Chapter 197 - Antivenom (2/2)

He browsed through the list and noted down a few which he could probably perform in the forest. If he went to the forest, there was a high chance of him encountering a few beasts. Capturing beasts would also provide him reputation, but it wasn't something that he could do alone. He marked a couple of them which he could try with the help of Agua Canalon if he did venture into the forest behind the town.

”I would like to meet the tamer,” asked Balthazar. ”I have a special request from him.”

”Please, follow me. A consultation with Tamer Kiran would cost you a gold coins and further service charges will be decided according to your request,” said the secretary. As Kiran was an intermediate tamer, his capabilities would be clearly different from that of a Master Tamer like Berlyn and so would his charges and demeanour.

After paying the secretary, another personal arrived and was quickly taken across the field to the stables on a cart driven by a pair of dogs to the stable. The tamer was at the entrance of the stable where he was mixing some concoction using his magic.

[Kiran] (Intermediate Tamer)

Level: ?????

HP: ??????

The NPC was about 5 feet tall with brown hair, green eyes with a round face and he looked like he was lost in his work but realized that someone was approaching as soon as heard the cart. He wore a grey colored leather armor and leather cleats holding a wooden staff with a red coral affixed on its top. If it wasn't for the staff in his hand, one could mistake him to be a farmhand instead of a tamer by his appearance.

”Ah! A guest,” said Kiran as the cart stopped by the stable. He put a pause to his work and pulled out a couple of chairs which he laid down for Balthazar to sit along with him. ”Hello adventurer! I am Kiran,” he said shaking hands with Balthazar.

”Nice to meet you, Tamer Kiran. I am Shadow,” responded Balthazar. He hadn't expected the tamer to be so friendly with him and was a bit confused. In his past life, he remembered that NPCs with complex professions like tamers that required study of multiple other profession usually had a little haughty temperament. At the very least, he hadn't seen one who was so accommodating to a player and stopped his own work to address him.

”Glad to be of service to any member of the temple,” said Kiran as they sat down. It was then that Balthazar had realized that he still had the badge of the temple on his chest and he forgot to take it down. Still, he was surprised that the badge would have such an effect on other NPCs which weren't a part of the temple. He only expected it to be important to the members of the temple.

”I have a few requests of you tamer Kiran,” started Shadow.

”Please,” said Kiran as he waved his hand indicating him to proceed.

”I heard that one could produce antivenoms by infecting beasts with venom,” said Shadow as he pulled out the guide that was given to him by the battlemage Arius. ”I received this from an alchemist in return for a favour. It describes the process that can be used to make antivenoms through other beasts which have a resistance to poisons.”

”May I have a look at that,” said Kiran as he took the guide from Shadow. A couple of seconds later he returned it back to Shadow. He also looked a bit angry. ”It is very harmful to my pets and something that I haven't tried before but can be tried out. But I need to be compensated for the beasts and my time. Moreover, it is can cause fatal reactions in my pets. You need to compensate for that too. It is best if you buy one beast and try it out yourself,” suggested Kiran.

Balthazar had already expected that he might get such a reaction from the tamer, but he still asked because his attempt might not be as successful. For starters, any tamer NPC wouldn't usually sell a player a pet which has a higher level than him. But the pets had a better chance of resisting the poison if they were of a higher level than that of the monster from which the poison was obtained. This was one of the reasons that tamers had to maintain a level greater than the average level of members of exploratory teams.

”The problem is that there is a decent level of success only if the beasts have a slightly higher level than the beasts, I got the poison from. The poison if from horned toads which are level 17 creatures. So, it is hard for me to have a pet at level 18 when I am at level 17. So, I am requesting you for this. I will pay any costs or losses that you might have,” said Shadow. ”Also, I would like to request you to teach me the art of taming beasts.”

Kiran laughed loudly when he heard Shadow's second request. ”Fine. I guess, I will try,” said Kiran surprising him again. ”It isn't for you. I need to do it too,” he continued.

”I have been stuck as an intermediate Tamer for a long time now. I like animals and have grown up in a farm. My interest into these sprung from those times. I like the view and enjoy the company of these things in wide fields,” said Kiran pointing to the beasts. ”That is why I spend more time out here than inside the office.”

”I was told by my master that I wouldn't improve my skills if I had this mentality and would only improve if I force the beasts to improve under pain and stress. It had long been suggested to me that I try out poisoning and attacking a few of my pets aggressively to force improve their state,” he continued. Balthazar was puzzled by the ramblings of the tamer. He was getting bored of hearing about the tamer's experience and lost his interest in him. He didn't even understand what provoked the speech and started to worry about the knuckler when a notification brought his attention back to the tamer.

New Quest: Kiran's acknowledgement

Description: Capture a mud lizard alive.

Rewards: Tame beast skill and instruction from Kiran in taming.