Terrence’s heart beat fast. Fast and strong, pounding so violently against his ribs that it felt as though his heart wanted to escape his chest entirely.

For the second time in his life, he felt a cold, suffocating wave of dread wash over him—he was genuinely going to die here.

There was this hostile, long-eared human who wanted him dead, relentlessly pursuing his life with terrifying speed. Good for him, his reliable beasts were here to save him, putting their own bodies on the line.

Focused entirely on the treacherous path ahead, Terrence took sharp, sudden turns and crouched low under hanging branches, his feet continuously kicking hard against the soft earth.

Every now and then, loud explosions of raw energy detonated behind him—volatile clashes of force that he couldn’t even turn around to see. His back felt heavier than usual, and his vision was growing blurrier with every second that passed.

’Fuck! I am getting so tired! I haven’t even eaten a single protein bar yet,’ he thought frantically, gasping loudly for air with every heavy leap he took over exposed roots.

Making a single misstep in his desperate hurry, his elbow scraped violently against the sharp splinter of a snapped young plant, cutting his skin and making him bleed. It was technically just a minor scratch, but the sudden trickle of warm blood and the sharp, burning sting were intensely painful in his exhausted state.

He hissed loudly the second after, clenching his jaw tight as he forced himself forward. Suddenly, his Shadow Hound flew past his side and landed directly in front of him, making him pause in shock and worry.

Noir growled softly toward Terrence, nudging his leg as if explicitly telling his master not to worry about his condition.

In his peripheral vision, the long-eared human was visibly irritated, its sharp face contorted in anger. Its primary target was strictly Terrence, but with every single assassination attempt it made, it failed miserably due to the absolute defense provided by the two contracted beasts.

However, Noir was visibly tired as well. Despite its high S-Rank potential, the hound hadn’t reached its full evolutionary maturity yet. On top of that, Noir hadn’t been able to rest properly since their grueling battle against the Golem Turtle and the Parasitic Leech back in the rift.

Terrence tried to reach his hand out to comfort the hound, but another deafening metal-on-metal clang reverberated right near his right ear. Avery had swooped down to catch the incoming sword blade once again. However, Terrence could clearly see that Avery was having an increasingly hard time absorbing the enemy’s heavy, relentless blows.

’Just how insanely strong is this alien to fight completely head-to-head with my high-rank beasts?!’

He couldn’t fathom the true power level of their enemy. Was it simply because this creature belonged to a species completely unknown to humanity? Did this imply that other worlds were populated by literal superhumans?

Terrence didn’t have the time or energy to seek those answers right now. His legs bent again, and he pushed off the ground to resume running. He swallowed hard and bit his lower lip, desperately wanting to assist his beasts in battle, but he knew deep down that stepping in would only make him a liability and hinder their coordination.

Summoning every ounce of his willpower as he finally reached the base of the steep mountain slope, he immediately activated Skill Share.

Instantly, his physical body became noticeably lighter than usual as the passive mobility skill belonging to Noir flooded directly through his nervous system. As Terrence reached for the dotted, rocky terrain ahead, his fingers gripped the rough, cool surface of a protruding rock face, effortlessly flinging his body over a meter into the air.

He had been deliberately saving his stamina for a while just for this critical moment. If he had activated Skill Share any earlier during the flat chase, he might not have had enough physical energy left to scale the slope and reach the top.

Using Skill Share always took a massive physical toll on his human body. He would exhaust his reserves at a rapid rate, which was precisely why building a strong physical foundation was so important for tamers.

He made sure to do light workouts every single day, but right now, it clearly felt insufficient. He needed to become far more agile and drastically improve his physical endurance for battles like this.

His left hand reached out and grabbed a thin, young tree branch. The wood bent dangerously downward under his hanging weight, but fortunately, the plant proved sturdy enough to hold.

Utilizing the upward momentum he had built, he swung his body toward a larger rock platform above, landing on both feet with calculated precision—even as his vision continued to slowly blur from exhaustion.

’Please... just let me reach the portal in time...’ he prayed internally. He hoped his failing body would listen to his mind, forcing his muscles to push past their physical limits.

He continued trekking upward at an insane pace, the activated Light Body skill drastically improving his climbing speed and movement efficiency. Yet, with every second that ticked by, he could feel his limbs slowly becoming heavier and heavier as the skill’s energy drain kicked in.

Glancing downward, Terrence noticed that Noir was getting hit from time to time. The hound was no longer able to fully deflect the alien’s high-speed strikes, failing multiple parry attempts as its fatigue set in.

