CHAPTER 34: FARMING (1)

"According to the System, Tristan is still alive."

A sharp glint of determination flickered in Ray’s eyes.

The System had never deceived him before, and though he had watched Tristan burn to ashes with his own eyes, he chose to believe its judgment.

’Perhaps Tristan’s inability to die despite being reduced to ashes by my Dragon Breath is related to his beast taming seal.’

Every beast taming seal above the ordinary rank granted superpowers.

Some were as simple as conjuring fire.

Some could change terrain or bring down meteroties from outer space.

But there were a rare few that could alter reality itself.

It would not be strange if Tristan had the power to survive without a body. Maybe he could even reform it!

Ray decided to wait in place for a while, to see if Tristan’s body would be reformed in the last place it was destroyed.

It did not take long for his wait to bear fruit.

After he killed the town’s guards, only half a minute passed before the impossible unfolded!

The wind shifted. From the scorched earth, countless motes of dust lifted into the air. Seemingly drawn together by an invisible force, they spiraled into the vague outline of a man. From this vague outline of a man made up of dust, a flash of blinding light burst forth. When it receded, Ray saw a man with hawk-like eyes, a sharp jawline, and a handsome face.

Who could it be if not Tristan?!

Tristan was naked. His ability didn’t allow him to reform his clothes or items, which was a relief.

"You’re no hunter... you are a full-fledged Beast Tamer!" Tristan’s trembling finger pointed straight at Ray as he spoke.

The power Ray had relied on to wipe out Tristan’s entire and deal him a great blow could only come a beast taming seal.

Only Beast Tamers with seals above the ordinary rank could wield superpowers like that.

If Tristan’s instincts were right, Ray’s beast taming seal was probably the most powerful seal beneath the rare rank.

"Garrick, that dumb old mutt with an ugly mug, made a mistake," Tristan thought that Garrick had judged Ray’s beast taming seal incorrectly.

Not knowing the complete truth, he believed that because the phenomenon triggered during Ray’s awakening bore similarities to the one seen when the former Crown Prince awakened, Garrick had jumped to the conclusion that Ray bore the Black Seal, labeling him as trash.

"He had eyes yet he failed to recognize Mt. Tai. He mistook an unpolished gem for dung! Because of his mistake, I suffered. Because of his mistake, I fell into this miserable state! I hate him. I fucking hate him!" Tristan’s inner resentment spilled out.

He developed a deep hatred for Garrick, convincing himself that if not for Garrick’s blunder, he would never have suffered such a loss at Ray’s hands. Tristan was the kind of scum who always blamed others for his own failures.

Shifting blame and pointing fingers.

Tristan excelled at all the bitchy things.

"Such a crucial realization, and yet you came to it too late. Far too late." Neither Ray’s gaze nor his voice carried any warmth. For his enemies, he had no compassion or mercy!

Tristan’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. "I know. I fucked up. If I had known what you were capable of, I never would’ve ended up like this. Believing the judgment of a fool, I underestimated you... and I paid the price for it."

Ray’s guess had been right all along.

Tristan’s miraculous survival hadn’t come without a cost.

His ability [Destiny Swap] allowed his consciousness and niwan palace to linger in an intangible state even after his body was destroyed. From that ghostly half-existence, he could claw his way back to life, returning to peak condition, but to do so, he had to sacrifice a being bound to his soul, and for a Beast Tamer, those beings were none other than their tamed beasts.

As a Bronze Rank Beast Tamer, Tristan had commanded two creatures before he offended Ray. Yet to crawl back from the jaws of death, he had already sacrificed one. Had he hesitated, had he refused to pay the price, his soul would have scattered and he would have died for real. He had lived after having his body destroyed by Ray, but now his strength was halved.

The loss of a beast he had carefully nurtured for years gnawed at him like a wound that would never heal. His heart festered with hatred, all of it directed at Ray. More than anyone else in this world, he came to hate Ray!

"What’s with that look? Don’t tell me you actually think you were wronged. You deserved it. It’s a pity you didn’t die with the rest of your sorry-ass team." Ray’s words were like knives, cutting into Tristan’s pride, stabbing where it hurt the most

"Bastard!" Tristan snapped, his voice shaking with fury. "You’re staring death in the eye and you don’t even realize it!"

