Flash

The days in Lugina were starting to fall into a new rhythm. Aunt Cassie had found work as a housemaid, while Uncle Roger was facing the harsh realities of job hunting.

His job interview wasn't going well, with the interviewer criticizing his lack of professional experience and brushing aside his hard-earned knowledge as insufficient.

That day was also a big day for Colin. It was her first day at middle school, and Eratz was walking her there.

She clung tightly to his arm, though she tried her best to hide the nervousness in her hands.

Her small fire spirit floating around her like a protective flame, more docile, and more in tune with Colin's emotions.

The morning sun bathed the middle school in golden light, making its façade shine.

As Colin stepped through the gates, her heart pounded with anxiety but a little excitation.

The school's main building, with its tall columns and large windows was alive with students arriving for their first day.

The courtyard was filled with children chatting and laughing, their voices creating lively sounds. Groups of girls in neat uniforms stood in groups, some twirling with new backpacks, while boys in varying emotions showed off their latest gadgets or chatted animatedly.

"Remember, Colin," Eratz said softly, catching her hand for a moment. "Just be yourself. You've got this."

"But what if they don't like me? What if I'm all alone?"

"Colin, you're never alone, look around you." He reached out, gently placing his hand on the fire spirit that hovered by her side. "You've got me with you.Whenever you see this little guy, remember that I'm always here, cheering you on."

Colin's lips curled into a small, but genuine smile.

"Really?"

Eratz grinned and ruffled her hair.

"I'm not a liar, and it's okay to be a little scared. Everyone feels like that on their first day, even I did. Now, show them what you're made of, You're my little monster."

Colin laughed softly, her anxiety diminished.

"Thanks, Eratz," she said, her voice barely audible over the noise.

She walked forward, her steps more confident as the fire spirit danced around her, its warm glowing a comforting presence.

She joined the throng of students, her nervousness getting replaced by a budding excitement, and she threw a final glance over her shoulder.

Eratz waved at her, and she waved back before stepping into the building, her silhouette disappearing into the sea of new faces.

After leaving Colin at the school, Eratz went to his part time job and jumped onto his bike.

His job wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was a way to make some quick cash. Delivering newspapers across the city gave him a chance to explore Lugina, but more importantly, to find the locations of the Beast Tamers Arenas.

To do his delivery quickly, he used his beasts to cover vast areas in no time, their speed and strength allowing him to finish his route well before noon.

It left him with extra time, and that was perfect for another of his routines.

At this hour, the square where he had his first battle against the delinquents was alive with excitement, like a public basketball court, but instead of basketballs, there were beasts of all shapes and sizes.

The crowd buzzed with energy. Teenagers with wild grins, flexing their new skills, their beasts at their sides.

Girls in stylish outfits with confident smirks leaned against the railings, their beasts lounging nearby. Boys strutted around, showing off, their shining accessories clinging to their outfits as they talked up their latest victories.

It was the kind of place where hormones ran high, and everyone was looking to prove themselves.

In the middle of the square, a particularly intense battle was underway. A beast master with a fire tiger, its fur blazing, was on a winning streak.

The crowd roared with as the tiger leapt and roared. The energy was contagious, and everyone was swept up in the fervor.

Ryder, seated in the stands, watched with admiration. His gaze was focused and intense, but he seemed relaxed, leaning casually on the railing.

Next to him sat a striking blonde woman with an air neglected and nonchalant.

She was casually dressed, her attitude calm as she observed the battles with an amused expression.

"That's the third in a row, he's really amazing!," Ryder said, glancing at her with a grin, "How are you so calm?! Don't you want to try a few duels too?"

She chuckled, her eyes scanning the square.

"Against kiddos? Nah, it's more fun watching you fidget. You're like a kid waiting for his turn in a candy store. Come on, let's go to the arcades."

Ryder rolled his eyes.

"You said you would do what I want if I stopped fighting before the selection."

She nudged Ryder with a teasing smile.

"I just wanted to stop an idiot, You know you're not supposed to be fighting yet, right?"

Ryder groaned, leaning back.

"I'm not fighting. I'm watching... and besides, I haven't even used my main team yet... Does it count if I go with the weakest?"

The woman turned her gaze from the battle to him, a slow smile tugging at her lips.

"You're always looking for the thrill of the underdog fight, aren't you? But that's not how a real beast master thinks."

"Come on, you know I can handle stronger opponents with weaker monsters. It's about strategy, not brute force." Ryder huffed.

She chuckled softly and shook her head. "It's not just about picking the weaker or stronger beast, Ryder. A good beast master naturally elevates the power of their creatures. The bond between them makes the monsters stronger."

She looked the battleground, where the young man with a fire tiger was winning yet another match.

His beast's fur burned brightly, with heavy and explosive moves it dispatched its latest opponent.

The crowd roared with approval, but the woman's attention wasn't on the tiger. It was on the master.

"See him?" she said, pointing subtly. "That's not just brute strength. Watch the way his aura spreads."

Ryder squinted, trying to understand what she meant. The woman's gaze sharpened, and her eyes seemed to glimmer as if she could see something deeper, something invisible to others.

"It's not just his beast that's powerful," she explained. "It's him. His aura connects with his tiger and his other six monsters, binding them all together. The energy he gives off, it flows into his beasts, and that's why they're strong. They fight as extensions of him. You can see it in the way his aura wraps around them. A good master makes a good monster, simple."

Ryder leaned back in his seat, watching more closely but still unable to see anything.

"So basically... he keeps winning because he's strong? Not his monsters?"

"Exactly," she said with a knowing smile. "He has seven powerful beasts, not because he trains them in isolation but because his strength as a beast master amplifies their abilities. They grow stronger because he grows stronger. And that's why he keeps dominating the field."

