Jayden walked toward the hoard of beast corpses, his eyes widened in pure awe. He knew the passive Exp yield had been high, but seeing the physical result of his army’s labor was entirely different. He turned back to his pack, projecting his Alpha authority.

"Incredible work," Jayden commanded, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "All of you. You’ve done well."

The Howlers, Gators, and the Stalker all let out low, unified grunts, bowing their heads in submission.

Jayden approached the mound, sifting through the bodies. It was the usual suspects: Howlers, Stalkers, Gators, and a few Serpenthis.

Just then, a familiar prompt appeared in his line of sight.

[Would you like to acquire the Tremor Gator’s Energy?]

[Yes / No]

As always, Jayden selected No.

Tremor Gators didn’t possess any unique, active abilities. Their only evolutionary advantage was their thick, armored hide, and his Chthonix gene already provided that durability in a far more superior way. He didn’t need the clutter in his genetic pool. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Instead, he initiated the auto-loot. And a cascade of notifications flooded his vision as 112 beast crystals automatically entered his inventory.

Jayden paused. "Hang on. One hundred and twelve kills? In just two days?" he marveled, wondering just how densely populated the forest was.

But then he realized that there were several sectors of the city’s wilderness he hadn’t even explored yet. He made a note to explore them sometime. Because frankly, he was hitting a plateau with the local fauna. If he wanted new, powerful abilities, he needed new, powerful species of beasts.

His mind drifted to Jade City. He hadn’t been to the city’s forest in a while now, and he wondered maybe he could build an army of tamed beasts there as well.

Jayden took a deep breath, putting all those thoughts at the back of his mind for now. Then he sorted through the acquired beast crystals and found twelve wolverine stalker crystals in the loot. Without wasting any time, he absorbed them all.

[12 Wolverine Stalker Crystals Absorbed]

[Crystals required for next rank: 15/30)]

Jayden turned his attention back to the Wolverine Stalker. "Using this cave to store the corpses was a brilliant move," he praised the beast. They practically had a base now. And having a fixed base with a dedicated storage point was operationally smarter than scattered kills across open terrain. "Now I know where to find you all whenever I visit."

Then Jayden turned back to the pile of beasts and separated the only five D-Rank corpses there. He claimed three for his own inventory, then gestured to the remaining mountain of meat. "The rest of this is yours. You’ve all earned it."

Then he walked down the line of his beasts, tossing five E-Rank crystals to each Howler and Gator. When he reached the Greater Stalker, he handed over ten. Each beast collected their share without complaint and bowed to him as an expression of gratitude.

Behind him, Skye made a tiny sound which Jayden heard clearly. From the corner of his eye, he saw her sitting perfectly still, her tail thumping loudly against the stone floor. She was looking at the crystal distribution process with the wide, round-eyed expression of someone watching something they feel strongly they should be included in.

He turned to her, his hands empty. "What? These beasts worked for these crystals, Skye. You didn’t work with them. I can’t pay you for their labor."

What?! That’s not fair! Skye cried out. Skye also worked! Skye killed lots of beasts too. Master said good job.

Jayden shook his head. "No. That was your own separate work. This is their pay for their own work."

But Skye deserves pay too. She argued.

"I already gave you five crystals." Jayden snickered. "That is enough for today."

No! Skye let out a high-pitched, dramatic whine. Skye deserves more crystals too! Master is being cruel! Skye wants more!!

Jayden couldn’t help but laugh. A terrifying apex predator was throwing a literal tantrum. She sounded exactly like Jasmine used to sound whenever their mother refused to give her a second serving of dessert.

Jayden chuckled. "Skye, I’ll only give you more crystals when you actually work hard and earn them," he said firmly.

But Skye also worked hard, Skye said, quietly now. burying her head under her massive paws. She was behaving like someone who had been subjected to the greatest form of injustice.

Skye just wanted master to be proud. She continued. But master gave crystals to everyone but Skye. Skye thinks master doesn’t care about Skye. Skye won’t listen to master anymore. Master is a bad person. Master is mean.

Jayden sighed, rubbing his temples. This was entirely his fault. He had been spoiling her rotten since she imprinted on him, handing out crystals like candy. He watched her pout for a full minute before his resolve finally crumbled.

"Fine," he exhaled, pulling out three beast crystals from his inventory and held them out. "Here you go."

Skye’s head snapped up. She bounded over, snatched the crystals, and swallowed them whole. She was carrying the gratitude of something that had made its case and won and was now celebrating with appropriate dignity.

Master is the best master! she purred happily, completely contradicting the slander she had just hurled at him. Skye loves master very much. Master is very kind and generous and good.

Jayden blinked, stunned by how fast she switched. "But didn’t you just said I was a bad person," he scoffed.

Skye didn’t mean it. She shrugged, dismissing his point completely.

Jayden shook his head, a fond smile growing on his face. He turned back to the Wolverine Stalker. "Have you tracked any C-Rank beasts in this sector?"

The Stalker shook its heavy head.

"Alright," Jayden murmured. Then he sighed. "I really wish I could set up telepathic links with all of them like I do with Skye. It would make coordinating so much easier." He thought. But he had to work within the System’s limitations.

Then he turned to his little army of beasts. "Keep hunting," he told them. "But rest when you need to. And don’t engage anything you can’t kill." He looked at the stalker specifically. "You’re in charge. Same as before. Keep them all in check."

The stalker inclined its head.

Then Jayden turned for the exit. "Skye. Let’s go."

The beasts bowed deeply as Jayden turned and walked out of the cave, Skye following closely at his heels.

Bye-bye! she told the beasts, with the cheerful ease of someone saying goodbye to friends at the end of a particularly enjoyable visit. Happy hunting. Work hard for master.

The moment Jayden and Skye cleared the tunnel, a collective, heavy sigh seemed to echo through the cavern. Every single beast... even the massive Greater Stalker, slumped to the floor, the suffocating tension finally breaking.

They had all been on edge the moment Skye stepped into the cave. She was an A-Rank beast. That alone commanded respect and instilled fear into their hearts and souls.

They respected Jayden as their Alpha and leader, but they were absolutely terrified of the "cute" feline. Her passive aura alone exerted a crushing, primal pressure on their instincts. It was incredibly frightening and oppressive.

And when she finally left, the suffocating presence that had been sitting in the cave like a physical weight lifted with her departure.