Chapter 17

"Eugene, your class is 'Beastman', right?" Theodore glanced behind him and used 'Gaze of Wisdom.'

<

HP: 370,000/370,000

Species: Awakened Human

Age: 23

Rank: B

Class: Beastman

Specialty: Heavy Weaponry. Brawling.

[Level of the attribute 'Gaze of Wisdom' is still too low to view the other informations.]>>

Eugene was surprised. "H—How did you know?"

No one was supposed to know of his real class, he'd especially kept it a secret for years even while being a slave to the Griffins.

"Let's just say that I know." Theodore replied, he was surprised to know Eugene's actual class too, since everyone's been told that he was a 'Berserker', which usually uses bare hands or large blades in battle, just like the 'Beastmen' class.

<

Lineage: Fighter

Type: Close Range

Specialty: Transformation

Description: A class which specializes in close quarter combat, a human that's awakened as a 'Fighter' will have the chance of becoming a 'Beastmen' under the right conditions. The Beastman Sub-Class is an extremely rare yet powerful class, allowing the human to transform into a mighty beast and utilizing its abilities. The Beastman is very similar to the Berserker class in which they both have immense strength and will often use heavy weaponry, however, Beastmen can only use their full potential when undergoing transformation from a special skill: 'Beast Transformation'.>>

Basically, Beastmen are the natural way of gaining the 'Beast Transformation' skill.

Merlin was naturally surprised about this as well. "Why did you keep it a secret? You could become famous with that skill!"

"Because I don't want to be famous! I heard that all Beastmen were kept in labs since it's a rare awakening" Eugene was flustered, the fear of being used as a test subject lingered as he spoke.

"Don't just start chatting now." Theodore hissed, causing the jaguar in front of him to flinch and took a step back. "Eugene, you take the front, Merlin, if it starts using its electricity, shoot it."

"Okay!" None of the two men had time to protest, Merlin took aim at the target but Eugene still seemed a little hesitant.

"I need time!" The brunet shouted as he prepared to use his skill.

Since Theodore had already suspected that 'Beast Transformation' would require some preparation, he knew he would need to hold out until Eugene was ready.

"Right." He tightened his muscles and sprung forward, startling the jaguar, who edged to the side, narrowly avoiding his fangs.

It was about to fire lightning from its body but Merlin stopped it for a split second as he let go of his knocked arrow, it landed on the jaguar's right thigh, causing it to scream in pain.

Theodore didn't waste this opportunity and adjusted his angle before launching himself at the beast again, this time, his attack connected and he managed to land a bite on its back.

"Grraor!" The jaguar struggled, trying to get itself out of Theo's mouth.

[The Personal Attribute 'Venom' has been activated!]

[The Skill 'Master of Poison' has been activated!]

…

[Error! The status effect 'Poisoned' has been dispelled by the Thunder Cat's skill: 'Battle of Beasts'!]

'What?' Theodore was startled by the sudden notification, his skills had never failed before so this immediately caused him to panic, although he remained calm enough to bite harder onto the jaguar.

<

Type: Passive Skill

User: Thunder Cat (Jaguar)

Description: The skill becomes active the moment the user enters a battle, it favors nothing but a fair fight. Only brute strength is allowed and cowardly debuffs will be dispelled immediately when applied. Not only that, other attacks that aren't from the main target will only deal 40% of its original strength. Nothing shall ever stand in the way of a battle between beasts!>>

"F*ck! What even is that skill!?"

"Theo? What's wrong?" Merlin halted after hearing his friend cursed.

"You guys will deal less damage because of this thing's skill!" Theodore was about to start constricting the jaguar when suddenly he felt pain bursting through his body.

Because Merlin didn't interrupt it, the Thunder Cat managed to let out its powerful electrical bolts. It was strong enough that even when the ginger tried to shoot it with his arrow, the projectile simply combusted and disappeared.

"Theo!" Merlin cried out before turning to Eugene. "Dude! How long is this going to take!?"

"Just a bit more…!" The brunet was sweating from head to toe, his expression scrunched into a frown, as if he was in pain.

Theodore couldn't move as his muscles tightened, it gave enough time for the jaguar to start pushing him away until it broke free of its binds, leaving him standing in place, paralyzed.

[You've been inflicted with the 'Paralysis' status condition!]

[Your speed has decreased by 40%!]

[The Skill 'Scales of the Serpent' is trying to dispel 'Paralysis'!]

[Your speed has increased by 20%]

[The Bloodline Skill 'Super Regeneration' has been automatically activated!]

