Taming

"Wait! You two, wait!" an anxious voice called out. Two middle-aged men came hurrying after them.

"Hm? What is it?"

Garen asked with a frown.

Generally, people who didn't know one another in the Magical Beast Mountain Range didn't casually pick fights. These two seemed a little suspicious.

"Brothers, this is the central region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. It's extremely dangerous. We'll be safer if the four of us travel together."

One of them spoke to Garen and Linley, glancing around nervously every so often as he spoke.

Only then did Garen remember. Could this be how they were about to run into Haeru?

"Looks like these two aren't up to any good. They're trying to lead the danger our way."

But Haeru posed no threat to Garen, so he didn't pay it much mind.

"If you two want to follow us, go ahead. But don't disturb us while we cultivate. Otherwise, I'll kill you on the spot."

After speaking, Garen continued strolling along.

They hadn't gone far when a red dot appeared on Garen's Map Function, rapidly approaching them.

"Here already? It's even faster than the Golden Sun Eagle was at Level Nine. As expected of a Black-Striped Cloud Leopard."

"Ah..."

A scream rang out.

There was only one man left behind them, and a pool of blood stained the ground.

"Ah... No... Please... I don't want to die!"

The other man suddenly let out a terrified shriek.

"Whoosh!"

Garen unleashed a Soul Attack, putting him out of his misery.

The man crumpled to the ground.

"Garen, did you get a good look at that shadow just now? It was so fast. Could it have been a Saint Realm Magical Beast?"

Linley didn't care about the two dead men. He had seen too many corpses in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. He was simply intrigued by the shadow.

With Garen and Xiao Pa beside him, he wasn't worried about a Saint Realm Magical Beast, so he was fairly relaxed.

"It wasn't a Saint Realm Magical Beast. It was a peak Level Nine Black-Striped Cloud Leopard. Its speed and attack power are definitely at the peak of Level Nine. What do you say? Want to use it for practice?"

"Sure. I've hit a bottleneck in understanding Momentum lately. Maybe a real fight will help me break through."

The two chatted casually, as if a peak Level Nine Magical Beast were nothing to them.

Garen waved his hand, and the corpse behind them crumbled to dust and blew away in the wind.

"It's about noon, and I'm hungry. Let's roast that Black-Line Leopard you killed earlier."

The two of them set up to roast leopard meat in the wilderness, as casually as if they were on a road trip.

They finished eating, but Haeru still hadn't shown up.

"Garen, could it be that your and Xiao Pa's auras are too strong, and the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard sensed them?"

"Impossible. I've spent the past two years in the Magical Beast Mountain Range comprehending the Laws of the Wind Element. I've practically reached the point of becoming one with the world. Besides, in human form, I'm only Level Nine. What could it sense? Xiao Pa has completely stabilized his Saint Realm, too. As long as he doesn't deliberately release his aura, even Saint Realm experts would have a hard time sensing him."

"Oh. Then maybe the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard was full and wouldn't attack us again so soon. Or perhaps it sensed we were waiting here and grew wary, so it didn't dare attack."

Linley offered his theories.

"Fine, then. Let's stop waiting and keep going."

The two set out again, strolling through the heart of the mountain range.

A day later, at sunrise, Garen sat on a boulder. After spending a while deducing the Laws of the Wind Element, he opened his eyes and saw Linley nearby, practicing with the Violetblood Soft Sword.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Bathed in sunlight, Linley moved with effortless grace. His soft sword filled the air with overlapping shadows, sometimes slow and sometimes fast.

Watching him, Garen suddenly felt a flash of insight.

"Could it be like this?"

He drew the God-Slaying Blade and began casually swinging it on the boulder as well.

At first, he was only waving it around. But after a while...

The blade flashed, instantly multiplying into dozens of overlapping images. His slashes seemed slow, yet dozens of afterimages appeared in a single instant. They looked fast, but the blade itself seemed perfectly clear, as though time had slowed a thousandfold. It was a strange sensation.

Just as he entered this wondrous state...

"Bang!"

Nearby, a black leopard and an enlarged mouse exchanged a blow.

The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard had tried to ambush Linley, but Bebe stopped it.

"Haeru really knows how to pick his moments. I'd just started figuring something out, and now he has to show up."

Garen couldn't help thinking.

In the blink of an eye, Bebe must have received a message from Linley, because he backed away. Linley had transformed into a Dragonblood Warrior and switched to No Edge, the heavy greatsword. He was now facing off against the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard.

Seeing this, Garen took a small stool from his Space Ring, pulled out some snacks he'd bought in Hess City, and settled in to watch the show.

"Linley, give him a good beating! Hit him so hard his own mother won't recognize him!"

Garen's insight had been interrupted, so he took on the role of cheerleader.

Both man and beast turned to look at him, feeling a little insulted.

Then the "battle between dragon and leopard" began. The man and beast were evenly matched, trading blows back and forth with very similar strength.

At the last moment, Linley brought out his abilities as an eighth-level mage, gaining the upper hand and thoroughly subduing the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard.

Linley had taken a liking to the leopard's looks and strength, and decided to make him his second Magical Beast.

And so they continued on their way. Their little group gained another member, becoming a party of two humans and three Magical Beasts.

As they strolled through the forest, Garen checked his System Panel. After watching Linley use the Violetblood Soft Sword earlier, he had unexpectedly made a beginner-level breakthrough in both Mysteries of Speed and Mysteries of Slowness.

Wind Element

Laws and Mysteries: "Profound Truth of Speed" (380,000/10,000,000 experience)

Laws and Mysteries: "Profound Truth of Slowness" (380,000/10,000,000 experience)

"I was interrupted just after making a beginner-level breakthrough this time, and I only gained 380,000 experience in each Mystery. That's far less than the last two times."

Garen shot the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard beneath Linley a decidedly unfriendly look.

Sensing Garen's gaze, Haeru bared his teeth at him in open disdain.

Was he supposed to put up with that? Not with his temper.

"Linley, I've suddenly got an itch to fight. Let me spar with Haeru."

"Is that... appropriate?"

Looking at Haeru, who had only just recovered from his injuries, Linley couldn't bear to let it happen. He knew how strong Garen was. Haeru might be powerful, but against Garen, he'd get beaten to a pulp.

"Don't worry. I won't transform or use a weapon. I haven't exercised in a while, so I'll just stretch my arms and legs."

"All right, then."

Linley had no choice but to agree. He gave Haeru a sympathetic look and silently prayed that he wouldn't get beaten too badly.

Haeru had understood their conversation, and killing intent immediately rose in his eyes.

"I've disliked this human for a long time. He even dares to look down on me, a Black-Striped Cloud Leopard. For my master's sake, I won't kill him, but I'll teach him a lesson."

A Level Nine Magical Beast was about as intelligent as a human; the only difference was that it couldn't speak. During his fight with Linley, Haeru had seen Garen sitting on a little stool, watching the show, and had taken an instant dislike to him. Now he had a chance to teach Garen a lesson, and it suited him just fine. He knew that Linley and Garen must be close, so killing Garen was out of the question. But beating him up while he had the chance shouldn't be a problem.

"I can't beat my master, but surely I can beat you?"

Haeru thought to himself.

The man and beast each had their own schemes.

Thanks to everyone for the recommendation votes! The book got a little promotion, and the number of readers collecting it is slowly growing. I'll do my best to post two chapters a day.