The instructor huffed, but still dutifully gave the class a refresher on taming beasts. The most vital requirement in a contract bond is the trust between man and beast that their souls may connect, but it is not an easy thing to achieve.

Just like how one’s body will reject foreign substances, one’s soul will not allow another to come close easily. To have another contract beast, the soul-link would become too complicated and messy, thus choosing the right one is the most important factor.

After having his questions answered, Alan went ahead to register his Contract Beast where Lalhal had directed.

The instructor followed him curious about what mythical beast his student has that made him reject the ones on Beast Sanctuary Mountain.

But when the boy summoned a tiny black turtle, Lalhal broke out in such a tremendous rage that the immediate academy’s staffs had to rush over and hold him down to stop him from jumping on a student.

Though, that did not prevent him from yelling like a madman, “You dare fool around in my class! Let me go! I’m going to hit him. I’ll let him grow a brain! A fist-sized turtle? Are you freaking kidding me?”

He immediately assumed that Alan is playing around. It’s impossible for one to not think so when such a miniature beast was summoned; thus he failed to notice how similar the turtle looks with the fabled Cosmos Wanderer. Although, even without 'distractions', it will be rather hard for anyone to imagine the young of a planetary-sized beast could be tiny enough to sit on a person’s palm.

It took a while for his anger to disperse, nay, to give up any and all hope on Alan. But at this time, two more students went forth to register their Contract Beasts.

When Lalhal saw that those two were once again Kairos’ teammates, his wrath exploded once again without warning. These three would give up the obviously superior beasts on the mountain for their own?!

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

A terrible scream echoed throughout the foot of the mountain, followed immediately by a fearsome war-chant, “Platinum Lord, Mitsuhide. Come forth!”

A gleaming, metallic, humanoid-type, demon appeared with a mystic light before its restrained master. It immediately knelt before Lalhal, asking to enter combat, no matter who its opponent would be. The great demon that caused the instructor’s reputation to be spread as a one-in-a-million genius did not know that it was summoned just to teach some kids a lesson. The traditional way, over a knee.

But just as Lalhal was about to give commands to knock some sense into the boys, he finally noticed Edward’s contract beast.

“That... That's a Wind Wyvern…? ...a Category S beast!”

After the True Dragons disappeared from their realm, even a purer draconic descendant like the wyverns became far too rare in Gaia. Though they could also be found on Beast Sanctuary Mountain, they are still powerful beasts rarely spotted near the peak, and one of the best Contract Beast a student may find.

A wyvern breed appears so infrequently, that for the last few decades, no such tamer had appeared. If this is the boy’s contract beast, then obviously there is no reason to discard it.

It seemed as though a bucket of cold water had splashed over his head, and the instructor calmed down at once.

“Hey boy, where did you…,” but before Lalhal could finish asking his question, Tommy who is next, summoned a white cat that caused him to erupt once again.

“THAT CAT!” He screamed for the second time today, “Is that the Black Reaper? But why is it white? A variant? No, it is impossible for variants to appear within that species.”

He dismissed the possibility almost immediately. Granted, it had the same body shape, but what are the chances for a divine beast to appear in the Mortal Realms with limited spiritual energy?

Lalhal shot the academy's staffs with a glare and extracted his arms from them, then shooed them back to their tasks.

The school personnel noticing that he had regained his paltry amount of self-control, allowed him to walk towards Tommy.

They couldn't help but privately shook their heads. It could be because of the instructor's youth, or just a common temperament that many geniuses have, but his temper is truly a problem when compared to the other professors.

When Lalhal stopped before the boy, his face suddenly turned dark, and the other staffs immediately tensed up again. If he somehow lost control again and tried to hit the boy, they will surely rush forth and stop him. After all, Principal Gai had expressively told all of them to treat the five boys like VIPs.

Fortunately, it only lasted a moment. They did not know Lalhal's reaction was because he realised a dreadful fact: their heights were similar!

