Alan stood over the corpses of the goblins, his chest heaving slowly as he stared ahead, his mind buzzing with the chaotic rush of power that had just coursed through him.
The sensation was intoxicating, a surge of energy that made every muscle in his body feel as if it was coiled, ready to snap and unleash destruction.
His hands, still trembling slightly from the intensity of the battle, clenched into fists at his sides.
It was as though the world itself had changed around him, the dungeon silent now, save for the steady breathing of his companion — the Nighthound.
He'd done it. He had killed them. Five goblins, all at once, with nothing but raw power coursing through his veins.
He had never felt anything like this before. The power within him was boundless, it felt limitless, like he could take on an army and crush them with a mere thought
But as he stood there, breathing in the silence of the aftermath, a deeper, more pressing question gnawed at him.
What had just happened?
Alan glanced down at the corpses scattered around him. Their grotesque, twisted bodies lay motionless in the dim light of the dungeon, but they were just the beginning.
The true prize was always inside — the cores. But first, he needed answers.
The sudden interface that had appeared before him — it was more than just a simple notification. It had been an event, a trigger that had set something in motion.
Sitting down on the body of one particularly large goblin, Alan began to sift through his thoughts.
He would take the cores later, but for now, his curiosity had to be sated.
As he pondered, the familiar blue screen materialized in front of him, casting a faint glow in the dungeon's gloom.
The notifications he had received earlier replayed before him.
The words appeared in neat rows, flashing briefly before he dismissed them with a swipe of his hand.
It wasn't that the level up or the skill points weren't important — they were.
But the real question, the one that plagued his mind, was the nature of the system he had just discovered.
"I need to find out more about what this talent means," Alan muttered to himself. His voice was barely more than a whisper, lost in the stillness of the dungeon.
His gaze lingered on the remains of the goblins, but his mind was elsewhere, lost in thought.
Every Beast Tamer had a talent. That was the truth he had been taught since the first day he had set foot in the Tamer Academy.
The talent defined their strength, the kinds of beasts they could tame, and most importantly, their future.
Alan's talent had always been lackluster, barely enough to make him a D-rank Tamer. But now? Now he had something else entirely.
"My former talent was so weak it could barely make me a D-grade," he sighed, shaking his head slightly. It felt strange to even think about it.
The transition from his old self to this new, powerful version of himself was still too fresh, too surreal. "But now... I awakened an SSS Rank Talent."
He still didn't fully understand how or why it had happened. What had triggered it? Was it his bond with the Nighthound? The fight itself? Or was there something more — something he hadn't yet discovered?
As his mind whirled with questions, the screen before him flickered again, and the words "Beast Overlord System" appeared in bold letters.
Alan read them slowly, letting the significance of the words sink in. Beast Overlord System. It felt powerful, almost ominous, like the very title of the system itself promised untold strength and potential.
"So it's called the Beast Overlord System, huh?" Alan muttered under his breath, his voice steady but edged with intrigue.
The realization hit him hard. This wasn't just a simple interface or a random set of powers — it was his system, tailored to his talent, his new potential.
And if he was going to survive whatever was to come next, he needed to learn everything about it.
He extended his hand toward the floating screen and tapped on it, feeling the familiar coolness of the interface under his fingers.
The screen expanded into multiple tabs.
His eyes scanned the options, each one holding an air of mystery that made his heart race.
The curiosity within him was overwhelming, but first, he tapped on the Status tab. Almost immediately, a new screen appeared in front of him, revealing a detailed view of his current state.
Name: Alan Elinar
Age: 18
Occupation: Beast Tamer (Student of Tamer Academy)
Rank: D Rank (SSS Reawakening)
Strength: 45
Speed: 40
Endurance: 43
Mana: 200
Beasts: Nighthound (SSS-Rank)
Skills: None
Alan's gaze lingered on the information. The numbers beside his attributes weren't exactly impressive, not yet anyway, but the Reawakening at the end of his rank caught his attention.
SSS-Rank — that wasn't something to be taken lightly. The Nighthound, now a creature of unimaginable power, was also SSS-rank.
That bond between them was now deeper than he had realized, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt a sense of purpose solidifying inside him.
"What does all of this mean, though?" he whispered to himself.
His strength was higher than before, his endurance and speed seemed improved, and even his mana was substantial for someone of his rank.
But the most important thing lay in the Beast section. His Nighthound wasn't just any beast anymore. It had become a force to be reckoned with, and now, so had he.