I am Just an Average Tamer

The ward smelled of dried herbs and mana salves. Light-blue runes floated lazily in the air, providing warmth and dulling pain. Students lay across rows of padded beds, some moaning softly, others asleep, their beast companions resting nearby.

Kai sat on the edge of a cot, arms crossed, silent. His wounds had already been treated—nothing serious, but the sting of what he'd seen hadn't faded.

Selene stood near the doorway, speaking in low tones with two professors. Her tone was clipped, precise—anger simmering beneath the surface. When their eyes met, she nodded once.

"Come," she said, waving him over.

Kai followed her through the hallway, the muffled sound of healers working behind them. They turned into a private chamber lined with enchanted stones—a warded room, meant for secure discussions.

❖ Scene: Truths in Shadow

Selene didn't sit. She stared out the enchanted window, where storm clouds gathered above the distant mountains.

"What you touched wasn't just a talisman," she began. "It was a relay. A link between our plane and a pocket void of Abyssal origin."

Kai leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "I figured."

"You don't seem surprised."

"I'm not."

She turned sharply. "Explain."

Kai shrugged. "Since the Forest Maze began, I've felt… eyes. Like something was guiding the chaos. Then the Nightspawn calls me an Abyss-walker. I've never heard that title, but it didn't feel foreign."

Selene narrowed her gaze. "That's the problem."

She walked forward and placed the sealed talisman on a floating pedestal. The crystal shimmered—dozens of runes wrapped around it like chains.

"This thing reacted to your mana signature. Not just acknowledged—it welcomed it."

Kai flinched. "So what am I?"

Selene hesitated.

"I don't know yet."

"But you have theories."

A long pause.

Then she said quietly, "There's a lost bloodline… those who once walked the Abyss and returned. Not corrupted. Not mindless. Changed. Some call them cursed. Others... vessels."

Kai's heart thudded.

"You think I'm one?"

"I think someone thinks you are. And if they're right, you're not just a target. You're a key."

❖ Scene: Meanwhile — Student Halls

Cassian paced outside the infirmary, arms folded, his blades sheathed. He'd barely said a word since they were pulled from the maze. His eyes darted toward every passing professor.

Behind him, Rashira sat beside Sevyr, chewing her lip.

"They haven't called us in," she murmured. "Only Kai."

Sevyr tilted his head. "Makes sense. He finished the Nightspawn. That thing would've killed the rest of us."

Rashira nodded. "Still… it felt like the monster was drawn to him."

Cassian turned toward them.

"You saw it too?"

Sevyr arched a brow. "Saw what?"

"Right before it died. It looked straight at Kai and smiled."

They all fell silent.

❖ Scene: Faculty Chamber

High Professors, instructors, and the academy's heads had gathered in the Council Wing. The massive obsidian table had been conjured from one piece of Worldwood—its surface rippling slightly with passive enchantments.

Lady Ashveil sat at the head. Her hands were clasped before her, expression unreadable.

"The trials were infiltrated. The Nightspawn was a planted construct—corrupted with Abyssal design."

A hushed silence followed.

Professor Varn, head of the Mage Division, cleared his throat. "That level of interference... it couldn't have slipped through our outer wards unless someone within helped orchestrate it."

Whispers followed. A few professors exchanged glances.

"There is more," Ashveil continued. "Selene retrieved a talisman from the site. It reacted to one student in particular—Kai Valemorne."

Gasps. A name most of the staff had only casually noted before.

Ashveil raised a hand.

"He will be observed, not accused. As of now, there is no evidence he's complicit—only that he's connected."

Professor Nirell, head of the Beast Division, leaned forward. "The boy's performance was precise. Tactical. He acted to protect others."

Ashveil nodded slowly.

"And perhaps that's exactly what makes him dangerous."

❖ Scene: Kai's Return

Later that evening, Kai returned to his shared quarters. The halls were quiet—only faint footsteps in the distance and the rustle of leaves against the windows.

Inside, his beasts were already resting. Vex curled atop his bunk. Stromeon snored lightly near the balcony. Vael perched on the edge of the roof, scanning the sky.

Kai sat by the window, eyes on the stars.

"Abyss-walker."

He muttered the word to himself, testing its weight. It didn't feel cursed. It felt... like a path. One waiting to be walked.

There was no fear in him. Only clarity.

If they were going to label him a threat...

He'd become one.

❖ Scene: ??? — The Spiral Mirror

In a dimension tethered to the void, the three cloaked figures stood again around the spiral mirror.

The image of Kai shimmered faintly within.

