Genetic Engineer in a Tamer's World

Kale walked side by side with his master... leaving the main courtyard behind. Instead of directing him toward the apprentice dorms... Lazek led him directly toward the dark grey structure of the Fleshcraft tower.

The air inside was cool and saturated with active magical formations. Lazek tapped his crystalline token against the smooth stone of a doorway on the second floor... letting it swing open with a soft... biological click.

”You will be staying here from now on...” Lazek said... gesturing toward the spacious room inside. ”The apprentice dorms are far too noisy for the research we have ahead... and I prefer to keep my specimens within arm’s reach.”

Kale stepped inside... his eyes scanning the room’s expensive panels... the velvet bed... and the crafting table. Above them... lay his master’s personal chambers and private laboratories on the upper floors.

”Get some rest... kid...” Lazek added... his hand resting briefly on the doorframe. ”I expect you to be in my work chamber on the fifth floor first thing in the morning... do not make me come down here to drag you out.”

The heavy wooden door clicked shut... sealing Kale inside the luxurious silence of his new quarters. He let out a low... tired scoff... not taking his master’s words seriously.

The sheer physical exhaustion of the events in the forest had caught up to his Hexarion physiology. The systematic slaughter of his ambushers and the choices he had been forced to make had drained his core.

He stripped away his tattered white coat... leaving his daggers on the table before collapsing onto the soft mattress. He didn’t care about his master’s early-morning schedule... he needed to lose himself in a long, uninterrupted sleep.

He closed his eyes... letting his consciousness drift into the quiet dark... while the green starlight beneath his skin pulsed in a slow rhythm. The silent bond with Neo was stagnant... both entering a deep recovery cycle to settle their turbulent mana.

The brilliant noon light was pouring through the wide balcony windows when Kale finally stirred... his eyelids still feeling weighted with lead. He took a deep... steady breath... slowly forcing his eyes open as his senses calibrated back to reality.

The first thing he saw was his master sitting at the table. Lazek was perfectly composed... sipping tea from a small porcelain cup while reading a leather-bound book as if he were a permanent fixture.

Kale opened his mouth to say something... but in the end he ended up closing his mouth and closing his eyes as well and slumping back onto the soft bed in annoyance.

He wasn’t even surprised at this point... but that didn’t mean he was any less angry. The complete lack of privacy was beginning to grate on his paranoid mind.

But his master only continued sipping his tea and reading the book... as if not minding Kale’s mood. He turned a page with a soft... crisp rustle that echoed in the quiet room.

Kale was forced to get up... his light green hair messy and falling over his shoulders. He became angry... started shouting and cursing at the pale man for showing absolutely no regard for his privacy.

”What the fuck... Master... do you not understand the concept of a closed door?” Kale growled. ”I expect a basic level of privacy... You cannot simply bypass the stone locks whenever it suits your curiosity.”

Lazek finally set his book down... his expression completely clinical. ”Your reactions are far too slow... kid... if I were an assassin from the Church... your deletion would have been finalised hours ago. Now go and freshen up.”

Kale ignored the excuse... heading into the washroom to drench his face in freezing water. Once his anger subsided and he adjusted his headband... he stepped back with a flat expression.

Lazek stood up from his chair... gesturing for Kale to follow him to his work chamber. They entered the fortified fifth-floor room... the steel doors locking behind them with a definitive thud.

Lazek walked over to his massive stone desk... his black eyes shimmering with clinical scrutiny. ”We are alone now... Kale...” he began... his tone turning remarkably serious. ”How are you already a master?”

Kale was shocked that his master could actually figure that out. In the end... he sighed and decided to tell part of the truth. ”We fell... during our terrestrial training... the ground split open without warning... plunging Neo and me into an ancient subterranean cavity.”

”It was a Flame Salamander Beast Tomb...” Kale explained... keeping the details of the colossal magma leviathan hidden. ”The density of the local fire mana was nonsensical... and the trials inside forced us into a corner of absolute extremity.”

”Neo managed to unlock the partial transformation trait... devouring the remnant core... the refined energy flowed back to me through the taming bond... forcing my own advancement.”

