The walk toward the town square felt strangely alive, as if the whole town had woken earlier than usual. His parents walked beside them, their steps steady, while Kyra shifted proudly on his shoulder, watching everything with her bright silver eyes.
Families streamed down the streets with their children, all heading in the same direction, all wearing that same mix of excitement and nerves.
Monsters trailed along with them. A trio of Tri-colored Butterflies drifted like floating lanterns above a girl's head.
A Gem Claw Cat stretched lazily on the back of its owner.
Some people rode their beasts as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Here in this small town, Bronze Tier monsters can also be considered significantly special.
They were neighbors. Workers. Partners. Everyday companions.
Someone shouted his name. "Xen!"
He turned and saw Brandon, aka Bran, waving enthusiastically, nearly losing grip of the pale green wolf cub in his arms. Phil's fur rippled faintly as if the wind lived inside it. Even from far away, Xenos could see Phil trying to burrow deeper into Bran's chest.
"Still scared of her?" Xenos teased when they reached them. Bran huffed. "Phil, I keep telling you, Kyra's not going to burn you today. I'm here."
Phil whimpered and pressed his snout under Bran's arm. Xenos didn't blame him. Last time he had tried showing off with his little wind blades around Kyra, she had inhaled once… and then roasted his backside with silver fire.
Just a single puff. Enough to teach him respect for tiny sparrows.
Xenos reached out and scratched the top of Phil's head. "Have you been behaving?"
He yipped, tail wagging.
"Chew." Kyra's voice shot across his neck like a warning bell. She puffed up, clearly offended that Xenos had used his affection on someone else.
Bran laughed softly. "Good to see you too, Kyra." He wisely kept his hands to himself.
They walked together toward the square, letting the crowd fold around them.
"How are you feeling?" Xenos asked.
"Excited. Nervous. Mostly both," he answered without thinking.
"Same," Xenos murmured.
"And… you're still leaving tomorrow?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Morning."
The contract students always left quickly. The top twenty were courted by big organizations and government branches. They received everything—the monster, the engine, the training—but they paid with years of service. Seven at minimum. Fifteen at most.
They reached the town square just as the crowd thickened around the stage. The black stone tile at its center—the Enlightenment Stone—shone faintly under the sunlight. Its smooth surface had a reputation for reducing failures, and because of that, it felt almost sacred.
Two hundred chairs faced the stage. Xenos' name was written on the first row, center seat. Bran found his spot in the same row, eighth seat.
His left side was empty, but on his right, Serestia sat adjusting the little glassy spider Stella perched on her shoulder. She shimmered in the light, her body clear like spun crystal.
Serestia eyed Kyra and smirked. "So it's true. You rejected everything for that silver potato on your shoulder."
"She's not a potato," Xenos said, smiling. "Just… compact."
Serestia had beaten them in the final exam, earning first place. They'd competed for years, but it never once damaged their friendship.
"You accepted Crystal Knights then?" Xenos asked, nodding toward her Glass Spider. She lifted her chin slightly. "Their offer was good. And I liked Stella the moment I saw her."
"You should. A Silver-tier monster? Anyone would be proud."
For a tiny moment, jealousy flickered through them. Then Kyra nudged her head against his jaw, and the feeling faded.
Serestia leaned closer. "Tier isn't everything."
Before Xenos could answer, Xenos heard a soft slicing sound, like a thread snapping.
"Sip—"
Stella's glass strings wrapped around Kyra in an instant.
"Stella!" Serestia shouted.
Kyra's fury rose like heat. Silver fire burst across her feathers, melting the glass threads in a breath. She trembled with rage, ready to strike.
"Kyra, calm down!" Xenos whispered urgently. "If you don't attack, I'll ask Mom for special treats later."
His words made her fire flicker… dimmed… then vanished. She huffed angrily and flew to his other shoulder, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
"I'm really sorry," Serestia said, cheeks flushed. "She's been acting wild all week."
"It's fine," Xenos said. "Look around."
Twenty feet away, Bran was wrestling Phil, who had somehow engaged in a duel with a Dark Centipede. Their owners looked like frantic referees trying to stop a championship match.
"It's happening everywhere," Serestia muttered, rubbing her forehead.
Xenos let out a breath and asked, "By the way, which facility are you heading to?"
"Mayfield," she said, and her voice carried a quiet excitement. "One year of training."
Mayfield. Near the capital. Close to power, opportunity, everything people dreamed of.
She glanced at them. "And you? You're not joining anyone, so… what now?"
"Zuweth City," Xenos lied smoothly.
She nodded as though she understood. Zuweth was a good choice for adventurers.
But that wasn't where Xenos was going. He merely lied to her.
Xenos had chosen a city where people vanished without leaving footprints.
A place whispered about only when the wind carried bad news.
A place no parent would ever approve.
And in a few hours, once the ceremony ended, Xenos would begin walking toward it.
*
Meanwhile, the noise in the square kept rising, a mix of laughter, nervous chatter, and monsters calling out at one another. Xenos had just settled into his seat when a boy swaggered toward the front rows, moving with the kind of confidence only someone unbelievably lucky could carry.
Perched on his head was a monkey. Not an ordinary one. Its three bright eyes sparkled like tiny suns, and it danced and cackled as though the ceremony existed purely for its amusement.
His jaw fell open before Xenos even realized it. "Serestia… tell me I'm dreaming. Is that..." Xenos whispered.
