"Certainly, that will be 5,000 Credits."
"...What?!"
Raiden's voice came out louder than intended, earning numerous stares from nearby people.
Feeling the attention, he quickly moved closer to the desk and lowered his voice.
"Beautiful big sister, wasn't registering for Battle Master free? Since when did it cost money? And so much?"
The girl smiled, her dimples showing. She had short brown hair tied in a small ponytail and spoke with the patient tone of someone who explained this daily. Nobody disliked hearing compliments, after all.
"That is old news, little brother. Nowadays, to separate the casual people and focus resources more effectively on cultivating a new generation, the Alliance introduced a fee for registration. You can still buy and raise a Terra Beast normally, but if you want to bond with it and grow stronger together, you need to pay the fees and get that manual. The choice is entirely yours."
Hearing her words, Raiden fell silent. He opened his phone to check his bank balance.
6,342 Credits.
This was all the savings he had left. A normal family of four could easily survive on 500 Credits a month. Of course, that was if your family didn't have any Terra Beasts. If you did, the costs to keep them grew exponentially.
After thinking for a while, Raiden gritted his teeth and came to a decision
"Register, I'd like to register! Damnit, I don't believe that I can't earn my money back after running my farm. Please register my details, big sister." Raiden spoke with pain in his voice.
Hearing it, the girl in glasses chuckled, clearly amused by his behaviour.
"Alright, let's process the payment first. Place your phone on the scanner."
Raiden's hand trembled slightly as he placed his phone on the payment terminal.
Beep.
Transaction Successful. Remaining Balance: 1,342 Credits.
He felt his heart sink as the notification appeared. That was it. Most of his money, gone. If this farming plan didn't work out...
"Little brother? You okay? You look a bit pale." The receptionist's voice snapped him back to reality.
"I-I'm fine. Just... give me a moment, please." He tried to laugh it off, but it came out hollow.
She gave him a sympathetic look before continuing professionally. "Alright, stand still for a second. Scanning your face to pull up the data...perfect...alright. Raiden Ashford, 16 years old, below average grades and university dropout..."
Raiden winced internally. Did she have to announce that so loudly?
"...no offences found...alright, and you're done. Congratulations, Raiden, you are now an official Battle Master and can bond with your Terran. Do you want me to explain to you how it works?" The girl asked with a smile on her face.
Raiden nodded immediately. "Yes, please. I know you can bond with your Terran, but how does it work exactly?"
"Don't worry, your big sister here will explain everything to you clearly." She patted her chest with confidence before beginning the explanation.
"You do know that there are two kinds of people who raise Terra Beasts or Terrans, right? One is a normal person who can buy and raise as many Terra Beasts as they want, be it for companionship or work. The other ones are Battle Masters. Unlike other people, Battle Masters can actually form a deep bond with their Terra Beasts by blood, thus evolving together."
"This bond acts as a symbiotic relationship, letting Terra Beasts evolve faster and granting superhuman capabilities to their human partners. The stronger the bloodline and level of Terra Beast, the stronger the feedback they provide to their human partners."
"As you know, Battle Masters can bond with 6 Terra Beasts at max, one at each level, from Bronze to Nuclear. You know the tiers in between, right?" She paused to drink some water before looking at Raiden, who had a blank look on his face.
"...You do know the levels, right? That's like, basic knowledge. That's the first thing you're taught in school!" The girl spoke in a dumbfounded voice.
"I know!! Of course I know! It's just that it is very important information for my future, so I want to cross-check it with a professional like you." Raiden spoke in a shameless tone. He knew his knowledge was half-baked, and acting shamelessly was the only way to learn the correct knowledge.
"...Alright, I believe you." She didn't sound convincing. "As I was saying, Battle Masters are divided into seven different tiers, from weakest to strongest:
Bronze → Silver → Gold → Platinum → Diamond → Mythical → Nuclear
"Got it?"
Raiden nodded before asking a question in a hesitant voice.
"Umm...why is the final tier called Nuclear, when other tiers are named after metals?"
"Because any attacks done by beasts at that level are no less destructive than a Nuclear bomb. Are you sure you graduated from school? This is like basic stuff." The girl said in a strange voice, which somehow made Raiden feel like she was looking down on him secretly.
"I knew that! I was just... testing your knowledge! Yeah, that's it." Even Raiden didn't sound convincing to himself.
The girl, seeing the embarrassment on his face, didn't call him out. Instead, she took out a custom bronze metal card and put it in the console in front of her.
Less than 5 seconds later, the card came out with his information on it.
"Here you go. It will act as your identity as well as proof of your Battle Master status. All you need to do is bind it to yourself using your blood, and you will naturally learn how to bind a Terra Beast to yourself." She explained patiently.
Raiden took the card and started to feel excited. No matter what he said, he was just a teenager and also harboured fantasies of taming a dragon and riding it in the sky, making everyone who looked at him jealous.
"By the way, little brother, do you have a Terra Beast egg prepared? If not, you can buy one here, quality guaranteed." She patted her chest again, as if to emphasise her confidence.
Raiden's face immediately turned into one of pain. He originally had a budget of 5,000 Credits to buy the first beast that would help him in farming, as well as earn some money.
But now only left with 1,342 Credits. Excluding the food expense for the beast, as well as the household expense, he only had 600 Credits to work with.
Gritting his teeth, he made a decision.
"Buy, of course I'm buying it! Show me what you've got!!" He spoke with determination.
The girl said nothing. She simply pulled out a tablet from beneath the counter and handed it to him with a knowing smile.
He immediately started looking at the entries inside of it.
[Azure Phoenix: 100 Million Credits]
[Armoured Kong: 30,000 Credits]
[Black Tortoise (Has Diluted Bloodline of Divine Black Tortoise): 10 Million Credits]
[Garuda: 80 Million Credits]
[Shadow Panther: 300,000 Credits]
Looking at the list of absurd prices and even more outrageous beasts, he felt the weight of his poverty even more realistically.
Silently clicking on the filter option, he chose to sort it by 'Price Low to High'.
The list updated automatically.
[Green Caterpillar, Lumy: 950 Credits]
Looking at the cheapest option on the list, Raiden deeply felt the malice of this capitalistic world.