Jeather had traveled fifty miles before the trees finally thinned.
Fifty miles of uneven forest floor.
Fifty miles of controlled hunting.
Fifty miles of silence, punctuated only by Saxum demanding fights every three hours.
The Verdant forest—once dense and whispering—eventually gave way to rising stone ridges and wind-carved slopes. The air changed first. It became thinner. Sharper. Colder.
Behind him lay familiarity.
Before him—jagged mountains that pierced the clouds like broken blades.
He stopped at the border where soil surrendered to stone.
"…So this is it.".
Astrael stepped forward, bronze aura faint but steady, demonic presence blending oddly well with the wild mountain winds.
"These lands are harsher," Astrael observed calmly. "Life here survives through brutality."
Velkaria adjusted the white mantle draped across her obsidian armor. Even beneath the cold wind, her silver aura remained disciplined.
"My Lord, mountainous regions tend to breed territorial predators."
Saxum shifted forms excitedly—Earth to Metal to Lava in rapid sequence.
"Fight mountain now?".
Jeather glanced down at him.
"Later."
"Later long?"
"…Yes."
Saxum huffed.
Jeather took one final look at the forest behind him.
Ardent District was gone.
The academy collapsed.
The district baron—his father—alive or dead, unknown.
He felt no attachment to the place.
But the body he wore did.
And the closer he got to the mountains, the heavier that feeling became.
He stepped forward.
Stone crunched under his boots.
The Mountain Exploration Arc had begun.
Climbing Into the Cold
The first mile upward tested endurance.
The second tested balance.
By the fifth mile of incline, even Jeather felt the strain.
The system interface flickered faintly
Passive effect active: Mana-empowered physiology stabilizing under altitude stress.
His breathing evened.
Saxum, however, had zero problems.
He simply shifted into Earth Form and climbed like a stubborn rock crab.
Astrael moved with silent efficiency, stepping from stone to stone like a shadow born from roots that no longer existed.
Velkaria maintained formation beside Jeather.
"My Lord," she said softly, "the aura density increases as we ascend."
He felt it too.
The mana here was thicker.
Untamed.
Wild.
Almost violent.
Stronger beasts.
Stronger enemies.
Good.
They traveled nearly ten more miles before encountering the first mountain predator.
A shrill cry split the air.
A winged silhouette dove from the cliffs.
Cliff Talon Raptor — Silver Rank.
Velkaria stepped forward instantly.
"My Lord, permission to engage."
"Granted."
The raptor descended with bladed wings, slicing through air currents like knives.
Velkaria leapt.
Steel met talon midair.
Sparks scattered.
She twisted gracefully, using the beast's own dive momentum to flip it into the rocky slope.
Astrael summoned thorned roots from cracks in the stone—unnatural, but effective.
They bound the creature briefly.
Jeather activated sealing energy.
The raptor screeched.
But Velkaria's blade pierced cleanly through its heart before sealing could fully stabilize.
He paused.
"…Edible?"
Velkaria tilted her head.
"Lean meat, my Lord."
Saxum bounced excitedly.
"Food fight!"
Jeather sighed.
"Fine."
They sealed some lesser beasts along the way—but the raptor became dinner.
Responsibility first.
Profit later.
They climbed higher.
Twenty miles in.
Thirty.
The terrain grew brutal—sharp ridges, snow patches, narrow ledges.
It was during the thirty-fifth mile that it happened.
Jeather stepped onto a flat overlook.
Wind roared violently.
The valley below stretched endlessly.
And suddenly—
Pain.
Not physical.
Memory.
Flashes.
A grand estate perched on a mountain terrace.
Banners bearing a crimson crest—a spear crossed with a blazing sun.
Soldiers kneeling.
A boy standing in fine clothing, expression cold.
A voice booming:
"You are heir to the Ignivar Line."
Ignivar.
The name echoed like thunder in his skull.
He staggered.
Velkaria caught his arm immediately.
"My Lord?"
Astrael's aura flared protectively.
"Speak."
Jeather's vision swam.
He saw fire.
Villages burning at the mountain's base.
Villagers dragged in chains.
Orders given calmly from a balcony.
And the boy—him—
Watching without emotion.
Then another memory—
A betrayal.
The same estate under attack.
Screams.
Flames.
The crest torn down.
A man—Baron Ignivar—bleeding, roaring in rage.
"You were weak!"
Then darkness.
