Inside a deep crack of the War Dragon Monument, a silver wolf pup rolled on the floor. The pup twisted and turned as if it was dealing with unimaginably small ants. On closer look, anyone would find the statue filled with countless criss-cross white marks. Even a not-so-intelligent creature could feel the frustration and anger hidden beneath those attempted-to-destroy-the-monument claw scratches.

[Twin Flower Thorny Vines]? Damned thorny vines!
A vine? A damnpard? I never asked for you! Go, go away! Take everything away!
My soul, my beast soul~ What am I gonna do from now on?

The mighty pup had no idea what to do anymore.

Complete the missions and receive all the juicy rewards. With all the treasures and skills, the Mighty Tian Lang will rise through the floors and sit at the peak of the Tong Tian Tower. He will become a gigantic beast that has to do nothing but enjoy the titanic fleshy mounds and Dragon Crystals! (Tian Lang’s inner image)

But look at the horrifying reality now, forget receiving all the rewards. Everything he worked for was given to some beasts he didn’t even know of. Complete the mission again? Baah! Tian Lang had a hunch. The next time he completed the task, he would receive something like this:

[By the Ancient Laws, Unknown Creature, Tian Lang’s owned ** ** ** [*** ***] received *** *** *** Beast Soul.]

Yup, at that time, those weird curly yet pretty looking letters wouldn’t even bother telling what and where his reward went.

All his frustrations accumulated, and Tian Lang unleashed it upon the innocent War Dragon Monument. Had it not been created by some Mighty Creatures in Mighty Eras, its eyes would’ve been plucked first.

After all, no matter how many times Tian Lang looked, those glowing eyes flipped a switch inside him and made him pluck it first. Plus, a few limbs. Only then Tian Lang might’ve considered leaving it in one piece... if it could still be counted as one-piece at that time.

Thankfully, Tian Lang only wanted to do it and wasn’t capable.

So, losing all hope and motivation, the pup started sulking. His complaints circled in that tiny brain round and round. Before he knew it, days passed. The rolling Tian Lang rolled and rolled, and his body slammed near an opening.

A surprising warmth invaded his body. Jolting up from his sulky mood, Tian Lang found the sky not leaking anymore. The familiar sunlight returned along with the additional warmth.

Tian Lang stared at the sky in a daze. The previous mighty and energetic pup was no more. Without a will to drive him, the gloomy pup unconsciously took a direction and kept walking.

The vines and roots beside the roads coiled around Tian Lang’s body, but he paid them no mind. If Tian Lang paid attention, he might’ve noticed the roots and vines were much more energetic than before.

But everything was meaningless to the pup. He kept moving. No vines, no roots, nothing could hold him in a place. Snakes bit his body, monkeys threw poisonous fruits, blood-sucking insects swarmed his body, but nothing could halt the dazed pup.

In only six hours, Tian Lang returned to the start zone of Pomen Rainforest, which he took two days to cover. Without any assistance, without following any paths. Only by wandering aimlessly.

When a few daring humans entered to challenge the Pomen Rainforest during the most dangerous timezone, they saw a small, but heavy mountain heading their way.

The mountain mostly had small and big roots, but occasionally a few snakes could be spotted. Noticing carefully, the number of snakes only increased inside.

A few humans already returned to the Teleportation Portal. They had never heard of such a weird and bizarre thing in the Pomen Rainforest. The most daring one still stood outside the portal, for ten-meters from the portal fell under the neutral zone. All creatures from Pomen Rainforest were restricted from this area.

Though, it started to cower soon enough.

The roots of the mountain entered the neutral zone. However, the snakes seemed to be pressed against some invisible barrier, but the roots’ moving force crushed the snakes to bits. Only then did the ‘snakes’ enter the neutral zone.

For a minute, only the sound of crushing and a few occasional monkey yelps echoed through the neutral zone. Even then, the root mountain didn’t stop moving. It moved straight at the Teleportation Portal.

The humans in the Teleportation Portal froze in fear. Only one of them still had courage. It brandished a metal sword and shouted at the mountain, “Everyone, after me!!!”

The reply it got was nothing but chattering teeth and silence. They wanted to activate the portal but forgot how to. One of them fumbled through its bag. One pressed the portal walls with a bronze card on its hand while another fell on the ground and faked death. As for the rest, they lost consciousness directly.

“A-ah, I-I found ith-t...” the one pressing the walls finally found a hole on the wall. The human entered its card on the spot, but the intense shaking delayed it from activating the portal. By then, ⅔  of the root mountain entered the portal and crushed everyone under its weight.

“A-aah!”

The human looked at the blue brick inches apart from its fingers and despaired.

Were the humans hurt? No, they were afraid. Afraid of the unknown and bizarre situation that they cursed inwardly for getting gutsy.

However, the humans had no need to activate the portal because it was started from the other side. A protective film covered the doorway, and a white light flashed on it.

The root mountain and humans everything disappeared from the portal, replaced by another group of humans. However, they had a beautiful surprise waiting for them.

