As Seraphine stepped into the clearing, the air seemed to shift. Her sword gleamed with an divine glow, its light cutting through the chaos like a beacon.
The nightmare bull paused mid-rampage, its burning eyes locking onto her. For a moment, the entire clearing fell silent, the creature's ragged breaths the only sound.
"This should be interesting." Ray murmured
Cassandra looked between Ray and Seraphine, her eyes narrowing. "Don't tell me you're thinking about—"
Ray grinned- "Oh, absolutely. That bull's coming home with us."
The elf leader, still struggling to rally his remaining warriors, finally noticed the new arrivals. His expression turned from desperation to confusion, then to rage.
"How—?!" he snarled, pointing a trembling finger at Ray and the others. "The prisoners! How did you escape?!"
Ray casually dusted off his coat, looking completely unfazed. "Oh, you know, a little teamwork, a little divine intervention…" He shot a grin at Seraphine, who was now circling the bull like a predator sizing up its prey.
The leader growled, gesturing for his remaining men to attack. "Kill them! Kill them all!"
But before they could advance, the bull reared up on its hind legs, letting out another deafening roar. The ground trembled, forcing everyone—including the elves—to steady themselves.
Seraphine was about to enter the fray when Ray raised a hand, stopping her. "Leave the leader breathing. He knows the way to Ironvale."
Seraphine raised an eyebrow, her sword still at the ready. "Wait. I thought you knew the way."
Ray hesitated, his confident smirk faltering for a split second. He glanced away, scratching the back of his neck. "Uh… sort of?"
Her sapphire eyes narrowed, the realization dawning on her. "You've been winging it this whole time, haven't you?"
Cassandra gasped, her voice a mix of disbelief and exasperation. "You're telling me you've been leading us into certain death based on instinct?!"
Ray shrugged, flashing a sheepish grin. "Hey, it's been working so far."
Seraphine sighed, shaking her head. "Unbelievable." She turned her focus back to the bull. "Fine. Let's deal with this thing first, then you can explain yourself."
The bull charged, its massive hooves tearing into the ground as it barreled toward Seraphine.
She sidestepped with effortless grace, her sword slicing through the air and grazing the beast's flank.
Golden light sparked where the blade met its obsidian hide, but the bull barely flinched, swinging its massive horns in retaliation.
Meanwhile, Ray darted toward the elf leader, who was barking frantic orders at his men. "Keep it distracted! Don't let it escape!"
Ray grabbed a discarded spear and hurled it at the leader's feet, stopping him mid-sentence. "Hey, buddy. If you want to live to see another day, maybe stop trying to tame the murder bull and start answering my questions."
The leader snarled, reaching for his weapon, but Ray was already moving, ducking and weaving through the chaos.
Seraphine, still dueling the bull, shouted over her shoulder. "Ray! Stop playing and do something useful!"
"I'm working on it!" he called back, narrowly dodging a wild swing from an elf.
The bull, growing more agitated, reared up again, its hooves crashing down and sending shockwaves through the clearing.
Cassandra stumbled, clinging to a tree for support.
"Ray, this thing is going to kill us all!" she yelled.
'Wait, why are we all depending upon a level 1 player?' Ray thought scanned the clearing, his eyes narrowing as he spotted a massive, dangling net hanging from a nearby tree—a leftover trap from the elves' earlier attempts.
"Princess!" he shouted. "Lead it toward the big tree! Trust me!"
She glanced at him, then at the net, and smirked. "Fine. But if this fails, you're the one explaining it to the bull."
With a sharp whistle, she caught the bull's attention and sprinted toward the tree. The creature charged after her, its fiery eyes blazing with fury.
At the last second, Seraphine rolled out of the way, and the bull crashed into the tree, its horns snagging in the net.
"Now!" Ray yelled, throwing his sword high to the tree severing the rope holding the net in place. The massive trap fell, entangling the bull in a web of thick vines and steel.
The beast thrashed and roared, but the more it struggled, the tighter the net became.
Ray approached cautiously, his hands raised in a calming gesture. "Easy, big guy. No one's trying to hurt you. You just need to… chill out."
The Nightmare bull was a demonic creature and Ray soon got his much awaited notification.
[Curse 'Sovereign of the abyss' is resonating with the subjugated beast]
Dark strands emanated from Ray's hands as the they entered inside the trapped beast. Ray felt an innate connection with the beast.