Jeather snapped back to reality.
Cold sweat dripped down his temple.
"…Ignivar."
Velkaria's expression sharpened.
"That name belongs to a mountain noble house."
Astrael's eyes narrowed.
"You were not a commoner."
Jeather exhaled slowly.
"…No."
Fragments aligned.
He was not merely the son of a district baron.
He was born into a higher bloodline.
Mountain nobility.
Ruthless.
Feared.
And destroyed.
The burned villages.
The hanged people.
Was it revenge against them?
Or something they caused?
The truth remained incomplete.
Saxum tugged his cloak.
"Jett angry?"
"…Not yet."
But something cold settled in his chest.
Not rage.
Calculation.
They reached the fiftieth mile by dusk.
The forest was no longer visible.
Only stone and snow.
That was when the ambush triggered.
It began subtly.
A loose rock rolling.
A faint metallic click.
Then—
Arrows.
Six at once.
Velkaria reacted instantly, blade flashing in silver arcs, deflecting three.
Astrael raised a bark-like demonic shield.
Saxum shifted into Metal Form instinctively, arrows clanging off him.
Jeather twisted, mana reinforcing his muscles.
Two arrows grazed his shoulder.
Poison-tipped.
"…Bandits."
Laughter echoed from above.
Figures emerged along the ridgeline.
Ten of them.
Rough armor.
Scarred faces.
Beast tattoos glowing.
One stepped forward.
A tall man with braided beard and cracked leather armor.
"Travelers with beasts? On our mountain?"
He grinned.
"You pay toll. Or die."
Jeather stared calmly.
"…You chose the wrong day."
The bandit leader smirked.
"Summon."
Tattoos flared.
Beasts materialized.
A massive Stoneback Bear — Silver Rank.
Two Ironfang Wolves — Bronze Rank.
A winged Frost Harpy — Silver Rank.
Several smaller creatures.
Astrael's eyes gleamed.
"Acceptable prey."
Velkaria bowed slightly.
"My Lord, shall we demonstrate mountain etiquette?"
Saxum vibrated with excitement.
"Fight! Fight!"
Jeather cracked his neck slowly.
"Don't kill the humans."
The bandits blinked.
"…What?"
"I want them alive."
The leader laughed.
"You think you can take us?"
Jeather's aura pulsed faintly.
Bronze.
But steady.
"Engage."
The battlefield erupted.
Velkaria launched forward, intercepting the Stoneback Bear head-on.
Her blade carved glowing arcs, slicing through thick hide.
The bear roared, swiping with crushing force—
but Velkaria's footwork was immaculate.
Astrael confronted the Frost Harpy.
The sky darkened slightly as demonic aura expanded.
The harpy shrieked, launching ice shards.
Astrael's body blurred.
He appeared behind it midair.
Clawed hand pierced through wing joint.
The creature spiraled downward.
Saxum charged the Ironfang Wolves.
Metal Form.
Clang.
Wolf fangs cracked against reinforced stone.
He headbutted one brutally, then shifted into Lava Form mid-grapple, burning the other's muzzle.
"Hot!"
Jeather faced the bandit leader directly.
The man drew a curved blade.
"You're dead, boy."
They clashed.
Steel against mana-infused strike.
Jeather's movements were efficient—not flashy.
The leader was stronger physically.
Silver-tier physique.
But undisciplined.
Jeather exploited openings.
Mana-empowered strikes activated instinctively—his veins glowing faint blue.
Each punch carried compressed energy.
He struck the leader's ribs.
Crack.
The man staggered.
"What are you—"
Jeather swept his legs and slammed him to the stone.
Pinned.
The battle raged around them for another three minutes.
Then silence.
Beasts lay defeated.
Bandits groaning.
Velkaria stood tall, blade clean.
Astrael wiped blood from his claw lazily.
Saxum climbed onto a fallen wolf victoriously.
"Won!"
Jeather looked down at the leader.
"…Who controls this mountain?"
The man spat blood.
"You think we're alone?"
Jeather pressed his knee harder into the cracked ribs.
"Answer."
"There's… movement up north… strong beasts… someone stirring them…"
Interesting.
Jeather knocked him unconscious.
Velkaria approached.
"My Lord, shall we eliminate them?"
Jeather shook his head.
"No."
Astrael tilted his head slightly.
"Mercy?"
"No."
He began sealing the defeated beasts.
