This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Chapter 812: Chapter 812: First Day Jitters

As Kain stepped back into the manor’s courtyard, dawn’s first rays painted the sky in soft pinks and golds.

Only one night had passed, yet it felt like a lifetime since so much had happened: mastering a new spiritual skill with his family; evolving Eve, Queen, and the guards; visiting Pangea to check the dwarves’ progress; introducing elves to the planet; and learning he could plant another World Tree on Earth.

’Busy night,’ he thought, glancing at the tiny sapling in his hand. Its golden-green shoots, barely three inches tall, looked unremarkable among the manor’s lush greenery, blending with the ferns and flowering shrubs.

He knelt in a quiet corner of the yard, near a stone bench where the Orphanage Director often sat to think. The soil was soft, enriched by the manor’s high concentration of spiritual power, the elemental fairies, and the continuous ’natural fertilizer’ of various spiritual creatures on the property.

With a gentle push, he planted the sapling, its roots sinking into the earth. It quivered slightly, as if syncing with the planet’s pulse. Grow strong, he thought, brushing dirt from his hands.

Overall, the day had just begun for Kain and it was already very eventful…but there was someone who was going to have an even bigger day than Kain.

———————

Gabriel’s heart pounded like a war drum, drowning out Cherry’s cheerful chatter.

“…You’ll love it! The teacher is suuuuper nice. And the lunch they give is awesome. Yesterday, I…”

Her voice faded into a blur, lost beneath the relentless thump thump in his ears.

’Just relax,’

But no amount of self-talk could calm the panic clawing at him. Today was his first day returning to a school since he’d been kidnapped 2 years ago. His first chance to return to having the life of a completely normal kid, thanks to the spiritual skill for concealment that he was able to learn yesterday. Yet the weight of it all—new school, new peers, new expectations—felt like a boulder on his shoulders.

He glanced at his reflection in the upstairs hall mirror, barely recognizing himself in the neatly pressed navy-blue and white school uniform. The blazer, a deep navy with silver trim, hugged his slim frame, its crisp fabric adorned with a crest on the left chest: a crescent moon cradling an open book, a snarling silver wolf woven into the design, symbolizing the academy’s blend of knowledge and strength. The matching slacks were tailored, sharp creases running down the legs, and a white dress shirt was tucked neatly into it, paired with a striped navy-and-silver tie knotted tightly at his throat. The uniform screamed prestige, but Gabriel felt like an imposter. He still felt more like a lab rat than a student at a prestigious prep school (paid for by Kain, of course).

Trudging downstairs behind the exuberant Cherry, Gabriel felt like he was marching to a guillotine. The dining hall buzzed with life, the long oak table crowded with other children in identical uniforms, their laughter and chatter filling the air as they shoveled eggs, toast, and fruit into their mouths.

Gabriel had watched this scene from afar for the past year or so, longing to join them at the academy instead of being the only kid left in the quiet manor while the Director napped and Bridge (when he was here) trained elsewhere. Now, with his spiritual power concealed to pass as a normal student, he could finally sit among them—but his stomach churned too much to eat. He slid into a chair, staring at the plate of scrambled eggs and bacon before him, poking at it with a fork as his appetite fled.

The other kids didn’t notice his unease, too busy joking and comparing class schedules that had been sent to them the day before since today was their first day of classes. As one of the most prestigious K-12 preparatory schools in the country, their summer vacation was shorter than the average school, and classes for them began 2 weeks earlier than most other schools, or even colleges, began. But since the college boasted a 100% college acceptance rate and a formidable 15% acceptance rate into a Top 5 College, greater class time was the bare minimum…

Not that Kain’s siblings minded, they actually loved this school. The jitters from starting at such a prestigious place when they’d always gone to the local public school back in Brightstar City.

Cherry, sitting across from him, prattled on about her favourite teacher, her red curls bouncing. Gabriel’s fork scraped the plate, his thoughts spiralling. ’I wanted this. So why do I feel like running away?’

Knowing he couldn’t stomach a bite, he pushed his chair back, mumbling an excuse, and bolted outside, the walls of the manor closing in like a trap. He needed air, space, something to ground him.

He wandered to the artificial lake behind the manor, its surface shimmering under the morning sun. Lumifin fish darted beneath, their bioluminescent scales casting a soft glow that rippled across the water, mingling with vibrant aquatic plants and the playful yips of river wolf pups splashing at the edges. This lake was Gabriel’s sanctuary, where he retreated whenever he needed to calm down…such as after having nightmares of the laboratory—cold tables, sharp needles, the Black Dawn’s cruel experiments. Here, he could breathe, the gentle lapping of water soothing his frayed nerves.

Kneeling by the shore, Gabriel focused inward, unlocking his spiritual power from the bounds of the Veil of the Hidden Star—the skill that was the source of his current anxiety.

With a soft pulse, he summoned his contract, Xuanwu, the Black Tortoise. Once knee-high, it now reached his waist, its obsidian shell gleaming with faint blue veins, its serpentine neck curling gracefully. The moment it appeared, the lake erupted in chaos—fish dove to the depths, river wolf pups froze or collapsed, trembling, sensing a superior predator.