“[Lightning Strike]”

Aeron’s eyes lit up as chains of lighting traveled around him, the air crackled as lighting flashed towards the Jungle Cat.

Crackle!

The Jungle Cat was in mid-air and was unable to dodge the skill, the chains of lighting struck the Jungle Cat, shocking it to death. The Jungle Cat was one of the fastest Low-Grade Beast, but it also had one of the poorest defense. The lighting shock burnt the Jungle Cat to crisp, but before the Jungle Cat fell it was suddenly struck by metal blades shredding the Jungle Cat to pieces.

Thud!

Aeron slumped down, the last thing he saw was Arthur rushing towards him.

‘Stupid!’

Aeron thought to himself before things went dark. Arthur quickly took two mana stones and placed it on Aeron’s hands, Arthur had the other monkeys spread out to guard the area. After making sure that Aeron was stable, Arthur brought him back to the base.

It took almost 4 hours for Aeron to wake up from his unconscious state, his sight was blurry as he woke up. This was the backlash of using a skill that took most of his mana, [Lightning Strike] was a powerful skill, but the mana required to use the skill was not something Aeron could afford to use. This was a skill derived from Agila, Agila unlike her mother took on the element of lighting as her main affinity, which resulted in her learning a powerful lightning-based offensive skill, though Agila could at most use it 3 to 4 times before it depletes her mana, for Aeron on the other hand, the result was obvious.

“Master are you okay? I’m sorry Master, this is all my fault.”

Arthur asked worriedly, he had blamed himself for neglecting the danger from a Low-Grade Beast, unlike in the past, he was now a High-Grade Beast which made him underestimate the Jungle Cat’s speed even more than Aeron did.

“I’m fine, don’t apologize, it was my all fault to begin with.”

Aeron said as he tried to feel his body more, the feeling of mana depletion was one of the worst feelings in Gaia, this was also a state which courted death. If Aeron’s remaining mana was a tad bit lesser than it was, then he would’ve slept for at least a week, and the worst-case scenario was Aeron directly disappearing into nothing. Mana depletion would also weaken the individual’s body severely, thus Aeron could only currently talk as he waited for his mana to regenerate. It was a good thing Aeron had brought some mana stones with him, he also had about a hundred hidden mana stones on his base, this was something he traded with Gerard using the fruits from the Endless Forest.

What Aeron said was true, he had been too used to having Arthur around him, that he had become too complacent. All the strength he had acquired made him confident in facing any Low-Grade Beast. Strength breeds arrogance, as they say, this was something that had slowly and unconsciously sprouted in Aeron’s mind, true he was still vigilant towards his surrounding, but his thoughts had also started to unnoticeably change, his army of pets also attributed towards this folly.

“It’s fine Arthur, let’s just treat this as experience, we’re both fine right? Let’s just be more careful in the future.”

Aeron consoled Arthur and himself with his words, the flash before death truly made him more aware of himself.

‘Yeah, it’s a good thing to be alive.’

Aeron thought as he closed his eyes again, he had fallen asleep this time. Arthur heaved a sigh as he stood up, this was truly a heavy lesson for the both of them, even more so to Arthur, he was still too young and thought of himself as strong enough to not care about Low-Grade Beasts, but the Jungle Cat’s speed had made him helpless, he could only warn his master about the attack.

Ursa and Agila snuggled protectively towards their master, they could feel their master’s weakness, they were unaware of what happened but this was the only thing they could do. Agila heard Arthur and Aeron’s conversation, so she had understood a bit about what happened, she was unhappy about not being able to accompany and protect her master, a glint of determination suddenly flashed through her eyes, she wanted to be stronger so that her master’s safety would not always be taken care of by Arthur. As for Ursa, it had an inkling of what transpired, but it wasn’t like Agila and Arthur who had far more intelligence than other beasts, but a seed had already been planted inside it. It didn’t want to stay like what it currently was, it wanted to be stronger, but it also wanted to be more intelligent.

Arthur felt Agila’s gaze change, he had also understood why, this made him even more regretful for his carelessness, but even so, he won’t give up the position he was currently at, although both of them could kill mercilessly without batting an eye, they were still children at heart, and all they wanted was to take care of the person known as their master.

A change was currently happening, something Aeron was unaware of as he slept through the whole ordeal.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep inside the Endless Forest.

“Those stubborn wolves!”

