Blade of the Demon Hunt

Chapter 20 Beasts

After spending two leisurely days at headquarters, Amir had been hanging out with Will every day. The two were newcomers who had joined at the same time and quickly became close, finding their conversations to be quite enjoyable.Although Will was only seventeen, he was mature and experienced, likely due to the environment he grew up in. His lively and outgoing personality complemented Amir's more reserved nature.However, the other newcomer, Rami, was different. Apart from going to the dining hall for meals, he never left his room, showing signs of being a complete recluse.One morning, after finishing breakfast, Amir was about to head to the top floor of the castle to wander around with Will when someone stopped them."Please follow me," said the man who had previously guided Amir, speaking politely as he appeared before them."Is the special training about to start?" Amir asked."I'm just responsible for leading you two; I don't know the specifics of the matter," the man explained with a smile."Oh, come on, stop asking so many questions. We'll find out once we get there," Will said as he walked ahead.Hearing this, Amir stopped asking questions as well, and the two followed the man to a door deep within the castle.The guide pushed the door open and gestured for them to enter. Once they had stepped inside, he closed the door from the outside.It was a spacious study, much like D's study Amir had seen before, but the layout was simpler. Besides shelves full of books and basic furniture, there were no other unnecessary items in sight.Amir noticed that Rami was already standing in front of the desk, and behind the desk sat a young, handsome man.The man looked no older than twenty-five or twenty-six. Since he was sitting, it was hard to tell how tall he was. His black hair looked incredibly smooth, and he wore silver-framed glasses resting on his straight nose, his features sharp and attractive."Nice to meet you. I'm Luay, currently serving as the interim head of the Research Department," the man introduced himself with a friendly smile as they walked in. "I apologize for not welcoming you the past couple of days. We've been extremely busy with work in our department, so I couldn't make time."After the three greeted Luay, they waited for him to explain the reason for their meeting."As you know, a General will soon begin your special training. Your training instructors have been arranged over the past couple of days, and shortly, you'll be taken to meet them," Luay said. "But before that, I need to take you somewhere."With that, he stood up and walked over to a bookshelf, giving it a light push. A secret door appeared before them.Without waiting for their reaction, Luay walked through the door. The three exchanged glances before following him inside.What exactly is this guy up to? Why all the mystery? Amir wondered as they walked through the dim, narrow hallway.The stone hallway wasn't very long, and soon they reached the end, where a room awaited them.This place looked more like a cellar than a room. The walls were built from greyish-blue stone slabs, and no light could penetrate the room. Even the glow from their phones seemed to be absorbed by the walls, making the place feel unnervingly dim. A chilling cold seeped up from the stone floor beneath their feet.By the faint light of his phone, Amir thought he saw something piled in the center of the room. Squinting to get a better look, he realized the floor was covered with what seemed to be eggs—some kind of animal eggs.Each egg was about the size of a football, varying in color, and some had strange patterns on them. Confused, Amir glanced at Will, who looked just as baffled, clearly unsure of what they were seeing."You probably don't know what these are yet," Luay's voice echoed beside them, sounding strangely eerie in the room. "These are the eggs of magical beasts.""Magical beasts?" Amir asked in confusion."Exactly." Though they couldn't see Luay's expression due to the dim lighting, they could hear the amusement in his voice. "Magical beasts are similar to demons in that they are man-eating creatures. However, while demons mimic humans, magical beasts mimic various wild animals. But there are no wild magical beasts left anymore. All the existing ones are bred and managed by our guild.""What does the guild raise them for?" Will asked, confused. Since they're similar to demons, shouldn't they be wiped out completely? Why go through the trouble of breeding them?Amir shared the same question, puzzled by the guild's motives."After extensive research, we discovered that magical beasts are fundamentally different from demons," Luay explained with a smile. "The biggest difference is that magical beasts, much like demon-hunting weapons, can form a bond with a master.""A bond?" Amir asked, still puzzled."Exactly. While magical beasts aren't as intelligent as humans, they are far smarter than ordinary animals. Once bonded, they will fully obey their master's commands and become a valuable ally," Luay continued. "Most of the assistance they provide is in combat, so the guild decided that every hunter should be assigned a magical beast.""If