[Nightmare bull is dominated by the player!]
[Sufficient requirements are met!]
[Would you like to make Nightmare Bull (level 55) your companion?]
The bull snorted, flames flaring from its nostrils, but its struggles began to subside.
Cassandra watched in stunned silence. "How are you…? Is he taming it?!"
Seraphine leaned on her sword, watching with mild amusement. "He has his moments."
Ray reached out, placing a hand on the bull's massive head. Its fiery eyes locked onto his, and for a tense moment, it seemed like it might lash out again. But then, slowly, it lowered its head, a low rumble echoing from its chest.
Ray grinned, patting its snout. "There we go. Who's a good nightmare bull?"
Normally one could only have a pet as a quest reward or by using a suitable pet token on a subjugated beast which in this stage of game was nearly unknown.
[ Nightmare Bull have been successfully tamed! ]
[ You are the first player to have a pet in the game ]
[ World Announcement...]
[ Error ]
[ Rejected! No name selected for the player!]
[ You have gained the unique title -
Title: Beastbound Vanguard (S)(Unique)
Description:
"Where the beast roams, the master follows—a bond forged not by chains but by trust."
Through wit, courage, and an unshakable bond, you have achieved the impossible by being the first one to tame a creature of other world. Your soul is now intertwined with your companion, defying the boundaries of life and death.
Effects:
• Soul Anchor: If you die and your tamed pet is still alive, you can instantly respawn at your pet's location instead of waiting for the usual respawn duration.
• Cooldown: 2 days.
Ray felt a shudder of pure excitement reading the effects of the title. He remembered vividly about guild fighting with each other to get the player with this title.
This title was infact awarded to a girl who played just to roam around this new world and after a few days of game release accidentally saved a rabbit baby from dying, which later became her pet on growing up.
Initially she had left the game, but after few years when nearly the entire world played it as their second life, her title quickly made her a target for many guilds as it was the only ability in the game to negate the respawning time.
As Ray was thinking of its many uses, he was brought out of his thoughts by Cassandra, who was more bewildered than anyone else.
She threw up her hands. "I can't believe this. You're insane."
Ray turned to the elf leader, who was staring in open-mouthed shock, bound and seething but visibly rattled. "Now, about that route to Ironvale…"
The elf leader glared at him, his pride clearly bruised. "I told you before, I don't—"
Ray tapped the bull's side with a smirk. "You sure? Because my new friend here hasn't had dinner yet, and I hear elves are high in protein."
The bull snorted, fiery breath curling into the air. The elf leader flinched, muttering under his breath before pointing west. "Fine! Just head that way. But don't expect me to help when you're lost in the mountains!"
Ray shrugged, tugging the bull's makeshift reins. "Good enough for me."
Moments later, the strange procession was moving—three humans and one disgruntled elf riding atop a massive nightmare bull.
Seraphine sat in the middle, her posture relaxed as she savoured this absurd moment of riding a bull. Cassandra on the other hand, clutching onto Seraphine for dear life, muttered anxiously.
"Three people and an elf on a walking barbecue… We're going to die. This is how we die."
Ray glanced over his shoulder, grinning. "Relax, Cass. We're traveling in style. What's more epic than a flaming bull?"
The elf leader grumbled from the back, tied securely to the bull's flank. "Anything else. Literally anything else."
Seraphine tilted her head toward Ray. "You know, for someone who promised to take us to Ironvale, you sure didn't think much past 'get the bull.'"
Ray's grin faltered. "Well… uh… we're heading west, aren't we?"
She raised an eyebrow. "So you don't actually know the way."
"I—listen, okay? It's a vibe thing. I've got great instincts," Ray said, his tone caught somewhere between confidence and awkward admission.
Seraphine's amused laugh sent Cassandra into a spiral of panic. "Oh gods, we're lost and I'm stuck with you people."
The nightmare bull let out a low, rumbling snort as it carried the group deeper into the forest, its glowing eyes lighting their uncertain path forward.
[Would you like to give a name to your tamed beast?]
"Ah yes! A name for the bull" Ray thought enjoying the roaring wind on his face.
"Nightmare...Bull...Fire...hmm"
"I get it.You will be known as Ashram "
[Name Ashram is chosen!]
The fiery bull flared his nose at the sound of his new name, Ashram, his molten eyes blazing with an almost divine intensity.
One day, this name would thunder across the realms striking fear among millions.
But that tale is for another time...