A cloaked figure was currently fleeing in the Endless Forest. A sudden gust of wind suddenly blew in front of the cloaked figure, blowing the hood away, like a fairy emerging from a fairy tale, a beautiful face appeared, her long jet black hair flew behind her as she changed direction, her beauty seemed ethereal as she flashed through the trees with extraordinary speed. It had already been a month since the wolves started chasing her, she was unaware of the birth of the wolf king which made her confused as to why different wolves from different packs chased her incessantly, she had already killed a few, but more would come.

‘I even left them most of it and only took a bit, it’s a good thing that there’s no Sky Stage Beast chasing me’

The woman thought as she held a piece from the fruit. As for the Sky Stage Wolves, it was actually a weird thing, because she had clearly seen Sky Staged Wolves among the those that surrounded her back then.

Swee! Swee! Swee!

Wind Blades suddenly appeared beside her as they cut through the air, striking in front of her to stop her advance. But her figure danced around the seams dodging the attack completely, she activated her [Dash] skill as her figure blurred, the wolves were quickly left behind. But this was only a temporary respite, she knew that the wolves would find her sooner or later, it wasn’t the scent of her aura that brought the wolves to her, but the piece of fruit on her person. Unlike other fruits, the fruit she was carrying was very special, other fruits would’ve disappeared already, but this fruit was different, the whole fruit was like an entire core, even if you took a piece, it would still be able to retain its existence.

“Mother, Father, I already got the fruit, just wait for me, it won’t be long”

The woman spoke to herself, but the chase was much longer than she thought.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the City of Una

“Young Master, the wolves have seemed to mellow down on their activities and entered deeper into the forest”

A shadowy figure appeared beside Gerard.

“It seems the time is near, if I’m not wrong then that fruit should be inside the Endless Forest, even if one of those appears, it will be dangerous for us, though it’s still uncertain if the wolf king to succeeds, but if it does…”

Gerard spoke, he closed his eyes as he fell in deep thought, he suddenly opened his eyes.

“It seems I might have to use favors from some people”

Gerard said. He had wanted to refrain from using those favors as it was much better to use them later. But if the wolf king truly succeeded then there would be more wolves under its rule.

“How about my little brother?”

Gerard asked as another shadow emerged beside him.

“We’ve looked into his base and he’s nowhere to be found master, we went inside the Endless Forest but it seems he’s gone further inside”

The shadow reported.

“Hmm its good if he’s confident enough to venture inside the Endless Forest, get stronger little brother, the war might arrive earlier than I thought”

Gerard said as started his meditation, the shadows dispersed when they saw Gerard do so.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere in the City of Isa

“Titus? What do you think will happen to Una?”

The previous Governor of Una asked.

“I don’t know Lord Governor”

Titus replied.

“Sigh, I’m not even a Governor anymore… you were so cute when you were still small… why don’t you call me Papa instead? Like you used to do when you were little”

The previous governor said.

“No… Adoptive Father”

Titus said, a tinge of red suddenly appeared on his face, this man, the Governor of Una, a Mighty Mage of Transcendence, Renlin Lastaria was Titus’s adoptive father, everything changed when he knew the truth about his identity.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have told you that huh? Though you’ll probably discover it yourself”

Renlin Lastaria said, he had truly missed the little boy that stuck to him like glue asking this and that cutely.

“No! I know my worth Adoptive Father, you gave me what I have, although I’m unworthy. I.. I still want to be your child”

Titus said, he truly wished to be Renlin Lastaria’s true son, but he wasn’t and the reality made it even harder.

“Hahaha, it’s good that you think that, but you have always been by my side, it’s time for you to grow on your own, and there’s a perfect place for you to go to”

Renlin Lastaria said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back in the Endless Forest

After resting for two days, Aeron was finally fully healed, he wanted to go out to hunt but Agila was against the idea.

“Its fine Agila, I’ll be more careful this time”

Aeron said as he comforted the agitated Agila.

“How about you wait till I become stronger master?”

Agila said, her voice was sweet and full of concern. Aeron understood why, so he explained with more effort than before, he even promised to spend more time with her and Ursa. Aeron knew Agila was very young, much younger than any of his tamed beast. If he didn’t give a clearer explanation about things, then Agila might misunderstand things, which would have some impact on her growth.

“It’s not just you that needs to be strong Agila, I also need to get stronger, every single one of us needs to be stronger to protect each other.”

