Lord Of Beasts

After clearing his third floor of the night and bringing down the mighty B Rank Boss Beast of the Obsidian Highlands using Storm’s abilities once again, Ethan didn’t hesitate.

The familiar notification appeared before him.

{The host has now met the requirements to ascend to Floor Twenty-Four.}

Without a second thought, he accepted.

There was that familiar sensation of being warped through space as he was transported through the Tower.

{Floor Twenty-Four: Frostveil Tundra (C)}

A freezing wind greeted him the moment he arrived.

The heat of the volcanic highlands vanished entirely, replaced by an endless landscape of white.

Snow stretched as far as the eye could see, interrupted only by jagged blue glaciers that rose from the frozen earth like colossal crystalline spears. The sky was permanently overcast, heavy grey clouds swallowing the sun, while icy mist drifted lazily across the ground.

Every breath became visible.

The temperature alone would’ve been enough to kill an ordinary person within minutes.

"Huh."

Ethan looked around calmly.

"These floors are getting worse and worse."

Acidic swamps, living swamps, volcanic mountains, and now a frozen wasteland.

At this point, almost nothing surprised him anymore, and this was like a colder version of the Frostbitten Forest with far fewer trees. The Tower seemed determined to throw every environment imaginable at him, and somehow he always ended up adapting.

Still, he wasn’t here to hunt.

Not this time.

The previous two floors had practically become playgrounds for him.

He’d blitzed through everything in sight, experimenting with Storm’s abilities while his other beasts ran amok collecting Evolutionary Shards and feasting until they could barely eat another bite.

It had been exhilarating, but also exhausting.

Despite constantly using Beast Recovery between fights and consuming beast meat whenever he had the chance, his mind was beginning to reach its limit. His body and mana could recover, but his concentration not so much.

Even Ethan had limits.

That didn’t mean he intended to leave the Tower just yet.

There were still a few things he’d been meaning to test, and he’d been too busy fighting to stop and experiment.

The first was Beast Suppression.

More specifically, how it affected wild beasts compared to his own.

’I didn’t want to scare off my prey before, but now’s the perfect time to experiment.’

Instead of searching for the strongest monster nearby, Ethan wandered through the snow until he found a beast that hardly felt threatening by his current standards. Even in his current condition, he was confident he could take on any C Rank Beast without breaking a sweat.

A sleek white feline prowled silently between the glaciers.

Its body was almost three metres long, its snow-white fur blending seamlessly into the surrounding tundra, while jagged shards of pale blue ice protruded naturally from its shoulders, spine and tail.

Each step left behind frozen footprints that refused to melt.

Its pale silver eyes constantly scanned its surroundings for prey.

Ethan skimmed its status, and it was a Common Beast of this floor called a Frostclaw Lynx.

The name rang a bell.

’It was Frostfang, and it was D Rank last time, haha. The system must be running out of ideas,’ he joked internally, ’Or maybe I’ve just faced too many types of beasts already.’

But his thoughts drifted to something else.

Not long ago, the mere thought of encountering something like this would’ve made Ethan run for his life. Now, even with barely any mana left and his body drained beyond belief, he almost felt sorry for it.

"Man, to think C Ranks used to feel like unbeatable monsters to me."

He couldn’t help laughing as he approached.

The lynx finally noticed him instantly, its ears flattened and its muscles tensed. It lowered itself into a hunting stance, but just as it was about to pounce at him...

’Beast Suppression.’

Nothing dramatic happened at first.

The Frostclaw Lynx immediately stiffened, it pupils shrank, and its instincts screamed danger. It took several cautious steps backwards, every muscle prepared to flee at a moment’s notice.

"Hm... So that’s the base effect."

Ethan slowly increased the mana flowing into the skill, and the atmosphere shifted. The air itself seemed to grow heavier as the lynx’s tail lowered instinctively. Its body crouched closer to the snow, and it no longer looked ready to fight.

It looked terrified.

’Interesting...’

He poured even more mana into the skill.

And this time, the lynx let out a frightened yelp before spinning around and sprinting away at full speed without looking back. Within seconds, it had completely disappeared into the snowstorm.

Ethan simply stood there.

"I get it now."

Now that he wasn’t distracted by combat or using it against his own beasts, he focused on the sensation itself, trying to figure out the mechanics of it. All of his skills could be broken down, and this one was no different.

Beast Suppression wasn’t merely releasing his own presence.

Closing his eyes, Ethan concentrated and could feel the presence of his beasts within him. As he reached out internally, he began to hear them calling out to him through their telepathic link, which he quickly suppressed.

He was focused on understanding the skill, and after using it again, it was almost as though their spirits stood behind him. When he used Beast Suppression, their dominance bled into his own, and the pressure wasn’t coming from Ethan alone.

It was the combined authority of every beast he’d claimed.

’No wonder it’s so effective.’

Technically, he and the Frostclaw Lynx were both C Rank. Yet spiritually, the beast had just faced someone backed by two C Rank beasts and two B Rank beasts, all reinforcing Ethan’s authority as the Lord Of Beasts.

It had never stood a chance.

As for why it was more effortless against his own beasts, it was because he had a spiritual tether he could use to control them.

’I don’t even need a skill to suppress them.’

Beast Suppression and Beast Communication were helping Ethan to understand how he was connected to his beasts, and they were also extremely useful. Satisfied with the experiment, he didn’t even bother chasing after the beast.

He was too tired.

Besides, he’d already learned what he wanted.

Letting out a long sigh, he found a flat piece of ice overlooking the frozen tundra before sitting down. For the first time all night, he simply relaxed despite being in such a harsh environment packed with beasts.

The icy wind brushed past him as silence settled over the endless white landscape.

A small smile appeared on his face.

"It’s been a while since I just stopped and looked at everything."

He’d been so busy surviving and growing stronger that he’d barely taken the time to appreciate how far he’d come. Everything had changed, especially since entering the last gate.

With a thought, the familiar blue interface unfolded before him.

And what he saw didn’t disappoint...