Roar!—

The roar of a 4th-star beast from far away began to reach Elize’s ears. The figure of Elize, who had been in a meditative state, woke from her thoughts and looked towards the edge of the forest. For some reason, a slight bad feeling struck Elize’s heart.

A memory of Elize previously staring at a giant purple eagle came back to her mind. The 4th-star eagle monster was Elize’s pet, which had been hiding underground for a long time. However, Elize did not expect that her mount would wake up before the time came.

Various deep thoughts struck Elize’s mind. One of the reasons why the eagle was able to wake up from its sleep was probably because of Lucien’s presence. Among the wild animals living in the forest, Lucien was someone who had common sense and was always by Elize’s side.

Maybe the reason why the eagle attacked Lucien was that it considered him an intruder. For some reason, Elize’s previously worried expression turned calm again.

The training that Elize gave Lucien allowed him to fight against Dragon King stage experts. Since the eagle was at the same level as the Dragon King stage, Elize did not have any doubts about Lucien’s victory.

Either way, Lucien would win this fight no matter what happened in the situation. Shaking her head, Elize decided to close her eyes again and focus on her breakthrough.

Back at the side of the forest, my face couldn’t hold back its ugly expression at all. The previously calm me showed an unexpected reaction to the power of the lightning eagle. From the start, my goal in coming into the forest was to look for food supplies to store for the following days.

The presence of a 4th-star monster was completely unthinkable to me while exploring the forest. Even though I was worried about the presence of a 4th-star beast, I decided to fight against it and try my best to see my current limits.

As time passed, an extraordinary lightning strike struck the entire forest. Both my fist and the eagle’s lightning power collided with each other. Luckily, I could easily survive every attack that the eagle launched.

"Gaha!—"

The eagle’s attacks didn’t stop at all, even though I was able to block them easily. Instead, I decided to become more serious in dealing with the eagle’s power, which was starting to increase nonstop.

My body, which had previously been at a normal temperature, began to feel cold. Most areas within the forest had turned into small worlds of ice. For some reason, the eagle’s expression showed disbelief.

But that didn’t deter the eagle from facing the terrifying power displayed by me. Likewise, I did not resist the attacks that the eagle launched at me. As of now, the situation in the battle had completely reversed, with me dominating the fight.

"Guh!—"

This was something I couldn’t predict, even after fighting against a 4th-star beast. I didn’t expect that my strength had allowed me to fight against Dragon King stage experts. Although I was satisfied with my improvement, I knew that Elize was the reason why I had reached a level far above the Dragon King stage.

My comprehension of the Ice Element had reached a strength equivalent to Great Dragon King stage experts. I’ve successfully broken through my limits after surpassing my comprehension as a Dragon King stage expert and reaching the comprehension of the Dragon Emperor stage. If it weren’t for the eagle being at the same level as the Dragon King stage, I wouldn’t have had the chance to dominate the current battle.

The current situation was enough to leave several wounds on the eagle’s body. Both the eagle and I did our best to win the fight that had occurred. Luckily, the eagle was not stupid and did not act rashly. From the start, the eagle had sensed the danger I radiated after we confronted each other.

Likewise, I always increased my vigilance when dealing with the eagle. A whistling sound could be heard around the forest. The two gazes that had previously been focused in front of me moved upward. For some reason, my previously expressionless face started to turn serious.

Raising one of my palms in front of me, a lotus with the power of ice was created above it. The power emitted by the lotus could easily freeze most of Elize’s territory.

A hint of unceasing wariness crossed the eagle’s face. The eagle’s gaze, which had previously been focused on me, couldn’t help but shift towards the lotus forming on my palm. The amount of mana absorbed by that lotus from within me had reached a figure that far surpassed the average Dragon King stage.

"This...! Wait! Stop! I’m not the enemy!"

Since the beginning, the eagle had been able to speak human language like high-level monsters. Since the eagle was Elize’s mount, it couldn’t have been born with ordinary powers like other monsters.

The words that came out of the eagle’s mouth made me stop my attack for a moment. Both of my eyelids blinked for some time. The moment I felt the eagle’s desire to fight against me completely disappear, I decided to retract the terrifying lotus that had previously been on my palm.

Seeing me cancel that terrifying attack, a sigh involuntarily came out of the eagle’s mouth. Even though the eagle admitted defeat in the face of my power, it still couldn’t suppress its thoughts and viewed me as a terrifying monster.

My unreasonable strength was also the reason why the eagle couldn’t suppress its fear when facing me. My current level was no worse than that of experts slightly above the Dragon King stage. Therefore, the eagle understood that I was by no means a lowly human who had secretly infiltrated Elize’s territory.

The figure of Elize appeared beside me. Elize’s sudden appearance caused the eagle to immediately show a respectful expression like a servant. As if realizing what had happened, the eagle once again decided to open its mouth and apologize for its impoliteness.

"Master! I’m very sorry for not knowing who this human is! Since this human is your disciple, I won’t bother him anymore..."

"Long time no see, Liz. Don’t be too nervous around my disciple. He is Lucien. I hope you two can get to know each other."

The eagle that had previously acted arrogantly in front of me now showed its helpless side when facing Elize. A sound of laughter involuntarily came out of my mouth. Even so, there was no reaction on the eagle’s face.

Liz was the name Elize gave the eagle. As a small animal that Elize had accidentally saved in the past, Elize decided to make Liz her mount and let her follow her everywhere.

***

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