CHAPTER 167: TAMED

The sun dipped lower, casting long shadows over the dusty trail as Aamir walked ahead, hands in his pockets, lost in thought. The two girls followed quietly behind him, occasionally whispering to each other, while the man—rescued and confused—trailed even further back, keeping his head down.

Suddenly—

DING!

A shimmering interface popped in Aamir’s vision.

System Notification

Host has successfully tamed a human.

Tamed human will now share host’s stats. Host may lower stats at will. Tamed human cannot harm, betray, or disobey the host. Only the host can release the bond—or upon the host’s death.

Aamir stopped mid-step.

"...Tamed? A human?" he muttered, blinking at the screen in disbelief. "What the hell is this, Luman?"

The AI’s voice echoed calmly in his mind. "Just as it says. You’ve formed an unbreakable bond. That man now shares your stats—currently identical to yours. His strength, agility, stamina... all match yours. Until you reduce them."

Aamir looked horrified. "No-no-no... this sounds like some shady harem overlord setup. I didn’t sign up to be some guy with a pet army."

"This is not about control," Luman replied. "It’s a bond. He’s safe with you—but dangerous if left unchecked."

Aamir swiped open the system panel with a wave of his hand. His eyes scanned the numbers.

Aamir Singh

Strength: 78

Speed: 78

Agility: 78

Stamina: 78

Charm: 50

Then he checked the man’s.

Tamed Human: No Name Registered

Strength: 78

Speed: 78

Agility: 78

Stamina: 78

Charm: 12

Aamir stared at it.

"WHAT THE HELL! He’s got the same stats as me! Dude’s basically a walking nuke with a bad haircut!"

He sighed and muttered, "Well... having a strong meatshield isn’t the worst idea, but no way I’m letting a stranger walk around with full power like that."

With a flick of his fingers, he manually dragged each stat down.

Strength → 15

Speed → 15

Agility → 15

Stamina → 15

"Let’s keep things balanced for now," Aamir murmured. "Fifteen in everything should be enough to survive... not enough to punch holes in walls."

Luman hummed. "Wise decision. You don’t want another you with worse decision-making."

Aamir turned his head and looked at the man. "You. From now on, you stick close. I’ll protect you, but you follow my orders. Got it?"

The man gave a low, respectful nod. "Yes... master."

Aamir cringed. "No. Don’t call me that. Just... Aamir is fine."

The girls giggled quietly from behind.

"Looks like you’re becoming a real leader," one of them said.

Aamir groaned. "I swear, if this turns into some weird spiritbound harem cult, I’m deleting this system myself."

But deep inside... he felt something stir.

A connection.

An awakening.

Something much bigger than taming, fighting, or stats.

And Vedangiri—whatever it held—was pulling him closer.

Aamir turned to the trio and said, "Hey, listen up. If we keep walking like this, it’ll take us days to reach Salbar Market. So come closer."

Seema, Sheela, and Sam obediently stepped toward him, a little puzzled.

"I’m going to place you inside my dimensional space. It’ll be faster and safer," Aamir explained.

Seema blinked. "Wait... aren’t dimensional bags for storing items, not people?"

"Yeah, normally," Aamir replied with a casual shrug. "But mine’s a little... different."

Before they could question him further, Aamir raised his hand and muttered, "Dimensional Space."

A burst of multicolored light spiraled under their feet like a swirling vortex. One by one, the three of them slowly sank into the glow until they disappeared entirely.

Aamir exhaled and mumbled, "That worked better than I thought."

In his mind, he called out, "Can you guys hear me?"

Sam’s voice echoed back immediately. "Yes, sir. Loud and clear."

"You all okay in there?"

"Yeah, we’re fine," Seema replied.

Aamir smiled. "Perfect. I’ve never used this on people before—only tried it once with my beast. His leg got fractured, but he lived."

Suddenly, Seema’s voice snapped through his mind. "WHAT? You experimented on us? Without even knowing if it was safe?!"

"What if we’d died?!" Sheela added, clearly horrified.

Aamir winced. "Okay okay, relax. You didn’t die, right? So it’s fine..."

Then it hit him—he forgot they could hear his thoughts.

"Man, this sucks," he muttered to himself.

"What did you just say?" Seema’s voice rang out inside his head, furious.

"You mean to tell me you threw us in here without even testing it properly first?"

Aamir winced. "Well... I technically tested it on my beast once. Only one leg got fractured."

"YOU WHAT?!" Sheela screamed. "Are we next? Am I gonna pop out with one arm missing?"

"Relax, relax!

" Aamir replied, waving his hand though no one could see. "You’re totally fine. I can feel you. Like... squishy bubbles floating in my gut or something."

"That’s disgusting!" Seema snapped.

Sam’s calm voice came through next. "Sir, I’m just impressed it worked. Not many people can store living beings in dimensional space. Especially without killing them."

"Thank you, Sam," Aamir muttered. "Finally someone who appreciates genius."

"Genius who forgot we could hear every one of his thoughts," Sheela muttered darkly.

Aamir sighed. "Okay, okay. No more thinking out loud. I mean, in loud. Whatever."

He adjusted the strap of his bag and started walking again, heading toward the orange glow of the horizon. The sun was beginning to dip, and the faint outlines of market tents and stone towers were just barely visible in the distance.

"Salbar Market..." Aamir said under his breath. "Almost there."

Suddenly, the wind shifted. Cold. Too cold.

