Two Months Pass...
Two months had passed since Boy's brutal lesson in the nature of summoners.
The memory of the first contract and the betrayal that followed still lingered in his mind, but the pain had hardened into something else- resolve.
In the past two months, Boy had thrown himself into hunting, training, and working towards completing the mission. Every day had a clear aim and was a battle with every night being a test of endurance.
He had tracked beasts, learned their weaknesses, and refined his combat instincts. His skills had sharpened and his Aether control had improved.
But most importantly- he had become stronger.
Currently Boy was crouched low, his muscles tensed and coiled like a tightened spring as he circled his final opponent- a massive, armoured boar with jagged tusks and bloodshot eyes.
The beast snorted as it pawed the ground aggressively, its breath misting in the cold night air with clear injuries on its body.
It had already taken several hits, but it refused to go down.
This was not your normal run of the mill, or in this case, forest, prey. It was a veteran of the wild, a relentless force of nature in the forest as it was E ranked.
But tonight, it faced something far more dangerous… far more cunning… Boy…
The boar charged forward, its hooves tearing through the dirt, a testament to its strength and weight.
On the other side, Boy waited, watching carefully, calculating… Then, just before impact-
Spirit Dash!
His body suddenly sparked purple as it blurred, a streak of shadow of speed as he sidestepped the oncoming beast.
The boar crashed into the spot where he had just stood, its momentum carrying it forward uncontrollably, providing an opening.
And Boy was not going to let it pass by as he capitalised on it.
Shadow Bite!
His fangs, wreathed in a glowing purple energy, clamped onto the boar's exposed neck with a soft 'puchi' noise.
The beast screeched out in pain, thrashing wildly as its thick hide helped resist the brunt of the attack.
But Boy did not let go.
He dug his claws into the boar's back, anchoring himself.
'That's… gonna hurt…'
The boar, realising this, flew into a frenzy as it flailed and slammed itself against the nearest tree, trying to dislodge Boy.
Thwack!
The impact rattled his bones as the tree cracked, creating a large hole, but he held firm.
'I have played with you long enough' he thought as a shot of pain was pulsing through his back.
Shadows of the Pack!
Tendril of darkness slithered from his body, taking the shape of two shadowy clones. The spectral hyenas materialised on either side of the struggling beast as their hollow eyes gleamed with eerie intelligence.
And as soon as they formed, the clones struck. One lunged at the boar's hind legs, sinking its shadowy fangs deep, while the other darted in and struck its sharp teeth down on the beast's exposed flank.
Upon impact, the boar's attention was temporarily taken away from Boy and in that instant, he let go and bit down once again, in the same spot.
Shadow Bite!
In that moment, he felt the thick hide of the boar give way as he felt himself strike deeper and a shot of blood followed.
The beast screamed in agony as it let out a loud shriek, its movement slowly grew sluggish as its body succumbed to the overwhelming assault.
Blood pooled beneath it, staining the forest floor. Boy released his grip, landing smoothly as the beast swayed, its strength finally failing.
Crash!
It collapsed with a heavy thud, its breath coming in ragged gasps before fading completely.
[Ding! E- Rank Bronze Boar. 100 exp gained. +20AP]
[Mission Complete!
"Strength Above All", Mission:
Level up all core skills to D Rank (Completed)
Defeat 50 beasts (50/50)
Reward: 50 stat points, 10000 exp, 500AP]
[Levelled up! Congratulations, you are now Level 9. Gained 5 stat points.]
Boy stooped over the fallen beast, his breathing steady despite the exhaustion creeping into his limbs.
His fur had been matted with dirt and dried blood from the hardships he had faced in the last few days, but his amber eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
He had done it!
The sound of the notifications from the system had just told him so.
The final beast had fallen, marking the completion of his mission.
A wave of energy coursed through him, reinforcing his body as he absorbed the rewards. His Aether surged, his muscles tightened, and his instincts sharpened.
Nevertheless, there was also a glimmer of disappointment that replaced the satisfaction in his eyes.
Level 9… He was getting closer and closer to reaching level 10 and upon reaching it, he would have to choose his evolution path… He was close, so so close…
And yet, he was still undecided about his next evolution.
These two months, he had also spent it trying to find the strongest beast he could find that he could evolve into.
'That was still far too weak…' he shook his head mentally in disappointment…
None of them were strong enough… There was nothing about them that made him feel like he would benefit from evolving into them.
'I need something that will shake my soul with its power… Something that will scare me to my core… Something that can absolutely destroy anything in its wake…' he idealised once again.
However, he knew that being stuck on this was not going to help and instead, a smile reached his face again as he knew what completing the mission meant.
He took in a deep breath, glancing up at the twilight sky above him. He was now ready, once again to be summoned. And not just that, through being summoned, maybe he could find a creature that would be suitable to be his beast of choice for evolution.
'System status' he called out and immediately a panel appeared before him.
[Name: N/A
Species: Shadow Hyena
Level: 9
Experience: 3,470 /10,000
Rank: F+ Class
Aether: 1130/1780
Base Stats:
- Strength: 31
- Agility: 35
- Endurance: 21
- Intelligence: 19
Unused Points: 55
Traits:
@#$%&*!@$^ (?)[Locked]Aetheric Sensitivity (F)Shadow Affinity (D)Pack Instinct (E)Telepathy (E)
Skills:
Spirit Dash (D): Short burst of speed for evasion or closing distance, granting temporary invulnerability. Range- 20m. (40AP) (9%)Shadow Bite (D): A strong melee attack infused with shadow energy. Chance for shadows to ignore enemy's defences. (60AP) (24%)Shadows of the Pack (D): Summon 2 shadowy duplicate to confuse enemies for 30 seconds. (150AP) (56%)
Evolution Path Progression:
- Current Form: Shadow Hyena
- Next Evolution: Not Decided]
'Put fifteen points into strength, ten into agility, ten into intelligence, and the rest into endurance
[Strength: 31->46
Agility: 33->43
Endurance: 16->31
Intelligence: 29->39]
Upon allocating his points, he began to make his way through the forest…
The stroll had been normal until his heightened senses picked up something unusual…