Chapter 346

The smell of blood hung in the air. What filled Gray’s nostrils now was a mingled stench—blood from every kind of animal, mingled with the rank odor of torn flesh. Gray stood in the center of the Primeval Beastwood, panting hard.

The Primeval Beastwood was both a heaven and a hell for beasts. The forest which Gray wandered now was a space created by the primordial darkness, a proving ground for those who wished to become the King of Beasts. It was an ancient domain, where creatures from the beginning of time wandered through the trees. Here roamed mammoths, long extinct in the real world, red-maned lions who once ruled the savannas, and countless other predators that had prowled through different eras and lands. Only those who could reign over this savage world with overwhelming might were deemed worthy to inherit the primordial darkness.

The shadows beneath the thick forest canopy produced yet another pack of predators. They included hulking rhinoceroses clad in armor-like skin, a black-maned lion, and a bear with red eyes, among others. Judging by their scent, each one was monstrously strong.

Gray bared his fangs and lowered his stance. The moment his front paw clenched the ground, sharp claws extended and scraped the earth. The massive rhinoceros growled, meeting Gray’s gaze with a dominant snarl. Its body, too, was soaked in the stench of blood. It had likely just finished hunting some other beast, just as Gray had been.

Countless carcasses littered the forest behind Gray, some of them half-eaten, others left untouched. There were easily more than a hundred fallen beasts. The rhino let out a scoffing growl, as if mocking the losers. It stamped its feet. Then its immense, muscular body charged at Gray. The sheer force and speed of it sent tremors through the entire forest.

Its hard, spear-like horn nearly skewered Gray on impact, but Gray leapt into the air, as weightless as the wind. The attacker’s horn sliced through empty air, and Gray’s fangs sank deep into the rhinoceros’ throat. It let out a guttural roar, thrashing violently. Gray’s claws and teeth only dug in deeper, ripping through the armored hide and biting into muscle. Then he tore the flesh away.

There was a hideous crunch, followed by a crimson spray. Gray had torn out an artery. Dark red blood burst skyward. The rhinoceros wailed in agony.

“Perfect,” said Rakan, the Monarch of Fangs, watching the scene from behind. “Now

that’s

what I call a hunter.”

Rakan felt a swell of satisfaction. He remembered the first time he’d seen Gray—a starving wolf cub on the verge of death, a pitiful weakling nearly killed by the humanoid hyena Brocky. Suho had saved him, thankfully, but he’d been born inside a sanctuary and had never properly learned how to hunt. Such was the last living descendant of the Fang Clan. Fortunately, he had gained much hunting experience at Suho’s side since then, but all of it had been as a hound of sorts.

“A King of Beasts is not someone’s hound. He is a hunter in his own right. He must seize the crown of apex predator through his own power.”

The rhinoceros thrashed a while longer as its life faded before finally dying, its body collapsing in a heap. The other beasts scraped the ground with their claws and growled. They seemed deeply confused by how easily the giant creature had been killed.

Gray stood tall, one paw pressing down on the rhino’s corpse, and glared at the remaining predators. His gaze was fierce, yet an unhurried calmness lingered in his chilling eyes. The other beasts flinched and lowered their heads.

“I like that. Keep up the momentum,” Rakan said with a nod.

In hindsight, Gray hadn’t once flinched or shown fear since the succession ceremony had begun. Though he’d never been properly trained to hunt, he’d also never learned how to retreat. That was the essence of what he’d gained through his battles with Suho.

Unable to hold back any longer, the red-eyed bear charged at Gray. Gray spun to face it, but in that moment, the black-maned lion lunged for his flank. Gray hadn’t expected teamwork.

“Beasts will sometimes work together to take down a common enemy. It’s an instinct that needs no words,” Rakan explained.

Before he could even finish, it had already begun. Even so, it was over in an instant.

With a heavy sound, the lion’s front paw struck Gray. Under normal circumstances, that one blow would have been fatal, enough to tear through flesh and organs. However, Gray’s body held firm. The lion’s furious strike failed to break through Gray’s thick hide. Gray took the hit head-on and, in the same motion, twisted his body to bite into the lion’s nape. A sickening crunch echoed through the air as the neck bones snapped.

Gray threw the lion aside, spun, and struck at the red-eyed bear charging from the front with a powerful swing of his paw. It was the exact same move the lion had used. It ripped through the bear’s heart, and the creature died instantly without even a sound. At the sight, the remaining beasts fled in panic, tails tucked between their legs.

Gray growled. He didn’t let them escape. Instead, he targeted the fastest among them. When he ran, he was lightning incarnate. He swept the back legs out from under a fleeing puma, then tore out its throat. The rest vanished into the trees.

“Will you give chase?” Rakan asked.

Without hesitation, Gray shook his head. He turned instead and walked back to the dead rhinoceros to feast on its heart. One by one, he ate the prey he had felled.

“A wise choice. They are valuable meat. You’d only be filling the bellies of the hyenas if you abandoned them,” Rakan said.

In a forest like this, food was scarce. Even the strongest predator could starve if all the prey went into hiding. That was why the hyenas lurked in the shadows, waiting for the moment predators grew weak with hunger.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

“If you’ve gathered enough strength, continue on your way,” Rakan said.

Gray looked up at him. Rakan frowned, as if displeased by what he saw.

“Where are you going, you ask? Why are you asking me this? This world exists to test you. You must forge your own path.”