Ryder slumped a little, deflated.

"So what, I'm supposed to just stick with my strongest monsters all the time? That's not how I was seeing things..."

The woman glanced at him, a little teasing glint in her eye.

"You could, but the real trick is to build your connection with all of your beasts. it's about making every monster you have unstoppable."

Ryder sighed but smiled slightly. "Alright, alright. Guess I've got some work to do."

"Yeah. Can we go now?"

"Oh Look who just showed up."

Eratz stepped into the square. Immediately, heads turned. The group of teenagers closest to the entrance was the first to greet him.

One of them, a tall guy with a rough voice, called out.

"Yo, Eratz! You here to show off again?" He laughed, extending a hand for a quick fist bump, which Eratz returned with a smirk.

A girl clapped Eratz on the shoulder, grinning.

"You going for that 3v3 today? The new guy's been tearing it up with that fire tiger, wanna teach him how we greet people around here?"

"Oh? Is it again like the 4 others from last week?"

Further along, a group of girls had already spotted him. They whispered amongst themselves before one of them, a tall, slender girl with short brown hair and a confident stance, stepped forward.

"Eratz," she said with a smile, her voice playful. "It's been a while. Thought you forgot about us here."

He gave her a nod, his lips quirking up at the corners.

"Got a new part time job, it takes longer than I expected, but I can throw some punches before four."

She laughed, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"You should totally push your watch to the night, it's funnier when no one can see. Hey, let's team up, this guy is getting too confident."

He started moving toward the battle grounds. More people greeted him as he passed

"That's the guy I was talking about," Ryder said, watching Eratz like a child watching his hero. "He's a phenom above the rest."

The woman tilted her head, intrigued.

"Oh? You don't usually compliment others. Must be something special about him."

"You'll see."

The woman's eyes followed Eratz as he walked into the battlefield with his 2 partners. From the look of it, it was going to be a 3v3.

Eratz's eyes scanned his opponent, his eyes landing on the fire tiger tamer, who was already grinning.

"The Flash Eratz? Nice to meet you, ready to step up?" the boy called out, his voice loud and proud.

Eratz stepped forward, a casual smile on the lips.

"Yeah, ready to know why they call me the Flash?"

As Eratz's eyes changed, the casual calm that had carried him through the arena transformed into something different.

The air grew dense, like the calm before a violent storm. The energy in the arena didn't just change, it darkened.

People continued chatting, unaware, but the woman, sitting next to Ryder, suddenly straightened. She felt it immediately.

Her eyes widened as she focused on Eratz. The aura surrounding him wasn't just powerful; it was suffocating. Like an invisible weight pressing down on everything, spreading slowly, deliberately, enveloping the entire arena like a living being.

It was raw, wild, and terrifying. It wasn't like the other beast masters she'd seen today, whose auras blended smoothly with their beasts, this was different like the presence of an apex predator.

The beasts, even those still in the stands, shifted uneasily, sensing the energy.

"... What the hell is that?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

The energy seemed to tremble with a life of its own, twisting and turning like a thousand creatures waiting to strike.

Ryder noticed her sudden stillness.

"You alright?"

She barely registered his question. Her mind was racing. How could a boy this young possess such a terrifying force?

This wasn't the aura of a regular beast master.

The moment the battle began, the fire tiger tamer raised his hand, summoning a blazing barrier around himself and his beast.

The crowd leaned in, expecting a show of strength. The tiger roared behind its protective wall of fire, standing on its lower paws, its flames crackling. The tamer smirked, and then, Eratz's eyes flashed.

Before anyone could blink, he moved, his figure disappearing in a flash. A sudden gust of wind swept through the arena, and then, in the next heartbeat, Eratz was already within the barrier, his bare hand raised in a swift, slashing motion.

A sharp, chilling sound filled the air as Eratz struck the fire tiger's side with a single powerful blow. The beast yelped in surprise, its massive body spinning uncontrollably through the air, before crashing into the ground with a dull thud, completely knocked out, its flames sputtering out.

Then the crowd exploded. Cheers erupted from every corner of the arena, the noise deafening as people jumped to their feet. It was chaos, pure chaos.

Eratz stood tall, his red eyes glowing ominously in the fading sunlight. He glanced over at the tamer, whose confident expression had morphed into one of shock and disbelief. The boy's mouth opened

"Next."

"... Uh?"

"Show me your next monster."

"I… that… but that was my ace…" he murmured, his voice shaky, almost disbelieving.

Eratz raised an eyebrow.

"Then you'd better bring out something else, fast."

Without waiting, he flicked his wrist, and a large, shadowy figure materialized beside him.

The creature that emerged from the shadows was a grotesque mix of sinewy limbs and sharp, toxic claws. Its form was shrouded in a faint green mist, its eyes glowing with a deadly, venomous gleam. The air around it thickened with a stench as it exhaled, spreading a toxic wind across the battlefield.

The fire tiger's tamer staggered backward as the green mist enveloped his teammates' beasts. The creatures froze, their movements suddenly sluggish and disoriented.

The toxic air jammed their instincts, making them stumble, unable to react to the battle unfolding before them.

Eratz's teammates exchanged impressed looks.

"Kick his ass, Eratz! Show him what a real beast master can do!"

The other girl laughed.

"Yeah, don't go easy on him. Make it hurt a little!"

The crowd went wild, cheering and chanting Eratz's name, while the tamer's friends helped him off the battleground, defeated.

In the stands, Ryder leaped to his feet, his voice rising above the chaos.

"That's it, Eratz! Show them what you've got!"

Next to him, the teacher sat in stunned silence, her eyes wide as she watched the battle.

She shook her head slowly, murmuring under her breath.

"Seriously… there was someone like that here?"