I am Just an Average Tamer-Chapter 149: come back later

The pulsing light faded from Kai’s chest, leaving a faint warmth in its place. He stood still for a moment, listening—not to the cave, but to the low hum in his core.

Something inside had shifted.

The beast core didn’t immediately summon a creature. No form, no voice, no name—just a silent presence, coiled deep inside him like a waiting storm.

Kai opened his eyes. Corrin was watching him cautiously.

"You good?" the rogue-warrior asked. "You didn’t start screaming or grow horns, so I’m assuming that’s a good sign."

Kai didn’t answer right away. "It’s... dormant. But alive. Like it’s testing me."

Corrin snorted. "Well, tell it to wait till we’re outta this cave. If another skeletal dinosaur comes roaring out of the walls, I’m stabbing you."

Kai gave a faint smirk.

Still, the weight of the moment lingered. The orb hadn’t just granted him power—it had marked him. The moment it sank into his core, he’d felt a brush of something vast. Something cold and ancient, watching from a far-off place beyond understanding.

’Trial acknowledged. Bond unlocked.’

But whose voice had that been?

He tucked the question away. Now wasn’t the time.

They moved deeper into the newly revealed corridor. The stone here was smoother, cleaner. This part of the structure had been sealed for centuries, maybe longer. Faint runes lined the walls—Dravari in design, but subtly twisted, like the script had evolved into something... other.

As they walked, Corrin spoke up.

"You know," he began, voice quieter now, "that beast core you absorbed... it didn’t feel like it belonged in this era. That Cryptbone thing, either."

Kai nodded. "They were Dravari creations. Which means they’re at least a thousand years old."

Corrin gave him a sidelong glance. "You think the academy knows about this place?"

Kai shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. This whole section could’ve been uncovered by accident during the trial’s reshaping."

Corrin scoffed. "Right. ’Accidentally’ drop students into a forgotten underworld of dead empires and cursed wyrms. Totally on-brand for them."

They reached another chamber, smaller than the last, but more refined. Carved dragon heads lined the walls, their stone eyes filled with faint blue light.

In the center stood a dais, surrounded by faded banners.

Atop it rested a long, narrow stone box—clearly a sarcophagus.

Kai approached slowly.

As he neared, the glyphs on the lid pulsed.

Veal appeared on Kai’s shoulder in a shimmer, feathers ruffled. The Windsight Falcon let out a low warning cry, eyes focused on the box.

"You feel that too?" Kai whispered.

He reached out.

But before he could touch the lid, it cracked.

Not a sudden break—more like... an invitation.

The top slid open halfway with a low hiss, revealing something unexpected inside.

Not a corpse.

Not another cursed beast.

But a weapon.

A spear. Elegant. Ancient. Its shaft was made of obsidian-colored wood with silver dragon-scale inlays, and its blade shimmered with a soft, spectral hue—like starlight wrapped in shadow.

The moment Kai laid eyes on it, a system prompt bloomed before him.

[You have discovered: Spear of Umbradrake – Ancient Dravari Relic]Grade: Great Core (Artifact)Element: Dark / Sonic / SpectralBond Requirement: Beast Tamer (Dark Affinity) + Echo Core IntegrationStatus: Dormant – Bound to Kai

Corrin whistled. "Okay, that’s fancy. You sure you didn’t accidentally stumble into a loot dungeon?"

Kai didn’t respond.

The spear pulsed in time with the new core inside him. It recognized him.

He reached out, fingers brushing the shaft.

A flood of whispers rushed into his head—memories of an ancient battle, of the last Dravari Beast Tamer wielding this weapon alongside a monstrous falcon-creature made of shadow and sound.

The weapon wasn’t just a tool.

It was a key.

And a tether to whatever beast had once been bonded with that same core.

Kai pulled the spear free. It was lighter than expected, but the air around it seemed to grow heavier, as though acknowledging its reawakening.

[Spear of Umbradrake has bonded successfully.]Passive effect: Sonic-Veil – Reduces sound generated by movement.Active skill unlocked: Shadow Pulse (Cooldown: 2 minutes)

Corrin took a cautious step back. "Welp. You’re officially carrying a haunted spear now."

Kai gripped the weapon and gave it a test spin. It cut through the air soundlessly, like it sliced reality itself.

"I’ll take haunted over helpless," Kai muttered.

Behind them, the chamber rumbled once more—but this time, it wasn’t danger.

