The Earth Online

11 Thaleos the Beast Tamer

Irkalla took control of the transmission and protested, “C’mon, Ur, you’re basically giving the game away.” Ur stepped back and Irkalla appeared on the screen.

“Maybe Enki was right, there is a possibility for this game to be entertaining! I find it absolutely fascinating how there’s a human who actually has a chance to go beyond the novice stage.” She beamed while staring at Thaleos with great interest.

The three of them just stared at the sultry and alluring goddess as her dark eyes twinkled like galaxies. The ruby necklace catching their attention as it was perfectly placed in the middle of her sculptured collar bones.

“Not much of a talker, I suppose. Well, I’m here to answer some of the questions without giving out too much information. Ur’s quite new at this job and, obviously, still getting used to the ropes.”  The goddess went on as she played with the golden rings on her slim finger.

“Moving on, what would you like to find out? Of course, I can only say so much, but feel free to ask some reasonable questions.” She prompted while sipping on a wine glass filled with the familiar golden substance

Thaleos knew that it was hard to outwit the goddess who has dealt with millions and millions of shady deals in the underworld. But he still decided to use her weakness against her — Thaleos tightly shut his eyes in deep gratitude for James’ journal.

The bearded man knew that Irkalla had a penchant for ancient regalia and enchanted jewelry. She was obsessed with the other deities’ most treasured insignias, so Thaleos thought of a plan to get one of the rarest jewelry among the minor deities.

“I’ll find you Ningilin’s Mongoose Emerald if you tell me the answers.” The bearded man proposed. The bold proposal made the Queen of the Underworld pause for a couple of seconds. She felt her heart skip a couple of beats, not because of such stupid notions like love, but because of the excitement in meeting such a brave human.

“Sounds tempting but, darling, you don’t have to go that far. Ningilin is a feisty little deity. She’s a couple of statuses away from reaching her goddess status, and trust me, you wouldn’t want to fight her just to get that mongoose emerald.” Irkalla went on as she bit her lower plump lip while staring at Thaleos.

Thaleos deliberated what to say, but didn’t have to because the goddess made her first move.

Seductively boring her eyes into his, she beckoned, “I don’t want you to die before we get to the good parts of the game. I’ll tell you what, as long as I can have you for one night, then I’d be willing to answer three questions — any kind of question.” More than his looks, she wanted to feed on the young man’s hefty life essence.

“No, thank you. I prefer getting Ningilin’s, Mongoose Emerald.” Without skipping a single beat, Thaleos turned down her offer in a stoic manner. He didn’t consider the offer too much, since he predicted that it’ll get quite problematic if he associated himself with the goddess. The goddess was slightly shocked since this was the first time she was denied, but she continued with her perusal.

The goddess grinned from ear to ear, and cajoled,

“A shame, I’m quite known for my under-worldly ­techniques.” Thaleos still shook his head, and the goddess still had that wide smirk on her face regardless of being rejected twice.

“Fine, since you’ve entertained me past the three-minute mark, feel free to ask one question. Make it worth it.” Irkalla challenged him and went back to drinking from the golden liquid-filled glass.

“What’s a Tyrannical Beast Tamer?” He queried with a serious face. He knew that this was an important question since most people and even minor deities weren’t aware of this specific variation of the Beast Tamer. Irkalla stared directly into his eyes and muttered under her breath,

“And worth it, it is. You’re lucky to have used this once in a lifetime opportunity wisely. As Ur explained earlier, in the Professional Skill Tree, there are two main branches: The Common and Specialized Skills. But at its very core and foundation, you have the Duel Space roots.” The goddess started as she put her wine glass down,

“Wow, this system is incredibly complex,” Haya uttered in amazement. He was basically nerding out right now. Kedrick also listened intently.

“The Duel Space roots basically store your core skills. These core skills are made up of your beast training skills, but the “Tyrannical” variation is quite unique. You can only get this title if you’ve, A, chose the Beast Tamer occupation, and B, if you consistently build your physical strength and channel it into your Professional Skill Tree.” Irkalla divulged the important piece of information while looking at the three men’s reactions.

