Monster Tamer is the Worst Class-Chapter 73: The Chicken That Laughs at Gold
The sound of vegetation disappeared before the light.
The trail leading south of Tessára narrowed in silence.
It was not natural silence. It was constructed.
The leaves stopped rustling.
The trees stopped groaning.
Even the wind seemed to avoid that place.
Eren continued in a straight line. His feet sank slightly into the soggy ground, but it didn’t slow him down.
There was something on that path that pushed him forward.
As if the swamp itself wanted him to arrive.
The color of the roots had also changed.
Before, they were greenish. Now, they were yellowish. Rusty.
The ground, where there was no water, was covered with golden gravel. Not metal. Not coins. Just metallic dust.
Residue.
As if something there spat out gold...
And then forgot.
[Recognized Zone: Golden Spring of Tessára]
[Environment: Unstable – Accumulation of Alchemical Essence]
[Corruption Level: 4%]
[Warning: Creature of unknown class inhabits the center]
No enemies appeared.
No hostile sounds.
But the feeling of being watched increased with every step.
The path suddenly opened between two large stone columns covered with amber fungi. There was a dark crevice ahead. From there, hot steam emerged. Light. Sweet. Almost narcotic.
A cave.
Eren paused for two seconds.
Then he entered.
The heat increased with his first step. The humidity with his second.
With his third, the smell changed.
Too sweet. Too hot.
Like fermented honey.
The walls of the cave were not stone.
They were a mixture of calcified bone and resin.
They pulsed silently, as if the structure were alive and very old.
Further on, the trail spiraled downward. The floor was covered with thin metal plates, all irregular. Like scales... or melted coins.
Eren walked in absolute silence.
Only at the end of the corridor did the golden light appear.
It was not a flame.
It was... a reflection.
Of hundreds of eggs piled up in a chaotic heap.
Golden eggs.
Some cracked.
Others shining brightly.
Others still empty.
And on top of that pile...
There she was.
The creature.
Arkana.
There was no other possible name.
She rested on top like a lazy empress. Her wings were closed, covering part of her body. Her tail of metallic feathers trailed along the ground like a cloak of blades. Her legs... sculptural. Long, firm, with human joints. And between them, muscular thighs, white as polished porcelain.
Her torso was partially covered by engraved gold plates—a necklace that looked more like ceremonial armor. The curves of the body followed an impossible pattern: exaggerated, but harmonious. The belly was flat. The breasts were firm, outlined by the lightness of the ambient glow.
The face was avian.
But only in outline.
There were lips. There were eyes. There was expression.
But there was also a beak.
Golden. Thin.
Decorative.
She didn’t open her eyes right away.
Only when Eren took two more steps.
Then, yes.
Her eyelids lifted slowly.
And the light in the room changed.
Because her eyes...
were made of liquid gold.
"Hmmm..." came the voice. "Another shell hunter."
The voice was not a voice.
It was the sound of coins clinking on a table.
Dry. Precise.
Delicate.
Eren didn’t answer.
"You came for an egg, didn’t you?"
She lifted one of her legs.
Slowly.
Exposing her entire thigh up to her groin.
Not as a provocation...
But as contempt.
Like someone who shows herself because she knows she won’t be touched.
"Everyone comes."
She stretched out her left wing. A few coins fell from the pile. A cracked egg rolled to Eren’s feet and stopped there, as if asking for attention.
[Interactive Object: Arkana Egg (broken)]
[Contents: None | Value: decorative | Weight: 0.3u]
Eren ignored it.
He kept his eyes fixed on her.
Arkana smiled.
Or did something similar. The golden beak opened slightly. The words came like iron laughter.
"You’re not like the others."
"Usually, they talk. They promise. They beg."
She leaned her body to the side, resting on one elbow. The gesture lifted part of her armor, revealing a golden nipple—small, sparkling, adorned with an alchemical ring marked with runes.
She realized he saw it.
And she didn’t cover it.
"Silence, then?" she said. "Hmm... the silent ones are always the most dangerous. Or the dumbest."
Eren took a deep breath.
"Are you Arkana?"
"And you are whoever you are," she said dismissively. "But your name doesn’t matter here. Only your offer."
"Offer?"
"An egg isn’t born for free."
She stood up. The feathers of her tail hit the floor with a metallic sound.
She walked toward him.
Her bare legs cut through the light like living blades.
The sound of her footsteps was the sound of coins being counted.
One, two, three.
"Do you want one of my children? Then tell me: how much is your desire worth?"
Eren did not answer.
Arkana moved closer.
"Not with words," she whispered. "I want to see the weight of your greed in your eyes."
She touched his chest with the tip of a golden claw.
Light.
Subtle.
"Or did you come here for something else?"
Eren did not move.
But the system flashed.
