“Damn, your level has gone up again,” Deckard remarked as we traded blows. Or to be more literal, he threw half-hearted kicks at me while I tried to claw at him. Not so much to bite him, though. Sinking my teeth into his legs would be plain stupid. Sure, it would slow him down. But it would be like biting into an atomic bomb. One bite, the kick would go off, and so would my face.

“Still, I can’t believe you’re only level 128, Little Beast.”

Pride had tickled my insides. The praise was sweet to hear. Especially when the human hadn’t seen everything. However, as much as I yearned to, it wasn’t time to show him all my cards. First, I liked to push my beasts to their limits.

 

[Beast] reaches lvl 92

[Call of Nature] reaches lvl 46

[Ride of Ancestors] reaches lvl 28

[Perfect Equilibrium] reaches lvl 49

[Spatial Domain] reaches lvl 54

 

Yeah, I’ve only scratched the surface so far; this was all I could do without the system and more. And with every dodge of that human’s kick, with every lunge of mine, I delved deeper, becoming the beast I was at my heart.

 

[Beast] reaches lvl 95

[Call of Nature] reaches lvl 49

[Ride of Ancestors] reaches lvl 30

[Ride of Ancestors] reaches TIER III

 

Ride of Ancestors: lvl 30

Active III (Deviant - 30%)

Whether man or beast, all are born with instincts built on ancestral experience. However, the scope of this deep memory from which your instincts can draw, is much broader than that of others. With them, you can gauge the strength of your adversaries, let them guide your steps in battle, dominance, and love, or simply let them find your way through life.

Tier II - You have learned to draw on the knowledge of your ancestors. Yet what you touched was just the tip of the iceberg; primal instincts hardwired into your very core and used to their best potential. Those instincts aren’t all that make us who we are, though. You are now able to reach beyond the limits of your instincts and glimpse the knowledge your ancestors gained in their lifetime while honing their bodies to their very finest.

Tier III - Your connection to the past deepened, and the echoes of bygone eras resonate within your thoughts. Guided by the whispers of those who came before, your instincts attain an unprecedented acuity as threads of insight weave a tapestry of the bonds with your ancestral lineage.

The wellspring of insights may be overwhelming, but it enhances your overall physical prowess up to (65%) 50%, depending on how deep you dare to venture.

 

After a quick scan of the skill descriptions, which was all the time I had between Deckard’s kicks, I had to say that what the new skill tier brought was nothing new. Basically, it was a system thing, referring to the enchantment of my overall physical prowess, while in truth my leaning on the beasts made my every move more efficient.

And I leaned on my inner self more and more, making the human more aware of what kind of beast he was dealing with. A dangerous one, one that would not give up no matter what the odds, and one that would bite when cornered.

 

[Beast] reaches lvl 99

[Call of Nature] reaches lvl 52

[Ride of Ancestors] reaches lvl 33

[Perfect Equilibrium] reaches lvl 51

[Spatial Domain] reaches lvl 55

 

A bit of uneasiness found its way into my raging heart. I was confident that with the beastification I learned in Echo under the tutelage of Vienlin and Geran; I had broken through level 100 of the [Beast]. I definitely did. This wasn’t my limit. I could feel that. Yet, according to my past experience with the system, with the new level, I ought to be able to shift further, to become more of a beast.

Being a beast already, becoming a mightier one, was not what really scared me. It was the lack of control over it.

Well, I guess this was where learning without a system bumped up against its guidance. While Geran and Vienlin would urge me to keep working on my foundation before advancing, the system showed me my potential, gave me a first-hand taste of what I was capable of. Something those two could not do. All in all, the system was speeding up the whole growing process.

Biting my lower lip, which was much more painful than it had been in my human form, I pushed on as Deckard pelted me with increasingly heavy kicks.

 

[Beast] reaches lvl 100

[Beast] reaches TIER V

 

Beast: lvl 100

Passive V (Slave - 10%; Deviant - 30%)

Humans can say what they want, but there is a bit of a beast in each of them. Yet, there is more beast in you than is typical of humans. Why not accept it and admit that you are stronger than a purebred human because of it? [Strength] and [Constitution] increased by 196%(140%) → 266%(190%)

Tier II - Acceptance is one thing, but letting out the beast within you another. As you have learned, it is not so easy to control your instincts in that state, but do it, and your [Strength] and [Constitution] will increase by up to 63%(45%) → 91%(65%)

[Call of Nature] - [Strength] and [Constitution] increased by up to 63%(45%) → 83%(45%)

Tier III - You’re a beast, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And the beasts are quick on their feet, and heal fast. Your [speed] and [regeneration] will increase by up to 42%(30%) → 63%(45%)

[Call of Nature] - [speed] and [regeneration] increased by up to 41%(30%) → 55%(30%)

Tier IV - Beast you are, no doubt. It could be argued that in some ways, more than the beasts themselves. Yet that’s not what you were: Human, fighting to keep your wits. Not any longer, though. You’ve found your balance, gotten in tune with who you are, and learned to work both your wits and instincts together, making yourself a true intelligent beast to be feared.

