Cybernetic Beast Taming In A Game-like World

It was Kekius's sharp nudging under the table that snapped Jethro back from his thoughts. "What are you doing? You can't just be staring at the Heads of House like that."

Jethro made a face of curiosity. "Heads of House?" he asked, taking a sip of his sparkfruit juice. "What's that?"

"They're the highest-ranked tamers in our Faction. For Knight Faction, they're called Heads of Knight." He subtly gestured towards the group. "They're basically the bosses. The heavy machinery of our Faction— nobody to mess with."

He pointed discreetly, dropping his voice. "The slim girl with the modded arms is Noa Spark. She laughs a lot, but don't let that fool you one bit. Her mechbeast is Black Rank; an Earthquake Dragonbear. Grade D. She can deadlift much more than that big guy beside her could."

Jethro's eyes moved to the hulking student, the one who reminded him of Pott.

"He's Rod Kanelight. He's still extremely strong, not minding what I just said. His mechbeast is an Elemental Shellmoose, Platinum Rank, Grade B. It has a shell that can manifest any element on command, making him extremely versatile for a Vanguard-type Riftwalker."

Kekius spoke more carefully this time. "The blue-haired guy talking right now is Nyro Vexx, one of the most popular tamers in the world.

"That's because his mechbeast is a Lightning Dragon. A Black Rank, Grade B mechbeast that well… is still one of the most ferocious and most powerful to ever exist. That should tell you just what kind of a big deal he is. He even once cleared a Gold Rank Rift completely on his own."

Jethro studied Nyro carefully.

"That guy though," Kekius carefully pointed, his voice taking on a note of admiration. "The blond one with a lock of hair on his shoulder and a Shockbunny in front of him. He's Kaden Steelmark.

"He has sort of a past with Beastcorp authorities back when he used to be a rogue tamer. But now he's part of the team after cleaning up his act. He does a lot of Rift Clearing which is good because he's madly great at it.

"In fact, the only reason Nyro Vexx cleared a Gold-Ranked Rift on his own was because Kaden soloed a Silver-Ranked one earlier. He's also a Dual Bond Tamer. He owns a Black Rank Grade C mechbeast: an Imitator Leopard, and that Silver Rank Bolt Hopper he hatched in the recent Ceremony."

Kekius looked like he admired the guy. "Look, Kaden is one of the best of us. An amazing fighter. And he's pretty cool too. Do you know he came second in last year's Academy Mechbeast Games?"

"Who came first?" Jethro asked, already suspecting the answer.

Kekius nodded towards the silent, stern girl, rocking the leg she had over the other.

Jethro smirked. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Faction Leader Fenris is what they call a paragon," Kekius whispered. "A once-in-a-generation mechbeast tamer. She's bonded to four mechbeasts. Four. Can you believe it? The last time we had a Quad-Bond Tamer, President Velara was still a teenager! And her mechbeasts are all Gold Rank or higher."

Kekius prepared to name them, counting with his fingers. "A Druid Direwolf, Platinum Rank, Grade C; a Necromantic Wolfknight, Black Rank, Grade D; a Shadow Hound, Gold Rank, Grade B; and a Winter Wolf," he finished. "Gold Rank, Grade A. I mean, isn't that just astonishing?"

Jethro watched Fenris's cold, detached profile. "Her mechbeasts are all wolf types. Makes me wonder if Fenris is even her real name or she's just committed to the bit."

Kekius wrinkled his lips. "Is that all you're gonna say to something like that? It's not just thr mechbeasts, you know. Fenris is unreal in combat. If you think what Padva did today was impressive, go watch holoreels of Leader Fenris in action. She's in a league of her own."

Jethro shrugged, thoughtful. "I'm not downplaying her power or anything like that. I just found it curious that she's managed to bond with four mechwolves. Must be something unique about her Soul Core, or she's intentionally going for mechwolves. Her Dual Bond talent must have been discovered pretty early if that's the case."

Kekius's face grew serious. "Even then, Faction Leader Fenris is still underpowered compared to some behemoths out there."

Jethro looked at him. "You're saying there are tamers out there stronger than her? Can't be that many."

Kekius raised a brow at him. A confused one. "Sometimes you act like you haven't been living in this world your entire life."

'Well, I haven't.'

"Don't you know that out there," Kekius continued, "there are tamers who make Leader Fenris look small. Graduates from years ago now working for Sector Governors, leading Troopers into Rift Clearing missions or sometimes even going solo. They stop the Darcbeasts from the Rift causing infrastructure damage or harming the lives of the Sector's citizens.

"When they battle each other, it's like two monster airships colliding. There are explosions, light, death of citizens, entire buildings crumbling. Those tamers have transcended what it means to be a Riftwalker or a mechbeast tamer. They're just gods now."

Kekius's eyes narrowed. "Beast Gods," he muttered. "Or at least that's what they're called."

Then he met Jethro's gaze. "Makes guys like us seem like specks of dust compared to them, right? But that's why I want to be a Riftwalker. If I can be great enough to fight amongst these legends and protect Nebulon, maybe someday some first-year will be whispering about me like this. I could inspire the next generation to fight for our world."

Jethro didn't respond, the thought of these supposed Beast Gods fighting kept creating cinematic images in his mind. His eyes drifted back to Fenris, but this time, Nyro Vexx noticed almost immediately.

"Looks like you've got a fan, Fenris." Jethro heardd him say, nudging Fenris's gaze towards his direction.

Jethro quickly whipped his gaze away, cursing as heat rose in his cheeks. He could feel all five of them looking at him.

The burly one, Rod, spoke first. "Is that not the kid, Nyro? The one they say survived the Conqueror? That's him."

Nyro's brows shot up. "You're kidding me?" He gave Jethro a curious once-over. "It is him. Look, it's a Gutterling. So he's the Gray-Rank scrap feeder. That's the survivor."

Jethro wanted to shrink, hearing them talk about him. It wasn't like he cared, he was just almost certain of what would come next.

And his suspicions were correct. Nyro snapped his fingers, causing a small, sharp, crackle of blue electricity to sizzle into existence just above Jethro's lunchtray, frightening Scorch who was eating some distance away.

Jethro slowly raised his head, meeting Nyro's amused gaze. The Head of House crooked a finger, beckoning him to come over there.

Jethro gulped.

Kekius paled slightly beside him. "What did I warn you about staring, Jethro?!"