The first truly warm day of late spring arrived without warning.
One morning the air still carried the bite of frost on the grass; the next, the sun rose fat and golden, turning the birch leaves translucent and coaxing every growing thing into reckless, joyful expansion. Bees droned thick around the flowering currant bushes. The chickens scratched with renewed enthusiasm. Even the distant woods seemed to breathe deeper, exhaling green.
Aiden woke to birdsong so loud it felt personal.
He slipped downstairs, ate a quick bowl of porridge standing at the table, kissed his mother's cheek while she was still half-asleep over her tea, and headed straight for the garden.
The moon-touched bean vines had grown overnight—tendrils now thick as his wrist, silver veins pulsing faintly in the morning light. They had climbed the simple trellis he'd built last week (Carpenter + Village Weaver synergy making the joints self-tightening) and were already setting tiny pearl-white blossoms.
He spent the first two hours weeding, watering, whispering encouragement to the plants the way Widow Marla had taught him years ago.
Verdant Touch Lv.4 made every touch count: weeds withered at the root without him pulling hard, soil particles rearranged themselves into perfect tilth under his palms, bean leaves turned toward him like sunflowers tracking noon.
[Daily Gardening Session Completed]
[+420 EXP → 42,000 after multiplier]
[Farmer Lv.18 → Lv.19]
By mid-morning he was sweaty, dirt-streaked, and content.
He decided to check the alder copse at the village edge—where the rabbit burrows were, where he'd first unlocked Hunter years ago. The underbrush there had been unusually quiet lately; no rustling, no small-game tracks.
He grabbed a small woven basket (Village Weaver passive: lighter when full, self-repairing seams) and a few sprigs of calming valerian he'd dried last autumn.
The walk took twenty minutes.
The copse smelled different today—sharper, muskier. Something had been here recently, something bigger than rabbits.
Aiden slowed.
Moved quieter.
Hunter Lv.4 let him place his feet without sound. Observer Lv.9 picked out broken twigs, scuffed earth, a single tuft of coarse brown fur caught on a blackberry thorn.
He followed the signs.
Twenty paces in, he found it.
A juvenile dire-weasel—lean, long-bodied, winter coat shedding in ugly patches—lay half-curled under a fallen log. One foreleg was caught in an old wire snare, the kind careless trappers left behind. The wire had bitten deep; the leg was swollen, crusted with dried blood and pus. The animal's breathing came in shallow pants. Fever-bright eyes tracked him without hope.
It bared small, sharp teeth in a weak snarl.
Aiden crouched ten feet away.
"Hey," he said softly. "Not here to hurt you."
The weasel hissed.
Aiden didn't move closer.
Instead he opened the basket, took out the valerian sprigs, crushed them between his palms until the sharp, earthy scent filled the air.
[Herbalist Lv.15 + Gentle Touch passive synergy detected]
[Calming Aura (temporary) – 65% effective on stressed wildlife]
He tossed the crushed herbs in a gentle arc toward the animal.
The wind carried the scent.
The weasel's nostrils flared.
Its snarl faltered.
Aiden waited.
Five minutes passed. Ten.
The animal's breathing slowed. The fever-bright eyes softened fractionally.
Aiden inched forward—one slow step at a time—palms open, empty.
When he was close enough to touch, he spoke again.
"I'm going to help with the wire. It's going to hurt for a second. Then it gets better. Okay?"
The weasel watched him.
Didn't lunge.
Aiden reached for the snare.
His fingers—small, steady—found the twisted metal.
[Tool of Justice passive (Village Guardian precursor) – improvised use on restraining device]
[Omni-Tool efficiency +50% applied to wire manipulation]
The wire parted under his grip like wet string.
The weasel yelped once—sharp, surprised—then went limp as the pressure vanished.
Aiden didn't grab it.
He backed off three steps, pulled a small clay vial from inventory (Minor Healing Salve ×1), uncorked it, and poured three careful drops onto the mangled leg.
The wound hissed faintly.
Flesh began to knit—slow at first, then faster. Pus drained away like dirty water. Swelling receded before his eyes.
The weasel blinked.
Licked the salve once—tentative—then again, hungrier.