[Intelligence] increased by 28%(20%) → 41%(30%)

Tier V - You no longer fear yourself. It is your enemies who should fear you. After all, the beast within you roars with a resonance that echoes through your every fiber, a testament to your unwavering embrace of your innate essence and one step closer to becoming your true self. And the size of your true self depends on the mass your body packs.

 

I could feel it. The barrier that kept me from getting any further with my shifting before. It was gone. Just one thought and I could turn into the beast I had trained to be. 

A mixture of fear, excitement, and curiosity flooded my body. Yet I resisted the urge to shift further, to let the system guide me. Instead, I let out a defiant roar and pounced harder on the human.

“Why do I feel like I’m fighting a 200-level beast?”

A grin crept across my face at yet another praise - amazement, in turn, flashed across the faces of the watching city guards. Never in their lives had they seen someone leveled up so many times in one spar. Simply clueless humans. They didn’t know the reason for my growth. In their eyes, I went from level 124 to 132 in a matter of minutes.

They didn’t matter, though. The human I spar with did.

My mane, the poison in my tail, none of it could hurt him - much to my irritation. And so I strained my senses to the limit, trying to find that one opportunity for the perfect pounce.

 

[Beast] reaches lvl 105

[Call of Nature] reaches lvl 56

[Ride of Ancestors] reaches lvl 38

[Perfect Equilibrium] reaches lvl 52

[Spatial Domain] reaches lvl 57

[Dancer’s Stride] reaches lvl 50

 

So many skills were just a short step away from reaching a new tier. Not that this was surprising. In fact, the new skill tiers were long overdue. What did surprise me a bit was [Dancer’s Stride], and the fact that its leveling didn’t kick in until I was so deep into my beast self. Well, I could only guess that it had something to do with the fact that it was primarily a human skill.

Annoying, for sure.

Talking about steps and kicks, the human, Deckard, stepped up his. He no longer treated this as a game and me as a kitten to be trained. For me, it meant loads of pride - and a ton of pain when his kick, taken seriously, connected with my side.

 

[Never-Dying] reaches lvl 82

 

Yay, regeneration. It was quick to take effect. Even faster when I started burning my nerve endings for pain reduction.

 

[Mantle of Magic] reaches lvl 19

[Heart of Magic] reaches lvl 29

[Heart of Magic] reaches lvl 30

[Heart of Magic] reaches TIER III

[Heart of Magic] reaches lvl 31

 

The cacophony of notifications was the downside. I could no longer afford to skim through the skill descriptions. Deckard simply didn’t give me the leeway to do so.

Nor did I want to. What I wanted was to show him what I could do. Annoyed by the ringing in my head, I danced with him in an unfair rhythm, taking one blow after another while he dodged every paw I threw at him. The human was simply too quick on his feet. Frustration. As much as I wanted to, there wasn’t much I could do to throw him off.

Well, except for one thing.

All I had to do was find that one moment to catch him off-guar . . . there!

He shifted his weight, neither foot touching the ground. I slammed him with my presence, pouncing at the same time. His eyes went wide, as did my smile. He staggered, caught off guard. A sight for sore ribs. No hesitation, however, no mercy from me. I swung my paw and drew blood.

A stunned silence fell over the training grounds. Pride. The watching humans took bets, some more ridiculous than others, some quite embarrassing for me, but no one thought I could ever hurt Deckard. Well, I proved them wrong. 

Albeit, the gash on his thigh was nothing more than a scratch. The bastard was tougher than I thought.

“Well done, Little Beast,” the human laughed, apparently feeling no pain. “I was wondering when you were going to pull your presence on me. I have to say, you chose the perfect moment. But the follow-up was quite a disappointment. I thought you were going to throw everything you had at me, or is that it?”

Mockery. Too obvious.

Yet I grinned, digging deeper into my inner self. A snarl was my answer.

“Am I still talking to you or the beast? Should I be worried about you?”

“Me,” I growled through my teeth, circling my prey.

“To be honest, it doesn’t feel like it. All my senses are tingling, warning me of a beast.”

“Me!” I was a beast.

“All right, all right, don’t get your - your tail in a twist.”

