The air in the Emerald City forest region was thick with the scent of damp earth and pine. Jayden moved silently through the dense undergrowth, his senses dialed to the maximum.

He had chosen this forest first for a reason: he was already the apex predator here. The local ecosystem knew his presence, and the beasts had long learned to fear the shadow that hunted them.

Jayden wanted to exploit that terror. That underlying fear of him would make the beasts far easier to break and subjugate.

He didn’t have to search long before he found his first recruit.

Lurking near a cluster of jagged rocks was an E-Rank Lesser Wolverine Stalker. The massive, bear-like creature was busy gnawing on a bone, but the moment Jayden stepped out into the clearing, its head snapped up.

The beast recognized Jayden instantly. Its first instinct wasn’t to fight; it was to flee. Beasts below D-Rank didn’t dare challenge the silver-haired hunter who had been slaughtering their kind for months. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

As the massive beast spun around to bolt, Jayden moved. In a blur of motion, he materialized directly in the creature’s path. The Stalker scrambled backward, its massive claws tearing up the dirt. It bared its teeth and let out a low, guttural growl, desperately trying to look vicious, but the sheer terror in its eyes betrayed it.

Jayden took a slow, deliberate step forward. It was time to test his new ability. But first...

"Activate Beastlord Aura." He ordered mentally.

[-10 EP]

[Beastlord Aura (Active) Activated]

A suffocating, invisible pressure exploded from Jayden’s core, washing over the clearing like a tidal wave of pure dominance. The air itself seemed to grow heavy. The effect on the Wolverine Stalker was instantaneous and absolute. The beast’s legs buckled under the crushing weight of the aura. It hit the dirt, whining pitifully, its massive head pressed firmly against the ground in total submission.

Jayden chuckled. He hadn’t even needed to speak a command before the beast submitted.

Then, the system’s window flickered to life in his vision.

[Taming Requirements Met]

[Would you like to tame: Wolverine Stalker (E-Rank)?]

[Yes / No]

Jayden mentally selected Yes. The system responded instantly.

[You have tamed a lesser wolverine stalker]

Jayden blinked. That’s it? There was no flashing light, process, or special effect. It was simply direct and straightforward.

"Oh, well. It’s better that way," Jayden murmured. Then he deactivated the Beastlord aura to conserve his Energy Points.

The oppressive weight lifted from the clearing. The Stalker cautiously rose to its feet, shook out its thick fur, and looked at Jayden. Then, entirely willingly, it lowered its head again.

Through the System, Jayden felt a faint, tether-like connection to the beast’s mind. He decided to test it, sending a basic mental command:

"Sit."

The beast sat heavily on its haunches.

Jayden smirked. "Alright," he said, feeling excited. "Stand."

The beast stood without question.

"Circle."

It also obeyed that command, without a fraction of hesitation.

And because it possessed a low-level intellect, Jayden didn’t need to micromanage it; the creature inherently understood that Jayden was the Alpha, and its loyalty was now absolute.

Exhilarated by the success, Jayden ventured deeper into the woods, his new Stalker trailing obediently a few paces behind.

Thirty minutes later, they encountered a pack of Howlers. Five of them, all E-Rank. They were spread across a ravine, their coats the mottled grey-white of animals that spent their lives in the deeper shadow of the canopy. They moved with the coordinated restlessness of a pack between activities... not hunting, not resting, just simply existing collectively.

Jayden smirked. Jackpot.

He pointed at the wolves. "Engage, but do not kill," he commanded his Stalker.

The creature roared and charged into the ravine. The Howlers immediately swarmed it, snapping and clawing. The Stalker was much larger and heavily muscled, using its massive paws to smack the wolves away and toss them into the brush. It held its own perfectly.

It batted two howlers aside with sweeping forepaw strikes that sent them tumbling, threw a third with its body weight, shrugged off bites at its flanks with the brute indifference of something that had been taking hits its whole life. It was doing exactly as commanded... engaging, controlling the fight, but not finishing them off.

Jayden watched the brawl for two minutes, analyzing their movements. He could have simply activated his Beastlord Aura again, but he had a theory he wanted to test.

He stepped to the edge of the ravine and let out a deep, booming growl that echoed through the trees.

Every single Howler froze, their ears pinning back. They whipped their heads toward Jayden. He wasn’t using the System’s aura. Instead, he had allowed his Lycan traits to partially surface. His eyes burned a brilliant, glowing amber in the dim forest light, and his jaw had subtly shifted, extending his canines into lethal fangs. Since he was a werewolf and the howlers were essentially wolves, he decided to use his Lycan authority as an alpha and greater wolf to assert dominance.

To the Howlers, he wasn’t just a strong human; he was the ultimate Alpha. They instantly dropped their tails between their legs, whimpering and pressing their bellies to the dirt.

Five consecutive System notifications chimed, confirming the taming requirements were met.

Jayden tamed them all, then willed his features back to a normal human appearance. His theory was correct: his innate Lycan biology worked in tandem with his authority over canine-type beasts.

With six beasts now tamed, Jayden spent the next half hour practicing group commands, learning how to mentally pilot them simultaneously.

The stalker and the howlers were working together with a responsiveness that was more fluid than he’d expected. The beasts, being intelligent creatures, didn’t need to be told the same thing twice. In fact, they didn’t even need to be told some things. They simply read Jayden’s intent and anticipated.

Jayden couldn’t help but grin as he observed his growing army. He was going to enjoy this.

Feeling satisfied, he decided to continue his search for more beasts that he could recruit as minions.

"Let’s go," he said, then walked deeper into the forest, with the six beasts following closely behind him.