Trapped in the Beastworld Breeder System (BL)-Chapter 70: Level 3 warrior

"Huh?" Aries blinked, his brows drawing together in confusion.

What was he talking about?

The man continued anyway, his voice even and unhurried. "You are the king’s cherished human, right?"

Aries nodded quickly, almost too quickly, his heart swelling with a rush of relief. Someone finally noticed. Finally, someone had recognized who he was. That was something of joy, but why was he feeling uneasy somehow? He just felt like something isn’t right.

And Cedric, hearing the man’s words, brows shot upward. His gaze swept over Aries again and again, slow and unapologetic.

"I didn’t know this was how they were meant to look," Cedric muttered under his breath. "I thought he was deformed."

"What?!" Aries snapped, spinning toward Cedric, anger flaring hot in his chest.

The fact that he had chased after him and called him a thief was already annoying enough but then, he, deformed? It made Aries laugh maniacally inwardly.

Before the tension could explode further, the man cut in calmly, his tone firm enough to halt them both. "Come. I’ll take you to Lord Thales."

He glanced at Aries, eyes briefly assessing. "With how frail you are, you must be tired, aren’t you?"

"I am," Aries admitted with a small nod.

The man then turned to Cedric, his presence commanding despite his quiet voice. "You can return to your duties."

"Yes, sir!" Cedric replied sharply. Without another glance at Aries, he turned and left at once, disappearing from sight.

Aries watched him go, jaw tight. When Cedric was gone, he turned back to the unfamiliar man. Drawing in a slow breath, he let it out just as carefully, bracing himself for whatever would come next.

The man studied him in return, his sharp eyes stripping him down layer by layer.

After a moment, he spoke. "My name is Slvy. As you heard from him, I am the second-in-command here."

He turned and gestured ahead. "Come. I’ll take you to the commander."

Aries nodded and fell into step behind him.

As they walked, awe crept over Aries despite himself. They passed vast training grounds where warriors sparred and clashed, the air ringing with exertion. Running tracks stretched alongside stone paths, and long halls opened and closed around them.

Eventually, they entered a deeper corridor. Faint sounds drifted toward them.

They were sounds of distress.

The farther they walked, the louder those sounds became—groans, strained breaths, muffled cries until they finally reached their destination.

Slvy pushed the door open.

Inside stood Thales, accompanied by several others. Thales himself appeared calm, his posture relaxed, his eyes sharp and alert. The same could not be said for the rest of the room.

And the moment Aries stepped inside, he became no different from them.

Discomfort slammed into him without warning. It felt as though something seized his brain and yanked hard. Pain surged through his skull, and he nearly cried out.

It wasn’t unbearable, but it was terrifyingly close.

Something crawled through his mind, leaving behind the sickening sensation that he might collapse and die at any second. Still, Aries held on. His surroundings blurred, his awareness slipping away as though he’d been dragged into a space that demanded his full attention.

He gathered every shred of strength he could find, clawing his way back toward reason.

Aries stood there, locked in place, fighting the crushing pressure—

And then, just as suddenly, it vanished.

The weight disappeared entirely. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a different room from the one he’d entered. Standing before him was the very man he’d been brought to meet.

Thales watched him with clear amusement glinting in his eyes. Beside him stood Slvy, his face blank and unreadable.

The silence was awkward.

One of them looked entertained by something Aries couldn’t understand. The other behaved as though nothing unusual had happened at all.

’Whatever happened to me might’ve been the system’s doing,’ Aries thought. ’Not theirs. So I shouldn’t ask... right?:

Had he been more aware when he first entered the room, he would’ve realized he wasn’t the only one affected. Several others present earlier had been visibly distressed, some even screaming.

As Aries continued to brood, Thales finally spoke, his voice breaking the tension.

"I must say," he said, his lips curving slightly, "I’m actually impressed by what you accomplished."

"What did I accomplish?" Aries asked, genuine confusion seeping into his tone.

He knew something had happened, but he hadn’t realized they were aware of it too.

