Chapter 33: A Step Further

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: A Step Further

Something felt different.

Damon opened his eyes.

"Hm?"

Through their bond, he felt excitement.

No.

More than that.

Joy.

Pure joy.

Freya practically exploded with happiness.

Before Damon could understand what was happening, the fox suddenly came out.

And he froze.

"...Freya?"

The little fox tilted her head proudly.

Yip?

Damon blinked twice.

Then he burst out laughing. "Hahaha! No way!"

Freya had grown, not by much.

But she was slightly bigger now, and her silver fur looked even more beautiful than before. Every strand almost seemed to glow beneath the unstable winds around them.

But what caught his eyes wasn’t her size.

It was behind her.

Four tails.

Not three.

Four.

The new tail swayed proudly behind her while arcs of silver lightning danced around her body.

Freya herself seemed delighted.

She jumped into his arms and rubbed her head against his chest.

Yip! Yip!

"Alright, alright. I see it."

Damon chuckled and scratched her ears.

"You’ve become even prettier."

Immediately, all four tails wagged happily.

Seeing her reaction, Damon couldn’t help smiling.

He finally understood.

The strange feeling they had experienced these past few days.

The second core wasn’t simply nourishing spirit elementals.

It was accelerating their growth.

Spirit beasts normally evolved over long periods.

Many required opportunities or special treasures.

Yet Freya had only recently completed her first evolution.

And now...

She had grown again.

Even if this wasn’t another complete evolution, it was still unbelievable.

Damon looked inward toward the mysterious second core.

His expression became serious.

"This thing..."

He shook his head.

"Wonder why you showed up inside me."

The more he learned about it, the more outrageous it seemed.

His confidence in the future only grew stronger.

Maybe...

Just maybe...

His greatest cheat wasn’t the white core.

It was this second core. The spirit origin.

Freya chirped proudly.

Damon laughed.

"And you’re part of it too."

He hugged her tightly.

"We’ll figure everything out together."

The little fox happily buried herself deeper into his arms.

******

After resting, the two resumed their journey.

As they ventured deeper, the environment changed again.

Resources had started appearing everywhere.

Damon found Wind Ores embedded inside cliffs.

Low grade Wind Crystals.

Even several Wind Spirit Fruits.

There were Aether crystals too.

None of them were useful to his lightning affinity, but they were valuable... Very valuable.

"I struck gold."

Freya yipped in agreement although she had no interest in fruits or ores.

As long as Damon was happy, she was happy.

Soon, Damon discovered even more resources.

Wind cores.

High quality Wind Ores.

Scattered Aether crystals.

And unlike before, they appeared more frequently.

Damon narrowed his eyes.

"I think we’re getting close."

He could almost feel it.

The heart of Tempest Hollow.

The place where everything was happening.

The place that had transformed the distorted zone.

His pace increased.

If treasures really lay ahead, he couldn’t afford to be late.

He had no intention of returning empty-handed.

And if danger came with opportunity...

Then so be it.

After all... he wasn’t the same Damon who entered Tempest Hollow.

However, progress became harder.

The windstorms were much stronger.

Huge tornadoes appeared occasionally in the distance.

Sharp currents of compressed wind carved trenches into the earth.

The Aether itself had become unstable.

Damon could tell now.

Tempest Hollow was never a low-ranked zone.

Everyone had underestimated it.

But strangely enough... he still didn’t feel fear, instead excitement filled his heart.

Freya seemed to feel the same.

Both of them pressed onward.

Then...

A few minutes later.

Damon suddenly stopped. His instincts screamed.

Freya’s fur stood on end.

The playful look in her eyes vanished instantly.

She jumped down from his shoulder.

And both of them slowly turned.

Not far away, near a cluster of shining Aether crystals and several high-quality Wind Ores...

Something stood there watching them.

Damon’s pupils narrowed.

"...A B rank."

The pressure alone was terrifying.

It wasn’t like the C rank beasts.

This was different.

Completely different.

If the previous enemies felt dangerous...

This one felt overwhelming.

Standing over three meters tall, the creature resembled a gigantic panther.

Its body was sleek and muscular, covered in dark emerald fur that constantly shifted beneath layers of flowing wind.

Several silver lines ran across its body like veins.

Its long tail slowly swayed behind it, slicing grooves into the ground with invisible blades of wind.

The beast’s eyes glowed with pale green light.

Calm.

Cold.

Intelligent.

More frightening than anything else...

It wasn’t angry. It wasn’t hunting.

It simply stood there.

Watching and judging.

As if deciding whether Damon and Freya were worthy prey.

The air around it twisted.

Small blades of wind danced lazily around its claws.

Every breath it released caused the surrounding grass to bend.

Gale Sovereign Panther

B Rank Wind Beast.

Predator of Tempest Hollow.

And one of the true rulers of the middle regions.

Freya’s four tails rose behind her.

Lightning crackled.

Gone was her playful attitude.

The little fox stared ahead with serious eyes.

For the first time in days...

She had encountered something that made her feel threatened.

Damon slowly tightened his grip around his knife.

Cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Yet...

His lips slowly curled upward.

"Now we’re talking."

Freya glanced back.

Yip?

Damon grinned.

"What?"

"Did you think I’d run?"

Silver lightning began crackling around his body.

And across from them...

The Gale Sovereign Panther finally moved.

It lowered its body.

Wind gathered around its claws.

Its glowing eyes locked onto the pair.

Then...

The giant beast smiled.

And Damon felt his entire body go cold.

Because that wasn’t instinct.

That wasn’t animal behavior.

It was intelligence.

This thing... was smiling at them.

And somehow...

Damon had the feeling the beast had been waiting.

Waiting for someone strong enough to finally reach this place.

And now...

It had found them.

Damon and Freya stood quietly now.

The violent winds around them howled through the valley, carrying dust and sharp fragments of stone, yet neither of them took their eyes off the B rank beast ahead.