Alas, ignoring Volix’s warning turned out to be impossible. It resonated strongly enough with Scott’s advice to be ignored, and that led back to the same issue: hiding Volca’s mark to temper my body with Volix’s Blazing Gates.

  That was how I ended up back in the Beast Temple, passing through the main hall, eyes shifting from the screens displaying video clips of various beasts as well as holographic lists of beasts that could be purchased.

  As macabre as it was to sell beasts, I did not hate the Pagoda for what they did. If there were something Ruler Kazriel did well, it had to be the Pagoda and their Beast Temples. The pricing of beasts was disastrous for less fortunate families, but my short yet pleasant time working in the Sanctuary showed just how heavily the Pagoda invested in the Temples and Sanctuary; they treated the beasts well and ensured they had everything they needed. And that cost money. A lot of it.

  Putting aside the costs, the Pagoda did not give anyone a beast to bind just because they had the financial means. They did a background check, tested the Blessed’s World, took precautions against incompatibility, and did not hesitate to reject the Blessed regardless of their backing and power if they did not fit the criteria.

  That was something I supported wholeheartedly, and it was a big part of why I couldn’t get myself to hate Ruler Kazriel. Sure, I disliked him, but was it really possible for a thoroughly rotten person to build something like the Beast Pagoda? I didn’t think so.

  Walking past groups of cadets surrounding the Beast Temple’s workers, I listened to their demands and questions, hints of impatience and desperation lingering in their voices. The cadets were a little late to seek the Beast Temple to search and acquire suitable beasts to bind, but so was I.

  It was technically still night, though the new day had long since started, yet cadets crowded the poor staff. Fortunately, I didn’t have to fight for their attention. I nodded when I saw a familiar face, a faint smile tugging at my lips when the staff looked back pleadingly, but there was nothing I could do about the cadets. Turning away, my path led to the staircase at the end of the hall. Flashing my ID, my entrance was permitted, and I descended the stairs.

  It took a while to reach the Sanctuary–something I hated when I worked here–but now it was pleasant. The seemingly eternal staircase provided the time needed to think about my options. A handful of beasts flashed before my mind. Each was strong, carrying enough potential to evolve into a being of considerable strength. Their traits were useful, one better than the other, yet none was perfect.

  Capturing beasts with the potential to reach the Unblemished Rank was possible but difficult. Doing so with a Guardian beast? Adult Guardian beasts would much rather die than be captured in most scenarios. Exceptions existed but most of them surrendered only to those stronger than them. That was also why so few Master Blessed existed. Everyone could advance to the Expert Rank given time and effort. The financial burden may be heavy in certain cases, but it was possible nonetheless.

  Becoming a Master was on a different level, which was also why the Scions were so terrifying. Even if they were not my peers, they were only a few years older, and had already overwhelmed a Guardian beast. Though their teachers probably helped them, that didn’t make it any less impressive.

  One way or another, I did not plan to bind one of the rare Guardian beasts seeking asylum in the Sanctuary. My target wasn’t one of the Unblemished beasts either. As close as I’d gotten to some of them in my time in the Sanctuary, which would probably make it relatively easy to convince them to join me, their traits didn’t fit my needs.

  Reaching the bottom of the staircase, I noticed dozens of people. Most were Blessed I was more-or-less familiar with. Contrary to our first meeting, they were no longer of a higher Rank than I was. My perception stretched outward in a paper-thin trail of ether almost instinctively, verifying the ether signatures and power levels of everyone present.

  There was no point to it since there was no combatant in this area of the underground hall, but my body reacted on its own anyway. The Blessed, dressed in similar protective attire, took care of rows upon rows of incubators and related equipment. They tended to the incubating beast eggs with motherly care, just like I did several months ago, and their care for detail and gentleness brought a smile to my lips.

  Several workers greeted me with smiles, recognition flashing in their eyes. Some went as far as to stop to wave at me, but they were too busy to stop for a quick chat. As much as I would have loved to have one more talk with the people I worked with, I was drawn to the massive gates hiding the beauty of the Sanctuary. And before it stood a few dozen cadets with the Grandmasters guarding the Sanctuary.

  Studying their faces, I recognized only a handful, each of them in the top 50 of the Grand Camp’s finale ranking.

  “The Top 50 are allowed to enter the Sanctuary. They’re given the opportunity to form a connection with the Sanctuary beasts, hoping one of them will be attracted by their Worlds.” A young man–Mathias, one of the caregivers I worked a lot with–explained as he approached me, flashing a smug smile. “Either way. How are you doing, Adam? Are you here to join us now that the Grand Camp’s ending? Or…”

  “Sorry Mat, but I’m here to search for a suitable beast.” I shrugged lightly, “My parents are waiting back in the Bastion. They’d hunt me until the end of Razarn if I stayed here.”

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  Mathias let out a light laugh, “That would be fun to see, but I doubt they would do anything to harm you. After everything you told us about your parents, I cannot imagine them harming a fly.”

  That was a good point. Then again, Mom could be fierce when she wanted to.