Inside, though, his thoughts were far more frantic.

’It hasn’t even been half a week since he awakened, and he’s already this strong. If I let him live, he’ll grow into a monster no one can stop. He must die—here, now, by my hand. If I don’t kill him today, I’ll never get another chance!’

For the same reason, he convinced himself Ray was killable.

Not a lot of time had passed since his awakening as a Beast Tamer. No matter how monstrous his talent, Ray shouldn’t have been able to step into Bronze Rank in such a short time. He had to still be an Iron Rank Tamer. And for a Bronze Rank Tamer, killing an Iron Rank was nothing more than child’s play!

"Braggart, Die!" Ray rolled his eyes at Tristan’s words and attacked ruthlessly. "I refuse to believe your life saving ability comes without a price. I’ll keep killing you again and again until you can no longer pay the cost to use it. Then, you’ll truly die!"

His ruthlessness was on full display as dozens of wind bullets formed and shot towards Tristan.

"Just because you managed to catch me off guard once, do you seriously think I am at your mercy?" Tristan snorted heavily.

A bronze-colored beam burst forth from the area between his brows.

The beam struck the ground between him and the approaching wind blades, quickly transforming into massive goat-like creature that was a head taller than the average man.

Its hide gleamed with a metallic luster, and a red cone-shaped horn jutted from its weird triangular head.

The horn held a perpetual glow, glowering faintly like smoldering coal.

Emberhorn Goat!

It was a genuine bronze rank beast specializing in magic!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

It sounded like metal had struck metal and sparks were produced as the Emberhorn Goat used its body to block the wind bullet from harming its master.

"What?!" Ray’s eyes flew open in shock as his volley of wind bullets that was strong enough to kill peak iron rank demonic creatures into pieces barely managed to leave a few shallow scratches on the Emberhorn Goat’s copper-colored, metallic hide. "Its defence is terrific."

Tristan gloated over his ignorance, "Trash, that was enough to shock you? Then you’ve clearly never faced a Bronze Rank demonic creature in combat before. They stand in an entirely different category than Iron Rank beasts. The gap is so vast that attacks capable of killing peak Iron Rank tamers are utterly useless against them! Before my Emberhorn Goat, you are as helpless as a child who had just learned to walk!"

Ray smirked confidently, recovering from his shock. "Am I now?" He said sarcastically.

The Emberhorn Goat’s defence was excellent, but he hadn’t revealed all of his trump card. There was no telling who would win!

Only once it becomes clear that there’s no chance of killing Tristan tonight would he attempt to flee. Until then, he would give everything to take his life.

Trustan’s eyes blazed with fury as he glared at Ray from behind the Emberhorn Goat.

"Because of you, I lost the underlings I painstakingly nurtured over the years!

"Because of you, I was forced to activate my forbidden ability, sacrificing one of my tamed beasts just to cling to life!!

"Because of you, I tasted humiliation for the first time in my life!!!

"You cannot be allowed to live!"

After saying these words, Tristan thrust his hand forward and roared, "Emberhorn Goat, crush him!"

Influenced by the control Tristan held over its soul, the Emberhorn Goat instantly obeyed his command.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

As it charged towards Ray, each thunderous stomp of its hooves carved craters into the ground, and despite its towering size, its speed was nothing short of terrifying.

It left behind a fiery, destructive trail as it blurred forward, coming ever so close to crushing Ray beneath its hooves.

The sheer force of its charge was terrifying. If it ran over a person while running at that speed, they would be reduced to a mess of mangled flesh and broken bones. Even Ray would not survive if he was caught beneath that brutal hammering!

"I can’t confront such a terrifying beast head on," Ray thought as his figure shot back instantly, widening the distance between them with lightning speed.

The Emberhorn Goat thundered after him at full tilt, but it could not stop him from widening the gap between them.

It became clear within moments who was truly faster between the two.

The Emberhorn goat’s speed was monstrous, but Ray’s agility surpassed it!

Which came as a shock to both the Emberhorn Goat and its master.