Beastforged Bond

Three days later, I was still jumpy. It was hard not to be. For one, I hadn’t seen Merlin Zerog since he made it clear he knew about my connection to the Elemental Phoenix. Then there was Daniel. As pleasant as it was to have my best friend around, I had totally forgotten how much of a chatterbox he was. And now, realizing that my story about the World Tree and its sapling was true… well, he wanted to know more. He wanted to see the World Tree’s sapling and bombard me with a lot more questions.

To my greatest fortune, Daniel’s curiosity died as quickly as it ignited. He was still curious about the World Tree, but its sapling was boredom incarnate. Thyria, the World Tree, might wield power rivaling that of the Spirits, but the same could not be said of her sapling. It contained some of her Essence, no more than a fragment of a fragment, yet that was not nearly enough to grant me overpowered traits or a multitude of advanced Ether Gates.

The sapling granted me nothing. Neither traits nor Gates. It occupied a fraction of my soul energy, but that was about it.

As interesting as the sapling was, or could be, I had more than enough other things to take care of. Waiting for it to sprout was no problem. In the first place, I had only bound the sapling so that Thyria would help me leave her domicile.

All that, just to end up getting conscripted back into the Bastion. It was ridiculous, yet it affected most of mankind. Whether young adults or old veterans who had long since retired from fighting, everyone had to join the forces to defend the Bastions – to protect the human race.

Those too weak to fight were excluded, but even they received nicely worded requests to fill in the jobs the conscripted had to leave behind in order to join the military.

The last three days had been a mess. Not for me, if we ignored the nagging doubts regarding Merlin Zerog, but the Bastions were in an uproar. People were scared and confused, and they didn’t know what to do with themselves. There was even a riot, which forced the local military to intervene.

On the day we were supposed to be assigned to our departments, many things had changed. For one, the mandatory service had been adjusted – loosened, in a way. With these changes, fewer Blessed would have to join the military to fight. Instead, they were told to keep up their good work at their jobs and ensure the Bastion would continue running while the combatants kept them safe.

To me, it sounded more like neither the military nor the Council could be bothered to engage the public in an open discussion, as if they were afraid the public would ask questions. How dare people be angry about being left in the dark for so long. To be fair, nobody really knew how long the higher-ups and the Council had known about the Outsiders, or that mankind had already been engaged in a silent war with several Outsider races long before they attacked the Bastions.

Many did not like what the Council had done, and they most certainly didn’t like that civilians were now expected to join the military to deal with issues that were, at least in part, the Council’s fault. Because they were. No matter how much the Council tried to placate its civilians, most couldn’t comprehend why more than half a dozen races they had never heard of stepped forward to reveal themselves to attack the Bastions – all at the same time. All while the Council had known about the races.

The known facts, unofficial threads on the Nexus, and the Council’s official responses didn’t align. It certainly didn’t help that viral threads posted by unofficial sources were deleted in swathes. I wasn’t particularly surprised when more doubts arose in the Nexus forums. There were so many doubts that the Council was forced to respond.

That they did. They backpedalled, which felt all the more like a confession. Someone clearly didn’t think highly of the public if they believed people would follow the Council’s mandatory service post like mindless drones in a hivemind. Or that person was just stupid. That would have been truly stupid, especially for someone who had to be quite old.

Anyway, public outrage died down as soon as the Council retreated, loosening the conditions of conscription slightly. Alas, the Pillars of the Grand Camp and graduates from recent years still had to join the military.

[Official Notice of Compulsory Service

By decree of the Council, this document serves as formal notice of your compulsory enlistment.

Name: Adam Savier

Rank: Expert

Classification:

Combatant – High Prowess

Beastmaster – Highly Recommended

Beaster – Apprentice to Master Beaster Bert

***

You are hereby conscripted into active service, effective immediately.

You are ordered to report to Master Beaster Bert, to assist in the research and creation of alchemical serums. Your duties will include, but are not limited to, the development of evolution serums for Striker units and combat-capable personnel, as well as specialized serums intended to unlock latent traits and abilities.

In accordance with your official records and demonstrated aptitude, you are additionally assigned to the Beast Temple. You are to support Blessed in identifying suitable Soulkins and to provide guidance in the strengthening and stabilization of their bonds.

Furthermore, based on your combat evaluations, prior engagements, and overall service record, you are hereby designated as a reserve member of the native Warden Unit. You are required to participate in their training regimen and maintain combat readiness, as deployment may be mandated in the event of hostile Outsider incursions.

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All assigned stations and duties shall remain in effect until you are formally released from service by authorized decree.

Failure to comply with assigned duties, desertion, or refusal to serve shall constitute a direct violation of the Protection Act of Humanity and will be prosecuted accordingly.]

“Don’t keep us in suspense, Adam,” Beaster Bert said, tapping his fingers impatiently. “Did it work?”

Mom and Dad stared intently at me, their trembling hands tightly intertwined. Looking at them, I doubted they were doing much to reassure one another, but it was still nice to see.