The long-eared human was slowly overpowering his beasts through raw physical output. Terrence realized the dark, harsh truth: even though his beasts represented the absolute pinnacle of power in his home world, the standard of strength in an alien world was on an entirely different scale.

Terrence wanted to yell out and ask why the long-eared human was so hell-bent on killing him, but judging by the creature’s cold, merciless eyes, he was dead certain it wouldn’t even attempt to communicate with him rationally.

And finally...

Terrence released a massive, ragged breath of relief as his hands gripped the ledge and he pulled himself onto the peak of the slope. The ascent had felt infinitely more difficult than climbing down earlier, but Light Body had undoubtedly saved his life during the climb.

Noir immediately scrambled up the ledge and regrouped by his side, while Avery remained down in the valley below, single-handedly holding off the long-eared human.

"Avery! Retreat now! Let’s go!" Terrence screamed down the slope.

He shouted at the top of his lungs, but Avery didn’t listen. Instead, with every passing second, Terrence could see his dragon fighting with increasing intensity and raw power.

Terrence’s fingers were still trembling violently from exhaustion, but his heavy heart felt lighter and lighter as he watched his SS-Rank Sky Dragon fight furiously on his behalf—as if the young creature were fighting against the entire world just to protect him.

Noir trotted over and gently rubbed its dark head against Terrence’s arm, whining softly as if trying to explain something about Avery’s current state.

"What is it, Noir? What’s happening to him?" Terrence asked, crouching down to observe the battle below.

To his absolute amazement, Avery was now precisely catching and parrying every single high-speed attack delivered by the long-eared human.

The long-eared human was hovering mid-air, its sharp sword thrusting forward relentlessly while a dense aura of volatile mana shrouded its blade. The color of the enemy’s energy was actively shifting, deepening into a lethal purple hue.

Yet, as deadly as those strikes were, Avery was adapting to them at a terrifying speed—it was as if the young dragon had completely read and memorized the enemy’s attack patterns.

The long-eared human hissed in sheer frustration as it noticed Terrence had already successfully reached the peak, standing safely at the top and looking down at the battle.

Avery’s bright eyes were filled with absolute determination.

The long-eared human rapidly increased its flight altitude, attempting to rise to the level of the peak Terrence was standing on. However, the moment it tried to ascend, it was slammed by a harsh, freezing gust of pressurized wind generated directly by the dragon hovering before it.

"Kid!" the alien roared in frustration, staring at the baby dragon. "Why on earth are you serving a mere human?! I am actively creating a safe world for your kin! Providing food and sanctuary for your kind! And now, you dare to raise your claws against me?!"

Avery didn’t care to listen to a single word. Instead, the young dragon took a massive, deep breath, its chest expanding dramatically before it lunged forward in an azure blur. Intercepting the long-eared human as it tried to rise again, Avery drove the alien back down toward the valley floor.

The long-eared human completely lost its composure, its expression morphing into one of obvious rage, confusion, and utter disbelief at what was transpiring.

"Humans and beasts are natural, eternal enemies!" the alien shouted, its voice echoing across the clearing. "That is the fundamental reality of all worlds across the universe! As humans became smarter and more arrogant, the guardians ensured that beasts would always hold the absolute upper hand! We gave your species shelter! We gifted you entire worlds to nurture your power and eradicate humans! But it seems like we were wrong—or YOU are broken! You are willingly obeying a human who is your natural enemy! Beast, you have made a fatal mistake!"

Avery completely ignored the crazed ranting. As the dragon took another massive, deep breath mid-air, a dense concentration of energy began visibly compressing inside its small chest.

"I see!" the long-eared human spat, raising its glowing purple sword high into the air. "Then I have no choice but to kill you right here—!"

Avery’s jaws suddenly snapped wide open, and an explosion of hyper-compressed, volatile mana surged forth from its throat. The energy instantly combusted upon contact with the open air, transforming into a towering, white-hot torrent of dragon fire centered around a core of pure, matter-devouring mana energy.

The massive beam of dragon fire stretched directly toward the long-eared human without a shred of mercy, expanding outward like a massive military flamethrower.

The long-eared human’s screaming voice vanished instantly as its entire body was completely engulfed by the wide diameter of Avery’s breath weapon.

Witnessing this utterly terrifying display of destructive power, Terrence couldn’t help but gulp down hard, his mouth going completely dry as a brilliant system notification materialized directly beside his vision:

[Congratulations! You have successfully nurtured the SS-Rank Sky Dragon!]

[Skill Unlocked: Dragon’s Breath!]

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