Ascension of the Primalist [A Tamer Class, LitRPG]

As the night caravan came to a stop, Seth stepped out and stretched his limbs, the cool early-morning air of Trogan enveloping him. He adjusted his cloak to be sure to conceal all three of the Black Hounds' pouches strapped underneath, then set off toward the Adventurers Guild’s outpost. The streets were quiet, and only the faintest traces of dawn painted the sky.

Seth intended to sell his beaststones to Celine before heading to the academy for his selection match. For the gear, Escape scrolls, and the pouches, he would wait. Selling everything at once would make it obvious he’d killed other Wielders—and while those three certainly deserved it, Celine and others might not see it that way.

When Seth arrived at the outpost, he pushed open the door and stepped inside. Almost immediately, a dozen pairs of eyes locked on him, following his every movement. It was as if, overnight, he had become someone worth noticing.

A scarred mercenary near the bar slammed his tankard down and grinned. "Oi! Let me buy you a drink, lad! The best ale you’ve got for our champion!"

"Don let me down, kid!" another man at a distant table shouted, raising his coffee cup in Seth's direction. "I’m counting on you to become rich!"

Seth offered a quick, awkward wave to the both the man, declining the drink with a shake of his head as he moved forward.

Behind the counter, Celine snapped her head up and a smile spread on her face. "Seth! What are you doing here? You should be at the academy getting ready for your fight!"

"How do you know about my fight, ma’am?" Seth asked with a puzzled face. "And what is he talking about?"

"I’ve told you a dozen times to drop the ma’am." The silver-haired woman shook her head, then sighed. "And, well, people have been placing bets on your fight. Usually, nobody here gives a rat’s ass about the academy tournament, but this time it’s different. Our little greenhorn’s in the competition."

Seth's eyes widened. "Seriously? What are the odds?"

"Eighty percent in your favor," Celine replied. "The only ones betting against you are convinced they’ll forbid you from using your beast."

Everyone knows now, Seth thought, exhaling deeply while feeling a weight leaving his shoulders. Keeping Nightmare a secret for so long had been a constant strain, always having to watch his words, to hide what he could really do. Now, at least, that weight was partially lifted—though he would still have to keep lying about Link, Share, his core, and his bonus attributes.

"Right," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I guess someone from the Champions of Chaos told you?"

A flicker of annoyance crossed Celine's features. "Told me what? That you've been lying to me for months?"

Seth grimaced. "Sorry, ma’—Celine. Professor Reat ordered me to keep my mouth shut."

"That's fine," she answered, waving it off with a sigh. "I just would’ve preferred to learn it from you. And not after everyone else."

"You could still be the first in the city to know something else, though," Seth said, trying to make it up to her.

A smile instantly reappeared on Celine's lips. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Identify me," Seth said with a wink. "You'll see."

A second later, Celine's jaw practically hit the floor. "How in the world are you already Iron?" she exclaimed. "And with a subclass on top of that! Beastmaster? I never heard about that one."

Seth pulled the large wooden crate on the counter, removed his Endless Pouch from his belt, and upended it. In a matter of seconds, dozens upon dozens of blue beaststones tumbled into the box, filling it to the brim.

"By killing all these beasts," he said, grabbing his Fishlord hunting contract from his pocket and placing it onto the counter. "And yeah, I’m guessing I got it because I made a contract with a beast while Copper. I’ll have to ask the academy’s librarian to see if he knows anything about that subclass."

"For the love of Gods, Seth," the woman then blurted out, staring at the crystals, "did you even stop to sleep?"

"I got a lot of help," Seth answered with a light laugh while taking his vita out and putting it at the top of the altar on the left. "And yeah, we did sleep, at least a little."

'Tell her that I took out two-thirds of them,' Nightmare said.

'Not a chance.'

"No wonder why you broke through in less than a month," Celine said, astonished as she counted and sorted the blue crystal. "Some of these are Iron. Lots of them, actually."

When Celine finally finished, her eyes shone with a mix of awe and disbelief. "Alright. One hundred fifty Low- to Mid-Coppers stones for fifteen copper coins, one hundred twenty High- to Peak-Copper ones for forty-two copper coins, and sixty-nine Low- to Mid-Iron ones for ten iron and thirty-five copper coins. That's a grand total of ten irons and ninety-two coppers after taxes."

A bitter feeling nagged at Seth. Obtaining those stones had taken weeks of effort—and yet they were worth almost nothing compared to the loot from the Black Hounds' members. Barelyone fifth of a single Ocean Tear, he thought grimly.

"Thank you, Celine," he said, taking the coin she was handing him.

Nightmare growled inside his necklace. 'We should just hunt humans instead of beasts.'

"The pleasure’s all mine, greenhorn," Celine replied with a grin before pressing the dark base of the Vita Altar to her right. The artifact's runes pulsed brightly, flaring white before gradually dimming back to their usual soft yellow glow.

As the light faded, Seth picked up his purple Vita and channeled aether into it.