---
Steven drew his sword and looked at the monsters. Both were ranked higher than him, and he suspected they weren't the only ones released from the prison. More monsters would emerge if the leader inside wasn't eliminated.
There were many buildings around, so Steven couldn't locate the prison precisely.
The monsters surrounded him, circling him. One of them lunged at Steven. He raised his sword and blocked the attack, but the monster's strength pushed him slightly backward.
Seeing this, the other monster seized the opportunity and charged at Steven. He sidestepped, using the monster's momentum to shove it toward the other one.
"Grrr!"
The monsters collided. Steven activated his Shadow Sword skill, blending into the shadows.
The monsters had a strong sense of smell and quickly tracked him down. One attacked while the other clawed at him. Steven rolled to evade the strike.
The ground beneath him crumbled into small rocks.
*These monsters are smart… one wrong move and I could lose my life.*
Steven hadn't used his Blood Skill yet; he wanted to use this chance to strengthen himself.
He raised his sword and charged at one of the monsters.
*I must separate them first.*
The Vital Point skill didn't work on enemies above Rank C; Steven had bought it when he was weaker. He quickly aimed for the monster's leg, causing a light injury.
"Grrr!"
The monster roared and tried to strike him. Steven dodged, but the other lunged, and he couldn't fully evade—his shoulder wound worsened.
"Ughh!"
Steven vanished into the darkness and entered a building, cautiously followed by the monsters. He ascended the stairs—each staircase allowed only one monster to climb. He waited for one to ascend, then carefully destroyed the stairs, sending rubble between them and separating the monsters.
*Now they're apart. I need to kill one before the other arrives.*
Taking advantage of the distraction, he charged, targeting the monster's joints, its weakest points. The monster attacked, colliding with his sword, generating a gust of wind like a mini tornado.
Steven pushed the claws away and pulled a spice vial from his storage ring, scattering it into the air before disappearing into the shadows. The strong aroma prevented the monster from tracking him.
Steven reappeared behind the monster and swiftly slashed its neck. Finally, he decapitated it.
Boom!
"Finally…"
The other monster charged at him. They clashed fiercely, shaking the building to the brink of collapse. After an intense fight, Steven defeated the second monster.
He finally took a breath and drank a healing potion from his storage ring. The potion didn't heal instantly; it required time, unlike Awakened with healing abilities who could recover quickly.
*Now I must keep the monsters confined to this area, away from civilians.*
Steven exited the building and noticed from a distance five monsters heading toward the residential area. He frowned and increased his speed. Reaching them, the monsters stopped.
Steven raised his sword.
*I need to buy some time until the Vice President arrives.*
He charged first, attacking one monster. Another lunged at him. He quickly adjusted his sword, blocking the attack. The monster he intended to strike charged as well; Steven sidestepped and redirected his sword to its leg. He cut it.
Another monster attacked from behind. Steven blocked it with quick sword maneuvers. After a few powerful strikes, he killed one monster but felt his strength waning, with injuries worsening on his back and shoulder.
"Haaah! Haaah!"
Two more monsters charged him.
*I can't block them all… Should I use Time Skill? But if I do in this state, I might faint… and I don't know if more monsters have appeared.*
Suddenly, a black shadow, human-sized, blocked the monsters.
*Perfect timing. It's good I followed him. That was close.*
Steven looked up to see the black panther in front of him. He felt a familiar aura—the same as when he first met Bayern. It felt like they had known each other long ago, though he couldn't recall exactly.
"Bayern?"
Hearing his name, Bayern approached and lowered his head, as if waiting for Steven to pat him.
*So Bayern is a spirit beast? I suspected it but wasn't sure.*
*Did I just name him? Did I contract him? I need to study spirit beast contracts when I return.*
Steven raised his hand and patted Bayern's head.
"Help me take them down."
Bayern nodded, eyeing the cautious monsters. Steven also raised his sword.
