This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Kain sat across from Alaina who was now holding and stroking the head of the Glimmering Salamander Yara, the butler standing behind her.

Fortunately, this time she did not leave him waiting as long, and Kain had already thought about a feasible story for how he figured out the reason behind the failed evolution.

Alaina's demeanour was a mix of cautious optimism and lingering skepticism. He could tell she was bracing herself for another potential letdown.

"Alaina, I believe I've identified the issue with Yara," Kain began, trying to keep his voice steady and reassuring. Kain saw her face momentarily shift into one of shock, before once again falling into one of doubt.

Kain continued without waiting for her to express her doubt. "There's a unique evolutionary condition at play here, one that hasn't been accounted for in the previous attempts."

Alaina's eyes widened slightly. "Go on…"

Kain cleared his throat, putting on an air of confidence that he hoped would be convincing. "From my examination, it appears that Yara has a rare mutation involving a previously unidentified recessive light attribute.

This wasn't detected previously because you had never before tried to have her learn a light-attribute skill and because the difference in Yara's appearance from a normal Glimmering Salamander is quite subtle." Kain took out his phone to show the photo that he'd saved of a normal Glimmering Salamander.

"The gold colour of the scales for most salamanders is usually slightly deeper than Yara's scales."

Alaina stared at the photo thoughtfully, before finally raising her gaze to Kain. "This is an interesting story. But how am I supposed to just believe that Yara is really a light-attribute mutant as you said based off of a slight difference in scale colour? There are slight variations in colour and pattern within a species, that doesn't at all mean that it's due to a second light-attribute."

Kain took a deep breath, he knew his next story would be the important part of convincing Alaina. "I have a gift." Kain paused for added effect while feigning arrogance.

"A gift?" Alaina asked with a raised brow in disbelief.

"As I'm sure you know, Dark Moon College provides beast-taming students with an opportunity to increase their chances of awakening a gift. A method which is a secret to outsiders." Kain said with his chin raised as he mimicked what he felt a prideful top 5 college student should appear as to outsiders. He made sure to pre-emptively add the last part so that she would not ask for details.

Considering he hadn't yet undergone whatever opportunity it was, as it was only provided after the first re-ranking, he knew very little about the specifics.

Alaina turned to her butler in confirmation, and thankfully he nodded in support of Kain's story.

Kain mentally breathed a sigh of relief.

"During this opportunity, I was fortunate enough to awaken a gift. My gift allows me to sense and identify hidden evolutionary conditions and mutations. When I manifested this talent, the professors were astonished. They saw it as an extremely powerful gift for the field of Evolutionary Planners, and so an exception was made and I was admitted into the Planner major under special consideration.

They were convinced that this talent of mine could be of great benefit."

"It was this gift that activated when examining Yara. From my examination, it appears that Yara has a rare mutation involving a light attribute and on top of that she needs to learn the skill Light Shroud in order to successfully evolve"

'Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit…But I really hope that her sense of smell isn't good enough to smell it.'

There are all kinds of weird gifts in the world. Kain had even heard of an absurd one that can create a 'mood lighting' that instantly puts all humans in the vicinity in a very 'frisky' mood.

His so-called gift is hardly unbelievable.

Alaina still seemed doubtful. "That's impressive, but... how can I be sure you're not lying or exaggerating?"

'You can't. Because I am.'

Kain nodded, with a forced calm. "I can't expect you to take my word for it without evidence. Let me show you why I believe Yara has a light attribute mutation. The evidence is also in the words of the so-called experts that you'd hired previously."

He pulled out the stack of documents and pointed to the sections detailing the previous failed attempts. "These reports indicate several anomalies. Yara's scales fluctuated between a pale gold and a deep orange-gold, and there were erratic flashes of light. Also, Yara didn't absorb as much of the fire-attribute materials as expected."

Alaina leaned in closer, her eyes scanning the reports. "You're suggesting that Yara's mutation is a combination of fire and light attributes?"

"Yes…or no." Kain took a deep breath. "Since Yara's evolution will not be an Infernal Salamander, it means that all current knowledge about the evolutionary path from Glimmering Salamander to Infernal Salamander to Blazing Ember Wyrm will be useless. We really don't know what she'll evolve into, if it will have one or both attributes or, although unlikely, if it will even remain as a Salamander.

Therefore, we'll also need to account for the possibility that Yara's eventual evolutionary form might not align with your affinity, especially since you haven't awakened your affinity yet."

Alaina's expression turned sombre. "I understand. But… Yara has been with me for years. She's more than just a spiritual creature to me. I don't want her to die, and she will soon if she can't evolve."

Kain could see the emotional turmoil in her eyes. He nodded sympathetically. "I understand. I'll do everything I can to help her. However, considering that this is a completely new evolutionary path we don't know the exact material requirements for this new evolutionary path. Unlike other evolutions that have been repeatedly tested and confirmed by our predecessors, we'll be moving forward blindly.

It will take a lot of work and luck."

Alaina's demeanor firmed up. "So, what's the next step?"

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