I am Just an Average Tamer-Chapter 158 - 143 Updated

The old bell tower rarely chimed anymore.

Rust coated the great bronze tongue, and the winding stairs had long since been abandoned by students. But the tower stood tall at the academy’s edge — a quiet sentinel surrounded by ivy and silence.

Kai climbed the steps alone.

Night fell like ink.

Kai moved through the academy’s outskirts, wrapped in his dark cloak, his footfalls utterly silent. Shadows clung to him as if they recognized him — a fellow creature of the unseen.

The Hollow Grounds lay behind the east wing, past overgrown courtyards and broken stone arches where time had eaten away at grandeur. Once, this section of the academy had been a training ground for summoners and beast tamers — long before an incident buried it in whispers and warding seals.

Most students thought it was forbidden because it was dangerous.

They were right.

Kai passed the crumbled wall and stood before a rusted iron gate half-swallowed by vines. The map Myrren gave him had been precise — a twist of the ivy to reveal a hidden switch.

Click.

The gate opened with a hiss of old metal and forgotten magic.

Beyond it, the Hollow Grounds yawned like a beast’s maw — cragged stone paths, tangled roots, and old pillars shattered by claw and flame.

As soon as Kai stepped in, the air changed.

Thicker.

Charged.

Alive.

His instincts flared — not with danger, but with something more primal.

Vael appeared first, diving from above with a low screech, wings tucked.

Then Vex emerged from the shadows beside him, silent as ever, yellow eyes glowing like twin moons.

Stromeon padded up last, crackling faint sparks from his scales. The Thunder Drakelet looked around, tail twitching.

Kai murmured, "Stay alert. We don’t know what’s still alive in here."

❖ Scene: Warding Veil and First Contact

He activated Warding Veil, his affinity lacing the shadows into a protective layer around his group. It would mask their presence from passive detection — beast or human.

As they moved deeper, the terrain became jagged. A broken combat ring lay ahead, choked in roots and moss. The glyphs etched around its edge were still faintly glowing — wards long forgotten, still clinging to function.

A soft growl echoed.

Kai’s head snapped to the left.

A figure stepped from the crumbled ruin — no, a beast.

It wasn’t the saber-tooth gorilla from before — but something smaller.

A four-legged, skeletal creature, fur matted with moss and decay, horns curled back like blackened tree roots. A Hollow Fang. Rare, corrupted beast — Intermediate Core, but deadly in packs.

But this one was alone.

Stromeon growled low, but Kai raised a hand.

"No need."

He crouched, watching the creature.

It sniffed once — then turned and slinked away, back into the dark.

Kai narrowed his eyes.

"It’s not hunting. It’s fleeing."

That meant something bigger... worse... was nearby.

❖ Scene: Training Begins — Myrren Appears

He didn’t have to wait long.

A faint gust of wind brushed past, and Myrren stepped from the shadows, black coat rustling.

"You didn’t die on the way here. Good sign."

Kai kept his gaze ahead. "Something’s wrong with this place. Even the corrupted beasts avoid the center."

"That’s why you’re here."

Myrren threw something at him — a worn orb, no bigger than a stone. Kai caught it, eyes scanning.

Beast core. Dead, but still humming faint traces of pressure.

"This was from a Peak-Great Core. Saber-tooth gorilla variant. Born here, never tamed. Too wild to control, too smart to forget."

Kai’s grip tightened.

"Tonight, you’re not just training. You’re surviving."

Myrren pointed to the shattered ring. "It returns every few days. Territorial. Hates trespassers."

"You want me to fight it."

"No," Myrren said. "I want you to learn from it."

Kai’s jaw tensed. "You expect me to survive a beast a full sub-rank above me?"

Myrren smiled — not kind, not mocking. Just real.

"I expect you to stop thinking like a student."

He turned to leave again. "You’ve got one hour. Then the ground starts shaking. That’s when it knows you’re here."

❖ Scene: Preparation and Beast Merging (Partial)

Kai exhaled, slow and steady.

He turned to his beasts. "We’re going to have to fight smarter. Not head-on."

Vael gave a sharp chirp, as if in agreement.

Kai closed his eyes and activated Beast Merging — calling upon Vex first.

Shadow leaked from both their forms, and when his eyes opened again, they glowed faint violet. His fingers twitched — more flexible, more sensitive. His breath came slower. The world seemed to pulse with a rhythm only hunters could hear.