It wasn’t because he was short okay? The boy is the abnormal one!

“Is there something wrong, Instructor?” Tommy politely asked the weird adult who had been silently staring at him for nearly a minute.

“No, I just… Do you know what beast is this?”

“… A cat?”

The vein on Lalhal’s forehead nearly burst, but he started taking deep breaths and calmed down. He is bound to age rapidly if he kept letting himself get taken in by the ridiculous antics of the five boys.

“They are just learning. They are just learning…”

After repeating something like mantra under his breath a few times, he tried to approach the question in another way, “Where did you guys get your Contract Beasts?”

“The magical beast shop in Saint City,” The three boys at the registration counter, Alan, Tommy, and Edward, answered at the same time.

“You got it at the same time? Even the turtle?”

“Together!” Alan nodded seriously.

Lalhal finally took a good look at the black turtle, and this time, he had reservations about his thoughts. He still couldn’t place a finger on what it is, after all, the Cosmos Wanderer has never been seen before by anyone on Gaia. Besides, just like the cat, the size and colour are completely different.

“Take good care of your pets,” He said begrudgingly, clenching his teeth as he spat out, “Mitsuhide, return!”

The instructor turned and walked off without scolding them. Although he appeared irritable, he was secretly astonished. As a Beast Taming prodigy, he did not think there are any young beasts - no matter of spirit, magic, or demon descend – that he could not identify, yet here there are two.

In the middle of his vexation, he did not notice that at the other side, Kairos was holding Jim back from bringing out his Contract Beast.

The latter did not understand at first and asked, "Why not?”

He really wanted to show-off his rainbow-coloured bird to the others.

“Of course not. Despite its colour, yours is a Zhu Que. It is, by far, one of the most easily recognisable divine beasts.”

Jim sighed but obediently gave up, and instead, the two focused on preparing their excursion up the mountain. As they queued up to get their protection runes embellished, they saw Relestia squeezing her way through the crowd and popping out before them.

*huff huff*

"They couldn't see me!" She complained.

The princess was not tall for her age and being much younger than the rest it couldn't be helped that the others failed to spot her.

But her unhappiness immediately faded away after seeing Kairos, and she chirped excitedly, "Kairos would you bring me along, please?"

It was a smile that wouldn't take no for an answer, and he nodded before realising.

Because of the secret they are hiding, they had avoided even Luciette and the others, but somehow, Kairos allowed the little princess into their midst.

The girl lit up like spring had arrived, and she excitedly bounced up and hugged Kairos, causing Jim to stifle an erupting chuckle. He had honestly never seen the boss to soften his eyes at anyone else, and although he felt like teasing Kairos, he somehow couldn’t bring himself to do it.

While everyone excitedly strategized how to acquire the best beast, Lux and Von, obviously, stayed as far as possible away from their party.

Challenge the boy again to get back their honour? Haven’t they experienced enough humiliation already?

Even if Kairos had never displayed any beast taming abilities, they felt an almost irrational need to avoid the Earl.

Not everyone had to climb the Beast Taming Mountain, though. Those that decided to register their Contract Beasts stayed; no doubt receiving dirty looks from Lalhal.

But they are definitely the minority.

These students with enough aptitude to be chosen for the taming class, mostly already has a Contract Beast of their own, but unlike a certain group, they had no qualms to discard theirs for a stronger beast.

When the class set off, the three of them quickly noticed that Calculus is following after them without any attempt at subterfuge.

The Devilheart Heir secretly believes it’s not possible for two people in their group to be left out of having Contract Beasts.

“They must have something so good that they could not show… I must find out what it is!”

Despite having to transverse difficult and winding paths, he persistently tracked them, and they quickly realised that without a serious effort to throw him off, it would be very difficult to lose him. But, surprisingly, Kairos did not initiate to do so.

His two companions looked at him questioningly, and he simply explained, “We don’t have to avoid him.”

