I am Just an Average Tamer

The morning sun filtered through the forest canopy, scattering golden trails of light along the winding path.

Leaves rustled softly overhead as the trio resumed their journey.

Lina walked on the right side of the path, her Varidian Hare hopping beside her, ears twitching with every step.

Kai strode on the left, hands in his pockets, while Vex sat perched on his head—grumbling lowly, throwing occasional jealous glances at the little creature in Elina's arms.

The small Wyrm—Nox—was cradled carefully by Elina as she walked in the middle, humming a soft tune.

Her cheeks puffed every time Nox wriggled or blinked up at her.

She hugged it closer, giggling quietly.

Lina stretched her arms behind her head, letting out a relaxed yawn.

"Man… this is nice," she said. "Too peaceful. I could get used to mornings like this."

Kai didn't respond.

He didn't need to.

Because a second later—

Kreee!

A sharp screech echoed through the forest.

Elina stopped dead in her tracks.

Lina froze mid-step, her body tense.

[<Jinxed.>]

Kai exhaled quietly through his nose.

From the shadows between trees, legs emerged—long, spindly.

Dozens of glinting red eyes followed, then came the rest of them.

Plague Spiders.

Slick, black bodies, blocky heads.

Just Common Grade—but venomous, and in groups, always annoying.

They fanned out across the path, encircling the three. But they didn't attack.

Instead, they halted.

Like something was holding them back.

Kai's brows lowered.

One of the spiders twitched, but stepped back.

Lina glanced at him, uncertain. "Why aren't they moving?"

Kai didn't answer immediately. His eyes flicked to the Wyrm in Elina's arms.

Nox was quiet, unmoving—but its eyes were open. Watching.

Then it tilted its tiny head toward Elina, letting out a soft chirp—light and almost musical, like a bird's warble, but quieter.

Elina blinked, then smiled.

She gently cradled the Wyrm closer to her chest, her grip loosening just a little. "You're not scared at all, huh?" she whispered.

The creature blinked once—calm, almost like it understood.

Kai watched for a second, then glanced back at the spiders.

"...They're stunned. Let's not waste that," he said, his tone even.

He raised a hand without looking up. "Vex."

"Behead them."

A low, lazy purr buzzed above him—Vex's version of a sigh.

Then—

Whoosh!

The Phantom Lynx vanished in a faint shimmer.

Whiiiish!

A streak of motion flashed past the spiders, barely visible.

A second later, Vex was perched right back on Kai's head, licking its paw casually like it hadn't just disappeared.

And—

The spiders didn't even have time to twitch.

Their heads toppled clean off.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Black ichor pooled beneath their legs.

The forest was quiet again.

Lina stared, one brow twitching. "...Remind me not to tick him off."

Kai simply adjusted his collar. "They were just little pests. No need to waste stamina."

Elina didn't say anything. She was too busy stroking Nox's smooth head, whispering something that sounded like, 'Good boy.'

Kai stepped over a spider corpse, wiped his boot on the grass, then pulled a short, curved knife from his belt.

He turned to Lina and held it out. "Come on. Show me what you've actually learned from hanging around me."

Lina blinked at the blade.

Then at him.

She sighed and took the knife with both hands. "You know, normal people just say thank you or good job…"

"You didn't do anything."

She rolled her eyes and knelt beside the nearest spider, muttering something under her breath.

With a deep breath, she pressed the blade to the spider's underside, aiming just above the center.

The knife slipped sideways.

The cut was awkward—too shallow.

Kai clicked his tongue.

"I'm not used to cutting through armor plates, okay?" she hissed, moving to the next one.

Second try—still off. She cursed under her breath.

Third. Fourth. Fifth.

Kai didn't say anything. Just stood there with arms crossed, letting her struggle.

Vex watched too, tail lazily flicking.

By the time she reached the twelfth spider, sweat beaded her forehead. She gritted her teeth, gripped the knife tighter—

Slice.

A clean cut.

The plating peeled apart neatly.

Revealing a faint, glowing pulse.

She froze for a second.

Then dropped the knife and jumped to her feet with both fists in the air.

"Yaaay! Did you see that? I nailed it!"

She bounced in place, grinning like she just won a tournament.

Kai stared at her, unimpressed. "...Took you twelve tries."

"A win is a win," she shot back, still grinning.

Vex let out a low snort.

Elina clapped softly, still cuddling Nox. "That was really cool, Big sis!"

Lina gave her a wink and twirled the bloody knife in her fingers. "Thanks, Elina. See? Beast Tamers can do more than just stand behind pretty pets."

Kai shook his head. "One decent cut doesn't make you a butcher."

She handed the knife back with a smug grin. "You're just mad I did it without breaking the blade..."

Lina was still basking in her little victory when—

Flick!

"Ow—!" she winced, rubbing her forehead.

Kai lowered his hand. "Quit celebrating. Help me collect the essence cores."

Lina grumbled but crouched back down beside him.

Together, they worked in silence, extracting the dull-glowing cores from the chests of the spiders.

Each one shimmered faintly in a greenish hue.

After the last one was done, Kai gave a final glance at the bodies.

With a faint flick of his wrist, he opened his storage bracelet.

One by one, the spider corpses vanished, leaving only torn grass and faint trails of blood behind.

"Alright," Kai muttered, straightening up and brushing his hands off. "Let's move."

Lina stood, stretching again. "Could've told me to bring gloves."

"You could've brought common sense."

Elina quietly kept to herself, still holding Nox—who had already dozed off in her arms.

And just like that, the group continued down the path.

When the night fell, they camped near clearing of a waterfall.

After doing their daily routine of dinner and small playful banter they fell asleep.

Next day, after walking for few hours, they walked out of the forest and what they saw in front of them made Lina's eyes sparkled.

"That's it."