Legendary Beast Master: Starting with Contracting SSS Rank Dragon-Chapter 40: The Labyrinth

Kael was actually sure that he would be able to enter the Labyrinths. After all, the restrictions were placed on beastkins, not Dragons.

Beasts were generally considered those intelligent races that either evolved from animals or shared characteristics with them.

Races like Dragons, Angels, and many others were considered as extraordinary races, while humans were... a special race.

However, the restrictions involved the Gods and previous Epochs, so who knew if they had a different definition of beasts and even dragons wouldn't be allowed in?

'But I also have human parts, so maybe that will allow me to enter?' he wondered.

The second problem was the beasts under him, and without a doubt, they were genuine beasts as they couldn't enter the Labyrinths.

He was sure they had tried it.

But his confidence was in his Ultimate Skill, which made all of his tamed beasts a part of his power. That meant technically they should be allowed entry into the Labyrinth as long as he was also allowed.

He looked at their stunned faces and smiled, "These are the great Valoran Wilds, and humans have little to no influence here. Same goes with other races. This is dominated by beasts, and they have no usage for Labyrinths, meaning there are probably many unexplored Labyrinths around here."

Jon raised his paw lightly, and upon getting his permission, he spoke, "You are right, Master. When we were running away, I encountered a Labyrinth and hid there. It isn't even that far from here, so I can take you there."

Looking at the sun, he added, "We should be able to reach there before dusk."

Kael's eyes shone with delight. He had prepared himself to explore around more for the Labyrinth, but who knew it would be this easy to find one?

He nodded at the big lion, making him wear a rather funnily smug look on his face. Then, he chuckled softly and said, "What are we waiting for then? Let's prepare and leave."

Although the lions were still skeptical about this whole operation, they didn't voice out their complaints since Kael had already come to a decision.

They simply began making some light preparations for the trip, which included finding some food, as they didn't want to stop to hunt later.

They also used smoking to preserve the meat, and the idea came from none other than Kael. He also asked them to make a few leather bottles for water.

He clearly remembered how many people died in the Apocalypse simply because they didn't have a proper survival guide. Though, carrying water and food was quite common sense.

After all the preparations were done, the four of them stood at the bottom of the Giant Storm Tree, looking at the enormous tree in amazement.

No matter how many times he saw it, Kael still found the tree just too damn big and beautiful.

Shaking those thoughts off, he turned towards the twin lions, and one corner of his lips tugged upwards, "Care to give us some ride?"

The twins gently nodded. Normally, they wouldn't allow anyone to ride them, even if it was a matter of life and death, as it was considered a great humiliation.

But this time, their master and younger sister were riding, so they were completely fine with it.

Kael grinned as he went over to Seth and ruffled his soft, long, beautiful mane that seemed to shine brighter under the sun. But he also knew that the same soft mane could become very deadly.

Then, with one swift jump, he landed on the back of the lion. Considering his size, there was plenty of space for them.

Kiona wanted to accompany her master, but Jon's excited voice made her give up her plans.

Once they were seated, Kael smiled and declared, "The Operation EXP is underway!"

With that, the twins jumped into motion as they ran towards the western side of the Giant Storm Tree. In the north were the Frost Mountains, and in the east was the hill where the whole fighting had happened.

So, this was a new area for him. But as he observed, he realized it wasn't much different than the other side. After all, the forest was just... forest.

'Ignoring the smaller matters, let's focus on the main ones,' Kael thought, activating [Beast Sense].

He soon realized that the range he could access had grown to 150 meters, making his smile even wider. Then, he focused on the presences of the forest while enjoying the lion ride.

'Alpha, remember to make the map and include the details of these plants, trees, fruits, and basically everything. We might need them.'

[Understood. Also, I just noticed the energy that the Great Storm Tree releases into the ground through its roots nourishes the soil. So, the trees and plants are of very good quality.]

'Good! I'll look into it after coming back.'

On the road to the Labyrinth, they encountered more and more beasts, especially since it was impossible to hide their presence because of the lions.

It delayed their progress, but even then, they managed to get to the Labyrinth before the sun drowned on the horizon. It seemed the lion had considered the possibility of meeting other beasts too.

He led them down into a canyon filled with vegetation along the slopes, which made a few more powerful dwellers surface.

There were even times they had to run away, which made their resolve to get strong even harder.

Soon, they reached the base of the slopes where the canyon ended and the sides of tall walls mixed up. On the ground, there was a mess of fallen, rotting trees and bodies of insects and bugs that seemed to have evolved too.

"Are you sure the Labyrinth is here?" Kael asked in suspicion.

Jon nodded hurriedly, "I'm fully sure, Master. Back when I came here to hide, I sensed that I couldn't go any further. It was as if a restriction had banned me from entering."

"That only happened to us when we tried to enter the Labyrinth," Seth agreed with his brother.

"Alright then. Let's clear the mess first before entering the Labyrinth," Kael said, jumping down from the lion's back. "It'll be a matter of a few minutes."

The cleaning really took a few minutes as they also needed to deal with the insects and bugs, but Kael handled them easily with his dragon physique.

After all of that was done, they stood before the ominous dark entrance that seemed to lead to hell. The darkness behind it was palpable, and they could feel the danger just from standing at a distance.

[It is a Labyrinth, and a powerful one at that.]

'On the same level as Hellaric?'

[No, but still pretty powerful. It will probably rank quite high in the rankings of Labyrinths.]

Kael nodded in understanding and said, "Stay back and keep an eye out for any abnormalities."

The three nodded as Kael walked forward and stopped right before the entrance. It was twice as tall as he was, with the border made of strange dark obsidian stones. They exuded an ancient, profound aura, telling of the mysteries buried deep within the Labyrinth.

Kael took a deep breath and took a step forward. If he succeeded, he would have resolved one of the major problems in uniting the beasts.

If he failed... he might have to find other ways to sustain his Empire.