Johan paced around the store like an anxious man while his wife was in labour. No, that didn’t make sense. It was more like a man whose child was undergoing open-heart surgery.

  Why am I thinking of useless situations?! He fought back tears as his brain tried to entertain him before the army of hunters outside turned him into a kebab.

  Well, not literally, but he needed those potions asap. To do that, he had to go back, an option he wanted even less.

  Fight the magik beast? No thanks. Johan knew how that ended.

  An F-Rank beast almost put him in the past tense; that horned rabbit was an E-Rank. Even though it looked like a kid’s toy, that thing hit as hard as a car. Johan had been hit by a car once. It didn’t kill him, but his right arm and shoulders weren’t in good shape.

  If he had any courage left at that point, the rabbit was an omnivore that ate anything that moved, named Gluttonous rabbits.

  Johan shivered as the line outside grew. Facing one E-Rank magik beast vs a horde of druggie hunters? The choice was an easy one.

  “It’s gotta be the rabbit.” He nodded sagely. “I can’t let it invade my only safe space!”

  It wasn’t a foolish move, just a short-term gain. Right now, he needed the potions he had left in Phantasia. If he could retrieve them, he had enough golden pears in his storage to last a week. The rabbit would run away by that time, he hoped. After it ate all the vegetables in the fields, there wouldn’t be much left to sustain it. They were called gluttonous for a reason.

  In truth, Johan had a way to deal with the rabbit for now. But he needed to make a few preparations before he tried.

  “Good morning, teacher.” Eugene walked in with his bright smile and perfect hair, truly the picture of youth. “What happened?”

  “I need some armour.” Johan grabbed the young man by the shoulders; this was his last hope because non-awakened weren’t allowed to purchase armour and weapons. “Can you get me some?”

  “…Sure.” Eugene tilted his head. He seemed a bit shaken but didn’t ask too many questions. “Do you need it right now?”

  “Yes.” Johan nodded so fast he saw three Eugenes. That didn’t sound so bad, actually.

  “The mall isn't open, but I can get you my set if that’s ok?”

  “Sure Sure, anything will do.” Johan made up his mind to increase Eugene’s wage.

  Eugene left for his house and came back in 30 minutes, covered in sweat, probably ran both ways. His hefty bag held a leather jerkin, steel shoulder guards, and a helm, along with leather gloves and greaves.

  “These can handle up to a D-Rank beasts’ bite.” Eugene pointed at the few marks on the supple black leather, made from a magik beast’s skin. The metal helm looked a bit dented, but Johan didn’t have the luxury.

  Unlike alchemists, blacksmiths numbered even lower. The fact that he could get these was already a blessing.

  “Thank you, put a board outside that we'll open in an hour.” Johan held the hefty jerkin and took in a deep breath.

  Eugene nodded and left after wiping his sweat. He was such a sweet boy. If only that rabbit were like him, Johan cursed. His legs turned to lead when he reached the basement and put on the equipment. Although top-heavy, Johan felt a tad bit safer.

  Not that wearing iron armour helps when you collide with a car, but he didn’t want to focus on the negatives.

  With a sharp exhale, he summoned the weapon in his left hand. Through the grills of the helm, the orangeness of the carrot seemed to shine, like a rare drop. But Johan had a box full of these. Holding that ten-kilogram box, he activated his Translocation skill. If he failed, he could retreat again.

  But the moment his feet landed on the dewy grass, Johan’s eyes met the rabbit’s. The little critter had stood in the same spot. That helped Johan more. With the potion tent behind him, Johan tossed the carrot box in the air.

  It only flew a few meters because of his lack of strength. The box crashed with a thump. But the carrot rain had the rabbit’s attention. It ignored Johan and leaped for the nearest carrot. Already nibbling at the carrot mid jump.

  Johan ran into the tent with all the swiftness he could find. The boxes of potions were still intact, much to his joy. He caught his breath and hefted the first box, full of watered-down healing potions.

  “Translocation!”

  His skill had a limit. He could only carry twenty kilograms at once. It also cost him 1 extra magik power. Along with the jerkin and helm, which came to nineteen kilos. Each potion weighed 100 grams, bottle included. And he had to move 300 super watered-down potions, 40 watered-down potions, and 100 basic magik recovery potions.

