Ethan didn't hesitate.
The moment the skill appeared before him, he tapped it.
A cool pulse of light spread through his vision, and a new panel unfolded in crisp, deliberate lines.
{Beast Summoning - Allows the user to summon acquired beasts at will. Summoned beasts act independently but remain instinctively loyal.}
His eyes sharpened as more information expanded beneath it.
{Skill Rank: S}
Seeing it again made his heart skip a beat.
{MP Cost (Summon + Maintenance):
E Rank - 1 MP + 1 MP/min
D Rank - 2 MP + 2 MP/min
C Rank - 3 MP + 3 MP/min
B Rank - 4 MP + 4 MP/min
A Rank - 5 MP + 5 MP/min
S Rank - 10 MP + 10 MP/min}
Ethan skimmed over it.
'So it works like Beast Assimilation, but rather than being based on stages, it's on the rank of the beast.'
There was an initial activation cost, then a steady drain to keep it active.
'Pay to call them. Pay to keep them.'
His mind immediately began calculating.
'E-rank beasts are pretty cheap, but with my amount of mana, I can summon Wolfy for what? 10 minutes.'
And in that time, if he also wanted to use other skills, his mana would run out even quicker. As such, he didn't even think about summoning higher-ranked beasts, at least not yet.
Currently, an S Rank was beyond him, and even if he evolved one of his beasts to A Rank, he barely had the MP to summon it for a minute. Still, Ethan couldn't help but imagine having a series of powerful beasts at his disposal once he progressed further.
'Lord Of Beasts, now the Title is starting to live up to its name,' he thought to himself, as he continued reading.
{Rules and Considerations:
- MP drain is cumulative when summoning multiple beasts.
- No hard limit on the number of summoned beasts.
- Dismissal is instant and stops maintenance costs.
- Beast Assimilation cannot be used on summoned beasts.
- If MP reaches zero, all summons are forcibly dismissed.
- Damage persists between summons and requires recovery.
- Death is permanent, and fallen beasts are lost forever.}
Ethan's expression slowly shifted as each line settled in.
'So basically, as long as I have enough MP and don't let my beasts sustain too much damage, I have a small army of beasts.'
The rules and considerations all made sense; the only one that was troubling him was that Beast Assimilation couldn't be used on summoned beasts.
'I guess next time I'm in that damned tower, I should probably acquire another beast.'
Reality tempered his excitement quickly.
'At my best, I either have 10 minutes of slightly enhanced physical abilities or have an Infant Beast that is pretty much a slightly enhanced wolf at its current rank.'
It was hardly world-shaking.
Beast Summoning, though S Rank, scaled brutally with resources, and its power depended entirely on the strength of his beasts and the size of his MP pool.
Which meant his Titled rank staying at E, despite the skill, made perfect sense.
Still, there was potential, a lot of it - that was all he could ask for.
He switched to the Beasts tab.
{Beast Status}
{Name: Wolfy
Race: Ulfen
Growth Stage: Infant
Beast Rank: E
Beast Potential: C
Strength: 10
Speed: 10
Stamina: 10
MP: 0}
His lips twitched slightly.
'Yeah, I'm still weak as hell.'
Below that, another section caught his eye.
{Evolutionary Shards: 6}
'So it counts only beasts I've personally killed,' he realised, seeing as it didn't count the Ulfens and Bear Beast. 'Figures.'
To think after all that struggle in that trial, he only directly killed 6 beasts - it was laughable and humbling.
"94 more," he sighed, rubbing his face. "Just to evolve you to D Rank."
And assuming that every beast he acquired started as an E Rank infant...
'I've got my work cut out for me.'
But that was future Ethan's problem.
For now, there was only one thing on his mind.
Ethan looked down at the wolf tattoo on his chest, then back at the System Interface.
A slow, nervous grin spread across his face.
"Time to try Beast Summoning."
Ethan was shirtless, about to shower, when he suddenly bolted out of the bathroom and into the basement.
"Okay, okay - no overthinking," he muttered, pacing in a tight circle.
His heart was racing.
The wolf tattoo on his chest hummed, not metaphorically, but literally. A low, vibrating warmth spread from the ink, pulsing in time with his heartbeat, like something inside it had just woken up.
'So it really is connected to Wolfy...' he realised, in awe, but also dreading where the next tattoo would show up.
His beast capacity even at S Rank seemed to only be 7, but having a dragon tattoo on his ass, or worse, some ugly beast on his face...
He sighed, resigning to his fate.
It wasn't like he could laser off these magic beast tattoos, or at least he doubted that's how they worked.
As such, Ethan pushed those thoughts aside and calmed his mind.
Beast Assimilation had worked best when he stopped thinking and just felt it, allowing instinct to take over - this should be the same.
He closed his eyes and...
'Beast Summoning!'
Ethan reached inward, and the sensation hit him instantly.
A rush surged through his body, sharp and electric, followed by a sickening tug that made his knees buckle. It felt like something was being yanked straight out of his soul, thin threads snapping free as his MP drained.
"Ah-!"
The tattoo on his chest flared with a soft blue glow.
Then, it peeled itself off his skin.
The wolf's face detached, stretching into three dimensions as it leapt forward, light condensing and fur forming mid-air.
It landed on the concrete floor, a tiny, trembling thing.
An infant Ulfen.
It was no bigger than a puppy, its fur a soft grey, its eyes a vivid, innocent yellow. It blinked, tilting its head as it looked around the unfamiliar basement, sniffing the air.
Then its gaze locked onto Ethan.
Its tail wagged.
"…No way," Ethan breathed.
The little Ulfen trotted over without fear, pressing its head against his leg and rubbing affectionately, letting out a soft, almost chirping sound.
He stood there, stunned.
'This is it? This is my summon?'
On one hand, it looked… harmless. Cute, even. Hardly the terrifying beast he'd faced in the Tower.
On the other hand, with enough effort, evolutionary shards, and time...
'I know what you can become.'
A chill ran down his spine as he recalled its brethren picking away at his flesh.
Then, suddenly, the Ulfen's eyes widened.
It was like a switch flipped.
The infant beast suddenly took off, zipping around the basement like a hyperactive child freed from a cage for the first time. It leapt, skidded, and bounced off walls with shocking strength for its size.
"Hey-!"
The Ulfen attempted to bark in response, but what came out was a strange, croaky half-howl that cracked mid-sound as it slammed into a crate.
A crash echoed as a case of wine bottles toppled over; glass shattered, and red liquid spread across the floor.
"You little shit."
At first, its excitement was amusing.
But then Ethan remembered that it was a literal beast that would grow into a force to be reckoned with.
And worse, it clearly wasn't listening to him.
"Wolfy, sit!"
The wolf skidded to a halt, stared at him for half a second, then took off again.
"Wolfy, stop that!"
No matter how hard he tried to communicate, it didn't listen, barking in response as it wreaked more havoc.
"Hey! Motherfucker! I summoned you, so listen!"
He had enough and lunged, missing as the small wolf darted past him.
What followed was less a chase and more a full-on scuffle, Ethan slipping on spilt wine as the infant beast bowled into him.
They tumbled to the ground, the Ulfen pinning him.
Ethan stared up at the ceiling, breath knocked out of him, while a puppy-sized monster stood triumphantly on his chest.
"You've gotta be kidding me."
That was when footsteps sounded on the stairs...