A staircase lowered from the far side, leading upward, toward the surface.

Corrin groaned with relief. "Finally."

They climbed without speaking much. Fatigue was creeping in—physical and mental. Kai’s mind kept circling back to the core, the spear, and the whispers.

What was it all building toward?

By the time they emerged from the stairwell, the light of the cave mouth greeted them. Sunlight spilled through the cracks above. The trial dome had begun to collapse slightly, rocks dislodged by shifting magic.

They weren’t the first to finish—but they might’ve gone the farthest.

A familiar voice called out.

"Oi, Kai! Corrin! You’re alive!" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

They turned to see Rashira running toward them, green hair a mess, her Riverwake Serpent slithering beside her.

Corrin grinned. "We’re alive. Mostly. Just fought a bone dragon, absorbed a spectral god-core, and found a possessed spear. You?"

Rashira blinked. "I... caught two tokens and electrocuted a snake guy."

Kai gave a tired chuckle.

Rashira slowed as she saw the spear in his hand. Her mage senses flared instinctively.

"That... is not normal."

Kai met her gaze, eyes darker than before. "Neither is what’s coming."

Behind them, the cave’s entrance began to seal again—its secrets buried once more.

But deep in his soul, Kai felt it stir.

The beast he hadn’t summoned yet.

The one that came from the dark beyond sound.

The Umbradrake.

And it was waiting.

The sunlight was a welcome warmth on Kai’s face, but it didn’t ease the pressure tightening in his chest. Not fear—something stranger. Like his soul had been anchored to a deeper layer of the world, one that pulsed behind the veil of ordinary sight.

The spear across his back vibrated subtly, as though aware of the open air.

Beside him, Rashira caught her breath, placing a hand on his arm. "Kai... I know I’m not the strongest or the bravest, but even I can tell something’s changed about you."

Corrin threw an arm around both of their shoulders. "Changed? Pfft. He just picked up a legendary artifact, absorbed a soul-core, and casually bonded with a forgotten spectral beast. Nothing unusual at all."

Rashira glanced at him with narrowed eyes. "You’re not helping."

Kai’s voice came low. "It’s not done yet. Whatever I woke up down there—it’s only just beginning."

Before either of them could ask more, the shimmer of golden light surrounded them. The magical recall trigger.

[Third Trial concluded. All surviving participants are being recalled.]

With a flash, the world warped around them. The echoing cave, the collapsed stairwell, the corpses and the shadows—they were gone.

When Kai’s boots touched solid ground again, he was standing in the center of a massive stone platform within the Azurean Academy’s Trial Colosseum. Cheers roared in the distance, but they sounded muted, distant.

Professors, nobles, and artifact-recording mages lined the observation balconies high above. Magical arrays floated in the air, feeding memories and visuals from the trial into dozens of viewing orbs.

Some participants had already returned. Aria, bruised but standing tall. Sevyr, lounging like he’d just returned from a walk in the garden. Others trickled in behind—bloodied, exhausted, yet alive.

But all eyes slowly turned to Kai.

The weapon across his back gleamed with runes none of them recognized. The darkness coiled around his feet like smoke, fading only when he consciously suppressed it.

The silence was thick.

"...The hell did you bring back?" a voice muttered from the side.

One of the faculty—a high-ranking instructor named Maelor, known for his stoic demeanor—descended from the observation box and approached with steady steps. His golden robes rustled with each movement, laced with platinum threads indicating his status as an Apex Core stage mage.

"Student Kai," he said in a measured tone. "Please step forward."

Kai obeyed, every eye on him. Corrin muttered something under his breath and stepped aside, keeping a hand on his crescent blade.

Maelor’s gaze swept him, lingering on the spear. "This weapon. Where did you acquire it?"

Kai met his eyes. "In a chamber below the crypt sector of the forest maze. Past the remains of a guardian-class beast."

"The Saber-tooth Gorilla?"

"No. Deeper. A Cryptbone Wyrm guarding a core chamber."

Murmurs echoed around the platform.

Maelor’s eyes narrowed. "That sector was not part of the official trial layout."

Kai tilted his head slightly. "Then you should ask the architects why a sealed chamber from the Dravari era was left beneath the student arena."

That hit like a thunderbolt.

Several professors stood, voices rising.

"Impossible—""That chamber was sealed!""He’s lying. This is staged—"

Maelor raised a hand, and silence returned.

"Do you understand the implications of what you’ve claimed?"

yo