CHAPTER 8 — The Beast's Choice
Faint morning light filtered through the dense canopy of the jungle. The air was cold, yet it carried a strange, lingering sharpness—as if the scent of fresh blood and damp earth still hung suspended in the breeze.
Siyam walked at the front, his face as calm as ever. Dhiyano followed like a shadow directly behind him, while Raunak checked her daggers at every rustle of the leaves.
Pushing through a thick cluster of bushes, Siyam stepped out—and froze.
Before his eyes lay an open clearing where time itself seemed to have stopped. To the left stood an ancient, moss-covered stone fountain, a thin trickle of water leaking from its basin.
But the true spectacle lay to the right.
Two beasts stood there. One was a massive, terrifying creature—its body resembled a gray-white dragon, its skin as hard as rock, with a single glowing horn protruding from its head. Its heavy tail lashed against the ground like a countdown to death.
Directly in front of it stood a tiny white wolf. Half of its tail was a deep crimson, looking as if it had been dipped in flame. Though clear terror flickered in its emerald eyes, it didn't back down. It was fighting.
Hidden behind the bushes, Raunak's face went pale.
"Those are… high-grade beasts…" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Her gaze shifted to Siyam, who stood right in the middle of the clearing like a fearless king.
"Are you insane? Why are you standing out in the open?!" she hissed in a low, panicked tone. "They'll see you! Get back here quietly—stay down!"
Without a hint of fear, Dhiyano stepped out from the brush.
"Master," he asked bluntly, his hand resting on the hilt of his axe. "If you like that large beast… I shall capture it alive for you right now."
Raunak closed her eyes in despair. (They've lost their minds... we're all going to die.)
Suddenly, both beasts shifted their gaze. Their eyes locked onto Siyam. Even the white wolf looked toward him. There was fear in its eyes, but also a flicker of strange hope.
"Master…?" Dhiyano drew his axe. "Shall I begin?"
Siyam remained silent. His eyes were fixed on an invisible screen floating in the air.
[SYSTEM WINDOW ACTIVE]
Insult Points: 550
Level: 2 → 3 (Progress: 95%)
Mail Notification: 1 (New)
"Mail…?" Siyam muttered under his breath. He opened the message.
[MAIL — Sender: Mayur]
"Hello, Shankar Yaduvanshi…
You do not know me… but you soon will. You are currently in the Forsaken Forest. There, you will find a small white wolf with a half-red tail. Take it with you. She is the daughter of an old servant of mine—protecting her is your responsibility.
Reward: Fire God Blessing — Akura."
A cunning glint flashed in Siyam's crimson eyes. (Shankar Yaduvanshi... my old name? Who is this Mayur, and how does he know so much about me?)
"Interesting…" he said with a faint smirk.
Siyam's gaze settled directly on the little wolf.
"Dhiyano."
"Yes, Master," Dhiyano bowed his head instantly.
"Handle the big one," Siyam ordered casually, as if asking him to shoo away a common fly.
Without wasting a second, Dhiyano charged forward. A deep purple energy began to glow along the blade of his massive axe.
WHOOSH—
He tore through the air in a single stride. The dragon-like beast tried to parry with its massive claws, but the collision was so violent that the ground cracked. A shockwave rippled outward—leaves swirled into the air, and the water in the fountain trembled. Dhiyano didn't give an inch.
The beast let out a thunderous roar, but a moment later… it faltered. The terror of death became visible in its eyes. It saw a horrific shadow forming behind Dhiyano—three times his size, radiating a dark purple aura with blood-red eyes. The beast's breathing grew ragged.
For a heartbeat, it froze—then it suddenly turned and bolted into the depths of the jungle.
On the other side, Siyam now stood directly in front of the tiny wolf.
"Relax," he said in a cold yet steady voice. "I won't hurt you."
In response, the wolf opened its mouth—FIRE BREATH!
Searing orange flames slammed into Siyam's face, engulfing him. Raunak gasped, certain it was the end.
But as the smoke cleared, Siyam stood there perfectly fine, as if the fire hadn't even touched him.
Behind the bushes, Raunak's head spun. (What are these people made of?)
She looked from Dhiyano to Siyam in disbelief. (He's my age, yet he's several times more powerful… I still haven't figured out what he's doing in this dangerous forest. Does he even know the people he killed earlier were from the Vedic Ascension Order? The ones the King hired with a massive bribe?)
Her mind stopped at one name—Arjun Singh. (Can we really win?)
By then, the little wolf had crawled into Siyam's arms. It was now completely calm.
"Good choice," Siyam said with a slight smile.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Reward Claimed: Fire God Blessing — Akura
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Siyam | Rank: Prana Seeker (Early Stage)
Blessing: Fire God Akura | Insult Points: 550
Techniques: Pranic Manifest Sword (Lv.3), Nether Flash (Lv.3)
"Nice…" Siyam whispered.