And, thus, the three ignored their stalker and continued their climb.

At mid-mountain, most students had already parted ways, moving towards a random direction. The majority decidedly went alone, hoping to luck out and run into a rarer beast than the others. The rest that had decided to challenge the stronger beasts travelled in pairs or small groups for safety.

“Oh look, he is still following us, is he one of Kairos’ fan too?” Relestia tilted her head and innocently ask pointing at Calculus that is still behind them. The two boys, and the nearby eavesdropper, nearly stumbled.

“Who’s his fan?!”

After regaining the use of his lower jaw that had almost fallen off, Jim had to ask, “Why isn’t he with his group?”

Kairos shook his head and whispered, “Well, that’s because he is in the same situation as you.”

The Five-Clawed Golden Dragon is a beast which symbolises the Sovereign. When Emperor Galahad heard of the appearance of one, it is an obvious choice to prevent the news of it from leaking, lest unsavoury rumours abound.

It is no doubt a dangerous mythical beast to keep around – both literally and figuratively – but still too much of a waste to kill, and nearly impossible to separate from its Contract Bond with Calculus without permanently wounding the beast.

Therefore, those that know of the existence of the dragon had been sworn into secrecy with Soul Slips, with the sole exception of Kairos' group. In a way, it is unsurprising and wholly unnecessary to do so, with so many eyes already on the Earl. A simple letter explaining the circumstances had sufficed. And, more importantly, far less risky in attracting the curiosity of the entire empire that is waiting with bated breath for his next grand accomplishment.

“Oh? Oh! Hey Calculus, summon your Contract Beast for me!” Jim turned around and shouted at their stalker. His voice was especially resounding on the mountain.

“SHHH!!” Calculus hissed urgently, worried that they might stir some mightily angry beasts, then he added, “You show me yours first!”

“Ah? I don’t have a beast,” Jim lied.

“Don’t try to feed me that, I won’t believe you. Anyway, with your background, whatever Contract Beast you have is probably just a useless bag of flesh.”

“Hah! That’s hilarious. With your blackened and foul soul, even a celestial beast will become a pile of manure in your hands.”

Relestia looked at them and gave a great sigh.

While the two were busy squabbling, Kairos noticed a flicker at the corner of his eyes and he immediately placed a finger to his lips asking the two to quieten down.

“Who are you to order me around,” Calculus barked immediately.

“If you want to die, then continue,” Kairos whispered urgently, then pointed downwards.

Relestia, Jim, and Calculus looked towards the direction he suggested, then realised they are on a ridge above a gorge.

The three edged closer for a look, and they beheld a tremendous sight that set their hearts pounding.

“K…kairos! Are those…,” Relestia repeatedly ‘stabbed’ the air with her index-finger, pointing to a group of gigantic, but simply gorgeous, horses taking sips of water below them.

“Dragon Horses, Unicorns, Pegasuses, Nightmares, and even a Winged Star Unicorn!” Calculus murmured with wide-eyes. He secretly felt his heart pounding.

They would be hard-pressed to find any beast swifter than this herd in the mortal realms. If he had accidentally disturbed these Equines, even his Five-Clawed Golden Dragon would have a hard time helping him escape.

“I’m going to try taming it,” Kairos pointed at the leader of the horses, and immediately started climbing down to the gorge.

“Are. You. Nuts.?”

“Ehhh!? I want one too!”

Despite the princess' almost blind faith in his abilities, he knows it is dangerous. Even the weakest among the horses is an A ranked beast. However, none of the monster eggs had hatched for him so far, and he wanted to try his luck.

Making sure he is seen from far, he walked closer to the herd, stopping before he intrudes into their territory. Taking a deep breath, Kairos gently addressed to the one he wished to form a contract with, “Winged Star Unicorn, I come seeking a partner-in-arms. May I approach?”

