I am Just an Average Tamer

A blade of wind hissed through the forest clearing, slicing through leaves like paper.

A boy ducked a fraction too late.

The pressure grazed past his shoulder, cutting a clean gash through his tunic.

He staggered back, boot skidding against the mossy ground.

The moment he straightened.

Whoosh!

A shadow lunged from the left.

Claws gleamed.

Slash!

He twisted his body, just barely ducking under the swipe.

The air hissed by his ear.

Too slow.

His hand shot out.

Clang!

Parrying the beast's arm with his dagger — the steel clashing against the claws in a burst of sparks.

Vael swooped overhead in a spiral, wings slicing the air like knives.

The wind around him shimmered unnaturally, wrapping around him like an aura.

Kai grunted as Vex dashed behind him again, jaws open wide.

The spectral feline struck with silent speed, vanishing and reappearing like a flicker.

Kai pivoted, barely catching the blur with his dagger's edge, deflecting her pounce.

She landed softly, tail swishing with annoyance, and then disappeared again in a puff of black mist.

"Again?" he muttered, breath sharp.

A moment later, Vael's wind pulsed.

Kai bent low, spun on his heel, and brought his dagger up in a sweeping arc just in time to block another incoming strike.

Vex's claws locked with his blade, her eyes glowing with playful ferocity.

They pushed against each other.

But then, she pulled away with a graceful twirl, disappearing into the mist again.

In the same moment.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Vael launched another slicing gust from above, and Kai dove into a roll, narrowly dodging the crescent-shaped wind.

He landed in a crouch, panting.

A moment passed.

Then he smirked and sprinted forward.

He weaved through the trees, vanishing behind one trunk, then another, closing in on Vael's perch — only for Vex to intercept him mid-sprint.

She slammed into him, knocking him off balance.

"Argh!"

He hit the ground, rolled, and came up with a throwing knife in hand, launching it without hesitation.

Vael deflected it with a gust, but his concentration faltered for a split second — just long enough for Kai to vault off a root and leap toward his branch.

He was almost there—

And then Vex teleported again, pouncing him mid-air and dragging him back down with a loud crash.

Bam!

"Argh!"

Kai groaned from the forest floor, arms splayed wide as leaves rained down around him.

"…I yield."

The wind slowed.

Silence returned to the clearing.

"Haaa...."

Kai exhaled hard and stared up at the bright blue sky, letting his heartbeat settle.

He chuckled softly, sweat clinging to his brow.

"Just one week left for the Academy trials, huh."

Vex padded toward him.

"Meow."

She let out a low purr and curled up beside him, resting her head on his chest.

On a nearby branch, Vael landed with his usual elegance.

His eyes glowed faintly, feathers settling as the winds calmed around him.

He let out a low whistle — not a song, not a word. Just a presence.

Kai looked between them.

He was about to say something.

Then—

A deep rumble rolled through the forest like distant thunder.

Kai sat up quickly, eyes narrowing as leaves trembled and birds scattered from the treetops.

His hand instinctively moved to his dagger.

Two figures burst from the tree line, cloaks flapping wildly behind them.

They sprinted past the clearing—right by Kai—without sparing him even a glance. Their breathing was ragged. Panicked.

Kai's eyes sharpened.

Grrr!

Then came the growl.

Low. Deep. Hungry.

The underbrush exploded.

Six saber-tooth beasts stormed into the clearing—muscular monsters, each with shaggy grey fur, massive paws that crushed roots underfoot, and curved fangs like ivory blades gleaming beneath their snarling muzzles.

Eyes glowing amber. Massive, easily towering over Kai's chest, even on all fours.

Kai stood calmly.

He tapped his bracelet and pulled out a crimson-glowing vial.

Without a word, he downed the potion, then tossed two more—one toward the tree branch, the other to the shadows beside him.

Vael caught his mid-air and gulped it like a shot. Vex batted hers into her jaws and swallowed with a flick of her tail.

Crack!

Kai cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders loose.

"…Alright." His lips curved into a grin.

"Let's have some real fun."

Whoosh!

And he vanished.

In the blink of an eye, he reappeared behind the nearest saber-tooth.

Slash!

His blade flashed low, carving across the beast's hind leg.

Rorrr!

The creature howled in pain, stumbling forward as its leg buckled.

One of its brothers lunged at Kai from the side.

Booom!

But just as it leapt, the air rang with a sharp boom—a sonic wave from above.

Vael screeched from sky, his wings slicing down like twin razors.

The tiger faltered mid-air—body freezing just for a heartbeat.

And that was enough.

Whoosh!

A blur of shadow launched from Kai's side.

Vex—now in her true form—was a sleek beast of liquid muscle, the size of a grown panther.