'Wait.' Theodore fought through the pain and opened his status window, specifically, he was looking at his remaining hit points:

<

MP: 1,175/1,175

Status Condition: Paralysis (57% dispelled)>>

'Don't use Super Regeneration.'

Theodore stared at the jaguar, it was bleeding heavily from the bite marks that he had inflicted on it, although it still managed to remain standing as it let out a low growl, showing that it was still able to fight.

Though as the both of them were about to rush in again, something tackled the Thunder Cat and sent it flying against a nearby tree.

Standing in the cat's place stood a 2-meters-tall beast. It has messy, dark blue fur with raven black tinged on the tips. It wore clothes, although it was tattered as if it had been torn apart. Its eyes gleamed a fierce sapphire and its claws were a sharp silver.

It was a werewolf.

"Eugene!"

"…I don't like this." The wolf spoke in a familiar tone, sounding tired but otherwise in good health. "I haven't used it a lot, so I still feel pain during shifting."

"It doesn't matter, you did good." Theodore turned towards the jaguar, it stood by the tree that'd been dented due to the impact, but because of its skill, it sustained little damage.

"Grr…" Electricity discharged from its body until a large bolt shot towards Eugene, it was still faster than his increased senses so it was certain that he would be hit.

Theodore didn't waste any seconds and immediately jumped forward between the attack, taking the full brunt of the hit and causing a large explosion which englufed the area in smoke.

"Theo!" Merlin shouted as he stepped forward, firing off three enhanced arrows at the jaguar. It dodged two of them while one landed on its left front leg, but that obviously didn't hinder its movements much at all.

Eugene backed away with widened eyes, surprised about Theodore's choice. "Theodore!" He called out his name.

When there was no response, all hope seemed lost from the two men's faces. The jaguar let out a low growl, as if sending farewells to a respected enemy.

The Thunder Cat turned around and began walking away when suddenly the temperature dropped.

"Great Lord of the Arctic."

<

MP: 625/1,175

[The Skill 'Persistence' has been activated! Your stats have increased!]

Cold air burst through the smoke as it began to clear out, revealing a large, shining blue magic circle and Theodore standing behind it with his head perked high, staring straight at the surprised jaguar.

"May your presence freeze all that is not yet your domain. Descend and cast this land into eternal winter."

[Devouring Winter]

[The Bloodline Skill 'Coldest Death' is increasing your magic's power!]

The ground and trees rapidly began to catch frost, soon the entire area turned into a winter wasteland as snow fell from above and ice spikes rose from the frozen floor.

The Thunder Cat was flustered, under the influence of 'Predator of All', it felt fear towards the serpent and immediately tried to run away.

However, by the time that thought crossed the jaguar's mind, it was already too late.

Chains of ice shot forward and wrapped themselves around its target's body, although since it has the skill 'Battle of Beasts', it didn't freeze nor did 'Discord of the Flesh' worked on it.

However, making it immobile was enough of an achievement.

<

HP: 10/400,000>>

"…To think you can use magic." The Thunder Cat finally spoke for the first time, it turned its eyes towards Theodore, who was slithering closer to it.

"Everything I've killed so far was surprised too." He said while staring down at the cat.

Eugene and Merlin stepped closer, their breath showing due to the cold, but because they weren't his target, Devouring Winter didn't affect them just as much.

"Are they talking to each other?" Eugene turned to Merlin.

"You can't hear them?"

"No, I still haven't gotten Animal Empathy, maybe it's because I don't use Beast Transformation much."

Theodore's attention was fixated on the jaguar, sparks still flew off of the spots on its body, although the chains from his spell had restricted its power to an extent. "Before you die, would you mind telling me more about you gate creatures?"

"Heh, I thought you would know, aren't you just like us?"

"…No." Theodore didn't know how to feel about the cat's reply, he hadn't thought of himself becoming 'just like them' since his soul was still human.

"Really, so the rumors of the so-called 'Serpent God' are true." The Thunder Cat sneered, although it more or less was directed at itself. "Shame, if only I had believed it then I wouldn't be so careless around those humans." It turned its gaze towards Merlin and Eugene.

"You didn't even consider them a threat."

"That first attack was on me, that little archer sure did let everything snowball to this point." The jaguar sighed, it was a lot better at accepting its fate than the rest of the powerful monsters Theodore had slain. "And that werewolf, I thought he was just a weak human, turns out the smell of a beast was his and not yours."

