MY F-GRADE BEAST IS THE STRONGEST

What's Going on?

After what felt like a long time, Airis slowly opened his eyes and stared at his familiar surroundings.

He blinked and turned his head to the side.

He saw the lady who had introduced herself to him. It was Mira, who was busy picking herbs in the cavern near the tree.

Airis slowly raised his head and checked his injuries. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and he noticed that his wounds had improved considerably. The pain wasn't as severe as before, which surprised him.

He slowly stood up, using the tree branches to support himself. He looked around and noticed that his Spirit Beast was not far away, its eyes fixed on him.

He shook his head helplessly and leaned back against the tree.

“Oh, you're awake!” Mira exclaimed as her attention finally turned to Airis. She walked forward and stood in front of him, studying him closely as though she were trying to see through him.

“Can you cut the crap? Why are you staring at me like that?” Airis asked, raising his head and waving his right hand at her.

“My bad! You reminded me of someone!” Mira said, snapping out of her thoughts.

She bent down and examined his injured chest. “You didn't take care of this wound. If we hadn't met, it might have become infected by now!”

Airis stared at her for a moment before speaking. “Thank you!”

Mira simply smiled as she searched the small pouch attached to her waist. “What is your name?”

Airis kept his eyes on her before answering, “Airis!”

Mira paused and turned towards him. “Airis?”

Airis shook his head and replied, “Just Airis!”

After Airis replied, Mira hesitated slightly before shaking her head. She took some herbs out of her pouch.

“Relax. Let me examine your injury first.”

Airis glanced at the herbs in her hand before looking at her.

“What are those?”

“Herbs that can help reduce the pain. Now, stop asking questions and sit still.”

Airis hesitated for a moment before leaning back against the tree. Mira moved closer and carefully applied the crushed herbs to his injured chest.

A faint frown appeared on his face as the herbs touched his skin, but the pain gradually began to ease.

He looked at her in surprise.

“You've done this before, haven't you?”

Mira glanced at him. “Of course. Do you think surviving in Gloamwood is that easy?”

She finished applying the herbs before sitting back.

“I already treated your wounds while you were unconscious. If I had left you like that, your condition might have gotten worse.”

Airis looked down at his chest. Although the pain had reduced considerably, he could still feel discomfort whenever he moved.

“I see. Thank you for helping me.”

Mira waved her hand dismissively.

“You don't have to thank me. You helped me earlier, so I was only returning the favor.”

She paused briefly before continuing.

“Besides, you looked like you were about to die. I couldn't just leave you there.”

Airis gave a helpless smile.

“That's a nice way to describe someone who just saved you.”

“Would you prefer that I call you a hero?”

“Forget it.”

Mira chuckled softly before her expression became serious again.

“By the way, what were you doing alone in Gloamwood? You don't look like someone who knows how to survive out here.”

Airis stared at her for a moment before answering.

“I came here for training.”

Mira raised an eyebrow.

“Training?”

“That's right.”

She studied him for a few seconds, her gaze moving briefly to his injured chest.

“You expect me to believe that?”

Airis shrugged.

“Believe what you want.”

Mira opened her mouth as though she wanted to ask something else, but she eventually shook her head.

“Fine. It's your business, anyway. I won't pry into things that don't concern me.”

Airis didn't respond immediately. He was relieved that she hadn't continued asking questions, especially since he had no intention of telling her that his own family had abandoned him in the wilderness.

Instead, he turned the conversation towards something that had been bothering him.

“By the way, why were those three men attacking you?”

Mira's expression changed slightly.

She remained silent for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.

“They wanted something I had.”

“What was it?”

“A beast core.”

Airis looked at her with interest.

“A beast core? You mean you had already killed a beast before they attacked you?”

Mira nodded.

“I encountered a beast earlier and managed to kill it. Those three appeared afterward. They saw what I had and decided to take it for themselves.”

She clenched her hands slightly as she recalled what had happened.

“I told them I had hunted the beast myself and that they hadn't helped me at all, but they didn't care. They kept insisting that there were three of them and that I had no chance of fighting back.”

Airis remembered how the men had surrounded her and how one of them had struck her across the face.

“So they decided to rob you simply because they outnumbered you?”

“Exactly.”

Mira's expression darkened.

“They probably thought I would hand everything over once they threatened me. Unfortunately for them, I wasn't going to make things that easy.”

Airis couldn't help looking at her with a little more respect. Despite being outnumbered, she had still tried to fight back rather than surrendering her belongings.

However, before he could say anything else, Mira suddenly turned towards him.

“Now that we've talked about me, shouldn't you explain something to me as well?”

Airis blinked.

“Explain what?”

She pointed towards the shadows near the tree roots.

“How did you do that earlier?”

Airis followed her gaze before looking back at her.

“You mean when I made that man fall?”

Mira nodded.

“I'm talking about the shadows. I clearly saw them move when you were standing there. Then that man suddenly lost his balance. What kind of ability was that?”

Airis scratched his head awkwardly.

“Honestly, I don't really know how to explain it.”

“What do you mean you don't know?”

“I only discovered that I could do it recently. I'm still trying to figure out how it works.”

Mira stared at him in disbelief.

“Wait a minute. You're telling me you only just discovered that ability, yet you managed to use it against those men?”

Airis nodded.

“Something like that.”

Her expression became complicated as she looked at him again, seemingly trying to determine whether he was telling the truth.

After a moment, she shook her head.

“That's strange.”

Airis smiled helplessly.

“Believe me, I'm just as confused as you are.”

Mira didn't reply immediately. Instead, she reached for the small pouch attached to her waist and carefully took something out.

It was a beast core.

The moment she revealed it, Airis's Spirit Beast, which had been resting nearby, suddenly stood up.

Its violet eyes fixed on the object in Mira's hand, and its usual lazy expression disappeared.

Airis noticed the sudden change and turned towards his Spirit Beast.

“What's wrong with you, buddy?”

The little creature didn't respond. It remained focused on the beast core, its body perfectly still.

Mira noticed its reaction as well. She looked from the beast core to the small creature, her expression becoming increasingly complicated.

“Your Spirit Beast seems interested in this.”

Airis was about to reply when he suddenly felt something stir within his chest.

His expression changed.

The faint flow of mana he had struggled to sense since the day before suddenly became restless, as though something had disturbed it.

Airis looked at the object in Mira's hand, his eyes widening slightly.

“What the...?”

He could feel it clearly. The moment Mira revealed the beast core, the mana flowing through his chest had reacted.

Before he could understand what was happening, his Spirit Beast suddenly moved closer, its violet eyes fixed on the beast core.

Airis stared at the little creature before turning his attention back to the object in Mira's hand.

“What's going on?” he muttered.