TBATE: The Dragons Of Diacathen

Chapter 6

"Hey, Art! Hurry up! We're going to be late!"

"AAAGGHHHH!! Tess! Stop! I give! I GIVE!" I cried out.

Tess finally got off of me, letting go of the leg lock she had in a firm grip.

"Can't there a gentler way of waking me up, Tess?" I grumbled, massaging the feeling back into my leg.

"It's getting harder and harder to wake you up in the morning! I have to do something, right? Besides, you should be grateful such a pretty lady is waking you up every morning." She fluttered her eyes at me.

"I find the maids here plenty pretty, thank you very much." I muttered under my breath.

She must've heard because that earned me a firm squeeze to the side.

Where did the shy Tess that was too scared to sleep alone in the tent go; the sweet Tess that begged me not to go? Bring her back! I liked her better!

As for me, today was a very special day because, after 6 months, I was finally able to complete the assimilation of mana into my body. It was almost my birthday so while Tess had turned six a couple months ago, I'll be finally turning five. During this time, I wasn't allowed to absorb any mana from my surroundings and only allowed to use my innate mana formed from my mana core to spread it into my body. Today was the final step that took place once a beast tamer finished his assimilation.

I skipped showering and just changed into a more presentable robe, tucking the stone, into my robe before heading out into the courtyard with Tess.

"Finally awake now, eh Art? How did your wife wake you up today? Haha!" Grandpa Virion mused as he sipped his tea on the small table outside.

"Ugh, wife? Where? I didn't know you could marry demons. You're turning her into a monster, Gramps," I groaned.

Luckily Tess wasn't able to overhear as she came outside just moments after.

"She's going to grow up into a fine woman, Art. Better sweep her off her feet before it's too late," He chuckled, lifting his teacup in a toast.

Tess just blushed at that and elbowed my side.

"AGGH!" Why? What did I do?

While despite all the teasing from Gramps I only see Tess as a sister if she develops feelings for me in the future, I need to talk to her. Last thing I want is to ruin are Friendship

"Hahaha! Art! Are you ready? Today is finally the day. After this, you'll be a true beast tamer, not like those lucky adventurers that just have a beast will," He emphasized, arms crossed.

I gave him a firm nod while Tess headed to the table Gramps was sitting on to watch.

"Do you remember the basic phases of beast tamers, Art?" he quizzed.

I recited the basics that Grandpa Virion pounded into me these past years. "All beast tamers have a different number of forms that they can will their bodies into. The number of forms depends on the strength of the Beast's will that is left in the mana core. The first phase, that all beast tamers have, is Acquire. In this phase, the Tamer can utilize a small portion of the inherent ability that their beast has. The second stage is Integrate, where the Tamer's body wholly infuses with the Beast's will, allowing a much better control over their beast's inherent abilities."

"Correct! The phases that the beast tamers are able to unlock simply shows how much they can utilize their beasts' will. The stronger the beast, the harder it is, but at the same time, if the tamer can't get insight, then it is also impossible to get past the first phase. One thing to note, however, is that, not always is the Integrate stage more powerful than the the Acquire. The Acquire phase is tapping into a specific inherent ability of your beast's while Integrate is a much more all-encompassing power up using your beast's will," he reminded, his face deathly serious.