Chapter 3: The Ember Class Reward, Hidden Evolution Path

The spirits of all living things spread out like ink strokes on a scroll—vivid, graceful, unfolding.

Adrian saw a common butterfly, and behind it stood a dozen brilliant forms. He saw a carp, and behind it soared a dragon. He saw a frail blade of grass, and behind it rose a towering tree.

The images seemed distant and blurry, but when he focused, they became impossibly clear.

Light and shadow flowed. Only a moment passed.

Then a panel appeared before his eyes—one he had never seen before.

[Adrian Vale]

Class: One-Star, Tier-Two Beast Tamer

Spirit: 12/100

Subclass: None

Contracted Beasts: None

Talents: Living Affinity (A), Eye of All Spirits (S+)

Living Affinity (LV1): Befriend all beasts possessing a “spirit.” Sense their emotions. Hear the voices and wishes within their hearts.

Eye of All Spirits (LV1): See the panels of all living beings. Explore the deepest secrets of their lives. See the compatibility of different evolution paths, and discover hidden evolution paths that have never been unearthed.

With a thought, the panel vanished.

He also felt the energy guided and awakened by the ritual circle slowly dissipating within his body.

He had seen so much, but in reality, less than thirty seconds had passed.

On the ritual’s detection result, only his Living Affinity talent appeared.

As for why Eye of All Spirits did not show, Adrian could guess. A talent that had never appeared before would naturally have no record.

He stepped out of the circle, already smiling.

Living Affinity, ranked near the top of A-rank talents, was more than enough for him to enter the Ember Class—even without the teachers’ promise. It would give him the startup resources reserved for top prospects.

So there was no need to announce to the world that he had an even greater talent hidden inside him.

He had a vague feeling that this talent was connected to the memories he had awakened from his past life. At this point, not being detected was actually good for him.

What he looked forward to more was this: the hidden paths revealed by Eye of All Spirits should solve the problem that had plagued him for two years—the [Evolution Path] that had always been gray on his panels.

Once everything was over, he could go home and get his answer.

That evening, all twenty Grade 10 classes finished their testing.

Forty students were summoned to a corner of the hall.

“Congratulations. You are the forty students of next year’s Grade 11, Class 1—the Ember Class. School begins in one week.”

“The item in your hands is a precious Ember Seed identity badge, personally certified by the Kingdom of Draconis. With it, you’ll gain certain purchasing privileges in the official marketplace of the Draconis Beast Tamers’ League.”

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Mr. Caldwell stood before them. “I’m Mr. Caldwell. For the next two years, I’ll be your homeroom teacher and general beast-taming instructor.”

“This year, we have six students who awakened S-rank talents. The other thirty-four with A-rank talents also rank well on the Global Talent Rankings.”

“Liam, Julian, Evan, Selena, Brandon, Tristan, and Adrian, stay behind. The rest of you, I’ll see you in seven days. One assignment: before the first class, contract your first beast companion.”

“Yes, sir!”

Entering the Ember Class meant they were almost guaranteed admission to the top ten universities in Draconis. These young students were in high spirits.

They also knew that the seven kept behind were the strongest seeds of the Ember Class for the next two years.

Six S-rank talents.

Plus Adrian, whose top-tier A-rank talent and year of legendary performance had already made him famous throughout the school.

“You seven are the top seven seeds of this year’s Ember Class, ranked by talent.”

“According to school rules, students who awaken S-rank talents—or A-rank students whose overall quality reaches S-rank standards—receive a special reward before Grade 11 begins.”

“First, the Westbrook Inheritor badge, certified by the official Beast Tamers’ League marketplace.”

“This title, together with your Ember Seed badge, gives you access to beast resources and products ordinary people can’t even touch.”

“Second, startup funding. You may freely purchase any product worth up to one hundred thousand crowns.”

“It can be beginner material suited to your talent. It can be your first beast companion. If your family has already chosen a companion for you, you can buy growth materials suited to it.”

“You seven are the best of your year. How you choose and arrange this ‘wealth’ is also a lesson you must teach yourselves.”

“Now, take your Westbrook Inheritor badges. I’ll see you in seven days.”

When Mr. Caldwell handed Adrian his badge, he looked at him a few extra times, his eyes full of approval.

In past years, only S-rank talent students received this badge. The standard of “overall quality reaching S-rank” was too hard to define for students who had just finished Grade 10.

But almost immediately after Adrian’s results came out, the Ember Class teachers unanimously agreed he deserved it.

Mr. Caldwell knew Adrian’s parents were gone. He also knew that while Adrian’s family was not poor, they could not afford an overly expensive beast companion.

This Ember Class startup funding might ease a lot of pressure for him.

When Adrian took the badge, he naturally felt the care in Mr. Caldwell’s eyes.

The two identity badges in his hands would not only make his future as a beast tamer easier. They seemed to carry something more—hope, and expectation.

Vale’s Beast Feed.

“Adrian, you’re back! How did it go? What was the result?” Arthur Boone’s face was tense. Clearly, he had been waiting all day for the Awakening Ceremony results.

“Grandpa Arthur, it went well. A-rank talent. I got into the Ember Class.” Adrian smiled.

Arthur’s face split into a grin. “A-rank is great! The Ember Class is even better! That’s my Adrian!”

“Your parents would be happy too. Seeing you healthy, doing well in school, with a good talent—they’d be so happy…”

He realized a moment too late that he might have brought up a painful subject. He quickly changed tack. “I heard the Awakening Ceremony is exhausting. Go eat something and rest early. Don’t worry about the shop.”

Adrian glanced around. “Thank you, Grandpa Arthur. By the way, where’s Roxy?”

“Her? She’s in the basement sorting goods. Today’s shipment arrived. You know how she is—she won’t relax until everything is arranged perfectly.”

“She’ll be a while. Once she’s done, we’ll tell her the good news.”

“Okay.”

Adrian went upstairs to the plant room.

Violet was in a much better mood today.

What amazed Adrian was that Living Affinity seemed to let him hear the emotions of beasts.

For the first time, he heard the voice and feelings of Violet, a plant.

“From the hills I came, with a flower in hand. Bloom early, little orchid…”

The voice was soft and gentle, an ethereal, dreamlike sound somewhere between a human voice and the wind.

The slightly blurred words landed precisely on the melody—the song Violet loved most.

Its panel appeared before Adrian again.

This time, the panel was more detailed than yesterday.

[Violet Orchid]

[Attribute: Nature]

[Quality: Common—Upper]

[Sex: Female]

[Level: Common 10]

[Traits: Violet Dew]

[Personality: Homebound, Devoted, Sensitive]

[Status: Slightly depressed. Has not fully recovered from yesterday’s sadness. Singing its favorite song to encourage itself.]

[Evolution Path]:

Path One: Violet Resentment Orchid, Compatibility: 20%

Path Two: Violet Rain Orchid, Compatibility: 78%

Hidden Evolution Path: Violet Spirit Treasure Orchid, Compatibility: 99%

The Evolution Path column was finally lit.

Even though Adrian had expected it, the mystery that had troubled him for two years was finally solved. Joy surged through him.

Violet Resentment Orchid and Violet Rain Orchid were both evolution paths of the Violet Orchid.

Violet Rain Orchid was far more precious. In Draconis, only some of the larger families and organizations possessed its evolution method.

As for Violet Spirit Treasure Orchid, Adrian had never even heard of it.

He immediately opened the detailed information for all three evolution paths.

…