MY F-GRADE BEAST IS THE STRONGEST

Mossback Deer

The moment he made such a statement, he began experimenting with the mana he had previously felt flowing through his chest toward the Shadow Beast.

At first, he tried to reproduce the dark mana that had appeared around his fingers, but he struggled to control it.

Then he noticed something unusual.

With his eyes closed, he sensed a faint disturbance somewhere beyond the tree roots. He opened his eyes, but nothing was there. He tried again, focusing on his connection with the Shadow Beast.

This time, he sensed movement in the darkness near the cavern entrance.

He investigated cautiously and discovered that a small creature had wandered close to the cavern. He couldn't identify it through the ability, nor could he tell whether it was dangerous. He only knew where it was moving.

The funny thing was that there was nothing he could do if the creature turned out to be dangerous because he was still recovering from his injuries.

He helplessly shook his head. "One step at a time, bro..."

He turned to his side and noticed that his Spirit Beast already had three dark purple fruits in front of it. It had already eaten one, too.

Airis gulped as he widened his eyes and spoke to the Shadow Beast. "Can you spare a few more for me?"

The Shadow Beast glanced at him before looking back at the fruits in front of it. It swallowed another one, leaving only two.

"Are you kidding me?" Airis couldn't help but curse out loud as he raised his head toward the tree and noticed that some ripe fruits had grown again. The rest were still unripe.

"Just great..."

The Shadow Beast didn't even bother paying attention to him as it busied itself digesting the fruit.

He took a deep breath and sighed helplessly. He knew that worrying and arguing too much with his Spirit Beast wouldn't help, but weren't Spirit Beasts supposed to be helpful and obey instructions? Why did this one have its own personality, as though it only did what it felt like doing?

Anyway, what do I know?

Airis cleared his mind of distracting thoughts, but he couldn't stop thinking about the creature near the entrance.

He focused on his mana. This time, he wasn't using the connection between himself and his Spirit Beast.

Everything was vague at first, but he concentrated harder, his brow furrowing deeply as the surrounding darkness began to move according to his will. A faint trace of dark mana flowed from his fingertip.

Maintaining the effect was strenuous. As he continued trying to sense the creature, he could finally see its outline. The moment he managed to make out its full shape, he stopped and immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The Spirit Beast briefly turned toward him before continuing to digest the fruit.

After a few minutes, Airis finally managed to catch his breath. He wiped the blood from his mouth and struggled to keep himself from blacking out. His exhaustion, combined with his existing injuries, had nearly pushed him to his limit.

However, that wasn't his main concern at the moment. He focused on recalling the outline of the creature he had just seen.

"Mossback Deer!"

He immediately blurted out the name, his breathing ragged.

He remembered the creature from the books in his family's library. It was a sturdy, brown-furred herbivore commonly found near rivers and forest clearings around Gloamwood. Its meat was nutritious, making it a reliable food source.

And that was exactly what he needed right now.

He wanted to go after it, but then he remembered that he didn't have the strength to move far.

His eyes dulled. A few seconds later, however, he suddenly had an idea and turned his gaze toward his Spirit Beast.

He whispered, "Buddy, can you help me take care of that beast over there?" He pointed in the creature's direction.

The Spirit Beast stopped and turned toward him.

"I know you can understand me, so don't give me that look. Just help me."

"You can use that attack of yours, or whatever you used back then against that injured leopard."

The Spirit Beast continued staring at him for a moment before turning toward the direction Airis had pointed. Its violet eyes glowed as it stood up and disappeared into the darkness.

Airis couldn't see what happened next, but the sudden rustling of leaves and frantic pounding of hooves echoed through the cavern.

Bam!

Boom!

A sharp cry followed.

Then silence.

Airis waited, listening until he heard something dragging across the ground.

Moments later, the Shadow Beast returned with the Mossback Deer. It dropped the carcass in front of him as though it had done nothing special.

Airis stared at it. "Not bad, buddy."

The Shadow Beast turned away and settled beneath the tree.

"Hey! At least help me prepare it!"

It ignored him.

Airis sighed and looked around for a sharp stone. With his chest still hurting, separating the meat took longer than expected, but he eventually managed to cut off a few portions.

He gathered some dry branches near the cavern entrance and struggled to start a fire. After several attempts, a small flame finally caught.

"Finally!"

Using a sturdy branch, he held the meat over the flames until it was thoroughly cooked. The smell made his stomach growl.

Airis took a bite. The meat was tough, but he didn't care. He had been hungry for too long to complain.

After eating enough to satisfy his hunger, he saved the remaining meat and leaned against the tree roots.

His chest still hurt, and his body was exhausted, but at least he had food and shelter.

Airis glanced at the Shadow Beast. "You're lucky you can hunt. Otherwise, we'd both be in trouble."

The creature opened one violet eye before closing it again.

Airis shook his head and closed his eyes. He suddenly remembered the strange abilities he had displayed earlier, but for now, he needed to recover before he could understand them.

For the first time since being abandoned in Gloamwood, he had food, water, and a place to sleep.

He leaned against the tree roots and glanced at his Spirit Beast.

"Tomorrow, buddy, we're going to figure out what I can do."

The Shadow Beast opened one violet eye, looked at him briefly, and closed it again.

Airis sighed. He already had a feeling that getting this creature to cooperate would be harder than learning magic.