After easily defeating the Frostfang Lynx, Ethan felt conflicted.

He was glad that he had progressed so much, but he was weirdly disappointed that it hadn’t been much of a challenge.

’This place is making me a lunatic,’ he laughed.

Then again, he had always chased the thrill in everything he did.

It was crazy that he hadn’t even needed to push himself, and it went to show just how important skills were. No matter how great one’s stats were, it was the application of them that mattered.

His gaze shifted slightly.

’If that was what assimilating with Spark could do, then what about the others...’

Well, he was about to find out.

But first, his eyes drifted to the corpse of the Frostfang Lynx in the snow, its once-glimmering fur now scorched and brittle, faint wisps of steam rising where fire had kissed ice.

Ethan stood over it for a moment, hands resting loosely at his sides, his breath steady despite the battle.

"Would be a waste just to leave it," he muttered.

He wasn’t hungry, nor did he particularly need beast meat to recover.

’I guess I’ll reward Spark for lending me its power.’

With that thought, he deactivated the skill.

The faint flames flickering across his body vanished instantly, his eyes returning to their normal blue as the connection snapped.

And just like that, the cold came rushing back.

"Ah, shit."

It hit him harder than before, after burning his rags, biting into his skin as if punishing him for ever thinking he could escape it. At the same time, a wave of fatigue rolled through his body - subtle, but unmistakable.

A dull headache followed, to which he pressed a hand to his temple.

"So that’s the backlash."

It wasn’t unbearable, and compared to everything else he’d endured in the tower, it felt minor.

But he could definitely feel it.

’It’s not that bad... though if I used this skill for long, I’m sure it could get fucked.’

His lips twitched slightly, knowing that it wouldn’t stop him.

"Come out," he said, raising a hand.

A flicker of light appeared, and Spark materialised.

The tiny flame-like creature buzzed into existence, hovering eagerly in front of him. It circled him once, twice, almost like an excited pet, its glow pulsing faintly as if responding to his presence.

"Yeah, yeah," Ethan huffed. "You did good."

He gestured toward the lynx.

"Go on."

That was all it needed.

Spark darted forward immediately, its small body streaking through the air like a glowing ember. The moment it made contact with the corpse, its flames intensified.

The lynx’s body didn’t burn in the traditional sense; it disintegrated.

Layer by layer, it broke apart into ash and light, consumed not by heat alone, but by something deeper - something tied to mana itself.

Ethan watched, arms loosely crossed.

"It’s still weird."

Within minutes, it was gone.

Every last trace of the beast had vanished, leaving behind nothing but a faint scorch mark on the frozen ground. Spark hovered in place for a moment, its glow noticeably brighter than before, as if to show it was satisfied.

’This just breaks every law of thermodynamics,’ Ethan thought, shaking his head slightly. ’And how the hell does it gain anything from essentially burning remains?’

He still couldn’t wrap his head around it.

But then again, most things about his Title didn’t make sense, like the fact that he was supposed to be asleep but was in the tower, or his tattoos that could spring to life when provided MP.

"Alright," he said, flicking his hand.

Spark vanished, then without hesitation...

’Partial Assimilation: Talon.’

The change was immediate.

Unlike Spark, which had been subtle and mana-based, this was physical.

Ethan’s posture shifted first.

His spine straightened unnaturally, as if something invisible had hooked into the top of his skull and pulled upward. His shoulders rolled back, his stance narrowing instinctively.

Then, his body changed.

It wasn’t dramatic, but it was still noticeable.

His frame became slimmer, more streamlined. His torso tightened, his body feeling light and standing on his toes, even when he wasn’t actively trying. And lastly, his shoulder blades tingled, stretched unnaturally.

It wasn’t quite wings, but it was close enough that he could feel the potential for them.

The most noticeable change, however, was his hands.

He raised them slowly, staring.

His fingers had changed. The bones within them had elongated slightly, reinforced and sharpened. They weren’t claws, but they might as well have been.

"That’s dope."

He flexed them experimentally, the movement smooth, controlled, and deadly. But even that paled in comparison to what came next.