Lazek’s eyes shone with a manic... scientific curiosity. ”Show me... show me what your beast has integrated from that crucible.”

Kale gave a silent command through the soul link... and the shadow beneath his feet began to ripple like liquid ink. Neo emerged from the darkness... its green scales shimmering with a faint... pulsing orange halo as it hopped onto the stone table.

The Hydra’s central head let out a soft... low growl before activating its newly gained Flame Form. Its entire body transformed into a shimmering spectre of incandescent orange energy... the extreme heat radiating outward and warming the quiet chamber.

”Look closely... Master...” Kale murmured... as Neo shifted its shape... its three heads morphing with a series of wet... rhythmic clicks. The features of the heads shifted into the wedge-shaped... predatory skull of a Flame Salamander... its body emitting a soft... thermal glow.

Lazek’s eyes shone... mesmerised by Kale’s tale of adventure and the anomaly he was seeing with his very own eyes. ”Magnificent... absolutely magnificent...” the Grandmaster whispered... his fingers tracing the air above the heat.

”A three-headed salamander hybrid with a draconic skeleton... the biological stability of this chimaera is a work of marvel. There is no need to keep your master rank hidden within the Association... displaying your strength will only grant us more resources.”

”However... in public... just do not show Neo’s original hydra form... which could become troublesome...” the master cautioned... his tone dark. ”A three-headed dragon-like beast would draw the prying eyes of the Dragon Church’s High Inquisitors instantly.”

Before they could continue their conversation... a sudden... violent kinetic thud rattled the heavy steel doors of the chamber. The massive locks groaned... and the doors were open with an unceremonious bang that made the instruments on the shelves rattle.

Grandmaster Kraul and Grandmaster Oram barged into the room. Neo reacted instantly... and the creature hurriedly went into Kale’s shadow.

But the moment the two grandmasters saw Kale’s tall stature and changed appearance... they were stunned. It took a few long seconds of silent scrutiny for them to recognise the boy... their eyes tracing his distinct... light green hair and eyes.

Kale smiled and politely greeted both... a small... polite smile touching his lips as he gave a respectful half-bow toward the two powerhouses. ”I am back... Grandmasters... I apologise if my new appearance has startled you.”

Both grandmasters were still in shock... analysing Kale in detail with their flaring energy senses. They were completely flabbergasted by Kale’s master status... the sheer density of the mana flowing through his pathways defying all logical explanation.

”This... this is impossible...” Kraul stammered... his muscular frame tensing. ”He is already at the Master rank... his baseline mana has tripled... and his physical stats are comparable to a seasoned tamer.”

Kale looked toward his master... and Lazek gave him a subtle... permitting nod. ”Show them... Kale... let our senior brothers see the miracle we have engineered.”

Kale then showed the two grandmasters his Nemesis Hydra in its original form. The shadow beneath his boots expanded... and Neo emerged... no longer hiding its strength or compressing its draconic aura as it ballooned in size.

The palm-sized creature expanded... its green wings opening wide as its three draconic heads rose high in the air... its six golden eyes glowing with a cold, monarchal arrogance. A visible ripple of supreme pressure slammed into the room... the draconic aura thick and heavy.

And the reaction of the two powerhouses was violent to say the least... their bodies instinctively tensing as if they had just come face to face with a Tyrant-rank calamity. They were acting as if they had seen a divine creation so out of the norm that it should not even exist.

”What... what is this abomination?” Kraul roared... his hand dropping to his belt as his Grandmaster composure shattered. ”This is not a chimaera... it’s a divine creation... a biological anomaly that should not exist in this world!”

Of course... Kale did not show Neo’s transformation trait or speak of any of its key abilities. He kept the devouring assimilation fully sealed... only letting them know that the beast had affinity with all paths of power... just like the legendary dragons.

”Neo has an absolute affinity...” Kale explained calmly... his light-green eyes meeting their trembling gaze. ”It possesses the potential to master all paths of power... its genetic code is a blank canvas waiting for the elements.”

The two powerhouses stood in a suffocating silence... their minds unable to reconcile the monstrous truth of what they were seeing.