Lord Of Beasts

After giving Wolfy the attention he deserved, treating him like an oversized dog, Ethan then called upon his remaining beasts.

Spark burst into existence with an energetic buzz, immediately zipping around him like an overexcited flame. It looked like a fiery insect darting through the air, leaving faint trails of embers behind.

Talon appeared next.

The green limbed-bird creature landed lightly, its wings folding neatly at its sides. Its sharp eyes observed everything with calm precision, and its posture was relaxed yet ready.

Ethan tilted his head.

’This guy’s even cooler as a Griffling.’

Talon met his gaze, then gave him a small nod of acknowledgement.

’Why’s he aura farming like that?’

Its ethereal green hue stood out against this disgusting backdrop, and it had a grace about it even while standing still. Compared to the needy Wolfy and hyper Spark, it felt unnervingly intelligent.

Or, more correctly, mature.

Not that Ethan was complaining, since it would make this easier.

”Alright,” he began.

Spark hovered closer, and Talon leaned forward slightly.

”You two will go and hunt.”

Spark buzzed excitedly, while Talon simply nodded.

”Stick together,” Ethan added. ”And don’t do anything stupid.”

Spark zipped off instantly.

Talon followed, launching into the air with a powerful flap of its wings.

And just like that...

They were gone.

Ethan watched them disappear into the swamp before turning to Wolfy.

”And you’ll be protecting me, buddy.”

The Ulfen gave him a bark of acknowledgement and instantly took his task very seriously, crouching low and circling him.

’Now to see if this works.’

He then sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes, focusing deeply and activating Beast Recovery.

The shift was immediate.

The world dulled, and his breathing slowed, as mana began to flow towards him. But it didn’t remain, and instead moved through him, like he were a channel and part of the entire energy ecosystem.

It felt... natural and much smoother than before.

The swamp around him was also rich with energy, and though not as dense as within that gate, was still far better than on Earth. Not that it made the environment any less disgusting.

Still, he endured the smell, humidity, and constant bubbling of acid, and concentrated internally.

After a short while - what felt like 10 minutes - he finally heard it.

{Beast Eliminated!}

A notification echoed faintly, but Ethan’s eyes remained closed, and he tried to remain focused.

{Would you like to acquire this beast as your own?}

He sighed, slightly annoyed that he had to break his concentration, before murmuring, ”No.”

{Beast Capacity: 3/4}

It was about another 15 minutes later that he heard it again.

{Beast Eliminated!}

{Would you like to acquire this beast as your own?}

”No”

{Beast Capacity: 3/4}

And again, another 10 minutes later.

{Beast Eliminated!}

{Would you like to acquire this beast as your own?}

”No”

{Beast Capacity: 3/4}

It was satisfying and useful to keep track of the progress his beasts were making, which he was impressed by, but it was also frustrating.

’For God’s sake, can you stop asking me every time?’

He mentally issued the command.

’I’ll tell you when I want to acquire one of the beasts I kill.’

There was a brief pause, then...

{This notification will be halted going forward.}

’Good... I mean, um, thank you.’

He added that gratitude just so that the system didn’t hold a grudge against him.

’It’s like when people used to thank AI after it generated their homework, hoping that they’ll be spared when the robots take over. But no robots are taking over now with these gates and Titles.’

Still, now that he admitted it wasn’t genuine...

’Will the system hate me even more?’

Then again, it probably would have known... or would it have?

It raised the question of whether the system was capable of just communicating with his surface mind or could read his deeper consciousness. But since it was capable of taking him to the Tower Of Beasts in his sleep, and even seemingly freezing time with the Instant Tower Token, there was probably very little it couldn’t do.

The more he thought about it, the deeper the rabbit hole he went into.

’Ah, fuck it, and fuck you if you’re reading my mind!’

After that, it took Ethan a while to be able to regain focus and fully immerse himself in Beast Recovery.

But his auto-hunting was working.

Elimination notifications kept rolling in, and the Spark and Talon duo was surprisingly effective.

The Cinder Wisp kept at a distance and sprayed flames over whatever nasty beast they were facing, and whenever it was in danger, it used Flare Drive to burst away. Meanwhile, Talon would soar into the sky and blitz down like a bolt of lightning, wind augmenting all of its attacks.

Both remained together as instructed, looking like a prideful, older sibling with their energetic younger brother. But the duo was making impressive progress, so much so that Ethan relaxed completely.

He was so immersed in Beast Recovery that he was almost sleeping while sitting upright.

’Auto-hunting with auto-recovery, this is amazing.’

Just like that, time flew by, with hours blurring past like seconds.

His body felt fresh, his MP was literally overflowing, and his beasts continued to farm relentlessly. He had paused a couple of times to resummon them beside him and use Beast Mend on them, but aside from that, he had constantly been using Beast Recovery.

There were times when his focus dipped, and the effectiveness of the skill was less than the cost of MP, but he never got close to depleting his reserves.

Everything had gone perfectly, and there was nothing he could complain about.

And yet, when Ethan opened his eyes to check how much progress he had made after most of the day had passed, he realised the harsh truth.

’It’s still not enough.’

Despite the constant stream of kills, despite the efficiency of his plan, despite how smoothly everything was working...

He was nowhere near what he needed.

The number barely moved compared to the requirement.

His grin faded slightly.

”Figures.”

He leaned back, exhaling slowly.

’I’m far from having enough shards to evolve one of them to B Rank.’

For a moment, frustration flickered in his chest.

But it quickly faded once the system revealed that there was another way he could go about it...