[Entity Analysis: Arkana – Unknown Level]
[Class: Singular Creature | Origin: Pre-System]
[Bond: Not available]
[Reaction to presence: Curious]
She was testing him.
Measuring value.
Not strength.
Value.
Eren already knew.
This would not be a battle.
It would be a negotiation.
But not with words.
With intentions.
With calculation.
Arkana did not move away.
Nor did she attack.
She walked in slow circles around Eren, as if examining him from invisible angles. Her feet stepped with absolute precision—not a sound. The feathers of her tail scraped the ground, leaving a trail of metallic shine where they passed.
"Most come here wanting," she began. "They want the gold. The egg. The promise."
She stopped in front of him.
A crooked smile.
"But they don’t know how much it’s worth."
She held out one hand. The golden claw glistened with the runes engraved in a spiral.
"Tell me... how much does an egg that will never hatch weigh?"
Eren didn’t answer.
She expected that.
"And how much is something worth that is only born when it is unwanted?"
She took a step to the side.
She looked down at her feet.
Then she looked up at him again.
"How much would you pay for an item that loses value when touched?"
Silence.
She laughed.
Quietly.
A metallic, dry sound, like coins clinking in an empty safe.
"Three questions. Three numbers. Three decisions."
She walked a little further. Her hips swayed with feline naturalness. The long feathers on her waist vibrated to the rhythm of her movement, reflecting light with almost hypnotic intensity.
"Do you think a bond is born with touch?" she asked.
She stopped.
She looked over her shoulder.
"Or before that?"
Eren took a step forward.
Arkana did not back away.
"Do you think you can take an egg... as if it were yours?"
Eren raised his hand.
Just to touch her.
Nothing aggressive. No threat. Just a gesture.
Calm. Rational.
His fingers stretched toward her shoulder.
But before contact, she moved.
Quickly.
With a slight turn, she took two steps back.
Then she bent over.
Intentionally.
The feathers of her tail fanned out like a metal flower.
Beneath them, her body glowed.
Her golden skin glowed under the light of the hall.
Her buttocks were firm, smooth, polished like divine statues.
The cleft between them shone as if it had been bathed in liquid gold.
She remained bowed.
Her wings half raised.
Her neck tilted forward.
Her posture was one of surrender.
But her intention... was not submission.
"Do you have an investor’s vision... or just a merchant’s greed?"
The voice echoed like a sharp whisper.
Eren slowly lowered his hand.
The tension in the air remained.
[Attempt at direct contact interrupted]
[Bond: Not initiated]
[Contract: Not available]
[System: No seal detected]
Eren did not force it.
Not yet.
He understood the game.
It was not about desire.
It was not about courage.
It was about calculation.
Arkana straightened up lightly.
She turned slowly, still smiling.
"The men who come here think they can possess the gold."
She pointed to the eggs scattered around the hall.
"But they don’t understand that gold only appears to those who don’t need it."
"I lay eggs," she said, "but only for those who convince me that the bond... has future value."
She touched her own breasts, briefly shaping them with her hands.
Then she lifted one of her nipples with the tip of her claw.
"What do you see here?"
Eren replied.
Cold.
"A point of supply."
"Marked."
"With controlled entry."
"Restricted access."
"Unstable value flow."
She widened her eyes.
Then she laughed loudly.
"Ahh... you’re really one of my kind."
She spun around again.
She jumped lightly over a pile of eggs.
She walked to a throne of molten coins at the back of the cave.
She sat with her legs spread, one resting on the backrest.
She showed everything.
Shamelessly.
Without invitation.
"Tell me, tamer," she said lazily, "what makes one bond worth more than another?"
Eren took a deep breath.
He replied coldly:
"Return capacity."
"Frequency of use."
"Reverse emotional control."
"Potential for multiplication."
"Resistance to breaking."
Arkana raised an eyebrow.
"And what do you offer to guarantee that?"
"Consistency."
She remained silent.
For long seconds.
Her skin seemed to glow brighter with each breath.
As if her excitement were controlled by calculation.
She descended from the throne with light steps.
She approached him again.
She stopped in front of him.
"What if I told you I could lay an egg right now?"
"An egg that carries part of my essence."
"One that increases your resource production by 300%."
"But... it will be unstable."
"It could explode."
"It could fail."
"It could... attract things you can’t control."
"Do you still want it?"
Eren replied:
"Yes."
She leaned her face close to his.
Very close.
Her breath smelled of sweet rust.
"You are buying a dangerous asset," she said.
"I hope you know how to manage it."
The system flashed.
[Special Egg Offer: Pending]
[Accept Conditions? Y/N]
Eren didn’t touch her yet.
He just watched.
Arkana ran a finger across his abdomen.
Slowly.
She moved down to his belt.
She stopped.
Then she turned away again.
"Come back tomorrow," she said.
"I’ll think about whether you’re worth the investment."
Eren didn’t answer.
He was already analyzing the variables.
