"I am sorry to say, but your class is a Beast Master." Immediately, the excitement that Eryndor felt was gone, as it was replaced by dread.
"Beast Master?" His voice carried a hint of disbelief.
"Please, you have to check again! There is no way I am a Beast Master!"
"Eryndor," the man clad in black robe spoke as he took the orb out of Eryndor's hands.
"There are no mistakes in the test, you have awakened the Beast Master class."
All Eryndor could do now was grit his teeth in frustration, cursing inwardly.
'Why? Why did it have to be the most cursed class of them all?'
Knowing that there was a line behind him waiting to enter the room and be tested for their classes, all Eryndor could do was bow slightly and exit the room.
"Hey man, what class did you get?" His best friend asked, clearly in a good mood.
"Truth be told, I'm a Paladin! Can you imagine me as a Paladin? I can't wait, I heard in the future I'll be able to subjugate demons with ease!"
His friend turned his head, looking at Eryndor. "So what did you get?"
Eryndor awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he answered, "You know it's not polite to ask such questions. Besides, this information is supposed to be secret…"
"Oh, come on!" his friend lightly tapped him on the shoulder. "You can be honest with me. I swear I won't tell anyone."
'We've been friends since we were children… so maybe it's fine to tell him, right?'
"A Beast Master, my class is a Beast Master," Eryndor spoke awkwardly as he thought inwardly.
'Sure, it may be the most despised class, but so what? I will prove everybody wrong! Just because of my class doesn't mean I'll become some kind of cold-blooded killer!'
Eryndor's friend's eyes widened slightly. "I-I see, well, not much we can do about it, right?"
A fake smile appeared on his face.
"Hey, I was wondering if we were going to the ca-"
"Sorry," his friend interrupted him as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"I just remembered I have something to do… maybe next time?"
Eryndor laughed awkwardly, "Sure, next time."
This was the last time Eryndor saw his best friend.
*****
A table flew across the room as it shattered into multiple pieces.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ARE A BEAST TAMER?" His father's furious shout made Eryndor tremble slightly in fear.
"Father, li-"
"Is that why I have looked after you for almost two decades? To return to me as a Beast Master?!" His father interrupted him, his voice growing angrier and angrier.
"Honey!" His mother calmed down his father. "It's fine, he will just not tame beasts, alright?"
Suddenly, Eryndor's mother shifted her gaze to him, but her eyes weren't loving or gentle as usual, this time, they bore wariness, almost fear.
"Eryndor… you will not tame anything, right?"
"Y-yes, Mother," under her piercing gaze, all he could do was stutter as he answered.
"But," Eryndor's father put a hand on his head.
"Being a Beast Master, he is essentially useless! How is he going to make money? We're so close to being thrown out onto the streets as we struggle with our debt!"
"It's alright, honey, we will find a way."
This was how the talk with his parents about his class went.
"I will show you," Eryndor muttered under his breath.
Wanting to hide that he was a beast tamer, he took a jobs anonymously and solo them with the intention to earn money and improve his family situation.
Pretty quickly, he saw that he had a talent, as it turned out, the blessing he had received from his god was quite powerful.
He tamed multiple Rare beasts and quickly earned money as he completed the jobs.
At first, his parents questioned how he got so much money, but as they were in desperate need of it, they didn't object and accepted it.
One day, Eryndor was in the forest when he saw the corpses of dozens of Rare beasts lying on the ground.
He fell to his knees, only to see a three-headed beast bigger than a house glaring at him with hungry eyes.
'This is the moment I will die,' he thought… but something unexpected happened—he tamed the beast.
He managed to tame an Epic beast!
'Finally, my countless hours of practice have been rewarded!' he thought as he returned home.
'Now there is no way they won't recognize me!' he thought with a smile.
Since taming the beast, he had begun to hear some strange voices in his head, but he easily ignored them.
He was looking forward to seeing how proud his parents would be.
"Ple-ase get out," his mother stuttered, her pupils widening in horror.
"Mother, I-"
"Please leave us alone…" his father interjected.
"But I did it for y-"
"We don't have a son anymore! Please leave!" his mother screamed.
At their words, all he could do was exit the room in silence, but not before putting his savings on the table.
'They need it more than me… they are just confused at the moment. I am sure, with time, they will see reason,' he thought.
The next day, Eryndor was surrounded by warriors and mages.
"Sir Eryndor! It is suspected that you have tamed an Epic beast—an act strictly forbidden by the law. As such, your execution will be carried out at once!"
'How? Who ratted me out?' Eryndor thought. He hadn't spoken about his beast to anyone… except…
Shifting his gaze, he saw his parents looking from the distance.
'My parents ratted me out? Even after all I have done for them?'
After that, everything was a blur.
When Eryndor came back to his senses, the whole city was in ruins, and he was standing over his parents' corpses with a smile on his face.
He let out a sigh as he muttered, "Then so be it. I will become exactly what you were afraid of."
Eryndor went on a rampage, destroying numerous cities on his path as he headed toward the capital of the empire.
He even managed to tame a second Epic beast along the way.
And now he was standing above a man with white hair and green, cat-like eyes.
"My name is Eryndor… what is yours?" he asked.
The white-haired man, though he could hardly breathe, replied,
"Why would you care?"
"Because I respect other Beast Masters. I want to at least remember your name before I kill you."
The white-haired man chuckled weakly before answering,
"It's Zaroth… but you're wrong, Eryndor. Today isn't the day I die—it's the day you meet your end."