The First Legendary Beast Master novel Chapter 620

Chapter 620 Quest Complete

"What is wrong with me? I swear I'm a good partner." One of the two men who were left out of the selection pleaded with the little Lightning Cerro in front of him.

The beast stole the offered snack from him and ran away victorious.

Karl discretely sniffed to see if there was something he was missing. It was buried under soap and alcohol-based sanitizer, but there was something rancid, like the worst possible combination of body odour and rotting fruit. He couldn't pin down what it was, but there was something wrong with him.

When Karl focused on Soul Sight, it was immediately evident. The normal light blue glow was tattered and corrupted, profoundly wrong.

The other one was similar, but not in the same way. Their soul was just wrong, and gave Karl a feeling of evil, like someone who takes pleasure in bullying others. It wasn't something that he could point at and say "This is what is wrong" but it was definitely there, and the herd could sense it as well.

But the cadets had already used their one token, and there would be no second chances. At least not with Quest item assistance.

Whether those two could convince a beast to bond with them in the future was unknown. But now that they knew the trick, the researchers should be able to find at least a few more successful Rangers among their ranks.

The Inquisitor turned to Karl for answers, but he didn't want to say it out loud. "I will explain privately later. I think that this Quest should be nearly complete."

The word quest told the Inquisitor all he needed to know about why this should be a private conversation. He had thought that the tokens Karl had taken out were related to a skill that he had. But if they were from the System, that changed things immensely.

Karl looked over the young Elites. The rest of them appeared to be having better luck with their bonded partners, and only the one was in serious trouble.

"That's not bad. Sixty percent success rate." Karl noted as the clerics worked to save the man in an induced coma.

"Sixty percent among trainees who weren't able to gain a class with the serum, but showed signs of compatibility with magic." The Inquisitor added.

"Did you try the system linked item trick already?" Karl replied.

The Inquisitor nodded. "We did, with no luck on this batch. The real question is how many might have succeeded without the tokens."

Karl considered it. "I would say three. Three of them struck me as compatible with the technique from the start. The two successes among the Moor Cats, and one with the Cerro herd."

"Do you think that these last two might be able to activate a system interface with an appropriate skill book?" The Inquisitor suggested.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I don't think that everyone was ever able to access the system, and we've already sorted these by their ability to use mana. Among the general population, the chances will be much lower."

It was beginning to sink in that while they were trained as Special Forces soldiers, the two who were not deemed suitable by a Cerro and didn't try with a Moor Cat would have to be transferred from this unit.

But the leadership was not concerned with losing a few research volunteers. If they had six healthy test subjects in the unit to attempt to train up with their magical beasts, that meant that they could begin working on methods to increase growth speed now for when they found a way to make the projects applicable on a larger scale.

Karl was playing with the baby Cerro group while the students and scientists began to work, recording data and getting responses from the successful cadets.

Then one of the hatchlings bumped Karl's hand, nuzzling at his ring, then looking at a student researcher with her hair dyed the same gold as Cerro eyes.

"Oh? You want to give a gift to your sweetheart?" Karl asked the little beast.

The Cerro nodded happily, so Karl took an Awakened Rank ring from the spare trash in his storage and hung it over the little beast's nose horn.

The student laughed and petted his head as he came strutting over, then reluctantly put on the ring at his repeated insistence.

Then the Cerro vanished.

"Hey! What are you doing now? I thought you only had quest items for ten." The Inquisitor demanded.

"I did. I actually just gave the Cerro a ring of minor agility as an engagement ring for his beloved handler. The rest was unexpected, but I think that she awakened a class as well."