"Now, Water Jet!"
Following the command, Poppy gathered energy and released a powerful stream of water, the liquid blasting towards the flowery creature in front of it.
The beast in question, Melle, followed the attack with her eyes, gracefully sidestepping it moments before it reached her. She lifted her leafy arm with a calm, practiced motion and fired a pink-tinted bullet of air, striking Poppy on the forehead. The impact sent the little spider tumbling backwards.
Argana raised an eyebrow, judging the scene.
"That was terrible, boy. It doesn't even deserve to be called a Water Jet. If you don't have the firepower, you have to make up for it with control. Condense the attack. Thinner is denser, denser is faster, and faster is more powerful. Now, try again!"
Kanan grit his teeth. His attacks had failed repeatedly, unable to even touch the hem of Melle's dress. Two weeks had passed since Poppy's awakening, and it felt like he was no closer to winning than when they started.
He wasn't done yet, though. A plan took shape in his mind.
"You heard her, Poppy. We have to buy time. Use your thread to start, and concentrate on the next attack during that opening!"
Poppy nodded, signalling her understanding.
"First, Weave!"
Weave was the first and only move that Poppy had originally known, other than her somewhat pitiful Bubble. Their training over the past few days had evolved Poppy's Bubble into a proper attack in Water Jet, but it was nowhere near the proficiency that she had with her threads.
As such, the effect of the first move was instantaneous. Poppy shot out a net of webbing, launching it towards Melle.
This time Melle didn't wait, clearly taking the attack more seriously. With a cry, she released a flurry of leaves from the sleeves of her leafy dress, firing them at the approaching net.
The leaves sliced through the air, smoothly cutting through the thread. The net was unable to maintain its shape, splitting open, and with a gentle hop Melle jumped through it safely.
This was the moment that Poppy had been waiting for. While Melle was distracted with the threads, the little spider had been putting all its focus into condensing its upcoming Water Jet. The attack fired out like a laser, sharply piercing through the air.
"That's it, boy. Tamer Battles are all about using your head. You have to use whatever you have available!"
Without waiting for a command, Melle plucked her harp and released a blast of sound, directing it ahead to meet the incoming attack. The soundwave met the water, creating a small explosion that filled the area with discordant noise. The move was made hastily, though, and only stopped the Water Jet for a moment before it pierced through, now with slightly reduced momentum.
Melle jumped to the side in response, raising her arm once again. She stealthily fired another air bullet, aiming it directly underneath the incoming Water Jet.
It wasn't a fast attack but it approached Poppy from her blind spot, leaving the spider totally unaware. Noticing the incoming danger, Kanan cried out a warning.
"Poppy, dodge!"
Seeing his action, Argana smirked.
"Still too green, boy."
Poppy didn't react to the warning and was smacked by the bullet, going tumbling once again. Dumbstruck, Kanan ran forward to check on her, his face full of confusion. There was plenty of time to get out of the way, so why had the attack hit her?
Poppy lay sprawled on the ground, her eyes spinning. Confirming that she was OK, Kanan sighed and recalled her back into his Beast Space, doing his best to comfort her.
"Good try, take a rest for now."
Two pairs of footsteps sounded out from behind him. He turned, coming face to face with Argana and Melle.
"Do you know what you did wrong?" Argana asked.
Kanan shook his head. He thought that he had done everything right.
Argana poked his forehead. "You didn't consider things from your beast's perspective. Melle's attack is based on sound. It may not have been that loud for you, standing far back, but what about Poppy? Do you really think she would be able to hear your command in the middle of battle?
Realization dawned on Kanan. If his commands didn't get through then of course Poppy would be unable to react.
"But what am I supposed to do about that? If Poppy can't hear me, isn't the battle totally up to her?"
Argana shook her head.
"No, boy. Think about how Melle acted. She responded to Poppy's surprise attack immediately even without me saying anything, didn't she? You have to use your connection with your beast."
Saying so, she raised a finger and tapped it against her head.
"Once you develop enough, you can communicate clearly with your beast even over long distances. But even now you should be able to use your intent to guide the flow of battle."
She paused, considering a moment before going on.
"Of course, there are also elements of experience and preparation. Your beast must be able to understand your intentions, and certain scenarios can be accounted for ahead of time. There's a lot to consider."
Kanan looked down in contemplation. It was true, his coordination with Poppy was simply too sloppy. Melle was constantly two steps ahead of them, sometimes completing multiple maneuvers before Poppy had finished a single attack. Verbal communication was convenient for initial orders — it let Poppy know exactly what he wanted — but it just couldn't cut it in the thick of battle.
Seeing that he understood, Argana turned away, walking back towards the house.
"Now come on boy, my afternoon tea isn't going to drink itself."
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The days passed quickly and Kanan progressed through his studies. He found that learning — originally monotonous — was something he had sincerely begun to enjoy. He already found himself able to apply much of the knowledge he had learned, now able to recognize most of the various plants and beasts surrounding the town. He began to help Argana with her work as well, tending the garden and grinding herbs for her medicines.