  That was 440 kilograms. About 23 translocations one way. Even if he drowned in magik recovery potions and drank till his stomach exploded three times, he wouldn’t succeed. So, why? Why was he working this hard?

  Was it really the fear of Hunters? What could they do to a Hunter Mart employee? Only a few knew that Johan made the potions. Cara, Lucas, Adrian, Morgan, and Eugene. No one else knew. No one would know who to go after if he stopped selling.

  He had enough money to live in comfort.

  So, why?

  Why was he putting himself in danger?

  The answer to that was rather simple. In the time Johan had been questioning his life choices, he had transported over 10 boxes of potions. Each time he came back, he peeked out of the tent to check on the rabbit.

  He saw the beast there for the first few times; it chewed away at the carrots with the small, but sharp teeth. Looking all cute and innocent. The rabbit might’ve eaten about ten or twenty carrots, but after that, it sat outside the field. As if waiting.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Johan would’ve used translocation that very instant if not for the blue window blinking in his face.

  [Quest 1.2: First Friend]

  [The Gluttonous Rabbit, Eunally, wants to become your friend.]

  [Accept/Decline]

  Reward: The Skill Tame.

  Failure: —

  Johan, of course, pressed accept as fast as humanly possible. If the blue screen was real, he might’ve poked a hole through it.

  Tame, the class-exclusive skill for Beast Tamers. Any beast under the skill’s effect would obey the skill caster without question. That meant it wouldn’t attack the skill caster either.

  Did he know why he could get that skill? No. Was he too glad to care about it? Yes.

  “Was the carrot that good?” Johan let out a hollow laugh as Eunally cooed in response.

  Name: Eunally

  Age: 5

  Class: —

  Skills: Dash Lv.6, Gathering Lv.7, Danger Sense Lv.8, Sharp Ears Lv.7.

  Magik: 30

  Eyeing the status that he could see after taming Eunally, Johan understood how lucky he was. He had read that tamers used different ways to tame beasts; food was one of the ways.

  His chest swelled with pride as he saw a potential market.

  The little furball had been rubbing itself against Johan’s leg this entire time. Was this called marking the territory?

  It would be a lie if he didn’t want to pick up the thing and bury his face in the white fluffy coat, but his mind held on by a thread of reason. In truth, it was the fear of the Hunters waiting in line.

  “I’ll be back in a bit, don’t go anywhere.” Johan tried the command through Tame, and to no one’s surprise, Eunally nodded, taking a seat outside the tent.

  With all the potions transferred, Johan saw Eugene bowing to the customers outside, apologizing for the delay. The poor boy was almost in tears as rough-looking hunters kept questioning him.

  Truly, Hunters were far more dangerous than magik beasts. That Johan understood.

  ***

  After the heated Hunters entered the open mart, late by an hour, they went their ways after getting their fix. Johan sighed behind the counter as the last of the customers went away. Thankfully, no one said anything after entering; they must have been in a hurry to reach somewhere.

  From what he understood, most low-level Hunters bought potions on the day of the raid or a day before. Most Hunters already had their favourite spots to buy from, areas close to their houses, near the rifts, places that give discounts, or near their guilds, if they had joined one.

  But that heatmap had started to change because of Johan. The Hunters that bothered to wait a few hours in line started to buy their other items from the Morgan Mart too. It was efficient and hassle-free, since the normal products scarcely differed from shop to shop.

  Johan felt a lot better that the mart’s profit went up, Eugene now handled putting items on shelves. He was a quick learner, memorized things, and got used to the duties much faster than when Johan started.

  Although he did have a bit of aversion to the aura of other Hunters, Johan saw slight improvement in that, too. All in all, the day had been great.

  After Eugene left, Johan entered Phantasia again. His setup looked clean and polished, with empty crates he brought from the mart and shiny glassware he just cleaned for the next brew.

  But another addition awaited him.

  “I thought it was going to be a tragedy.” Johan picked up Eunally, the five-kilo fluffball, and vented about his day. It indeed helped a lot.

  “Uoo.” Eunally tilted his head and blinked, a direct attack on Johan’s heart.

