On the streets of Williamsburg, two young men and what appeared to be a black cat the size of a tiger were moving together while carefully observing their surroundings.

While they searched, Leon was also having his own thoughts.

’I need a kind of detection ability. However, my soul can’t hold any other ability for now, so I’ll have to postpone that until I become Tier One.’

The fact that Cassie had been able to evade his notice barely annoyed him, but when he realized that an enemy could have done the same, his blood turned cold.

He definitely needed a detection ability or trait!

Suddenly hearing the sound of rubbles collapsing, the three turned to the source of the sound.

From the collapsed building, they saw a mutated beast appear, carrying the corpse of a freshly killed human. Blood flowed from its maw, dripping onto the ground

For a moment, both sides observed each other. Then, Little West burst into action. It lunged at the large mutated fox with orange-red fur, swinging its claws furiously while opening its mouth to take a bite from the beast’s body.

Seeing the mutated cat suddenly attack it, the fox responded with a low growl and dropped the corpse. The fox answered with claws of its own and clashed with Little West.

Bam! Slice!

The two beasts collided head-on, then stood on their hind legs as they continuously scratched each other’s faces with the aim of killing the other.

Leon watched without interfering, as he wanted to see the prowess of this mutated cat. Glancing at Richard, he realized the guy was pretty relaxed. He seemed confident that his tamed beast would be able to take down its enemy.

Smiling faintly, he pulled the Tamer’s Whistle to his lips and blew a short burst of air.

Hearing the sound coming from the whistle, Little West suddenly stepped back, then sprang into action again. This time, it didn’t lunge directly at the mutated fox. Instead, it rushed around it, stunning the fox as it was unable to react to such cunning speed.

Before it could fully turn, Little West was already behind it. Then, the mutated cat clamped its maw around the back of the fox’s neck, knocking it to the ground.

Bam!

The fox was dazed by the sudden impact, but feeling the fangs slowly sinking into its neck, it immediately began to struggle fiercely.

However, Little West didn’t let go at all. It even climbed onto the fox, using its entire weight to keep it pinned to the ground.

For a moment, Leon thought that the mutated cat was going to mate with the fox right there. Thankfully, it seemed he was wrong as the cat showed no strange movement.

’That... would have been a unique method to take down the enemy.’

Imagine suddenly overwhelming the enemy with pleasure so intense that they became disoriented. It would surely disrupt the senses of a skilled fighter.

’Wait, what the hell am I thinking?’

Shaking his head to dismiss such obscene thoughts, Leon finally saw Richard approach the incapacitated beast.

Pausing, he glanced at the human corpse, the mutated fox, then Leon. He initially wanted to tame this fox, but remembering that it had killed a human, he was hesitant.

Wouldn’t that mean he was a cold-hearted person? He surely didn’t want Leon, who he saw as a big brother, to see him like that!

Realizing the reason for the young man’s hesitation, Leon nodded with a smile.

"Go on."

Richard blinked in surprise, then immediately got to work. After all, Little West couldn’t keep the strong mutated beast in that humiliating position for long.

Meanwhile, Leon observed Richard and couldn’t help but think that this young man had grown. From a nervous nerd, he had now become someone who could handle the sight of a human corpse and even coldly command his tamed beast to restrain another.

’This is good. Killing that fox simply because it killed a stranger, when it can surely become a tamed beast, would be a complete waste.’

As for the unfortunate human that had been killed by the fox, Leon barely felt a hint of pity. After all, this was a dog-eat-dog world. It was either hunt or be hunted.

If you don’t possess enough strength or someone to protect you, then your death was only a few meters away.

Finally, when Leon snapped out of his thoughts, he realized that Richard was done taming the beast.

Little West got off the fox, and it immediately glared at the cat for obvious reasons. Perhaps if it had an expression, it would be full of indignation and embarrassment.

Richard looked at his newly tamed beast in satisfaction, then patted its head. The mutated fox immediately melted under his touch, closing its eyes and relaxing.

"This one will be called Little East!"

Hearing Richard give such a horrible name, Leon’s face turned purple. What a bad naming technique! How could he name a strong mutated beast something like that? It wasn’t a compass, was it?

Rubbing his forehead tiredly, he sighed and mumbled something only he could hear.

Meanwhile, Richard approached him with a joyful smile.

"Boss! This is extremely great! Little East is a Level 24 Mutated Red Fox!"

Leon was surprised, then felt incredibly happy. Beasts had it easier when advancing into Tier One. This meant that if the two compass direction beasts were allowed to hunt properly, they would soon advance into Tier One creatures.

"Good job, Richard. I’m proud of you," Leon said, patting the guy’s shoulder.

Surprisingly, Richard nearly teared up from the unexpected praise, and his lips curved into a bitter smile.

"I won’t disappoint you, Boss!" He said solemnly, then gasped. "Eh? What’s that?"

He might not have noticed it initially, but perhaps because of the tears in his eyes, he caught a flash of light that stung his sight.

Leon turned in the direction where Richard was looking, and his pupils shrank.

In what appeared to be the bushy garden of a small house, a strange machine was seated firmly on the surface of the earth, giving the impression that it was rooted as firmly as a mountain.

Leon carefully approached it, his heart racing. When he got close enough, he read two words on the magnificent machine.

"Star Wheel...?"