Aiden sat cross-legged on the forest floor, ten feet away, and waited.
Half an hour later the animal stood.
Tested the leg.
Limped once, then walked normally.
It looked at Aiden for a long moment—head tilted, black eyes bright and clear.
Then it turned and vanished into the underbrush without a sound.
Aiden exhaled.
The system chimed—clear, bright, almost musical.
[Beast Tamer Initiate (Rare) Unlocked!]
[Passive Gained: Gentle Touch (Lv.1) – +40% success rate calming / taming wild creatures; minor healing aura while in contact]
[Skill Gained: Basic Animal Assessment – Instantly gauge health, mood, and basic needs of non-monster beasts]
[Bounty Resolved: Freed & Healed Injured Creature]
[+2,800 EXP → 280,000 after multiplier]
[Beast Tamer Initiate Lv.1 → Lv.4]
[Synergy Overflow: Hunter + Herbalist + Beast Tamer Initiate = 58% toward Verdant Warden (Advanced)]
[Village Guardian (Rare) Progress: 8% → 27%]
Aiden sat there another few minutes, letting the adrenaline fade.
He hadn't been afraid—not really—but the moment had weight.
This was the first time the quiet miracles had met something with teeth.
He stood, brushed dirt from his knees, picked up the discarded snare wire (he'd melt it down later for nails), and started back toward the village.
Halfway home he heard soft rustling behind him.
He didn't turn.
Just kept walking at the same steady pace.
The rustling followed—parallel, twenty paces off, never closer.
When he reached the garden edge, he paused.
Looked over his shoulder.
The dire-weasel stood at the tree-line—half in shadow, half in sun—watching him.
It didn't approach.
Just watched.
Then dipped its head once—almost a nod—and melted back into the woods.
Aiden smiled faintly.
Went inside.
Elara was at the table sorting dried chamomile.
She looked up as he entered.
"You're filthy," she said, but her tone was fond.
"Went for a walk."
She studied him—longer than usual.
"Anything interesting out there?"
He hesitated only half a second.
"Found a hurt weasel. Fixed its leg."
Elara's hands stilled on the chamomile.
"…With what?"
"Salve. And talking."
She exhaled slowly.
Set the flowers down.
Crossed to him.
Tipped his chin up with one finger so their eyes met.
"You're getting braver," she said quietly.
"Or stupider," he offered.
She smiled—small, worried, proud.
"Promise me you'll tell us if something bigger than a weasel shows up?"
"I promise."
She hugged him then—tight, sudden, smelling of chamomile and home.
When she let go, she added one more line to the notebook later that evening while he pretended not to notice:
• Talks hurt animals into letting him help (and they listen)
That night, after supper, Aiden climbed to the hayloft with the journeyman's herbal notes and the new bestiary book.
He read by lantern light until the wick guttered low.
The system drank it all in.
[Beast Lore Apprentice Progress: 22%]
[New Recipe Unlocked: Beast-Calming Poultice (Uncommon)]
Outside, an owl called once.
Somewhere in the alder copse, a once-injured dire-weasel hunted mice with four strong legs and a confusing memory of a small human who smelled like valerian and kindness.
And somewhere deeper in the woods—beyond the copse, beyond the first ridge—a larger shape lifted its head, nostrils flaring at the faint scent of silver beans and healing herbs drifting on the night wind.
The system noted it.
A single line appeared in the class tree, faint but growing:
[Village Guardian (Rare) – Threat Proximity Detected: 31%]
Aiden closed the books.
Blew out the lantern.
Lay back on the hay.
Tomorrow he would plant more beans.
Tomorrow he would bake bread with his mother.
Tomorrow he would keep an eye on the tree-line.
But tonight—tonight was still quiet.
And quiet was still worth protecting.
[End of Chapter 7 – Book 1]
Chapter 8 will escalate gently: the dire-weasel returns—not alone, but with two siblings—drawn by the lingering calming aura and easy food scent around the garden. Aiden handles the small pack with poultices, extra eggs, and patience, fully unlocking Beast Tamer Initiate perks while Elara and Garrick witness the "conversation" from the porch. The adults begin to quietly prepare the village for the possibility that "bigger things" may follow the small miracles.