Chapter 32

—Prove yourself worthy of becoming king.

“...!”

Suho's hair stood on end. His Perception stat had detected something strange happening in the forest.

The forest was stirring.

Suho stopped and looked at Rakan’s Fang.

“Was that you just now?”

—It wasn't me.

“But the voice sounds exactly like yours.”

—Naturally. It was another being just like me, here in this sanctuary.

Suho tilted his head.

“Another being just like you?”

—Yes. Another fang. Surely you didn't think Rakan, King of Beasts and Monarch of Fangs, had only one fang?

“Fair enough. Normally, there'd be four.”

—Two.

“...”

—Ahem. I mean there are two fangs that were made into relics.

Under Suho's unblinking stare, Rakan’s Fang hurried to explain.

—I don't know if I've mentioned this, but strictly speaking, I'm one of Rakan's baby teeth.

Baby teeth, also called milk teeth, were teeth shed while growing up.

—The lesser tribes received the teeth Rakan shed while growing up and made them into relics. That's what I am. They received two fangs, so there are two relics.

Just then, the voice pierced Suho's mind again.

—Prove yourself worthy of becoming king!

Suho asked another question.

“Then what exactly is that supposed to mean? Worthy of becoming king?”

—Back then, the lesser tribes created me in the hope that the next Monarch would be born among them. Now that Rakan is dead and gone, it's finally time to choose a new king. The so-called Trial of the King has begun.

“Oh.”

Intrigued, Suho asked, “Then does that mean I could become the Monarch of Fangs if I pass the trial?”

—Of course it's possible. If you want to become a beast.

“A beast?”

—Well, we're choosing the King of Beasts. Shouldn't you be prepared to become a beast yourself?

“I'd rather not.”

Rakan’s Fang chuckled at Suho's horrified expression and continued.

—Which means you weren't qualified to begin with. Besides, that voice isn't addressing you. It's merely an announcement broadcast throughout the sanctuary.

[“Young Monarch.”]

Just then, Beru returned from flying around to scout the area.

[“There are other hunters roaming this field besides us. But their appearances are all...”]

TAP! TAP! TAP!

Listening to Beru, Suho leaped high into the trees, springing off the branches. From his elevated vantage point, he looked down toward the commotion.

An intriguing sight unfolded below, and his eyes lit with interest.

‘So they're choosing the King of Beasts.’

[“...using the Beast Transformation skill.”]

This must have been what Beru meant.

RAAAWR!

GROOOAR!

KABOOM! BOOM! KABOOM!

All across the forest, melee fighters were battling with parts of their bodies—or their entire bodies—transformed into beasts.

One had eaglelike wings sprouting from their back. Another had grown huge and shaggy like a bear.

There was an astonishing variety.

—Prove yourself worthy of becoming king!

And to prove their worth, they were fighting the entire forest, which had been consumed by madness.

—It seems the relic here has summoned every beast qualified to become king.

Just then—

WHOOOOSH!

Suho's hair prickled. Sensing a sudden presence beneath his feet, he immediately twisted around and leaped off the branch.

SWISH!

To his surprise, the tree itself had attacked him.

‘Branches?’

Even as he dropped toward the ground, countless woody tendrils lashed at him like whips.

‘Ruler's Authority!’

At its current strength, Ruler's Authority couldn't lift Suho's body weight. But it could let him briefly step on thin air and leap again—a double jump.

TAP-TAP-TAP!

Flipping through the air like an acrobat, Suho dodged the whipping vines and landed safely on the ground.

Then the battle began in earnest.

WHOOOOSH! SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!

Plant-type magic beasts began attacking Suho from every direction. He immediately grabbed Rakan’s Fang and Vulcan's Horn, one in each hand, and hacked them to pieces.

—Prove yourself worthy of becoming king!

The voice kept ringing out amid the fighting.

Suho felt wronged.

“Why do I have to take the test when I'm not even qualified?”

