Genetic Engineer in a Tamer's World

Kale walked slowly alongside Rando... the cool wind from the southern canals rustling the edges of his dark hood... The water below moved slowly... green ripples... reflecting the silver shield of the capital’s grand defensive formation...

Rando kept his gaze fixed on the young man... his eyes filled with a deep... probing curiosity that Kale could easily sense through his heightened Hexarion perception... He adjusted the dark collar of his coat... ensuring that his physical presence was fully concealed within the dim channels.

”You have changed too much... Kale...” Rando said softly... his voice barely carrying over the distant hum of the city’s bustling commerce...

”If not for those striking... light green eyes... I would have never believed you were the same country tamer from the viscounty... Where have you been... and what has happened to your body?”

Kale adjusted his dark hood... his expression remaining a mask of stoic... clinical detachment... ”I was training in the deeper... more dangerous sectors of the Tigerwood Forest... The harsh environmental variables and a sudden... violent spatial rift forced my physical frame to adapt to survive...

Beyond that... it was merely a matter of biological survival... nothing more... My physical frame had to undergo a massive... structural re-adaptation to withstand the local elemental density there.”

He revealed only the bare... superficial surface of the truth... keeping his true evolution... the system... and Neo’s draconic capabilities completely sealed... He knew that Rando was a loyal subordinate of Prince Renard... and any information shared here would find its way to the royal palace...

The secret of Neo’s absolute taming affinity was far too valuable to be thrown away in a casual conversation.

If the royal siblings learned the true extent of his rapid... monstrous growth... both the prince and the princess would undoubtedly seek a private meeting... The memory of Princess Aria’s terrifying... high-level charm and her intense... dangerous interest in him made him extremely cautious...

He was entirely unsure of how such a conversation would go... or if he could maintain his stoic mask under their scrutiny... Her charming... playful gaze was like a silent trap... one that he had barely managed to bypass through his system’s neural protection.

”I see...” Rando murmured... though the man’s expression indicated he did not fully believe the simple explanation... ”

The prince has been asking about you... and Princess Aria’s personal guards have also been monitoring the Association’s gates... You should be careful... the political tides within Emberheart are turning quickly...”

”I am merely an apprentice under Grandmaster Oberon...” Kale replied flatly... using his master’s fearsome... peerless reputation as a natural shield...

”My only focus is the completion of my research... I have no interest in the political games of the noble families...”

He did not give Rando any more time... quickly concluding the short conversation with a polite but cold... formal half-bow... Excusing himself under the guise of urgent Association duties...

Kale turned back toward the grand stone structure of the Capital’s Central Library... He walked away with measured... rapid strides... his mind already calculating the variables of his next research phase.

Leaving Rando behind... Kale re-entered the silent... cool halls of the imperial library... his boots clicking softly against the marble floor... The scent of old ink and paper was a familiar balm... but his mind was not focused on standard Artificer formulas today...

His primary objective was to delve into the deep... guarded history of the Dragon Church... He needed to understand the structural mechanisms of their divine authority... their inquisitors... and the origins of the cursed marks that governed so many lives...

The secret files concerning the church’s inquisition were highly guarded... protected by powerful... ancient barriers of draconic mana.

But Kale was smart enough to manage his actions with extreme caution...

He knew that the Church’s prying... piercing gaze was everywhere... and they likely had spies embedded in every major organisation...

If anyone noticed him reading exclusively about the Church... it would cause immediate... fatal suspicion... Even a simple glance toward their holy scrolls would trigger a severe... immediate response from the high deacons.

To avoid drawing any attention... he systematically mixed his research... He would gather a stack of books containing basic geography... ancient trade agreements... and standard alchemy... hiding the Church records beneath them...

He flipped through the pages with a rhythmic... calculated speed... acting like a simple... unassuming scholar... He spent several minutes randomly browsing standard texts... creating a perfect facade of academic curiosity to satisfy any watching eyes.

By this point... he was moderately sure that the Church’s influence reached even the highest offices of the Empire... Only the Artificers Association remained somewhat isolated and less prone to their spies...

