Chapter 442: Elements

Ethan barely noticed the cold.

The water streamed over his shoulders and down his chest, but he could feel every droplet with unnatural clarity. He sensed the currents splitting around his body, flowing over his skin before gathering at his feet.

More than that, he could almost feel the water responding to him.

He raised a hand beneath the showerhead, watching the water spill between his fingers. The sensation was faint, like a melody he couldn’t quite hear, yet it was undeniably there.

‘This is insane.’

He’d experienced something similar with his other beasts.

Their senses and certain aspects of their abilities sometimes lingered within him even when he wasn’t assimilated with them. As he had come to understand, they were more than creatures he commanded.

They were part of him.

And now he’d acquired the Leviathan, a beast that could effortlessly command the ocean and control water, one of nature’s deadliest weapons.

‘Does this mean I can manipulate water myself?’

The possibilities were exciting, but he’d have to experiment later.

Preferably somewhere he wouldn’t accidentally flood the house or worse.

‘I have a lot to test out when I go back into the Tower.’

But Ethan couldn’t help but have a sour taste in his mouth after nearly dying. He naturally felt like shit, especially since he had given up and he didn’t want to rely on luck. The Leviathan had been unnervingly intelligent, and be it out of arrogance or because it wanted Ethan to suffer, it had left him by while it faced Talon.

At any moment, it could have ended everything.

All it would have taken was a single effortless attack.

It was almost as though the water-dragon-like beast respected the Griffin and wanted to face it directly.

‘I’m definitely not complaining.’

Though he would be lying if he said that he felt good about it.

Ethan sighed, focusing on appreciating the fact that things had somehow worked out like they always seemed to.

He finished showering and stepped in front of the mirror.

“Damn.”

His reflection was impressive.

He was always in pretty good shape, but being a Titled had given him an even leaner, muscular frame. Broad shoulders, a solid chest, and sharply defined abs made him look like someone built for combat. His damp, dark hair framed his face, while his piercing blue eyes remained as sharp as ever.

At first glance, he hadn’t changed much.

The tattoos covering his body told a different story.

Ethan looked down at his abdomen, where there was now a fifth tattoo.

Its slender body coiled around his waist like a serpent made from flowing water, its head curving toward its own tail in the shape of an Ouroboros. Fine lines suggested overlapping scales, and the design followed the contours of his muscles with remarkable precision.

He ran his fingers over it.

A faint warmth spread beneath his touch.

The tattoo almost felt alive, as though something vast lay coiled beneath his skin.

‘The Leviathan.’

It was an impressive design, though he suspected it would change as the beast evolved.

Five beasts.

Five tattoos.

And that wasn’t even the most impressive transformation.

Ethan turned toward the mirror behind him, revealing the enormous tattoo spread across his back.

It had once depicted a Skyrend Hawk.

After Talon’s previous evolution, it had transformed into a Griffling.

Now, following its breakthrough into A Rank, the design had become something straight out of mythology.

Two magnificent emerald wings stretched across his shoulder blades, each feather intricately detailed. Between them rested the powerful body of a lion-like predator, its muscular limbs ending in sharp talons. Its hooked beak and fierce, intelligent eyes gave it an unmistakable air of majesty.

Talon.

Ethan watched the emerald feathers shimmer beneath the bathroom light. For an instant, he could almost feel a breeze stirring between his shoulder blades.

His lips curved into a smile.

‘You did good, you magnificent bastard.’

Talon had pushed beyond its limits when Ethan could no longer, and its evolution had turned the tide of a battle that almost certainly would have otherwise killed them both.

He couldn’t wait to examine its new abilities.

But before that, he had a few questions.

Chief among them was how the hell Talon had evolved in the first place.

Ethan had watched it struggle through several failed evolution attempts. He’d purchased multiple Race Crystals in the hope that one of them would finally help Talon break through, to no avail.

Then, in the middle of a desperate battle, it had suddenly reached A Rank.

‘Could the Race Crystals have had some kind of lingering effect?’

It seemed plausible.

Perhaps the energy they’d contained had accumulated inside Talon, slowly building until it finally reached the threshold required for evolution.

{The proposed explanation is incorrect.}

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

‘Then what happened?’

{Race Crystals do not function by accumulating residual energy until a beast evolves. Their effects do not work in the manner suggested.}

Ethan frowned.

‘So it evolved on its own?’

{The most likely explanation is that Talon achieved an independent breakthrough under extreme conditions.}

He fell silent, reading the notification again.

Independent breakthrough.

The System didn’t provide a more definitive explanation, but the answer made a strange kind of sense. After so many failed attempts at evolution, perhaps Talon had simply refused to accept another defeat.

‘Damn…’

Ethan’s smile faded slightly.

He remembered what he’d said to Talon before it summoned itself and rubbed the back of his neck.

‘You know I didn’t mean that shit, buddy.’

He got an aloof caw in response and chuckled to himself.

‘Whatever the reason, it saved my ass.’

Things had worked out ridiculously well for Ethan, and he recognised that.

He glanced at the tattoos covering his body.

A smile crept onto his face.

‘Water from the Leviathan. Wind from Talon. Fire from Spark. Lightning from Storm… And then there was Wolfy.’

Ethan stared at his reflection for another moment.

‘I’m accidentally becoming like that bald kid who can use all the elements.’

The thought made him snort.

He’d never imagined his Title would turn him into something resembling an all-element powerhouse, but here he was, collecting various beasts and wielding their abilities.

And he was only getting started.

His grin returned.

‘I’m officially B-Rank now.’

It had been a long time coming, but considering everything he’d gained, he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Ethan grabbed his clothes, already thinking about the possibilities ahead.

‘All right. Let’s see what being B Rank gets me.’