Her fur shimmered like starlight on ink, each movement silent.

She collided with the stunned tiger mid-air, dragging it to the ground.

Her fangs sank into its neck.

A crack. A gurgled snarl.

And.

Silence.

Kai didn't flinch. "Let's hurry up, Vex."

She growled in response.

They moved.

Whoosh!

The third tiger charged from behind, jaws wide.

Kai spun low, sliding beneath its leap, then jabbed his dagger up—piercing its underbelly.

Blood sprayed, but before the beast could even scream, Vael swooped down and clawed across its face, tearing through eyes and throat in one sweeping motion.

The fourth and fifth came together, fangs bared, coordinating instinctively.

Kai threw a smoke vial at their feet.

The area exploded into a fog of grey-blue mist.

They hesitated.

That was their mistake.

From the smoke, Kai lunged and drove his blade into the fourth's spine—his other hand already tossing a set of large needles into the fifth's eyes.

The beast shrieked, staggering back, shaking its massive head violently.

Vex emerged behind it and pounced, dragging the blinded tiger to the ground and tearing its jugular in a brutal, clean strike.

The sixth turned to flee.

But—

A gust of wind hit it like a wall.

Vael's screech hammering the trees, branches shaking.

The beast stopped.

Kai was already behind it.

His blade arced upward in a deadly slash, carving through tendons, slicing deep into its side.

Thud!

The creature howled, stumbled, then collapsed.

Vex landed on its chest and drove her fangs down.

Silence returned.

Blood soaked into the forest floor.

Steam rose from the still-warm bodies.

The wind carried the scent of iron.

Kai stood at the center of the carnage, breathing lightly.

He wiped his dagger clean on the nearest beast's fur, then looked toward Vex, who was licking blood from her paw.

Vael circled above once before landing gracefully on a low branch.

Kai exhaled, eyes on the treeline.

"…That all?"

Kai crouched beside the last corpse, fingers digging into thick fur.

With a quick twist, he yanked free a pulsing crystal the size of a fist.

Essence core.

He dropped it into a pouch at his waist, already heavy with spoils.

He straightened, brushing blood off his knuckles.

Then the trees screamed.

Branches cracked like bones.

ROOOAR!

A guttural roar tore through the clearing, louder and deeper than any before.

Even Vael flinched, feathers bristling.

From between the trees came a nightmare.

Easily twice the size of the others, the beast's frame was hunched, muscle-bloated, its fur patchy with armored scales that shimmered like obsidian.

Its fangs twisted at odd angles from its jaw, thicker and warped.

One of its eyes glowed violet. The other was just a socket.

A Saber-Tooth Tiger but...

Kai's eyes lit up. "A mutant…"

Vex snarled low beside him, her ears pinned. Even she recognized the danger.

The mutant didn't pause. It charged.

Kai vanished a split second before it crashed into the clearing.

The ground shattered under its weight, claws raking through dirt and stone alike.

Kai reappeared mid-air above its back, dagger slashing down—only to clang off the scales like metal on stone.

"Tch—figures."

He flipped backward before the beast could whip its tail around.

The mutant twisted unnaturally, swiping upward with a claw as long as a sword.

Kai dropped flat mid-air, narrowly evading the strike, and hurled two explosive tags at its feet.

Booom!

They detonated in a boom of smoke and flame, but the monster simply roared and powered through it, skin barely singed.

Whoosh!

It lunged.

Kai barely sidestepped, but the beast adjusted mid-charge, shoulder-checking him with brute force.

Crack!

He hit a tree like a cannonball—bark splintering around him.

"Kwaaa."

Vex cried, voice echoing in his mind.

"I'm good…" he muttered, coughing. Blood lined the edge of his lip.

He stood up slowly, eyes narrowing.

Vael shrieked above and dove, unleashing a sonic wave that rocked the trees.

The mutant staggered, its malformed ear bleeding from the force, but it held its ground.

Kai moved again, this time blurring forward in a zigzag dash.

He threw a vial under the beast's feet—liquid ice.

Its movement slowed for half a second.

That's all he needed.

He slid beneath it, flipping onto its back, gripping tightly between two scale ridges.

He stabbed his blade repeatedly into the joint where neck met shoulder, feeling flesh finally give way.

The mutant roared and bucked violently.

Vex took that moment to pounce, her shadowy form slamming into its exposed side.

Claws dug deep.

She bit into the joint Kai had weakened, twisting her fangs.

Rooar!

The monster howled.

Kai jumped off, pulled a crystal dagger from his other sheath.

One humming with focused essence—and dove straight into the beast's neck, driving it in to the hilt.

The mutant trembled.

Then collapsed with a final shudder.

"Phew..."

Kai rolled off, landing in a crouch.

He wiped blood from his brow.