Lord Of Beasts

Ethan made a decision, a very necessary one.

As much as the constant stream of notifications tempted him, and as much as the steady rise of Evolutionary Shards made his pulse quicken, it was time to quit while he was ahead.

It was too risky to continue, and he had already benefited enough.

"Return."

Wolfy vanished mid-rampage in the breeding grounds, and Spark, who had been incinerating the place, disappeared as well. It was good timing, since they were also being chased by ant beasts.

The notifications slowed as Spark’s lingering flames cooked the final few beast eggs. Then seconds later, they stopped entirely, but Ethan didn’t regret his decision.

’I can’t keep draining MP like that...’

He also couldn’t risk them getting overwhelmed.

Spark had little defence, and even Wolfy, before evolving, would’ve been torn apart by a single one of those Ant Commanders.

Ethan couldn’t afford to lose them.

And most importantly, he needed to help now; he was literally seconds away from being caught by the swarm of beasts behind him. He could feel the air from the mandibles behind him as the beasts tried to bite him in the ass.

As such, he had no time to hesitate.

"Come out, Wolfy."

Energy surged outward, more than usual, which he immediately noticed. But the additional MP wasn’t for nought, as the Ulfen materialised before him.

Ethan’s eyes widened slightly.

"Damn..."

It was massive.

Before, Wolfy had already been large, a towering wolf-like creature that could easily intimidate most beasts. But now it had crossed into something else entirely.

Its body had expanded, thickened, reinforced by raw power.

Now at the size of a small horse, it came across as even larger because of how robust its physique was.

Its frame was broad, its muscles more defined beneath dense, dark fur that seemed to ripple with strength. Each of its legs was thick and powerful, ending in claws that dug slightly into the stone as it kept up with Ethan’s pace effortlessly.

Not to mention its head, which had ground with a giant jaw lined with longer, sharper teeth that glinted faintly in the dim underground light.

Its eyes burned with predatory intelligence.

This was no longer the puppy-like beast he had initially acquired; before his very eyes, it was transforming into a true apex predator.

Ethan grinned.

"Now that’s more like it."

Without wasting a second, he grabbed onto its fur and pulled himself up, swinging onto its back in one smooth motion. It was stable and solid, almost like it had always meant to be ridden like a mount.

He turned his head.

"Get on."

The A Rank hesitated for less than a second, her eyes flicking between Ethan and the beast that materialised out of thin air.

She was amazed; how could she not be?

It wasn’t Wolfy’s current size or even its ability, but it was how much it had changed from when she had seen it literally minutes earlier.

She was already alarmed by the fact that he could dismiss and summon them as he pleased. But she had no way of explaining how the beast was able to improve so suddenly.

’How does that even make sense? Could it be a different beast?’

The A Rank wasn’t stupid; something about Ethan and his abilities was abnormal. But because she wasn’t stupid, she grabbed his outstretched hand and didn’t question it.

Ethan yanked her up onto Wolfy, and she sat behind him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

It was so tight that it was almost painful.

"You can loosen up a bit."

She didn’t.

If anything, her grip tightened, causing him to wince slightly.

It reminded Ethan that she really was an A Rank, and even without being able to use whatever her Title was, her base stats alone were still monstrous.

He felt like if she squeezed any harder, she could crack his ribs, but he didn’t bother complaining.

"Alright," he muttered, patting Wolfy’s neck.

A small grin spread across his face.

"Show me what you can do now."

Wolfy didn’t need to be told twice, picking up the pace instantly.

Its speed was incredible, and even while carrying two people, it accelerated effortlessly, showing even its strength. The ground blurred beneath them, the wind rushing past their ears, but the distance between them and the swarm didn’t increase much.

Ethan’s expression remained tense.

The Ant Commanders at the front of the pack weren’t slow, and they didn’t need to carry two people, which Ethan knew would eventually take a toll on his summon.

Moreover, even though it was now C Rank, he knew there was still no chance they could take on all those beasts behind them. Not to mention the bad feeling the direction they were going in gave him.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

’I’m choosing between two bad options, and I’m not even sure this is the better one.’

But there was no turning back now...

-

The tunnel stretched endlessly ahead, narrow and restrictive.

There were no forks or alternate paths they could take, just continuously onward like they were being guided somewhere.

Ethan took a moment to get his bearings.

’We went deep into that tunnel before that first ambush. Then we fell into the breeding ground. After that...’

Everything happened so fast, but now that he thought about it.

"We’re going deeper!"

The A Rank tilted her head slightly behind him, but she couldn’t exactly sign anything while tightly holding onto him.

"If the entrance is where we started, then we’re probably heading to..."

He didn’t even want to say it aloud, not that it would change anything.

Ethan was going to find out what was there, whether he liked it or not, and the ants that chased him relentlessly would make sure of that. This was no longer the effect of Beast Call; this was pure, unbridled rage.

’Well, I did massacre their unborn children.’

Not that he regretted what he did in the slightest.

’If I had acquired one of those rock worms, tunnelling out of here would’ve come in clutch.’

But he couldn’t go back in time, and he also wouldn’t swap out any of his current beasts, so he didn’t dwell on that thought. He could also see a literal light at the end of the tunnel.

Ethan braced himself for what was to come, and let’s just say things quickly went to shit...