Thud!
The book in her hands hit the ground, but Elise didn't even notice.
Her beautiful blue eyes had already shrunk to pinpoints.
Her palms were covered in sweat.
She felt like she was watching an incredibly savage beast wake up.
Gone was any trace of that refined, slender look.
This guy... was dangerous...
Leon casually bent down, picked up the fallen book, dusted it off, and placed it on the chair.
"When that day comes, I hope the process won't be too boring, Miss Elise the beast tamer."
Leaving behind those cryptic, muttered words, Leon flashed a wicked smile and walked away with steady steps.
Drop the mic and run, hell yeah!
Someone like Elise, who'd only been here a few days and was living under someone else's roof, being careful about everything... Leon wasn't worried about her talking.
The castle gate was just a hundred feet ahead.
By the time Elise snapped out of it and whipped her head around, she only saw a broad back disappearing into the distance.
Looking at the crushed glasses on the ground, Elise stood there speechless for a moment.
What kind of person... was he really...?
…..
Finally here.
After getting out of the airport, Leon stretched luxuriously.
Desolate Dark City was located on the eastern border of the Ozesin Federation. To the east lay the Wind Abyss Ridge mountain range, to the south the Bone-Burial Desert, and five hundred miles north was the Silver Veil Sea.
It was one of the Federation's famous adventure cities.
Star-Dwarf City, where Leon had been living, was like the Federation's New York. In terms of economic power alone, it was in the top five across the entire Federation.
The Remington family was among the top-tier commercial families in Star-Dwarf City, living in a private castle and everything.
Desolate Dark City was remote with a rough population, so its economy naturally couldn't compare to Star-Dwarf City. But this place was paradise for adventurers.
The surrounding regions were home to all kinds of beasts and rare mineral resources. Whether for training or treasure hunting and trading, Desolate Dark City was one of the best choices for practitioners of the three primal spirit professions.
This was also Leon's destination.
As for Windmere City and White Maple Academy he'd mentioned before?
Sorry, just messing with those people back home... completely made up.
Leaving the airport, he hailed a cab.
Destination: Origin Spirit Association.
On the way, Leon looked out the window and noticed quite a few people carrying staffs and greatswords on the streets.
Every now and then someone would be hawking their wares on the roadside, selling primal spirit stones or other treasures.
By the time Leon reached his destination, the sun was setting and evening was approaching.
Checking the time... still good.
At the Origin Spirit Association, Quentin sat in his office chair, bored out of his mind, staring at the wall clock.
Five more minutes and he could clock out.
Weekend duty was supposed to be two people, but his mage colleague had called in with an emergency, leaving him alone holding down the fort.
One more minute!
Quentin stretched comfortably, ready to pack up and bolt, when a tall black-haired young man suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Can I help you...?"
"Hello, I'm here for an awakening ceremony."
Great timing...
Though he was a bit annoyed inside, Quentin's professional standards held up. He immediately sat down at the computer and said:
"ID card, please. Press your hand on the fingerprint stone."
The ID card was like a personal identification card, and the fingerprint was a second layer of security to protect personal privacy.
After Leon followed the instructions, his personal information immediately appeared on the computer screen.
"Huh?" Quentin thought he was seeing things and leaned closer to the screen.
But after confirming the information was correct, Quentin looked at Leon with extreme bewilderment.
"You went through an awakening ceremony a year ago. You have to wait another four years for your next attempt."
Quentin was starting to wonder if this black-haired kid had lost his mind.
Probably couldn't handle the shock of failing the awakening, had some kind of mental breakdown.
People who failed the awakening ceremony, walking around in a daze, crying and wailing, or at the extreme end, trying to kill themselves...
Quentin had seen plenty of those cases.
Slap!
A thick stack of bills landed in front of Quentin.
"The awakening ceremony just requires you to activate the formation and make a record. It's not difficult. Five years is common practice, not a rule."
Well...
Looking at the ten thousand star coins in front of him, Quentin was tempted.
Like the guy said, five years was common practice, not a rule. Helping him with the awakening ceremony wasn't against regulations.
Easy money, why not? Would be stupid not to take it.
"No, seriously kid, are you sure you want to go through with the awakening ceremony? It's only been a year since your last failure. With that little primal spirit energy... you're basically throwing it away, right?"
Quentin still wanted to try talking him out of it.
"Just conduct the ceremony. Don't worry about the rest."
Fine. He'd said what he needed to say, and the guy was still stubborn about it. If he failed, that was on him.
Quentin didn't bother saying more. He smoothly pocketed the cash and led the way.
"Beast tamer?" Quentin asked tentatively.
"Yeah."
Figures. First choice, no question.
After winding through corridors for a few minutes, they arrived at their destination.
On the floor of the spacious room was an intricate formation.
Without being told, Leon had already sat cross-legged in the center of the formation.
"Let's begin," Leon said calmly.
Receiving the command, Quentin activated the cylindrical switch, and the formation on the floor slowly lit up.
At the same time, Leon felt a powerful suction force pulling toward his body.
This time, he wasn't going to hold back anymore.
With a thunderous boom, blue primal spirit energy erupted from Leon's body like flames.
The intense shockwave knocked Quentin flat on his ass, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
"Holy... crap! What the hell!"
He'd conducted awakening ceremonies for years and had never seen such a massive, surging outburst of primal spirit energy.
His brain practically froze for a moment.
Leon didn't care about any of that. Right now he was actively following the formation's guidance to inscribe his profession.
Thanks to his exceptional control over primal spirit energy, everything went incredibly smoothly.
Other people had the formation guide their primal spirit forward, but for him it turned into his primal spirit running faster than the formation itself...
In no time, Leon felt something stirring in his consciousness.
Got it!
Beast space, open!
With a mental roar, a black space expanded and unfolded in his consciousness...
Meanwhile, on the wall-mounted display connected to the formation, numbers climbed from 1, 2, 3, 4... steadily upward.
When the number hit 10, Quentin's mouth formed a big "O." When it hit 15, Quentin was stunned. When it hit 20, Quentin couldn't take it anymore!
"Impossible!"
His incredulous shout did nothing to stop the numbers from climbing!
The display finally stopped when it hit 30.
Quentin sat on the floor like a statue.
Slap, slap, slap!
He smacked himself hard several times. Feeling the burning pain on his cheeks, Quentin finally confirmed he wasn't dreaming.
A monster. Where the hell did this monster come from!
Watching the tall figure stand up in the formation, Quentin felt his legs go weak and his throat go dry.
The numbers on the display indicated the size of the beast space, measured in units of magic energy.
For beast tamers who just succeeded in their awakening, beast space size was typically between 5 and 10 magic energy.
Above 10 magic energy already counted as genius level.
He didn't know about other cities, but here in Desolate Dark City, the highest initial beast space record for a successful awakening was only 16 magic energy.
And this black-haired kid in front of him...
This was absolutely freaking ridiculous.