This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Chapter 853: The Relic’s Terms



Chapter 853: Chapter 853: The Relic’s Terms

The echo of their desperate shout still hung in the air when the teleportation light abruptly sputtered out. The pressure vanished. The relic blinked, unimpressed.

“Persistent, aren’t you?” it muttered, flicking an invisible speck from its sleeve. “Fine. You have thirty seconds to amuse me before I decide you’re not worth the energy it takes to transport you nicely. You have no idea just how uncomfortable long distance teleportation could be without me carefully overseeing it.”

’We’re not here to amuse it! Wait…amuse…’

Serena froze, not having anything prepared after yelling ’no’. Kain, however, stepped forward, “We don’t wish to waste your time. We only ask that you listen for a moment longer. We truly have something that might amuse you.”

The relic’s golden eyes narrowed, faint amusement curling at the corner of its lips. “Oh? Another plea for compassion? You mortals are adorable when you talk about matters such as ’compassion’ and ’pity’ to someone with a heart of stone…literally.”

It pulled out a fist-sized bright purple glowing stone from nowhere they could see, very obviously the core of the relic.

Kain cleared his throat, forcing a smile. “Not compassion, actually. Entertainment

. You must get bored here, right? Just wandering around in this empty place for who knows how many millennia, watching the same stone walls. The monotony is only broken up for a day or two when someone enters your trials.”

The relic’s gaze sharpened. For the first time, it didn’t immediately interrupt.

“Go on,” it said flatly.

“Well,” Kain continued, “we happen to have something that could make that boredom go away. A way to watch what happens outside this relic—live. You could see everything happening in the Eastern Continent in real time. Like… a show.”

Serena shot him a side glance. He was clearly improvising, but to her surprise, the relic actually looked intrigued.

“A show?” it repeated, tilting its head. “Ha! I think I know what you’re going to propose. I am familiar with such devices. What do you call them here on this planet? Vision Scrolls? Connecti-orbs? iPads? I have seen many iterations in many worlds. And none would be able to work here. The things you humans are capable of producing are far to weak to transmit a signal through my walls.” It finishes with a proud huff, that also rings a little disgruntled.

’Just why must I be soooo formidable?’ The relic thinks sadly before saying with a pout, “Do you take me for a child?”

Kain gestured vaguely at its small body and chubby cheeks, dressed in the oversized tunic. “Uh… should I answer that?”

The relic’s eye twitched, and a tremor in the air made the stone tiles hum threateningly.

Serena stepped in smoothly before Kain got turned into another one-sided beating. “What he means,” she said quickly, “is that you could still observe the very events you collect stories from. Even if ordinary devices can’t work here, surely we can adapt one for you. Kain has more means at his disposal than I think you could predict…” She trailed off unconfidently, unsure if he did have a video transmission device strong enough to work through its walls.

But she decided to have faith in him. Surely he wouldn’t suggest something he wasn’t confident about, right? “Instead of secondhand memories from dying civilizations, you could witness everything firsthand—the battles, the discoveries, the way people adapt to survive. Wouldn’t that make your archive more complete?”

The relic tapped its chin thoughtfully, clearly wrestling with the temptation. But pride quickly reasserted itself. “Hmph. I already said that no mortal contraption could transmit through my barriers. You think to bait me with broken toys. I do not require mortal devices—and I certainly don’t need help maintaining myself. Unlike other relics, I am self-sufficient!”

“Maintaining yourself?” Kain repeated, seizing on the word. Indeed, most trial relics take some resources to start up over and over again. And low-quality ones made by humans even need to have their sigils and other aspects retranscribed in order to keep functioning. Clearly this relic didn’t have anyone doing that for it. Nobody, except those transported here, seemed fully aware of its existence.

’But there’s a difference between surviving in the most basic conditions and thriving…’

He crossed his arms and looked around the chamber pointedly. “Funny, this place looks like it hasn’t been updated in a few thousand years. I mean, look at this design. Beige stone? Dull symmetry from faded murals? You really call this worthy of the top four extinct legacies of the cosmos?”

The relic blinked, taken aback. Its expression cycled through disbelief, outrage, and something dangerously close to embarrassment.

“It’s called minimalism, thank you very much,” it huffed. “And it symbolizes the purity of eternal memory—”

“—or maybe you just haven’t seen enough of the world to know what ’good design’ looks like,” Kain cut in, grinning.

Serena almost choked. He was seriously mocking a being that could erase him with a thought.

The relic’s face went red—a fiery shade that mirrored its earlier molten eyes. “INSOLENT HUMAN—”

Kain hurriedly raised his hands. “Hear me out! That’s exactly my point! You’ve been stuck here for so long that everything you think is modern is actually ancient. You’ve been relying on the memories of others to see the outside world, but those are filtered, incomplete, and may not even be the latest memories within that civilization. Your style, no offence, is quite uninspired.”

That word—uninspired—made the relic flinch.

Kain pressed on. “I have a device—a transmitter that can capture images from far away and project them directly. The signal even works through every spiritual interference I have tested so far. Perhaps it will work for you as well.”

Kain did have an upgraded device similar to a tablet. It was developed by the dwarves by him a few months ago and powered by a Source-energy core prototype.

“If it does, then you could see everything happening around the continent in real time.”

The relic tilted its head, suspicion and curiosity mingling. “Impossible. No human device could transmit across oceans or breach my walls. Not even the Holynet used by the Blessed Sacrosanct had the ability when I tried…” It trailed off, bottom lip gradually pushing outward in a pout, as it felt like Kain’s promises were likely to be fulfilled.


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