The ranks of mutant beasts differ from those of humans.
They range from basic to demon rank.
Basic being the weakest and demon-tier being the strongest recorded in history.
Basic, average, advanced, King, emperor, demigod, and finally, demon-tier.
The basic, average, and advanced ranks are considered to be the weakest among mutant beasts that a copper and iron rank tamer can tame.
Just like grimoires, King-tier mutant beasts are endowed with a strength that cannot be described as monstrous.
Each king-tier mutant beast has at least two special abilities that are not necessarily related to its innate talent.
King-tier mutant beasts' power far exceeds ten times advanced-tier mutant beasts.
Only Silver-tamers or above could deal with them or even dream of taming them.
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Although worried about his master's safety, Noha decided to trust her and obey her order by taking care of the predators coming from the left.
He then stroked his mutant arctic wolf's head as he smiled.
"Snow Wolf, let's team up, okay?"
-Howl!!
At his wolf's answers through its howling, Noha grinned and pulled his twin daggers out of their sheaths!
"Hah, as usual, you're full of energy!" He snarled.
'These daggers...?' Nikolas mumbled as he glanced at Noha's daggers.
'These are probably the gifts this kid got from the patriarch after fulfilling the guard's test.' He added nonchalantly.
With a simple glance, he could guess the rank of Noha's two daggers.
Weapons that a poor iron-rank tamer couldn't afford.
Soon, the facts proved him right as Noha manifested the power of the black dagger in his left hand.
Dark red flames began to crackle around his blade, fluttering a few times as if they were alive.
-Squeeeak!! Squeeeak!!
The two spiders in Noha's direction began to panic when they saw those flames.
However, this panicked state didn't have the desired effect, but instead made them more aggressive as they landed on the ground and hooted at him!
At the same time, Noha and his wolf also ran towards the two spiders without hesitation.
Neither side launched a long-range attack... until the distance between them had closed to two meters.
The first to act was the larger spider with the longer, harder legs that were also in front.
He opened his hideous mouth with frightening zigzagging teeth and spat the most dangerous venom that could melt his targets.
His goal was not to capture Noha who manipulates the fire element. But to kill him—the biggest threat among their prey.
'Heh! I expected that!' Noha snorted while activating the skill of his second dagger!
Instantly, the immaculate white dagger created a two-meter-high wall of ice between him and the spider's venom.
However, the ice bloc could not do anything against the poison that melted it almost instantly!
But still, although his block of ice only lasted five seconds before melting, it helped Noha go further.
He used this fake out against his opponent with a sudden shift in strategy by racing at the last spider behind the one.
"Snow, it's all yours!" He then shouted these words without even looking behind him.
But the spider who was unable to understand these words did not pay attention to the arctic wolf who was his main target.
Just when he wanted to pursue Noha who had just passed through his defenses, the latter's wolf tore off one of his two hind legs with its fangs.
Feeling the pain, he let out an agonizing cry!
-Sqeuuckkk!!
The unicorn wolf did not let this chance that had just been created by his master escape him.
The white horn on his forehead began to shine while a frosty stake formed in front of him.
-Ooowl!!
Following his roar, the frost spear in front of the wolf's horn shot like a revolver bullet toward the spider's abdomen.
-BOOM!!
The spear pierced through its target's abdomen and froze its entire body into an ice sculpture.
At the same time, the other spider also let out a panicked cry.
It was surrounded by dark red flames coming from Noha's dagger.
It couldn't jump out of this circle of flames due to its legs constantly being cut off by Noha.
Meanwhile, from behind, Claudia looked more like a barbarian than a knight.
She wielded her large, heavy sword with ease like a wand tip against the two spiders she faced alone.
Her brown grizzly was also taking care of two spiders with its long, sharp fangs and claws.
The term adversary is not adequate to describe the butchery that Claudia and her grizzly were waging.
Both were wild and aggressive against their prey.
Thanks to its strength and fur, the grizzly had nothing to fear from such enemies.
It charged into the crowd, not bothering to avoid the joint attacks of its prey that it tore in two with its front paws!
As for Claudia, the thickness of her heavy sword helped her protect herself against the venom that her prey spat on her.
To get rid of her first target, she threw herself into the air with a cry worthy of a barbarian warrior and landed like a rock on the cephalothorax of her target that she crushed with her blade.
Afterward, without even caring if her single attack killed her prey or not, she leaped toward her next target with the same pattern.
