This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Bai Lian’s eyes blinked open slowly.

The thick golden syrup that coated her body shimmered in the light of the World Tree’s canopy, sliding in slow rivulets down her bare body and pooling at strategic (ahem) sensitive regions of her body and then hardened to create an amber-sap coloured bra and matching skirt.

She pushed herself upright on trembling limbs, strands of syrup-slicked hair clinging to her face, shoulders, and the subtle curve of her back. Her breathing was shallow but even, and her barely covered chest rose and fell in a rhythm that seemed to echo the ancient, grounding pulse of the World Tree itself.

Kain stepped closer.

She looked… nearly the same. The same delicate facial structure, the same pale skin, and the same straight, shoulder-length brown hair—though now it gleamed with a richer, almost sun-kissed tint.

But her eyes—

Her eyes had changed the most.

Where once they were a soft, earthy brown, they now glowed faintly with radiant gold, flecked through with veins of green. They mirrored the leaves of the World Tree above them—those massive, golden sheets with jade green veining. The resemblance wasn’t just symbolic.

It was the mark of her transformation.

Kain’s gaze lingered on the faint point to her ears, only barely visible beneath her hair. Her aura had changed too—no longer purely human, but something adjacent. She felt like something ancient. She was no longer just Bai Lian.

She was the steward of the World Tree.

A living extension of it.

The sight jogged Kain’s memory—things he hadn’t thought about in a while.

The Earth Inheritance. The Seed of Continuance.

He’d integrated the inheritance with the former Tree of Life, which then evolved into the World Tree.

The Seed’s effects were profound.

It transformed the World Tree into a hub all the old Earth had—its inventions, cultures, technology, languages…and even the several billions of human souls . Countless dormant souls from his former world, gathered and preserved by the inheritance, now slept in the Tree’s depths in a ‘Soul Pool’. Rebirth was possible…if Kain took the time and Source energy to create suitable humanoid bodies.

Which he had fully planned to do…

But, he’d just been too busy to think about establishing a civilization on Pangea while also fighting for a better place in the Top 5 team, that the waiting billions of souls had honestly slipped his mind.

But now he can finally begin populating Pangea with some new species.

With the Soul Pool, the soul cost for creation was reduced to nearly zero. Meaning the greatest cost was now the body—which wasn’t really a problem for Kain.

The most limiting factor in generating intelligent life had always been the soul. Not the body. Not the genetics. But the cost of consciousness. But with the soul pool of Earth now tied to the World Tree, and Bai Lian acting as its steward…

It was possible.

Kain stared at her—this reborn version of Bai Lian, wrapped in golden syrup and moss, golden-green eyes glowing faintly as she tried to orient herself in her new body.

She looked up at him.

And smiled.

It was both alien and familiar.

“I’m back,” she whispered, her voice hoarse but unmistakably hers.

Kain crouched at her side. “Didn’t expect the whole fruit-shell rebirth.”

“Neither did I.” She looked up, blinking slowly before pointing to her temple. “It’s loud in here now. The Tree doesn’t shut up.”

“Guess you’re officially on its staff.”

He smiled in amusement despite himself. Even with his connection to the World Tree, he couldn’t communicate with it so freely, and had no idea the seemingly holy-looking tree was a chatter box.

And then the seriousness returned.

Kain looked up—past Bai Lian, past the moss, past the trembling vines—to the canopy of the World Tree that towered over them both. Gold and green. Living divinity. The greatest asset on Pangea… and one he was only now ready to use properly.

He rose to his feet.

“I need help,” he said aloud, addressing both Bai Lian and the Tree. “I need… people. Workers. Miners. Not for combat, of course. Just to harvest the resources of this world. And I don’t have the time or energy to raise a civilization from scratch.”

The World Tree didn’t respond with words.

But the branches rustled. Light shimmered down in waves. And Bai Lian, still weak, closed her eyes with a serene expression as if listening to something only she could hear.

Then she nodded.

“She agrees,” Bai Lian murmured. “The Tree will teach them. Accelerate their learning. The soul pool is stable. They’ll be born without language and basic knowledge, for a brief period. Young minds, but fast learners. As long as they stay close, they’ll grow quickly.”

Kain exhaled in relief.

The most tedious part—intellectual enlightenment—would be handled by the Tree. And with Bai Lian serving as a guide, these new inhabitants could quickly be put to work.

“Then it’s time,” he said.

He pulled up the System Interface and instantly appeared within the Cradle for the first time in a while.

*Initializing Cradle Synthesis… please specify template.*

He sorted through the races available. Dozens flashed before him—some more common, some derived from genetic templates that were long extinct on their home planet but Kain managed to collect their genetic material in a previous relic mission with the Order.

He selected the “Intelligent Species” category. A new prompt appeared—showing the soul cost for various races. Some cost nearly everything he had to just synthesize one. If the cost of the soul wasn’t already handled, Kain could only shudder at how astronomical the price of a single human would be—one of the cheapest species due to their lack of special or magical gifts.

Some more expensive humanoid species included banshees, elves, cyclops, sirens, dryads, some demons, merfolk, and more.

But despite their unique features, Kain didn’t need them. Not yet.

He needed miners.

Sturdy. Efficient. Strong-willed. Hardy in dangerous terrain. Resistant to magic and curses. Emotionally blunt but loyal if treated fairly.

The answer was obvious.

Dwarves.

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