By the end of the month, nobody is sure if the rabbit should be considered lucky or unlucky. It has suffered through dozens of failed experiments, but as Cain gets closer and closer to fully understanding the principles behind the enhancements his furry test subject is becoming more and more impressive.
While it is still living in the barn, it gets regular meals, head rubs, and protection from predators. Not a bad life at all.
It also wasn't alone, since word of the reclusive Flesh Crafter doing experiments in the woods had spread among both the hunters and the rural residents, volunteer number one now gets daily visitors.
It all started with a young Youkai who wanted to be beautiful for her wedding day. She came to beg Cain to help her out, an idea he agreed to under one condition, to be his guinea pig for the day's enhancement experiments.
That day just happened to be the first one where Cain was working on a charm that affected both physical and mental faculties. Both offensive and defensive buffs of Cain's own making were now easy to apply at Mythic Quality and in their current format, they were stable enough to last an entire week.
With more practice Cain was certain that he could make them permanent, he was just missing knowledge, so he moved on, hoping to get insight as he progressed through the lessons on Spell Crafting.
The Youkai wasn't disfigured or injured or anything, she was just not conventionally attractive, and much taller than most women of her species. At first, Cain tried having the companions give her the "love yourself in the body you're in" persuasive talk, but she was adamant.
If she was certain she wasn't going to regret it, he didn't see a reason to refuse and verifying the increased mental capacity of a rabbit was not going to be easy. So she became volunteer number two.
One day obviously wasn't going to perfect the spell, but it was enough to give Cain a basis to work from, and at the end of the day Cain sent her home with an extreme makeover.
The next few days were quiet, with the Echoes doing some hunting and some improvements to the farm. They share Cain's skills, so they are fully capable of doing their own experiments and he can read their minds to see the results.
Their target was the cultivation and breeding of higher-quality crops. Mythic beasts have proven to be exceptionally tasty, as well as being high in both energy and nutrients, so logically Mythic Quality fruits should be the same.
Of course, the idea wasn't their own, it started with Laura, who was despairing about the lack of new sweets now that they weren't living in the city. The Echoes had a soft spot for the Dragon and agreed to grow her some watermelons by merging with druids. One thing led to another and they were now trying to grow Mythic peach trees.
After only a few quiet days, the first of the hunters came to visit. Their group had found a cluster of Crazed, much like the one near the vortex in the quarry, and their tank wanted some extra durability before they attempted to clear it. One of his group members had been at the wedding and heard about Cain from the bride, so they came to bargain.
The deal was the same, let the one gaining the benefit become the practice target for the day and Cain would buff the volunteer before he left. Since it wasn't a permanent buff they were initially reluctant, but once they saw their member's damage reduction skyrocket and his HP triple under the effect of the Mythic buff for an entire week they changed their minds and began telling their friends about the unusual deal.
"Good morning, is anyone awake?" A deep but gentle sounding voice calls out the next morning, while everyone is having breakfast.
"Come in. We're in the main house." Cain calls back and the door opens to reveal a two-meter tall dryad male with broad shoulders and papery white bark for skin.
If Cain had to compare him to anything, it would be a birch tree with eyes. Even his hands are animated branches. Most dryads the group has seen are much more human than that, but Cain can't exactly claim to be an expert on their lineages and physiology.
"How can we help you?" Cain asks politely as the large visitor ducks to enter the room.
"I have lost my partner. You see, my class takes a wild beast as a partner and enhances them with our skills to hunt. But mine was shredded beyond resurrection and I can't find a suitable one to tame. I was hoping that you could modify or create a custom one for me."
That sounds like much more fun than another day of studying Spell Crafting all day.
"What did you have in mind? An ability, a particular species or combat type? Cain asks, hoping that he has something good planned out to keep them all entertained. Too much studying gets monotonous, even if it hasn't actually been that long.
"Have you ever seen a moon bear? Black and White, 4 meters tall when they are standing on all four feet?" He asks, while Cain reads his mind to see what he means.
[New Form Recorded]
Well, that was unexpected. He learned enough about them to Summon one just from reading the Dryad's thoughts. Their visitor must know the species very well.
"That's what you're after? Any particular abilities?"
The man thinks for a few seconds before replying. "Their innate ability is damage reduction, but beasts don't usually have more than their species-specific abilities. The next choice would have been a Howler for the bleed effect their claws apply."
[So he needs tough with a bleed effect? I wonder why he didn't ask for a dragon unless he can't use them?] Victor the echo asks in Cain's mind.
"Is your skill limited to beasts?" Cain asks and the dryad nods his agreement.
