Chapter 6: It’s Perfectly Reasonable for a Little Mink to Know Tsukuyomi
“Simultaneously completing the capture of a second-class wanted criminal and securing the evidence, without causing harm to innocent bystanders.”
“Including this time, your accumulated merits within the Directorate are sufficient for you to qualify for ennoblement, or, after graduating from Saint Roland Academy, to directly become a Directorate executive, with a military rank equivalent to mine.”
In the Directorate’s branch in Lesa, a middle-aged officer in a pitch-black cloak gazed at the scroll in his hands, appraising Shaya before him with a hint of surprise.
This world possessed extraordinary creatures and Beast Tamers, powers that defied the norm. Beast Tamers, in particular, were a profession that heavily relied on spiritual aptitude.
Therefore, whether it was the Holy See, various noble families, or the Empire’s Directorate and military, there was a significant demand for young Beast Tamers as fresh talent.
Naturally, as an official organization directly subordinate to the Empire, the Directorate’s talent requirements were far beyond what those young people, previously trafficked by Annrina, could meet.
Those individuals, who would help count the money even after being sold, wouldn’t even qualify as errand runners in a branch office.
The Directorate opened up access to bounty missions to advanced students in some extraordinary academies. The need for manpower was only a secondary reason.
The primary reason was to screen for the Directorate’s reserves and talent pool through such means.
And without a doubt, the youth before him, named Shaya, was an undeniable talent of high quality.
In less than a year since arriving in Lesa from the Imperial Capital, he had completed nearly all the Directorate branch’s high-level bounties at a terrifying speed.
Even some long-standing, cold cases had been cleared.
This had also granted him, the Directorate branch’s supervisor, a considerable respite during this period.
However, the middle-aged officer’s subtle recruitment offer did not receive the response he had anticipated.
The title of ennobled noble, which would have shone brightly for ordinary commoner students, now failed to exert its usual, unparalleled attraction.
“I’ll pass on the ennoblement or military rank.”
“I wish to use the merits I’ve accumulated during this time to redeem a purchasing right for a fourth-tier extraordinary resource from the Directorate’s warehouse.”
Shaya’s voice was calm.
Imperial military ranks or noble titles were quite valuable, but he had already mapped out his own plans.
And at this very moment, the final piece of his plan was in place.
Ash White Hills.
This location was hundreds of miles away from Lesa, already extremely close to the Freista Empire’s border.
Coupled with the barren and uninhabited surroundings, and its proximity to the Golden Plains, which were home to Emperor Rank Beast Kings and vast hordes of beasts, it could be considered a truly unclaimed territory.
Based on all these reasons.
After providing sufficient political donations to the officials in Lesa, Shaya easily obtained the archaeological extraction rights for the Ash White Hills.
Exchanging a no-man’s-land that everyone shunned for a pile of solid, gleaming Rhine gold coins – wasn’t that enticing?
Of course, if it weren’t for the system’s quest guidance clearly indicating this as Shaya’s starting quest location, perhaps Shaya would have agreed with their perspective.
But at this moment, perhaps only he alone in the entire world knew.
These barren Ash White Hills, over five hundred years ago, had once been the capital of the Azure Court Duchy.
Shaya moved through the dense thicket, “Yin,” his familiar, perched obediently on his shoulder. Within its left eye, as crystal clear as glass, the patterns of the Silver Moon and the Blood-colored Sharingan interwove and slowly rotated.
Mundane-tier wild beasts occasionally passed by Shaya, but under Yin’s illusion, they brushed past him unknowingly, without detecting any abnormality.
[Successfully completed a skill usage, Skill Proficiency increased by three points.]
[“Yin’s” Illusion-type skill “Tsukuyomi” Proficiency has broken through, advancing from “Proficient” to “Mastered Perfection”.]
[“Yin’s” combat level has risen, current combat level is 28 (Extraordinary Tier).]
As the light in the little mink’s eyes flickered again, a cyan light screen suddenly appeared in Shaya’s mind.
“Finally broke through?”
“It seems battling the Nightmare Butterfly, which also excels at illusions, previously boosted Yin’s skill proficiency considerably.”
Shaya muttered to himself, his consciousness stirring slightly.
In the next moment, the light screen in his mind underwent a new change.
[Name: Yin]
[Race Name: Snow Mink]
[Soul Pact Status: First Soul Pact (Master-Servant Contract: Shaya Egut)]
[Combat Level: 28 (Tier 2)]
[Racial Level: High Commander (Tier 3)]
[Familiar Skills: Hunting Rhythm (Proficient), Rending Claw (Beginner), Ice Blade (Skilled), Charm (Mastered Perfection), Tsukuyomi (Mastered Perfection)]
Snow Mink — Yin.
This was Shaya’s main familiar, contracted through his first soul pact. He had signed the soul pact with Yin when it was just a newborn cub.
Under normal circumstances, as a Snow Mink with a High Commander racial level, it had powerful development paths. It could either focus on honing its innate physical skills, “Hunting Rhythm” and “Rending Claw,” to become a stealthy, agile assassin.
Or it could strengthen its elemental innate skill, “Ice Blade,” focusing on the mink’s already high affinity for ice, to become an elemental cannon that primarily used ice.
And “Charm,” a low-level illusion that could disarm opponents and reduce their hostility through cuteness, was supposed to be merely a supplementary skill, used only for buffing, a mere side ingredient.
However, since he was a transmigrator and possessed a system—
Although this system wasn’t particularly reliable, Shaya naturally didn’t want Yin to follow the predictable path with limited potential.
Building upon the “Charm” skill with its extremely high proficiency, he created the high-level illusion-type skill “Tsukuyomi.” This was the evolution path Shaya had planned for Yin.
A mink, being a member of the weasel family, knowing Tsukuyomi was quite reasonable, after all.
As for the ultimate effect of this unorthodox development path—
Regardless, among Shaya’s classmates at Saint Roland Academy, even the scions of high-ranking noble families whose familiars had a Low Monarch racial level, they often lost to Yin.
Shaya’s footsteps paused slightly, cutting short his boundless thoughts.
He pushed aside the bushes, and the scene before him suddenly opened up.
The previously dim dense forest vanished, replaced by an open flatland.
The lush forest that once stood here had been cleared by human hands. Beneath the flatland were numerous excavated holes in the earth and stone.
And within these cavities were desolate, ash-white architectural ruins.
Although the bricks and stones that formed the main structure of the buildings had long since weathered and decayed, Shaya could still imagine the magnificent scenery of this entire complex when it was intact from its incomplete outlines.
Almost simultaneously, a cold system notification sound echoed, accompanied by changes appearing on the light screen in Shaya’s mind.
[Detected Host has arrived at the target location, Quest Progress Panel has been activated.]
[Novice Quest: Cause the inexperienced, ignorant, and young Grand Duke’s daughter, Sylvia, to experience betrayal by her closest kin, undergoing a transformation and rebirth amidst pain and despair.]
[Current Quest Progress:
1. Arrive at the location of the Azure Court Duchy (Completed)
2. Become a member of the Grand Duke’s family in the Azure Court Duchy (Completed)
3. Achieve Sylvia, the Grand Duke’s daughter’s, favorability above 30 points (Not Completed)]