"One day they'll regret crossing me. That's better."
Saxum blinked.
"Why not kill?"
Jeather stood slowly.
"…I don't know."
And that was the truth.
He felt nothing killing beasts.
But killing humans—
There was a strange detachment.
Not guilt.
Not satisfaction.
Just emptiness.
That unsettled him more than rage would have.
As night fell over the mountain ridge, the wind shifted.
A distant roar echoed.
Not Silver.
Not Platinum.
Something heavier.
Astrael looked toward the northern peaks.
"…Something awakens."
Velkaria's expression hardened.
"My Lord, we are nearing the heart of whatever destroyed your bloodline."
Jeather gazed at the horizon.
Snow began falling lightly.
Fifty miles behind him.
Unknown enemies ahead.
Fragments of noble cruelty in his past.
Bandits hinting at greater movement.
And somewhere beyond these peaks—
The truth.
He flexed his hand slowly.
"…Good."
Saxum tugged his cloak again.
"Jett hungry."
Jeather blinked.
"…Again?"
Astrael sighed faintly.
"We expended energy."
Velkaria nodded.
"Mountain combat consumes more stamina."
Jeather looked up at the darkening sky.
Then at his three beasts.
"…Fine. We hunt. Then we move north at dawn."
Saxum cheered.
The night wind cut sharply across the mountain ridge as Jeather sat near a modest fire built between three protective stones. The unconscious bandits had long since been left behind, stripped of weapons and dignity but spared their lives. The sealed beast cards rested neatly beside him, faintly glowing in the cold.
Saxum sat close to the fire in Earth Form, poking the flames with a stick like an overly serious toddler conducting research.
"Fire strong," Saxum muttered. "But Saxum stronger."
Astrael stood at the cliff edge, crimson eyes reflecting starlight. Velkaria maintained quiet watch, silver aura steady and disciplined.
Jeather leaned back against a rock and exhaled slowly.
He had integrated Astrael.
He had integrated Velkaria.
But Saxum… remained only sealed.
Captured.
Not integrated.
No tattoo marked him.
No channel bound them.
Which meant Saxum could not grow stronger beyond natural limits.
Which also meant Jeather was leaving power unused.
He stared at the baby golem.
"Saxum."
The golem looked up instantly.
"Yes, Jett?"
Jeather hesitated briefly.
Integration was different from sealing.
Sealing meant ownership.
Integration meant connection.
Shared growth.
Shared risk.
Shared power.
"…You want to get stronger?"
Saxum's body shifted into Metal Form in excitement.
"Yes! Smash bigger!"
Astrael glanced over his shoulder.
"Integration will bind his core to yours."
Velkaria nodded slightly.
"My Lord's physical vessel will bear additional strain."
Jeather rolled his shoulders.
"…Good."
He stood.
The Albino Goblin Knight's card—now renamed and integrated as Velkaria—glowed faintly in his mind.
Astrael's demonic presence pulsed steadily.
He retrieved Saxum's sealed card from his satchel.
Bronze Rank.
Multi-Form Golem Core.
Switchable elemental states: Earth, Lava, Ice, Metal.
Potential growth: Unknown.
He held the card between his fingers.
"Alright."
Saxum climbed onto his boot.
"Upgrade?"
"…Something like that."
Jeather pressed the card against his chest.
"Integrate."
The world went silent.
Then—
A deep rumble beneath the earth.
The card dissolved into streams of bronze light that entered his body.
Jeather's veins glowed faintly.
The nine-leaf clover tattoo burned briefly—then expanded.
A second marking began forming beside it.
Stone-like patterns spiraled outward across his forearm, forming a shifting sigil that resembled layered rock plates.
Saxum's body disintegrated into light—
Then reformed directly in front of him.
The difference was immediate.
A bronze aura pulsed outward in a shockwave.
The ground beneath them cracked slightly.
Jeather dropped to one knee as pressure flooded his limbs.
His muscles tightened.
Bones reinforced.
Mana surged through channels that had previously felt incomplete.
He gasped sharply.
"…Ah."
It wasn't pain.
It was density.
Like gravity had increased.
His heart pounded.
He could feel Saxum's core now.
A compact, molten sphere of rotating elemental fragments.
Earth.
Lava.
Ice.
Metal.
All cycling.
Saxum blinked at him.
"Jett shiny."
Jeather laughed weakly.
"Yeah… you too."
System interface flickered.
