The feeling of lying and sleeping on a bed while your body slowly but surely recovers is one of the biggest pleasures in life. Zaroth was enjoying this rare moment of peace and harmony.
Until he felt a cold finger poke his cheek.
"Wake up," a tired woman's voice spoke.
In response, he grunted and tried to rotate his body to the other side but was too exhausted to manage it.
"Wake up," she repeated, this time her voice more irritated than tired.
Left with no other choice, he sighed and slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a blonde woman who clearly hadn't gotten enough sleep, judging by the dark circles under her eyes. She was the same woman Zaroth had gone to earlier to heal his hangover. It suddenly dawned on him that he didn't even bother to learn her name...
"Good morning, ma'am…"
"Sylvia," she replied. Seeing that Zaroth was awake, she took a step back and sat comfortably in her chair. She made a gesture as if she was about to pull out a cigarette, only to stop, seemingly remembering something, and clicked her tongue in annoyance.
Zaroth, his vision still blurry, glanced around, trying to make sense of his surroundings.
"Am I in the infirmary?" he muttered under his breath.
"Yep," a familiar voice came from his right. Shifting his gaze, Zaroth realized it was Zack.
"What happened?" Zaroth asked.
"I guess we might have overdone it a little..." This time, the voice came from his left. Turning, Zaroth saw Lily lying on another bed. Not much farther away was Roran.
"A little?!" Sylvia suddenly shot up from her chair. The tone of her voice made it clear she was angry.
"You idiots! When I saw you, you looked like survivors of a war! Do you have any idea how much time I spent healing your bodies just so you wouldn't die?!"
"We appreciate that, ma'am," Roran replied, trying to calm her down.
Zaroth wasn't sure, but for a moment, he thought he heard Roran mutter, "Man, I really need a drink."
"And you!" Sylvia said, pointing a finger at Zaroth. "You seriously have to have some guts and no brains to appear in my infirmary twice in a single day!"
All he could do was offer an awkward smile at the accusation.
"Forget about it," Sylvia muttered as she got up. "You have an hour until your lectures start, so you'd better not linger here much longer... Otherwise, I might get angry."
With that, she left. It didn't take a genius to guess she was going for a smoke.
Suddenly, an awkward silence filled the room.
Until Zaroth decided to speak. "That was pretty fun, huh?"
"My only regret is that the chairwoman stopped the duel before I could win it," Zack replied with a weak smile.
"You? I was going to be the winner of the duel. Your hand was pretty much useless," Zaroth said, irritated.
"And your eye was gone too," Zack said, meeting Zaroth's menacing gaze with one of his own.
"So what do you think? They're strong, right?" Roran asked, turning his head to Lily.
"...I guess... They at least get a passing grade," she replied, a bit embarrassed. "But I still think you're stronger than them."
He sighed before replying, "Lily, I don't think anyone was giving it their all in yesterday's duel... We all have our trump cards that we keep hidden as a last resort."
…..
"Well, anyway," Zaroth began, having finished his argument with Zack. He now addressed the entire group.
"That tournament... I'm going to sign up, and I'm going to win. But before that, we have the hunting competition, where we can participate as a team or solo. I originally thought I'd go solo, but now..."
"Sure, count me in," Zack interrupted, sensing the question Zaroth was about to ask. "BUT! Do not be mistaken—the one who will win the tournament is me!"
"What do you think?" Lily shifted her gaze to Roran, who was still deep in thought.
"Why are you asking me? Considering our status, you're the one who should order me around," he said with a faint smile.
She sighed as she explained, "I don't care about that anymore... and you know it. Plus, you're the one who—"
Roran smiled as he glanced at Zaroth, cutting Lily off before she said something she shouldn't.
"We're in, too."
And with that, their team of four was formed.
*****
After that, they lazed around some more until Sylvia returned and kicked them out.
Now, Zaroth and Zack were in class. The former, as always, sat in the back, while the latter sat in the front.
Due to the upcoming hunting competition, the professor was explaining how humans ranked beasts in terms of strength and the danger they posed,
Mundane – A single weak individual
Lesser – A small group of people
Uncommon – A larger group of people
Rare – A small city or a very large group
Epic – A country
Legendary – A continent
Mythic – The entire world order
It seemed that in the beginning, a jump in rank didn't increase the strength of a creature too much. However, anything Rare and above was exponentially stronger.
'Hey, Luna,' Zaroth began. 'You're a Mythic beast, right?'
'Yes? What about it?'
'Considering that you're now limited by the strength of my core, how much can you do right now on the scale the professor provided?'
'Well, I'd probably be able to defeat a single Epic beast in combat, but anything beyond that would be pushing it.'
'I see…'
'What, are you disappointed?'
'No... I'm excited. If you're this strong already, I can only imagine how strong you'll get in the future.'
With that, he went back to listening to the professor.
*****
The air was heavy with the smell of blood.
Dozens of bodies lay on the ground—some with crushed heads, others split in two, and others so mutilated that they no longer resembled humans.
An injured man was desperately trying to stop the bleeding from his stomach with his right hand. He would have used his left hand too… if it were still attached to his body.
"How…? How did this happen?"
They had been a large group of experienced warriors. Not the best, of course, but their numbers were strong—dozens of seasoned fighters and one veteran, himself!
"And yet… how were we so quickly wiped out? So close to the capital of the empire, at that?"
The heavy, thunderous steps of a creature answered his question for him.
Looming larger than a house, a three-headed beast devoured the corpses of his comrades. It was an epic beast.
And it wasn't alone.
A giant, bird-like creature with metallic feathers glided close to the ground. Another epic beast.
Why? Why were these creatures of immense strength cooperating with each other? The injured veteran asked himself, until his gaze fell upon a man slowly walking forward.
The man's skin was dry and cracked. Foam dripped from the corners of his mouth, his eyes wide and unfocused. Placing a hand on the three-headed beast, he spoke, "Ah… you want more? Sure… The capital is vast. There will be plenty of humans for you to feast upon."
"No… NO! There's no way! An epic beast master who has succumbed to his beasts' desires?!"
The injured veteran's mind screamed at him to move. He had to warn the capital! If he didn't, tens of thousands, maybe even more would die at the hands of these monsters!
That was what he thought until the bird-like creature landed close to him and poked him with its beak, killing him on the spot.