The sun blazed high above the battlegrounds, casting sharp shadows across the ring where Mia now stood, heart racing, the scent of dust and ozone thick in the air. Professor Hootsworth hovered beside her, his wings stretched wide, while Nutmeg stood flexing at the edge, eyes gleaming with excitement.
Their opponent stood across the ring: a tall girl with close-cropped blue hair, a lean build, and an almost regal presence. Her uniform bore the emblem of the Central Taming Academy, a top-tier school from the capital. At her side stood her beast: a sleek, fox-like creature with shimmering silver fur, six tails, and glowing violet eyes.
"Name's Zara," the girl said with a confident smile. "You looked strong, so I asked the staff for a quick match."
"Mia," she replied, brushing hair from her face. "Amateur beast tamer. Teacher. Taxi driver."
"Multitasker," Zara smirked. "Let's make it exciting, yeah?"
The training supervisor at the ring raised her hand. "Begin!"
Zara's six-tailed fox vanished in a blur of movement, darting left and reappearing behind Nutmeg in a flicker of violet flame. Nutmeg spun, bringing a beefy fist down—only for the fox to melt into mist and rematerialize on the opposite side.
"Nutmeg, guard mode!" Mia called.
"Got it!" the musclebound squirrel dropped low, arms wide, absorbing the impact of the fox's second strike with barely a grunt. A ripple of force shook the platform, but Nutmeg held firm.
Hootsworth launched skyward, his wings glowing with pale blue runes as he summoned a flurry of magical projectiles. "Let's test its evasion limits!"
The fox danced around them, flickering between teleporting short distances and sprinting at breakneck speed. Zara watched calmly, giving sharp gestures with her hand. "Arashi, mirror split!"
The fox howled, and in an instant, three identical versions appeared, each weaving in and out of Hootsworth's spell barrage. Mia's eyes narrowed. "Illusions. Probably mana-based, not solid clones."
"Nutmeg, leap and slam at the center one!" she called.
The squirrel didn't hesitate. He launched into the air with a shocking vertical leap, his tail spinning for balance. As he slammed down with a thunderous impact, the ground cracked—and two of the foxes burst into mist. The real one barely dodged the shockwave.
"Nice guess," Zara called out, nodding approvingly. "Most people fall for all three."
"Lucky instinct," Mia admitted, breathing hard. "Nutmeg, flank! Hootsworth, trap field!"
The owl swept in a circle, runes forming a dome of shimmering blue light to trap the fox's movement. Nutmeg blurred into motion—despite his bulk, his enhanced evolution gave him speed that defied logic. He cornered the fox inside the barrier just as it tried to phase through a wall of light.
"Arashi, disperse!" Zara called. The fox's body seemed to flicker, its tails spinning rapidly—then it exploded in a flash of light, temporarily blinding everyone nearby.
Mia raised her arm over her eyes. "Cover!"
When the flash faded, Arashi had teleported out of the trap, panting and glowing faintly, clearly exhausted. Nutmeg, singed slightly, grinned. "That was spicy."
Hootsworth clucked in approval. "Very spicy indeed."
Mia exhaled. "Let's end it. Nutmeg, combo! Hootsworth, binding chant!"
The owl soared high and began reciting an incantation that pulsed with shimmering silver threads. As the threads dropped down like glowing vines, Nutmeg rushed in with blinding speed. Arashi, low on energy, couldn't dodge in time—the threads latched onto its legs, pinning it long enough for Nutmeg to deliver a heavy, but controlled, shoulder slam that knocked it gently off its paws and into the padded wall.
"Match over!" the supervisor called. "Victory: Mia's team!"
Zara exhaled deeply and ran to check on Arashi, who blinked once, then licked her face before collapsing into a nap. "Good girl," she whispered.
Mia approached, panting slightly, Nutmeg giving her a triumphant fist bump. "That was incredible," she said. "Your fox is insanely fast.
"Arashi's part of a rare bloodline," Zara said with a smile, offering a hand. "But you've got something rarer—an owl that quotes ancient philosophers mid-battle, and a squirrel who bench-presses lightning. What are you feeding them?"
Mia laughed and shook her hand. "A balanced diet. And a lot of stubborn encouragement."
Zara motioned toward the benches near the ring. "Come sit. I need water and a post-battle snack, and I want to know everything about that evolution."
They found a quiet corner where Mia sat with a fresh smoothie and Nutmeg gnawed through a protein bar the size of a loaf of bread. Professor Hootsworth had already conjured a tiny notebook and was casually scribbling equations into the air.
"So," Zara said, sipping her own drink. "My team's been studying beast evolution for a while now. Especially irregular paths like your squirrel's."
"Nutmeg's evolution isn't in any book I've found," Mia admitted. "It didn't follow the usual progression."
Zara nodded. "Exactly why I want to introduce you to someone."
"Oh?"
"My older cousin, actually. She's a beast evolution researcher—works privately, not guild-affiliated. Focuses on adaptive and non-linear evolutions. She'd love to see your team."
Mia blinked. "That sounds… amazing."
Zara grinned. "She's intense, but brilliant. Plus, she has a weird sense of humor. You'll get along."
Hootsworth looked up from his notes. "If she has access to advanced spectral mapping equipment, I'd be interested in a consultation. Nutmeg's evolution is disrupting all known models."
Nutmeg grinned. "You're just mad you didn't predict it."
"I am mad," Hootsworth said, puffing his feathers. "But also excited. Science thrives on the unknown."
Zara pulled out a small enchanted slip of paper and handed it to Mia. "Here. It's a pass to her private lab outside the city. Don't lose it. I'll let her know you're coming."
Mia stared at the paper, then tucked it into her bag with care. "Thank you. Really. This… this means a lot."
Zara stood and offered a casual salute. "You've got potential, Mia. You're older than most newbies, sure, but that just means you know how to handle the chaos."
Mia chuckled. "Thanks. I think I've found my rhythm."
As they parted ways, with the sun dipping lower on the horizon and the battlegrounds slowly emptying, Mia glanced down at her two companions.
"Think we're ready for a field trip?"
Hootsworth adjusted his monocle. "As long as there's proper lab safety protocols, I'm in."
Nutmeg cracked his knuckles. "Do you think they have weights?"
Mia grinned, her heart light. "Let's find out."