Annoying. Cocky. He smelled of something else, though. Worry, caution. 

Good. He should be.

The human took a step and disappeared from my sight. But not from my senses. The old me would have trouble following him, not me. The battle taught me more. So I dodged the kick that was meant to teach me a lesson; to knock my pride down a notch. Or so it felt.

I returned the favor with a pounce so fast that the human had a hard time avoiding my paws. Two swift lunges from him followed. One I dodged, the other I blocked with my face. The force behind it made me hit my head against the ground. 

Worth the pain.

It brought the cocky human right where I wanted him.

Fool.

He hadn’t expected to get a second taste of my presence, not so soon after the first. With him thoroughly caught off guard, I gave it my all this time like he wished, biting in and wrapping his legs in my mane. In an instant, the air turned cold - the moisture in the air to snowflakes and the human’s legs to a piece of icicles.

Or so I hoped.

Annoyingly, my instincts told me otherwise, and they were true, as they had been so many times before. As soon as the human moved, my mane proved to be no hindrance.

“Damn, Little Beast. That cold bit deep.”

“Not deep enough.”

“Well, if it makes you feel better to stay in that cold hold a little longer, I might lose my legs. Your presence, though. You got better, huh? Not only focusing it on me, but unleashing it so quickly one after the other - makes me wonder how you’ll hold up under the constant pressure.”

Before he even finished, bastard, his three-hundred-level presence descended upon my body. A kick in the butt followed.

Embarrassing, humiliating, painful, presumptuous.

In response, I wielded a presence of my own, suppressing his. My follow-up pounce drew more blood.

“I’ll be damned. You know how to bait a guy, Little Beast. Maintaining your presence, huh? Let’s see how long you can keep it up.”

Well, I wasn’t sure about that myself. Since the fight with the beastman, where I had pushed my presence this far, I hadn’t had a chance to test my might. A lie - a small one. The encounter with the seekers in Fallen’s Cry didn’t count. That was just to scare them away from trying something stupid on my pack; here I was, doing my best to suppress the human, Deckard.

Much to my vexation, even under the pressure of my presence, a difference of about two hundred levels, the human moved pretty damn fast. Not fast enough, though. Sure, I took a few kicks. The worthy price of leaving a few scratches on him.

“What’s going on?”

“Why is Deckard going easy on her?”

The humans watching grew bewildered, unaware of the battle of mights taking place between us.

“Do you not see the air crackling between them, the ground shaking? That is their presence colliding.”

“Are you serious? The shifting girl is only level 136. I’ve never heard of anyone being able to exert their presence at that level.”

“Hah, I forgot. New guy. I haven’t seen her in a while, but that’s Grey for you.”

While duly focused on my battle of endurance with Deckard, pride ruffled my fur. They did remember me.

“Don’t try to make sense of it. There’s a lot more weird things about her than that,” the human added, and the urge to bite his throat swept over my taste buds. The bastard was in luck, though. I didn’t have the room to do so. And plenty of self-restraint.

“Looks to me like this is taking quite a toll on you,” Deckard remarked. A taunt I wasn’t stupid enough to fall for.

“You blind,” I snarled back. A lie he saw through.

The truth was, despite my regeneration and [Striving Mule], whose levels were rising like crazy, I was sweating my ass off to maintain this presence for so long. In simple terms, the longer I held it, the more it taxed my body. Annoying. I was still weak.

That smell of human sweat, though. It warmed my heart. Not as easy to face me as he tried to pretend.

“I have to admit, Little Beast, you’re good. You pushed me further than I thought.”

Pride.

“However, I think it’s time to end this dance.”

I wasn’t dumb to think he went all out on me to begin with. Yet, when he took his stride in earnest, I had a hard time keeping up with him again. Kicks here and there. Bruised bones. No chance to dodge, let alone strike back. Bit by bit, he was chipping away at my strength and concentration.

“Come on, show me what you got or give up.”

Give up? That didn’t go well with my skills as a hunter. Bitterly, there wasn’t much more I could really do. In battle, the beasts of his strength were the concern of much more powerful knights.

So, to yield, after all? Acknowledge my weakness?

No! I could still . . . well, the question was whether I should?

The presence that brought the beastman to his knees.

Using it, however, was risky. To think that I only targeted the beastman because I didn’t hit Stella with the might would be an error. In fact, Stella was the only one I didn’t hit. After all, Ronnu came in after sensing our clash. Meaning, it was akin to the uncontrollable outburst of my might I was used to before.

“What are you hesitating for, Little Beast?” taunted Deckard as he showered me with kicks. “You’ll lose this way.”

