00:00My mother cut off her long, shiny hair and sold it in the local market,
00:04while my father cleaned filthy sewers and scrubbed dirty toilets no one else would touch.
00:10They did this all for a few pennies,
00:12so that they could buy an egg for me that would determine my family's fate.
00:17In our world, an egg decides your life.
00:21Rich kids hatch beasts, which give their owners lives of comfort and privilege,
00:25while the poor pray their shells hold anything alive at all.
00:30Each egg was like a lottery ticket.
00:32My egg was nothing like theirs.
00:34It was gray and small, like it had gone past its expiration date.
00:38It was the cheapest egg available, and my family sold everything we owned to afford it.
00:43The beasts that hatched before mine drew gasps.
00:47Luna summoned a shadow wolf.
00:49Klein hatched a crimson salamander.
00:51And then, it was my turn.
00:53Would I be able to repay my parents for all the sacrifices they made?
00:57I stepped forward and placed my egg on the altar.
01:00And when the shell cracked, everyone was left shocked.
01:03Light burst out.
01:05Gasps filled the hall.
01:06And when the glow faded, there was no dragon.
01:10No wolf.
01:11No flames.
01:12Just a tiny, floating cloud spore glowing faintly gray.
01:17A cloud spore?
01:19Ren, you really are cursed.
01:21The ceremony master sighed.
01:23You just hatched the weakest beast ever.
01:27It does not evolve.
01:29What the ceremony master said next shattered all my dreams.
01:33Its absurdly low rating will resign you to a life of poverty, working in the mines with
01:39your worthless beast.
01:41I had just doomed my family.
01:44And as if this wasn't enough, the next moment, glowing mushrooms sprouted from my head.
01:50I ran away from everyone who saw me as a joke.
01:53When I stepped into my house, confetti exploded.
01:56Surprise!
01:58My parents had decorated everything.
02:01My favorite food covered the table.
02:03They thought I'd hatched something powerful.
02:05Then, when my cloud spore floated beside me, I saw the shock in their eyes.
02:11They knew their sacrifices had gone in vain.
02:14And we will always be poor.
02:16I was about to apologize.
02:17But they ran and hugged me.
02:20Ren, no matter what, you're still our miracle child.
02:24That night, they told me a story I'd never fully understood before.
02:29Years ago, when my mother was sick and unable to have children, my father ventured into the
02:34forbidden forest and found something legendary.
02:37A half flower of the heavens.
02:40A relic said to create miracles.
02:42It cured her.
02:44And I was born.
02:46Later that night, staring into the dark forest beyond my window, I made a decision.
02:51If a half flower could create one miracle, it could create another.
02:56I would find it.
02:57Even if it meant walking into the deadliest woods in the kingdom.
03:00If my father could risk his life to bring me into this world, I can do it too, to secure
03:06my family's future.
03:07So I leapt out of my window and dashed into the woods.
03:11My spore cloud drifted close behind me, glowing softly in the dark.
03:16The deeper I trekked into the woods, the creepier it became.
03:20And then I saw it.
03:22A mirror mantis.
03:24The deadliest predator in the forest.
03:26Crystal shards lining its body, bending light to hypnotize its prey.
03:31If I ran, I'd die.
03:34If I fought, I'd die.
03:36I thought this was the end, until something unexpected happened.
03:41My cloud spore suddenly flashed.
03:43The mushrooms on my head began blinking in a strange pattern.
03:48The mantis froze.
03:49Its head tilted.
03:51My useless beast was copying its hypnotic light.
03:56I lured it backward, step by step, until the ground gave way beneath it.
04:01The mantis fell into a pit.
04:03Relief flooded me, until a pincer shot up and dragged me down with it.
04:08I crashed into darkness.
04:10The mantis climbed toward me, wounded but furious.
04:14It raised its pincer into the air, ready to make me its next meal.
04:18I screamed out loud, hoping my parents would hear me through some divine intervention.
04:24I'm sorry you had a disappointment like me.
04:27Maybe your lives will be better without me.
04:30I tried to wrestle out, but my squirming did nothing.
04:34And the mantis' blade hovered inches from my chest.
04:37The mirror mantis loomed over me.
04:40One strike.
04:41That was all it would take to cut me in two.
04:43I squeezed my eyes shut.
04:45And then, something impossible happened.
04:48A sudden flash of light erupted, and when I opened my eyes, I saw the glowing half-flower of the
04:54heavens.
04:55But before I could move, my spore cloud surged forward, straight toward the half-flower.
05:01Cloud! No!
05:03The spore cloud wrapped itself around the glowing flower, and devoured it.
05:07The chambers shook violently, igniting the walls, blazing them brighter than ever before.
05:13The mirror mantis screeched and staggered back, shielding its eyes.
05:17I could only stare in horror.
05:20Something ancient was awakening inside my cloud spore.
05:24Something that was never meant to exist.
05:27What is happening to you?
05:29What will happen to my cloud spore now that it has consumed the miracle flower?
05:34Will it shatter my dreams of repaying my parents for the sacrifices they made?
05:38Or will it take me one step closer to my destination?
05:42To know my full story, click the install button, download the Pocket FM app,
05:47and stream all episodes of Weakest Beast Tamer for free.
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