The beasts came…
"ROAR!"
They erupted into the ruins, instantly turning the hero summoning into yet another massacre.
A poisonous half-wolf half scorpion.
A four-armed iron-scaled gorilla
A saber tiger the size of a car
…
They dove into the students like wrecking balls. They could smell the flesh, the Mana and they wanted bites.
"GRRRRR…"
This was met with blind confidence.
"Pfft. You guys chose the wrong opponents! That priestess said it, we're heroes chosen by the world."
A student instantly confronted the wolf creature head on. His arm glowed with fiery Mana and with unstoppable momentum he went:
"TAKE THIS, FALCON PUNCH!"
Fist rampaged with power.
Fist collided with hide.
Fist broke.
…
The Wolfcorpion's tough hide alone was enough for it to resist. And that's when the 2m long scorpion tail snapped forth.
It struck soft flesh, barely going in. About as deep as a needle at the nurse's office. And just like that it was over.
The guy just didn't know…
"Bitch, your tail's fast! But you barely grazed me. Everyone, let's gang up on— ggh— wha— no— nngh—"
First he lost speech.
Then his face fell.
Finally he froze.
…
As the 'hero' collapsed to the ground, the Wolfcorpion lazily took a step forward, then it enjoyed its meal. Piece by piece.
It ate him alive. And it did so as the world turned bright once more, countless spells landing on it as the 'heroes' counterattacked.
It did not care…
They stared with incomprehension, fear not having registered, except for one. Gray could feel his blood turning cold.
[Scion Class Wolfcorpion!]
[Scion Class Overgorrila!]
[Scion Class Dire Tiger!]
….
Scion Class meant death.
They were strong enough to own some territory even in the wilderness.
D-Rank equivalent while the people here were F-Rank at best. And it was even worse for him. He was still Unranked.
He should have panicked…
'Ruins. Idiots. Forest. Bear. Blood.'
'Ruins. Idiots. Forest. Bear. Blood.'
…
Instead, he kept inwardly repeating like a mantra. And then it finally happened.
"FUCK RUUUNNNN!!!"
Even Gray didn't know who shouted. His eyes snapped toward a certain Trio. They were right next to him at that moment.
They had come to find trouble with him for messing with their goddess. But as adrenaline spiked, everything was forgotten.
They started running…
As if sharing a single brain cell, they escaped in perfect unison, rushing toward the forest as he followed them. But then one of them halted.
"OH G-GOD. This… can't be?!"
His eyes glowed gold.
Gray stopped with them, knowing what this was. God's Eyes. The perfect gift. A literal cheat code given the guy's class: scout.
It was like a map hack…
Gray knew why he had stopped. He even knew what he was seeing. In his eyes it wasn't just a forest, but golden lights.
Hundreds. No, thousands.
Beasts. Way too many.
The guy was part of the idiot trio, but he instinctively knew what it meant. And at that moment dread turned to genius.
"Not this way. FOLLOW ME!"
They were gone.
A trio zoomed across the forest like they were possessed, Gray barely following along. Good thing he had technique.
Every breath was perfect, bringing way more power than his out-of-shape 16 years old body should have produced.
But even with a scout…
"SHRIEK!"
A flying squirrel suddenly ambushed them, its eyes glowing red and its sharp claws reminding one of a tiny vampire.
All Gray did was tilt his head, the thing barely missing his jugular, yet successfully landing on one of the trio, piercing flesh.
"ARG. Fucking bitch. GET OFF!"
A scream and an explosion.
A flash of blue and a charcoaled squirrel fell dead instantly. As for the member of the trio, his body was full of lightning.
It crackled around him like magical sentries, zapping anything nearby, even bugs. Aspect of lightning. Strong.
More importantly, easy to use.
And easy to plan around…
"Are you alright? Let me clear a path for us. Vic, you tell us where to go. Shane, you ZAP them! Let's go!"
The last of them shouted, his muscles bulging powerfully as he used his Enhancement abilities to open the way.
'Scout. DPS. Tank.'
'Those guys are the perfect party. And their personality's just the right amount of trash.'
Now, they just needed a reminder he existed. He needed the 'injustice' later.
"Y-You guys are amazing!"
Gray stammered.
He who had been following along without a noise suddenly 'praised' them loudly even while 'struggling to breathe'.
That's when they remembered his presence, their mood instantly turning sour. What kind of garbage was he?!
No power.
Still arrogant.
Completely useless.
…
From the moment he had stepped into this world he had been worthless. He had sullied the Class Rep and used them.
It's the moment they flipped.
"Hehe. Don't worry!"
Is what they said, giving him huge thumbs ups. Yet, their smiles were so goddamn fake they threatened to escape their faces.
He knew what it meant. And he knew what would happen. Anyone else would have tried finding another way, not Gray. He simply tagged along, remaining alert, minutes turning to hours.
