Lord Of Beasts

After unleashing giant beams of pure white mana from his eyes, the floating monk instantly lost consciousness, his body shutting down from suddenly being drained.

"Dave!" Liora called out.

She thrust her hand forward, constructs already forming mid-air to catch him. Rowan reacted just as quickly, vines and plant constructs surging upward to intercept his fall.

But neither of them reached him first.

Swoosh!

A pink blur streaked across the sky.

In an instant, Seraphina appeared beneath Dave, catching his limp body effortlessly before landing lightly on a nearby floating island. She placed him down gently, her usual confident expression replaced with something more serious.

"Not bad," was all she said.

As impressive as it was, it definitely had its downsides.

But he was alive, which was all that mattered, and the destruction they had caused was catastrophic.

A massive portion of the hornet’s nest had been obliterated, its structure torn apart, its insides exposed. Smoke and debris filled the air, while countless hornets poured out in a frenzy, their buzzing now a deafening, enraged scream.

But the nest was not gone.

Not entirely.

And that left all eyes on Ethan, who stood still and composed beside his towering Fenrir, its red eyes glowing with feral intensity.

For a brief moment, it looked like he wasn’t going to do anything.

Then he spoke a single name.

"Talon!"

In an instant, a creature unlike anything most of them had seen before appeared. It hovered in the air, its green-feathered form shimmering with an almost ethereal quality. Its four limbs and wings moved fluidly, its presence calm yet powerful.

But that alone was not what shocked them.

’Partial Assimilation: Spark.’

The effect was immediate.

His energy spiked, and though not overwhelming, it was definitely noticeable, as if something within him had been unsealed. Even more noticeable, sparks danced across his body, flickering along his arms and shoulders, weaving through the air like living embers.

Darius stared.

"Just what the hell is he?"

It wasn’t just abnormal for a C Rank to have so many varying abilities, but also for any Titled.

And yet, Ethan stood there as if it were nothing.

This was his best setup.

While assimilated with Spark, his mana was boosted enough to maintain multiple summons and still have energy to act himself, which he definitely needed.

’You’ll get your chance soon, Storm.’

Summoning the Lightning Dragonfly now would be pointless, and not only would it die instantly, but he didn’t want to confirm that he had acquired that beast.

Or that he could even do so in the first place.

’They can see what my abilities are, but I’d rather that they didn’t know how they work.’

A grin tugged at his lips.

’Besides, everything they see today won’t even matter in a few days.’

He was going to outgrow this rapidly.

Ethan planned to blitz through the C Tier Floors of the tower and focus on evolving all of his beasts to B Rank before officially being considered a B Rank himself once he got out of this place.

With his Fenrir and auto-hunting, it should be a breeze, the same way clearing the D Tier Floors had been after evolving Wolfy to C Rank in the last gate.

’It’s like the system is giving me side missions to get stronger and be able to speed through the main missions.’

Not that he was complaining.

After that, there were even more floors to complete, and he couldn’t even imagine what they were going to be like.

’If each B Tier Floor is like a crazier version of that ant gate and each A Rank Floor like this one, then I’m definitely in for it.’

Despite that, he was excited and sure he would have the beasts and skills to handle himself when the time came. And even if he didn’t, well, he’d figure it out like he always did.

But there was one underlying thought that he couldn’t shake.

’I really am one lucky fucker, aren’t I?’

Ethan definitely had to grind for what he had, and most wouldn’t have been able to endure or even survive what he had experienced in the Tower. But the fact that he had the Title in the first place was due to luck after failing the trial.

Thinking back to Floor Zero was still painful to this day, and he would never forget being eaten alive and experiencing real death.

’I wonder what kind of trial that Titan dude had, if all S Ranks supposedly have Conditional Titles.’

He had no way of knowing.

But ultimately, Ethan was just glad things had turned out the way they had for himself, as wild and tough as his life had been since that day.

’After my shitshow of a life, some luck is the least thing God could give me.’

He smiled at the thought before snapping out of his deep thoughts and turning to Wolfy.

"Make sure you don’t get hurt."

That was the only command he gave, but it was enough.

The Fenrir burst forward, its massive body leaping between floating islands with terrifying speed. Its red eyes flared even further as it activated its first skill before clashing with the swarming hornets.

Predator’s Frenzy.

Its presence exploded outward, becoming even more feral, violent, and unrestrained. It blitzed past Ethan’s Titled companions, barely suppressing the instinct to attack anything in its path.

That included its allies, which went to show how intense it was.

The hornets surged toward Wolfy.

It welcomed them, diving headfirst into the chaos, mouth open and teeth ready to tear apart everything that came its way.

That left Ethan and Talon.

Most of the group still watched him, trying to understand what he was about to do. He had claimed he would burn what remained of the nest, but at his range, that was impossible. Even with the sparks dancing around his body and his unique abilities, which were intriguing, it was simply too far.

And they were right.

He could not reach it directly, but who said that’s what he was going to do?

Ethan looked up at Talon.

The creature hovered above him, awaiting his will.

Then he looked forward at the broken nest, the swarm of beasts, and the opportunity in front of him.

His grin widened.

’If I can’t reach it...’

He bent his knees slightly as flames flickered faintly around him.

’Then I’ll get closer.’

Because when you were as crazy as Ethan was, you didn’t look for solutions.

You created them.

And he was about to show just how insane he was, but also that he was just as skilled...