Lord Of Beasts

Ethan let out a slow breath, his gaze drifting across the fog-choked battlefield as Wolfy and Talon overwhelmed the Mirefang Basilisk.

His thoughts wandered back to the past month.

After completing those two objectives weeks back, he had expected plenty more. More objectives meant more rewards, and thus more opportunities to grow stronger.

Instead, he only received a single objective.

”Seriously?” Ethan had muttered back then, staring at the system screen with a frown. ”Just one?”

It was disappointing, but it wasn’t like the system cared about how he felt about things.

{Objective 1: Become a D Rank Titled}

”So that’s the game, huh.”

At the time, Ethan had crossed his arms, thinking it through.

It wasn’t difficult to understand.

He had already seen the pattern: the system guided him towards progression step by step, issuing objectives he was aiming towards regardless.

But even so...

”One objective is a little cheap, no?”

Despite his complaints, he got to work immediately.

And in the end...

It only took him two weeks and happened on Floor Four: Cavernous Hollowreach.

A vast underground biome, where jagged stone pillars stretched from floor to ceiling like the fangs of some ancient beast. Echoes carried endlessly through the cavern, distorting sound and making it nearly impossible to track enemies by hearing alone.

Like all the previous floors, it followed the same structure.

Different environment, same concept and E Tier difficulty.

There were some subtle changes between the floors; they seemed to grow slightly larger, and the beasts were fewer but slightly stronger than before.

’So even within the same tier, it does get harder as you go up the floors,’ he concluded.

But it wasn’t overwhelmingly so, nor did it slow Ethan down.

He smiled as he recalled the exact moment it happened.

Standing in the middle of the cavern, surrounded by the corpses of beasts, his chest rose and fell steadily.

Then, the system notification appeared.

{You have met the requirements}

{You are now a D Rank Titled}

”...That’s it?”

Ethan blinked.

He waited, expecting more, but nothing else came.

There was no surge of power, no dramatic transformation, and no new abilities flooded his mind, apart from...

{Beast Capacity +1}

”That’s all I get?”

He had stared at the message for a long moment, then exhaled sharply.

Sure, it wasn’t useless; a third beast slot was huge, but he was going to receive that anyway. And unlike his beasts, he didn’t receive any buffs, stat bonuses, or skills.

”You’d think ranking up would feel more... impactful.”

But then again, he didn’t need it.

Not really.

He had a range of skills, including an S Rank one. And his base stats, which seemed to be the only thing that held him back from ranking up after evolving both his beasts to the next rank, were now also quite high.

There was then the reward of his Objective, but after officially becoming a D Rank, the system offered him something unexpected.

{Would you like to fast track to Floor Eleven?}

{Yes / No}

Ethan had gone still.

”Floor Eleven...”

That was the first D Tier Floor.

It was a completely different level of danger, a different league altogether.

For a moment, he considered it.

Skipping ahead and jumping to the next tier would ultimately mean faster progression, stronger enemies, and better rewards.

It was tempting, very much so.

But in the end, he shook his head and pressed it.

”No.”

Back in the present, Ethan chuckled under his breath.

”Definitely the right call.”

He hadn’t rushed.

Instead, he farmed and grinded, hunting everything the E Tier floors had to offer. Evolutionary Shards, beast meat, experience, and growth - he took it all.

”Would’ve been stupid to go up half-prepared.”

He stretched lazily, watching as Wolfy shook blood from his fur while Talon circled above.

Thinking back, there had been one thing he was looking for...

His third beast.

And this time, he could afford to be picky and gave himself enough time to choose carefully.

”Something with high MP would be ideal.”

A support-type, or something versatile, since both his current beasts relied heavily on physical close-range attacks.

Maybe he could even acquire one of the Boss Beasts he was going to face on the coming floors. Though it would reset to an E Rank Infant, it didn’t matter, since he would raise it the same way he had Wolfy and Talon.

”Build it from the ground up.”

That was the smartest decision.

The beasts he acquired practically became a part of him, so he wanted to take his time picking the next one. It would also give him space to prepare for the D Tier Floors, which he was sure would be much more difficult.

’Minimising risk and maximising growth.’

That thought alone had made him pause, as a faint smirk tugged at his lips.

”Since when did I become so careful?”

It felt strange and almost ironic.

But after nearly dying multiple times and being burned, crushed, and torn apart, he couldn’t help but become more cautious.

”I’m definitely not trying to die again.”

Now, he played it smarter and somewhat more controlled and calculated. Albeit, most people would still consider him insane for some of the decisions he made.

-

Ethan glanced back at the Mirefang Basilisk, which was barely holding on and moments away from being killed by his beasts.

A D Rank Boss Beast, and a powerful one at that - the guardian of the D Tier Floors.

Something like this would have pushed him to the brink, but now he was sitting down while his beasts handled it.

”They don’t even feel like Boss Beasts anymore.”

But that didn’t mean he relaxed, because he knew in the tier above, beasts like this would become mere Common Beasts.

”Yeah... Can’t get too cocky.”

Even so, a calm and confident thought surfaced.

’At this rate...’

His eyes sharpened slightly.

’I should be able to clear D Tier floors pretty quickly.’

They were essentially D Rank gates, which were dangerous but should be manageable with his current abilities.

But then, his expression shifted slightly.

’C Rank is where it changes.’

That was a different world and on a different scale entirely.

Right now, he was strong.

Among D Ranks?

He was near the top, after all, he was essentially 4 D Rank creatures in one, since he had 3 D Rank Beasts he could summon.

That alone was absurd.

”I might even be able to take on a weak C Rank.”

But that was a dangerous thought.

Because there were levels, nuances, and infinite possibilities when it came to Titled. Among them, he couldn’t help but think about Mace and Detective Holt.

Those names alone grounded him.

”I’m not there yet.”

Mace had defeated him so effortlessly that he hadn’t even got a gauge of his abilities, let alone Detective Holt, who was a famous A Rank Titled.

And above them?

S Ranks, those untouchable monsters.

”I’m still just a bottom-of-the-barrel Titled.”

And yet, a small smile formed.

Because he was climbing rapidly, and just to cement in his mind how much progress he had made, he pulled up his Status.

{Name: Ethan Crowe

Title: Lord of Beasts

Titled Rank: D

Strength: 20

Speed: 23

Stamina: 21

MP: 52/52

Beasts: 3/3}

”Damn...”

Even he had to admit it: that kind of growth in a single month was insane.

He had surpassed even his own expectations.

”And I’m not slowing down or stopping anytime soon.”

He then flicked over to the Skills Tab, because his Status no longer displayed his skills. The skill tree was structured, and there were still a myriad of skills to unlock, especially one of the three core skills of his Title that was still greyed out.

His thoughts flickered through those he had so far.

’Beast Assimilation, Beast Summoning, Beast Link, Beast Mend, and...’

He smiled.

Ethan had only unlocked one other skill over the past month, the system becoming stingy with them. It was the reward for completing the Objective of becoming a D Rank Titled.

And boy, was it a good reward.

His eyes gleamed faintly as he recalled using it the first time.

”Time to test it out on this lizard fucker.”

Ethan had reminisced enough and planted his feet on the swampy ground, the fog curling around his legs. Without hesitation, he activated Beast Assimilation with his third beast, and a red sparkle appeared in his eyes...