{Beast Acquired!}
{Beast Capacity: 1/1}
The notifications hovered in the air, glowing faintly against the shadowed forest. Ethan barely had time to register them before two more lines followed.
{Beast Assimilation Skill Unlocked!}
{10 MP awarded!}
A sudden warmth bloomed in his chest.
It wasn't painful; if anything, it was the opposite, soothing as it settled inside him. Threading through his veins, it spread around his body, sinking into his very muscles and bones.
'So this is MP?'
Ethan inhaled sharply, flexing his fingers as the sensation pulsed beneath his skin.
'Mana, energy, or whatever else... It's incredible.'
This was his first taste of the supernatural, and he couldn't help but be amazed. It was something entirely foreign, and it almost felt like he had a living entity with a life of its own swirling around his body.
Not that he was complaining.
It reduced the ache and pain in his body, though he didn't seem to be able to control whatever it was directly, at least not yet.
When he focused again, the translucent interface unfolded before his eyes.
Four tabs now floated in his vision to choose from: Objectives, Status, and two others.
He opened Status first.
{Current Status}
{Name: Ethan Crowe
Title: Lord of Beasts
Titled Rank: E
Strength: 8.5
Speed: 11
Stamina: 8
MP: 10
Beasts: 1/2
Skills: Beast Assimilation (D)}
Ethan stared.
'So I went from F to E Rank. I guess that means I'm officially a Titled now.'
The thought left him smiling to himself.
Ten MP, a beast, and a skill.
Not a bad haul, though, considering he'd almost died moments ago, he wasn't sure it was exactly worth it.
Ethan then briefly checked the Objectives tab to find that it was still that same single daunting objective, before navigating to one of the two new tabs.
Beasts.
Immediately, he was greeted by some new guidance.
{Beast Capacity (by Rank):
F: 1 | E: 2 | D: 3 | C: 4 | B: 5 | A: 6 | S: 7}
'So capacity scales with rank,' Ethan noted. 'And becoming E Rank unlocked another slot.'
'I probably needed a beast to officially be considered a Titled, or maybe it was the MP. Either way, I've still got a long way to go.'
A small, tired smile tugged at his lips.
The fact that becoming an S Rank was even a possibility lit a fire within him, though he would be lying if he said that beast capacity wasn't a little disappointing.
'I thought I'd end up commanding an army of beasts, but I guess 7 will have to do.'
Below the chart, a single entry pulsed faintly.
{Beast Status}
{Name: N/A
Race: Ulfen
Growth Stage: Infant
Beast Rank: E
Beast Potential: C
Strength: 10
Speed: 10
Stamina: 10
MP: 0}
{Please provide a name for your beast.}
Ethan didn't hesitate, 'Wolfy.'
The system accepted it instantly.
He barely spared it a thought, since it didn't seem to matter. Instead, his attention was piqued by the additional information he now had about his beast.
'C rank potential,' His gaze lingered. 'So if I raise it properly, whatever that involves, it could be pretty useful.'
Then something clicked as he looked down.
The corpse he sat on, the Ulfen he'd fought for his life against, had been a juvenile, not an infant. Its stats were also higher than his current beast's.
Understanding settled in quickly.
'So this isn't the same beast. I guess that makes sense, my title isn't Beast Necromancer.'
Ethan was accepting everything as if it were completely normal.
'Killing a beast gives me its race,' he concluded. 'Not the exact individual.'
That seemed bothersome - no undead army of beasts or instantly powerful pack. But how did he even use the beast he named Wolfy? It wasn't like he could summon it, at least not yet.
Before he could dwell on it, new information surfaced beneath the Beast Status.
{Beast Growth Stages}
{The following are the five primary growth stages:
Infant - Early life stage, underdeveloped body, behaviour driven by basic instinct
Juvenile - Growth-focused stage, rapid physical change and adaptation.
Prime - Fully grown body, peak physical condition and development
Mature - Post-prime stage, fully stabilised biological functions and refined bodily control
Elder - Advanced age, onset of physical decline offset by accumulated experience}
{Growth stage significantly influences a beast's size, physical condition, biological structure, and overall capability}
Ethan exhaled slowly.
'So this Ulfen,' he looked down once again, 'was only a juvenile.'
It put things into perspective and made him realise that what he'd killed wasn't even close to its peak.
A chill ran through him.
Then another line caught his eye.
{Evolutionary Shards: 1}
'So this is the currency - it wouldn't be a system without one.'
For half a second, a smile appeared.
Then the rest of the information loaded.
{Evolutionary Shards (on Kill):
E Rank: 1 | D Rank: 10 | C Rank: 100 | B Rank: 1,000 | A Rank: 10,000 | S Rank: 100,000}
{Beast Evolution Costs (Potential-Capped):
E → D: 100 shards | D → C: 1,000 shards | C → B: 10,000 shards | B → A: 100,000 shards | A → S: 1,000,000 shards}
Ethan's smile vanished.
'So to evolve one beast… I need to kill how many fucking beasts?'
His mind began with the calculations. Maths wasn't exactly his strong point, but this was simple enough, just counting the zeroes.
A hundred E Ranks just to hit D.
Another hundred D Ranks to reach C.
And for S Rank evolution?
Ten S Rank kills!
"That's insane," he muttered aloud.
He let out a slow breath.
'I've got my work cut out for me.'
And that would only be the ranks of his beasts, who knew how that translated to his own rank.
Then again, nothing in his life had ever been easy.
Some people awakened broken titles and skipped straight to the top.
Unfortunately, it didn't seem like he was one of them, and he would have to struggle his way to the top. But as much as he would have to endure, he wouldn't have it any other way.
There was no point dwelling on things he was so far from; as such, his eyes shifted to the final of the four tabs on the floating system interface, the Skills tab.
The moment he opened it, a massive branching structure unfolded before him. Three main paths spread outward like the roots of an ancient tree.
Only one glowed.
The other two were locked - greyed out, their branches splintering into dozens of sub-skills he couldn't access... yet.
{Beast Assimilation - allows the user to integrate with acquired beasts. Effects vary by the Stage of the skill used.}
He selected it, and more details appeared.
{Stage 1 - Minor Assimilation (D): 25% stat inheritance, minor physical traits only. Cost: 1 MP + 1 MP/min. Heavy stamina drain - UNLOCKED}
{Stage 2 - Partial Assimilation (B): 50% stat inheritance, partial transformation. Cost: 2 MP + 2 MP/min. Severe physical and mental strain - LOCKED}
{Stage 3 - Complete Assimilation (S): 100% stat inheritance, full fusion. Cost: 4 MP + 4 MP/min. Extreme physical and psychological burden - LOCKED}
Ethan swallowed.
'This is… ridiculous.'
Even Stage 1 let him borrow a quarter of a beast's power, which, depending on the beast, could be incredible.
And that was just the beginning of this skill.
Meanwhile, the greyed-out branches hinted at many other skills - evolutions and synergies he couldn't even comprehend yet.
If his beasts could grow, and his skills could evolve, then it was only a matter of time. This wasn't just about surviving; it was about climbing.
S Ranks flashed through his mind again, those living disasters that nations fought to control.
'If I survive,' he thought, a slow smile spreading despite the pain burning through his body, 'I can reach them.'
Blood soaked his clothes, and his wounds screamed with every breath. He was exhausted, alone, and trapped in a forest that clearly wanted him dead. And yet...
He laughed softly.
Not because his predicament was funny.
But because, for the first time since his release, he had something worth fighting for.
'Lord Of Beasts…' His eyes hardened with resolve. 'I like it.'