Lord Of Beasts

Outside the gate and inside a dimly lit bar, a television blared urgently.

”BREAKING NEWS! An abnormal Gate event has been detected-”

On the screen, chaotic footage played. Emergency responders, flashing lights, and shaky camera angles filled the frame as reporters spoke over one another.

”This gate, previously measured as a stable C- Rank, has now been pronounced as abnormal. All those within proximity of the Brooklyn Industrial District are warned to proceed with caution.”

At the counter, a man froze mid-motion.

”Ethan...”

Mark’s eyes narrowed as he leaned closer to the screen, his grip tightening around the glass in his hand.

”That idiot and his bad luck.”

He slammed the glass down and stood up abruptly, hurriedly kicking the few customers he had out of the Black Howl.

”Oi, what are you doing?” someone called out.

”You can’t just-”

Mark didn’t need to shout.

”Out now. Please.”

After some cursing under their breaths, they left, not wanting to mess with the large man who clearly wasn’t joking. Then once they were all gone, he quickly shut down.

’He’s just an E Rank in an abnormal gate.’

Mark didn’t even look back.

’And he’s reckless as hell.’

Without another word, he broke into a run.

-

Meanwhile, back within the gate, the A Rank lay unconscious. But within her mind, she was still there, fighting the chains as she sank into nothingness.

The darkness had nearly consumed her completely when the voice returned.

It was calm and amused.

”If you stick around with that man...”

She couldn’t see anymore or move, but she could hear that demonic voice.

”...I will lend you my power when you call upon me.”

A heavy silence followed.

Of course, Ethan had no idea that had happened, but he would definitely experience its effects. He was about to find out that she was going to take sticking around with him very literally.

For now, he was staring at the black and purple spatial rift, his chest rising and falling slowly as the reality of it all settled in.

The gate was over the moment the Boss Beast fell, the few remaining ant beasts all rushing away from the giant cavern. The exit’s appearance already confirmed that it was over, but Ethan was waiting for another confirmation.

{The Boss Beast has been defeated, and thus the Gate has been successfully cleared.}

The voice echoed throughout the cavern, reverberating through the hollow space as well as in his mind.

Ethan frowned slightly.

’So what was the point of this whole Gate Takeover?’ he thought, his gaze lowering slightly as his mind began to piece things together. ’I mean, I evolved Wolfy to a C Rank Beast from it, but there’s no way the system expected me to complete it myself.’

The more he thought about it, the more baffling the system’s intentions became.

Even at his best, even with all the growth he had achieved over the past month, there was no scenario where he, a D Rank, could have taken down a B Rank Boss Beast.

Not even close.

He would have struggled against just a couple of Ant Commanders, even with Wolfy at C Rank, let alone the Ant Queen. As such, the system seemed to have expected him to rely on external factors.

Ethan clicked his tongue softly, a mix of irritation and frustration settling in his chest.

’So once again... I’m only alive because I got lucky.’

The thought didn’t sit well with him.

Not at all.

Even after everything he had done, even after pushing himself to his limits, even after risking his life over and over again, it still wasn’t enough.

He was far from strong enough to stand on his own.

And he hated that.

The lingering feeling of weakness was discomforting and troubling.

But he forced those thoughts down.

This wasn’t the time for them; he could hunt, train, and get stronger like a madman all he wanted once he got out of here.

And on a more positive note, he was more curious about his rewards.

”Let’s see what I got out of this...”

Ethan waved his hand, dismissing his summoning of Talon, which instantly dissolved into particles of light. He then lowered himself to the ground beside Darius, struggling to even stand, as he interacted with the system interface.

The first thing he checked was the Beasts Tab, more specifically, the reward he received for evolving one of his beasts to C Rank.

His eyes scanned the text.

{Race Crystal (C) - A condensed genetic catalyst that can awaken a higher-tier lineage within a beast, possibly increasing its maximum growth potential to C Rank.}

Ethan blinked.

That was what he had assumed it was for, and also exactly what he had needed.

’So if I get an S Rank Race Crystal... I could increase the potential of one of my beasts to S Rank?’

{Yes, that is correct. Though Race Crystals do not guarantee an increase in Beast Potential.}

Ethan’s lips curled slightly.

’Of course they don’t.’

Still, it didn’t matter.

This solved a major problem, or at least, it gave him a path forward.

His beasts weren’t locked into their current ceilings anymore; they could grow and evolve further than their original limits.

’That’s huge...’

Wolfy and Spark already had C Rank Beast Potential, so using it on them now would be pointless.

Which left only Talon.

But even then, Ethan hesitated.

’There’s no rush.’

Even if he used it now, it wouldn’t immediately change anything. He still needed nearly a thousand more Evolutionary Shards to push a beast to the next stage.

So instead, he stored it for later.

’At least there is hope of increasing their potential.’

That alone made it worth it.

But he was left questioning what his reward was for completing the other objective he had received upon entering the gate.

The system was on cue as always.

{Congratulations on completing the Objective: Survive the Gate}

{Reward: Instant Recovery}

”That’s it?”

He blinked, completely underwhelmed.

It was useful, sure.

But compared to everything he had just gone through?

It didn’t feel like much.

Not that it was up for negotiation, as the reward was issued without warning.

A sudden warmth spread through his body, starting from his chest and radiating outward in waves. It wasn’t painful, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable either.

It was... strange and unnatural.

Ethan stiffened slightly as the sensation intensified.

His injuries vanished.

The pain in his body disappeared almost instantly, replaced by a lingering soreness that faded just as quickly. His shattered shoulder reformed as if it had never been damaged, his muscles restored, his energy replenished.

Even his drained MP fully recovered.

’I guess it really is instant.’

He flexed his arm experimentally, watching as it moved without resistance, as if nothing had ever happened.

’That’s... insane.’

It had taken seconds to recover what would have taken a normal person months and even a Titled days if not weeks.

Ethan exhaled slowly, shaking his head.

’I’m not even going to question how that works.’

At this point, the system had already proven it could do things far beyond normal understanding.

Still, that didn’t stop him from feeling slightly annoyed.

’I mean... I appreciate the healing,’ he muttered internally, ’but I would’ve recovered eventually. After all that, couldn’t you have given me something actually broken? A skill? Even stat points?’

Ethan didn’t receive any response initially and was left feeling like a spoiled child complaining about their birthday gift.

But then the system left him with a simple, ominous statement.

{You will need it.}

Ethan’s brow furrowed.

”What’s that supposed to-?”

He didn’t get to finish the thought because of the sudden danger.

His instincts screamed.

Without thinking, Ethan ducked.

An arrow shot past his head at blinding speed, slicing through the air with lethal precision. It grazed his neck, leaving behind a thin line of blood as it embedded itself into the stone behind him.

If it had been just an inch deeper...

He would have died, and that immediately became clear to Ethan.

’Boy, am I glad that my beasts are rubbing off on me.’

Even without active Beast Assimilation, the changes were there. It was subtle, but increasing with the abilities of his beasts. His senses were sharper, his reactions improved, and his instincts refined.

Wolfy’s awareness, Talon’s vision, and Spark’s sensitivity to mana - all of it lingered within him.

And right now, it had just saved his life.

’I mean, they are engraved on my body, so that kinda makes sense.’

Ethan couldn’t dwell on it and instead sprang to his feet, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the cavern.

”Who the fuck was that?” he called out, his voice echoing slightly.

But there was no response, just an oppressive silence.

It was the kind that made one’s skin crawl and only added to the gravity of his predicament.

That’s when the system spoke again, startling him.

But this time, it wasn’t a reward or notification; it was an objective.

One that made Ethan’s stomach drop...