“I’m with Grandmaster Heros,” Daniel said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He closed the holographic screen and leaned back in his chair.

But no matter how hard he tried to look nonchalant, his eyes kept shifting back to his sister and me. His assignment had been obvious. Ours…not so much.

Lea closed her screen shortly after her brother and sighed. “I’m going to join the Wardens. Their active service, focusing on reconnaissance.”

She would much rather have joined the Strikers, but her parents were happier with this turn of events. Chloe Zerog sighed in relief, while her husband unclenched his fists ever so slightly.

All eyes turned to me, but I could only shrug.

“Almost everything is like we’d anticipated. They accepted Bert’s request,” I said, reading through the compulsory note once more.

Beaster Bert had spent the last year going through a set of superior serums. He thoroughly researched dozens of them to create a new series. That work paid off decently, as he came up with two evolution serums for Soilbacks and one for Craglings. The data Bert acquired from Aureus – his evolution from a Mutant Soilback to an Earthheart – along with dusty records from over a decade ago, bore tangible results.

His research led to the development of a cheaper evolution serum that worked well with a transmuted Pith Potency serum. Bert altered the latter as well, making it more attuned to the Earthen Aspect Craglings would manifest at the Awakened Rank. The more expensive evolution serum was significantly more efficient. It had a 98% success rate of evolving a mature 3-Star Soilback into a Cragling, with the Earth Aspect already manifested. It required an experienced hand and herbs that were hard to come by for a Novice Blessed, but his research still amounted to a massive breakthrough.

Apparently, Bert was some sort of big deal now. Following his breakthrough, he developed a method to strengthen a Cragling’s Earthen Aspect enough to instigate a second evolution, without the need to unlock a second trait. In fact, unlocking another trait would diminish the Cragling’s chance of a successful evolution. Superior serums were required for that process, however, and those were expensive for the vast majority of Blessed. Journeymen would struggle to get their hands on one, and even Experts would have to dig deep into their pockets. Most would need to take a hefty loan, which was far too much to ask for an Awakened beast.

Except that the Awakened Cragling would evolve into a Terradon.

And that was an extinct Unblemished beast.

At least, it was said to be extinct. Used to be.

I caught a glimpse of joy in my parents’ eyes, but I finished re-reading the note before turning back to the others. Everyone seemed satisfied with the turn of events, though they noticed the confusion lingering in my expression.

“Is something wrong?” Mom asked first, her smile cracking ever so slightly.

“I wouldn’t call it ‘wrong,’ but I’ve been appointed as a reserve member of the local Warden group.” Lea looked up at that, a deep frown marring her face. “The note says I’m to join their training regimen and be ready to participate in a fight at all times.”

“I don’t have that.” A screen popped up before Daniel. “Nope. There’s nothing like that.”

“Plus–” I started, but Lea interrupted me with a curse.

“Of course there’s more!”

Ignoring her, I continued. “They also assigned me to the Beast Temple. I guess they read the work reports from the Grand Camp’s temple and want me to act as a mediator.”

It made sense. I’d helped Sophie with her Aceraspis, along with dozens of other cadets during the first half of the Grand Camp. More importantly, most of those I helped ended up far closer to their Soulkins than others who had maintained a cordial relationship from the beginning.

My World worked wonders on others. It was malleable and resonated with nearly every beast, which made it perfect for me. A bond based on resonance, the equivalent of perfect compatibility, was the best outcome one could hope for. That was what I had, and somehow, I managed to share fragments of it with others. Up until now, I had no idea how… but I did.

“That’s not too bad,” Dad said with a faint smile.

I returned a wry one. “It’s not, but there’s one problem.”

“How am I supposed to teach you anything if you’re busy running around the Bastion?” Beaster Bert groaned, the initial excitement of teaching me already gone.

That was the crux of the problem: time.

If I was expected to train with the Wardens, get to know my unit and work on teamwork for the worst-case scenarios, help Blessed and beasts at the Beast Temple, and apprentice under Beaster Bert while preparing a considerable amount of serums for the military… how was I supposed to spend time with my own Soulkins to strengthen our bond, or train properly?

Refining my World took time, and I highly doubted the Wardens’ regular training regimen would push my body anywhere near the brink of collapse. But I needed that pressure. Any less, and my World wouldn’t generate even a single extra bit of soul energy during refinement.

Time was already limited, but the ether density in the Bastion was even worse. Compared to the wilds or the World Tree’s domicile, it was practically insignificant. So much so that I was starting to wonder how I was supposed to fill my Gates at all.

Outside the Bastion, it had been little more than a nuisance. Here, however, it was a genuine problem – one that could only be solved with a great deal of ether and time.

My schedule better not be packed. I cursed inwardly, briefly reconsidering desertion and a return to life in the wild.

Maybe the idiot tree will take you in.

Aureus chuckled, drawing a smile from my lips.

Yeah… sure. Thyria would accept me. She’d be overjoyed – not.

One step at a time. First, I needed my schedule. Then I could wring my brain dry for a solution. In the worst case, I’d just stop sleeping.