Noa's egg rested on the altar.
For every youngster before him, their eggs had shone in different, yet still glowing, colors.
But for Noa…
It had a completely distinct feeling to it.
Not only was it pitch gray like ash itself, but the pressure it exuded was foreign and almost suffocating.
"What's up with that?" someone murmured from the crowd.
"Why can't I recognize it from the market?" another person said, showing clear signs of surprise.
"I doubt they bought it here in the city. The Osborn family might have purchased it for him somewhere outside of the city. Perhaps from a private seller."
"Yeah… it's possible. Even so, it looks nothing like what I have seen in the pictures."
As people were busy conversing amongst themselves, Noa sighed.
He was the only one who could guess what might come from the egg. Yet even he had no idea about the creature itself.
Would it be dragonborn, drake, or wyverns?
Honestly, he had no idea.
But no matter what it was, Noa was sure of one thing.
His life was about to change.
And considering the rank of the creature he was expecting, the change would most definitely make his life harder.
However, he was ready for it.
It was something he knew would happen from the moment he spoke with Ashe and saw the system's announcement.
"Crack," suddenly, Noa muttered under his breath, his voice barely above a whisper.
There was stillness in the world before that.
But even the silent murmurs felt insignificant beneath the vicious thunder that split the sky, forcing a few of the youngsters to flinch in surprise.
Even some elders present exchanged uneasy glances.
Even parents lowered their brows, unable to understand what was going on.
Thankfully, the thunder lasted only for a heartbeat.
It was like a single, loud clap that echoed like a heavy drum but vanished as quickly as it came.
Then, the egg cracked.
With a single snap, it crumbled into two separate pieces before something emerged from within that silenced the world once again.
There, hidden behind the shells, was no proud dragon.
Neither a gleaming drake nor even a wyvern hatchling showed up. Just a worm. Ashen, no bigger than a child's fist.
Its flesh glowed under the sunlight.
But it moved out of the way, evading the light and moving in Noa's direction.
Silent voices followed the worm and its actions.
Children pointed at it. Parents gulped and shook their heads. Some laughed, and some whispered with pity and mockery, happy that their bloodline wasn't that unlucky.
"Is that…" someone mumbled, voice proving their confusion.
"Yeah. I think so. It really is the Graveworm."
"Osborn family's last heir awakened with this crappy beast? To think he would get the legendary weakest beast... truly, Fate has not been kind to them."
Graveworm.
A little pest everyone in the world knew.
They were fairly common to spot in the wild, and they barely interacted with humans.
Still, they were far too weak to pose any threat or serve any real purpose.
As for someone actually taming them, it wasn't entirely unheard of either. It just was incredibly rare. So much so that even encounters with legendary beasts felt almost ordinary in comparison.
Graveworms were the most well-known creatures in the world.
Yes, their taming chances were nearly non-existent, but it was enough for everyone to fear being unfortunate enough to bond with them.
Turns out, Noa was the unluckiest of all.
Especially considering that the boost Graveworms gave their contractors was so minimal that it barely made any difference.
That wasn't all…
"That's just sad. I wouldn't even wish that for my worst enemy."
"What are you talking about? Of course, I want my worst enemy to have bonded with a Graveworm. What can he do against me? Spit ashes at me?"
"I thought they had a rare beast egg secured for him."
"Yeah… the thunder was weird, too. I thought he might have awakened something actually legendary… to think it would be this trash beast with no elemental affinities."
Every beast had at least one elemental affinity.
Every single one of them.
There was only one exception, and it was Graveworm, proving just how weak and useless it really was.
The only use they had was cleaning trash.
Especially ashes, as they were their favorite snacks.
'A worm, huh?' Noa thought in the meantime, letting the creature slither across his skin.
It was cool to the touch.
It tickled him faintly, coiling around his wrist and stopping at his palm.
[Ding!]
Suddenly, the system rang in his head, even showing a short row of text Noa had been expecting since transmigrating into this world.
[Congratulations, Host, for getting the Weakest Beast Egg]
[The contract ceremony was successful]
[Synchronization is in progress]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[Synchronization Completed]
[You can now access Graveworm's status window]
Everything went just as smoothly as he thought it would, letting his nerves finally calm down.
Noa knew he would get the weakest beast.
However, for him to bond with the infamous creature that was almost considered legendary and was put into that rank solely because of its rarity went beyond his expectations.
But seeing how gray it was, how it had no base element, and how much it loved to eat ash—it all made perfect sense to him now.
'Everything is connected,' he realized. 'Fate isn't just playing around.'
Noa also thought about the dragon he had encountered and looked at the tiny beast resting on his palm.
His imagination stirred.
It had to.
How such a fragile little thing could evolve into something so divine went beyond his understanding.
Still, it was a challenge he would gladly accept.
So, he ignored the loud crowd who seemed to enjoy whispering about his future and the demise he would bring to his family.
They judged him.
They mocked him.
They all thought that the Osborn family was done for.
There was nothing someone with no elemental affinity or any physical and mana enhancement could do to protect their legacy.
Yet, Noa cared about none of that.
He didn't look at his parents.
Not yet.
He gulped and summoned the status window to see what his little friend could do.