****(POV)

There has been an accident happening in one of the testing facilities.

This is problematic.

I wanted to know about the results of the slime.

This is something new and crazy.

Taming a slime.

It was believed to be impossible, even for me.

If I called myself the second most knowledgeable tamer in the area…

No one would dare to claim the number one spot.

After all most of them know the name of Eternal Ice.

While younger than most of my competitors, I also worked the hardest.

Most people wouldn't brave a disaster zone for a pet.

Especially not an elemental.

These are even harder to understand.

Since they are not living beings.

This makes the process way more difficult.

Well, it can't be helped.

I needed that power after all.

Back then anyway.

As I get there I'm told of the issue.

He has been injured somehow.

I inspect the room and I see the marks of the fight.

The system seems to have malfunctioned.

In theory, the worst happening should be the death of the pet.

No harm should come to the …

Ah, I see.

He protected his creature.

Risible how a noble action costed him dearly.

As I'm thinking this, this place's supervisor comes back.

He tells me about where he brought them.

But also about something else.

He tells me about how the young man I accepted as a student handled himself.

How he managed to intimidate that guy with his momentum.

How he subsequently begged for his friend's sake.

How worried he is.

Such a shame.

Such an individual doesn't have any taming potential.

Meanwhile, that guy with his oversized lizard is acclaimed as the pride of the guild.

He got lucky and managed to get a monster egg early.

The man himself is trash.

Well, he does work in what he considers the interest of the guild.

Problem is his worldview is too narrow.

If we followed his advice there would only be tamers with pets geared for warfare.

His argument is that a war is coming.

Yes, a war is coming.

Still, as a guild, we should try to stay out of it as much as possible.

Most of us worship Taras, the god of myriads of beasts.

There is one issue, however.

The core of this god's power is not on this continent.

This means two things.

First, we are just an insignificant entity in the grand scheme of things.

Even what we call the headquarter on this continent would be nothing but a worm their eyes.

This means that the favor we can actually earn is very small.

We also have no champion.

Does that mean we are doomed?

Not especially.

While we are definitely weaker than the other factions, they won't attack us recklessly.

After all, while our backers can't be bothered with our life and death, they do care about face.

Killing their underlings would trigger their wrath.

I say underlings, but in fact is has been ages since we have even received any news from them.

Most people even ignore this.

Only the rank 4 and up know this secret.

Because of this, preparing for war is quite pointless.

Yes, we can become stronger.

But that would also send the wrong message to the other factions.

It would make them believe they need to be wary of us.

Staying completely neutral is the smartest choice.

I am instead suggesting a more balanced development.

Especially toward info gathering.

This way we could avoid any fight directly.

We are also in a peculiar position.

Since we are a guild of beast tamers most gods won't even bother trying to poach our members.

Hosting monsters requires specific infrastructures that are not worth investing in on a small scale.

That is why I find the man stupid.

Extremely so.

Now I'm learning that he is bullying new members.

One even being my student.

Well, ex-student would be more accurate.

Even if I want to teach him, he won't have any success.

I would rather he chose another path.

This world is vast.

There will be always opportunities.

His youth shouldn't be wasted.

Then again, I'm not that much older haha.

I feel like I am aging quicker since I became a rank 4 tamer.

Well, officially I am still a promising rank 3.

Displaying one's full hand is unwise.

After a short walk, I reach my destination.

The one that calls himself little Bai is on the ground unconscious.

At his side his worried friend.

I tell him that I'll handle things from now on.

At first, he keeps asking questions.

Wondering if there is anything he can do to help.

I assure him that it's impossible.

I know exactly why he isn't waking up.

This is something I've lived myself in the past.

This is something that most tamers will never experience.

Something deeper than a regular soul link.

It is what we call a true soul bound.

It happens when two beings are in perfect sync.

This makes it so both fuse together on a fundamental level.

Exactly my situation.

Back when I finally managed to reach that state, I spent a while unconscious too.

I tell him all of that and he is finally relieved.

He seems to really trust that these two will complete the process without a hitch.

Then again, the human did fight for the slime.

Just this proves that there are really good odds of success.

Still, I have two things I am wondering.

First, what will be the result of such a thing?

This is something that has never happened.

Not only will it increase our knowledge directly, but it may even lead to more discoveries.

The second is how did he actually survive in there?

He doesn't have any visible injury.

Judging by the amount of blood in the testing room, he should be dead right now.

What could have happened?

For some reason when I ask him that he switches the topic instantly before running out.

He says he is leaving because he forgot to turn the oven off.

This….is he taking me for a fool?

Also, should I do anything about that tyrant tamer?

He did humiliate tamers I have a good opinion of after all…