He vanished from sight, blending into the dark.

Then began setting the trap.

"If you truly want to survive this place, meet me where no one listens anymore. — M."

He reached the top. The air was crisp, wind whispering through the slats of the ancient walls.

Professor Myrren stood by the edge, his black coat fluttering. No gloves today — his hands were bare, scarred. The kind of scars you didn’t get from turning pages or casting spells.

"You came," Myrren said without turning. "Good. Sit."

Kai didn’t speak. Just leaned against the wooden railing, daggers still strapped to his back.

Myrren didn’t look at him. "Assassins don’t usually fail."

Kai didn’t answer.

"But those weren’t professionals. They were a message. You know that, don’t you?"

"I’m starting to."

Myrren’s eyes narrowed. "The sigil. Raven over silver. You’ve heard of them?"

"Corrin said Black Feathers."

"Your friend’s more useful than he looks." Myrren finally turned. "They don’t just kill. They test. See if a target is worth the kill price."

"...So next time, they’ll send someone better."

"No," Myrren said. "Next time, they’ll offer you a contract."

Kai’s brow furrowed. "To join?"

"To serve." Myrren’s eyes were like steel traps. "They recruit the ones who survive. Especially ones who already know how to disappear."

A cold silence passed between them.

Kai didn’t like this.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked finally.

Myrren stepped closer. "Because I know what you are."

Kai tensed — subtly, but it was there.

Myrren didn’t smirk. Didn’t gloat. He simply placed a weathered hand on the railing beside him.

"Poison hidden in your collar seam. Dagger grease that smells of red-bloom oil. Senbon tips shaved flat to mimic coin edges. You’re not a student, boy. You’re a blade pretending to learn."

Kai stayed quiet.

Myrren looked down at the courtyard below. "I trained men like you. Years ago. Before this place."

"You were military?"

"I was worse."

The professor finally looked him dead in the eye. "I’m not here to threaten you, Kai. I’m here to offer you clarity."

Kai’s voice was a whisper. "Then talk."

❖ Scene: Myrren’s Warning

"You’re walking a thin line," Myrren said. "The trials? The beasts? That’s just surface. What you’ve entered is the game beneath the game."

Kai’s eyes narrowed. "The noble houses."

"The power blocs," Myrren corrected. "Houses. Clans. Factions. Even some professors. Everyone has an agenda."

"And Selene?"

"She’s one of the best at it," Myrren admitted. "But that makes her dangerous. She plays with tools that bite back."

Kai’s mind spun — the way she manipulated others so effortlessly. The way she’d put him under her wing without him even realizing how deep he was already flying.

"Why me?" Kai asked. "Why do they care about someone like me?"

Myrren raised an eyebrow.

"You beat students who’ve trained since they could walk. You bond beasts with your eyes half-closed. You have instincts no 16-year-old should have. You’ve already killed."

Kai didn’t flinch.

"I’ve seen it," Myrren added, voice soft. "The way you walk. The way you move when no one’s looking. You’re not a killer out of rage. You’re precise. Measured."

"You’re not a boy. You’re a weapon."

Kai said nothing.

Myrren turned away again, voice low. "And weapons are either used... or broken."

❖ Scene: A Choice Offered

He pulled a small scroll from his coat. No seal. No markings. Just a tight roll tied with red string.

"Take it."

Kai hesitated, then took the scroll and unrolled it.

Inside: a map.

A secret portion of the academy grounds, half-overgrown — marked "The Hollow Grounds."

"What’s this?"

"A place you’re not supposed to know exists. A dead zone where old beasts once roamed. Forgotten after the last purge."

Kai looked up.

"You want me to train there?"

"I want you to become something that can’t be controlled," Myrren said. "Because if you don’t, someone will control you."

The wind howled through the tower again.

Myrren turned to leave, but paused on the steps.

"When you’re ready," he said, "meet me there at nightfall. Bring your beasts. Bring your edge. No masks next time."

Then he vanished down the stairs.

❖ Scene: Alone with the Map

Kai stood in the tower alone, the wind swirling the edges of the scroll in his hand.

He looked at the Hollow Grounds.

Then he looked at the courtyard far below.

A world full of bright lights, noble smiles, and hidden blades.

"If I’m a weapon," he thought, "then it’s time I learn how to sharpen myself properly."