"You were cautious, I'll give you that." He spoke as he prepared to activate his skill, his body's frame glowed a soft green. "But it wasn't enough, now tell me, where did you guys come from and why?"

"There's no point, either way I die." The jaguar relaxed, not bothering to struggle against the cold chains. "Besides, I don't even know why I was sent here. We were simply told that we were 'getting a new home'."

"…Go on."

"All you have to know is that humanity isn't the only victim here." It continued. "I can't say anything further, since that would break 'The Contract', and I would rather die by your fangs than face eternal torment. Now, let me rest."

Theodore still had many questions that he wanted to ask, although it seemed that the Thunder Cat physically couldn't tell him even if it wanted to, so he released his skill, deplored.

[Ambitious Snake: Devour]

…

After the jaguar had been eaten, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Holy sh*t…" Eugene shifted back into his human form, his clothes were still torn from the transformation. "Can we go back now? I don't like this place."

"We can take an hour break, but we're not turning back." Theodore replied as he began coiling into himself, activating Super Regeneration and let his hit points recover. "If you guys are injured I'll heal you."

Merlin crashed onto the ground and dropped his bow, he rested his arms on his knees before sighing again. "We weren't even 'bait' in that fight, why do you even need us to come with you anyway? That spell is already enough to take down something like that!"

Theodore watched the trees slowly coming back to life. "You guys are backup, besides, you did help me."

"Yeah, I landed a tackle." Eugene rolled his eyes.

"I shot it twice." Merlin added.

"Well, you're also emotional support, I would've given up if you guys were here."

"I call bullsh*t." The ginger frowned with a shake of his head.

"Same." Eugene spoke as they both narrowed his eyes at him with doubtful expressions.

Theodore would've shrugged if he could. "Believe what you will. Just get some rest for now, we still need to continue our journey."

"Your journey." Merlin muttered as he leaned backwards until he fell onto the newly revived grass bed.

Theodore stared at the empty air in front of him before opening his attribute window, checking it out while he rested his stamina.

After seeing his stats and comparing it to the fight, he still felt that his current strength was lacking.

'What if Merlin didn't interrupt it first? I would've taken way too much damage than necessary…'

That battle could've been his last.

'I still need to get stronger.'

.

.

.

[You have completed the Hidden Quest: True Predator. Would you like to view your rewards?]

…

[The Thunder Cat has been digested, showing consumable skills.]

<

-Battle of Beasts [Skill]

A skill that sets the battlefield for a brawl of mights, you and your primary target under the influence of this skill will not be able to inflict any debuffs onto you. Any and all damage other than yours and the target's will be reduced by 20%

-Wild Thunder [Skill]

The sky's most powerful weapon is at your command, with this skill, you can generate electricity out of your body and use it as you see fit, whether it would be for offense or defense, you naturally gain a sense of control over lightning. However, your attacks can steer off if you're not actively focusing on it. (Choosing this skill will give you the 'Lightning' element.)

-Thunderous Roar [Attribute]

Your voice will be filled with overwhelming authority no man nor beast can deny, your roar will etched itself into your enemy's mind, causing fear to stir within them. Thunderous Roar inflicts the 'Fear' and 'Confusion' debuffs onto those you consider your target while you and your allies will gain the 'Authoritative' and 'Mighty' buffs instead.

-Agility [Attribute]

[Since you already possess the Personal Attribute 'Agility', choosing this option will add 1 Level to the skill.]>

Theodore's attention snapped to the screens that'd appeared in front of his vision. For the past hour, he and his friends had been doing nothing but sitting still and occasionally chatting, so for Theo the notification was the break in the boring minutes of rest.

'There's no point in picking Agility…'

He immediately began contemplating his skill choices.

'System, why is the Battle of Beasts' skill different?'

[The Thunder Cat's skill 'Battle of Beasts' was Level 3.]

He might consider it an option if not for the fact that he already has 'Predator of All', the hassle of leveling up Battle of Beasts for it to be useful will hinder his plans of getting stronger in a short span.

'I don't want a support skill, so that leaves me with this...'

Theodore's choice was narrowed down to 'Wild Thunder'. After confirming his decision, his status window appeared and the skill's name wrote itself onto the 'Skills' section.

<

Species: The Ouroboros Serpent (20 Meters)

Lvl: 38

EXP: 1,380,000/2,300,000

Skill Points: 1,175

HP: 305,000/305,000

MP: 1,175/1,175

Rank: A+

Attack: 545 (A)

Speed: 415 (B+)

Defense: 845 (S-)

Charm: 65 (E+)

Intelligence: 135 (D-)

Magic: 425 (B+)

Elements: Ice. Fire. Draconic. Lightning. [NEW!]

