The clearing in the forest was quiet. Garen stood casually, while thirty meters away, a black leopard stared fixedly at him.
"Little leopard, let's begin. You'd better watch out."
Garen's lips curled as he warned it.
"Roar!"
The black leopard roared too. A black blur flashed, and it was already in front of Garen. Its massive white paw swept toward him, the wind whistling around it.
Garen casually threw a punch, striking first despite moving later. His fist, imbued with the Wind Element, slammed into the leopard's thigh.
The leopard was sent flying more than ten meters. It crashed into a boulder nearby, shattering it before finally coming to a stop.
Before it could get back up, more than a dozen giant snakes of flame coiled around it.
An instant-cast eighth-level Fire-style spell.
"Dance of the Fire Snake!"
The black leopard's fur was scorched, and cries of pain rang out.
It finally managed to break free of the fire snakes.
"Vacuum Bind!"
An invisible spatial barrier enveloped the leopard, leaving it unable to move.
Garen quickly closed in and unleashed a relentless barrage of blows.
"That'll teach you to act so arrogant! That'll teach you to interrupt my comprehension! And that'll teach you to look at me like that!"
Garen cursed as he pummeled it, venting his frustration.
Linley, watching from nearby, didn't step in to stop him. He could tell that Garen only wanted to teach his magical beast a lesson. Haeru was getting beaten badly, but he'd only suffered superficial injuries. A little energy would heal him soon enough.
Before long, Garen had vented his frustration and let the leopard go.
This time, Haeru had finally learned his lesson.
Damn it, what kind of freaks are these? My master can turn into a Dragonman, so I can accept being no match for him. But even that little Shadow Mouse is this strong, and this human is completely unreasonable. I couldn't fight back at all. I've got it so rough.
Haeru was in despair.
A year after taming the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard, the two of them slowly made their way out of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
There weren't many magical beasts left to kill, so Garen stopped paying attention to them and devoted himself entirely to studying and comprehending the Laws and Mysteries.
Linley's Warrior Level in human form had reached level eight. After transforming, he was at the peak of level nine. He had comprehended Momentum half a year earlier and had now begun to study the Laws.
Whenever he had time, Garen explained some of his understanding of the Wind Element to Linley. As he explained, he often gained new insights himself. No wonder the ancients had said that reviewing the old could lead to understanding the new.
Doehring Cowart, meanwhile, explained his understanding of the Earth Element. After all, he had been one of the most powerful experts of his era, so it was only natural that he had grasped the basics of the Laws and Mysteries.
Linley truly lived up to his reputation as the protagonist. From the way he used the Violetblood Soft Sword and No Edge, Garen could tell that Linley seemed to have already grasped the basics of some Laws and Mysteries in both the Wind and Earth styles. Garen just couldn't tell which ones yet. It seemed Linley was progressing much faster than in the original timeline.
But when Garen remembered that Linley had relied entirely on his own comprehension in the original timeline, without anyone to guide him, it made sense. After all, a little guidance was all it took for a genius to understand things quickly and even draw further conclusions.
Linley often had his own insights into the Laws and Mysteries now, and Garen benefited from them as well. The two of them shared their thoughts and helped each other improve.
Garen couldn't help but marvel at Linley's talent. It was truly incredible.
That day, they finally left the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Standing on the trade road, they looked out at the vast North Sea.
As Garen gazed at the scene before him, memories came flooding back.
This was where he had once set off for Ernst to study.
It was where he had first killed magical beasts and bandits, and completed his Tiger-Striped Warrior transformation.
He thought of Uncle Luke and the members of the Guard Team who had died.
More than ten years had passed in the blink of an eye.
As Garen reminisced, a caravan of several hundred people slowly approached from behind.
At the head of the caravan was a seventh-level warrior.
"Look, two people have come out of the Magical Beast Mountain Range up ahead."
"Mm. Be careful. They have high-level magical beasts with them: an eagle and a leopard. Both are high-level."
The caravan drew closer and stopped.
The seventh-level warrior at the head walked over.
"You two, what are you doing standing in the middle of the road?"
"Oh, hello. My brother and I are headed to the O'Brien Empire. Would you be willing to give us a ride?"
Linley spoke up when he saw that Garen was lost in thought.
Seeing that they weren't bandits blocking the road to rob them, the man at the head relaxed and smiled.
"That can be arranged. Twenty gold coins per person, and I'll take you there."
"Sure."
Linley readily agreed and tossed him a small pouch of gold coins.
The man counted them, then smiled and pocketed them. He arranged a carriage for each of the two.
And so they continued toward the O'Brien Empire together.
Along the way, they learned a great deal about the O'Brien Empire from the mercenaries.
Linley had wanted to ask about his younger brother, Wharton, who had gone to study in the O'Brien Empire as a child. Instead, he unexpectedly learned about Olivier, the O'Brien Empire's genius Sword Saint.
Olivier had reached level nine at thirty and entered the Saint Realm at forty-seven. On entering the Saint Realm, he had defeated a veteran Saint with three sword strikes. There was no denying that he was talented by ordinary standards.
But when Linley thought of Garen, who was traveling and training alongside him, Olivier suddenly didn't seem all that impressive. Compared to the Four Ultimate Warriors, the other Saints simply couldn't measure up in talent. The gap was too great.
That night, Garen and Linley joined everyone around the campfire, listening to them brag.
No one noticed a little boy walking over from nearby. First, he saw Haeru, the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard, and his eyes lit up. Then he noticed the mighty, handsome Golden Sun Eagle standing beside Garen. In the firelight, the eagle glimmered with golden radiance and looked extraordinary. The boy's gaze immediately shifted from Haeru to the eagle, and he couldn't look away.
The boy bravely tried to reach out and touch the Golden Sun Eagle.
Sensing someone approaching, the eagle opened its eyes, which had been closed. It glanced casually at the boy, frightening him so badly that he fell to the ground, his face deathly pale. The eagle then closed its eyes again.
The mercenaries all laughed.
A girl in purple hurried over from one of the carriages and helped the boy to his feet.
"Keane, are you all right?"
"Big Sister, I'm fine."
The girl in purple was drawn to the Golden Sun Eagle too. But just then, the eagle opened its eyes again, startling her as well.
After the Golden Sun Eagle had reached the Saint Realm, even a casual glance from its sharp eyes could have a powerful effect on an ordinary person's mind.
"Don't stare into Xiao Pa's eyes. Don't worry, it won't attack anyone."
Garen had to speak up and remind them.
"Miss Jenny, you should keep a close eye on your younger brother. High-level magical beasts can be very aggressive. Don't let him get hurt."
A mercenary nearby spoke up.
"I'm sorry, sir."
Jenny bowed to Garen.
"It's all right."
Garen replied to Jenny, then turned to Keane.
"Kid, if you like this Golden Sun Eagle, you'll have to train hard and become a powerful warrior. Then you can go to the Magical Beast Mountain Range and form a contract with a magical beast of your own."
"Really? Then I'm definitely going to contract with a magical beast like this one. It's so mighty and beautiful. Its eyes are just a little fierce."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Jenny apologized to the others, then led Keane away.
Before leaving, she made a point of thanking Garen.
"Thank you."
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