"Alright, I think I know just the thing for a custom follower. But you will have to claim it yourself." Cain informs him and the dryad smiles.
"That's always the fun part. The bonding spell requires that they be at full health, and if either of us is under the effects of an outside ability the spell will cancel. So we either need to make friends, or I have to avoid being eaten.
My class gives a lot of benefits to my partner, but the stronger that they are to begin with, the better they will be in the end."
Oh, that's even better. Do they get to watch him try not to get eaten by a three-ton bear afterward? That's the peak of cultured entertainment right there.
If Cain gives the beast [Maul] and [Rend] both at mystic quality, that's two bleed effects. It will naturally have [Iron Hide] due to its species, but Cain can add a few more skills to the Puppet before releasing it.
The best options seem to be [Dominating Roar] and Mythic rank [Regeneration] which will let the beast heal from nearly dead to full health in under a minute if it isn't taking damage. No, [Horrific Perfection] would be better, increasing its modifiers to the theoretical maximum, but a bear that tough and fast might actually be impossible to tame.
Cain begins the work, forming the body of the bear as a Puppet and focusing on making it as durable and physically powerful as possible. [Iron Hide] takes effect, letting Cain know he is close to complete and he gives the beast one last tweak, giving it unnaturally dense muscle tissue for a little more added strength.
Then he adds the four Mythic skills and steps back to admire his handiwork.
The moment he activated the Puppet it ran over to give him a head bump, then turned and licked Vala across the face. Taming this guy might be easier than expected. He's really quite friendly.
"Come over and say hello," Cain suggests, scratching the beast's side, making one leg twitch.
The moment the dryad gets close the bear roars at him, almost driving the man to his knees.
"What exactly did you do to it? Was that a Mythic Roar?" He gasps, trying to catch his breath.
"[Dominating Roar] to be precise. He has [Rend] and [Maul] as well. You did say you would like a bleed effect after all." Cain smiles, while dryad and bear have a stare down.
"He is still under my control, so maybe take a moment to get acquainted. I'm not sure how much he will understand, but he won't attack without orders."
"In that case, hello, my name is Jurgen." The dryad informs the beast in a polite voice but is deliberately ignored by the Enormous bear in favor of throwing Evangeline up in the air with his snout. When she reaches the peak of the toss, she opens her wings and glides down so they can do it again. Neither one seems to care at all about the poor Dryad, who only wanted a new friend.
"I am almost one hundred percent certain he just rolled his eyes at me." Jurgen points out and Vala smirks.
"You're going to have to do better if you want to be partners. I don't think he is taking you seriously at all." The demon laughs and a hint of malice shines in the beast's eyes.
"Maybe it's because of the Puppet effect that he only likes your companions?" One of the shadows suggests.
"That is a possibility." Cain agrees. A very slim one, but a possibility.
"Perhaps if we move to the field? Then you can release him and I will begin the taming process." Jurgen says confidently.
The beast seems exceptionally docile as they go, allowing Jurgen to touch him without complaint. The dryad nods and Cain frees the bear, changing it from a Puppet into a living, Mythic Quality beast.
It gives Cain a toothy smile of gratitude, then leans towards Jurgen like it wants a head rub. Only at the last second does it lunge with incredible speed, attempting to eat him alive.
"Dammit," Jurgen shouts, rolling backward, bleeding from the face where the bite grazed him.
A giant paw came crashing down on the grass of the field as the dryad activated a movement skill and jumped out of the way of certain death. The jump gained him a bit of distance to work with and Jurgen activates his skill to begin the taming.
Checking the bear, Cain sees the status slowly taking effect, but Jurgen is on the run, only inches from death as claws race his way and giant jaws snap at his head.
He rolls under the bear, getting away from the jaws, but a hind leg kick sends him crashing into the barn thirty meters away. Somehow he keeps the spell going and struggles to his feet, catching his breath as his target charges him.
The taming is getting closer to complete now, Jurgen only needs to dodge a few more times and he will have his new partner. But the bear knows that too, and it is determined to test him. It unexpectedly cuts its charge short and lifts up on its hind legs, letting his front claws drag over the hastily erected barrier that Evangeline placed over the barn to prevent Jurgen's body from punching a hole in the wooden structure.
The barrier collapses as the Dryad again leaps between the beasts feet, but this time he climbs its back to get away from the claws and teeth. With a barrel-shaped build like the overgrown that it looks like, the bear simply flops over and rolls about, Crushing the unfortunate dryad into the dirt for a few seconds until the spell finally finishes.
[Jurgen has gained a new partner]
