Cybernetic Beast Taming In A Game-like World

The end of Professor Uriel's lesson was expectedly hectic. Though the enigmatic man treasured peace and silence, he allowed the uproar; after all, these students were only first-years, just beginning to absorb his unique and demanding style of teaching.

This brief chaos also gave Uriel the freedom to observe young Merrick unnoticed as the class emptied, whispers buzzing about the new project.

The boy who had survived the Conqueror, challenged a professor and struck a Class A, Back-Rank tamer.

Uriel's gaze tightened with curiosity. There was something curious about him. It wasn't always that a low-ranked student intrigued him more than his higher ranked peers.

Without a doubt, he would be watching Jethro's progress in the Academy closely. Provided there was progress to watch.

For Jethro, he found himself fairly excited about the project, which was an odd feeling for him.

He already knew everything about all the mechbeasts that were in that class hall— he knew how they would cultivate in principle and the best cultivation modules for every one of them. But he was curious to know how tamers would execute theirs. Especially prodigies like Padva.

They agreed to meet every other day after school in the repository to compare their mechbeasts' cultivation progress and exchange insights.

After that and an awkward 'see you later', Jethro and his roommates; Kekius and Oand reunited almost immediately.

Kekius tried to fish for information about whether Jethro had a thing for Princess Padva, but Jethro shrugged it off with a statement along the lines of: '"The thing we have is trauma. Shared trauma. My therapist's words, not mine."

Kekius eventually gave up.

Then, together, Together, they walked into the final class of the day: Taming Gadgets.

Inside the vast, workshop-like class hall, Jethro learned about the countless gadgets mechbeast tamers relied on to support their beasts and ease the taming process.

Professor Luria, a woman with sharp, intelligent eyes framed by tattoo mods tracing her temples, was their teacher for the class.

She was completely covered with mods to the extent that there was barely any skin left. However, there was just enough to make the older, bubbly lady look attractive.

Professor Luria began with the more popular devices like aether chips. Sold in almost all commercial mechshops, aether chips were the only way for a common tamer to get aether to supply to their mechbeast as raw aether— both ambient and crystallized —was toxic to humans.

Then she moved to cultivation modules, though her explanation of them mainly mirrored Professor Uriel's.

They were discs that contained programs or techniques that govern and unlock a mechbeast's category of power. As the mechbeast follows the prescribed program, it unlocks abilities along these pathways or ability trees.

Then she talked about beastlinkers. Beastlinkers were very important for tamers as they were basically the lifeline to their mechbeasts.

With this device, tamers could monitor their mechbeast's health, growth stages, core stability, aether retention, stats, potential rank increase, cultivation, unlocked abilities and shared abilities.

Professor Luria also warned them not to cheap out as a faulty linker could misinterpret critical feedback leading to irreversible damages on your mechbeast.

After that, she talked about mods— short for modifiers, or modifying implants and sometimes just called implants.

Mods were augmentations, cybernetic replacements of body parts in a mechbeast tamer. The major reason for this was simple: the magic that mechbeasts stored, the power they had, was still too much for most humans to handle directly.

Consequently, to prevent a body part from exploding or melting from the amount of aether rushing through its channels to fuel a particular power or move, that body part was replaced with a cybernetic enhancement designed to better contain the aether.

These enhancements had faster processing, stronger channels, amplified senses and reinforced structure. All of that allows the aether to flow through that part of the body easier in order to summon an ability or a power move.

This is why the arms were the most commonly modified parts, as they were the primary conduits for summoning magic and powers.

Luria then surveyed various miscellaneous tools like Aether Infusers which forcibly injected aether into mechbeasts too sick to harness or break it down; Core Stabilizers, Recorders, Glyphs, and others.

However, there was one particular gadget she spoke of that got Jethro's full attention.

A Portal Box.

Professor Luria had held up the palm-sized, black cube etched with electric neon blue circuitry. She activated it in front of the class, and a stable blue vortex glitching like a bad TV signal appeared beside her.

Luria explained that Portal Boxes didn't work like spatial foldings but rather by tunneling. It created temporary space portals between pre-mapped checkpoints— designated locations loaded into its registry. She deactivated it, the portal vanishing.

They were used mainly for rapid deployment or extractions. And were also the single most expensive standard-issue gear first-years like them will likely never afford.

Jethro didn't mind the cost; he wasn't planning on buying one anytime soon. But he was desperate to begin Scorch's evolution that night, or at least map potential flame forests or volcanic caverns beyond the Academy.