This was a spar. Not something where it should matter if you win or not. He knew it, I knew it. Still, the idea of losing was something my beast side had a hard time swallowing. And the bastard understood it all too well, playing the right strings on my pride to bring out the best in me.

It worked.

“I won’t!” I snarled back as all my scruples about going too far melted away. The consequences were for future Korra to deal with.

***

Deckard couldn’t help but marvel at the progress the gal had made in the past, apparently on her own, without the help of the system. Sure, she had masters to guide her. Outstanding ones, according to her. Yet such teaching could not be compared to the direct guidance of the system.

And the system - the truth about it was something truly eye-opening. He could now see how it was meant to work, the advantages - and some disadvantages. After all, there were always two sides to a coin.

Anyway, the gal was full of surprises, as ever. The way she seemed to keep her wits about her, no matter how deep she had fallen into her beasts, made her a very dicey foe to face. It kept one on their toes. Just the way he liked it.

Deckard actually managed to push his [Void Strider] skill to level 215 in this fight. Very exciting. Admittedly, something that might have gotten him a little carried away. He wanted to see more, so he was harder on the gal than she deserved. To her credit, she took all his kicks in stride.

And they weren’t some half-hearted kicks. Down there in Fallen’s Cry, he was taking down 200-level beasts with them. The gal, however, stood her ground, her presence causing more problems than anything else. 

That much was obvious to him. And so was the fact that her pride wouldn’t let her give up. A strength and a weakness at the same time. Sometimes you had to swallow a loss, whether you liked it or not. And how to do that was the lesson he wanted to teach her.

The sooner she learned to deal with it, the better.

“Then you should do something about it,” he mocked when she expressed her defiance not to give up. The way she spoke in her beast form, the tone, still something so odd.

“Shit!” Just as he was about to kick her again, a shiver ran through his body. Danger. A heartbeat later, a presence of power he had never felt in his life crashed down upon him.

The world reeled before his eyes, and despite his best efforts to stay conscious and resist, he fell to his knees under the pressure. Mercifully, it didn’t last long, and as quickly as the choking, oppressive presence had come, it was gone.

Then he felt the beast’s breath and its teeth on his neck.

“Gotcha,” the beast struggled to speak, its tongue tickling his neck - too late for him to realize that it was his apprentice and not the true beast he was facing.

With years of experience kicking in, he void strode out of the beast’s jaws and landed a dropkick to its snout. The force behind it shattered the bones and drove her head into the ground.

“Traiana’s tits!” he swore before his now bloodied foot touched the ground again, the realization of what he had done gripping his heart. He might have just killed his own apprentice.

Or not.

No system notification of his kill rang in his head. The gal was still alive.

“Marcus! Janina!” He shouted to the best healers he knew, hoping that Little Beast would be able to forgive him.

___________________________________________________________________

Name: Korra’leigh Grey

Race: Human/Beast

Gender: Female

Age: 29 -> 30

Main Class: Deviant of Humanity

Sub Class: Slave

Level: 122 -> 148

[Unspent Stat Points: 26]

.

Constitution:  171 (41)

Strength: 88 (30)

Endurance: 53 (29)

Dexterity: 41 (28)

Intelligence: 46 (17)

Wisdom: 34 (14)

.

Class Skills (8/8):

Indomitable Will (Passive VI): lvl 157 -> 167

Behemoth (Active III): lvl 36 -> 38

Wrought Hide (↑Passive IV↑): lvl 42 -> 93

Unbending Resilience (↑Passive IV↑): lvl 35 -> 88

Mantle of Magic (↑Active III↑): lvl 17 -> 38

Ride of Ancestors (↑↑↑Active V↑↑↑): lvl 23 -> 107

Call of Nature (↑Passive IV↑): lvl 32 -> 94

Beast Core: (↑↑Passive III↑↑): lvl 4 -> 32

.

General Skills (10/10):

Perfect Equilibrium (↑↑Passive V↑↑): lvl 48 -> 113

Spatial Domain (↑↑Passive V↑↑): lvl 53 -> 127

Beast (↑↑Passive VI↑↑): lvl 68 -> 175

Never-Dying (↑Passive V↑): lvl 80 -> 104

Tail of Poison Empress (Active II): lvl 27

Heart of Magic (↑Passive III↑): lvl 27 -> 52

Striving Mule (↑↑Passive V↑↑): lvl 35 -> 106

Dancer’s Stride (↑↑Passive V↑↑): lvl 47 -> 120

None to Squander (Passive III): lvl 34 -> 38

Roundhouse Kick (Active I): lvl 7