John stood still over the beaten five-tailed creature, his breathing calm and steady.
The crowd around him remained completely silent, hundreds of glowing eyes locked onto him—their new boss.
Black Dust's voice echoed gently in his mind.
"Claim him, boss. Make him one of yours, like you did with me."
John understood immediately.
Victory wasn't enough — it had to be sealed properly.
Just like when he first bonded with Black Dust, he reached out mentally toward the fallen creature before him, offering a contract — a pact of spirit and will.
The process was slow but steady.
The five-tailed giant didn't resist.
Instead, it lowered its head even further, its spirit yielding willingly to John's presence.
A faint black glow formed between them, pulsing with ancient energy. A black rune appeared in the air once more — identical to the one from before. It shimmered briefly, then split: two parts of the rune sank into the beast's core, binding it, while the final segment flowed into John's chest, sealing their connection.
At that moment, John officially formed his second contract.
A rush of thoughts and emotions surged between them. Though no entirely new power was gained, John's existing abilities were enhanced — his resilience against extreme environments multiplied. Now, even in the deep ocean or on the moon, he could survive for days without needing to breathe. However, his physical strength was still not enough to remain in such places indefinitely.
John smiled faintly and placed a hand on the creature's massive head.
"You'll need a name now," he said aloud, grinning a little.
Thinking for a moment, he nodded to himself.
"Since you're bigger and redder than Black Dust… I'll call you Red Dust."
There was a slight pause — even Black Dust sighed in his mind.
John's naming sense clearly left something to be desired.
But none of the creatures seemed to mind.
In fact, Red Dust's massive body stirred slightly, his five tails shifting as strength returned to him. The bond had not only claimed Red Dust, but had also accelerated his recovery.
Without wasting time, John decided to dig deeper.
He had too many questions — and now he finally had someone who could answer them.
"Red Dust," John called through their mental link. "Tell me about your tribe. How many of you are there? How do you reproduce? And… are there others like you deeper underground?"
Red Dust answered without hesitation.
His mental voice was deeper and steadier than Black Dust's, filled with experience and quiet strength.
"There are 513 members in our tribe," Red Dust began.
"Among them, only one is a five-tailed being — that is me.
Three of us have four tails.
Around a hundred possess three.
The rest are two-tailed and one-tailed — the youngest and weakest of our kind."
John listened carefully, committing every detail to memory.
"And how do you reproduce?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"It is simple," Red Dust replied.
"Regardless of the number of tails, once we reach the age of 35, we lay an egg — only one, ever.
From that egg, a single child is born.
Black Dust, for example, is only 30. He has not yet produced his egg."
John found that fascinating.
Each creature could only leave behind a single child?
No wonder their numbers remained so limited, despite their power.
"And what about others like you?" John asked, glancing toward the dark tunnels that branched out from the cavern.
"We have never seen any others," Red Dust said.
"All our lives, we've remained within a 10-kilometer radius of the tribe's grounds.
The outside world is unknown. Dangerous. Empty."
John nodded slowly.
So the tribe was isolated — confined to a small world beneath Mars's surface for who knew how long.
But that was going to change.
He was going to change it.
With a determined look, John climbed back onto Black Dust's broad back. With Red Dust now at his side, he sent a message through their mental links.
A low rumble passed through the underground.
Within minutes, all 500+ creatures of the tribe had gathered again, forming a massive living circle around him.
The cavern buzzed with silent energy, every eye fixed on John.
John cleared his throat, even though he didn't need to speak aloud anymore.
"Listen to me," he said, his voice firm but full of hope.
"I am not your enemy. I am your new boss.
But I don't want to rule you like a tyrant.
I want to give you a future."
The creatures remained still, listening.
"The surface of this world — Mars — is harsh, deadly, and cold," John continued.
"But I have a way to change part of it. To make it livable.
Together, we'll terraform a small region.
We'll bring life where there was none."
He let the idea sink in.
"In return for your help, I will provide you with crystals — more than you've ever seen.
Enough to make your tribe strong and prosperous for generations."
The tribe stirred, excitement flickering through them.
Crystals were everything to them — energy, nourishment, and power.
John smiled.
"Oh, and one more thing," he added with a chuckle.
"From now on, your race will be known as… the Horselians."
The name echoed through the tribe's shared consciousness.
Black Dust gave a mental sigh.
Even Red Dust huffed in amusement.
John scratched his head.
"Yeah, yeah… I know my naming sense isn't the best," he muttered.
But no one objected.
Instead, they accepted it — and him.
The Horselians.
A new identity.
A new future.
---
And so, their journey began.
John, riding atop Black Dust, with Red Dust following close behind, led the tribe across the empty underground caverns.
Hundreds of Horselians marched behind them, the ground trembling softly under their unified steps.
The path to the surface was long, dark, and cold.
But John no longer felt alone.
He had allies.
A tribe at his back.
A mission in his heart.
And as they climbed higher through the winding tunnels, toward the silent world above, John felt something powerful growing inside him.
The real adventure was just beginning.