Lord Of Beasts

Ethan cleaned himself up, and the smell of food hit him the moment he stepped out of the basement.

His nose twitched as he took in the scents.

’Grease and salt, definitely something fried.’

Maybe assimilating with his beasts had started to rub off on him, or it was just a side effect of becoming D Rank and his body’s improvement, but his senses were noticeably sharper.

It wasn’t to the extent of when he was using Beast Assimilation.

With Wolfy, his instincts and all of his senses were enhanced. Talon was primarily focused on vision, his sight intensifying incredibly. And with Spark, well, he felt more attuned to energies around him.

That was less useful, but Ethan had a feeling that as he climbed the Tower and faced greater foes, it might come in handy. Anyway, he acknowledged the changes in his body that couldn’t be seen or measured.

Then his stomach rumbled, and his attention returned to food.

Ethan didn’t hesitate.

He moved straight into the kitchen like a man on a mission, grabbing whatever was within reach - leftovers, fries, lunch meats, literally anything - and started eating.

”Wow.”

Mark’s voice came from behind him, flat and unimpressed.

”Good morning to you, too.”

Ethan didn’t even look up.

”Mm.”

He shoved another mouthful in, chewing quickly before swallowing.

Mark stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed.

”So what’s the plan today?”

Ethan grabbed a drink, downing half of it in one go.

Mark continued.

”Exercise all day with those animals of yours... then sleep like a corpse for the rest of the day?”

Ethan shook his head while taking a large bite of an apple.

”I’m thinking of taking a rest day,” he answered between chomps.

Mark’s eye twitched slightly.

”Right...”

Silence lingered for a moment.

Then his large friend couldn’t help but lay it all out on the table.

This was as good a time as any, since he rarely ever managed to get Ethan in one place for long. It had been a month of this, and he didn’t want this to become the new norm.

”I feel more distant from you than when you were in prison, somehow.”

That made Ethan pause.

Mark exhaled slowly, running a hand down his hair.

”This is too much, brother. I can’t keep up the-”

”If it’s money, don’t worry about it.”

Ethan cut him off mid-sentence, calm and direct.

”I was planning to enter a gate at some point, so why not right away?”

Mark blinked.

”A gate?”

Ethan stood up, brushing crumbs off his hands as if that settled everything.

Then, almost casually, he dragged his hands down his body.

”What do you think of my equipment?”

Mark looked him over.

He was in a tracksuit as always; no armour, no weapon, nothing.

”You’re joking, right?”

Ethan tilted his head.

”What?”

”You’re going into a gate like that?!”

Ethan shrugged.

”That’s how I fight.”

He wasn’t lying.

The Tower hadn’t given him any equipment or anything tangible for that matter, aside from some rags and sandals.

Faced with monsters, he adapted, improvised, and survived. He used whatever he found around as weapons, and was steadily growing into the weapon the System claimed he was.

”Weapons would just slow me down anyway,” he added with a smile.

Mark stared at him long and hard.

He wasn’t amused, nor was he convinced; he was more concerned about his lunatic of a friend.

”I don’t know whether to laugh or be worried.”

Ethan smirked slightly.

”Bit of both?”

Mark tried his best to smile, but it was clearly strained as he stared into Ethan’s blue eyes.

He would be blind not to see it.

Ethan’s beasts, the few times he caught glimpses of them, had grown an unbelievable amount in a single month. He wasn’t sure how he had done it, but he had. Aside from that, Ethan’s physique had also improved.

But it was the way he carried himself that changed the most.

He always had the quiet confidence of someone who trusted in themselves, but now the look in his eyes was even sharper, colder, and somehow more experienced.

It was like that of someone who had lived through things he shouldn’t have.

And that was exactly the case.

The seven years in a violent prison felt easy compared to the month of climbing the tower, and that was just the E Tier Floors.

”You’ve changed,” was all he eventually said.

Ethan didn’t respond.

He didn’t bother denying it, nor did he acknowledge it.

Mark clenched his jaw slightly.

’His eyes almost have that thousand-yard stare that soldiers have.’

Ethan seemed distant and different, like a part of him had never returned. He had already lost a chunk of himself in prison, and now more of him was disappearing...

’What’s going to be left of him?’

Even when he tried to act normal, smile, and joke, he could see that pained look in his eyes that lingered constantly.

”Yeah...”

Mark exhaled.

”You really have changed.”

But Ethan just stretched lightly, not wanting to make things soppy.

’I was planning to chill today, but if money is becoming an issue, I’ll hit two birds with one stone. Complete that objective and bring back some cash.’

With that in mind, he didn’t hesitate.

”Anyway, I’m heading out.”

Even though he wanted nothing more than to lounge around and ease his nerves, he also hated the feeling of missing out on potential opportunities.

Mark opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped.

”Ethan-”

He eventually began, but it was too late; his friend was already at the door.

Instead, he sighed and muttered under his breath.

”It wasn’t about the money, Ethan. It’s about...”

He trailed off and just watched as he left the bar, the bell ringing above his head as the door swung open.

’Maybe receiving a Title was more of a curse than a gift. Either way, I’ll support the man who sacrificed nearly a third of his life for me and even...’

Mark would rather not think about that day. Instead, he just prayed that his friend returned in one piece, knowing that there was no point trying to change his mind once he had set it on something.

Meanwhile, Ethan quickly found a gate he was eligible for, and coincidentally, it was set to be entered very soon...