The beast—the massive, fur-covered monster I had just tamed—stood silently beside me, breathing heavy but calm. Its yellow eyes had lost their ferocity, replaced by something close to recognition... maybe even respect. I could feel it through our connection—something unspoken yet unbreakable.
I took a step back, still trying to wrap my head around what had just happened.
"I tamed that thing... with mana," I whispered, glancing down at my hands. They weren't trembling. In fact, I felt calmer than I ever had in my old life. There was something incredibly natural about this. Like I was made for it.
Another SYSTEM NOTIFICATION appeared before me:
New Title Unlocked: Beast Tamer of Viraelon
Your affinity with wild creatures has increased.
Bond Strength +25%.
Tamed Beast Limit: 3
Three? That meant I could tame more. My eyes flicked toward the forest around me—suddenly, every rustle in the bushes and shadow between the trees felt like an opportunity.
The beast beside me let out a low growl—not aggressive, more like a warning.
I turned.
From the edge of the clearing, another figure approached. Not a beast. Not a creature.
A person.
Tall, wrapped in a gray hooded cloak with dark leather armor underneath. Their boots made no sound as they moved through the underbrush, which was a bad sign. Hunters don't make noise.
The figure stopped a few paces away and pushed the hood back, revealing a woman—sharp eyes, silver hair tied into a braid, and a scar that ran from her cheek to her neck like lightning carved into skin.
"Well," she said coolly, eyeing the beast at my side, "either you've got a death wish… or you're not from around here."
I blinked. "Uh. The second one?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Figures. No one tames a Direwolf on their first day without dying halfway through."
Direwolf. So that's what it was.
The woman approached cautiously, her hand resting on the hilt of a curved blade strapped to her hip.
"I saw the beam of mana from the ridge," she continued. "Bright enough to blind a wyvern. You trying to start a forest fire or just show off?"
"Neither," I said. "I didn't even know I could do that. I just… did it."
Her eyes narrowed. "Mana instinctive reaction. Interesting." She paused, studying me. "You've got the look of a fresh respawn. Rebirth? System grant?"
I nodded slowly. "I think I died. Then I woke up here. And the system gave me some kind of title—SSS-Rated Beast Hunter."
She actually laughed. Not mocking—more like disbelief.
"SSS?" she echoed. "That's not even supposed to be possible. Most elites cap at A-rank, maybe S in legends. You're telling me the system threw triple-S at a newborn?"
"Yeah. With infinite mana, too."
She stopped laughing.
Then, without warning, she stepped forward and reached out—her palm pressing flat against my chest. A soft, glowing sigil formed between us—circular, with wild runes that shimmered for a second before vanishing.
"…You weren't lying," she muttered. "You're radiating more mana than a nexus gate. That shouldn't be—"
The forest suddenly trembled. The Direwolf beside me growled low again.
Branches cracked.
A deep, guttural snarl echoed from the trees.
This time, it wasn't a single beast.
It was a pack.
And something bigger.
The woman drew her blade in one smooth motion. "We need to move. Now."
"Wait—what's coming?"
She didn't look back. "An Alpha. And if it catches your scent, no amount of infinite mana will save you."
I turned to the Direwolf. It growled, lowered itself slightly… and then looked at me, waiting.
Waiting for a command.
For the first time, I spoke with certainty: "Guard her. Follow me."
It obeyed without hesitation.
The woman shot me a glance. "Alright, triple-S… maybe you're not a fluke after all."
And together, we vanished into the shadows of the ancient forest—on the run from something even more monstrous than my first tamed beast.
But something told me this was just the beginning.