Genetic Engineer in a Tamer's World

Lazek cursed himself continuously. Every moment he stayed on the battlefield, saving lives, only one thought flashed through his mind: he was constantly worried about his disciple, who barely had a few days left to live.

He didn’t give a damn about saving the lives of various powerhouses and beasts on the borders; to him, his disciple’s life and success were far, far more important.

His expression was twisted; the more he travelled closer towards the capital, the greater his worry became, in fear of the scenario that he might only arrive to see his talented disciple’s dead body frozen and preserved only for his sake.

His eyes flashed with fury and killing intent at the mere thought of it, and the worst part was that he would be the one responsible.

Lazek had originally agreed only to leave the capital because his Senior Brother Kraul and Oram would remain. Still, not long after, Oram was called to the same border region as he was. Kraul also had to leave for another border to provide immediate reinforcements.

Dark thoughts gathered in his mind: what if Kale needed something specific, something very rare, which he could not get his hands on in the last moment of his experiment, because Lazek wasn’t there to provide that help, like he had provided all the resources for Kale, for all the previous segments of his experiments.

Grandmaster Oram, from the side, saw the varying expressions of his junior brother and sighed; his own expression was also grave; it would truly... truly be the greatest loss for all of humanity if someone like Kale died inside a silent lab, not being able to complete his experiment, just for the lack of resources or help.

The reason the two Grandmasters were travelling through the air instead of just jumping through the teleportation gate was that, whenever the Beast Tides hit the borders, all stable spatial pathways used by the teleportation channels are, for some reason, jammed or chaotic.

Often, in such times, if one goes through the teleportation gates, they either appear in a random location, mostly far, far away from the desired spot, or they die, torn by the fluctuations of unstable, rippling space.

Two more days had passed silently while Lazek and Oram travelled at great speed through the air; of course, these two powerhouses could not really fly; rather, they were using artefacts to do so. If not for that, they would have had to travel through land, which would have taken much, much longer.

But at the same time, they had to fly at quite a low altitude, because if they did not, powerful flying creatures would kill them without even realising.

Even within the Empire, most of the skies were, in fact, the territories of various powerful flying Beasts; if an Awakened was not at least of the Lord rank or higher, they could not truly fly through the skies of the Empire unimpeded.

Yet, despite all those problems, they eventually reached the capital and rushed to the Association grounds.

But unfortunately or fortunately, there was no sign of Kale.

Lazek questioned the manager of the Apprentice dorm in a cold and threatening tone; the man revealed, shivering under his heavy gaze, ”Please forgive me, sir..... I don’t know why or how; the boy just disappeared one day.”

The manager prostrated on the ground, overwhelmed by fear, ”The last thing Kale said to me was that he was going to the capital market to get some... some materials.”

Lazek’s expression turned furious as he slammed his fist onto the wall, causing cracks to spread through the previously smooth surface.

He rushed to his disciple’s locked personal lab within the Apprentice Dorm.

He unlocked the door, which only he could do without breaking it, and in there, upon the experiment table, sat a white envelope. Lazek froze in his tracks, his expression grave as he stared at it.

Lazek didn’t know what was written on it, and a part of him dreaded the worst possible outcomes.

Through gritted teeth, he opened the envelope with trembling hands and read its contents.

”I’m sorry, Master, but I will keep it short. I successfully created the desired egg of my Beast, but it lacks the lifeforce jumpstart needed to hatch.

The only solution to this is the Swamp Hatchery existing in the Tigerwood Forest. So, I have left for that place; I asked Prince Renard for help to reach Stonehelm through the teleportation gates.

I know you’re confused about how I know the Prince, but that’s a different story I won’t explain in this letter.

I don’t know when you might be reading this, but if you can contact Renard about this matter, he might be able to tell whether I have succeeded or not, whether I am alive or not.

I’m sorry, Master, if I failed.”

Lazek froze, unable to form coherent thoughts; he was confused, overwhelmed, and relieved all at once.

But then, after some thought, worry returned to his eyes.

From behind, Oram asked, ”What is it? What does it say?”

Lazek sighed and explained the situation to him, but did not show the letter.

Oram said with a frown, ”How can he know the Prince?”

He added after a short pause, ”And from the way Kale is addressing the prince casually in this letter, it almost seems like the boy is talking about a friend of his and not the prince of this Empire?”

Lazek said coldly, ”That I will have to ask the prince himself, it seems.”

The Fleshcrafter continued, ”Senior brother, please contact the Royal Palace immediately; I need to meet the prince.”

Oram hesitated for a few moments, but eventually nodded; he left to speak with someone in the Royal Palace who could get the message to the prince as soon as possible. He had the widest network of connections across countless small and large organisations, as well as the Royal Palace.

Though Lazek and Oram were both disciples of the Association leader, that didn’t mean they could instantly contact the prince of the Empire whenever they wanted; after all, the royal family stood as the foremost force within all of humanity, regardless of what anyone thought of it.

Within 10-15 minutes, Oram had already finished contacting the people at the Royal Palace, and the Prince immediately agreed to meet Lazek, but secretly.

Lazek nodded and, as he left for the specific address provided by the Prince’s subordinates, went alone, not taking the Pillcrafter with him.

The location was the same underground dark inn where Kale had conversed with Renard. Lazek knocked, and the damp wooden door creaked open; he entered without hesitation, already sensing the royal family’s scorching, fiery mana emanating from within.

Meaning the prince was already inside, and... indeed, Renard was already there, eating a hot dish prepared just a moment ago.

Lazek observed the boy closely; Renard was eating, but there was no royal etiquette to his eating. Apart from his flashy appearance, one might say he was eating like a street thug, like a primitive boar.

It wasn’t the first time he was meeting this boy, but it had been a few years since he last met the prince.

Renard smiled, ”Grandmaster Lazek, please don’t look at me like that. I always have to act in a reserved manner within the palace. I cannot even eat freely in the way I like. I’m sure you understand.”

Lazek walked closer and said only one word to the prince coldly, ”Kid, I don’t give a damn if you’re the prince or not; you can go and take your pretentious attitude somewhere else.

”Let me give you some advice that might help in your political career; unfortunately, you’re not as cunning as you present yourself to be.”

”It only makes you look stupid, obnoxious, and self-absorbed. Compared to your older sister, you look like a child trying to show off,” declared the Fleshcraft Grandmaster in a condescending tone.

Renard froze; his hands stopped mid-bite, and his blazing yellow eyes looked at Lazek with an almost empty, disturbing gaze.

But Lazek remained standing, looking back coldly. Eventually, the Prince smiled. ”It seems you’re trying to trigger me and see whether I am playing some scheme with your disciple or not?”

He chuckled, ”That was a good one, Grandmaster Lazek; truly, I was almost angered, but I do have to say, though.”

”You’re probably only the 2nd person brave enough to speak with a prince like that, the first being your dear disciple, of course.”

”That bastard also doesn’t respect me.”

Just as he was about to continue blabbering, the Fleshcraft Grandmaster’s deep black eyes flashed coldly, and he said in an irrefutable tone, ”ENOUGH!!!”

”DO NOT TEST MY PATIENCE ANY FURTHER, PRINCE RENARD.”

For an instant, there was silence; the prince’s casual smile slowly receded. He let out a sigh and finally revealed the reason Lazek was here.

”According to what I have last heard, from my subordinate whom I sent with Kale, he had entered the swamp hatchery a day ago, and he had not come out yet...”