Today he started reading a new book: "The Flora and Fauna of Melody Forest."
He parsed through it, recognizing some of the beasts. It had an extensive entry on the Melody Flower, going into detail regarding its healing abilities and utility as a supporting beast. There was a short author's note on the bottom warning readers about the danger of their colonies.
It also mentioned the lightning beast Kanan had encountered, aptly named an Arcwolf. Apparently it was an evolved beast, the second form of Sparkpup, a dog-type beast. According to the book the Sparkpup was a popular choice for a first contract due to its loyalty and powerful evolutions, but the Arcwolf was a rare variant evolution that only appeared among wild Sparkpups who had experienced many battles.
Reading that, Kanan chuckled at his own misfortune. He had gone into the forest one time and met a rare, dangerous beast. Lucky him.
Flipping ahead, he came to the section on Bubble Spiders. His eyes lit up. This is what he had been looking for.
However, the Bubble Spider only received a single page. A picture of the spider decorated the middle of the paper, with a small paragraph written under it.
The Bubble Spider is a Low-Tier Beast, exclusive to Melody Forest. It is not rare, but little research has been done about the beast. There are no known evolution paths and study on the Bubble Spider has been discontinued, with researchers concluding that it has no potential for development.
The only notable aspect of the Bubble Spider is that some specimens have been observed demonstrating an aptitude for Light-Type abilities, a considerably rare element. Despite that, the research on the Bubble Spider concludes that they are an exclusively Water-Type beast, falling within the common Animal Beast classification.
Kanan finished reading, his expression complicated. A beast's strength was directly correlated with its tier, with Low-Tier beasts being mostly unsuitable for combat.
In addition, the tier of a beast directly impacted the spirit cultivation of the tamer. Kanan was still a tamer of the 1st Circle, the lowest rank, so it would not affect him for now — 1st Circle Tamers were unable to contract beasts of higher tiers. However, evolving an already-contracted spirit beast was a different story. For many tamers, their beast's evolution served as the catalyst to push their own spiritual energy into the next circle.
Kanan could make due — reaching the 2nd Circle without an evolved beast was more than possible — but having an unevolved beast would serve as a handicap for his whole career. Plus, he wasn't willing to leave Poppy behind. They were a team, and they would move forward together or not at all.
He would have to consult Argana. Closing the book, he got up and went to tell her about his worries.
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Argana calmly sipped on her tea, hearing out Kanan's dilemma. Familiar with the forest's beasts, she was unsurprised, having expected this question eventually.
"In order to become a powerful trainer, evolution is indispensable," she stated. "Tier isn't absolute, there have been many cases where beasts fought beyond their level, but skill can only take you so far. A Low-Tier beast might be able to become as strong as Mid-Tier beasts. Even against High-Tier beasts, perhaps it could prevail in the right circumstances, though I've never seen it. But above that? Impossible."
It wasn't the answer Kanan wanted to hear. He continued his questioning, his words tinged with anger.
"Then that's it?" He asked. "Why have we been doing all this? All the training, all the studying? What's the point if we can't get any stronger?"
Argana tapped on her cup, gazing into it pensively.
"I told you before, boy. A tamer has many paths. You don't need to be strong to be successful. It may hinder the adventures that you desire… but it won't stop you completely. In time, you will be able to tame a second beast, and that represents another opportunity as well."
"Besides," she continued. "I don't think that Poppy's path is necessarily cut off completely."
Her words ignited a spark of hope in Kanan.
"What do you mean? Is there another way to make Poppy stronger?" He asked excitedly.
Argana shook her head.
"No. Like I said, evolution is indispensable. However, I'm not convinced that the Bubble Spider's evolution is completely impossible. New evolution paths are found every year, many from species that have been extensively studied."
"Bubble spiders are also only found here, in Melody Forest. There isn't much data on them, nor is there incentive for a researcher to spend time and effort on what might be a fruitless endeavor. At best, only a handful of trainers have raised them, and the resources put into their development should only be common ones."
"There are also some species with extremely peculiar evolutionary conditions. King-type evolutions, for example, often require a beast to defeat and rule over its own kind. Rather than a specific material, the very position of a ruler seems to be the catalyst for their evolution, though the mechanism is unclear."
"If the Bubble Spider has a similarly abstract evolution, then finding it through research is nearly impossible. Only through traveling and experiencing different things would you have a chance of finding it."
Kanan rose, his eyes burning with determination.
"I understand. Just watch me, I'll definitely find a way for Poppy to evolve. I owe it to her, we're going to become the strongest together!"
He ran out of the room, steps filled with renewed vigor. While before he had just wanted to experience the world, he now had a concrete goal. He would do whatever it took to keep walking forward with Poppy, and the first step towards that goal was mastering everything this village could teach him.
Behind him, Argana let out a light chuckle. By all rights there was no reason to believe that an 11-year-old whelp could succeed where professional beast tamers had failed, but she had a feeling that he might just do it.