Personal Attributes: Gaze of Wisdom (Lvl.6). Thermal Vision (Lvl.MAX). Venom (Lvl.5). Agility (Lvl. 3). Tongue Receptor (Lvl.5). Will to Live (Lvl.2). Deitify (Lvl.MAX). All-Speak (Lvl.MAX). Greater than Dragons (Lvl.MAX). Dragon's Heart (LVL.MAX). Scales of the Serpent (Lvl.1)

Skills: Ice Magic (Lvl.5). Ambitious Snake: Devour (Lvl.3). Master of Poison (Lvl.2). Persistence (Lvl.2). Flames of Pride (Lvl.3). Uriel's Blessings (Lvl.1). Wild Thunder (Lvl.1) [NEW!]

Bloodline Skills: Embodiment of Chaos (Lvl.3). Super Regeneration [50%] (Lvl.4). Corrupting Touch [50%] (Lvl. 3). Divine Blaze (Lvl.2). Coldest Death (Lvl.2). Predator of All (Lvl.1). The Great Cycle (Lvl.1)>>

Seeing his experience points, Theodore recalled that he'd just finished a quest. 'System, show me the rewards.'

<

Rewards: 1 Level added to the Bloodline Skil 'Predator of All'. 20 Skill Points. A new Personal Attribute.>>

[Your status window has been refreshed.]

Theodore's eyes wandered to the lower half of the panel, seeing that his skill 'Predator of All' had indeed gained a level.

But he was more focused on the new attribute that he was given.

[Apex Predator]

<

Lvl. MAX

Type: Passive Skill

Requirement for Upgrade: None. (Evolutions available.)

Cooldown: None.

Description: You're at the top of the food chain, a true hunter all with the instincts of beast fear yet respected; aspire to become you, even. With this attribute, any and all creatures (including Gate Creatures and Humans) will all feel a sense of dread when faced against your mighty fangs, your mere presence induces fear into all that is considered to be lower than you. However, always remember: Even the best of monarchs can be dethroned.>>

There was a lot of information to digest in a single seating, but nonetheless Theodore was satisfied, he didn't mind getting another debuffing skill on top of his pre existing ones, they're not a priority though they're useful for his 'Deitify' skill.

'Fear is the best way to gather faith…'

Theodore perked his head up, which startled the two men awake, they seemed to be on high alert even when resting and his sudden movement caused them to flinch.

"Theo?" Merlin was ready to pick up his bow.

"It's nothing, I was about to say that we should get going now."

"Ah."

Theodore turned his head around and began slithering, seeing that the sun was a few hours before setting, he figured it was best they get a move on.

Merlin and Eugene tiredly followed behind him, they were still burnt out from the close call with the Thunder Cat, even though they weren't in any immediate danger because of Theo, facing death still took a toll on them mentally.

"...I haven't gotten the chance to ask yet, but why are we traveling again?" Eugene's voice cut through the silence.

"He wants to level up." Merlin replied instead.

"What?"

After the 'First Gate' incident, people were given game-like powers and attributes, however, there weren't any sort of leveling system like Theodore's, so Eugene was confused by Merlin's words.

"It came with me like a package." Theo said without looking behind him. "I got reborn with this ability, I just know how many things I need to kill and where are the best spots to grind."

Eugene still looked skeptical, but he didn't entirely disbelieve him, after all, his old classmate had come back to life five years after his death, it would just be denial if he didn't consider Theo's words as true. "But if it follows the concepts of video games…Wouldn't that mean you need to fight…Like…Either a lot of weak monsters or a super strong one?"

"The Ancient Cavern has a 'very strong one', or so I've been told." Theodore sounded delighted, as if the thought of fighting something several times more powerful than himself was exciting for him.

"What even is the point of bringing us with you?"

"Didn't I already tell you? You guys are good baits for the monsters."

"Hey!"

Theodore didn't speak any further and kept crawling as the two men following from behind began throwing insults at him.

He didn't care when people speak ill of him anyway, besides that, they make good company and having some background noise to listen to kept him occupied.

Though their spirited remarks about his whole ancestry lines would soon come to an end.

By the time Theodore stopped and peaked his head up, dark blue had already seeped onto the orange canvas up above, signaling nightfall.

They were now entering the Ancient Cavern's area.