I Became A Starter Beast

The elevator stopped when it reached the third floor. It then opened a second later, showing the figures of two young men and their beast companions.

One had brown hair parted in a 7:3 ratio with black eyes that were covered with a pair of round glasses. His partner was a dog that looked like a brown-red furred retriever.

The other was Aster, with Twy perched haughtily on his shoulder.

"Follow me," the brown-haired boy smiled kindly towards the two, before guiding them forward.

Aster nodded with a corresponding kind smile.

The two walked down the marbled hallway, neither fast nor slow, chatting casually about relevant topics along the way.

Not paying attention to their chatter, Twy vacated Aster's right shoulder and moved to his left one.

He curiously looked towards the large open part of the building, where one could see from the bottom floor up to the ceiling just above the fifth floor.

'The structure is like a grand mall, yet this is only a quarter of the whole building?'

From what he heard from Aster, Battle Stadium was not only a gathering post for the Beast Masters, it also doubled as a venue for the Leagues.

It's like a football stadium in every European city. However, here there are stadiums in most districts of the city!'

Just as Twy's mind was about to be overwhelmed by the scale of the capital, the two humans' feet finally arrived in front of a steel door with the number 321 engraved on it.

The three, beasts and human, watched as the boy pulled out a card and tapped it against the modern-looking lock.

It turned green, and then the door slid open.

Come in!" the boy invited them with a polite smile to enter first, like a butler to his guests.

Aster looked at him with thanks, accepting his invitation to enter the room. What greeted him and his kitten was a plain and boring white room.

 "This is a simulation room," the boy explained as he slid the door closed.

"In this room, you can set what kind of enemies you want, how many, their weapons, and how high their level of strength would be—the maximum number and level this room allows is 5 enemies with peak Tier I or Common cultivation."

He moved towards the white wall next to the door and started pressing on it. At the start, the two were confused, but after a blue light flashed, their eyes widened.

“'Hologram!'” 

Aster was genuinely surprised. Holographic technology was still far from the hands of the public; it was mostly used by the government and some high-ranking guilds.

"'Yes! I was as excited as you when I first saw it,' the boy turned to face Aster before eagerly explaining, ”The simulation room is currently the only place common people like us can use this kind of advanced technology!'"

"—though it's too damn costly,” he whispered. Aster did not hear it, but Twy did.

"'If this room costs a lot to rent, then why is he so generous towards us?' His sensitive nose started to smell something fishy about this guy.

"Right, I was so excited that I didn't tell you my name yet. I'm Clark. And you?"

Aster took the hand Clark offered and shook it while he introduced himself.

“I'm Aster. Nice to meet you, Clark.”

“Yes, nice to meet you too, Aster.”

The two let go of each other's hands. Meanwhile, Twy was flabbergasted when he heard his name.

'Glasses, Clark.... Don't tell me—!'

“So, Aster, want to give the simulation room a try?' Clark asked, spreading his hands wide.

Aster made a quick glance on his left shoulder, before he answered enthusiastically. “You're letting me try? really?”

“Yes, I'm sure,” Clark nodded generously.

Aster didn't hesitated and immediately listed his wants. “Then give me two enemies: one human, barehanded; and one beast, a coyote. Set one of them at 1 star and the other at none.”

The corner of Clark's eyes twitched. He nodded before inputting Aster's instructions to the hologram system.

“Alright, you go stand in the middle. I'll start once you give the signal.” 

“Thank you.”

Aster did as he was told and, while walking towards the central spot, he whispered to his shoulder. “Hide your strength, and if possible, make couple of mistakes.”

Twy's golden eyes shone with understanding, but he didn't react in any other way except raising his right paw.

Once Aster arrived in the middle of the room, the kitten jumped off his shoulder. The young man then relaxed his body before raising both his fist.

“Start.”

“Okay!” Clark shouted as he pressed a button on the floating hologram.

The wall ahead of Aster and Twy opened up a two small cube hole. It then discharged two white balls that somehow transformed into a human and coyote mannequins after landing on the white floor.

Aster charged with a fervent howl, while Twy cutely mimicked him.

The simulation started!

•••

Aster fought hard with the mannequins, slugging his fist whenever he got hit. 

Meanwhile, Twy was having a tough time dodging the coyote in front of him. Most of the time, he hid near Aster's feet or ran away from battle.

Clark watched them from the corner while petting his partner, his lips arched in a mocking smile.

It took Aster at least six minutes before he delivered a combo punch to his enemy's head, knocking it down to the floor.

The young man was exhausted, but he still lunged towards the coyote—with Twy, the two took down the last mannequin in under 10 minutes.

A soft sound signalled the end of their battle.

Clark and his pet dog walked towards the exhausted human and beast pair. He clapped his hands while congratulating them, “That was amazing, Aster! You finished them much faster than I did last time!”

Aster scratched his nose while he faced the boy's admiration.

“I'm not that good, we almost lost.” He then pointed his finger towards the boy.

“It's your turn, Clark. I'm sure you'll finish them faster than me!”

“Ah... about that. I rented this place just for one battle session only.”

Aster's eyes narrowed unnoticeably. “Huh? Then why did you let me use it?” His voice was filled with doubt.

“Well... it's because I'm happy that I made a friend.” Clark scratched the back of his head, showing an embarrassed look.

Aster stood up and headed towards the door with a determined expression.

“I'm happy that you thought of me like that, but I can't just take advantage of your goodwill!”

While his partner was walking, Twy watched from the corner of his eye as Clark's troubled expression shifted into a sinful smile.

“Aster, don't be hasty!” Clark caught up and blocked the door. “Do you know how much it costs for one battle simulation in this room? It's not cheap!”

“That's why! You wasted that chance on me. It's not friendship if I'm the only one who receives. So let me pay you back, my friend.” Aster pleaded with clear eyes, which made Clark turn his head away from him, but he couldn't hide his trembling shoulder.

“If thats what you really want then, I can't stop you.” 

He turned his head back, his gaze as he faced Aster was also determined.

“But let's not rent another simulation room. Instead, what if we battle it out in the arena? It only costs 100 Iglis for a battle!”

Aster looked a little hesitant when he heard that. It looked like he wanted to complain, but he was stopped by Clark.

“If you still feel uncomfortable with that, how about you make a bet with me?”

Aster tilted his head, asking, “Bet?” 

“Yes, let's bet half the cost of this room. What do you say?” Clark probed, with a smile effortlessly taken from his heart.

“How much is the bet?” 

“5,000 Iglis.”

“5,000! That means this room costs 10k!” Aster's eyes widened in fear and appreciation for Clark's generosity.

“So what do you say? If I win, I'll just accept that you want to pay back my goodwill!”

“But if I win?” Aster asked with a confident smirk on his lips.

The smiling expression on Clark's face threatened to crumble, but he was able to keep it intact. “Hah, you're so confident! Didn't you just tell me that I can surpass your time?”

“Well, that was that and this is this.”

“You arrogant punk!” 

Clark laughed as he joked with Aster. They both look like good buddies who are heading towards the arena to hone their friendship.

Following the three, a cat couldn't help but smirk.

'Hook, line, and sinker~' 

•••