Riven walked out onto the ground floor of the arena, flanked by his family and the giant black bird trotting loyally at his side. The once-white-tiled stadium had been transformed into a vast field of compact dirt, the scent of dust heavy in the air. Ten large cages lined the circular walls, each taking up a section of the arena's circumference. Three of them stood out—at least twice the size of the others—made of interlaced white and gray metal that shimmered faintly with enchantments.
Ahead stood the hunter, the royal knight, and the other contestants who had secured a place among the top ten. As Riven's gaze swept across the group, he quickly realized that out of the nine others present, only three were of common birth. The rest—Sylvia, Jayce, and several others—clearly hailed from noble families, evident from the well-crafted armor, ornate emblems, and the poised guards that flanked them. The nobles stood together, speaking in hushed tones, their posture effortlessly proud, a habit born of lineage and breeding.
Riven's attention shifted toward the royal knight. Beside him stood a creature unlike any Riven had ever seen—a majestic, white horse-like beast with two pairs of massive wings folded against its sides and a coral-blue horn jutting elegantly from its brow. The creature radiated a calm, dignified power. Riven frowned slightly. He had never read about a beast like this before, not even in the compendiums stored at the family estate. Perhaps it was a species native to the regions surrounding the capital—or even something rarer from far beyond.
The hunter, in contrast, stood alone without a beast companion. It was a curious sight. Riven wondered if the man simply hadn't bonded with one, or if his partner was elsewhere. After all, bonding with a beast split the essence gained from hunts between the two, slowing growth but increasing combined power. For hunters capable of facing stronger foes, the trade-off was worth it. But those with weaker souls or lesser luck in finding a powerful creature often remained unbonded—relying solely on their own strength to climb the ranks.
Further along the far side of the rectangular field stood multiple guards and attendants—family representatives of the noble houses—overseeing the event with a mix of pride and formality. The few contestants of common birth, by contrast, had their parents present instead of guards, their expressions full of unfiltered excitement and nerves.
Riven's gaze lingered on a particular figure—House Frostveil's lone representative. A single guard stood quietly behind Sylvia: an older woman with graying hair tied back in a tight braid, faint scars tracing the lines of her face. Her attire mirrored the Frostveil colors—white trimmed with gray and black leather—but unlike Sylvia's ceremonial style, hers was purely military. Despite her stillness, Riven could feel the restrained power rolling off her presence. A single guard for a noble of Sylvia's standing was unusual, but as he mulled over what Jayce had told him, he assumed it must be due to her circumstances.
Riven shook his head and walked forward, joining the others in line to await further instructions from the invigilators, while his family moved back to stand with the rest of the spectators.
"Alright, let's get this underway," the royal knight announced, his voice firm and clear. "The selection will begin in the order of final positions—first place chooses first, then second, and so on."
Riven exhaled quietly, relief washing through him. That meant he would go second. His gaze drifted toward the three massive cages at the far end of the arena, the air around them thrumming with restrained power. Their presence alone distinguished them from the many smaller cages nearby—those contained uncommon bloodline beasts, but the large ones clearly housed something far greater.
He felt a faint smile tug at his lips. At least he wouldn't walk away empty-handed. His father had promised that, regardless of the tournament's outcome, he'd find Riven a suitable rare beast from the wilds beyond Veldora. But it seemed that wouldn't be necessary after all.
He had the unique ability to evolve the bloodline of a bonded beast up to a rare blood line. this would allow him to ascend a rare beast to an epic one under his soul's influence—no one knew why, but it was an undeniable truth of the world. Just as those born with a Veiled Soul could elevate an uncommon beast to a rare one.
Riven's eyes lingered on the cages, anticipation building. This was his moment.
Silvia confidently walked forward, peering into each of the cages. To Riven's surprise, she studied the larger cages but chose to move on to see the others as well.
After looking over them all, she stood in front of a regular-sized one and spoke. "This one."
The knight nodded and undid the cage, stepping back as he spoke."We have added mana dampeners to each of them. Make them submit and form your bonds."
Riven frowned slightly at the phrasing. Make them submit. The words left a sour taste in his mouth. He understood what the knight meant, but that wasn't how he viewed it. From his studies, Riven knew that true beast bonding—especially with those of rare bloodlines or higher—wasn't something that could be forced. Such creatures possessed pride and intelligence of their own; they would never bend to a will they didn't respect.
The bond had to be mutual—born from acknowledgment and trust, not domination. Still, Riven also knew that many rare beasts recognized strength above all else. To them, defeat didn't always mean humiliation; it meant proof. Those capable of overpowering them were often deemed worthy partners, and in such cases, the bond formed naturally once respect was earned through combat.
As he moved back to stand with the hunter, the door to the cage swung open, and a large creature, standing about six feet tall, lumbered toward Silvia. Riven squinted through the radiant rays of the evening. That's a Rockarid. I read about those. They're very rare among the regular bloodlines and are a type of construct beast, usually having a core and making their body out of a certain material. It seems like it's an earth type, as its body is made up of giant, irregular stones placed next to each other, vaguely resembling a humanoid shape.
The dampener was particularly effective as the creature used mana to keep control of its limbs, which made its movements slow and rusty. From its size, Riven guessed it might be rank two. His thoughts were proven correct when Silvia, armed with her rapier, dashed toward it, delivering precise and powerful strikes, but only managing to leave shallow holes on the giant stone making up its central body.