With no credits or reason to purchase a travel permit— not that they would ever issue any on just the first day of school —Jethro had no other choice than to go against the morals he didn't even have and steal the Portal Box.

Not any Portal Box from a mechshop as that could get him in trouble. Just the one Professor Luria had taught with.

Jethro figured that a Box like that would certainly have at least one checkpoint outside the Academy's guarded premises.

After the dismissal chime sounded and students began filing out of the class, Jethro stood with Scorch on his head and turned to Kekius and Oand, who were picking up their mechbeasts.

"Hey, you guys head out. I need to ask Professor Luria something. I'll catch up with you at the tram station."

Kekius nodded, concerned but trusting. "Sure thing. Don't be long though. Oand and I want to go get cultivation modules." Oand offered Jethro a weak smile, still looking tired from his earlier ordeal.

Jethro waited until the flow of students thinned, then slipped downwards to Professor Luria's office which was adjoined to the stage. The door was ajar. He knocked lightly.

"Professor Luria? Sorry to bother you. I had a quick question about Beastlinkers?"

Luria looked up from her terminal, her tattoos glinting. "Oh. You're Jethro Merrick, aren't you? I recognize you from your Red Lizard. Come on in. What questions do you have?"

Jethro looked up at Schorch. 'Alright, buddy. You know what to do.'

He stepped inside as she got up to arrange the metallic plates of her study glyphs on a shelf. Jethro positioned himself to subtly block the view of her desk. "I was just thinking that with a mechbeast like my Lizard, standard models would seem… overpowered? So I was thinking of model suggestions that would best fit his rank. Something under-compatible."

As he spoke, focusing intently on Luria, Scorch carefully scrambled down the back of his neck. Using Jethro's legs as cover, the lizard darted with surprising speed across the short distance and climbed the sleek silver desk, using the gadgets on top of it as cover as it got closer to the Portal Box.

"Oh, I understand exactly what you mean!" Luria responded warmly. "I'll tell you a secret. Many tamers don't have to get the standard issue model, especially not Bronze and Grey Ranks.

"Beastcorp only markets them as standard but they're actually overkill for mechbeast that have that little power and details to follow. Which is why you should go for model b57x medium standard. It's under-compatible like you want and more affordable."

She smiled gently as Jethro nodded, pretending to consider her words thoroughly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Scorch heave itself up and dart towards he black cube. It clamped its jaws around a small recessed handle designed for carrying. The Portal Box was surprisingly light for its tech.

Scorch pulled, dragging the cube to the edge of the bench. Just when it landed with a soft thump on the ground, Jethro muffled the sound by cutting in with another question about whether more affordable linkers than the b57x existed.

Professor Luria offered more sensible advice about mid-range, adaptable linkers. She explained that the b57 series was by far the most popular, though the plain b57 low standard hadn't received software updates for years and was now basically unusable. The b57x medium standard remained Jethro's best option.

Jethro pretended to listen, but once he saw Scorch slink out of the office, successfully disappearing into the shadows of the class hall, he interrupted Professor Luria mid-sentence.

"—fascinating, Professor! Thank you, that clarifies a lot. I'll go with the medium standard as you've advised! I have to run now!" He flashed her a big, almost mischievous grin before turning and walking hastingly out of the office.

Professor Luria stared at him, taken aback by his sudden visit and even faster exit. Maybe she'd talked too much as usual, but there was something awfully curious about that boy and this unusual encounter.

Outside the hall, Jethro rounded a quiet corner where a high arched window framed the late afternoon sun. Scorch was there, panting slightly, the Portal Box resting triumphantly beside him. Jethro scooped them both up, a fierce grin spreading across his face. He ruffled Scorch's head frill.

"You brilliant little thief, Scorch! We did it!" he praised the happy lizard. "Tonight, we're gonna—"

"Hey, scrap feeder!"

Jethro's grin vanished as the voice sliced through his moment of victory. With a sigh, he turned slowly.

Prince Eryn Fenlor stood ten feet away, flanked by two cronies— one of them was Dash Brenton, Jethro's roommate. The other, who had been the one to call his name, was a newer face, but not any less irritating.

Jethro instinctively hid the Portal Box behind him.

"What was that just now?" the newface crony sneered. "What are you hiding back there, scrap head? Show us!"

Suddenly, the triumphant warmth Jethro had felt moments before was completely evaporated, replaced by the cold dread of being caught, red-handed, by the worst possible people.