Chapter 3: Slavery With Benefits

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Slavery With Benefits

"Beast Taming," the guide said, as the wheel creaked to a stop behind Jared. "It’s a simple concept. Lots of beasts. Lots of people who want to use them."

"That’s it?"

"That’s the short version. Do you want the long version?"

"Is the long version going to make me feel bad?"

"A little."

Jared exhaled. "Then yes. I’d rather feel bad now than surprised later."

"The world you’ve drawn runs on beast gems. When certain beasts are defeated, they don’t die. Instead, they turn into crystals. Small gems, bright and cool. Beast masters pick those gems up and use them to train, to fight, and to battle other beasts."

"So the beasts get captured."

"In a way."

"Like a trap."

"Not quite." The light flickered. "It isn’t random, Jared. The beasts choose it. When they’re beaten and cornered, they have one option left. They can die, or they can become a gem. Most choose the gem. At least that way they stay alive."

Jared stood still.

"They choose to be slaves," he said slowly.

"They choose to live. The slavery is what comes with it. It’s harsh. Some masters are kind. Most are not." The guide paused. "I won’t pretend it’s anything other than what it is."

Jared stared at the dark, jaw tight.

’That’s horrible.’

"That’s convenient for the masters," he said flatly. "Very neat. Win a fight, get a free servant."

"It’s the world you drew."

"I know."

"I’m not defending it."

"I know." Jared rubbed the back of his neck. His voice came out rough.

"I just wish somebody had asked the beasts first."

Jared sounded naive and the guardian took note.

The light stayed quiet for a moment.

’Don’t think about it too hard,’ he told himself. ’You’re going to be a master. That makes you part of the system. Unless you’re the kind who frees them. Which you’d better not be .’

He sighed, long and slow, and nodded.

"Okay," he said. "I get it. What do I do?"

"You’ll select. A dimension will open. You put your hand in and pull out a gem. Each gem holds a beast, and each beast will be described to you as you pick it."

"Just one?"

"Nor exactly"

"Not exactly?"

"Let’s start with one.Then you’d go as far as ten".

The darkness in front of Jared split. A thin vertical seam of light opened in the air, stretched wide, and revealed a space behind it that looked like the inside of a jewel box. Thousands of tiny glittering points floated in the dark, each in a different color, all of them drifting like dust in sunlight.

Jared stepped forward. He rolled up his sleeve, hesitated, and then plunged his hand through the opening.

It was warm in there. Small stones brushed against his fingers, humming faintly. One of them pressed itself into his palm almost eagerly.

He closed his fist and pulled it out.

A gem sat in his hand, about the size of a walnut, deep red with orange veins crawling through it like lava. Letters shimmered in the air above it.

[Ground Dragon (SSS Rank)]

[Elemental fire transmutation. Can shoot flames, then convert those flames into another element before or after they engulf a target. Water, ice, and more.]

Jared read it twice.

"So it sets things on fire and then changes the fire into something else," he said.

"Correct."

"Why would anybody need that?"

"Flexibility. Fire burns a target. Ice can freeze it. Water can drown it. You can adapt it to most situations."

"Or you could just pick one. Like fire. Fire’s good."

"Fire wouldn’t work on a fire elemental."

"Okay, fair." He turned the gem over. The shape of a heavy, armored beast flickered inside. "But it’s not like I’ll be fighting a fire beast anytime soon."

"You’d be surprised."

Jared pulled a face and dropped the gem into his pocket. ’Why do I even have a pocket? Where did that come from?’

He reached back into the dimension.

This time the gem was pale gold, so small it almost slipped between his fingers. A tiny shape moved inside it, stretching.

[Dungeon Cat (SSS Rank)]

[A small, upright cat. On contact with its master, time speeds up for him. On contact with others, time slows for them.]

Jared stared.

"It stands upright?It’s a cat. Cats don’t have preferred postures. They have naps."

"This one has standards."

Jared looked at the gem. The little cat inside blinked at him, slow and unimpressed, as though it had overheard.

"Wait," he said. "Does it speed up time for me, or does it slow down everyone else?"

"Both. Depending on where what you wish. "

"That’s insane. That’s one of the most broken things I’ve ever heard. A time cat?"

"A dungeon cat."

"Why dungeon?"

"I don’t make the names."

