This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Kain looked at his first selection that resembled a finely crafted antique magnifying glass with a bronze frame covered with intricately carved sigils.

"The Mystic Analysis Lens. A magnifying lens used by the alchemists of X that contains basic enchantments to identify the magical properties and purpose of analyzed spiritual materials. Only rudimentary results are provided and only materials below Yellow-grade can be analyzed."

Its large lens was made of a crystal that shimmered with a soft multicoloured glow. The handle though was surprisingly bare. It had a smooth rectangle without any design along its side. Based on the description, this is where the information about the analyzed material will be provided.

Kain was considering using his exchange opportunity on this item because he has several materials that he doesn't know the identity of and he'd need to pay an appraiser in order to find out. If he were ever out in the wilderness or in a relic, having an item that could help him identify new things would be useful.

The next piece of equipment was a large circular ring made from a dark, weathered bronze with sigils engraved all around it.

"The Beast Bonding Collar. An ancient piece of equipment of the long-forgotten Kairo Nation of Blue Star. Unfortunately, the knowledge on how to produce such collars has also been lost to time. This enchanted collar is used to control spiritual creatures no higher than red-grade.

The binding of the collar is not as restrictive as that of a contract, and spiritual creatures can attack the owner of the collar if the relationship is extremely poor."

It featured a broad, adjustable band that comfortably fits around a beast's neck, with a series of small, embedded gemstones that emitted a soft, calming glow.

The collar is fastened with a secure but easily adjustable clasp, and the inner side is lined with a padded, enchanted leather for comfort.

Kain was considering exchanging for this collar due to the particularities of his affinity. Although he likes Bea and Eve, he could hardly hold and be affectionate with them like Bridge is with Lady and Princess.

A small part of him did still desire to find a spiritual creature that could almost act like an emotional support dog.

However, he knew that this collar would hardly be of any benefit to him. He is at the cusp of upgrading to 3-stars, and Bea after evolving will also be orange-grade. This collar would really not provide any boost to his strength.

Finally, Kain turned to the last item, which is probably the one that only someone with an affinity like his would desire.

It was a piece of lab equipment that Kain was extremely familiar with since it greatly resembled a similar piece of equipment he used while back on Earth—a Microbiological Incubator.

"The Arcane Incubation Nexus. A magical incubator invented by X on Blue Star designed to maintain the perfect living conditions for a wide array of microorganisms at or below orange-grade."

This was the first time that Kain had seen any evidence of someone else on this planet being aware of, and even studying microorganisms. Kain was curious though about why their name was censored when previously all information about equipment originating from Blue Star had not been.

It resembled the incubators back on earth, but more high-end in appearance. It had a sleek, rectangular design made from polished bronze and reinforced glass panels. The main chamber was a transparent, temperature-controlled box, featuring adjustable internal shelves to accommodate various cultures and specimens.

On each shelf were transparent orbs, 10 in total, that were likely meant to house the different microorganisms. These orbs are meant to resemble low-grade versions of a beast-tamer's star space, and will provide a suitable environment for any inserted microorganism. Although the quality of the environment will be far inferior to that formed from a star space with a contract.

The front of the incubator had a digital control panel displaying real-time data on temperature, humidity, and magical energy levels, along arrows to make precise adjustments to any values.

Unlike the incubators back on Earth that would only maintain the necessary temperature, humidity, and oxygen levels for optimal growth of microbes, this piece of equipment will provide an all-around suitable environment with renewed resources for each microbe added.

Considering that Kain was currently keeping Aby and her progeny in a glass vial full of beer that he changed every couple of days next to his nightstand, this was a much better option.

Not to mention this incubator would allow him to collect many more microorganisms he wasn't contracted to, without having to worry about caring for them.

Although it was rare to find spiritual creatures that were also microbes, similar to Aby Kain could just make them when he found a chance to in the future. Not to mention he may come across some interesting ones in the wild, that are maybe not suitable to form a contract with, but have unique abilities that he doesn't want to let go of.

Decision made, Kain exchanged for the Arcane Incubation Nexus, and returned to the laboratory. When he returned he saw the new addition in a corner of the room. And after reconfirming with System on how to bring an unbound spiritual creature into the Laboratory, he poured Aby into one of the empty glass orbs.

Quickly the orb took on a dark amber colour resembling beer, likely to mimic Aby's ideal living environment, and Kain could see that a continuous supply of spiritual power was now being funnelled into that orb. If he wanted Kain could decrease or increase the spiritual power supplied. However, he decided to keep it at the default setting for now until he better understood the equipment.

Looking around at his laboratory, Kain admired the space that was finally starting to come together and no longer looked like a cold and barren white room.

With the new pieces of lab equipment settled, Kain decided to focus on the next item on his agenda—Bea's evolution.