“I’m also here, I promise to protect master with my life!”

Arthur chimed in.

“Alright then, we have to go now.”

Aeron said as he left with Arthur and two groups of monkeys led by Lancelot and Elyan.

“Bring me to the nearest Jungle Cat Arthur, this time I’ll be careful”

Aeron said, he had already underestimated the Jungle Cat’s speed the first time. But he still wanted to prove himself.

“Yes Master”

Arthur nodded, but this time there were already metal blades floating around Arthur. This was a skill Arthur had unlocked when he evolved into a High-Grade Beast [Metal Domination]. The skill allows Arthur to control any metal with the power of his soul, but Aeron had to admit that the skill was very powerful, the amount of soul power spent to control the about 2 iron blades was about the same as the amount that could be recovered by Arthur. This means that Arthur could maintain 2 iron blades perpetually, but maintaining the blades was still straining mentally.

Another use of the skill was crafting, the iron shields that Caesar had previously used were created by Arthur, over the years, Aeron had Arthur create enough sword and shield for all the brown monkeys to use, daggers were made for the black monkeys, while the silver monkeys got pure iron glaives. The metal blades floating around Arthur were actually made from best quality iron ore essence that Aeron could get, which was of course traded from Gerard.

Arthur took the lead as they leapt through the trees, Aeron had wanted to tell Arthur that he could keep the metal blades first instead of having them out all the time, but he also knew the impact of what happened two days ago. He could only mentally sigh as he followed Arthur through the forest.

‘Let’s just treat this as more training for Arthur’

Aeron thought, the incident had also further reinforced Aeron’s mindset, he had actually thought that he had already accepted everything from his transmigration to this fantasy world, but deep inside he still had his scruples, he didn’t want to fight, but he hated it more, that his pets had to fight for him most of the time. That was the reason why he trained harder, but this world still slapped him with a reality check, he knew he got stronger, but in comparison to his pets, he was still weaker. Of course, he knew why, he was a Tamer in the first place, they were inherently weaker than other professions, the main strength of Tamers were their beasts. Truth be told, Aeron had thoughts about the existence of Tamers, unlike other Professions, the Tamer Profession was the most questionable, the success rate of being a Tamer was dismal.

And for some reasons unknown to Aeron, Tamer Families didn’t just find newly born beasts or beast eggs to be raised and tamed just like Agila, but Aeron was sure there was a reason, he wasn’t the smartest person out there, but he knew most people would think of that first when dealing with Tamers. Tamers were also the most unbalanced Profession, if a Tamer succeeds even Taming one High-Grade Beast, then he would be able to defeat most people the same level as them, every Tamer that succeeds were basically treated as geniuses.

“We’re here Master, the Jungle Cat is a short distance away from us”

Arthur suddenly spoke.

“Alright, let’s go down then”

Aeron said as they slowly climbed down, Aeron made sure to be careful and silent. Arthur was even more careful, his senses were dialed to the fullest, making sure that there wasn’t any ambush happening.

“Arthur, hide for now but keep close”

Aeron ordered as he approached the lone Jungle Cat. He took his bow with him this time around, he had wanted to test his spearmanship on the Jungle Cat the last time, but he already learned his lesson. Aeron crept closer towards the Jungle Cat, when he got about 30 meters away from the Jungle Cat, he stopped. He knocked his arrow and pulled; the bow formed a perfect crescent as Aeron aimed.

Twang!

Aeron let loose and the arrow flew straight towards the Jungle Cat. But Jungle Cats were still Level 5 Beasts, the Jungle Cat noticed the attack before it landed, the Jungle Cat’s figure suddenly blurred as it vanished from its resting place.

Twang!

A second hadn’t even passed but another arrow was already fired towards the Jungle Cat’s trajectory. If it was done normally, Aeron wouldn’t have been able to fire another arrow as fast as he did. But Aeron made use of the skill [Accelerated Strike], but the thing about the attack was that the arrows speed remained the same. Aeron had actually thought that the skill was useless towards archery as it didn’t increase the speed of the arrow, but he noticed that the actions from nocking the arrow to releasing the bowstring were affected by the skill. This was one of the skills developed by Aeron which he just called [Rapid Fire]. Its accuracy wasn’t the greatest, but by training every day with it, the flow of actions became smoother and as time went by, his accuracy became greater. And now he was seeing the results.

Twang! Twang! Twang!