Inside a hospital room, a young man lay half-propped on his bed, gazing quietly out the window with calm eyes. This was of course Courage .
A nurse entered with a clipboard. "Good morning, Mr. Petacos," she said cheerfully. After exchanging greetings, she performed routine checks - taking his temperature, checking his pulse. Reviewing the results, she nodded. "Everything looks good. You should be discharged soon."
"Alright, thank you," Courage replied. Then with a professional nod, the nurse departed, leaving him alone with his thoughts once more.
His eyes returned to the window, but his mind wandered to recent events. He was here because apparently he pushed himself too hard during the awakening ceremony causing him to collapse into a coma immediately after succeeding. When he woke up three days later, the doctors had scolded him severely for his recklessness before ordering additional recovery time to make sure of his health.
During these extra days of observation, several officials had visited. First came the ceremony monitors, who delivered surprising news - despite his low aptitude, courage actually achieved a high-grade awakening result. A rare achievement for most people and a nearly unheard of feat for someone of his aptitude, This rarity attracted attention from various groups, all making offers in exchange for information about his awakening such as his details about his trial and his totem beast.
But Courage had refused them all. He wasn't foolish enough to reveal his strengths and weaknesses to strangers, especially not to large groups and organizations that might use that knowledge against him. In this world, information was power - and he intended to keep his.
Other than those people, several government officials had visited to confirm whether Courage intended to become an official Beast Catalyser or not. When he affirmed his decision, they guided him through the necessary legal procedures. After what felt like a mountain of paperwork and endless signatures, Courage's status was officially registered in the system.
The officials then provided a thorough briefing about his duties as a registered Catalyser , the privileges afforded by his new status as well as the regulations governing his activities
Finally, they explained one last requirement: "You'll need to receive the standard implant before you can begin operations."
As for what that meant...
Courage turned his gaze to the empty air before him and thought: *Interface*.
Instantly, a sleek black screen materialized in his vision, displaying:
COURAGE PETACOS
- Status: Normal
- Beast Catalyser: Level 1
- Boons: None
- Beasts List: [Totem Beast]
This floating display was the work of the bio-tech implant now integrated with his nervous system - standard issue for all registered Catalysers. As he'll learn in time, the device served multiple functions beyond this basic interface, all designed to assist new Catalysers in their development.
Courage then focused his attention on the [Totem Beast] entry in his interface. With a mental command, the display expanded to reveal detailed information.
Visual Display:
His Totem Beast materialized as a holographic projection - a Kabuto beetle unlike any natural specimen. The creature stood as large as a medium-sized dog, its carapace gleaming with a pale, metallic gold hue. Its legs were unusually thick and muscular for a beetle, while its horn and carapace plates looked razor-sharp and incredibly durable. Even to Courage's untrained eye, this was clearly an exceptional specimen.
- great Fighting Kabuto (Level 1)
- Grade:High
- Growth Level: 0%
- type: vigor
- Traits:[None]
- Abilities: [All Out]
Ability Description:
[All Out]: what ever this beast does it will always bring out 100%
Beast discrption:
"A beast born of great aspiration and effort. So long as its master's resolve remains firm, it is destined for greatness."
Courage absorbed the information methodically:
1. Grade: As expected from his high awakening result, his Totem Beast was High-grade by default.
2. Growth Level: This percentage indicated his beast's development within its current level. Reaching 100% would allow it to advance to the next level.
3.type: this indicated the aspect his beast is most affiliated with.
4. Traits/Abilities: While self-explanatory, his beast's [All Out] ability puzzled him. Extensive research had yielded no matches - suggesting it might be completely unique.
The implications sent a thrill through him. Unique abilities often propelled Catalysers to fame and fortune. "If this pans out," he murmured, "I could be set for life."
Then came the sharp *smack* of palm against his forehead. "Don't get ahead of yourself," he chided. Overconfidence had ruined better men than him. First, he needed to properly understand this ability does and how to work with it .
One final matter remained. The government officials had informed Courage that as a registered Beast Catalyser, he could now claim his late father's inheritance—a collection of valuable possessions and assets held in reserve. This was standard practice among beast catalysers ; given the dangerous nature of their profession, most Catalysers arranged for such provisions to leave something for their families.
However, certain assets were restricted—only another Beast Catalyser could inherit them. The fact that Courage had never been told about this inheritance before suggested his father had anticipated this path for him, and had poured everything into carefully preparing resources to support his journey.
A bittersweet smile touched Courage's lips as he absorbed this. Where he expected to begin with nothing, his father had ensured he wouldn't walk this road empty-handed. Warmth bloomed in his chest, momentarily easing the ever-present ache of loss.
"Thanks, Dad," he murmured to the quiet hospital room, the words carrying decades of unspoken gratitude.
Several days after leaving the hospital, Courage sat at the desk in his small apartment, carefully poring over one of the notebooks from his inheritance—a collection he claimed immediately after being discharged. The inheritance in total contained nearly three million credits a substantial sum clearly saved over many years, various Catalyser-related resources for nurturing beasts, and most importantly, a set of his father's meticulously kept notebooks. These included field logs documenting his experiences, journals of accumulated knowledge, and the volume Courage now studied—a dedicated guidebook filled with development strategies, training methods, and practical advice tailored specifically for a new Beast Catalyser. As he turned the pages, Courage couldn't help but feel his father's presence in the carefully inked words—every note, every instruction representing years of hard-won experience now being passed down, giving him an advantage few rookie Catalysers ever enjoyed.
Courage had been studying the notebooks non-stop for several days, practically memorizing their contents. Yet no matter how many times he read them, they never failed to capture his attention with the variety of topics they covered. Right now, his focus was on one particular subject - the Blend.
As explained in his father's notes, the Blend was the space that existed beyond the Casam, where all the dimensions torn apart by the Casam - including their own - intersected and merged together. It was with the discovery of the Blend that the Beast Catalyser profession was officially established, since it provided the best environment for cultivating Beasts. This made the Blend extremely valuable to humanity.
However, this wondrous place wasn't without its dangers. It took humanity centuries to develop proper methods to begin colonizing areas within the Blend, and centuries more to establish stable bastions - fortified bases that would serve as starting points for new Beast Catalysers.
The reason Courage was focusing on this topic now was simple: according to his father's notebooks, choosing your starting bastion in the Blend was one of the most important decisions a new Catalyser could make, as it would significantly impact their future prospects. His father specifically recommended selecting either newly established bastions or ones close to the frontier - near areas still being explored in the Blend. The notes explained that while being a pioneer carried greater risks, it also offered opportunities unavailable in the more settled central bastions.
Following this advice, Courage methodically researched all established bastions, carefully weighing the pros and cons of each. One by one, he eliminated options until settling on **Grand Cliff Bastion**—a relatively new outpost that perfectly balanced risk and opportunity.
Situated close enough to the frontier to offer untapped potential, yet proven stable enough to withstand the Blend's dangers, it was ideal. As a developing bastion, it also had plentiful work opportunities for new Catalysers like himself.
With this decision, Courage's journey as a Beast Catalyser truly began.