"I'll work."
The man at the signboard, burly and sunburnt, looked Lone up and down.
"You? You're skinny as a twig."
"I can work hard," Lone replied firmly.
The man sighed, waving him over. "Fine. We need hands, not heroes. Just don't faint from the smell."
Lone was handed a faded armband—marking him as a temporary helper—and ushered behind the wooden barriers into the racegrounds.
What he saw stopped him in his tracks.
Rows upon rows of summoned beasts, majestic and wild, were being groomed, fed, and prepared. Great feline hounds with glowing manes snarled lazily. Serpent birds preened their iridescent wings. Even a colossal stone horse snored under a shaded canopy.
Lone's eyes widened. This wasn't just work—it was a front-row seat to the bond between beast and summoner.
A gruff voice broke the moment.
"Hey! You, boy! Clean that pen before that Earth-Fur wakes up and tosses you to the sky!"
Lone jolted into motion. For hours, he scrubbed dirt, carried heavy feed sacks, and polished strange armors meant for the beasts. It was tiring. Dirty. At times humiliating.
Other helpers—mostly poor street boys and servants—worked with dull eyes and lazy hands. Lone, however, watched. Every beast, every summoner. How they spoke. How they moved together.
"They really trust each other…" he whispered, while brushing the mossy tail of a sleepy Vine-Crawler.
Later that afternoon, he passed by a decorated stable reserved for elite racers. A young girl with flowing silks sat beside a hulking beast with a horned snout and stormy blue scales. She offered it fruit gently, laughing as it nuzzled her hand.
"You're not just strong… you're beautiful," she told the beast. It rumbled in response.
Lone paused, watching silently.
So that's what it means to connect… not command.
A tired smile tugged at his lips. Even while he scrubbed and fetched and stayed ignored, the fire in him didn't dim. If anything, it grew.
By the end of the day, the sun was bleeding over the horizon. Lone's hands were sore, his legs aching. But when he was given a small cloth pouch with six silver coins inside, he held it like it was a treasure.
"One step closer," he said softly