STRIKER: Independent Beast Tamer

Wilderness (Special Base)

Morning arrived. Jeremy Night was woken up by the presence of beasts in front of him. He opened his eyes and saw that it was a group of Tier-3 and Tier-4 wild boars.

His lips curved upward. His focus was on Tier-6 and Tier-7 beasts; he didn’t expect mid-tier beasts to bother him. He continued to ignore them.

However, the beasts kept staring at him. The wild boars were ready to dash forward, intending to strike him.

Boom!

The Tier-4 wild boars dashed first.

Seeing that, Jeremy Night’s eyes turned cold. He remained quiet, but he hadn’t expected the beasts to strike first.

Next, he took out the handgun from its case. Holding it firmly, he coated the bullets in starlight energy.

Dense starlight power enveloped the edges of the bullets.

Bang! Bang!

He fired continuous shots at the beasts. The starlight bullets traveled in straight lines. In a flash, they pierced their heads one by one.

The two Tier-4 wild boars froze on the spot, massive holes torn through their foreheads, before collapsing to the ground.

Seeing that, the other Tier-3 beasts fled from the area. In the blink of an eye, the entire clearing fell silent.

He put the handgun back into the case, closed his eyes, and went back to sleep, unconcerned about his surroundings.

Stella was with him inside his mental zone. Even if he hadn’t reacted, she would have dealt with them, a slight psychic attack from her would have been enough to eliminate such beasts.

Time passed.

While he rested, Stella remained wide awake inside the mental zone. From time to time, she swept the surrounding area with her mental power.

She couldn’t find a single beast and began to wonder whether Jeremy Night had brought her to the right place. She doubted any high-tier beasts would venture here.

She decided to wait until noon. If no other beasts arrived by then, she would look for one herself. With her abilities, she could easily scour the entire wilderness border on her own.

It was only out of consideration for Jeremy Night that she stayed silent. She understood that he simply wanted to enjoy the wilderness; the recent recruitment outcome had taken a heavy toll on him.

That was why she didn’t say a word. She wanted him to rest completely and forget the unpleasant ordeal.

Time passed.

As noon approached, scorching heat beat down on the surface, waking Jeremy Night once again.

He opened his eyes, feeling well-rested. He realized that the morning was long gone and it was almost noon.

”Good morning, Stella,” he said to her.

[You slept well. Let me outside now. I want to go and find a Tier-7 beast myself,] Stella replied.

Hearing that, Jeremy Night’s lips twitched. He then summoned her out.

Swoosh!

A bluish starlight butterfly appeared in the open air. Stella extended her wings and took flight the very next second.

Jeremy Night watched her vanish in a flash. He didn’t know what to say, but he understood her, she was bored.

He stood up, moved toward a flat clearing, unsheathed his blade, and began practicing his basic blade techniques.

His skill was already at an advanced level, but he rarely had the chance to use his signature moves since he could dispatch corrupted beasts with simple basics.

As time passed, he continued training with those fundamental techniques.

Meanwhile,

The six-winged butterfly drew closer to the vast border. The territory beyond the wilderness boundary markers was uncharted land.

The elders of the special base had yet to explore this distant expanse. Stella knew Jeremy Night’s previous mission had been to scout it, which he had accomplished using a special reconnaissance helmet.

She felt the helmet was completely unnecessary. She could easily blanket the entire area with her consciousness, making the task effortless for her.

Boom!

It didn’t take long for Stella to encounter an enemy or rather, to be spotted by a Tier-7 beast. A massive serpent head, over four meters wide, emerged from above the canopy.

Hiss!

The mottled red-and-brown serpent hissed aggressively. Sensing a Tier-4 flying-type creature, the Tier-7 Snake endowed with high intelligence was quick to realize that the smaller beast’s speed was abnormally fast.

In a flash, the six-winged butterfly closed the distance. Stella fluttered her wings, sizing up the Tier-7 red serpent before her.

At long last, she had found her quarry.

Boom!

She cloaked her six wings in starlight energy and unleashed her speed, catching the Tier-7 beast completely off guard.

Pfff!

Her wing-blades tore straight through the serpent’s hide, slicing clean across its flank.

A massive crimson gash appeared in the blink of an eye.

Pfff!

A torrent of blood erupted from the wound. It took a few moments for the Tier-7 beast to even register that it had been struck.

Hiss!

The Tier-7 serpent leaped from its perch, its massive form arcing through midair before slamming onto the ground on the opposite side.

Slash!

Stella used her high-speed movement to vanish on the spot, reappearing instantaneously alongside the serpent’s massive frame.

Pfff!

Her wings slashed sideways through the beast, carving deep gouges across its body. The tough scales split open effortlessly; coated in starlight power, her wings met no resistance at all.

Puchak!

Blood sprayed from the lacerations. The Tier-7 red serpent had no idea what was happening.

The strikes landed relentlessly across its flanks. In the blink of an eye, more and more clean blade marks materialized over its body.

The serpent was utterly terrified. It couldn’t track the Tier-4 flying creature’s movements at all. Sheer dread set in as it realized the creature was concealing its true power—it might very well be a Tier-8 beast in disguise.

Swoosh!

Making a split-second decision, the Tier-7 beast turned and fled. It bolted from the clearing in an instant, yet Stella stayed on its tail, continuing to carve into its flesh.

Pfff!

Blood poured ceaselessly from the blade wounds. But the Tier-7 Snake beast ignored it and continued to flee.