As they stepped inside, he was astonished by the aesthetics. The man had succeeded in grabbing Clyde's full attention, which only happened sparingly.
"You have a really nice place, Mr. Jonathan," he uttered as he glanced at the well-arranged room.
Jonathan turned around at the sound of his words, smiling like he got himself a new horse.
"Thank you, sunny. And don't worry about the title, it's not necessary. You can just call me Jonathan." He scoffed as he stepped through the entrance.
He turned around in a gesture to welcome him in. Clyde nodded before he walked in, admiring the serene architecture.
"Alright, sir," he murmured, "you live here alone?"
"Well, yes, after my son left for the academy, I started staying alone since there was no one else," he answered, closing the door as Clyde walked in.
"You got a really nice place, and I'm most grateful for your kind hospitality, sir," he answered modestly, dropping his bag by the wall.
"No, no, not there. There are a few rooms you can choose from, but before that, please have a seat so I can serve your breakfast." Clyde was a guest, and so he couldn't reject the offer of having breakfast before settling in.
So he picked up his bag and drifted to the closest chair and relaxed his already tired muscles from the night's journey.
"Just wait a while, the food will be brought here shortly," he said before he went in without another word.
Clyde took the moment to relax his sore muscles and maybe think about the night he still didn't remember clearly.
'Talk about a rough night.' He sighed, relaxing his head on the chair's headrest.
'Did I really see a dragon last night? If so, then the weird screen that appeared afterwards is real too?' He thought, staring at the weirdly carved ceiling.
'Well, if it's real, then it should be able to pop into view right now.'
He sat up, relaxing his body before he started trying to summon it.
'Appear! I summon thee! Scabosh! Lagadoo! Not a magic word, I see. What else can be used?'
He thought for a while before he finally came up with an idea he was sure would work.
'Beast Codex!' he yelled within his mind.
At that moment, an orange neon glowing screen appeared in front of his vision, leaving him speechless and stunned.
╔═════════════════════════╗
Tamer: Clyde [Unranked]
Bonded Beast(s): 0 (Locked)
Rank: N/A
Codex Integrity: 94% [Error Detected]
Reverse Bonding Detected: 1
Beast Type: Dragon
1. Beast Records
2. Bond Tracker
3. Tamer Stats
4. Skill Grimoire
5. Growth Gauge
6. Hidden Pages (Locked)
HP: 500/500
Stamina: 140/210
Beast Handling: E
Combat Skill: E+
Willpower: D+
Next Rank Up: 0/500 Beast Points
(Beast Points earned by subduing, defeating, or taming beasts)
— Soul Core —
Current Rank: Awakened
Next Rank: Attainer
Soul Core Link: Beast Core
— View Soul Core Progression —
╚═════════════════════════╝
He stared at the weird status screen, navigating through it to make sure he wasn't dreaming again or for some weird reason hallucinating.
'This shit is actually real. There are no strings attached to it, and I don't remember taking anything alcoholic, so it's not the effect of being drunk,' he thought.
He thought everything inside his head without saying anything out loud to avoid Jonathan hearing him by chance.
'What can this really do?' he asked as he tapped on the 'View Soul Core Progression' tab.
Then it unravelled before his eyes, new screen texts coming into view.
╔═════════════════════════╗
[ — Soul Core Progression — ]
Awakener – Level 1
Attainer – Level 150
Souless – Level 305
Hunter – Level 450
Former – Level 650
Tamer – Level 800
Lord – Level 999
╚═════════════════════════╝
'And I'm just in the first level. This will take a long while before I reach the next level!'
He was about to explore more about the system tab when Jonathan walked into the room with porcelain dishes placed on a wooden tray.
'Food! I can check out the rest, recovering my lost energy is important.'
He placed the wooden tray on a small table and drew it closer to him.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, I had to prepare some things first," Jonathan apologised.
'This guy is awfully polite and apologetic. Is that his trait or some weird way to gain my acceptance?' He glanced at him with squinted eyes.
But he didn't linger on it more than he already did, because he was already hungry and thus his brain never really worked well when he was hungry.
"It's alright, sir, you shouldn't always apologise for everything," he smiled.
He pulled the small table closer, the food now coming into full view as it was brought closer.
"Hope you enjoy it, sunny, I have to go get some for myself too," he excused himself, leaving before Clyde could leave a review on the food.
He looked into the dish to be welcomed by various food dishes accompanied by snacks.
It was a lovely combination of Peking Duck, Sweet and Sour Pork, Dumplings, and Hotpot with an additional snack.
'This guy just knows how to grab a person's attention, doesn't he?!' He smiled bright as he picked up the chopsticks that lay beside.
He took his first bite of the sweet and sour pork, and it melted inside his mouth nicely, making him want more.
Before he could realise it, he was done eating it all, belching afterwards as a sign of relief.
'This has to be one of the best foods I've eaten, well apart from my mom's.'
Moments later Jonathan walked into the room with his own food placed on a tray, making Clyde wonder how fast he ate his own food.
"You're already done? Wow, that was fast. You must have been really hungry, do you want another plate?" he asked, setting his own plate down on another table.
Clyde wanted to reject the offer so he didn't seem like a glutton, but his stomach said otherwise and he hadn't eaten since the day before, so it was totally normal.
After they were done eating, Clyde was shown to his room. It wasn't so big or aesthetic like the living room but it was not bad either.
He hopped on the bed and took a long stretch, his bones snapping into place. Then he pulled up the status screen to continue from where he stopped.
[You seem to have woken up but haven't informed me, or are you avoiding me?] A strange voice echoed in his head, causing him to panic a bit.