[You have acquired the class: Beast Tamer.]
Orion was stunned—but soon, his expression turned into a grin.
"Beast taming, huh?" he muttered, looking at the beasts before him. They were currently fighting with each other over some fruit.
"You guys like this fruit?" Orion picked up a few of the acorn-like fruits and tossed them over.
The beasts immediately stopped fighting and began eating.
Then Orion focused on the new class.
"System, show me the description."
[Beast Tamer (A-rank)]
A common class. Usually obtained by individuals with a high level of compatibility with Beasts.
Class-based skills:
Active Skills:
• Communication: Allows the host to command tamed beasts from a great distance.
• Shared Senses: Temporarily see and hear through a tamed beast
Passive Skills:
• None
"Shared senses…" Orion murmured, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
"That would be a great skill for spying."
Let's see how these skills work.
"Communication," he muttered.
Nothing happened.
"…Huh?"
"That's how I use most of my skills," Orion said, frowning in confusion.
"System, how do I use these skills?"
[To use Beast Taming skills, the host must first feel the bond between the host and the beasts.]
Orion immediately followed the system's instructions.
He closed his eyes and concentrated.
At first, there was nothing.
Then—slowly—he felt it.
A faint but undeniable connection linking him to the two creatures.
It felt warm…
So this is the bond.
Orion focused his thoughts.
Stop fighting. He commanded the two beasts in his mind.
The beasts, who were still bickering lightly, froze.
Then they backed away from each other.
They complied.
Orion opened his eyes, staring at them in disbelief.
"…It worked."
Encouraged, he closed his eyes again.
This time, he focused on Shared Senses.
The bond pulsed.
Suddenly—
Darkness.
Complete darkness.
He couldn't tell whether his eyes were open or closed.
There was no sound.
No sensation.
It felt as if he had entered another dimension.
Then—
A faint blue light appeared.
The darkness shattered.
And Orion could see again.
'Wait…'
'Is that… me?'
Orion stared at his own body—from a different angle.
'I'm looking at myself… through one of my beast's eyes.'
His eyes widened.
'That's so cool… There are so many things I can do with this skill!'
Satisfied, Orion released his focus.
In an instant, his senses returned to normal.
He let out a breath and laughed softly.
Then he reached out and gently patted the beasts' fur.
"Calling you both 'creature' or 'beast' all the time isn't very appropriate," he said.
"I should give you names."
He paused.
Naming things was… not his strong point.
Once, his parents had brought home a cat.
He named it Donald.
"…Yeah."
"Alright," Orion said, looking at the bunny-like creature.
"Your name will be Max."
"Kuuu! Kuuu! Kuuu!"
Max hopped around excitedly.
"Oh, you like it?" Orion sighed in relief.
"That's good."
Then he turned to the red-panda-like creature.
"And you…"
He froze.
Nothing came to mind.
"Khuuuu!"
The red panda stomped its feet, clearly annoyed.
"Alright, alright—no need to get angry," Orion said quickly.
"Since you have red fur… your name will be Axl."
"Kuuuuu!"
Axl seemed pleased.
'Thank God.'
After exploring his new Beast Tamer skills and playing with Axl and Max, he finally decided to begin his journey again.
"Let's go, boys," Orion said, smiling.
"We've got a long journey ahead of us."
Then he paused.
"Come to think of it… Max, do you have any special abilities?"
As if responding to his question, Max suddenly leaped toward a nearby small tree and began kicking it.
And after kicking it a few times–
BOOM!
The tree snapped and collapsed.
Orion stared, dumbfounded.
"…How does such a tiny, innocent-looking creature do that much damage?"
He shook his head.
"Anyway, let's get out of here before monsters come running because of the noise."
Thus began their journey toward civilization.
After walking for several miles, Orion noticed something strange.
They were going upward.
The higher they went, the thinner the trees became.
"It feels like we're climbing a mountain…"
Eventually, Orion stopped beneath a tall tree.
"Alright, boys. Let's camp here for the night. What do you say?"
"Kuuuuu!"
"Kuuuuu!"
They sounded happy.
Orion picked both of them up and used Flash Movement, landing on a thick branch.
"Hoh…" He exhaled.
"I'm exhausted."
Just as he was about to close his eyes—
He saw it.
A faint light, far in the distance.
"Huh?"
Orion squinted.
It was moving.
And it wasn't natural.
It wasn't from monsters.
It was artificial.
"… Civilization."
Excitement surged through him.
Finally, he would get to eat real food and wouldn't have to survive on magic stones anymore.
He would meet new people, new races, and finally explore all the places this world had to offer.
"God… I can't wait."
But reason prevailed.
Traveling through the forest at night was dangerous.
And that light was far away—at least a day's journey.
Swallowing his excitement, Orion forced himself to sleep.
Though his mind kept racing with thoughts of what awaited him…
What he didn't notice was how sharply the land continued to rise.
Or the massive stone cliff standing between him and civilization.
"Yawn…"
Orion woke up to something licking his face.
Max and Axl stared at him anxiously.
They had been worried—he had slept until midday.
"…You guys," Orion sighed.
Then he looked around.
And froze.
"…God."
Before him stood a colossal stone cliff. It stretched as far as his eyes could see, leaving no way around it.
"Do I really have to climb that?" he grumbled.
"I'm a dragon—why can't I fly like one?"
After realizing that complaining wouldn't help.
They moved on.
The day was filled with dodging monsters—and fighting when they couldn't avoid it.
When Orion fought alongside his newly tamed beasts for the first time, he was stunned.
Max's kicks utterly crushed E- and F-rank monsters.
And Axl could heal from a distance—without even touching the wound.
It made Orion's life much easier.
After hours of travel, they finally stood before the cliff.
It was over 400 meters tall.
Smooth.
No footholds.
Flash Movement was useless.
"…Guess I'll have to do this the hard way."
Orion extended his claws and began climbing.
Max and Axl clung to his shoulders.
Blood dripped from his fingers.
But eventually—
He made it.
"Haa… haa…"
Exhausted, Orion collapsed at the top.
But when he looked around—
He froze.
He was still in a jungle.
But this one was normal.
No glowing plants.
No distorted trees.
Orio looked down from the top of the cliff, and then he noticed just where he had been
A massive circular impact crater stretched before him, so large that he couldn't see its full shape at once. A towering ring of stone formed its walls, rising high like an unbreakable barrier around the land. At the bottom of the crater lay a dense, living jungle, filled with trees and hidden life. And at its center stood three enormous mountains, so huge that even Mount Everest would look small beside them.
"…That's probably where the dungeon is," he said, looking at the mountains.
"…Damn."
Its beauty and sheer scale left him speechless.
It reminded him again—
This was a world of magic.
And even now, that thought made him nervous.
"Haa… anyway."
"Let's find civilization."
And so—
They began their journey once again.