they're so useful, why not give each person more than one? Then we'd have nothing to worry about in battle," Will asked."Just like your weapons, a magical beast's bond with its master is one-on-one," Luay explained. "You can only claim another after the previous one dies.""So, does this mean we get to pick the strongest one?" Will asked."You're free to choose, but we can't guarantee the type," Luay replied cheerfully. "Thanks to our department's research and modifications, these magical beasts will only begin to hatch after they've bonded with a master. This is a necessary measure to prevent the existence of unclaimed magical beasts, as they are highly aggressive—just like demons—and extremely dangerous to humans. As for the species that will hatch, even we can't predict that.""So basically, we're gambling on our luck," Amir thought back to Zahra's pure black owl, Yasin."Exactly," Luay confirmed quickly. "If there are no more questions, you can start choosing. Just remember, each of you can only take one."As soon as Luay finished speaking, Will and Rami immediately walked into the pile and began choosing their eggs. Both quickly made their selections—Will seemed to have chosen the largest one, while Rami picked one with dark red patterns on the shell.Amir, however, stood there for a long time, unsure of how to choose. Seeing that the other two had already picked theirs and only he remained, he decided to just pick one at random. After all, it was all guesswork and completely up to luck.While he was thinking about this, Amir felt something move by his foot. He looked down and saw an egg rolling slightly at his feet.It probably got knocked loose when he was walking, causing it to roll off the pile, he thought.Since he had no idea how to choose anyway, Amir bent down and picked up the egg.With all three of them having made their selections, Luay led them back out of the room and into the study they had been in earlier."You can now drop your blood on the surface of the eggs to complete the bonding process. After that, you don't need to do anything else. Just leave them in your room, and they will hatch in about one to two months," Luay explained the bonding procedure. He continued, "You can go back to your rooms to do this now, and then come back here later. I'll take you to meet your instructors."Holding his magical beast egg, Amir returned to his room. Only then did he take a closer look at the egg he had chosen.Compared to the others, his egg was slightly smaller and looked quite delicate.Could it be a female? Amir wondered.He turned the egg over in his hands, inspecting it carefully. He didn't find any patterns on the shell, but it had a faint silver sheen that looked quite beautiful in the sunlight coming through the window.Amir was pleased with his choice. At least it looked nice on the outside, and he hoped it would be attractive once it hatched.He found a fruit knife and made a shallow cut on his fingertip, letting a couple of drops of blood fall onto the egg's surface. He waited for a while, but there was no visible reaction, and he wasn't sure if the bonding had been successful.Shouldn't there at least be a white light or something? He remembered seeing a white light when he first found the dagger. Why is there no sign at all this time?Well, he had followed Luay's instructions, so he'd check with the other two later to see how their bonding went.As for hatching, at least he didn't have to stay on top of the egg himself. But it probably still needed some warmth.With that in mind, he placed a pillow on the windowsill and positioned the egg in the center, so it could benefit from regular sunlight.After arranging it, Amir left the room. He remembered that Luay had instructed them to return to the study after completing the bonding process to await their meeting with the instructors.As he left his room, he ran into Will, and the two of them walked back together.On the way, Amir asked Will about his bonding experience and learned that Will's situation was the same as his—nothing happened after he dripped blood on the egg.It seems the bonding process for these magical beasts is quite mild, Amir thought to himself, very different from the glowing and dramatic effects he had imagined.When they returned to the study, they found Rami had arrived before them and was already waiting.Seeing them return, Luay stood up, walked to the door, and said with a smile, "Please follow me." He then headed outside.The three of them followed Luay, but then he waved to Amir and said, "You wait here for a moment."Amir, somewhat confused, stopped in his tracks and watched as Will and Rami followed Luay out. As they left the room, Will even glanced back at Amir with a similarly puzzled expression.Standing alone in the empty study, Amir felt uncertain and hesitant to move around. Feeling a bit bored, he went to the bookshelf and began browsing through the collection.The shelf was filled with books in various languages, most of which he couldn't understand. After browsing for a while, he lost interest.Just as Amir was feeling bored, Luay returned. He waved at Amir with a smile and said, "Come with me. I'll take you to meet your instructor."