I lowered my head, my jaws closing around its chest. The cursed core within it pulsed once before I crushed it, consuming its power.
The surge of power coursing through me was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The core of the cursed tiger dissolved into pure energy, flooding every fiber of my being. My body grew hotter, a furnace of mana roaring to life within.
As the transformation began, the earth trembled beneath my claws, cracks spidering outward from where I stood. My scales, once dulled and cracked from the heat and battle, began to shimmer with renewed brilliance. Each scale seemed to catch the faint light of the setting sun, reflecting it with an otherworldly radiance. My once-wounded body pulsed with energy as the burns and gouges disappeared, replaced by unyielding, pristine armor.
I grew taller, towering even more over the battlefield. My limbs lengthened and thickened, every muscle brimming with strength. My tail, which had been a weapon of calculated precision, now seemed to hum with latent energy, its every swing leaving faint ripples of force in the air.
Then there were my eyes. Once a cold, glimmering gold, they now blazed like molten sapphires. They burned with an inner fire, reflecting the storm of mana surging through me. The very air around me grew denser, humming with my presence, and the battlefield fell silent.
The fire ants, still locked in their frenzied battle against the invading predators, faltered. Their molten trails flickered, their movements hesitating as their antennae twitched toward me. Even their formidable queen, larger than the rest and encased in her fiery carapace, paused mid-attack to turn her beady, molten eyes in my direction.
I had become an apex force, and they could sense it.
From the treeline, predators and prey alike watched in stunned silence. A flock of carrion birds, circling above for scraps of the fallen, scattered as a gust of my mana swept skyward, rippling like a stormy wave. The cursed tiger's defeated form lay motionless at my feet, its lingering aura completely overshadowed by my own.
The fire ants had been gaining the upper hand in their skirmish, their molten claws and fiery venom overwhelming the smaller creatures of the cursed woods. Now, however, even their scorching ferocity seemed to pale before the oppressive aura I exuded. Their enemies scrambled back into the shadows, retreating into the relative safety of the cursed forest's depths. The ants, sensing the shift, began to retreat as well.
Their molten glow faded into the horizon, leaving only the battlefield littered with the remains of their triumph. But as they left, I noticed something new—several ants carried shimmering fragments in their mandibles, remnants of cores from their fallen foes. A glimmer of intelligence flickered in their movements. They had been scavenging and growing stronger themselves.
***
I shifted my gaze to the distant Earth Dragon.
The beast had grown considerably since our last encounter. Its immense bulk loomed even from afar, each step a minor earthquake. Its dark, jagged scales glistened like polished obsidian, their edges lined with faint green veins of raw mana. The power it emanated was suffocating, even from here. Its size was incomprehensible, easily surpassing the height of the tallest trees, its length rivaling the breadth of a river.
Its eyes were like twin emerald infernos, glowing fiercely as they swept across its territory. Each blink was slow and deliberate, as though the dragon calculated every breath and movement. Its tail whipped behind it, carving shallow trenches into the earth with casual swings. The air around it shimmered with heat and mana, a distortion that made it difficult to gauge its exact form.
The Earth Dragon was no longer a simple dominant force, but the strongest in the forest, a king.
The fire ants retreated, their molten glow dimming as they carried their wounded and fallen back to the labyrinthine hive hidden beneath the earth. The forest floor, scorched and scarred, bore silent witness to the clash that had raged only moments ago.
Inside their molten hive, the fire ants worked tirelessly, their movements precise and purposeful. Injured soldiers were gently submerged in restorative pools—viscous, glowing fluids that bubbled and hissed as they began the rapid healing of burns, punctures, and shattered limbs. Workers reinforced the hive's defenses, layering the molten walls with hardened resin infused with powdered core fragments from the spoils of battle. These fragments, radiant with faint energy, would serve to strengthen the hive and fuel future growth.
The queen, massive and commanding even in her silence, remained hidden within her chamber at the hive's core. Her presence was felt more than seen—a pulsating aura of control that guided the hive's recovery efforts. The soldier ants that returned carried trophies from the battlefield—cores, fractured weapons, and even remnants of their slain foes. These were deposited in the central treasure chamber, each item cataloged with unerring precision. The hive's collective energy hummed with renewed purpose, their temporary retreat merely a prelude to future dominance.
Above ground, the battlefield lay silent. Alypos stood motionless, his keen eyes scanning the devastated landscape. His form radiated quiet power, though his recent battle had left him visibly worn. He glanced toward the Earth Dragon, its emerald scales shimmering with a newfound luster. The dragon's size seemed even more imposing now, its form taller, broader, and more fearsome than before.
The Earth Dragon's rank had surged to D. Its eyes burned brighter, twin emerald flames that seemed to pierce the shadows. The raw mana coursing through its body was palpable, rippling through the air like an unrelenting tide. Its scales, once dulled by battle, now gleamed with a crystalline sheen, each plate reflecting the moonlight with mesmerizing clarity. The ground beneath its claws cracked and buckled, unable to withstand the weight of its augmented power.
Zainab stood nearby, her breath caught as she observed the dragon. There was a gravity to its presence now, an aura that commanded not just respect, but fear. Even Alypos felt a flicker of unease. The dragon's power had leapt forward, and its very presence seemed to tilt the balance of the battlefield.
Then came the sound.
A deep, rhythmic pounding echoed from the depths of the forest. The ground trembled beneath the weight of colossal footsteps. The sound grew louder, more distinct, as trees snapped and undergrowth was trampled in the distance.
Alypos and Zainab turned their attention toward the horizon, while the Earth Dragon raised its head, its glowing eyes narrowing with recognition.
From the treeline emerged three towering figures. Stone giants, each as tall as the Earth Dragon's shoulder, stepped into the open. Their forms were a blend of jagged rock and shimmering mineral veins, their every movement grinding and reverberating like an avalanche. Their eyes glowed with an ominous orange hue, and the mana they radiated was overwhelming, oppressive.
Master-ranked beings, each a solid D rank, had arrived.
The battlefield was no longer theirs alone.