  He wanted to put his face in the fluff that fingers had sunk into, but the moment he stepped out, the thought died.

  Carrots sprawled all over the dirt, with the collapsed box he had thrown. Swallowing a groan, he took a new wooden box from the tent and started packing the poor carrots he had thrown so inconsiderately.

  “If only someone helped me with this.” He wiped each carrot with a cloth, cleaning the dirt before dropping it in the box. The task could’ve taken half an hour if Eunally hadn’t helped.

  The little thing was a blur, gathering the carrots in a neat pile near the box. Looking at him, the beady eyes asked Did I do well?

  “You did very well.” Johan scratched Eunally behind the ears and gave him a few carrots as a reward. It was at that moment that he caught himself.

  Did they just communicate?

  “Eunally, do you understand me?” Johan’s eager eyes moved to the rabbit.

  The rabbit turned around, blinked once, and nodded its chubby face.

  “…” Johan stood rooted, his eyes sweeping over the farm around him.

  Still small in size, but he had planted some vegetables around. It took him hours to harvest it himself.

  But what if Eunally could do it for him?

  “Eunally, gather the vegetables in the farm.” Hearing his command, the rabbit stepped into the farm for the first time.

  At least that’s what Johan presumed, seeing the small piles of potatoes, tomatoes, spring onions, carrots, radishes, and sweet potatoes. In mere 10 minutes, the rabbit stood in front of him, his eyes shining with the question Did I do well?

  “You did so well!” Holding the E-Rank Magik beast in his arms, he twirled around. Like a father watching his child do their first chore.

  Johan gave three vegetables from each pile to Eunally and stored the rest in the tent. He only kept a kilo of each vegetable in his storage. He had to use the Golden Pears right after harvest. Nefel’s blessing, Sherry leaves, and Ruby berries had long shelf lives.

  In truth, the storage had little use at the moment. Noticing the piles of vegetables, Johan decided that he had grown enough for the time being. Most of them were grown only so he could test different combinations of his skills.

  Like what would happen if he only used growth acceleration? What if he added the magik water before and then the growth acceleration? What if he only used the magik water and let it grow on its own? He had noted the cases in a thick notebook.

  Each vegetable had its own quirks; potatoes and sweet potatoes didn’t like growth acceleration. The new Bell peppers had problems with the magik water. But the tomatoes loved it. Carrots and radishes liked both the magik water and growth acceleration. It differed from case to case in vegetables.

  On the potion ingredient side, ruby berries liked twice as much magik water as others. Golden Pear didn’t like growth acceleration, magik water didn’t affect them. Sherry leaves were the biggest beneficiary of growth acceleration by far, growing large and fuller if used with magik water. And Nefel’s blessing was fine with anything; it would grow no matter what he did.

  Johan eyed the Golden Pear sapling he had planted. It had grown as high as him now. The white branches held the fresh leaves, soaking in all the sunlight.

  He spotted Eunally running southward, holding a few carrots in his mouth. The reward pile he had given the rabbit had vanished.

  “Is he stockpiling it? How cute.” Johan chuckled.

  Feeling the crumbly earth below his feet, he looked at the azure sky and drew in a deep breath. As the fresh air filled his lungs, the cloudy mind started to clear.

  He did something dumb today. The same mistake he made during the classless rift. As urgent as it was, he shouldn’t have rushed into Phantasia like that. Did he trust himself to use his skill that fast?

  Johan sighed. His eyes hurt, and even his head felt a little light. Maybe it would’ve been safer if he hadn’t taken the risk. But if he didn’t, nothing would change. He’d have to return to that silent room. He didn’t want to do that. Above all, if he hadn’t come here, he wouldn’t have known he could tame beasts. That alone was worth it.

  “I should rest a little after brewing the potions.” Eyes set on the future profit, Johan’s skipping steps sent him back to the tent.

  That night, he got a full eight hours of sleep, as Thomas the Tank Engine suggested. However, when he saw the herd in front of the mart the following morning, Johan wondered if he had gone mad.

  “Teacher…” Panicked and hiding under the hood of his jacket, Eugene walked into the mart under flashes of cameras. “There are reporters outside.”

  The trouble had multiplied, and Johan had no idea why.

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