The elegant beast with a mane that sparkled under the sun and a pair of great white wings tucked to its side, raised its head and stared at him curiously. The horses felt a calming aura from Kairos and did not reject his approach. He steadily made his way right next to the Winged Star Unicorn and slowly raised an arm. When the spirit beast did not show signs of hostility, he gently patted its head.

“Did he tame it?” Relestia asked excitedly, but both Jim and Calculus were holding their breaths in anticipation and couldn't answer.

Unexpectedly, the Winged Unicorn neighed and lowered its head towards Kairos, with the other horses following suit. But afterwards… there was no ‘afterwards’.

“It… didn’t accept?” The four of them thought at the same time.

It’s an understatement to say that they were surprised by the result. To gain the recognition of a beast is usually the most difficult thing to do. Most of the times, the tamer needs to defeat the beast several times before he is allowed to approach. For a powerful beast like the Winged Star Unicorn, it is unbelievable for Kairos to walk up to it so easily. Therefore, when he placed his hand on it, they had all believed that the taming is going to succeed.

Without giving up, he tried approaching another stallion, but the result repeated itself. The beast would lower its head, allowing Kairos to pat it, but otherwise, refused to form a contract with him. After a few tries, he had no choice but to give up, and the mix-matched party finally left to seek other beasts.

Calculus and Jim, of course, could not try to tame another beast and they continued their squabbling. Relestia, on the other hand, had forgotten that she wanted a pony. Instead, she tried all kinds of ways trying to cheer Kairos up.

Although he did not act any differently, he must be disappointed, right?

The group continued their way towards the snowy mountain peak, making a good time.

Along the way, there were plenty of beasts, and each time Kairos tried to form a contract, the little girl would do her best in cheering for him. Her face became red from the effort, but she did not waver at all. Just looking at her, and hearing her shout caused the three boys to have only one thought in their minds.

“So cute…!”

She had a clear voice that left them with no doubt on how much she wished Kairos to succeed until even Calculus was shocked to find himself secretly rooting for the wrong side. He nearly slapped himself for such traitorous thoughts, but it was hard to not be affected by the princess.

And, although every beast nearby could hear them, none show the slightest form of aggression. Even as they entered the more dangerous areas, the monsters either avoided the four or behaved similarly to the equines by bowing their heads. The protective runes on their robes now felt largely unnecessary.

Unfortunately, by the time the group made their way to the top, all of Kairos’ taming attempts had ultimately failed. Each time he was turned down, Relestia had to stop herself from showing a saddened face, and her efforts became simply endearing to Kairos. Instead, she would bounce right back with a large smile on her face, telling him the next one would succeed.

With several crystal eggs in his possession, Kairos wasn't actually disappointed, but could not understand why even the tiniest and weakest of beasts wouldn’t accept his contract. Yet, when he looked at her serious countenance, he felt a smile creep up on his face.

"Looks like I have to try hard too!"

At the snow-pelted tip of the mountain, the wild beasts meandering about had turned scarce. The group, including Calculus, searched carefully around for nearly an hour, until they accidentally stumbled upon a fearsome beast sleeping in its cave.

“Isn’t that a Frost Kirin?” even Jim could recognise the uniquely-shaped monster that seemed like a cross between a deer, a dragon, a unicorn, and an Elemental. Its white-scaled body is covered with wind and snow. Shaped like a unicorn complete with a blue crystal-horn, it had a dragon’s head but antlers instead of spikes.

The lack of other beasts in this area is unquestionably because of the tremendous pressure it is giving off, even when asleep: A suffocating chill that seems to steal one’s breathe away.

Relestia gave Kairos a hopeful look, and the latter gave her a serious nod of his head.

This time he unleashed a tinge of his Ki announcing his presence, and the slumbering Kirin jumped to its feet almost at once. It sniffed the air, then, came out of the cave to meet the boy.

Giving Kairos a mere glance, it lowered its head like the many before and refused to move thereafter.