This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

"Nope. It may just be a random mutation…"

"For now, could you perhaps show me the collection of spiritual materials your family has at its disposal? Preferably only those of fire and light attributes."

She hesitated for a moment. After all, who lets a stranger they knew for less than 24 hours have access to their family's inventory?

Seeing her hesitation Kain quickly added, "Due to the current quality of Yara and the likely quality of her evolution being at gold-grade, it is only necessary to see materials yellow-grade and under."

Finally, she nodded in agreement. Yara had already been taken away to meet with a trainer skilled in light-attribute

Alaina led Kain through the opulent halls of the Ashenclaw estate, their footsteps echoing off the marble floors.

They reached a large wooden door intricately carved with flames and sigils. Alaina hesitated for a moment before opening it with a key she retrieved from a necklace around her neck.

The door swung open to reveal a vast room lined with shelves and display cases. Inside were numerous items, each meticulously organized and labelled.

"This is our collection of spiritual materials," Alaina said, the pride in her family's rich heritage was obvious. "I hope it's enough to allow Yara to evolve."

Kain's eyes scanned the room eagerly. His gaze landed on the various items: enchanted weapons, delicate vials of glowing liquids, and numerous talismans. He followed Alaina toward another aisle where the spiritual materials were located. By far, the majority of everything there was of the fire-attribute. However, there were still materials of other attributes although they were few and far between.

"Excellent," Kain said, allowing a small smile to form on his lips. "I appreciate your trust. This will definitely help narrow down the potential evolutionary materials needed for Yara."

He began to methodically examine the items, noting the various fire and light attribute materials. As he picked up a vial of golden liquid and a shard of pale crystal, he murmured to himself, pretending to be deep in thought.

Of course, it was all a show. He didn't learn enough theoretical knowledge to accurately calculate what materials would be best to evolve a spiritual creature. Once he was left alone, he was going to use the Simulator.

Alaina watched him closely, her expression a mixture of curiosity and skepticism. "Do you need any assistance? I can help you identify specific items or provide information about their origins if that would help."

Kain waved his hand dismissively. "No need. No need. I've got it covered. What I need is just some privacy."

Immediately she got a suspicious look on her face. "Just so you know, every single item here is cataloged, so don't even try to steal anything."

Kain rolled his eyes, "I am a respected student of Dark Moon College. You literally recruited me through the college. If I steal from you it's hardly like I can run off into the night. And I'd hardly jeopardize my college career to steal yellow-grade materials."

Alaina blushed slightly at the sound reasoning, however she still didn't leave the room. Instead, she stood by a nearby table, observing Kain's every move.

An hour passed as Kain continued to pick up random items and pretend to examine them while humming thoughtfully. At some point, he'd even taken a notepad out of storage space to take "notes." Really he was just drawing random doodles.

As he continued his examination, Alaina's phone buzzed. She glanced at it and her expression shifted to one of concern.

"I'll be right back," she said, stepping out of the room. "There's an urgent matter I need to attend to."

Another 30 minutes passed before she returned and Kain prepared to leave. It was already pretty late in the afternoon once Kain had entered the inventory, now the sun was beginning to set and it was about time for him to leave.

"I hope everything is alright," Kain said, glancing up from a fire and light dual attribute sunstone he was examining.

Alaina's expression noticeably darkened, "Yara collapsed after only some light exercises and was barely breathing. I don't know how long it'll take for her to learn the skill in her current condition. Maybe months, if she can hold out that long."

'Oh no no no! I do NOT have time to wait around for months until she learns the necessary skill and I get paid. Light Shroud is only a B-level skill, I thought it'd be learned in a few days with a skilled trainer. Especially since the Glimmering Salamander already knows a similar fire-attribute skill, Ember Shroud.'

Kain thought about a method to speed up her learning of the skill. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a contract, he could not bring her into the Training Arena. Maybe in the future, that limitation will be lifted. However, for now, Kain only had one thing he thought might be of use.

"I have an item that may be of some use in improving her condition…"

Alaina shook her head, "No need. We have access to some of the best elixirs on the market. None have been particularly effective. The damage to Yara is at the level of her life force—her soul—it's not like healing a wound."

"I understand. But still, I would like to try my method. It's not as though you have anything to lose anyway. I assure you that Yara's condition with either remain the same or improve, but it will definitely now worsen.

Finally, she relented. Although she didn't seem to have any faith that what Kain would do would have any effect.

Kain was planning to use Queen's royal jelly produced by her skill the Essence of Life. The strong life-attribute energy in the jelly should have an affect on restoring lifeforce.

Kain took out a small amount he'd already stored in a jar in case of emergencies. After all, it was more effective than most healing elixirs at and below yellow-grade.

Compared to regular honey which was more of a deep amber colour and translucent, it was an opaque cream colour.

Retrieving a spoon from his space ring, he spooned some into Yara's mouth. This was the first time Kain was getting to try the effects of the royal jelly, so he was also filled with curiosity.

Within seconds there was a noticeable improvement to her appearance. Although her scales did not return to their previously golden hue, they much more closely resembled how they probably looked in her prime based on the simulated version of her provided by the System.

Alaina's eyes widened in shock at Kain's unexpectedly effective treatment.

Meanwhile, Kain hid the great shock he felt under a calm mask. The royal jelly produced by the SS-level skill Essence of Life was even more effective than he'd thought.

"I will focus on developing the evolutionary plan, but we can't delay Yara's training for so long. Whenever her condition begins to decline, please call me to treat her again."

Kain then left the manor for the night and returned to his hotel room after a luxurious dinner in the heart of the city.