He’d assumed his mind had nearly been fried, perhaps by the system itself.

But Thales’ words suggested something else entirely.

"The place you entered," Thales continued, folding his arms as his sharp gaze remained fixed on Aries, "was a gravitational room designed for Level 3 warriors. You not only managed to withstand it, but you were even attempting to use it to improve your mental fortitude."

"Oh..." Aries blinked, the explanation finally cutting through his confusion.

’Sorry, system, for blaming you,’ he thought, exhaling softly.

Finally, it clicked.

Aries wasn’t foolish enough to be unfamiliar with the concept of a gravitational room. While such a thing didn’t exist in the modern world, it was a staple in the fantasy novels he used to read.

Even though he hadn’t known it had been incorporated into this world’s structure, having not read far before being dragged into it, he was still able to piece things together.

As it turned out, he’d received some sort of advantage simply for being human in the wolf kingdom.

After being called frail by Slvy, this was finally his chance to prove that while he might look fragile, he truly wasn’t.

A small, pleased smile tugged at his lips as he said, "Oh... so that’s what you meant."

Then, tilting his head slightly, a hint of pride slipping into his tone, he added, "I was actually wondering why I heard screams before entering. So there were warriors inside, and they were affected? Does that mean I’m a Level 3 warrior?"

Truthfully, Aries didn’t even fully understand what it meant to be a Level 3 warrior. He hadn’t learned the grading system of the field yet. Still, the look that crossed the warlord’s face told him enough, it was a good thing. And Aries wasn’t about to let that go unacknowledged.

"Well," Thales began, pausing as if weighing his response, "it can’t be decided yet whether you’re a Level 3 warrior." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

His fingers tapped once against his gauntlet. "There are still many things that need to be checked."

After a brief silence, he added, almost reluctantly, "But we must admit, your mental fortitude is impressive."

"Thank you," Aries replied, inclining his head slightly.

"So," Thales went on, sweeping an arm around the field with practiced authority, "welcome to the field."

"Since you’re here, we’ll call upon the others so you can be introduced properly. As it stands, you’re second in command to the warlord, as decreed by the king." His eyes flicked back to Aries. "You’ll be given the courtesy that position demands."

"Hmmm..." Aries hummed, his brows knitting together. "Are you implying that I don’t deserve it?"

Thales snorted softly. "Don’t test your luck." He cast him a sideways glance. "And no, you don’t need a standing ovation."

The mocking edge in his voice, the same one from their previous encounter, had returned.

Any earlier surprise Thales had felt was already gone. He’d assumed Aries would be a Level 1 warrior, if that. Humans, in his eyes, were frail creatures, useful for little beyond breeding. Those with real power were rare, and he hadn’t known Aries was a healer.

Learning that Aries was Level 3 had raised his opinion slightly, but only slightly. A Level 3 warrior was still weak. He couldn’t hold the front lines of war and would likely be stationed among the middle lime, where danger is minimal.

Aries let out a quiet sigh and turned his face away. Thales leaned toward Slvy, murmuring something Aries didn’t catch as his attention had already drifted.

His thoughts returned to the pressure he’d felt in the gravitational room... and then, annoyingly, to the dull ache still lingering in his body.

He’d considered healing himself before coming but decided against it. After all, nothing that serious had happened between him and Lucien.

After Lucien had chased him around the room, Aries had eventually grown tired and ended up pinned beneath him on the bed.

With Aries trapped under his weight, Lucien had kissed along his neck, down to his chest, then lower—before suddenly flipping him onto his front.

Aries had allowed it, curiosity getting the better of him. He’d wondered if Lucien even knew what he was doing. But that curiosity had gone too far; the moment pain flared, he’d kicked Lucien away without hesitation.

The ache lingered even now. Aries shook his head, a shiver running down his spine as he imagined how much worse it could’ve been if Lucien had gone any further.

Just then, a voice boomed through the space, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"All warriors, ranked and unranked, are to report to the arena," it announced. "Important information will be delivered. You have less than five minutes."