"You're not," she said, arms folded tightly with a nod. "Kevin's father found it in the forest last month while tracking a dangerous beast. They hid it from everyone. Even my father only found out this morning."
A heavy hush seemed to pass through the students around them as more people noticed the creature. The Three-Eyed Devil Monkey-Gold Tier monster, so rare that it could spark wars in some regions.
But rarity wasn't the part that made everyone's hearts twist with envy.
This monkey evolved straight to Rank-9, dragging its partnered human along with it. No grinding. No training. No risk. Just… time.
Even Kevin, who rarely studied and spent half his days sleeping in class, would become a lieutenant-ranked fighter without lifting a finger.
Xenos watched the monkey hop down from Kevin's head and slap the back of another boy's monster before sprinting away laughing. A few adults murmured disapprovingly, but no one dared step in. A Gold Tier monster came with a long shadow.
One question gnawed at them. "Why didn't Kevin's father bond with it himself?" Xenos asked Serestia quietly. "He still had a slot open, right?"
"No," she said. "He formed his second bond two years ago. Not many people know that."
Shadow crossed her expression as she watched Kevin parade around.
"Did he join anyone?" Xenos asked.
"Shadow Rogues," she said dryly. "His uncle works with them. Figures."
Shadow Rogues operated somewhere between law and smoke. People whispered that they handled the Republic's dirty jobs. Not illegal enough to brand them criminals, but dark enough that no one spoke their name loudly.
A shrill screech broke through their conversation. The Three-Eyed Monkey had begun swatting the monsters in the front row—scratching their ears, slapping their heads, darting away before anyone reacted. The students groaned in frustration as their monsters hid behind their legs or growled helplessly.
Kevin looked far too pleased with himself.
"Haha! Look at him go!" he said.
Serestia leaned toward Stella, her Glass Spider perched on her shoulder. "If that monkey gets near you, bind him as fast as you can. Understand?" Stella chittered in agreement, her translucent legs shifting with readiness.
Bran's wind wolf, Phil, tried to bark at the monkey—but he was scratched twice before he could blink. He whimpered and ran straight into Bran's arms. "You're okay, buddy. You're okay," Bran whispered while stroking the wolf's trembling fur.
A boy with a Green Vine Snake stood up from his chair. "Kevin, get your monster under control!"
Kevin simply sneered. "Jones, if your monster can't handle a few scratches, how's it going to fight in the future? Keep babying it."
The boy sank down, cheeks flushing. Kevin's words hit brutally close to what everyone feared.
The monkey noticed Stella next.
Its three eyes lit up, and it rushed toward her, claws ready. Stella reacted instantly and shot her glass strings in a blur—but the monkey danced around them, laughing wildly. It slapped her once, twice, scratched her delicate body, then zipped away, leaving Stella crying softly in Serestia's hands.
Serestia looked like she wanted to break something. She held Stella against her chest, whispering apologies she couldn't fix.
The monkey, thrilled with itself, scanned the row for its next victim.
Its gaze slid toward Kyra.
It strutted to her with exaggerated steps, dancing in front of her face as if demanding attention. Kyra didn't give it a single glance. Her feathers lay smooth and calm, her eyes half-lidded.
The monkey didn't like that.
It smacked Kyra's head sharply.
Kyra's eyes opened sharply. Then they relaxed again, as if she hadn't felt anything.
The monkey screeched angrily and smacked her two more times—hard.
Phil, from Bran's lap, let out a delighted little snicker. He remembered the first time he annoyed Kyra. He still had the burn marks.
Kevin leaned back with a laugh. "Hey Xenos, is your little bird dumb or something? Billy keeps hitting her, and she's not even fighting back."
Xenos didn't answer. Xenos just smiled.
Something about the smile made Kevin frown and look away.
Serestia whispered, "Kevin could stop it if he wanted to…"
"He's having fun," Xenos said softly. "But he shouldn't."
The monkey raised its claw for another blow. It swung—
And Kyra moved.
A tiny ball of silver fire formed in front of her beak—no larger than his thumb—and shot out in a straight line. It hit the monkey square in the face.
'CHHHEEEEEE!' the monkey shrieked, flailing backward and desperately patting its burning forehead.
Laughter erupted across the square—loud, relieved, vindictive. Dozens of students who had been quietly suffering finally saw the tiny tyrant get what it deserved.
Kevin's face turned purple. "Xenos! Can't you control your low-grade monster? Look what it did to his Billy!"
Silence fell like a hammer.
The mayor, who had been walking toward the stage, froze mid-step. Several adults turned.
Calling someone's bonded creature "low-grade" here was an insult with teeth. And Kevin, son of the town sheriff running in the next election, had just spat it in public.
Kevin's father looked like he wanted to drag his son away by the ear and bury him.
Kevin swallowed hard as the silence stretched. His face twisted. "I—I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry, Xenos. I just… seeing Billy hurt, I lost his tongue."
The apology floated uselessly in the air. No one believed it.
"It's fine," Xenos said quietly. The safest answer. The only answer that wouldn't make the sheriff remember his face forever.
Serestia leaned toward them and whispered, "Don't worry. I'll talk to my father. He'll watch out for your family if the sheriff acts up."
Xenos let out a slow breath. "Thanks," he murmured.
Above them, Kyra sat perfectly still on his shoulder, tail flicking, her silver feathers glowing in the sunlight—calm, proud, and absolutely unbothered.
As if burning a Gold Tier monkey was simply part of her morning routine.