The Rockarid did not take kindly to the volley of attacks and attempted to swing its massive stone arms toward Silvia's head, aiming to bash her skull in. Silvia was aware of the attack and, instead of backing down, continued her onslaught while weaving left and right to evade the slow fists. Slowly, the stone was riddled with holes, spider-like cracks spidering through its center as a few fist-sized chunks of rock fell to the ground.
Silvia jumped back and stood still for a few seconds, her weapon held in front of her, aimed at the sky. Her eyes narrowed, and she burst into motion, arm outstretched and weapon pointed straight ahead. As her rapier collided with the rock, it pierced through, poking out from the other side. The entire middle stone shattered into pieces, which fell to the ground around her.
As the stone fell, a hand-sized black sphere appeared from within it. Before it could hit the ground, Silvia caught it in her off hand, holding it closer to her, staring intently at it.
That must be its core. She's probably making a contract.
Slowly, a white light started to emit from Silvia's palms, and the stone core began to glow with a dim light that grew as time passed. For a minute, nothing changed except for the pulsing lights, when suddenly, the light surged, increasing in magnitude and momentarily blinding everyone watching.
As Riven's eyesight returned, focusing on Silvia, he was shocked to see a ten-foot-tall giant standing beside her. Its body was made up of interlaced segments of ice, shaped like armor, covering its entire frame. It was sleek, not at all rugged or random like its previous form. A helmet adorned with pointed spikes jutted from four sides, with a Y-shaped hollow for eyes that faintly glowed with blue, icy energy, giving the creature an almost royal look.
The beast crouched and extended its giant gauntleted hand, hovering two feet off the ground. Silvia jumped onto it, and the giant stood back up, reaching its full height. It slowly started walking toward the invigilators.
"That's a mighty fine beast, young Frostveil," said the hunter, with the knight interjecting, "An ice-based rare bloodline beast of construct type. Very fascinating. Your soul allowed it to evolve yet I did not expect its element to change from a standard affinity of earth to an advanced affinity of ice. He gave a pleased nod as the beast strolled past them to stand next to the others.
As Silvia walked Rivens eyes fell upon another man who walked over to where she stood. The man seemed to be in his fifties and was followed by a giant feathered beast with four limbs and two massive wings. Its head resembled a hawk's, with a sharp beak, and its limbs were as powerful as a lion's. He must be from the Beast Association here to record all the new beast contracts, as is the law across the empire.
Riven nodded to himself, and with butterflies in his stomach, walked toward the hunter.
The hunter smiled and said, "It seems we will be able to see the birth of an Epic bloodline beast today." He clapped Riven's shoulder and helped him along toward the cages. Riven gulped, sensing the stares of everyone present bearing down on him. He exhaled slowly and stared toward the three giant cages.
As he peered into the first one, he saw the outline of a giant gorilla sitting by the wall. It had silver fur, golden eyes, and sharp tusks jutting from its face. Other than its size, it didn't seem particularly powerful. I assume the invigilators won't be of any help here.
Shaking his head, Riven moved on to the second cage. What lay inside caught his attention—a massive wolf, standing and looking intently at him with blood-red eyes. The air around it was heavy with danger. The wolf had sharp purple claws and fangs that gleamed in the light. It had a network of pink line patterns starting from its eyes and spreading throughout its gray coat.
Maybe poison, though I can't be sure. Regardless, it doesn't feel right.
Riven shook his head and walked toward the final large cage. As he peered inside, he saw a truly massive creature. Its body was thick with muscle, resembling a wolverine, but with one glaring difference: it was coated in hard, stone scales arranged in hexagonal patterns. Its underbelly, however, seemed less protected. The creature's hands were covered in stone gauntlets, and its massive tail, instead of being fluffy, was a segmented rock appendage with sharp edges, resembling a wide sword's edge.
Its golden eyes opened and fixed on him intently, not moving a muscle. The only sound was its slow, calm breathing.
Something about the creature resonates with me. This is the one.
Swallowing audibly, he backed away a few meters and entered a combat stance. This will not be an easy fight. I truly hope the mana dampeners are doing their work. A rare bloodline beast, even with its mana dampened, was an incredibly powerful creature. As Riven prepared for the worst, his eyes caught a glimpse of light shining off Corvax's sharp metallic feathers and his nerves steadied. Focus, Riven. You can do this.
"This one," Riven shouted, and the knight appeared next to the cage, unlocking it before dashing back. For an agonizing minute, nothing happened. Then, a spiral line curved through the entire cage in an arc, and the upper part slowly slid down to the left, exposing the creature. Its sword-like tail was poised upward, the edge glowing faintly.
Did that bastard channel all the dregs of mana it had and channel it into its tail? Can I even take that thing?
Riven thought as he unleashed sixty percent of his mana throughout his body. Since the invigilators haven't budged, they probably expect me to take it down.
The creature didn't give Riven any more time to think. It began barreling toward him, but fortunately, its speed was nowhere near that of Silvia's. Riven had a somewhat decent idea of how to handle it.
I'll have to aim for its underside.
With that thought, he rushed in, blurring toward the creature.