Ascension of the Primalist [A Tamer Class, LitRPG]

Snapping his head toward Elena, Seth pierced her with a golden-eyed stare. "Do you still think I should stop being stubborn? While they burn entire families alive just because they could maybe be a liability?"

Caught off guard, the noblewoman stammered, "I—I—"

But before she could answer, the old man stood up abruptly, pointing his trembling, bandaged hand at the charred remains of the house. "You know who did this?"

Seth's jaw tightened. "Yes. The Faertis."

"W-we don’t have proof yet," Elena interjected.

"Come on," Seth immediately shot back. "You know as much as me that they did it. No one else had any reason to."

The old man let himself fall back onto the wooden box, and his gaze drifted to the ground. "They’ll never be punished for this."

"Oh no, they will," Seth hissed through gritting teeth before striding back toward the academy.

Elena hurried after him, dodging the few passersby. "How exactly are you planning to do that?"

"I don't know," Seth muttered, barely looking at her while continuing his walk. "But I won't sit on my ass and wait for one of them to maybe go to prison in a goddamn month."

"You'll just get yourself killed!" Elena argued, following him while trying to match his pace. "At least let me talk to my parents! When they come back from their expedition, they will be able to help us by launching a real investigation."

"Your parents?" Seth blurted out before stopping dead and spinning to face the noblewoman. "That's always your answer, isn't it? Asking someone else from your House to take action? Imagine if I’d taken your advice and waited for them to assemble a team to go into the Rift. Every single person I freed would have been killed instead."

Elena's eyes immediately dropped to the ground. "I… I didn’t know they’d be gone for so long. They are supposed to be back."

"Then, you shouldn’t have suggested that!" Seth exclaimed, throwing a hand in the air. "You talked about your family fighting for the greater cause behind the scenes, but what have you done? Nothing. You hide behind your House name and wait for others to take the risks."

"But if I act recklessly, it reflects on my entire House," she answered, raising her head back. "There could be extreme consequences. You don't understand noble politics. It could make things worse for everyone!"

"Everyone? You mean you and your family?" Stepping aside, Seth pointed at the remains of the burned house behind her. "Because I hardly see how things could get any worse for the commoners you so deeply care about when they're getting burned alive!"

A flicker of pain crossed Elena’s face. "I do care about them!" she shot back, her voice cracking at the end. "But what am I supposed to do? Charge in like you and get myself killed? How does that help anyone?"

"At least it would be somethin—" Seth's last word faltered as he looked back at the noblewoman and noticed the tears shimmering in her emerald eyes. The desire to shout back at him seemed to have left her all at once. Her shoulders slumped, her chin dropped once again, and the proud posture she always held just… crumbled.

Seth’s chest tightened, and his anger slipped away with his next breath. "I’m sorry," he said, rubbing the side of his neck. "I shouldn’t have gone that far."

Elena quickly wiped her cheeks and regained her composure. "It’s fine. You’re right. About the Rift… and everything else. I've been lashing out at you for taking action, while I’ve done nothing myself… even with my House standing behind me."

Caught off guard by her sudden self-reflection, Seth froze for a moment before dragging a weary hand through his hair. "I just feel like I'm the only one who finds this whole situation absurd. As if a single person was responsible for all this. Professor Reat, the Champions of Chaos, you… everyone seems to be fine with this outcome."

"That’s not true," Elena answered. "We all feel the same. But we also know the consequences of handling things the way you’re trying to."

"I know them too," Seth retorted. "Either they’ll pay, or I’ll get killed. I won't blindly charge in as you said… but I won't just stand back and watch."

"It’s not just about you getting killed, Seth," Elena argued, her voice trembling slightly. "Do you have any idea what happens when people try to force change through violence? It results in crackdowns, not freedom. That's what happened with the last rebellion with the locks of Rift cities! If you kill a noble in broad daylight without a rock-solid self-defense excuse, that might be just the excuse the king needs to execute everyone from your town."

Seth paused, a cold chill running down his spine. He opened his mouth to argue, but the words died in his throat.

"They could pass a law saying commoners simply aren’t allowed to awaken anymore," Elena continued, pressing her point. "They could ban you all from the academy, or use guards to constrain small towns into forced labor. It can always be worse."

Seth stared at the ground. He had been so focused on his own survival and revenge that he hadn't considered the wider consequences of his actions.

"But there are safer ways to change things," Elena said, her mouth twisting to the side for an instant. "What if you use the academy to climb in Ranks with me? Once you and I are strong enough, we’ll be able to make a real difference. We could still take actions along the way… just on a smaller scale."

Seth met her gaze, catching the earnest plea in her eyes. He understood the risks she was talking about, but the thought of waiting years while injustices continued was impossible for him to accept. "That would take years, Elena. I'm sorry, but I can't sit on my hands for that long," he said. "But I hear you. I won't be reckless. And I'll make sure to act in a way where no one else pays for my actions."

"But you could still get killed," Elena mumbled, her shoulders drooping again.

"If that happens, at least you won’t have to help my dumb ass study," Seth said with a wink, trying to lighten the mood. Seeing a faint smile appear on Elena’s lips after a few seconds, he nodded toward the intersection ahead. "We should get moving if we don't want me to miss my fight."

"Alright."

Together, Seth and Elena headed back to the academy through the city’s streets, their footsteps echoing against the cobblestones. They took a quick detour to the dorm tower to make a brief stop at Seth’s room so he could grab fresh linen clothes to wear under his leather armor—at Elena’s insistence. Finally, as they reached the coliseum, their paths separated; Seth headed for the locker room to prepare while Elena left for the spectator stands to join Devus and Jenna.

Inside the dimly lit chamber, Seth quickly removed his leather armor, grimacing at the blood-soaked clothes underneath clinging to his skin. After peeling them off, he tossed them aside, then pulled out fresh ones to put on.

The moment he put his dark leather pants back on, Nightmare spoke up through their bond. 'I think crimson-hair now wants to mate with you.'

Seth remained silent, thinking about Elena's proposal to rise through the Ranks together. Two months ago, his heart would have skipped five beats at those words, and he would have jumped at the opportunity—now, things were different.

Nightmare prodded again. 'Too excited to talk?'

'No,' Seth finally answered, lacing up his pants. 'I just don’t think she and I are a good fit.She'd keep trying to hold us back and stop us from doing what needs to be done. It’d be best for me to keep my distance.'

'Are you sure about that?' Nightmare asked, his surprise spreading through their bond.

'Yeah.' Seth grabbed his leather armor and slipped inside. 'We already have plenty of obstacles ahead.'

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'If you say so.' The direwolf sighed, laying down in the beast-holder. 'But if you change your mind, I could consider the pros and cons of you mating with her for you.'

Seth cracked a smile while putting on his combat gauntlets. 'Since when do I need your permission for that?'

'We're co-leaders,' Nightmare scoffed. 'Without my approval, no one joins the pack.'

'Great. I’ll keep that in mind.'

As Seth finished fastening his leather pants, he glanced down at his hand. A thought then crossed his mind, and he filled the grooves of Intermediate Identify, realizing that with everything that had happened, he hadn’t cast the spell on himself since learning Beastmaster Rage.

The familiar pane of words shimmered into his vision.