*Now it's a fair fight.*
He charged at the two left-side monsters, while Bayern attacked the others. Bayern, one of the seven strongest spirit beasts, excelled in close combat. His power was currently equal to Steven's. Transforming into a cat minimized his mana consumption, which is why he preferred this form most of the time.
Steven attacked with his sword, but the monster blocked. Another leaped at him; he quickly adjusted his sword to block the claws. Because of the monster's speed in mid-air, Steven couldn't move in time, and the sword pierced its chest.
The other monster attacked. Steven couldn't remove his sword fast enough, so he used the corpse to push it away. He quickly drew the sword, vanished into the shadows, and reappeared behind the monster, slashing its neck—this time unavoidable.
Steven eliminated both monsters and looked at the bodies.
*It's unfortunate I can't turn them into shadows due to the strange mana.*
He saw only one monster remained.
*Good… but why were there only five here? Where's the sixth? From what I observed, each prison releases two monsters every time…*
"Kyaaaa!"
Steven heard screams from the residential area.
*Damn! Did this monster go there while I was fighting?*
He ran toward the screams and found three children around five or six years old crying. A woman in her twenties trembled, holding a branch to fend off the monster. The monster bared its teeth and charged. She closed her eyes and waited; nothing happened.
Opening her eyes slowly, she saw a hooded man pierce the monster's neck with his sword, pushing it with all his strength and breaking the ground. She felt relief, exhausted, and collapsed. The children still cried behind her.
Steven said to them,
"It's okay. I killed the monster."
Despite his cold tone, the children calmed down.
One child gasped,
"Did… did the monster really die?"
Steven nodded.
Another said,
"Thank you for saving us! But… sir, what's your name?"
Steven raised an eyebrow.
*Sir? Looks like I got a new title.*
"I'm called Black Crow," he said.
"!"
The woman regained her composure and stood.
"Phew… thank you, Black Crow. I'll never forget you saved me."
Steven didn't want to waste time; more prisons could release monsters at any moment.
"Take the children and stay away from this area. Warn others too; there are still monsters."
The woman nodded, grabbed the children, and faced Steven again.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Steven headed toward the buildings. There should be six monsters in total, since two emerge every five minutes. A quarter-hour had passed since he fought the first five, so six more had appeared.
Steven was exhausted from continuous fights; his speed had decreased. If not for this one monster being unaware, he wouldn't have defeated it so easily.
He heard a roar to his right and turned. The six monsters were all there. Bayern appeared nearby, having killed the last monster.
*I don't think I can hold out much longer… maybe five more minutes at most.*
The six monsters surrounded Steven and Bayern. The monsters attacked relentlessly. Steven blocked with all his strength, but the injuries kept piling up. Bayern helped, but the numbers were overwhelming. The monsters gave no rest, attacking continuously.
Although Steven could defeat stronger enemies, not in such numbers. His strength kept waning.
"Haaah… haaah… haaah!"
Suddenly, a voice rang out:
"Black Crow! Are you still alive?"
Steven exhaled in relief. *Finally, the Vice President has arrived.*
"Yes. I'm not dying now," Steven replied.
The Vice President appeared and killed three monsters in a single strike. He looked at Steven and smiled.
"Good, you fool. But do you need to learn to prioritize your life? Are you a child or what?"
Steven remained silent, turning his head.
The Vice President killed the remaining three monsters.
"Explain what happened, then go rest. Leave the rest to me."
Steven gave a brief explanation. The Vice President nodded and looked at Bayern.
"…But I have a question. Is this your beast?"
Steven didn't answer immediately but eventually nodded.
"Hmm, that's good. You can go now. Heal your wounds properly. You contributed greatly here. You can come to the guild anytime to collect your reward."
Steven nodded. Bayern bowed close to him. Steven thought for a moment.
"Will you carry me?"
Bayern shook his head vigorously.
Steven stood for a while, then climbed onto Bayern's back.
--