The streets of the United States were never silent—always busy with shouts and the blaring horns of impatient drivers. At nearly every corner, the red, white, and blue flags of the nation hung lazily in the air, a symbol of the dominance and evolution the country had claimed in recent years.
Jayden couldn't help but part his lips slightly, exhaling the heat in his chest as tension coiled inside him. The scene awaiting him at home twisted his stomach into knots, but he had better plans.
"All I need to do is sneak in, grab the stuff I need to survive in the tunnel, and sneak back out. But…"
His palm pressed against his forehead, feeling the steam of despair rising from it, while the egg of disgrace was cradled awkwardly in his armpit.
'Dad…' he thought, 'that falcon of his… that damn bird can detect even the smallest movement. A shift in the wind rings in his mind like a church bell.'
Thought after thought, Jayden pieced together a desperate plan to make up for the shame—or worse, the disaster—this egg had brought upon him. At least it's an egg. Anything could hatch from it, he told himself, clinging to slim probabilities with the enthusiasm of a drowning man grabbing driftwood.
After a long walk through the city—where practically everyone except children under sixteen or those too poor to afford basic educations, had beast markings or traits on their skin while some had their beast unfused from their bodies—Jayden finally reached the building he called home.
It was a regal one-story structure, surrounded by a properly fenced walls with enough space to be called a mansion by city standards.
His dad wasn't the richest, but far from the poorest. He worked as a personal bodyguard to the president—a position only A-ranked Tamers could attain, especially considering the monstrous presence the president wielded with his matured SSS-Ranked Earth Dragon.
Jayden now stood before his first obstacle: the gate.
Luckily, it was open.
"At this time, Dad should be back from work", he whispered, stepping forward with the caution of someone walking a tightrope over a pit of fire. Even a deep breath could alert his father.
He peeked through the peephole in the back door. Of course, he wouldn't dare use the front door—that was for people returning with pride, not disgrace tucked under their armpit.
Clear, he thought, and slowly opened the door. Even the subtle creak it gave made his mouth widen as though he were about to shout at the friction.
He immediately removed his boots and began tiptoeing into the kitchen, each step measured, barely lifting his feet from the ground.
'Leaving from here has a 0.1% chance of success... Even the wind is an alarm to that old man,' he thought grimly. 'First, I'll need to get a bag and the mana control serum from his room before I touch anything in the kitchen because—'
The thought died instantly.
There it was—their house pet. A regular dog.
"Woof! Woof!" the innocent creature barked, tail wagging excitedly behind it.
Hope shattered.
Jayden dropped to his knees, trying to clamp the dog's maw shut, but the swishing of its tail was already enough to trigger his father's hyper-vigilant senses.
Damn it… I should've known I'm never this lucky. The gate left open? That was the first red flag.
"Who's there? Keep that dog quiet, Honey. Go shut that damn dog up before it gets on my nerves!"
"Yes, dear…" his mother's voice echoed from upstairs, her footsteps quick and tense as they descended.
'This is bad… really bad,' Jayden thought, frozen in place. His heart was the only thing moving, thundering wildly. Running would only confirm the dog's barks weren't for nothing. Staying? Just as suicidal.
"Wow… our young Tamer is back," Jessica, his mother, said with a tight-lipped smile as she reached the bottom of the stairs, watching him from a distance.
This is it… my RIP moment has finally come, he thought, forcing a smile that failed over and over again. He gently released the dog's mouth, turning his desperate grip into soft pats. "Sorry, Black… it's not your fault. It's mine… for being nothing."
"What beast was he rewarded with?" boomed a voice that sliced not just the room but Jayden's heart in half.
Jayden didn't need to turn. That voice was unmistakable—his father, Jude.
The weight of the air seemed to shift as Jude stepped forward, his footsteps loud, measured, and full of judgment.
Jayden's father never expected anything less than excellence from his children. No insects. No plants. Just mammalian beasts—and not just any, but real ones worthy of the family's bloodline.
And what had Jayden brought home?
Jessica's smile faded quickly. Her expression turned pale, then bitter. "What happened?" she whispered, extending a trembling hand toward him on not noticing any changes in his look or mana parttens. She knew how strict Jude was. She also knew what he was capable of.
Jayden's knees felt heavier as his eyes met the disappointed fury building behind his father's silence.
"What's that?" Jude asked, pushing past his wife. His gaze was sharp. Claws gleamed on his fingertips. Small falcon feathers shimmered along his arms. And worse, his eyes weren't just seeing. They were calculating.
"I'm talking to you, Jayden… why hasn't your mana pattern changed?"
Jude's voice struck like lightning.
"I… I got an egg…" Jayden stammered, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. He held the egg out as if offering his final breath.
"You what? What was your score?" Jude growled, stepping forward with restrained fury.
"Eight…"
BOOM.
Jude's fist came down—not on Jayden, but on the egg. Yet instead of cracking the ridge shell, the tiled floor beneath it shattered.
Jayden flinched, his legs trembling as he fought the urge to pee from sheer fear.
