"Thank you," Kyle said as he entered the town.
"Fire Smiths?" he whispered after entering the town.
"Smiths specializing in Fire Affinity equipment," Theodor answered.
"You can specialize in stuff like that?" Kyle asked.
"Do you not know anything about Ether?" Theodor asked in annoyance.
"I know what you taught me, and you have not told me anything about that."
Theodor snorted. "Creating armor for people in the Second Realm isn't easy. If you have a Fire Affinity and use a lot of Fire Ether, the extended exposure of your Fire Ether can damage and denature your equipment unless it is designed to be used with Fire Ether."
Kyle's eyes widened.
"Wait, so, I'm damaging my armor by using Air Current?" he asked, his voice drawing a couple of concerned looks from the people on the streets.
"No, imbecile! I said Second Realm," Theodor answered with annoyance.
Kyle had noticed the looks from the people, but he didn't really care anymore.
"Why are you always annoyed?" Kyle asked.
"Because I'm stuck in your head!"
"You entered my head willingly."
"Because I didn't know you were a dwarf!"
"Weren't you the one who made the trials? If you didn't want a dwarf, you could've just put out a sign that says no dwarves allowed."
"I designed my trials so that no dwarf could pass! How is a dwarf supposed to learn the intricacies of metal refinement or understand the truth of the flame!"
As Kyle walked past the buildings made of black smoke, he drew more and more attention.
This guy was shouting at himself.
However, no one dared to approach since Kyle looked quite intimidating.
"And how is that my fault?" Kyle said after arguing some more. "You were- hey, is that a beast?"
Kyle noticed a black and red salamander walking through the town.
The people made way for it, but nobody seemed to be worried.
"That's a Primary Beast," Theodor said in his usual tone. It was like they hadn't been in an argument just now.
"Why are you talking like I'm supposed to know what that means?"
"Because you ARE supposed to know what that means! These are the basics!" Theodor shouted.
"Well, then you didn't teach me the basics."
"Am I supposed to teach you how to breathe, walk, and chew as well?!"
"Just tell me what a Primary Beast is, dude."
"I am not your dude! A Primary Beast is directly linked to a Beast Tamer. Their Center connects with the beast, and the Beast Tamer can order the beast around via telepathy. A Primary Beast is the most important beast for a Beast Tamer since it is the source of their power."
As Theodor explained these things, Kyle stepped to the side, letting the salamander pass.
That thing was about three meters tall and over ten meters long.
Its face also looked a bit derpy.
Suddenly, the salamander stopped walking while it was beside Kyle.
"Sir, could you wait a moment?" a female voice spoke from the salamander's back.
Kyle looked over and saw a young woman on top of the salamander.
She seemed rather young and had short red hair. Kyle estimated that she was around 16 years old or something.
And she was looking right at Kyle.
Kyle just wordlessly pointed at himself.
"Yes, you," the girl said.
Three other men who had been pointing at themselves noticed that the girl was talking to Kyle and awkwardly shuffled to the side.
"Eh, yeah? What's up?" Kyle asked.
The red eyebrows of the young woman shot up in surprise.
Then, she looked at the ground with furrowed brows.
"That's a hard question to answer," she said.
"Huh?" Kyle uttered.
"What?" the woman asked, realizing that something wasn't right.
"What's up?" Kyle repeated. "As in, what is going on?"
"Oh!" the woman said as she awkwardly laughed. "Apologies. I wasn't familiar with that phrase."
"It's fine," Kyle answered. "So, what's up?"
"Sir," she spoke. "Are you entering the wilderness soon?"
"Probably, why?" Kyle asked.
"Then, would you be willing to accompany me for a short trip?" she asked.
Kyle blinked a couple of times in surprise.
'Did she ask me out?' he thought as he looked at her. 'Brah, I know I have the Predator's Being, but I'm not that kind of predator!'
"Why?" Kyle asked.
"I want to tame my first Secondary Beast, but traveling alone through the wilderness is dangerous. I can pay you if you want," she said.
"Theodor?" Kyle whispered into his arm.
"A Beast Tamer can have only one Primary Beast, but they can have a couple of Secondary Beasts as well. The Primary Beast is connected to the Beast Tamer, while the Secondary Beasts are connected to the Primary Beast."
"Secondary Beasts have to be weaker than the Primary Beasts, and it is much harder to communicate with them for the Beast Tamer. Usually, a Beast Tamer tames their first Secondary Beast when they just reached the Second Realm."
'Huh, so, Beast Tamers can have more than one beast. Cool,' Kyle thought.
The girl looked at Kyle with worry.
Kyle had been silent for over ten seconds without answering, and she started to feel awkward.
"Why did you ask me?" Kyle asked.
"I prefer Shouters as teammates," the young woman spoke. "Skweera is a ranged beast, and I need someone who can distract the enemy."
'I assume Skweera is the name of that big salamander,' Kyle thought, looking at the derpy salamander.
"Okay," Kyle said. "I am traveling to the Big Bazaar. I can help you as long as you help me get to the next Cradle."
The young woman's eyes widened in pleasant surprise.
"Actually, I'm only here to capture a certain kind of beast that lives here. After that, I will be going to the Big Bazaar as well. We can travel together if you want."
'Lucky!' Kyle thought with exhilaration. 'I don't have to scurry through the wilderness like a cockroach anymore!'
"Sure, I would be down for that," he answered.
"Down?" she asked with confusion.
"It means, yes, I would be interested."
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