Where there should be the exit, they saw a clean-cut root door. Green and red blood dripped inside the roots, along with the snake fragments and bloody remains beneath their feet, a chilling atmosphere filled the portal.

...

Whether there was a path ahead or not, the root mountain, the newly cut smooth hill, continued marching.

But the reaction from the humans inside and outside of the Pomen Rainforest differed significantly.

“Huh, look at that. What’s this kid up to?”

“Aigo, another one who lost everything. He is even embarrassed to show his face.”

“Tch, tch. That looks quite heavy. He didn’t even enter the Star’s Domain.”

“I’m willing to bet 5 copper for him being stuck in that.”

“I’ll add 10. He is too embarrassed.”

“I bet he fell in some trap and got cursed. Look at those green liquids.”

Unperturbed by any discussion, the root hill moved at a constant pace. Anything in its path moved away hurriedly. If they didn’t, the hill ran through them.

Quite a distance away from the root hill, a human clad entirely in metal armor with a greatsword behind its back got anxious. It drew its sword and cautiously surveyed every nook and cranny.

It had a powerful sensing skill. And only a few times did it get such a powerful warning, but how could this be?

This was a neutral zone of the Tong Tian Tower, also the first floor. How could it feel such unprecedented danger?

A heretic?!

The creature focused its senses to the extreme. It frantically looked in all directions, then it suddenly saw a hill made of roots and bodies of dead snakes and monkeys.

“You there under the roots, stop this instance!”

However, the root hill continued without being bothered.

The sword flashed, and a considerable part of the hill fell apart. “This was just a warning. If you don’t stop right now, the next move will cut you in half!”

A few onlookers who wanted to ridicule quickly shut their mouth after seeing that great-sword and armor. They even moved back further to avoid any mishap.

The human looked at the uncaring hill with surprise and vigilance. It couldn’t detect the existence hidden within the roots. It warned whoever inside the root hill was once more and finally brandished its sword where it detected a faint presence. No matter how dangerous it was, this human had a duty to protect weak humans. Especially when a threat entered the neutral zone on the first floor of the Tong Tian Tower.

The black metal sword gleamed with a terrifying chill as it cut apart the roots like tofu.

Thup!

However, just when the sword reached half-a-meter point from the ground, it stopped. The shockwave blasted away the remaining roots in pieces. When everything settled, the onlookers found nothing but dust and rubbles.

“W-what?”

“Why is no one there?”

“Who was moving this? My gosh, these things are heavy.”

“Shit, can you see these tons of snakes? There’s even Sill Monkeys. This is from Pomen Rainforest!”

“He must’ve been embarrassed and used a teleportation scroll. What’s the big deal? Such a waste of money.”

The human holding the greatsword thought otherwise. The presence under its blade didn’t just disappear. It walked straight and went through the space between its legs.

More surprisingly, the human caught the figure of the creature. It was not a heretic, neither a kind of ferocious demon it was afraid of. It was just a pup. A pup that looked no more than Level 2, only its rank and species seemed unclear.

Is my skill failing at me now?
No! How did it survive my sword? My sword didn’t connect. It felt like a hard rock...
That’s right. A Shield!

The human quickly turned around and found a wolf-like green and red colored pup with black spots. It didn’t take a careful glance to know the pup was covered in the blood of different beasts. The blood in its body was still fresh as its feet left a trail on the ground.

The sword-armed human with its keen sense noticed the pup’s throat trembling continuously.

“Grr-grr-Gii”

It was like a wronged child who incessantly complained at the unfairness and discrimination of this world.

While one side of the onlookers couldn’t see the pup, the other side could. One of the bright-minded mercenaries fished out a scroll and open it. A burst of white light enveloped the pup, the mercenary shouted excitedly, “Yes! Yeahhh! I got it! I got the Bronze-ranked Moonlight-Wolf everyone was dying for! Mates, no need to be disappointed. I will auction it now and here! The auction starts at 100 gold coins! Hahaha!”

The mercenary pumped its fist and held the scroll with its other hand.

However, none of the other humans shared their joy. Some even looked at it with pity. One of its subordinates pulled it down and whispered, “Boss, if you want to die, go ahead, but please don’t drag us down with you. Can’t you see that greatsword and armor? That’s the 18th Royal Princess of the Da Xia Empire. Forget her background, as a powerful [Grimoire Holder] who is above the third floor, she has enough power and authority to silence all of us. You even stole something she confronted. You are seeking death.”

The mercenary gulped. The hand holding the scroll trembled as it didn’t know what to do.

The Royal Princess couldn’t hold it anymore and berated the mercenary, “You fool, where do you keep your eyes? Look at the length of that pup’s fur. How can a Moonlight Wolf have such long furs? It’s something entirely else different!”

The Royal Princess wished to bush the idiot mercenary’s head. It searched for every way to neutralize the pup, but someone had to put their left hand in the already difficult job.