This was solely due to the unique... independent disposition of its sovereign leader and their neutral standing...

His burning desire to find more knowledge on the Church naturally stemmed from the ambush in the forest... He had been hunted by seven Peak Masters... led by Paula... a researcher he had believed was part of his own close circle...

The Inquisitors had used the Wolfberg team as a convenient cover... hiding their intentions under the guise of an ordinary patrol.

The painful realisation of her betrayal and the subsequent... systematic slaughter of the entire Wolfberg mercenary team still weighed heavily on his heart... The complications of those dark actions remained like a cold... stagnant poison within his core...

He could still hear the clashing of elements and the wet... rhythmic sound of Neo devouring their remaining flesh.

He had been forced to delete the only people who had ever shown him kindness when he was a nameless... cursed boy... He had burned their bodies to ash... erasing their very existence to protect his own survival...

As he stared at the dusty pages of an ancient historical record... a sudden... violent wave of nostalgia hit his mind... The quiet silence of the library seemed to fade... replaced by the phantom smell of burning timber and the screams of his past... The memories of his past life were supposed to be buried... yet the trauma of his regression remained incredibly vivid.

He was suddenly... painfully reminded of his family... The memories of Dagan village... of his loud... protective mother, Selene... his easygoing father, Darius... and his adorable... innocent little sister, Iria... rose in his mind...

He could picture Selene’s loud... warm voice and Darius’s gentle smile as they sat around the old table.

He remembered how they had stood against the world for him... how they had stomped on the dragon statues to curse the deities in return... And he remembered how the Red Dragon had descended... turning them all into melted... unrecognisable sludge...

”Brother... it hurts...” the phantom whisper of Iria’s final words echoed in his skull... making his heart rate spike with a sudden... suffocating grief...

Kale took a deep... shuddering breath... forcing his lungs to stabilise his cognitive load... He clamped his hand over his face... utilising his advanced Hexarion control to calm the turbulent mana pathways in his chest...

He could not afford to become weak now... not when the war for his survival had only just begun... The memory of Dagan was his anchor... a cold fire that fueled his limitless... burning desire for vengeance against the draconic race...

He needed to remain absolutely focused... utilising every single resource at his disposal to engineer his final salvation.

Once his composure returned and his stoic mask was firmly in place... Kale stood up and returned the books... He left the Central Library... walking back through the busy streets of Emberheart toward the southern sector...

He returned to the Association grounds... the clean... chemical scent of the Fleshcraft tower washing over his senses as he entered... He navigated the spiralling stone steps directly to his master’s fifth-floor work chamber...

The heavy steel doors swung open at his touch... locking behind him with a definitive... metallic click... The chamber was quiet... his master, Lazek, currently absent... likely attending to political matters with the senior grandmasters...

Kale walked over to the far corner of the massive room... where a large... stone table had been reserved solely for him... All the necessary materials... specialised vats... and advanced instruments had already been readied and set up neatly...

The table was packed with high-grade preservation jars... mineral ores... and complex... glowing biological samples... It was the massive mountain of tasks and experiments his master had given him as a strict deadline...

Kale had exactly one week to complete every single one of these extremely difficult tasks... He had to record the data for advanced Toolcraft... Pillcraft... and Fleshcraft to prepare for his Master Artificer advancement...

He let out a low... tired sigh... cursing his terribly shitty luck in his mind... But as his green eyes scanned the glowing... complex chemical formulas... the familiar spark of his scientific greed and passion as a Genetic Engineer returned...

He tied his long green hair back... adjusted his certified headband... and stepped closer to the table... He picked up his first carving knife... ready to lose himself in the absolute logic of creation and begin the gruelling work...

The Cursed Tamer was alone... but as he began his first experiment... he knew that every single mutation was a step closer to tearing down the heavens...

He focused his thoughts and prepared to complete every single experiment with perfect clinical precision to unlock the secrets of the world and reach the absolute pinnacle of biological harmony and monarchal power as a supreme fleshcrafter who feared nothing on his dark path toward the inevitable destruction of his sworn foes.