'This girl..., no wonder she gets along well with my daughter.' Nikolas mutters at Claudia's brutality.
At that moment, he focused on Mystic and Devon.
In the same second, a wave of surprise crossed his eyes when he realized that those two were no longer ahead, but to the right.
Although technically weak compared to the others, they seemed to have taken more victims than the last two.
The four spiders that Mystic and Devon were supposed to take care of were either dismembered or in a state of agonizing corrosion.
The only side left for Shin was invaded by Mystic and Devon.
Not that they wanted to steal the latter's prey, it's just that Shin didn't move from his place when he saw the three doing as they pleased.
However, the group didn't seem to need his help.
Thanks to the skills freshly learned by his instructor, Devon applied them point by point without relying solely on his ability.
As he sprinted at full speed toward his third target, his mind vacillated for a short moment when he saw that his prey was about to spit venom.
'A frontal attack...? Good.' He thought for a millisecond without stopping in his race.
When the spider spat towards him its viscous black venom, he lowered his body and slipped on his knees, passing under the spider.
However, having arrived under the abdomen of his prey, he pierced it with his blade, relying on its propulsive speed as the driving force to split it!
The good news for him was that his blade was sharper than he had expected.
-Squeeeak!!
As his victim groaned in agony, Devon continued his sprint towards his next prey!
Mystic was not the drag.
No, not in the least.
Quite the opposite, the time Devon used to kill prey, Mystic used half of it.
Indeed, the blood of this clan was truly something unique.
'No matter how much I see these monsters fighting, I can't help but be amazed.' Claudia smiled wryly as she looked at Mystic after killing all of her prey.
Mystic didn't have a disproportionately large sword that she could use to deprive herself of the spiders' venoms, nor a powerful weapon with an active skill.
However, she had something that the two didn't have, her swordsmanship!
Whenever she faced an attack head-on, she had many options.
Unlike Devon who only had dodge, she could slice through the viscous liquid with her blade and pass through the rift.
Even further, sometimes, she would kill her prey with a single attack before they could even attack.
She misled them by using only half her speed to approach them.
And when the spiders are about to use their venom spits, she accelerates like lightning before shooting them down!
After two minutes, the three, with the help of their companions, cleaned the area by getting rid of the twelve spiders that came to pick them up.
Unlike the others, the eldest had eyes only for Devon.
'This skeleton has become more skilled with a sword in just a few nights of training. For him to learn so quickly, his intelligence must rival those of human beings.'
He said these words with an observant and curious eye.
-Squeeeak! Squeeeak! Squeeeak!!!
Just when the team thought they had enough time to catch their breath, a second wave arrived.
"We don't have time to deal with them. Take the cores and let's get out of here." Nikolas quickly made his decision as he saw more guests coming.
"Sixth elder, why did we leave these beasts behind us?" Ivan quickly asked as they sprinted deep into the forest.
Although his question seemed simple, his thoughts were more expressive.
'It's not just these beasts, all the others we had encountered and who didn't attack us directly were spared under his orders. Why?'
He wasn't the only one who found Nikolas' actions strange.
If the goal is to expand their territories by exploring and securing this forest near their territories, then why act like this?
This mystery seems to dig a hole in their heads.
Nikolas could tell just by looking at their curious eyes as they all waited for the answer.
He sighed, out of annoyance.
But he still gave a satisfactory answer.
"Mutated beasts are as important a resource as gold for a nation or territory."
After this introduction, he looks behind him as he seems to think.
"Weapons, potions, and armor are all created from the cores and shells of these mutated beasts.
Above all, they are the only ones that can be tamed by the holders of the grimoires.
Without them, humans will be powerless against invaders whose strength far exceeds that of the human species.
If we commit massacres, we will endanger the entire human race."
After such words, it is not only Ivan who shows his surprise through his eyes but all the others.
"These demons... do they really exist?"
Eleanor asked in an uncertain tone.
"Yes. Although they rarely appear nowadays, they do exist." Nikolas answered without hesitation.
What do they look like?
Why did they stop appearing?
Why are they feared by humans?
Lots of questions were popping up in each person's mind.
But none of them dared to ask at this moment.
This was not the right time to discuss such topics, especially with Nikolas who, just talking seemed to annoy him.
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Note: Aside from mutated beasts, grimoires cannot tame other creatures.
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