Lord Of Beasts

After that strange, painful interruption when the A Rank tried to reveal her Title, there was an awkward silence.

Then she looked up at him, still shaken.

*Where... are we?*

Ethan glanced around, then back at her.

"We fell into their breeding ground," he said plainly. "These things we landed on seem to be their eggs."

He lifted his foot slightly, grimacing at the sticky residue.

But then he suddenly froze, his sharp senses catching onto something faint.

Ethan’s expression shifted instantly.

"Wait..."

The air changed, subtle but unmistakable.

Then he heard a faint rumbling that was growing.

"Do you hear that?"

The A Rank nodded her head, her gaze following Ethan’s.

That’s when they both noticed movement deep within the cavern. The eggs were no longer still; they were now trembling and pulsing. It wasn’t all of them, but they noticed the slime stretching and tightening as something beneath them moved.

Ethan’s heart dropped.

"Oh, shit...’

A crack formed in one of the larger clusters.

Then another.

And another.

Something inside was clearly trying to get out.

"We might have a problem."

The entire cavern began to shift, almost as if awakening and responding to their presence. It started as a quiet, wet, organic trembling, but now cracks spread throughout the larger clusters of eggs.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed as small shapes began pushing outward.

It was infant ant beasts breaking through their shells and piercing through the slime that encapsulated them. Their chitin was still soft and glossy, while their mandibles twitched as they emerged into the world.

Ethan clicked his tongue.

’It seems like that explosion... or us being here... stirred them.’

But that wasn’t the problem, not even close.

He could very easily crush these freshly born beasts, and even an untitled wouldn’t struggle against them. They were still far from the other grown Ant Troops, let alone the Ant Commanders.

These infant beasts weren’t the threat; it was who they could call...

Ethan watched closely as their small, thin antennae twitched slightly. They moved in a rhythm, and even though there was no sound from it, he understood instantly.

"They’re communicating."

The A Rank stiffened beside him, and she noticed the same thing now.

Logic said that, as their breeding ground, this would be one of the most heavily guarded parts of the gate. It was key to their existence and development as a beast race.

And whatever signal the infant beasts had sent, there was no retracting it now.

Ethan exhaled slowly.

But despite the danger, he smiled, which confused the A Rank, who was struggling to understand this enigmatic E Rank.

He seemed to zone out slightly and poked at the air in front of him, which he had also done earlier.

’Has he gone crazy?’ she wondered.

Ethan didn’t care what she thought of him currently, and double-checked his current count.

{Evolutionary Shards: 317}

That meant that earlier, he had gained 4 shards for nothing, by simply accidentally stepping on these eggs.

His grin widened as he mentally ran the numbers.

{Evolutionary Shards (on Kill):

E Rank: 1 | D Rank: 10 | C Rank: 100 | B Rank: 1,000 | A Rank: 10,000 | S Rank: 100,000}

{Beast Evolution Costs (Potential-Capped):

E → D: 100 shards | D → C: 1,000 shards | C → B: 10,000 shards | B → A: 100,000 shards | A → S: 1,000,000 shards}

He had already spent 300 to push all his beasts to D Rank; now he needed 1,000 for each of his beasts to get them to C Rank. For one of his beasts, that left him needing 683 more.

Ethan’s gaze swept across the cavern again.

"Yeah."

His voice was quiet, but certain.

"There’s more than enough."

The A Rank watched him carefully now, unnerved by his unusual expression and behaviour.

But he knew that nothing came without risk.

’That also means there’s probably hundreds of fully grown beasts coming this way.’

His gaze shifted toward the tunnels surrounding the cavern, and he had no idea where they would come from, but he was certain it was just a matter of time.

As such, he turned to the A Rank.

"Listen."

His tone was sharp and direct.

"Do you want to survive in this place?"

She nodded immediately, without hesitation.

"Then don’t speak about anything you see here."

A pause.

"And stay close."

Threatening and speaking to an A Rank in such a manner felt ridiculous, but she nodded again, almost obediently. He had naturally become the leader of the two, and he wasn’t complaining.

Ethan raised his hand.

"Come out."

A blue light flickered as energy gathered, then two figures appeared, or more correctly, beasts...

The first was Wolfy, the massive Ulfen, its fur bristling as it landed heavily on the ground. And the other was Spark, the floating Cinder Wisp, flickering with erratic embers.

The A Rank’s eyes widened.

She was too shocked to even sign anything to Ethan.

This was the first time she had seen such an effortless summoning, let alone from a supposed E Rank.

"Destroy everything," Ethan said calmly.

"Eat and smash as many of those egg things as you can!"

There was no hesitation or questions asked; Wolfy growled, low and excited, while Spark flared brighter in response.

Predator’s Frenzy.

Wolfy blurred forward, its eyes flashing red and its body surging with power as it tore into the clusters effortlessly. Its claws ripped, its jaws crushed, and eggs burst beneath its weight alone.

Pop! Pop! Splat!

It went on a rampage.

Meanwhile, Spark wasn’t lagging, pulsing forward and releasing waves of heat and cinders.

Ember Pulse.

Flames spread across the slime-covered clusters, igniting them instantly and burning through the eggs, cooking them alive before they could even fully hatch.

{Beast Eliminated!}

{Beast Eliminated!}

{Beast Eliminated!}

Notifications flooded in, rapid and relentlessly, more than he could count.

Ethan watched the steady accumulation of Evolutionary Shards with a satirised smile.

But of course, it came with a price.

Ant Troops flooded in from a range of tunnels that led to the breeding ground, drawn by the signal of the newly born beasts and the destruction.

Within seconds, there were already dozens of them, rushing towards his summons. More and more were coming, their bodies scraping against stone as they rushed forward.

They hesitated briefly at the sight of their brood being destroyed, then they surged forward. Filled with pure instinctive rage, they were even more violent.

And it seemed like their sights were mostly set on the two humans, the easier targets...