Beast Integrated: Saxum
Rank: Bronze
Integration Effect: +Physical Defense, +Elemental Resistance, +Structural Stability
New Passive: Core Resonance — Minor regeneration when in contact with earth or stone
Jeather flexed his fingers.
The strength increase was subtle but noticeable.
His balance felt steadier.
His footing on stone more natural.
Even the cold seemed less biting.
Astrael observed calmly.
"Your vessel has hardened."
Velkaria nodded.
"My Lord's aura density increased."
Jeather stood slowly.
"…Good."
He inhaled.
Exhaled.
Then frowned.
"…Wait."
He raised his hand in front of him.
"…Where are my attributes?"
Silence.
He swiped the air.
Nothing appeared beyond basic beast.
integration data.
"No strength stat? No agility? No constitution?"
He looked around as if the numbers might be hiding behind a rock.
"…System?"
Nothing.
Astrael tilted his head slightly.
"You seek visible quantification?"
"Yes," Jeather replied flatly.
"How am I supposed to min-max if I can't see my numbers?"
Velkaria blinked once.
"My Lord… what is min-max?"
"…Never mind."
He crouched and grabbed Saxum gently.
"Okay. If I can't see mine, can I at least see yours?"
He focused.
A small interface shimmered.
Name: Saxum
Rank: Bronze
Forms Available: Earth, Lava, Ice, Metal
Combat Assessment: High durability, moderate offense, immature tactical instinct
Emotional State: Energetic
Jeather stared.
"…That's it?"
No numerical breakdown.
No stat sheet.
Just vague descriptions.
He sighed dramatically.
"I don't even know if I'm buff or just pretending."
Saxum poked his arm.
"Jett strong."
Astrael's lips curved faintly.
"You obsess over numbers. Power is felt, not tallied."
Velkaria added gently, "My Lord's strikes were heavier during the ambush."
Jeather muttered, "I just want a clean stat window. Is that too much to ask?"
He stood and punched the air lightly.
The motion produced a sharper pressure ripple than before.
The rock beside him cracked slightly from displaced force.
He paused.
"…Okay that's new."
Saxum clapped excitedly.
"Jett smash good!"
Jeather exhaled through his nose.
Fine.
If the system refused to show him clean attributes, he would measure growth the old-fashioned way.
By impact.
He turned toward a large boulder nearby.
"Stand back."
Velkaria and Astrael stepped aside calmly.
Saxum shifted into Earth Form and hopped away.
Jeather rolled his shoulders.
Mana flowed through newly reinforced channels.
He stepped forward—
Mana-empowered strike activated.
His fist collided with stone.
The boulder shattered in a single clean fracture.
Fragments scattered across the ridge.
Jeather blinked.
"…Alright."
He flexed his hand slowly.
No damage.
No pain.
Just faint vibration.
He looked at Saxum.
"…Worth it."
Saxum beamed proudly.
"Upgrade success!"
Astrael folded his arms.
"You grow sturdier."
Velkaria bowed slightly.
"My Lord's foundation strengthens."
Jeather stretched his neck.
The integration had stabilized quickly.
Three beasts integrated.
Bronze demon.
Silver knight.
Bronze multi-form golem.
His base had solidified.
He glanced north toward the darker peaks.
"…Good."
If something waited beyond those mountains—
He would meet it stronger than before.
He crouched and picked Saxum up, placing the small golem on his shoulder.
Saxum immediately shifted into Ice Form to cool himself.
"…Don't freeze my ear."
"Sorry, Jett."
Jeather smirked faintly.
"From now on, if you're hungry or want to fight, you tell me."
Saxum nodded seriously.
"Yes, Jett."
Astrael looked at him sideways.
"You are becoming… responsible."
Jeather stared ahead at the mountain horizon.
"…Don't get used to it."
The fire crackled softly behind them as snow drifted through the night air.
Three integrated beasts.
A fragmented noble bloodline awakening.
Bandits defeated.
And deeper north—
Something stirring.
Jeather clenched his fist once more, feeling the reinforced channels pulse beneath his skin.
No stat window.
No visible numbers.
But power nonetheless.
"…Fine," he muttered. "I'll just break things and measure improvement that way."
Saxum nodded enthusiastically.
"Break many things!"
Velkaria exhaled softly.
Astrael's crimson eyes glowed faintly.
And above them, the mountains watched in silence.
The ascent would continue at dawn.