This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange - Chapter 886

Chapter 886: Chapter 886: Mix Up

Kain and Serena laid out the tools in silence—two slender, rune-etched tattoo pens and several vials of shimmering ink that pulsed faintly with spiritual energy. The air inside the boarded-up shop was thick with tension. Even though the ten recruits had steeled themselves, none could completely mask their nerves.

The first volunteer, a wiry man with burn scars across his arms, sat on a wooden stool. Serena, sleeves rolled up, worked with swift precision. Her hand moved almost too fast to follow as she carved delicate spiritual lines along his spine. Each stroke of the enchanted pen burned faintly green with her spiritual power before sinking beneath the skin. The man clenched his fists, jaw trembling—but stayed quiet.

When it was Kain’s turn to tattoo the second recruit, the man’s composure cracked within seconds. The moment the pen touched his back, he hissed in pain, a sound that quickly escalated to a strangled whimper. The third recruit tried to laugh nervously, but when his turn came, he screamed outright.

By the fifth one, everyone waiting was pale. Sweat ran down their temples as the muffled screams echoed through the room.

The Queen’s eyes flicked toward the windows. With a flick of her wrist, she released a wave of indigo coloured spiritual energy. A ripple spread across the air, and suddenly, the world fell silent. No sound escaped the shop—no matter how loudly anyone shouted.

Meanwhile, Bea turned her attention to the mind’s she’d already invaded of those civilians outside. She brushed over the curious minds of bystanders outside and gently rewrote the last few seconds of their memory, replacing curiosity with disinterest. Within moments, no one remembered hearing anything strange.

Inside, the air was heavy with the scent of spiritual ink and body odour from all the sweat the recruits were emitting. Serena and Kain worked tirelessly, alternating between recruits. By the time the tenth and final person sat down, the others had already collapsed onto nearby chairs, drained but alive.

“Channel spiritual power into the center of the array,” Serena instructed.

They obeyed. The tattoos in various positions across their bodies flared to life, glowing faintly as energy coursed through their bodies. A pulse of light filled the room, followed by a deep, resonant hum.

One by one, the recruits slumped forward, losing consciousness.

Ten minutes later, faint bursts of light shimmered across the room. Kain felt the subtle shift in the air—the unmistakable resonance of new contracts forming and souls being extracted from Pangea and bound to an entity outside.

The first to awaken was the single tall woman whose exposed back bore barely faded claw marks. Floating before her was what looked by a baby chicken its downy feathers glowing orange-gold like a tiny flame. But, upon using the System and his authority as the owner of Pangea to check its information, Kain saw that it wasn’t the unimpressive chicken that he initially thought. Solar Phoenix Falcon. An avian with phoenix blood that has hope of its bloodline returning to its origin if it was lucky. Tears welled in her eyes as she reached out to touch it.

Next, a middle-aged man gasped as a what appeared to be a boar covered in ash with faint molten lines across its body appeared beside him, faint wisps of smoke curling from its tusks. A Molten Blood Boar. He laughed until his voice broke.

A younger man shouted in surprise as a Radiant Flare Serpent coiled protectively around his shoulders, its scales reflecting light in waves of amber and gold.

Each person summoned their contracts and gave enthusiastic cries of joy, many breaking down into tears. Interestingly, so far they were all either fire or light-attribute contracts. It seemed that even in this unusual awakening method, their origins as Rising Sun people were revealed.

The Azure Serpent Queen watched the flickering Fire and Light contracts with a faint, almost wistful smile. Such attributes were rare in the Azure Serpent Kingdom, where serpents and water affinities were the norm. Earth and wind contracts were not uncommon either—but fire? A fire contract was almost nonexistent here.

Even she herself…

Born into the Rising Sun Royal Family—where fire and light were seen as the empire’s divine birthright—she had none of those affinities. Her gift was water, and it had made her something of an oddity among her people.

Still, her family had cherished her, and when she came of age, politics found opportunity where nature had drawn contrast. A marriage alliance was arranged with the Azure Serpent Kingdom, a place where her affinity could flourish.

And indeed, once she arrived, her cultivation soared. The water-rich land and resources nourished her growth, and her contracts evolved in ways the Rising Sun could never have supported.

Now, standing before this new generation of fire-born tamers, she felt both pride and nostalgia—the familiar warmth of a kingdom long lost and the cool serenity of the one she now ruled blending together like gentle sunlight sparkling on the sea.

Then came the last recruit to awaken.

The enormous, burly man stirred. Everyone turned to look.

A faint pink glow gathered before him, slowly solidifying into a small, round creature with glossy fur and fluttering pastel wings. It blinked up at him with big, glittering eyes and squeaked softly. A delicate pink flower was tied by its stem like a bow around its tail.

The silence stretched.

“…It’s…pink,” one of the recruits muttered.

The room erupted in laughter. Even Takeru grinned helplessly. “I—I’m sure it’s powerful!” he tried to say between laughs.

The giant man scowled, his face redder than his neck veins. “It’s not cute! I—I don’t know how I ended up with this thing,” he said, trying to sound gruff. The others laughed and teased him mercilessly, tossing comments about how the delicate pink fluff didn’t suit him at all.

He crossed his arms, grumbling, “Must’ve been a mix‑up.” Yet when the creature fluttered up and rubbed its soft fur against his chin, Kain noticed the man’s attempt at stoicism falter. For a split second, pure joy flickered in his eyes, the kind only someone meeting their perfect match could show.

Kain hid his grin behind his hand. ‘Yeah, sure. A mix‑up.’