Ethan blinked repeatedly before freezing.

"Whoa."

The world expanded, and details sharpened instantly.

Every tree, every branch, every flicker of movement in the distance - it all snapped into focus with terrifying clarity. He could see further, much further, and more than that, he could process it.

His eyes cut through the forest, scanning effortlessly.

And just like that, far off in the distance, partially obscured by trees and snow, he could see beasts to make his prey.

"This is crazy..."

His voice came out quieter this time, almost reverent.

’If this is only a partial transformation, what the hell does a full one look like?’

Curious, he pulled up his interface.

{Current Status}

{Name: Ethan Crowe

Title: Lord Of Beasts

Titled Rank: D

Strength: 20 +7.5

Speed: 23 +30

Stamina: 22 +10

MP: 52/52 +8

Beasts: 3/3}

"My MP is full?"

Ethan was confused, and he hadn’t even paid attention to it until now.

Then he smirked slightly.

’So while in assimilation, it uses the additional acquired MP first... and that drain doesn’t carry over.’

That was useful, and almost broken.

His beasts could essentially act as spare batteries that he could use as long as the cost of assimilation was lower than the MP he gained.

’Though it probably still drains my beasts.’

That made more sense.

Which meant repeated use would come with diminishing returns.

Still, right now he felt fresh and ready to let loose again.

His gaze shifted toward one of the distant beasts he had spotted earlier, a grin spreading across his face.

’Let’s see what this speed really feels like.’

Swoosh!

The snow around his feet was blown away as he launched forward, his body cutting through the air with unnatural efficiency.

It didn’t feel like running, but like he was gliding.

The closest thing he could relate it to was ice skating, as if his body was weightless and the ground was his vector. His arms trailed behind him instinctively, his body angled forward as he built momentum with each step.

With each step, he built more speed, the wind roaring past his ears, the trees blurring, and the world stretching.

"I’m fast as fuck!"

Within seconds, he was already upon the beast, which barely had time to react.

It was a large, frost-coated, hare-like creature; its ears long, its limbs powerful, built for speed in this frozen terrain.

The beast’s ears lifted as he neared, then it instantly turned to make a break for it. That wasn’t the reaction of a predator, or maybe it just was because it could feel the difference between itself and Ethan.

Either way, it didn’t matter, and he didn’t slow down in the slightest.

’Gale Rend.’

The skill activated instinctively, as natural as breathing.

His body aligned, and his transformed hand became a literal blade. He swept past the creature in a single fluid motion, his open palm slicing through the air with a sharp, cutting force enhanced by the wind itself.

Swoosh!

He blitzed right past the beast before gracefully reaching a halt.

Ethan didn’t rush or follow up on his attack, casually approaching the hare-like beast that he hadn’t even bothered looking at the Status of.

A beat passed.

Then, the beast staggered.

A deep, clean cut opened across its throat as blood sprayed into the cold air, steaming as it met the frost. It tried to cry out, but only a wet, choking sound escaped.

Ethan watched with a calm, detached look in his hawk-like eyes.

The creature stumbled toward him, legs trembling, desperation in its beady eyes. It took one step, then another, before collapsing.

Then its body convulsed uncontrollably before going still.

{Beast Eliminated!}

Silence returned as he stared down at it.

’It’s another kill.’

There was no hesitation or guilt, just cold acknowledgement.

With a small exhale, he released the assimilation, and the sharpness faded, his body returning to normal.

The cold crept back in, and he was hit by a wave of strain again, but he ignored it. Instead, he summoned the beast he had just fused with to reward it, as he had done with Spark.

Talon appeared above the corpse, the Skyrend Hawk descending without hesitation.

Ethan watched briefly as his summon fed on the fallen beast before looking away.

’I’ll experiment with them both more later, but right now there’s one more left.’

It was the one he had been waiting for, as a slow, anticipatory smile spread across his face.

’Best till last.’

His eyes gleamed slightly in the icy darkness.

"It’s your turn, Wolfy."