The lieutenant from earlier, the one who'd carried out the paynt for the bounty, was out with a group of what appeared to be veteran guards. They were gathered outside a tavern, drinks in hand, clearly celebrating. The capture of the outcast had apparently warranted a proper celebration, and the guards were taking full advantage of the excuse to unwind.
Moon's lips curved into a slight smile.
'Perfect. Guards would know about registered awakeners in the base, including specialists like Beast Masters.'
He began walking toward them, his approach drawing imdiate attention from the group.
The lieutenant noticed him first, his eyes widening slightly before a broad, slightly inebriated smile crossed his face.
"Hey! It's the S-Ranker!" the lieutenant called out, "Boys, make room! Our hero needs a drink!"
The other guards imdiately shuffled to create space, their expressions a mixture of respect, curiosity, and the easy friendliness that ca with alcohol and good news.
Moon approached the group, accepting the offered drink with a polite nod even if he didn't plan to actually consu much of it. "Celebrating the capture, I see."
"Damn right we are!" one of the older guards said, raising his glass. "That bastard's been making our lives hell for past few days. You have no idea how much paperwork his hassle generated."
"Not to ntion the fear," another added. "People were afraid to travel alone at night. Most rchants were avoiding the base entirely. You did us a massive favor."
The lieutenant clapped Moon on the shoulder with perhaps more force than he'd intended, the excitent making him forget that he was touching soone he believed to be an S-rank awakener. "Seriously, man. You want anything—information, recomndations, favors—just ask. I got a massive paycheck after capturing that outcast, even if I didn't do it myself, I owe you, haha!"
Moon's smile widened slightly.
'Perfect opening.'
"Actually," he said casually, as if the thought had just occurred to him, "I do have a question. Are there any Beast Masters registered in Rocketer Base? Or anyone with taming-related abilities?"
The guards exchanged glances, their expressions thoughtful despite the alcohol.
"Beast Master specifically?" the lieutenant asked, his brow furrowing in concentration. "Yeah, actually. There's old Mark—runs the stables on the east side. Got so Beast Taming related class. Not exactly high-rank, but he's the real deal."
"There's also that girl," one of the younger guards offered. "The one who works with the hunting teams? I think her class is sothing like Beast Caller or Animal Whisperer. She's only D-rank, though."
"And don't forget the rchant," another guard added. "The one who ca through last week with those trained battle hawks. He had so kind of companion bonding skill, I think. Might still be in the area if he hasn't moved on yet."
Moon filed away each na and location, his mind already planning his approach.
"Thanks," he said genuinely. "That's exactly what I needed to know."
The lieutenant waved off the gratitude. "Least we can do. If Mark gives you any trouble, just ntion Lieutenant Dawson sent you. He'll cooperate."
The guards continued their celebration, and Moon stayed for a few more minutes of polite conversation before excusing himself.
As he walked away from the tavern, heading toward the eastern stables where this "Mark" apparently worked, Moon thought about his next target if Mark wasn't there.
The thought of gaining the beast taming related class made him smile as he disappeared into the night, heading toward his next objective.
Behind him, the guards continued celebrating, unaware that they'd just helped set in motion sothing bigger than they would ever dream of.
---
Arriving at the eastern stables, Moon found a small house situated adjacent to the larger stable structure. Warm light shone through the windows, suggesting the occupant was still awake despite the late hour.
'Good. He appears to be ho,' Moon thought as he approached the door, Mirage following quietly behind him.
Knock-knock.
Sounds of shuffling and movent erged from inside the small house. After about a minute, the door creaked open to reveal a middle-aged man.
Mark looked at Moon with a frown, clearly not recognizing him despite the rumors that had been circulating throughout the base about Moon. "What do you want at this hour, brat?" the man barked, irritated by Moon who'd interrupted him during his evening routine. "Lieutenant Dawson sent to you," Moon replied evenly. "I need your help with taming my beast, he's been really unruly recently. Dawson said you could help calm him down," He gestured toward Mirage, who stood beside him.
Mirage was being stubborn, moving around, and making constant neighing sounds. Of course, this was decided by Moon who instructed him to act unruly. Otherwise, Mirage was quite the golden retriever.
Moon's plan was simple and effective: get Mark to use his class skills, which would allow Moon to observe and copy them through his [Classless] skill. The beauty of his ability was that he didn't need permission or even awareness from the target—he just needed to witness the class in action.
Mark snorted derisively. "Hmph! Why would I believe you? If every Tom, Dick, and Harry approached claiming Dawson sent them, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night."
Moon's smile didn't waver.
Instead, he released his aura, not maliciously or aggressively, but simply to demonstrate his power.
The air around them seed to thicken as energy that far exceeded A-rank standards flared visibly. The pressure wasn't crushing or threatening since it wasn't directed at Mark, but it was certainly there.
Mark's eyes widened dramatically, and he took an involuntary step backward before catching himself against the doorfra.
He wasn't a weakling himself, a solid B-rank awakener who'd seen and interacted with many A-rank individuals over his lifeti. But the young man before him was sothing else entirely. The quality of his aura, the density of his power... it was on a completely different level than anything Mark had experienced.
"Y-You are that man everyone's talking about, aren't you?" Mark stamred, suddenly rembering fragnts of rumors he'd half-listened to while tending his beasts. Sothing about an S-ranker who'd caught the outcast. "The one who captured that assassin?"
"Yes, that's ," Moon confird with a simple nod, allowing his aura to retract back to its dormant state.
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