5 Test Pt. 2

As Sam and John slowly made their way up the slope, the questions came to a halt. The two of them moving as quietly as possible so as not to disturb any monsters John may be interested in. Coming to a halt, Sam pointed out a snake bathing on top of a rock nearly 50 feet away. Taking out some binoculars he handed them to John and asked in a whisper, "What type of monster is it, and are you interested in taming it?"

"Looking through the binoculars, John frowned as he said, "It looks like a cobra, but I don't think it's become a monster yet. It's not gathering any mana, and it's not showing any signs of a core. Cobra cores are usually visible, looking like a gem at the crest of their hoods."

Taking back the binoculars, Sam took a closer look and nodded in agreement. "Good eye, must've just been born if it hasn't developed a core yet."

The two of them moved on, giving the cobra a wide berth and never taking their eyes off it. It may not of been a monster yet, but cobra venom would still be fatal to the two of them as they were still in the foundational realm.

Several minutes later, John paused and pointed to their right at a rock. Leaning in, he whispered, "Chameleon monster, evolved once, looks like it has a bit of dragon blood in it."

The two stood their silently as they waited for the chameleon to move again, and then Sam finally got a good look at it and nodded in agreement, "Any interest?"

John shook his head, "The level of dragon blood in it is so tiny it has no chance of further evolution and chameleons have almost no combat power."

Sam didn't ask any further questions, continuing their trek up the slope. The two walked past several variations of snakes and chameleons, and each time John shook his head no.

"Why aren't you interested in any of them? There were several vipers and cobra's down there that would be strong, and easy to care for." Sam asked John quietly several hours later.

"I want a monster that can evolve several times, maybe even become a boss. I know they're rare, but I don't want to be a cannon fodder tamer."

Sam nodded in understanding, there are several styles of tamer's, the most common called cannon fodder. These tamer's would tame hundreds, if not thousands, of low-level monsters and use them up without care to complete their missions. While this is a viable method to take, it falls off in strength quickly as at higher levels monsters become slightly smarter, not sentient but able to think, and are unwilling to be tamed by these kinds of tamers, choosing death rather than being used so cavalierly.

As the two crested the hill, they took a moment to sit down, drink some water, and eat lunch. "So why did you decide to become a tamer?" Sam asked, "Most just want minions to aid them but I'm not getting that vibe from you."

John nodded, taking a moment to finish chewing his food before he said, "Companionship."

Sam's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, I don't really care about being the strongest, rich, or famous. I just never want to be alone in the middle of a danger zone, surrounded by enemies capable of killing me in an instant. Never again." As he was speaking, John was looking downwards, so he was unaware of the look of understanding and appreciation that crossed Sam's face.

What most of the people trying to join the Tamer's Club didn't realize is that Gallandwell High doesn't just let anyone with the capability to become a tamer join the club. Giving someone so young so much responsibility and power over another being is dangerous, it can warp their personality. Those who want to become a Tamer just to feel powerful, or to have the authority of life and death over another being are never accepted. In some cases, they are even thrown out of the school as unfit. That's the true reason that so few people manage to join the club as a Freshmen, everyone at Gallandwell High is a genius, but only a few of them had the proper attitude and sense of responsibility to be trusted at such a young age.

Finishing up their lunch, the Sam and John tidied up and continued their trek down the other side of the hill. About halfway down, John suddenly came to a halt his breathing ragged as a medium level monster appeared at the bottom of the slope. Beady red eyes stared up at him as it gathered it's strength and glared at the two of them.

"What the?" Sam asked in surprise, whipping out his gun-blade just in time to deflect a beam of energy sent flying from the single horned rabbit.

"I've been here nearly 5 years and this is the first time I've ever seen a mid-level monster in this area." Sam said, pointing the barrel at the monster and firing before it could evade. A bolt of yellow energy shot from the blade, and slammed through the rabbit's heart killing it instantly. Glancing back, he noticed that John had gone pale and was shaking a bit.

"You OK?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." John said shakily, taking deep breaths, "I just didn't expect to see that one again."

"What do you mean?"

Walking down the hill, John took a moment to examine the rabbit before he turned it to the side and showed a scar on it's head just below the horn. "When I was climbing the tree, this rabbit jumped at me trying to impale me with it's horn and got stuck in the tree trunk when it messed. I gave this scar to it when I stepped on it to dodge another attack."

"Well I'll be." Sam said, taking a closer look at it and shaking his head. "How did you know from all the way up there?"

"The eyes, I'd know those eyes anywhere." John said, his body shaking in relief as if a massive weight had been lifted off of him. Taking a deep breath, he looked around for a moment before saying. "I think your shot scared off all the low-level monsters nearby."

"Yeah," Sam said, sheepishly, "Damned thing surprised me. It's already getting late lets start making our way back."

It was just as they were about to step back into the forest that John saw it, a red snake maybe 2 feet long lunged and swallowed a single horned rabbit whole before making it's way back to a rock where it sunbathed in complete relaxation. Taking the binoculars back from Sam, he examined it closely before smiling in satisfaction. "That's it."

Taking his binocular's back, Sam looked at it closely before asking, "Why?"

"Fire Viper, it's a rare snake that can control fire. Elemental monsters all carry the ability to evolve to at least the low-tier boss rank, they have incredibly strong poison and are easy to care for. Perfect first monster, high potential, good strength, easy to care for."

"Also incredibly difficult to tame." Sam said, lowering his binoculars.

Taking out his phone, John activated a special app that allowed him to mark a location despite being in the danger zone, "I've got a plan, just need to gather some things before I come back tomorrow."

"Not going to try now?" Sam asked in surprise, but John shook his head instantly.

"Far too dangerous, without the proper bait and a contract it's pointless and it's almost dark. She'll be there tomorrow."

Turning, the two of them left the area behind as they rushed back to the school. It was starting to get dark as they walked out of the forest, and without a weapon there was no way in hell John was going to stay in there after dark.

As they stepped past the barrier, Sam turned to John and said, "Well, you've passed so far. We'll meet up here again tomorrow at 0700. Bring whatever you plan to use to tame the fire viper."

The two of them split up, John rushing to his dorm to grab the 8th volume of the Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters to double check his memories as Sam went to the massive zoo where the Tamer's Club had set up shop.

Walking into the club, Sam took a couple of turns and entered a conference room that was beginning to fill up with 15 other members. Not long later, Mr. Parker and Ms. Winslow walked in. Ms. Winslow is a high-ranking member of the Tamer's Guild and sponsored the club. Without her, there wouldn't be a Tamer's Club in Gallandwell. As she walked in, the students all stood and bowed to her politely but she just waved it off and said, "Sit! So, how'd it go?"

The 16 of them where the only ones not to fail their possible member outright. Out of the 150 people who took the test, more than half answered questions wrongly or incompletely and were disqualified. The rest were found to lack the necessary qualities to be entrusted with another's life so young. On average, less then 10 freshmen joined the club every year.

Looking around, Sam raised his hand and said, "My candidate passed, all he needs to do is tame his chosen monster and he'd be in."

Gasps shook the room as everyone turned to look at him, "Are you sure?" Ms. Winslow asked, "Normally it takes several days of testing to be accepted."

Sam nodded saying, "I've already sent you the relevant information to review, but in my opinion he's just what we're looking for."