"He's awakening faster than expected," said the first figure.

The second grinned. "Good. He must awaken before the Solstice."

The third stirred, voice like cracking stone. "And if Selene interferes again?"

The first raised a hand.

"Then we remove her."

❖ Scene: The Academy – Three Days Later

The academy was calm on the surface—but beneath that calm, tension seethed.

The third trial had been declared inconclusive. No victor. No rankings. All students had been told it was due to "unexpected environmental corruption," and while some bought the lie, most whispered of something far worse.

Especially those who had seen the Nightspawn.

Kai had kept to himself. He attended his required classes, answered when called upon, and trained longer than usual in the beast chambers. But eyes were on him now—more than ever.

Students stepped aside in the halls, whispers trailing behind him.

"That's the guy who fought the thing."

"Did you see how it looked at him?"

"I heard his mana's cursed..."

"No. I heard he's not even human."

Kai ignored it all. If anything, it made things easier. Less small talk. Less pretending.

The professors didn't treat him the same either. Some seemed overly kind. Others watched with veiled wariness, always keeping a healthy distance. But there were a few exceptions.

Like Professor Nirell.

❖ Scene: Beast Arena – After Class

Professor Nirell stood on the edge of the combat ring, his tall frame silhouetted by sunlight.

"Your beasts are growing fast," he said as Kai approached, Vex padding quietly behind.

Kai gave a short nod. "They're responding well to new techniques."

Nirell crouched and scratched behind Vex's ears. The lynx purred softly.

"You fought that Nightspawn with coordination most students can't even fake. Tell me the truth—have you trained in battlefield command?"

Kai was silent for a moment. Then: "Not formally."

"But you've been in real fights before."

It wasn't a question.

Kai met his gaze. "I have."

Nirell stood, arms folding. "Good. You'll need that edge. A lot of eyes are on you right now—and not all of them belong to allies."

Kai didn't flinch. "I'm used to that."

The professor smiled faintly. "So was I. Before I lost everything."

He turned to leave, then paused.

"If you ever feel like talking about it—not as a student, but as a fighter—I'll be around."

Kai watched him walk away, unsure whether the words were a gesture of goodwill... or a veiled warning.

❖ Scene: Selene's Quarters – Night

Selene's private study was dim, illuminated only by pale moonlight and the flicker of enchanted flames dancing in a crystal lantern.

The sealed talisman hovered in the air before her. Its glow had shifted—less erratic, more pulsing. Rhythmic. Like a heartbeat.

She narrowed her eyes.

"It's syncing," she muttered.

Her fingers traced an old symbol etched in the wooden desk—a crude spiral with a line drawn through it. Her family's mark. And a warning.

The door creaked.

A soft voice spoke from the shadows.

"Still watching the boy?"

Selene didn't turn. "You're late, Shade."

From the corner of the room, the cloaked figure stepped out. His mask glimmered under the lantern light, raven black with silver slashes.

"There was movement near the northern ward stones. I dispatched the interloper."

Selene stood. "Was it one of them?"

"He wore a sigil tied to the Hollowed Creed."

Her blood chilled.

"They're moving already... It's too early."

"And yet, the mirror shows otherwise."

Selene clenched her fists.

"Keep watching him. Closely. If the Creed moves again, we won't be able to contain this quietly."

Shade bowed once, then vanished into the shadows.

❖ Scene: Courtyard – Early Morning

The courtyard was quiet at dawn. Only the soft rustling of wind and the low cries of distant beasts broke the silence.

Kai knelt in the grass, blindfolded. In front of him, Vael soared silently through the air, diving, turning, looping on command. His bond with the falcon had grown sharper.

He reached out with his senses—not with sight, but through their shared link.

Left. Twist. Echo.

Vael responded instantly, unleashing a burst of compressed sound that scattered a flock of training dummies. Three landed neatly in the center circle.

Kai smirked.

From the side, someone clapped softly.

He turned his head, lifting the blindfold slightly.

It was Rashira.

"That was... incredible," she said, eyes wide. "You've really improved."

Kai gave a small nod. "So have you."

She flushed slightly. "Thanks. I've been working on command timing. Sevyr's been helping."

He didn't say anything. The silence stretched.

Then she stepped closer.

"I know what they're saying about you. The others... they're scared."

Kai shrugged. "They should be."

Her brows furrowed. "But I'm not."

He blinked.

Rashira looked up at him, voice steady now.

"Whatever's happening to you… I don't think it's evil. I think it's bigger than any of us."

He stared at her for a long moment, then looked away.

"That's what I'm afraid of."