Chapter 4

  The Mayor stood from the table, leaving his coffee as he did, and motioned for me to follow him. I did as instructed, practically skipping as excitement filled me.

  “Tamer’s Gauntlets,” he said as I followed him once more out of the house. “Are a staple of life in Mutopia.” I flinched for a moment as I felt a blast of heat as we moved away from his house. One of the buildings near us belched out a billow of smoke and flames, and I could hear the roar of something mechanical within. “They allow us form a bond of sorts with the Muns, and through it, assuming we’ve proven ourselves, we can not only train them to get stronger, but also, use them in everyday life.”

  Another loud roar, more flames, more heat. I glanced inside one of the window of the building we were passing. A mun, the creature that looked like a bull… if bulls had bodies that expanded and contracted like bellows, and horns made of blue flames, stood in front of a massive metal contraption. Its body grew as it inhaled, revealing strange folds that allowed it to expand like some freakish puffer fish, before it exhaled. As it did, the flames of its horns ignited something, and an explosive blast of fire filled the contraption. The head made machinery shudder, as gears grinded, and smoke billowed from the building’s top once more.

  “A Bullow,” the Mayor said, having come back beside me after noting I’d stopped to observe. “The evolution of a Calfer.” He motioned towards the man that stood beside it, and the gauntlet on his left hand. One of the gems along the wrist was glowing brightly, as were the stones on the gauntlet, all five knuckle gems, and the stone, a black onyx type, on the back of the palm.

  “That’s Hank. He’s the Bullow’s tamer. The gem on the wrist indicates the Bullow. Each Tamer’s Gauntlet can hold six Mun gems. The stones on the knuckles augment the Bullow, and the stone on the back, is special.” He grinned at me, “come now, it’s easiest to simply let you try it out, rather than explain such things from a distance.”

  With my already heightened excitement continuing to grow, I tore myself away from the strange scene I’d been observing, and resumed following the Mayor. He was taking me towards a one-story building, with a half-dangling sign atop it that read Goods and Things.

  “Pretty on the nose name for a shop, don’t you think?” I couldn’t resist commenting. Like, was the town even trying?

  “Cogni is pretty distant from any major parts of the world,” the Mayor said with a slight chuckle, “it was more a joke than anything that we even put a sign up.”

  I looked around at all the machinery, all the hustle and bustle from the townsfolk. “So, you don’t get many visitors?” I asked.

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  “You’re not only our first visitor from another world,” he said with a grin, “but the first actually outsider we’ve had visit us in months. Most of what we produce here, is transported out via train, or for larger orders, we’ll send out an airship. Most of our customers, opt to simply send in requests via mail, rather than make the trek through the mountains to reach us.”

  “Oh, so, like, there’s nothing else really around here?” I thought about all the monster training games I’d played in the past, “like, strong Mun?”

  The Mayor laughed again. “Strongest Mun you’re likely to find in the wild around here is level five, maybe six if your luck is especially high. And, aside from the quirky trainer, or people involved with machinery, most Tamers generally don’t care about the Mun in our area.”

  That made me deflate slightly. Did that mean the Mun around here were useless? If so, where were the good ones? How far would I have to travel to find Mun worth actually capturing and leveling up? How would I even go about it? I didn’t intend to partake in the whole ‘save the world’ quest bullshit. But even still, it was sounding like I’d need to leave Cogni to live out my dreams of being a Tamer.

  “That’s part of why you were summoned here, actually,” the Mayor continued as we reached the store entrance. “Only villages that barely ever get visited were set up as locations for outsiders to be summoned to. Easier to ensure you weren’t intercepted immediately by the Disciples of Grand Nox.”

  “Are, they actively looking for people from my world?” I asked hesitantly.

  “Yes, and no. Far as I know, their leader is perfectly willing to accept outsiders into her organization if they’re happy to serve her and her goals. Far as I’ve heard, they’re on a recruit or imprison mindset. Which is why it was best to ensure those who may save the world be summoned in desolate areas. Gives you time to learn our world, and train up, before beginning your adventure.”

  “What’s to stop the Disciples from just snagging me once I’m on my adventure?” I asked dryly.

  “Manpower,” he replied. “Within their stronghold, they’re extremely powerful. But keeping a hold on all those scientists, and such a massive city, requires all their best hands. Meaning the agents they send out into the rest of the world, are… relatively new, and their Mun aren’t always well trained. Still,” he shrugged, “better safe than sorry.”

  The door jingled as he pushed it open, revealing a dimly lit space, with shelves lined with random items. Most of which I had no recognition of.

  “Oh a…” an old man’s voice came from the counter, where he sat on a dusty bench, his face in a book. His eyes were on the Mayor, “it’s just you Bill.” He waved a hand dismissively, “I’m not looking to chat. Just got to the good part.”

  I looked at the book, and noted… based off the rather promiscuous figure on the cover, he was probably reading smut. What was with old men in other worlds being pervy?

  “I’m not here for a chat, Max,” the Mayor said, a slight bite to his tone. He motioned to me, and for the first time, the old man glanced away from his book proper, to take me in. After an… uncomfortable moment, his gaze moved its inappropriate attention to my left hand, which was, obviously, gauntlet less.

  “Oh ho,” the man, Max said, setting his book down, spine up, pages spread on the dusty counter, “so, someone was finally summoned, eh?”

  “That she was,” the Mayor beamed. “This is Taylor. And, as you can see, we’re here to get her fit with a Tamer’s Gauntlet.”