(V) The Oath

"You need to learn more restraint, young man!!" Sasha scolded, wagging her finger in Leon's face; Mikaru stood behind him, hanging his head in defeat.

"There was nothing to worry about." He said, staring at her blankly, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head, "I wasn't lost, taken, or hurt. Everything was fine."

"This time!!!" She exclaimed, grabbing both of the boy's ears as they winced in pain, yelping repeatedly as she dragged them to his room, "You both will be stuck in here until I have determined you've learned your lesson."

"But…" Mikaru protested, staring at her tearfully, asking, "What did I do?"

"As his attendant and bodyguard, you immediately failed to keep him away from pointless danger." She replied, scolding him before shutting the door and locking the two in.

"Sheesh!" Leon sighed, walking over to his bed and falling onto his back as he began laughing.

"What's so funny?" The older boy asked, walking over and looking down at the young lord.

"I knew she was going to overreact, but this blew even my wildest ideas out of the water." He said, sitting up and pointing behind the blind, "There's a door behind there, go take a bath. You can find your new uniform back there as well."

"Yes, sire." Mikaru said, bowing, and quickly departed.

Alone, Leon accessed his inventory and pulled out the black tome, purple crystal, and vial of silver liquid. Utilizing his [Inspect] ability, he was shocked.

[Battle Soul of the Beast Master]

[Tier: S]

[The crystal contains the Battle Soul of the Beast Master: Zero Qishong, former Rank 1 Player in The World Online. Absorb to acquire all previously learned abilities.]

[Bestiary of the Forbidden Beast Mage]

[Tier: S]

[A legendary tome created by the first Magical Beast Mage. The skillbook contains the knowledge to learn Beast Artes from monsters. In addition, it serves as a record of the species of magical beasts observed by the User.]

[Master's Essence]

[Tier: S]

[A vial of unknown origin or substance. It emits a faint light, and the mysterious silver liquid rotates autonomously.]

Suddenly, a quest notification appeared before Leon, startling him.

[Quest Received: A New Master]

[Tier: S]

[Requirements: Reach Level 99]

[Description: Unearth the mystery of the vial.]

Leon dismissed the quest notification and picked up the skillbook, opening it as another notification appeared before him.

[Memorize Skillbook? Yes|No]

He tapped 'Yes' as the skillbook began glowing brightly before it vanished from his hands. A new system menu tab titled 'Bestiary' appeared.

He accessed it, and two points of interest immediately jumped out at him. First, there were thousands of unidentified monsters, each with various abilities that he needed to observe directly to learn.

Secondly, there were restrictive charges that he needed in order to assign said Beast Artes and use them himself. Unlike Martial Artes that used Stamina or Spiritual Artes that required Mana, they required no particular resource.

Unfortunately, he had no Beast Artes to equip, so he simply dismissed the window and picked up the crystal, prompting yet another window notification to appear.

[Absorb Battle Soul of the Beast Master? Yes|No]

Leon tapped on the 'Yes' icon once more, eager to absorb the abilities of his past character. He prayed he would receive the companions he had spent many years developing.

The crystal glowed brightly before it melted into a viscous liquid and flowed into his chest; as the last droplet vanished, an error message appeared before him:

[ERROR!!]

[ERROR!!]

[Selected Class is restricted to players only. Unable to overwrite Class. Creating Secondary Class…]

[Secondary Class established!]

[Beast Master Class Received!]

[175 Martial Artes learned!]

[30 Spiritual Artes learned!]

[Selected Secondary Class exceeds Primary Class, restricting Beast Master to the same level.]

[203 Martial Artes Restricted!]

[29 Spiritual Artes Restricted!]

[10 Available Points Received]

Leon's eyes grew dizzy from the massive display of windows before him. He took a moment to carefully consider each one before dismissing them individually.

He accessed the status and noticed his new secondary Class: Level 1(99) Beast Master, but he was still confused as he had never heard of a secondary class before.

He thought about applying his available points but decided to save them for when he actually needed them and picked up the vial, but no window appeared.

He tried to remove the cork on the vial, but no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't budge, so he returned it to his inventory.

He was reviewing his massive influx of abilities when Mikaru returned to the room wearing his navy blue suit, white shirt with matching tie, black belt, and black pants.

His markings were muted before, but now they appeared vibrantly against his freshly cleaned, ashen skin. His black hair was neatly laid back and pulled into a ponytail with a small navy blue ribbon tied around the tip.

"Mikaru, why are you in this city?" Leon asked, leaning back in the chair as he slung his arm over the back, turning to face him, "You're not a resident, right?"

"No…" The Parthrak replied as he approached, staring at the ground as he explained, "I was part of a mercenary group, but most of the members died after our leader accepted a contract to help defend the city…

With nearly everyone dead, the group was dissolved." He sighed, "I tried to leave the city... many times but could never make it far, and something would always happen that forced me to return."

"Did you try to join other mercenary groups?" Leon asked, thinking with his capabilities, he must have been capable enough to hold his own ground.

"It wasn't an option as there isn't a place for a Parthrak as most people don't believe we're trustworthy." Mikaru replied, "I had been part of that group since I was a small kid and until they dissolved, I never experienced the discrimination of my people…"

"I'm sorry to hear that…" He stood up and placed his hand on Mikaru's shoulder, "If I have anything to say about it, you will never experience it again."

"Thank you, milord." He smiled, "But I doubt that'll be a promise you can keep."

"I swear to you, on my honor as a Noble." Leon declared, slamming his fist against his chest as he glared intensely at him, "I will develop Othniel Levavot to become a place free from the discrimination against Parthrak and any other race."

"If you speak the truth…" Mikaru said with some hesitation, unsure if he believed the words, but he smiled and placed his hands on the young lord's shoulder, "Then I look forward to the day."

"Believe it!" He said, grinning wide, before he clapped his hands together loudly and turned around, "Now, let's find a way to get over to the barracks and see what you got!"