"Somebody did."

Jared grinned and pocketed the gem. He felt strangely lighter, as if the weight he’d been carrying since the hospital had shifted a few inches.

’Two gems. Two SSS Rank beasts. I’m not dreaming.’

He pushed his hand in again.

The third gem was gray and silver, humming with a low, steady rhythm that traveled up his arm and settled in his chest.

[PowerWolf (SSS Rank)]

[A strong, upright wolf, matching its master in height. Its howls grow stronger with each consecutive use, starting weak and building in intensity. Sound discharge and raw strength.]

Jared frowned.

"Starts weak?"

"Its first howl is modest."

"So in a fight, I summon a wolf, and it does a tiny howl."

"The first one. By the fifth, the walls are shaking."

"That’s a long warmup."

"It’s a build."

"It’s a build," Jared repeated. "These are supposed to be strong beasts."

He turned the gem over and looked at the wolf’s silhouette inside, head thrown back, mid howl. It looked proud, and a little smug. He shook his head and slid it into his pocket.

"You know, I’m starting to realize these beasts all have personalities."

"They’re alive, Jared."

His smile faded a little.

"Right," he said quietly. "I forgot."

He took a breath and reached into the dark again.

The fourth gem came out blue, heavier than the others. His hand dipped a little under its weight.

[PositionTurtle (SSS Rank)]

[A turtle the size of skyscrapers. Capable of teleportation and water beams, these beams possess regenerative and degenerative properties. ]

Jared blinked.

"A turtle the size of buildings that can teleport."

"Correct."

"Where does it teleport? I wonder what the-"

"Wherever you need it."

"That’s a lot of turtle." He squinted at the gem. "How does it even move? It’s a turtle. Turtles are slow."

"It doesn’t need to move. It just arrives."

"That’s cheating."

"That’s why it’s SSS Rank."

Jared chuckled. ’If I summon this thing in the middle of a city, I’m going to get yelled at by the whole city.’ He tucked the gem away with the others and tried not to think about parking fines.

The fifth gem was small and white. It looked more like a speck of light than a stone, floating a few inches above his palm without touching it.

[Starfire (SSS Rank)]

[A fairy-like beast, the size of an eye, resembling a small ball of light. Capable of firing blasts. Its maximum charge capacity equals that of an active sun.]

Jared went completely still.

"It’s so small and yet it can hold the power of a sun."

"At full charge."

"What happens if it charges all the way?"

"A sun happens."

"In my pocket?"

"Preferably outside your pocket."

"That’s not a beast. That’s a disaster with wings."

He stared at the tiny glowing speck. It drifted lazily, humming a soft tune he couldn’t quite catch. It was the smallest thing he’d ever seen, and it was, according to the guide one of the most dangerous.

’How do you not go blind? How do you point that thing at an enemy without frying everyone in a 10 kilometer radius?’

"The beast has some control," the guide said gently. "It knows the difference."

"You are a beast master, it’s your job to command your beasts."

"That’s reassuring. Slightly."

He closed his fist very carefully around the speck, the way you’d hold a baby bird, and slid it into his pocket. His hand was trembling.

Then he reached in for the sixth.

The gem was a dull, muddy green. It vibrated against his palm as if it were clearing its throat. Jared tilted his head.

[Godtoad (SSS Rank)]

[The only beast capable of speech. Can grant most wishes. Will assign its master a mission to complete before the wish is granted.]

Jared’s eyebrows climbed.

"It talks."

"It does."

"It grants wishes."

"Most of them."

"Most?"

"Anything reasonable. And a few unreasonable ones, depending on its mood."

"And I have to do a mission first."

"That’s the arrangement."

"So it’s a genie with a subscription fee."

"More like a toad with a quest line."

"That’s so much worse." Jared held the gem up to the light, squinting at the croaking shape inside. "It’s going to be so annoying."

"It’s going to be so useful." He later added.

"Can’t it be both?" The guide asked.

"It’s going to be both." Jared confirmed with a smile.

He pocketed it and stood very still for a moment, cradling the weight in his coat.

Six gems.

Six SSS Rank beasts.

He had come here as a hospital aid with a lung full of blood and a doctor’s trembling hand in his.

"That’s six," the guide said.

Then, before the guide could say anything else, he pushed his hand back through the opening.