Beast-Tamer: Limitless Evolution

A Bit of a Meeting

"Alright, so there are a few things I wanted us to talk about tomorrow, which is why I called everyone over." Psho started, and everyone quietened as they allowed him to speak.

"I believe we've all gotten our timetables?" He asked, and everyone nodded.

Everyone had selected the subjects under the course they wanted to study, and they had gotten their schedules shortly after.

Due to them all studying different courses, their schedules were naturally different from each other. However, something they all had in common was that on Wednesdays, a Legendary Tamer would come to train them.

That was non-negotiable, and it seemed like only in the case of extreme emergencies would they be allowed to not attend the training, which was fair, Legendary beast Tamers weren't common commodities that one could simply leave waiting due to some unimportant errand.

Osho let out a breath before continuing.

"So here's the deal. We're all gonna be busy, obviously, but I think it'd be smart for us to move with a plan so that we don't end up scattered." Sam snorted at this.

"What? You want us to have a schedule for ourselves outside the ones Stellaris already gave us? We aren't married, bro." She said half-jokingly.

"That remains to be seen," Osho shrugged without missing a beat. "Anyway, I'm talking about weekends. I'm pretty sure the controlled hunting grounds are more important than what Veronica and Mateo alluded to. Granted, they already made it clear that they were pretty important. We have to use them to their fullest. Otherwise, what's the point?" Hearing this, Kurt leaned back with a lax smile.

"I'm all for that. I've been itching to have a proper fight that isn't just a spar between friends. Textbooks are fun, but not as much as actual combat." He chuckled, and Ellie gave him a flat look.

"Those textbooks are what stopped you from feeding Clyde something that would have probably poisoned him, right?"

Kurt's smile cracked. "... Unimportant details."

Irene sighed and rubbed her nose. "So, we go hunting during the weekend. Simple enough. But are we treating it as training or...?"

"Both," Osho said. "We'll use them to train our beasts. The difference between controlled combat like spars and fighting for your life cannot be emphasized more. But beyond that, it's to practice our cohesion as a unit. To be blunt, we only have the bare minimum when it comes to group fighting. If anything, y'all have more experience doing it than me." They collectively winced at that. They were a group, sure, but their experience when fighting together was actually pretty small.

"That's fair," Ellie conceded. "But more in that line of thinking, we should also talk about keeping some stuff under wraps." She pointed out, and Osho nodded.

"Which brings me to my next point," Osjo rested his elbows on his knees and looked at all of them. "I don't think I can stress why letting anyone know the full potential of our new beasts is a bad idea."

"No shit." Kurt scoffed.

Sam looked slightly annoyed. "Yeah, but hiding too much isn't exactly viable either. No matter how much they promise, Stellaris will be observing us one way or another. If we suddenly start giving subpar performances, it'll be just as suspicious as showing off."

"Well said," Osho agreed. "So the trick is balance. Walk that fine line of competence without raising any brows. It's somewhat okay to go crazy with our first beasts since what they can do is more well-known. But for our new beasts? We have to be careful. Especially you and I, Ellie." The two of them shared a knowing look.

It went without saying that all the beasts with Legendary rank potential in their team were not simple, and it would be very easy to slip up once they were made available.

"Still, it's easier said than done. Other than showing off, just their appearances will raise brows, especially when people see them matching our initial beasts who are all already pretty cracked." She pointed out.

"Which is why we discuss it now," Osho replied. "Bedrock, for example, is strong. And he will only get stronger. But if I let him display everything I know he has, people will connect the dots. So I will let him look durable, tough, and dependable. The tank I want him to be. But not broken."

"Heh, and certain 4-winged bird would beg to differ." Kurt gestured to Gale who was happily gnawing at Osho's fingers in his lap, ignoring the jab.

"Point is," Osho continued. "Don't overdo it, don't underperform. As much as I hate to say it, we are still weak in the grand scheme of things. So until we are strong enough to properly defend ourselves in case certain secrets get revealed, we have to be careful."

"Being careful isn't always enough." Irene added softly.

"Then make sure it is this time." Osho said without room for argument.

"Fine. Fine. So what else?" Kurt asked as he adjusted in his seat.

"Well, this brings me to my last point. I'm planning to break through to the Adept rank with Gale soon, and I think you guys should do the same." This surprised them.

"Really? We've barely settled in." Kurt blinked.

"All the more reason," Osho shrugged. "One doesn't get into Stellaris with average capabilities. We are surrounded by talent. The longer we wait, the more we fall behind. We have the potential, we have the resources, and we have the facilities. Doing it in the place is the best opportunity we have to do so." Ellie tilted her her.

"You make it sound so simple. Not that I don't doubt we can't do it, but what about our foundations? Are you certain doing it now won't be detrimental to our progress in the long run?" She asked.

"I'm not forcing you guys to do anything," Osho clarified. "But let's be real, if our beasts haven't stabilized their foundations enough yet, then no one can claim to have done the same. Moreover, if we do this, we will stand out, but in the right ways. Think of it as a bit of a shield to mask our secondary beasts. All the attention will be on our first beasts, so no one will pay much attention to the ones we just hatched." He explained with a small smile.

"That's... not a bad suggestion, actually." Sam folded her arms thoughtfully.

"And to be fair, staying in a certain rank can be just as risky as progressing too fast. Like Osho said, we should have stabilized by now. There's no point in delaying the inevitable." Kurt added.

"Well, I'm convinced. Count me in." Ellie smiled.

"That's the spirit." Osho smiled.

"Fine, fine. I'll go along with it." Irene conceded.

"If everyone else thinks it's a good idea then sure." Sam just shrugged, and just like that, everyone was on board.

"Hehe, with this, Venom can finally see some proper action." Kurt said excitedly, and Irene gave him a sidelong glance.

"I still question that naming sense of yours." She scoffed.

"Hey, if you don't see the beauty in it, then don't judge." Kurt shot back.

"If we are doing this," Ellie ignored the two of them. "Then we should also make sure the weekends aren't wasted. None of those casual fights we do where we dominate everyone within the same rank. We need proper challenges. Thinking about it now, we're so used to fighting things above our level that those on our level pale in comparison. I believe we should keep that pace. Agreed?"

There was a round of nods. Even Kurt didn't add anything unserious.

"Great, then it's settled," Osho leaned back, satisfied. "We hunt on weekends and train. We keep the true potential of our beasts under wraps, but not overly so. And through it, we find an opportunity to break through to the next rank."

"And we make sure to keep each other's backs." Irene added softly. "Thinking about it now, Ellie is the only one here with a somewhat decent background, and Osho isn't keen on sharing his. I don't think there will be any shortage of influential young masters who think the world revolves around them. Chances are that we're gonna offend some of these people at some point, and when they realize we aren't overly influential, we will have targets on our backs."

There was no argument with that.

"Great, so we are all in agreement." With that, Osho patted a case he had on the ground and opened it, revealing several vials of different colored liquids.

"These are tonics I made over the last couple of days. You guys can take them." He said and passed them over, and they were all collected excitedly by his friends.

The discussion wound down after that, and the group started talking about miscellaneous things. They weren't just five overly ambitious teenagers with new beasts anymore. They were a group with a plan and direction.

Something like that was important in a place like Stellaris.