This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

However, things didn't go quite according to plan.

She sucked it up to attend a high school in the middle of nowhere surrounded by plebians.

After all, she is still of a high bloodline and would definitely be able to awaken a powerful affinity and make a comeback, but…

"Where is it? Where the hell is it?!" Heather's voice cracked as she screamed, her composure shattering.

She ran through the darkened space of her consciousness, her spiritual senses searching desperately. The vast, empty void mocked her with its emptiness.

Her heart pounded in her chest as panic set in. She tried to stretch out her senses to see if there was a pull again and again, her hands trembling as if she could physically grasp what wasn't there.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

Every instinct told her that the egg should be here, waiting for her, glowing with the promise of power and greatness. But the space remained empty.

Heather fell to her knees, her hands clawing at the ground. The darkness closed in around her, suffocating and cold. Her breath came in shallow gasps as reality began to sink in.

She had failed.

For the first time in her life, Heather Frost, the girl who had always been told she was destined for greatness, felt the sting of being utterly ordinary.

When she was finally forced to exit the space formed from her unconscious, she stood in front of her peers, trembling and humiliated. The whispers behind her back were deafening.

"She didn't find an egg?"

"How is that possible? She's a legacy."

She felt as though every hushed word was taunting her. Even the teacher that had approached to comfort her, was merely rubbing in her face her current predicament.

"Argh! I don't believe this! I don't believe this! That bitch! I don't believe that bitch could awaken as she did and I can't at this goddamned ceremony!"

After her temper got her thrown out of the hall where the ceremony was taking place, Heather was overcome by despair.

"How could this happen?!" She was a legacy who came from a long line of beast-tamers. Statistically, the chances of her not awakening even the lowest level of affinity was miniscule.

But this miniscule probability had still fallen on her…

In the months following the disastrous Affinity Ceremony, Heather Frost's life descended into monotony and bitterness. The ordinary high school felt like a prison.

She was surrounded by ordinary people whose lives revolved around unremarkable goals. They had no aspirations for greatness, no understanding of what it meant to bear the burden of bringing a family to glory. Heather couldn't decide if she hated them more for their mediocrity or their contentment.

Her days blurred together, consumed by thoughts of what could have been.

One evening, Heather sat at her vanity, staring at her reflection in the cracked mirror. Her fingers absently traced the edge of the polished wood as her mind churned with anger and self-pity. She leaned closer, inspecting her tired, pale face.

"This is your life now?" she muttered bitterly. Her reflection scowled back, and for a moment, she could almost see the mocking expressions of her former peers in her mind. Former classmates who had once been beneath her, but were now more powerful than her.

Suddenly, the reflection in the mirror did something strange—it stopped mirroring her.

Heather froze. Her hands had stilled on the table, but the image of her in the mirror tilted its head, a sly, knowing smirk creeping across its lips.

Heather's heart pounded as a chill snaked down her spine. "What is this?!" she demanded.

The reflection didn't answer immediately. Instead, it leaned forward, its eyes gleaming with something unnatural. "I'm here to help you," it said finally, the words dripping with dark amusement.

Heather's breaths came in shallow gasps, but her fear was quickly eclipsed by curiosity. "Help me how?"

The reflection chuckled. "You were meant for greatness, Heather Frost. You were destined to rise above the commoners you're surrounded by. But fate has been cruel to you, hasn't it? Stripped you of your rightful place, left you powerless and alone. I can change that. I can give you power, respect, revenge—everything you desire."

Heather swallowed hard, her hands gripping the edge of the vanity. This mysterious figure was offering her everything she'd ever wanted, but she didn't immediately give any indication that she would take up the offer.

Heather was vain, self-centered, and arrogant, but she wasn't stupid. She knew that who or whatever this was would want something from her in exchange.

"What's in it for you?"

The reflection's eyes gleamed with an unnatural light. "Our research is in need of the resources, influence and money you could provide."

"Research?"

"Awakening an affinity," the reflection replied smoothly. "The very thing you've been denied. The research requires both funding and test subjects. But with your help, we can refine the technique. And once we perfect it... your power will know no bounds."

Heather frowned, doubt creeping into her mind. "Test subjects?"

"Ordinary people," the reflection said dismissively. "Or more specifically the offspring of ordinary people. Those who have no real future, no greater purpose. They'll be able to serve a more noble cause—helping someone like you reclaim what's rightfully yours."

The words struck a chord in Heather. She thought of the people in this low-class city—their dull lives, their limited aspirations. They didn't understand greatness, didn't strive for anything beyond their mundane existence. And she... she was meant for so much more.

Seeing that she close to agreeing, the reflection made one final push.

"Think about it, Heather. Do you want to stay here forever, trapped in mediocrity? Or will you seize this opportunity to rise above it all?"

Heather's mind filled with visions of Serena Storm—her perfect face, the constant comparisons, always being one-upped by her—and the life that had been stolen from her.

"I'll do it," she whispered.

Getting the response it wanted, the figure identical to her in the mirror stretched its mouth into a wide, cruel grin. "Excellent. Let's begin."