Gray would be perfect, if not for this one flaw. He was so used to following Suho’s lead that he often seemed lost when it came to choosing his own prey. It was the one thing holding him back. Rakan clicked his tongue at him.

“If you want to face a stronger foe, go deeper. There are still plenty of animals left in this forest you must hunt.”

The primordial darkness had created this place as a test for Gray, who sought the title of King of Beasts. Its will was simple—hunt every kind of creature that lived within the woods. Only by finding them, killing them, and feeding on them could Gray prove himself worthy. The challenge was that they didn’t come all at once. Each type followed its own patterns. Some attacked in packs without warning. Gray was grateful for those. Others simply hid, waiting for the right moment. Many preferred to strike only when Gray was worn out and vulnerable. His task was to track down and hunt each of them.

“Still, you are doing better than I thought. You were born and raised in a sanctuary. Unless you learn to hunt in the wild, you do not have the right to be king,” Rakan said.

He was right. Everything Gray needed was in this forest, and it showed. Gray made progress with every moment he spent here. The stronger Gray grew, however, the more carefully the other animals hid. No predator, no matter how powerful, would willingly challenge a stronger rival. That wasn’t their nature.

Gray growled, scanning the forest shadows for his next prey. He ventured deeper and deeper, where the darkness grew thick enough to swallow the trees. Eventually, he came upon a creature that lived in the black. It had menacing horns and eyes that radiated a terrifying, monstrous aura.

“The behemoth. One of the races I wiped out with my own hands,” Rakan said.

The battle began immediately. The behemoth was a towering beast three or four times Gray’s size, toppling trees as it charged forward.

Rakan offered a word of advice. “You’ve come too far in. In your current state, this one’s too strong. Fall back. Grow stronger before you try to face it.”

Gray only let out a growl in reply.

“You’re not listening, are you?” Rakan asked.

Gray had never learned how to back down. He was a hound. He might not have known how to find his own prey, but once he had set his sights on something, it no longer mattered how formidable it was. All he focused on after that point was fighting back.

With a rumble, he attacked, and attacked again. Even against the behemoth’s overwhelming strength, Gray searched for weak points and lunged. This time, the tables were turned. His fangs couldn’t pierce the creature’s thick hide. After several more tries, however, he sank his teeth into the beast’s most vulnerable spot—its Achilles tendon.

[Gray used the skill: “Paralysis.”]

[Gray used the skill: “Bleeding.”]

If Suho had been present, these were the system messages he would have seen. Gray had received two powerful fangs from Suho: Rakan’s Fang and Kasaka’s Venom Fang. They held opposite properties. Rakan’s Fang had Fatal Strike and Scorn of the Weak, which allowed the strong to overpower the weak. Kasaka’s Venom Fang, on the other hand, was designed for the weak to fight the strong.

[Effect “Paralysis”: The target attacked has a probability of being unable to move.]

[Effect “Bleeding”: The target’s health depletes by 1% per second.]

The wound was shallow, and it hadn’t done much damage, but it definitely had an effect. The behemoth’s hulking mass staggered for a brief moment, limping as one leg faltered.

“Now’s your chance! Fall back and return when the time’s right!” Rakan shouted.

Gray snarled.

“You reckless fool!”

Gray did the exact opposite of what Rakan advised. The moment the behemoth showed a gap in its defense, Gray seized it. He leapt onto the creature’s back and went straight for its neck. It was no use. Only one of its legs had been paralyzed. Gray was struck by the behemoth’s massive forearm and flung violently through the air, tumbling across the ground. The behemoth then ripped a tree from the earth and swung it like a whip.

Unblinking, Gray glared at the incoming blow that now filled his entire field of vision and opened his jaws wide. He looked ready to rip the tree apart even as it came flying at his face with crushing force.

“N-no!” Rakan cried out, his usual composure gone.

Gray’s fierce gaze suddenly softened, a cheerful glint lighting his eyes. He let out a confused rumble. Suho stood in front of him, blocking the flying tree with a single hand.

“Sorry. Took a while to get here, didn’t I?” Suho asked.

Rather than acknowledge the towering beast before him, he looked at Gray with a smile. Gray broke into a grin, his tongue lolling out and tail wagging happily.

“He’s a dog, through and through,” Rakan lamented.

Still, in truth, he was somewhat relieved. As with the other current Monarchs, succession became much easier when a shaman was around to help. There had even been a case where one received the primordial darkness without being fully qualified. Then, Rakan suddenly froze, a chill running down his spine.

“H-hold on. Who are you?”

His expression was overcome with shock. This wasn’t the Suho that Rakan knew.

“Did you receive Antares’ darkness? But even then, this energy...!”

Rakan fell silent mid-sentence. Suho’s presence now loomed over the entire forest. It was immense, so vast that even Rakan, a former Monarch, could barely comprehend it. It felt like an endless abyss, ready to swallow everything in its path.

“What... have you become?” Rakan asked warily.

At Suho’s feet stretched his shadow, tinged with a different sort of darkness—a pale-colored one.

Rakan wasn’t the only one to grow cautious. The behemoth, who reigned supreme in this region, howled as it hurled the tree down. Suho glanced at the creature, still holding its attack aloft with one hand, and replied to Rakan. The thing was simply too large.

“It’s hurting my neck to have to look all the way up at your face. Kneel,” Suho said.

With that single command, a staggering pressure was brought down upon the behemoth’s body. A heavy thud echoed through the air.