However, the mercenaries weren’t at fault either. How could they remember such trivial knowledge?

Tian Lang halted in his steps. He was unaware of everything. He only remembered staring at the blue and green sky and thinking of beast souls. How he arrived here, when he came here, and what was he doing, he had no idea whatsoever.

But the purple slab in his sea of consciousness jolted him up.

[In accordance with the Ancient Laws, Unknown Creature, Tian Lang is deemed as a contractible entity.]

...yeah-yeah, whatever. Maybe being tamed ain’t that shitty either. I might at the very least get my own rewards. I won’t be counted as a summoner of some random beasts I didn’t even know!

Indeed, if Tian Lang was contracted, then he would become a bonafide contracted beast. Even if he had a summoner’s status, he would still have his new identity of being a summoned beast. His problem of not being able to claim a reward would be solved!

Well, maybe.

However, that would mean Tian Lang would lose his freedom. Not just freedom, most of the time, he had to stay inside a Summoning Grimoire or Beast Crystal. As both Summoners and Warriors could only keep their beast in the summoned state for a limited amount of time.

The range could differ from five minutes to two hours. Maybe more, depending on the [Summoner]’s talent and strength. Which was both abysmal and inefficient and non-bearable for the pup who lived his life in complete freedom.

It wasn’t different far from removing wings from a bird.

Above all, Tian Lang couldn’t accept the notion of being tamed or dominated by some other creatures. He had this feeling, an itchy feeling that he couldn’t understand. But it definitely went along this line, you can’t bow to anyone.

Why? Tian Lang questioned, but he received no reply.

And this itchy feeling was becoming more unbearable.

[Non-Summoner (Warrior): Delan wishes to forcefully tame you.
Your level and willpower both are exceedingly higher than the warrior.
Contract not possible.]

Huh, you can’t even hold a contract? Tian Lang questioned in a way that had a second meaning to it. He seemed to realize something vague, yet remain unaware of it.

The pup’s head drooped down. Every human held their breath. Was this pup, which even the Royal Princess desired, be really contracted by this mercenary? They lamented for not being decisive and bold enough.

“Ahhh––”

Suddenly, the human holding the scroll screamed miserably.

The pup moved and stared at the sky. He opened his jaws, and a force accumulated in his throat.

The Royal Princess suddenly furrowed its brows and shouted, “Everyone move as much back as possible!”

An image of White Tiger flashed above the Royal Princess’ body and quickly dived inside its body.

However, as soon as the Royal Princess merged with the beast, it froze. Its heart clenched so tightly that it didn’t beat. It was like the human stood before a terrifying existence and forgot to breathe.

“Memory Removal.”

A crystal crinkled, and all the humans within two-hundred-meters dropped on the ground.

WOOOOOUuuHHHHHH~~

And then a terrifying roar descended. It wasn’t Wolf’s roar, nor a Dragon’s. But it still brought an alarming presence that made everyone cower in fear.

The stone pavement was torn asunder. The small fragments slammed against an invisible barrier and an invisible presence. This continued until Tian Lang emptied his whole energy reserve and collapsed.

The human suddenly looked at the fallen Royal Princess and nodded thoughtfully.

...

Outskirts of the Royal Road Valley

The human dropped a washed and unconscious pup on a patch of grass. Watching the pup, it looked troubled. “Little Tian, you’re creating more trouble than I’d like you to make. Not to mention in the neutral zones.”

It sighed a little and murmured with melancholy, “I’m not even sure what to think of you anymore. You are as much as, and even more foolish than any beasts I’ve seen. But...”

That presence.

Suddenly, its mood shifted and laughed, “But look at this, only nine days passed, and you already gave me a golden egg. Hmm, let me see if I can find the source of your incredible frustration.”

The human scratched Tian Lang’s neck and took out a crystal card from his nameplate. Looking through it, the human couldn’t help but giggle happily.

“Pomen Rainforest, highest difficulty mission cleared twice. Fufufu~ no wonder you look so down. Tong Tian Tower must’ve looked fake to you. Obviously, you can’t receive the rewards meant for summoned beasts if you have an Authorisation Card with you...

“Aih, it might be a mistake on my part. I didn’t realize you were so intelligent and already learned about Tong Tian Tower. I left you here to gain experience as you become a Holy Beast and collect some merit points while you are at it.

“Well, Little Tian, you can’t get the reward either way. The first floor of Tong Tian Tower is meant to train both the [Summoner] and the [Summon] with either of them missing, you can’t get the rewa...

“Ah, you are unconscious, who am I even explaining to.”

Silence returned for a second before the human threw another flurry of words.

“Alright, alright, I’m guilty of charge even though the results would’ve been the same without the Authorisation Card. Here, take this demon crystal and... yeah, this dragon crystal too.

“Hmm, let’s leave a message for you. You can read, right? I won’t underestimate you this time.”

So, along with the demon and dragon crystals, the human decisively put an end to Tian Lang’s aimless journey.