Aamir stopped.

The air around him was silent—too silent. No birds. No rustling. Even the wind seemed to be holding its breath.

He placed his palm on a nearby tree trunk and whispered, "Reveal presence."

A faint ripple passed over the bark—and then, a flicker.

Movement. Not far behind him.

His eyes narrowed.

"Someone’s here," he muttered.

"What do you mean someone’s here?" Seema asked instantly.

"Can you describe it?" Sam asked, all alert now.

"I’m not sure," Aamir whispered. "But it’s not human. Its steps are too light. Too... calculated."

A low growl echoed through the trees.

Then, a pair of yellow eyes glowed from the shadows.

Aamir stepped back cautiously. "Stay quiet," he thought to the others. "This might get messy."

The creature emerged slowly—lean, long, and dripping with black mist. Its face was covered in a strange stitched cloth, and its limbs bent at unnatural angles.

"A Nightspawn?" Sam whispered.

"No," Aamir said. "Worse. That’s a Mirror Crawler."

"A what now?" Sheela asked, her voice trembling.

"They mimic your aura... and then use it to kill you from the inside out."

He cracked his knuckles.

"Well... I was hoping for a peaceful walk, but looks like I get to test my fists today."

He stepped forward, and the Mirror Crawler hissed.

"Let’s dance, ugly."

The Mirror Crawler launched forward like a shadow torn from the night itself—arms flailing, legs snapping with bone-bending speed. Its claws extended mid-leap, aiming directly for Aamir’s face.

Aamir didn’t move.

Not a flinch. Not a blink.

"Analyze."

Mirror Crawler - Grade B+

Weakness: Light-based attacks, high-speed impact.

Traits: Aura mimicry, limb extension, adaptive regeneration.

"Nice try," Aamir muttered.

In one smooth motion, he ducked beneath the slash and stepped aside just an inch—an effortless sway that made it look like the attack missed on its own.

The creature spun mid-air and lashed its elongated arm at his back.

CRACK!

Aamir grabbed the arm mid-strike with two fingers. Just two.

The creature shrieked, but Aamir remained calm.

"Claws? Cute. Wanna see mine?"

He clenched his fist—and the Mirror Crawler’s entire arm shattered like dry glass.

It reeled back, screeching, black mist pouring from the wound.

From inside the dimensional space, Seema whispered, "Did he just... break it with two fingers?"

"Holy crap," Sheela said. "He’s not even breathing hard."

Even Sam, the quiet one, sounded impressed. "That’s precision control... frightening precision."

The Mirror Crawler lunged again, enraged, its torso expanding as it released a mimic aura—identical to Aamir’s own.

It hissed violently. "Miiiiirrooorrrrssss..."

Aamir raised an eyebrow. "Trying to copy me now? Poor life choices."

The beast’s muscles bulged, mimicking Aamir’s strength stat.

Then—

Aamir instantly dropped his aura by 90%.

The creature stumbled. "Grrrk?!"

"Oops," Aamir smirked. "You copied the wrong version."

He zipped forward like lightning, vanishing in a blur of golden dust.

BOOM!

A single punch to the gut sent the Mirror Crawler flying through three trees and slamming into a boulder, which crumbled under the impact.

Silence.

Aamir cracked his neck, then wiped an imaginary speck of dust from his jacket.

"You really thought you could mirror me?"

The creature twitched, trying to crawl upright.

"Persistent little freak, aren’t you?"

With a sigh, Aamir lifted one foot and tapped the ground.

A glowing rune expanded beneath the crawler’s body—his own custom seal.

"Soul Burn: Static Flame."

Fire, tinted violet and laced with lightning, erupted from the rune and engulfed the beast in an instant. It didn’t even have time to scream before it starts to disintegrated into smoky ash.

The ashes of the Mirror Crawler were still fading into the air when a faint ding echoed in Aamir’s ears—like a soft chime only he could hear.

A crimson screen flickered into existence before his eyes, humming with energy.

[SYSTEM UPDATE – CRIMSON CORE RECOGNITION]

Congratulations, Host.

You have defeated a newly categorized beast: [Mirror Crawler – Adaptive Variant].

New Ability Acquired: Adaptive Regeneration (Grade B)

– You can now passively regenerate tissue damage based on threat levels.

– Regeneration efficiency increases when under stress or wounded.

Note: Ability evolves faster when copying more Adaptive-type monsters.

Your legend begins to take root, Echo-Bearer.

Aamir blinked. "Huh. That’s new."

His fingers flexed slightly as a faint pulse of heat ran up his arm. The tiny scratch he’d gotten earlier—barely noticeable—was already sealing shut without any conscious effort.

"Adaptive regeneration... now that’s going to come in handy," he muttered.

A faint smirk curled on his lips as he walked forward. "Guess I should thank that crawling freak."

Then the screen vanished with a soft shimmer, leaving behind only silence—and the faint sense that something inside him had just awakened further.

Aamir exhaled and rolled his shoulders. "Well... that was fun. Five out of ten. Would fight again—if it came in a group."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Seema’s voice exploded in his head. "You fought that THING without breaking a sweat!"

"Is this normal?" Sheela asked, half-awed, half-panicked.

Sam answered calmly, "No. But I get the feeling... it is for him."

Aamir grinned to himself. "Alright. Let’s keep moving. Salbar Market’s just ahead. And I’d rather not be late to my own trouble."