'Four thousand years ago, the beasts… animals began to evolve into a dangerous phase. It was not just evolution, but something far more unnatural.
They seemed to be affected by something unknown as they gained intelligence and strange abilities. Not long after, they began to attack humanity, which was the major animal kind that ruled the world at the time, and those beasts almost wiped humanity out from the world.
But a world without humans would not last long before it turned into complete chaos. So the gods, from the upper realm…decided to take the side of humans and grant them an ability.
The ability to tame beasts. The gods allowed humans to access mana, the same power that evolved beasts beyond what was normal. However, because humankind was intelligent, the mana did not corrupt their minds. Instead, it allowed humans to manipulate mana and tame the beasts that had almost plunged humanity into extinction.
From that time on, humans with the strongest mana manipulation tamed the strongest beasts and formed their own factions… the beast-taming clans. Over time, mana affinity changed with the ages, granting humans an affinity for specific kinds of beasts. So the clans each came to possess their own type of beast, one that they always tamed.
The world went on. Almost every human in the world had a beast. Be it an ant or a dragon, no one was left behind without a companion. And the great taming clans continued to sit at the top of the food chain.
And the Fenrir Clan was one of them. It was founded by Sir Nikolas, who tamed the demonic wolf named Fenrir, and later became known as Nikolas Fenrir for their bond. From that time on, the Fenrir Clan had always tamed powerful wolves-'
The voice suddenly stopped.
"Fray," instead of continuing the story, the old man sitting in the teacher's seat said. "FRAY FENRIR!"
The young boy who had been peacefully sleeping at his desk jolted awake and fell backward onto the floor. His purple eyes darted around the room frantically as he panted heavily, as if he had just woken from a nightmare that refused to fade.
The teacher had called him with the intention of blaming him, but when he saw Fray's reaction, he narrowed his eyes. "Kid… ya okay?" the old man asked, stroking his long white beard slowly.
Fray's eyes locked onto him.
What was going on? he thought. Fray had no idea what was happening. Was he dreaming? No, was this that thing everyone talked about? The moment when your whole life flashes in front of your eyes when you die?
His hands instinctively went to his chest. His heart was still there… still beating. He stared down at his perfectly fine hands, the same hands that were supposed to be torn apart. Slowly, he looked back up at the old man.
Nyne Fenrir.
His grandfather, who was supposed to have died a long time ago.
His eyes then drifted around the room. There were three other kids inside the classroom, all looking at him with confused expressions. None of them said a word, but their stares made his skin prickle.
The one with short black hair and green eyes was Damian Fenrir, the eldest son of the Fenrir House. His calm and unreadable gaze rested on Fray, completely expressionless.
The other one looked a little younger than him. With silver hair and purple eyes, Raiden Fenrir, the second son…was staring at him with clear concern on his face.
That alone made Fray instinctively wary. Why was that bastard looking at him like that? If this was a dream, shouldn't Raiden be mocking him or beating him up already?
The third one looked at him with a tired glance. A girl about the same age as Raiden, with silver hair and green eyes, Viane Fenrir. Raiden's twin sister, the third-born of the Fenrir House.
"Fray, are you okay?" Raiden asked worriedly. He stood up and walked toward Fray. "Did you have a nightmare? You look so pale."
Shut up. You're more scary than a nightmare, you bastard.
As if it wasn't Raiden Fenrir who made his life a living hell in the Fenrir Clan. But if Raiden was acting this gentle toward him… did that mean-
This was ten years ago.
It had to be. His grandfather had died ten years ago. What a damn scene to play in front of his eyes.
Fray let out a long sigh.
Where was the Grim Reaper? Just come and take me already.
"Are you doing this on purpose so you don't have to go to the academy today?" Damian finally spoke as Fray instinctively flinched. Damn bastard. Dream or not, Fray still felt a cold creep into his bones whenever Damian opened his mouth.
"What a pathetic loser," Viane huffed.
Well, that one stung a little. Because Viane was the only sibling who had looked after him when Fray awakened as an FFF-rank.
"Why doesn't he want to go?" Raiden spoke on Fray's behalf. "Damian, you know how happy he was when he got selected." He crouched down until we were at eye level.
Academy, huh… to think I'd dream about that now.
The Taming Academy of the Hart Kingdom, Aries. One of the twelve major beast-taming academies in the world.
He got accepted when I was seventeen. Not because he had outstanding talent, but because Damian, Raiden, and Viane were outstanding talents. The academy probably expected the same from him, the fourth-born of the Fenrir House.
Why?
Because all three of the young people in this room were S-rankers.
Damian was an S-ranker who became the youngest commander in the Combat Taming Association, partnered with a massive three-headed wolf named 'Cerberus' as his tamed beast. That thing… felt like it came straight from hell, and Fray didn't even want to think about it.
Raiden had joined a beast hunter guild as an intern, even though he was still in his third year at the academy. His tamed beast was an angelic winged wolf, the complete opposite of the fear that Damian's beast inspired.
And Viane, also in her third year, had her nine-tailed fox beast, Vixen. If anything, the fox looked small, but people knew better than to underestimate her. Honestly, I would say she was far more terrifying in battle than either Damian or Raiden.
"Get up already. You're embarrassing yourself," Viane said with a mocking huff. "Seriously, do I have to beat your ass for you to get up?"
Damn scary elder sister.
Even inside a dream, Fray felt fear crawl up in his spine at that threat, as he got up immediately.
Wait… can I feel things inside dreams?
He could clearly feel every emotion, every beat of his heart, every touch… even every scent in the air. The dream was too vivid.
"Am I alive?" Before he could stop himself, the words blurted out.
Raiden, standing in front of Fray, went pale, like he thought Fray had hit his head or lost his mind. This version of Raiden was way too damn caring.
The only person who looked at him like he clearly saw through everything was… Grandpa.
He didn't say anything at first. He just stared straight at Fray as it felt like his sharp eyes were digging into his soul.
This can't be real… can it? And if it is… then I-
Did I regress or something?
"Kiddo," Grandpa finally called, leaning back in his chair and twirling his long beard the way Fray remembered so well. A strange smile tugged at his lips.
"You came back a long time, hmm…"