The Boss Beast was being overwhelmed by the odd trio of beasts that Ethan had summoned, but it hadn’t given up just yet. Unlike humans, beasts fought with everything they had and didn’t stop until they couldn’t any longer.

It lashed out violently, swinging its antlers in a wide arc.

Crack!

A tree shattered from the impact, then it stomped, ice spikes erupting again.

One of them cut into Wolfy, who struggled to evade.

It then followed it up with a charge, interchanging desperately between its two skills.

But it still wasn’t enough.

The Glacial Crown Moose was on its last legs.

Blood stained the snow, burn marks spread across its body, and its breathing was weak and heavy. Meanwhile, the three beasts it was facing were not slowing down at all.

They knew Ethan’s MP was low, so they had to defeat the moose beast quickly. But they also weren’t in the best condition. All of them were running low on MP, and Wolfy, who had been taking the brunt of most attacks, had it worst.

As such, they gave it their all.

Talon struck again, a precise cut across its neck.

Spark flared, unleashing flames that engulfed its upper body.

Wolfy lunged, claws digging deep into its side, anchoring itself as it tore through flesh with relentless force.

The moose staggered.

Its legs buckled slightly, and for the first time, it faltered.

Ethan’s grin widened.

"Yeah, this is over."

His beasts didn’t hesitate and moved as one, capitalising on the weakening beast. Talon went for its legs, Spark unleashed everything it had left, and Wolfy went for its throat.

It was a brutal final exchange.

After it, there was a tense silence as the Glacial Crown Moose collapsed, the ground trembling as it hit. Snow drifted slowly through the air, the entire forest going still.

Ethan exhaled slowly, his breath visible in the cold air.

"That was easier than expected."

It was shameless to say after hiding behind a tree and watching from a distance, but it was true. And it wasn’t because the boss was weak. It was far from it. The moose had powerful skills and was a force to be reckoned with.

Ethan’s summons were just relentless and in sync.

Wolfy alone, if in good condition, could have given the moose a run for its money, so alongside Spark and Talon, it was basically a guaranteed victory.

But it wasn’t without cost.

His gaze moved across his beasts, and he instantly felt a tightness in his chest.

Talon circled down, so drained it was struggling to remain airborne. Spark was flickering weakly, barely any flames being produced around it, revealing its insect-like form.

Meanwhile, Wolfy had a deep wound on its side, its chest rising and falling as it stared down at the corpse. It was likely suffering even worse internal injuries that Ethan couldn’t see.

He didn’t need to check their conditions on the System Interface to know how bad they were. Despite that, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride in how far he and his beasts had come.

-

A C Rank Boss Beast really was something.

Even as the massive corpse of the ice-antlered moose lay collapsed in the snow, steam rising faintly from its wounds where fire and frost had clashed, Ethan took a moment to appreciate what he had just witnessed.

Its presence alone had been overwhelming, its skills had reshaped the battlefield, and its raw power had been undeniable.

"Yeah..." Ethan muttered under his breath as he staggered over. "That thing was no joke."

Without even needing to lift a finger, he had managed to defeat such a formidable creature. That was the part that really lingered in his mind and put things into perspective for him.

His gaze drifted slightly, unfocused, as memories of the first Boss Beast he faced resurfaced.

The suffocating pressure of the Lithoserpent Burrower, the opposing heat, the pain when he lost his arm, the close brush with death.

"That was hell," he murmured.

Compared to that, this truly felt easy.

’Let’s just hope it stays this way.’

Because deep down, Ethan knew this wasn’t just due to skill or growth, it was massively due to luck. If he hadn’t stumbled into that gate, if he hadn’t found that breeding ground, if he hadn’t evolved Wolfy to C Rank...

’Things would have been very different.’

He let out a chuckle.

’But luck itself is an ability, right?’

The world didn’t care about how you got strong, only that you did, and the same applied in the tower. And most of his strength was through these beasts of his, who fought hard in his stead.

Ethan rubbed Wolfy’s fur as the giant creature whimpered quietly.

"I’ll heal you soon; for now, rest."

He withdrew his summon, then put his palm out for Spark to land on. Seeing the drained creature without its flame coating was amusing. It was no longer energetically buzzing around him, but thankfully, it didn’t seem to be injured.

"Your mana will recover soon," he assured it, before withdrawing it as well.

That left Talon, which, despite being drained, perched proudly on top of the Boss Beast’s corpse. Suddenly, the Glacial Crown Moose’s large corpse spasmed, startling the Skyrend Hawk.

The prideful Skyrend Hawk began pecking away at the beast’s head almost in embarrassment, and that’s when Ethan finally heard it.

{Congratulations on defeating the Boss Beast!}

’So you’re telling me it hadn’t died yet that whole time?’

He laughed, thanking Talon before withdrawing its summon and promising to heal it once he got out of the tower.

{The host has now met the requirements to ascend to Floor Twelve}

{Would you like to move to the next floor of the Tower Of Beasts?}

{Yes / No}

Ethan stared at the prompt for a moment.

A slow, satisfied smile spread across his face.

’I actually did it in one night.’

He then shook his head, selecting ’No’ without hesitation.

Ethan had pushed himself enough.

His mind felt heavy, his body was worn down, and more than anything, he had been asleep for far too long. Mark was probably used to it at this point, but Elara was probably freaking out.

As such, he pulled up the Tower tab of the System Interface.

{Exit The Tower}

And what greeted him left him surprised, to say the least...