"Eight what...? That's garbage!" Jude roared, pacing around with growing frustration. He knew the law forbade striking a child—but the fury in his movements made even that law seem fragile.
"You couldn't answer those simple questions correctly?!"
"Dad—" Jayden tried to speak, but the word died in his throat.
Jude's fist found the wall. Smash. Smash. Smash. The room echoed with his rage. With his falcon's active enhancement, he was already twice as strong as any adult at his tier.
"Alright… answer me this," he said, spinning toward Jayden again.
Jessica stood behind them, trembling. But she knew better than to interrupt.
"What happens when something becomes useless?" Jude roared, his tone high, his voice cracking with a storm of emotions he could no longer contain.
Jayden swallowed. One more wrong word and he knew he'd share the same fate as the egg on the ground.
"It's... it's thrown into the garbage."
"Half correct," Jude spat. "It becomes invaluable—not even worth the strength it takes to throw it in the garbage. So I'm giving you two choices before I lose control."
A heavy silence followed. Jude's next words were cold steel.
"Walk to the garbage yourself... or let me use my strength to dispose of you personally."
"Jude, please—" Jessica's voice broke from behind, pleading.
But he didn't even glance at her. She dropped to her knees, clutching his arm. "Please don't do this."
Still, no flicker of attention.
To Jude, there was nothing special about Jayden anymore. He wasn't the first nor the last of his children. Disowning the disgrace attached to his name was nothing difficult for a man like him. Even a gatekeeper at the presidential courtyards wouldn't want a stain like Jayden tarnishing their reputation.
No warning. No pleading. Infact Jayden had expected worse.
He picked up the egg—the one problem he hadn't known would become his burden. Tears streamed down his cheeks. Begging would only invite a slower kind of death, he thought. So he stepped back... further... until he crossed the threshold of the house.
Thanks to the long distance it took from the school home, he had already done most of his mourning before reaching the gates. Now, all that remained was to carry the fresh burden on his shoulder—the most disgraceful, yet somehow the strongest egg he'd ever seen.
"I'm garbage," he whispered bitterly, crossing the gate into the wild unknown. His fist clenched, trembling under the weight of those final moments.
"But even gold can be made out of trash."
He looked down at the egg—his so-called "backup plan" for when he eventually found a beast worthy of a contract.
"But I didn't get the mana serum," he muttered. "I can't tame a hunger beast without it…"
"Jayden!"
He turned to the sound of a voice—familiar and close.
"Reese…" he rasped, blinking back tears as his younger sister sprinted toward him.
"Take this," she said, thrusting a crossbody bag into his hands. "Mum asked me to give it to you. There's some cash inside, a bottle of water, an address she said you should go to... and an ATM card incase u need anything. The PIN is '1234.' Lastly, she said don't worry too much—she'll talk to Dad. But honestly?" Reese paused, her eyes dim. "That's useless."
"Thanks," Jayden said, accepting the bag. "One more thing—"
"Nope." She waved him off, already turning back toward the house. "Gotta go before Dad realizes I left."
"I wanted to ask for the serum..." Jayden mumbled to himself. "But I'm grateful."
'The money inside would be enough to buy one.'
As for that address—that would wait. First, he needed a beast strong enough to outmatch the old man's falcon.
With a fresh breath of hope and a tyrant of a father to humble, Jayden headed to a beast-parts vendor. The man hesitated at first, reluctant to sell. But the moment Jayden mentioned Logan—his father's name—the vendor's posture shifted. Not just because Logan was an A-ranked tamer, but because he was well known for his generosity.
The transaction went through. Serum in hand, Jayden searched for the most isolated manhole he could find—one that would lead him to the underground world.
As he reached the rusted iron cover, Jayden reviewed his motives again. 'Pleasing someone who never valued me is worthless,' he thought, stashing the serum and leftover change into his bag.
'But the university…'
'Luckily, he had paid the full five years' tuition and signed all the legal documents. This isn't for the old man anymore. It's for my own damn future.'
With silent resolve, he pushed the heavy manhole aside. It groaned open, revealing nothing but shadow... and a pulse of a bit denser mana concentration.
The deeper I go, the stronger the earth beasts... and the denser the mana. That's where I'll find my contract.
It wasn't a safe path. Down there, beasts ranked D, C, and even B inhabited depths beyond 150 meters. But his decision had already been made.
'From the few books I've read... the beast dominating this area is—'
He stopped himself, shaking his head. 'Thinking too much will only kill the courage i dont even know how i got.'
He dropped the egg first into the dark tunnel.
Then, without hesitation, Jayden followed—vanishing from the surface of the earth.
Just a seventeen-year-old boy, rewriting his story with every step. He didn't know much—he wasn't a scholar—but what he did have was a heart carved from resilience.
A distant, monstrous cry echoed from within the depths, as if welcoming him.
Jayden gripped the egg in his arms. Though barely visible, it began to glow faintly as if it reacted to the change in mana concentration.
"I'll show the old man SATs aren't the only way to gain a mana beast," he said under his breath, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Let's go eggey.." he smarked while talking the egg. Supposing it turned out useful then he would probably give it a better name. "Let's show that old man what real potential looks like."