They kept going until...
"STOP!"
They had been running when their scout suddenly screamed, clutching his head. And as he looked up, his eyes bled.
"What's wrong?! What happened?"
"The ground, it's… glowing?!"
"What does that–"
…
The answer showed up before any of them could react. The soil gave way, revealing a mountain of flesh and fur.
[King Class Overbear!]
Even stronger than the beasts back at the ruins?! Not only that, but it had been happily slumbering just seconds ago.
It opened a gargantuan maw and.. "ROAR!" powerfully launched a battle cry, the air flying at them like a sonic wave.
The trio fell. Gray fell.
And as their bodies turned sluggish, realization set in. This world was anything but fair. An invincible monster. One with a CC ability to slow them.
They were simply doomed, there would be no getting out of this. If they fought they'd all die. Which meant they couldn't fight.
Gray almost laughed out loud.
'Once again, it's the same.'
'The weak don't matter'
'They just die…'
…
He suddenly felt a strong force hoist him upward, the tank in the trio using his powers. And then the moment all had been waiting for happened.
"Hehe. No need to run faster than the bear. Just need to run faster than the rest. Thanks for saving us, brother!"
He threw him at the bear.
And Gray flew.
For a beautiful moment the bear was flabbergasted as it saw the human fly toward it. But it liked free meals.
It brandished a paw larger than Gray's head, slashing at his body. And that's when the 500 years of experience paid.
'Gotta dodge it, but just enough.'
'Enough injuries to avoid the test.'
'Enough injuries so I can trick her.'
….
He moved perfectly.
As he rotated in mid-air, the sharp claws met skin, ruthlessly tearing the skin apart. With that, blood gushed out powerfully.
But at the same time…!
'TAMING!'
Gray used his class power for the first time, just as he was getting mauled, to ensure he would ALMOST die.
SP was needed to tame, more the farther and stronger a creature was. And negative SP made actual taming impossible.
'But it's fine. I just need a link!'
[Ding! Bear Soul Detected!]
His own soul met the bear's psyche and suddenly a flood of memories assaulted him. He found himself becoming a bear.
Trying to hibernate.
Happily munching on reserves.
Enjoying its simple life. Just chilling.
And then the blue haired devil came. She appeared out of nowhere. She was human but pretty. So pretty. Even it understood how pretty she actually was.
Then she used some weird magic that forced it to obey. It made it her toy as she spoke with glee.
"Oh? You'll do nicely. A wolfcorpion, a gorilla, a tiger, and now a bear. And every life in the Blackleaf Expanse, hehe."
"Make sure you hurt them enough."
"So I can save them <3…."
And that's when the link to the bear almost ruptured. That fucking priestess?! That whole beast attack was her doing?!
His own memories resurfaced…
Barely surviving the Stone Soldiers. An unlucky beast attack. Classmates betraying him. Almost dying to a bear.
Finally making it out. Be deemed as trash. Humiliated. Sold into slavery. And all of it actually starting with her appearance.
'She comes and saves us.'
'Except she wasn't late.'
'It was all a game.'
…
GOOD.
His own memories couldn't be trusted. He was just too naive back then. But that also changed everything. He knew what to do.
He became the bear once more, but this time he fed it all the rage possible. Fed it all the hunger he could.
He overwhelmed it.
"The small human? Dead."
"The three in the back? Tasty!"
"The no hurting them rule? Forget it!"
….
And just like that…
"ROAR!"
Gray lay motionless on the ground, his wound gushing blood, the kind of injury that looked way worse than it was.
And he kept his ears peeled.
A bear rampaging. Hungry. Angry. Still mentally weakened by a manipulative bitch of a priestess. And barely dumb enough.
It didn't realize the 'trick' Gray had pulled. After all, as soon as contact had stopped all magic had instantly stopped.
[Not Enough SP!]
Now it was all the bear.
"N-No. Stay away you beast! Or I'll shock–" the threat had zero effect.
A second later, the bear was on them. Gray didn't see, but he heard. Flesh getting slashed. Shouts of agony.
The satisfying sound of an arm being ripped apart and eaten cleanly. And then three fools barely escaping, bear in tow.
Gray was finally left alone…
As he rose, he smiled at the blood pools on the ground, before turning toward the nearest city. Heroes & priestesses, eh?
Bunch of schemers. He wasn't the fool he had been back then and he could definitely survive them. But did he want to?
He resolutely turned around.
'Screw being a Hero'.
'Screw those guys.'
'Screw it all.'
…
The bear memories had said monsters in Blackleaf had all been sent to the ruins. Which made the rest of the forest temporarily safer.
And on the other side of it…
A scandal that rocked the Northern Region, a Duke's entire bloodline extinguished and the perfect start.
The Dungeon City of Stormveil, one that already made his blood boil.
And…
'The Neverdie Incident.'