  “What beast are you looking for? I don’t know your final ranking, but I’m sure you could enter the Sanctuary as well and snatch some of the nastier beasts. Actually, that’d be great–take some of those nasty buggers with you when you leave. Lighten our burden, Adam.” He snickered at the last bit, shifting to a more serious tone a few moments later. “But, seriously, let me help you find a suitable beast. I’m sure we can find something suitable for you.”

  Help was always appreciated. The Grand Camp’s Beast Temple was massive. It was superior to the other Bastions’, with hundreds of powerful beasts being raised for the strongest of mankind’s younger generation. The situation was similar with the Sanctuary, though I wasn’t planning to go in there.

  Many cadets would visit the Beast Temple to spend their coins before the Camp Coins would lose all their value, which was why I was only one of many. Only a few would pay attention to me here, and I did not want that to change by entering the Sanctuary.

  “I’d appreciate your help, but I think Madame Bolouis is searching for you.” I motioned to a chubby, middle-aged woman behind Mathias. He spun around, smile fading.

  “Oh shit.” He fidgeted with his watch, conjuring several screens, and cursed softly. “I gotta go. Sorry about that.”

  “No problem. See you.” I waved as the caregiver disappeared, leaving me alone–at last.

  He is a kind soul. A young Spirit-touched compared to the others. Why do you not like him?

  Volix’s voice rang in my head.

  It’s not that I don’t like him. He’s a good guy, but I want to keep a low profile, and Mat talks too much.

  If possible, I’d leave the Beast Temple with a new Soulkin without telling anyone about it. Since that was not possible, I had to stay away from as much attention as possible. Being seen was no problem, but it would be best to keep the number of people knowing about my fourth Soulkin low.

  The Child of Heaven is hiding. What a disgrace.

  “Either you help me, or you stay silent,” I hissed. There was no time for that nonsense.

  The Elemental Phoenix huffed and focused back on devouring the sacred flame.

  Finally alone, I walked away from the Sanctuary gates and the Top 50 cadets as they entered one by one. Accessing the Beast Pagoda network with the permissions Ruler Kazriel granted me a long time ago, I checked the Grand Camp Temple’s catalogue. It was more expensive than the regular catalogue, as it contained beasts that were no longer offered to Blessed due to various reasons.

  Some reasons made sense, such as a beast’s fear of confinement, but others were as simple as old age or lack of ambition. I was not particularly concerned about those issues.

  Searching the catalogue for the better part of an hour, I marked a few entries. They might come in handy if I couldn’t find something else, yet nothing seemed perfect.

  How about illusions? Or the manipulation of the mind?

  One beast that came to my mind was the Horror Tessar. The beast egg from the abyssal plane was still in the incubator. It was being preserved, waiting for a Blessed with a suitable World to be bound to it, but that was rather difficult. Abyssal Worlds were incredibly rare.

  With a focus on mind-controlling traits and the means to unlock a decently powerful trait revolving around illusions, I could conceal Volca’s mark easily–from ordinary people. Grandmasters would notice the illusion, forget about Rulers. Even Masters with highly empowered minds could probably sense something odd.

  However, as troublesome as illusions could be, thinking about the Horror Tessar pushed my thoughts in a different direction.

  My mind settled on something else. It was so obvious that my stupidly overthinking brain didn’t even think about it: stealth. Camouflage, to be precise.

  I don’t need overpowered traits to conceal anything. A passive, a beast’s natural ability, is more than enough.

  A beast with only one trait came to my mind, and I flipped through the catalogue to find several entries.

  “The young ones have already been selected. That’s fucked up–” I grumbled, reading the report, my brows scrunched until my attention landed on a small section. “There’s an old one.”

  It took a lot of willpower not to shout out loud. Excitement filled my veins, and it only spread further as I read more of the beast’s entry.

  [Mirage Serpent.

  Evolved beast – Potential used up.

  –Used for breeding due to upgraded racial ability until better specimens were born.

  Dormant traits, Walking Dunes, Oasis Recovery, and Flowing Ether could not be unlocked.

  Existing evolution strains cannot be utilized due to a severe lack of potential and evolvable traits.

  Final remark: The beast is hibernating most of the day, and stopped procreating four years ago. It has no ambition.]

  The entry had some more details, but they didn’t concern me. I had worked with Mirage Serpents once, and they’d all been filled with ambition. They were some of the few beasts with the potential to advance in several directions, each trait depicting one path. That, however, was not important to me either. The upgraded racial ability, however, certainly was.

  Mirage Serpents could naturally change the color of their scales to fit the environment, resembling a chameleon’s ability to camouflage itself. An active part of the natural ability existed–the means to absorb, disperse, and redirect all kinds of light sources. Activating Mirages at full power could create dazzling lights replicating ether-based flashbangs as long as enough light was absorbed, or bending light around an object or person in an attempt to attain true invisibility.

  It was a little bit more complicated than that, but Mirage was good enough to make Volca’s mark disappear. All I needed was a decently strong bond with the old evolved beast.

  How difficult could that be?