Madman’s Retirement

He set the stage appropriately, as this was quite the special ceremony.

A selection ceremony should be special.

There was no aptitude in this test, at least not visible to the child's eye.

One of the worst things to do to a child is to set up the wrong expectations.

Having dimmed the nearby lands, and setting up some rather illuminating torches, he sat before the child.

"Today is a very special day." He announced, sitting the child before the test.

"Where we decide which path best suits you." He said as he waived his hands, and the trinkets appeared spontaneously.

The boy seemed a bit nervous and unprepared, likely since he hadn't really mentioned what the test was exactly.

"No worry child, we are merely testing your aptitude so that I may best know which direction to guide you." He said soothingly.

The only other witness Ursa Honey, as Grant wanted to make it a private event. Though Grant wouldn't mind inviting his other creations to come observe, it would be inappropriate, given that the child seemed a bit scared of them, them in question being terrifying, god-like monsters who are ascending to god hood slowly, or the other creations, who while not gods, are still new, unnerving species.

It was his party, and thus Grant would respect his needs.

As the boy sat down, he looked at the items on the table before him.

As he sat on the chair, a low hum went off, and the items shook imperceptibly, signifying that the ritual was ready.

"What do I do?" The boy asked, as he looked at the table before him, not realizing that his eyes were already looking at a few items.

Grant shrugged. "Just grab the one that stands out the most to you." He said simply, choosing not to say too much, and merely to allow the boys instincts to guide him.

"Just choose?" he asked, confused at the "test" presented before him.

It was a vague test, with no logic to it.

Just choose?

Still, the man seemed to have explained all there was to explain. The child swept his eyes over.

Many items, yet only one truly called out to him. The egg almost seemed to shake in his vision.

The boy did not notice the trance he was in, as he unconsciously reached his hand out.

It did reach out to the psychic option for a second, causing Grant's breath to hitch. He said that none were quite bad, but psychics were one of the most difficult ones to raise, especially sentinel and guides and psykers. They often required the complimenting partner to maintain their own mental stability. Were there ways around it? Sure, but the way around it was often difficult, and often involved one's own personal inner demons, which was something that the child would have difficulty dealing with.

Given that his hand temporarily drifted towards the psychic side before finally reaching towards the beast egg, Grant speculated that the psychic side was due to the connection to psychic animals, and the boy's inherent connection towards his monster side, which likely formed his destiny towards beasts.

Whatever the case was, he was now to travel the route of beasts.

As he touched the egg, he unconsciously grabbed the egg before snapping out of it, looking in surprise at the sudden appearance of an egg in his hand, before handing it to Grant.

Grant smiled nonchalantly as he clapped his hand on his shoulder. "Congratulations! It seems that you are destined for the route of beasts."

The boy looked surprised as he asked him hesitantly. "Really?" He asked, to which Grant chuckled.

"You do not have to take the path of beasts, should you choose not to. What we are best suited is not necessarily what we seek to do." He said reassuringly, before adding. "However, I do want you to try it first, before you make your final decision. Is that okay?" He said, making sure to leave the final decision in the child's hands.

And the child hesitated for a bit, before finally nodding. "Okay. I'll try it." He said as confidently as he could, eliciting a chuckle from Grant. "Good, good. Then we are now apprentice and master. " He said, finally confirming the relation between the two.

"By the way, you have medium fire spiritual roots, and a good aptitude for water magic."

The boy looked confused, only for Grant to chuckle. "t mean's your aptitude for both magic and qi is good. Don't worry about it. Even if it hadn't, I'd have been able to fix it. I just thought I ought to inform you about it, that's all."

This ultimately meant nothing t him, and just seemed like a casual sentence. Which was Grant's aim, to ensure that roots seemed irrelevant to him. To be small and pointless, and to have no impact on the child's future development.

"Does my new apprentice have a name?" Grant asked carefully, gauging the child's reaction, watching to make sure that his words did not affect the child, in spite of the humorous way the question was presented.

The child responded slowly, and yet with confidence in this weird man. He was eccentric for sure, and perhaps dangerous as his father had warned him.

But the man seemed trustworthy.

Weird, but honest about what he did.

"My name is Devis." The boy confirmed, before pressing his hands together in greeting.

"Disciple greets his master." Grant seemed surprised by the formal action, yet reacted quickly to this familiar action.

"This master welcomes his new disciple."

And thus Grant accepted his first student in this new world.

An inconspicuous group quietly entered the outpost before looking around.

It was a small group, comprising of two, a young man, and an elderly elven woman, who had eyes that shone with a great wisdom.

"So this is where he is. The man who saved that child." murmured the head priestess of Isis. The young man next to her snorted, but made no comment under the watchful gaze of the old women, who turned to look at the town once more, seeking.

She was attempting to use her goddess' guidance to find this man. For before the mother had become Goddess of motherhood, she had once been a Goddess of magic, and few could hide from her sight.

Yet Isis seemed unable to find the man, much to her confusion.

Was the man hiding?

But according to what the other side had told Mother, Grant was not the type to hide.

This was soon proven to be true, as a voice echoed through her mind as well as the young man.

I did not expect the church of Isis to come looking for me of all people.

The voice came. The young man looked around warily, seeking the one who projected his voice into their heads, while the old elven lady seemed indifferent as she responded.

"I believe it good manners to thank someone for their goodwill."

Oh?

The voice seemed rather curious as to what favor he had done for the church.

"You may trick the government, and even the church, but you cannot fool the Gods. Isis knows what you did for one of her sons. She wanted to thank you for your kindness in freeing that child. And of course she wanted to talk about the system with you as well."

The voice paused for a bit, as if contemplating for a second, before finally responding.

Very well

"The fundamental thing that all beastmasters must understand is that a beast is not a tool, but a partner. You'll find many who disagree and train their beasts appropriately, but we will not be pursuing these paths. As someone who's fought my own fair share of beast tamers, the last thing you want is a partner who holds a grudge against you, and ready to abandon you at the first opportunity. Anyway, I'll go over the available paths- "

Grant looked up, pausing in his lecture on the basics on beasts, as he stared off into the distance, eyeing his new surprise guests.

Devis, while confused, remained quiet, waiting for his teachers next instruction.

Grant had not expected them to show up after such a fight, and the fact that he killed off such a treasured paladin of the church should've made them enemies. And yet here they were, not merely some higher up, but the head of the church herself, as well as some jumpy child.

Still, it was clear that they aware of the truth, which was not so shocking to Grant. As long as Isis was willing to ask around the pantheon, she would realize quickly that his soul was not in the afterlife, nor had it been brought forth for judgement and reincarnation.

Grant hadn't exactly hid his actions either.

What for? Not like there was really anyone to hide it from. Even if he had thrown a system in for good measure, they knew about it already, in some capacity.

Anyway, it seemed Isis bared no ill will.

More importantly, it seemed like she had a role in the importation of the system into this world which was a fascinating thing, which intrigued him.

Alright. Let's hear what they had to say.

"Alright, class dismissed for today. Your teacher has to go talk to some people,so you stay here and play with Ursa, hmm?" The boy nodded as he got up and left.

He didn't run, but unknowingly quickened his pace as he walked towards the bear area, as Grant wondered whether he should leave Ursa Honey to the child as a beast companion.

Something to contemplate after this next conversation he supposed