The dungeon reeked of blood.
I pressed my back against the cracked stone wall tightly clutching my cracked staff. My party was already ahead of me their laughter echoing as if I wasn't even there.
"Hey, weakling!" Jace who was the swordsman in the group turned back with a sneer. "Keep up, or we'll leave you behind again."
My teeth clenched in anger and I wanted to shout back but what could I say? He was right.
Beast Tamers were useless.
Every hunter in Valoria knew it. Warriors cleaved through monsters, Mages rained fire from above, Healers kept everyone alive. And me? I had a single bonded creature with me which is a wolf cub with fur as white as snow.
A tiny, weak and not very useful creature at the moment.
"Stay close, Snow," I whispered to him slowly stroking the trembling cub by my side. He had mismatchted eyes with one being silver and other one gold, looking at me with love and trust.
Snow was all I had.
The party pushed deeper into the dungeon with their torches flickering against the damp walls. Suddenly The air became thick and Shadows started to stretch unnaturally long and I knew Something was wrong.
And then that wrong appeared with a terrifying roar.
A roar that shook the cavern and made dust rain from above. And then emerged a hulking beast crawling forward from the darkness with his scales black as midnight and fangs dripping with venom.
OH NOO!! THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING
It was A C-Rank Venom Drake.
"W-what?!" Jace's face drained of color. "That's not supposed to be here—this is a D-Rank dungeon!"
The Mage cursed but was chanting frantically and The Healer's hands shook with healing magic.
And then there was me. Standing still and frozen with mind blank.
The drake lunged towards the group and One swipe of its claws shredded the swordsman's shield like it was paper and sent Him flying back straight slamming into the wall with a crack.
"Retreat!" the Healer screamed. "We can't win this!"
The others bolted towards the exit Just like that and I was left alone again.
My so-called team left me in the darkness alone.
Well No… not alone.
Snow stood in front of me with his tiny body trembling but unyielding and then he growled at a monster ten thousand times his size.
"Snow, no!" I reached out but I was too late.
The drake's tail whipped forward hitting Snow.
CRACK!
Snow yelped as his small body was flung across the chamber slamming directly into the stone floor and his Blood splattered.
"NO!" My scream ripped out of my throat and My legs buckled as I ran towards him.
He lay still without moving. Too still with His breath slowing down and eyes dimming of life.
And this shattered Something inside me.
I had nothing in this world. No friends, no family, no fame, NOTHING!!! except him.
Tears blurred my vision as I cradled his broken body. "Please… please don't leave me Snow! You're all I have, Snow! You can't die, not like this… not like them."
And then—
A golden interface burst into existence before my eyes.
[Unique Codex: SSS-Class Skill — Beast Evolution]
You are chosen as the Evolution God.
Your bonded beast shall never die.
Instead, it shall evolve infinitely.
[Do you accept?]
My breath caught in my throat, Is this A System message? No, this wasn't the regular hunter interface instead This was something else or maybe I was going crazy.
My hands trembled as I screamed into the void "YES! I accept!"
And then light engulfed Snow's broken body. His whimpers faded replaced by a low growls. His small body stretched and his bones started cracking and muscles started rippling beneath glowing fur. His silver and gold eyes shined like moon and the sun.
When the light fadedaway the cub 'Snow' was gone.
And Before me was standing a massive wolf with his fur bristling with pale flames and fangs gleaming like blades and eyes burning with fury.
The drake recoiled with a hiss.
Snow, no, the beast before me, raised his head and howled that shook the cavern. The howl was primal and divine.
[Evolution Complete: White Wolf → Dire Wolf (F-Rank → B-Rank)]
Abilities Unlocked:
– Lunar Fang
– Pack Instinct
– Regeneration
I stared trembling because of My useless cub… He had become a Dire Wolf in an instant.
"Snow…" My voice cracked.
The wolf turned towards me and I saw those mismatched eyes softening for a heartbeat but Then he lunged towards the Drake.
His Fangs met the Drake's scale and The drake roared in pain thrashing wildly but Snow was faster and stronger than him. Lunar flames burned across Snow's claws as he ripped through its neck.
The beast collapsed to the floor and its body started dissolving into motes of light.
Silence fell in the dungeon.
I collapsed to my knees with my heart hammering in my chest because My tiny cub had killed a C-Rank monster.
No… He was not my small cub now, He was my evolved beast and my partner.
And the system flared again before my eyes and I saw:
[Beast Evolution Path: Limitless]
[Next Evolution: ???]
I grinned through the tears in my eyes while staring into the darkness where my party had fled.
They called me useless, Weak and Trash right?
They abandoned me and left me to fend off for myself.
But From this day on… I wasn't just a Beast Tamer.
I was the Evolution God.