[Bonus chapter for comments]
The night passed quietly.
By dawn, the Sword Master finally stirred awake.
Bai Chen, halfway through his breakfast, noticed and waved.
"Morning, Master. How's the body feeling?"
The old hunter groaned as he sat up, rolling his stiff shoulders.
"Terrible," he admitted. "Feels like my bones have been shattered and glued back together."
Bai Chen chuckled awkwardly.
"Haha… well, luckily the Z-Ring throttled the output. Rest for a few days and you'll be fine."
The Sword Master joined him at the table, curiosity gleaming through his fatigue.
"That technique—Z-Move—if it puts such strain on the body… how do you survive it?"
Even with Bai Chen sharing the load, he'd been overwhelmed. The idea of someone using it solo was absurd.
Bai Chen smiled faintly.
"Let's just say… my body's built a little tougher than average."
(Ancient Dragon-tier, to be exact, he added silently.)
Still, the experiment had proven invaluable—he'd learned much about the Z-system's mechanics.
"You really are a monster," the Sword Master muttered with a wry laugh.
After breakfast, they packed up and prepared to leave.
Raymond and Rob, still far too injured for long-distance travel, remained at the treetop camp to recover. The Palicoes would escort them back once they stabilized.
Bai Chen clasped Raymond's hand before parting.
"Heal up properly. Don't push yourself."
"You've got my word," the man said, smiling weakly.
With that, Bai Chen and the Sword Master whistled for their Wingdrakes and took off into the morning sky.
The journey back to Astera Base was uneventful. The bustling hub looked as peaceful as ever, blissfully unaware that an entire rescue mission had unfolded overnight.
Their first stop: the Commander's Office.
No sooner had they stepped inside than the normally stoic Commander strode over at full speed, his eyes alight with uncharacteristic urgency.
"Bai Chen," he said straight to the point, "may I see the Zinogre you captured?"
He'd received the Sword Master's written report earlier, mentioning the mysterious monster sphere and Bai Chen's uncanny control over the lightning beast.
Bai Chen nodded, unclipping the red-white orb from his belt.
"Should I release it here?"
The Commander glanced around the confined office, already picturing what a raging Zinogre would do to his headquarters.
"No. The arena."
The three men left immediately, their passage drawing curious stares. Few dared to interrupt—but whispers rippled through the base. When both the Commander and the Sword Master moved together, it was never for something minor.
The Arena was massive—about the size of a football field—ringed with thick timber walls reinforced by steel plating. It was designed to withstand rampaging monsters.
Bai Chen hopped down into the pit, but the Commander halted him first.
"Are you sure you can control it?" he asked gravely.
Bai Chen met his gaze, tone firm.
"I don't do things I can't handle."
After a moment, the Commander nodded.
"Then show us… what it means to be a knight."
Bai Chen smirked.
He leapt into the arena and pressed the button on the ball.
With a flash of scarlet light, the Zinogre materialized—massive, bristling, and furious.
The Commander's eyes widened, even though he'd been warned. Seeing the process firsthand was another thing entirely.
"Unbelievable," he breathed. "Such a huge creature… compressed into a palm-sized orb? How… and it doesn't even weigh more?"
His mind flooded with questions, but Bai Chen was already focused on the beast before him.
The Zinogre glared down, fur crackling faintly with dormant lightning.
Bai Chen raised his Bond Stone, letting thin threads of blue light flow between them. When the glow enveloped the monster, a gruff, thunderous voice echoed in his head—
"Cowardly ambusher! Face me again if you dare!"
Bai Chen couldn't help but grin.
He tossed down a satchel of supplies—healing potions and antidotes—at the creature's feet.
"You want a rematch? Fine. Patch yourself up first."
"But if you lose again, you obey me. If not—well, I'll just beat you every day until you do."
He added silently, "And if I don't, Nergigante will."
The Zinogre huffed, sparks flaring around its fangs.
"I need no recovery! Fight me now, human!"
"That so?" Bai Chen smirked, unstrapping his longsword and setting it aside.
"Alright then. But don't cry when you lose."
As he spoke, he tapped into the system and quietly spent a cluster of proficiency points.
[Titan's Body (Rarity 7) proficiency increased — Expert → Master (1 / 87,500)]
A surge of raw power flooded his veins.
Every fiber of muscle felt supercharged.
Across the arena, Zinogre raised its claws and roared.
"You dare challenge my might, little hunter? I'll tear you apart!"
It lunged, front claws crashing down—
—but before they could connect, the Zinogre's world flipped upside down.
WHAM!
The beast was suddenly airborne, flung several meters across the ground like a rag doll.
"Huh?" The Zinogre blinked, dazed. "What—what just happened?!"
"Looking for me?"
Bai Chen's voice came from right beside its ear.
The wolf turned its head just in time to see a human fist, wreathed in black light, crash into its skull.
BOOM!
The ground cratered under the impact.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Three more blows followed, each one sending shockwaves through the dirt.
Bai Chen straightened calmly, dusting off his hands. Then, as if warming up for a workout, he walked around to the creature's tail, gripped it firmly with both hands, and heaved.
"Up you go."
With a roar of effort, he swung the entire Zinogre off the ground—once, twice—then slammed it left, right, left again.
Each impact thundered through the arena walls.
Watching from above, both the Commander and the Sword Master winced with every crash, their expressions twitching.
BAM. BAM. BAM.
The thuds echoed in their chests like hammer blows.
The Commander rubbed his temple, voice low.
"Is… this what 'taming' looks like?"
The Sword Master's mouth twitched.
"I… don't think so."
They watched as Bai Chen spun the monster by its tail once more, slamming it into the ground so hard that the wooden arena floor splintered.
Even Nergigante, had it been watching, would've shaken its head in sympathy.
Finally, the Commander sighed.
"Tell me," he murmured, "which one's the monster again—him, or the wyvern?"
The Sword Master folded his arms, half-amused, half-horrified.
"I was just thinking the same thing."
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