After seeing their surprised and eager expression, she felt satisfied with their game setting design and continued,

“Now, the first part is easy. The second one is harder, directly connecting your General Skills Tree and Professional Skills Tree require a high level of mana concentration abilities. You need to channel the Ea life energy you got from the beasts that you killed. You just have to control the Ea mana flow throughout your whole body.” The goddess gave them a couple of seconds to process the information since she was convinced that humans were pretty stupid, 

“If you fail to balance the mana flow correctly, then your body will ultimately just blow up due to the excess mana. But if you succeed, then you can use your physical strength to control high-tier and heavenly beasts. Besides, compared to connecting to the beasts emotionally and spiritually, you can just easily control them— this cuts down the whole training process by a large margin.” The last sentence struck a chord in Thaleos’ conscious since he was an animal-lover to the core.

“Do you mean to say that I don’t need to ‘connect’ with the creatures if I become a Tyrannical Beast Tamer?” He absently probed, to which the goddess responded with a small giggle.

“Humans get so emotionally attached to basically everything. It’s interesting and amusing. But there’s a reason to this, these demon creatures aren’t your friends, they’re predators. Turn your back once on them during the taming process, and they won’t hesitate to s***h your neck. Tyrannical Beast Tamers have the advantage of changing familiars since most creatures can’t level up with your General Skills Tree.”

Thaleos solemnly nodded his head in agreement, and unenthusiastically proclaimed,

“I’ll retain my Beast Tamer profession, please.”

Becoming a Tyrannical Beast Tamer is pretty great for building a good foundation in the novice stage, and pretty advantageous in the long run, he reasoned out in his mind.

“Are you sure? That’s a pretty boring option, and most people don’t even consider becoming a Beast Tamer. Personally, I think becoming a Mage or Necromance is more ideal.” Irkalla abruptly asserted. The three men found this kind of odd since the goddess was relatively calm throughout the whole transmission.

It was as if she was actually trying to convince him to change his mind. The bewhiskered man decided to stick with his gut instinct and confirm his decision,

“Yes, I’m sure. I want to be a Beast Tamer.” The alluring goddess’ fine brow slightly twitched, but she still responded with a faint smile.

“Very well, then. As of now, you’re the first and only Beast Tamer in Haine. May you persevere.” She sparingly said, and the blue pop up screen immediately vanished.

“She did not sound happy, at all.” Kedrick blurted out. Thaleos and Haya slowly nodded their heads in agreement, since they were still thinking why the goddess reacted that way.

“You better note this down, Haya. Because, as far as I know, James only mentioned how important and beneficial the occupation ‘Tyrannical Beast Tamer’ was.” The bearded man reflectively concluded.

“Totally, I have everything written down right here. Once I’ve gathered enough data, I’ll try to combine James’ journals with my notes, to make an even more comprehensive guide.” The islander excitedly declared.

He was an absolute stickler for order and organization. His ex-lovers always attributed it to his zodiac sign as a “Virgo” or something like that, he thought.

“Damn, I think the game’s about to officially start,” Kedrick interjected. He took out his battle-ax using his sweaty palms.

Thaleos checked his watch and it was exactly 6:00 PM, there weren’t even any sirens or new announcements.

Just like that, the game started in pure silence. 

While other players were probably risking their lives in fighting high-level monsters, Thaleos’ group decided to focus on killing more white critters.

This was more strategic since they didn’t have to waste stamina in looking for more monsters, and strategizing attacks for every single beast they come across with.

Since they had a head start with leveling up their General Skills Tree, they could easily kill each critter with just a slice or two. Fortunately, the experience they gain is, more or less, still the same.

After fighting white rats the whole night — with a couple of power naps and snacking mixed in — the sun finally rose.

Thaleos, Haya, and Kedrick were basically laying on the forest floor. They could barely move a muscle from all the hacking and slashing they did last night.

They were happy to find that they at least leveled up one level. Thaleos was now a Level 2 Beast Tamer, meanwhile, Haya was a Level 1 Berserker, and Kedrick was a Level 1 Priest.

Haya and Thaleos howled in laughter when Kedrick chose to become a priest. The gentle giant explained that if only he wasn’t a mafia don’s bastard son, he would’ve become a priest.

The three rested against the large oak tree for at least half an hour and proceeded to drive back to the Melam Military Base. After forcing themselves to shower and change their clothes, they basically cried out when they could finally sleep on their beds.

~ ~ ~

After what felt like days of sleeping, Thaleos felt a hand forcibly shaking his shoulder. While still trying to grip unto his deep slumber, he felt like someone was attempting to wake him up.

“Thaleos, wake up! We can now go inside the Red Towers!” Haya exclaimed in excitement. As a response, the bearded man abruptly opened his eyes.