"Is this a cheat?" Zane thought.
Zane looked at the wall to get a better view of the information he was seeing right now, completely ignoring the people around him.
He had seen a lot of novels where a transmigrated person gets a system that allows the protagonist to see stat panels and hidden evolution routes for guardian beasts.
But in this status panel, he was seeing levels instead of evolution, so it wasn't like that.
Oh right, of course—what evolution would an SSS-rank guardian beast even need?
And to increase her strength, they must hunt monsters outside, collect EXP, and level up.
She had four main skills at level one. Do they increase in the future?
Yes, they do. I have some information in my brain about famous Beast Masters—when they become stronger, they start using new abilities, like gaining new ones.
So, when beasts gain additional skills, is it when they level up, or are there certain conditions?
I will find out that in the future.
Nearby, Astra stood still, giving Zane time to digest the information she had given to him.
She wore a simple black dress that draped neatly over her figure, black boots on her legs, and a black ribbon in her hair.
Zane looked at Astra and thought, So her name is Astra. And what is with this
"Prime"?
Is she some kind of higher model, or is it her family name, or the company name that made her?
But she materialized from thin air at the ceremony, and she is linked to my soul. So am I the facility she came out of, or the Goddess of Light that granted humans beasts? I don't know.
And do these glasses work on other beasts too? With this thought, Zane looked at the eagle nearby and simply said, "Status."
No information appeared in the glasses, and he only saw the eagle.
So this is information Astra knows about herself. She is showing me her own capabilities. What a thoughtful beast. No, I can't call her a beast all the time—let's just call her a cyborg. Oh, what a thoughtful cyborg.
Let's ask her. Maybe she knows.
"Astra," Zane leaned closer and whispered into her ear, "can these glasses show other beasts' stats too?"
Astra simply shook her head and said, "Only mine and husband's."
Zane thought, Husband word again. He murmured, "I am not your husband. I am your… what do people call it here? Master? No, you can't call me master either. I don't have some fetishes. Just call me Zane."
In response, Astra said, "No, you are my husband, so I will call you husband."
"When did I become your husband?" Zane asked with an irritated voice. In his mind, does she have any other word in her brain besides 'husband'?
Astra took a deep breath and answered, "When I first came to this world, the first person I saw was you, and I saw you as my husband. And when I heard that you rejected a large sum of money offered to you to sell me, I became certain that you were my husband. We became official husband and wife with this ceremony and contracted in front of everybody."
Zane said, taking off his glasses and placing his right hand on his face, "This is not a wedding. This is a beast-summoning ceremony for students to obtain their guardian beasts, and you were mine. That is all."
"So I was your wife from the start. Thank you for correcting me, husband," Astra said happily.
Zane looked at her for some time and said, "Just forget it."
Then he remembered her earlier words. "Wait—you said only you and my stats, right?"
Astra shook her head in approval.
"How can I see my stats? Should I look in a mirror to see my reflection?" he asked himself.
But Astra chimed in from the side. "No, it does not work like that."
"So how does it work then?" Zane asked, interested.
In this world, humans also awaken skills when they contract beasts, like mana sharing with their beast or throwing fire from their hands. Every kind of skill is possible. Humans also have levels. The school will measure them before they go to university for the first time.
What can be my skill? I'm really interested in that. You don't go to a different world and discover your skill every day, right?
Astra slowly came closer to Zane, lifted her hands to his face, then suddenly grabbed his head and pulled him to the ground. Zane had no choice but to squat down.
"What are you doi—?" Zane didn't finish his words before Astra lifted her dress and put it over Zane's head.
Zane saw pink panties before his view moved to her stomach. Then Astra lifted his hand and pierced it with a needle materialized from her finger.
The needle absorbed some of Zane's blood, and then Zane saw a glowing panel in front of his face.
"Oh, thank God this thing appeared. I was trying so hard not to look at the ... . Only after the needle struck my hand did I break free from that scene...
So if this is my status panel, let's look at it faster and leave this place."
[Zane Prime]
[Level: 1 (Exp: 0/100)]
[Class: Beast Tamer]
[Talent: Common]
[Guardian Beast: Cyborg Wife (Astra Prime) SSS-rank]
──────────────────────────
ATTRIBUTES (Level 1):
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 8
Agility: 4
Endurance: 7
Mana: 12
──────────────────────────
SKILLS & ABILITIES:
Inventory — Can store and retrieve items
from a pocket inventory (size: 1 cubic meter).
Mana Transfer — Can share mana with Guardian Beast.
──────────────────────────
Inside Inventory:None
After reading his status panel, the first thought that came to Zane's mind was, Now I understand why there is "Prime" as Astra's last name.
I didn't even remember my last name was Prime, and now that I remember, I am Zane Prime now.
"And my skill is Inventory. Not bad. In most stories, this skill is kind of cheat-like, but it's only one cubic meter. I hope its size increases in the future."
"And my second skill… this skill is everybody's skill. What I mean is every Beast Tamer is guaranteed to have this skill. But how can I share my 12 mana with Astra's 300? Shouldn't she be the one to give me mana if I run out?"
Stop, Zane. Your skill level increases faster than hers, so you can invest in mana. Then the skill will do its purpose.
Astra waited for some time, but Zane didn't come out. She understood and smacked his head gently.
Her hand was made of metal, so if she used her full strength, Zane's head would have popped off instantly, but it felt different to Zane than she probably intended.
"Come out, pervert. Do this kind of thing at home, not in front of everybody."
Zane felt the impact harder than his mother's beatings on the top of his head and barely stopped himself from crying.
Then Zane looked up and saw Astra staring at him with an angry expression. How does her mood change so fast? "he thought"
"But you were the one who put my head there first!" he protested.
Astra replied, "I only did it to show you your status panel, not for you to explore there. Look around—everybody is looking at you."
Zane looked around and saw students and spectators staring at him strangely, some with disgust, some with eagerness.
He heard their murmurs clearly.
What was he looking at there?
Is this boldness coming from owning a humanoid Beast?
Is he… a pervert?
I wish I had a humanoid Beast too…
He straightened his back as best as he could, ignoring the stares, and took a deep breath.
Then he said to Astra, "Astra, I don't care about the people around me, so just say it and don't hit me next time. You nearly killed me, okay? You are a good cyborg, right?"
The angry face of Astra changed to a worried expression, and she replied while looking at the ground, "I only wanted to save your face, not hurt you. Sorry."
Zane could not handle this cuteness and said, "Hah, I forgive you. After all, you are my cyborg girl."
"Attention, everybody," both of them heard a new loud voice, interrupting their conversation and looked toward it.