Chapter 351 Never Gonna Give You Up

Shoyo looked up at Satoshi with pleading eyes. While he wanted to participate in the third round of the Official Beast Tournament since he's reached this far, he also didn't want to disappoint Satoshi. For once, there was someone who believed that he's got the talent to become a top-tier beast tamer. He didn't want to ruin his image to that person.

Nevertheless, the setup was not in his favor. It would've been fine if Satoshi was never in his team. Heck, it would be fine if Satoshi was his opponent. But as it turned out, he was his ally, his partner. Out of all the sixteen participants in the third round, he was paired with the one he never wanted to be paired up with.

"Come on, get up. The tournament's not going to win by itself. Besides, now that you're with me, going head-to-head with our opponent would be child's play for you. You can even take them on with just my support. You're stronger than you think, Shoyo, don't underestimate yourself."

Still wearing a disappointed expression plastered on his face, Shoyo nodded. Forcing himself onto his feet as Satoshi prompted him to stand up. He wanted to give up, but how could he when Satoshi was counting on him?

.....

It was a pleasant day by the playground, and the early morning breeze was just beginning to blow its warmth, making the trees rustle their leaves. The sound of children's laughter could be heard echoing by the playground, mixed with the occasional murmur and chuckles coming from adults who frequented the place as well.

As usual, Shoyo was alone by the sandpit, trying to build a sculpture of his dad's tamed beast by himself since no one bothered to play with him. At such a young age, he already had a dream to become a beast tamer like his dad. Although he was told that being a beast tamer is not an easy task and that there was still no guarantee whether his superpower would complement beast taming or not, he still wanted to be one.

His father wasn't a strong beast tamer, not in the least bit, and he was barely given missions due to how weak and irrelevant he was in the superhero world. But even then, Shoyo looked up to him as if he was the most powerful man he'd ever known. Not once did he see his dad as weak.

However, that weakness soon led to his demise. During the Boosting Incident where most superheroes were wiped out by powered-up villains, his dad met his end. He died protecting a shelter that was about to be infiltrated by the villains. And he stood his ground even when his team was greatly outnumbered.

His dad fought valiantly, commanding his army of tamed beasts while trying to stop the advance of the villains. His efforts weren't in vain though, since he was able to buy some time before high-ranking superheroes arrived. But at what cost? He died in the field of battle, and Shoyo and his mom were left in the world.

Alongside his dad were his other tamed beasts who also fought to the bitter end, risking their lives as they followed the will of their master. Some of them died, and some of them were severely injured. Amongst all the tamed beasts his father owned, only one survived, and it was an egg, no less.

Either all of his dad's tamed beasts returned to the Dimension where they were transported by their Grens, or they died in the field of battle. In any case, the only thing Shoyo could salvage was a bright orange egg which his father kept encased in an incubator at home.

He would always remember the words of his father whenever he looks at the orange egg. 'So what if you're not talented? Most of the time, it's us the hardworking ones who save the day.'

Those words were like scars etched in Shoyo's heart. He vowed that he'd live by the words of wisdom his father had given him. He decided upon himself to really pursue beast taming and follow in his dad's footsteps. No matter how talentless he was when it comes to beast taming, he vowed that he'd never give up on his dream.

And so he entered the White Mist Faction in hopes that he'd learn more about beast taming under the expert himself. Thanks to White Mist's generosity, joining the White Mist Faction didn't cost anything, and Shoyo was able to practice under the beast master without worrying about the cost. B

The longer he practiced, the more he realized that he wasn't really cut out to become a beast tamer. Even then, he forced himself to move forward, putting in more hours, more blood, sweat, and tears in order to at least catch up to his dad.

He watched with utter disappointment and a heavy feeling of inferiority as all the other beast tamers improved in record time. And it didn't take long before he was the only one left behind. Regardless, he continued with his training.

And then the long-awaited day came a couple of weeks ago. When Shoyo returned home, he was surprised to see his mom standing by the doorway, smiling and all. At first, Shoyo was beginning to doubt that his mother was seeing another man, but when she turned towards his direction and saw him, she enthusiastically waved her hand before rushing toward him.

She delivered the good news.

"The egg! That egg in the incubator your father left behind. It's opened! You have to see it!" His mom voiced out, clasping her son by the cheeks before giving him a kiss on the forehead.

Her mother's reaction didn't shock him at all, and he sprinted toward the incubator without a second thought. Due to some obvious reasons, he was beginning to feel down in the dumps already. But upon hearing the good news from his mother, he couldn't help but feel fired up.

When he got to the special room where the incubator was located, he was surprised to see that the egg had cracked, and the egg shells lay on the surface of the incubator. Despite the fact that he'd already heard everything from his mom, he was still genuinely surprised.

"Is that a chick? It's so small, is that really a tamed beast?" Shoyo muttered to himself. He was aware that the creature in front of him was really a tamed beast, but it looked super weak. After all, it bore a great resemblance to a chick.

"Wow, it's cute... but can it fight? Of course, it can, tamed beasts are like animals... they do have instincts, I think." After convincing himself that there was nothing wrong with the orange-colored chick in front of him, he decided to take him off of his cage so they could practice the essence of becoming a beastmaster.

"I'm counting on you," Shoyo muttered to himself as he gave the little chick a couple of orders. The little chick nibbled at its wings before it looked back toward Shoyo. It didn't take long before the small chick grew on him, and that's when his life as a beast tamer began.

He found himself training, practicing, and even when there are already no people in the dojo where the master resides, he continued burning the midnight oil just so he could improve on his control as a beast tamer. Ever since then, he was thankful that someone helped him with his dream. There were still no improvements— or so that's what she thought.

Then came Satoshi who complimented the activation of his Beast Integration. And then it was all history from there.

...

And now back to the present, Shoyo still couldn't believe that he was partnered with Satoshi. He couldn't hide his nervousness and excitement at all... but there was also a sense of anxiety and insecurity dwelling deep within him. Of course, Satoshi was strong, and he felt like he would just drag him down if he were to fight with him.

"Are you just going to stand there? We only have thirty seconds before we get disqualified, you know," Satoshi said.

"Let's go. I swear I'm going to do my best so I won't drag you down with me. I'll at least take down one of them while I'm at it." Shoyo psyched himself up as Satoshi nodded with pride in his eyes.

Without further ado, Satoshi commanded Ghast to create a portal so the two of them could step in there. That way, there was no chance that they'd be late.

"Now, let's get this over with," Satoshi said, pushing Shoyo into the portal before he went through it himself. They were greeted by the audience in an instant, and Shoyo felt like cowering in fear upon seeing the great number of spectators.

"I promise... I won't let you down." Shoyo said, extending his fist towards Satoshi.

"Ou~ I'm counting on you," Satoshi muttered, reciprocating the fist bump.

At the same time, the referee shouting the commencement of the match was heard, and the first match of the third round has begun.