inside, his legs finally gave out.

”Ugh...”

He collapsed onto the cold stone floor and remained there for several seconds.

He was still alive, and that was enough.

Chris slowly pushed himself upright and looked toward the cave entrance. Nothing moved outside.

Listening carefully, he could still hear the howls in the distance, but they weren’t getting closer.

After catching his breath, he slowly stood up while leaning on the cave wall.

He knew he couldn’t leave the entrance completely open. Gathering several fallen branches and stones from around the cave, he dragged them toward the entrance and used them to create a simple barrier.

It took longer than it should have. His strength was almost gone, but eventually, he managed to finish it.

It wouldn’t stop an angry beast, but it might be enough to hide him.

Leaning against the cave wall, he closed his eyes for a moment before looking down at his wounds.

His leg was manageable, but the wound in his side was worse than he’d thought. Blood had soaked through his clothes.

He needed to stop the bleeding immediately.

Gathering some dry wood, he struck a small piece of flint against his knife until a spark caught the dry wood.

A small flame appeared.

Soon, a fire was burning in front of him, and the warmth felt comforting.

Chris sat beside it and slowly began removing the damaged clothing around his wounds.

He winced.

”Aahhh...”

His shirt was stuck to the wound. Pulling it away made fresh blood appear, but he gritted his teeth and continued.

After examining the injury, he realized the bleeding was worse than he had hoped for.

He needed to close it.

His eyes moved toward his knife, then toward the fire.

For several seconds, he stared at it.

’This is going to hurt...’

He placed the knife into the flames, watching as the metal slowly began to heat up.

His expression remained calm, but his fingers were tightly clenched.

When the blade started to glow red, he took a deep breath.

Then he pressed the heated knife against the wound on his right side.

”NNNGH!”

His entire body tensed, and his teeth clenched together as a sharp hiss escaped his mouth.

The smell of burning flesh filled the cave.

He nearly pulled the knife away, but he forced himself to continue.

One second... Two... Three...

Then he removed it.

Immediately grabbing the cloth he had prepared, he pressed it against the wound. His breathing was heavy, and sweat covered his forehead.

’That should do it...’

He wrapped the wound tightly and leaned back against the wall. For a while, he simply stared at the fire.

The flames danced quietly in front of him.

He took out the bottle of water and poured it over the fire. He had to extinguish it before the beasts could find him. While the warmth of fire was comforting, he couldn’t risk this much exposure.

His body was exhausted. His mind was exhausted.

And yet, sitting there in the silence of the cave, his thoughts inevitably returned to the past.

Three years ago, everything had been different.

At eighteen years old, every person in the world went through the Awakening Ceremony. That was the day their class was determined.

Warrior, Mage, Assassin, Archer, Healer, Blacksmith, Alchemist, Summoner, Beast Tamer... and many more.

There were countless possibilities.

Chris had never expected to awaken anything particularly special, but when the results appeared, everyone had been shocked.

His class was...

[Beast Tamer - Mythic.]

The highest known class rank.

For a moment, everyone thought he had received an incredible blessing. A Mythic-ranked class should have been something that changed his entire life.

But there was one problem. He couldn’t tame a single beast.

The first beast they brought him was a harmless beast of Common rank.

[Contract Failed.]

[Target does not qualify.]

They tried another.

[Contract Failed.]

[Target does not qualify.]

Then another... And another... Nothing worked.

The higher-ups became interested in his situation. A Mythic-ranked Beast Tamer shouldn’t have been unable to contract beasts.

They provided him with Rare beasts. Then Elite beasts. Eventually, they even brought creatures with exceptional bloodlines, but the result was always the same.

[Contract Failed.]

[Target does not qualify.]

Eventually, people stopped calling his class a blessing. They started calling it defective. A Mythic-ranked Beast Tamer who couldn’t tame beasts was useless.

At least, that was what everyone believed.

He had almost believed it himself... Almost.

But there was one thing that never made sense.

The system never said that he couldn’t tame the beast. It never said his class was incompatible with the target. It never said that Beast Taming was impossible.

It only said one thing.

[Target does not qualify.]

That sentence had stayed in his mind for years.

’Does not qualify...’

Why? What exactly was required? What kind of beast could qualify?

He had spent years searching for the answer.

Eventually, he entered the Wilds, a vast area occupied by ferocious beasts.

At first, he searched carefully. Then deeper. Then even deeper.

He studied beasts. He learned their habits. He learned how to track them, how to avoid them, how to hunt, how to survive.

Two years became three.

And still... Nothing. Not a single beast had qualified.

The world had already forgotten about him. Most people probably assumed that he had given up.

’They are wrong!’

Chris stared into the darkness of the cave, his eyes slowly becoming heavier.

Three years of searching. Three years of failure. Three years of hearing the same damned message.

[Target does not qualify.]

Yet he still couldn’t accept that his class was defective. There had to be a reason. There had to be something out there that qualified.

Slowly closing his eyes, he let his head rest against the stone wall.

’There has to be something...’

His fingers tightened slightly against the cloth covering his wound.

’If my class really is defective...’

He paused, then shook his head.

’No.’

There was a reason. There had to be. The system wouldn’t keep giving him the same message for no reason.

’I just haven’t found it yet...’

Whatever beast his class was waiting for, he would find it. Even if it took another three years. Even if it took ten... He would find it.

Eventually, exhaustion finally overwhelmed him.

His head slowly leaned against the stone wall as the distant howls echoed through the darkening forest outside the cave.

He didn’t hear them anymore. His breathing became slow and steady, and his body finally gave in to exhaustion.

Within the safety of the cave, he fell asleep.