"How… how did you tame it so easily?" Raunak asked, stunned.
"Because I'm handsome," Siyam replied flatly.
Raunak's expression froze. (Seriously? Joking even now?)
A moment later, Dhiyano returned, holding a glowing green plant in his hand.
"Master… look at this."
Raunak's eyes widened. "A Nightblood plant?!"
She reached out for it, but Dhiyano jerked it away.
"This is for the Master alone. Not for you, Raunak," Dhiyano said sternly.
Raunak pulled back, looking dejected. (I needed that plant… it might have increased my strength.)
Siyam glanced at her and said, "This looks just like the plants I have, only the color is different."
Raunak softened slightly and asked, "Do you really have plants like this?"
Casually, Siyam pulled a pouch from his system storage. It was stuffed with Unique-grade Nightblood plants.
Dhiyano's face went pale, and Raunak was rendered speechless.
Siyam stroked the wolf's head. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing… it's nothing," Dhiyano said, swallowing hard.
But Raunak couldn't stay quiet; she burst out in shock, "What do you mean 'nothing'? Those are Unique-grade plants! 'Unique' means there's supposed to be only one… but you have a whole pouch full of them!"
Dhiyano looked at her seriously. "This is my Master. Nothing is impossible for him."
Raunak went silent, but her mind was a storm of questions. (I saw it—he pulled that pouch out of thin air. Does he have a Pocket Dimension? Who… who exactly is he?)
The little wolf hopped down and began munching on the plants.
"Master—" Dhiyano started to intervene.
"Let it be," Siyam said calmly.
"But why are you wasting them like this?!" Raunak cried out.
Siyam didn't even look at her. "They're useless to me."
Siyam stood in silence for a while. His gaze was fixed on a golden Nightblood plant, but his eyes seemed to look through it—as if he were lost in the depths of an old memory.
A light, cold breeze blew, rustling the leaves.
"Master…?" Dhiyano approached quietly, his voice a mere whisper.
There was no answer. Then, Siyam took a long, deep breath.
"I remember…" he said in a low, slightly mysterious voice. Raunak and Dhiyano both held their breath, watching him.
"When I was brewing the Elixir for the Queen for the first time… I found a hidden stat within the System: Luck."
Siyam's fingers slowly curled into a fist. Raunak's brows furrowed. (Luck?)
A faint, bitter smile touched Siyam's lips. "To unlock it, I had to sacrifice many of my Insult Points… and when I took the fifth spin, I received a Rare Reward."
Raunak's heart skipped a beat. A Rare Reward! But Siyam's smile vanished instantly.
His face sank into the shadows. "At that moment... the System revealed a new rule."
Before Siyam's eyes, that invisible screen seemed to manifest once more:
[SYSTEM RULE: Luck-based rewards cannot be used by the host. They can only be transferred… or gifted.]
A heavy silence fell over them. Not a sound escaped Raunak's lips. Dhiyano tightened his grip on his axe.
Siyam let out a short, mirthless laugh. "Do you see? No matter what rare treasures I obtain through my luck... they are never truly mine." He gestured toward the plants. "So why let them go to waste? Take what you need."
Raunak stared at him in sheer disbelief, her hands trembling slightly. (What... what level is he even playing at? Even his own fate is beyond his control?)
She glanced toward Dhiyano. "Do you... do you even understand what he's saying?" she whispered.
Dhiyano's face had gone pale. He suddenly recalled the Queen's old words: "Dhiyano... your Master will say strange things at times... perhaps he is communicating with the Gods."
Dhiyano bowed his head in deep reverence. "Do not... disturb the Master," he said, his voice laced with a strange mix of fear and respect, as if he weren't standing before a man, but a wandering Deity.
[SIYAM'S INTERNAL MONOLOGUE]
Siyam allowed himself a dark, cunning smirk inwardly.
(Hah! They actually think I'm some kind of God! All those Manhwa and comics I read back on Earth are finally paying off. They think I'm thinking on some higher plane, when the truth is, I'm just trapped in the System's ridiculous rules. Fine by me—their fear will only make me stronger!)
[PRESENT MOMENT]
"What is there to eat?" Siyam asked, his expression returning to its usual stony-cold mask.
Dhiyano sheepishly handed him a withered apple. "That's it...?" Siyam asked, giving him a flat look.
"Master, I can hunt, but I cannot cook..." Dhiyano lowered his head.
"I can cook," Raunak chimed in.
Both men turned to look at her. "You?" Siyam asked, his gaze full of doubt.
Raunak scoffed, turning her face away in annoyance. "I'm an assassin, not an alien!"
Siyam let out a soft chuckle. He looked strikingly handsome when he laughed, a sight that made Raunak quickly look away to hide the flush creeping onto her cheeks. To the side, the white wolf watched them all, "…as if she knew the truth… but chose silence instead of speaking it."