—It's a matter of timing. You happened to enter the sanctuary at this particular moment and got caught up in the king's trial. Or perhaps the trial only began because I, a relic, entered this place.

“So the relic is the whole problem to begin with.”

Suho decided to keep things simple.

“Trial or no trial, we're finding the examiner first.”

[“Let's find it and fuck it up. Who does it think it's testing?”]

Beru's eyes gleamed malevolently.

—This way.

The direction Rakan’s Fang had been pointing all along led straight to the examiner.

Suho ran toward the relic, continuing to cut down the plant-type magic beasts.

* * *

The deeper into the jungle they went, the thicker the blue mist became.

At first glance, it looked almost dreamlike, but it marked the beginning of a nightmare.

EEEEEEE...

“Ghosts incoming.”

The hunters being tested for their worthiness to become king hurriedly scanned their surroundings.

A spine-chilling sound of wind swirled around them from all directions.

In truth, individual plant-type magic beasts weren't particularly strong. But when the entire forest was involved, the danger was on a different scale.

Whether E-rank or S-rank, hunters were ultimately humans made of flesh and blood. A sharp branch suddenly shooting through the throat or heart could end their lives all too easily.

This forest was packed with those chilling assassins on every side.

And now ghosts had joined them.

“This is why nobody likes this field.”

“Tell me about it. All risk and nothing to gain.”

Until just last year, this place had been part of a major city. Not only had countless people lived here, but its sizable business district had also drawn an enormous flow of people.

Then, one day, a Gate had suddenly opened, unleashing an utter catastrophe.

Many had died, and those lucky enough to survive had lost their homes and livelihoods.

The ghosts of those who had died still wandered this land.

WAAAAAAH!

“Goddammit! It's a banshee!”

“Everyone, cover your ears!”

The banshee, a ghost-type magic beast.

Its wailing robbed people of their sense of direction, making it the worst possible opponent for hunters already wandering through a jungle.

To make matters worse, every hunter here was currently using Beast Transformation, which heightened their hearing.

“Bleurgh.”

More and more hunters began vomiting.

—Prove yourself worthy of becoming king!

Even now, the voice drove them on.

As it pierced their minds while they were temporarily deprived of sight and hearing, the hunters finally realized the true nature of the trial.

‘I've got it.’

Scent.

Somewhere, a scent was calling to them.

It was the scent of mana, something they could detect only by drawing out their animal instincts to the fullest.

“That's it! The scent!”

The hunters focused all their attention on their sense of smell.

But woody tendrils darted into the openings they left!

WHOOOSH!

“Guh!”

Even as they tore out the vines embedded in their thighs, their eyes blazed with feral intensity.

‘I'll find it, no matter what.’

‘I'll find it and become king!’

Without even knowing what this king truly was, they blindly threw themselves into the trial as though bewitched.

“... Something's wrong.”

Baek Miho abruptly stopped. She had been ahead of everyone else, following the scent and fighting ghosts.

The Baekho Guild hunters following her gave her puzzled looks.

“Vice President, why have you stopped?”

Baek Miho looked displeased.

Even amid the chaos, her Eyes of the Beast were watching far into the distance. She already knew that quite a few other hunters were roaming this forest. Like her, they were using Beast Transformation and racing toward the same destination.

Her own animal instincts were no different. From the moment she'd stopped, impatience had welled up within her, telling her she had no time for this.

And that was precisely what offended her pride.

“Doing this makes me feel like someone is playing me. I don't like it.”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“Effective immediately, the Baekho Guild is withdrawing from this mysterious trial.”

“...!”

The guild members were deeply taken aback by Baek Miho's sudden declaration that they were quitting.

When they'd entered the forest yesterday, they hadn't understood what their vice president had come here to do. Once the Trial of the King began, however, their doubts had vanished.

They didn't know what awaited them at the end of the trial, but the sheer power of the word “king” had fueled their desires.

Yet Baek Miho had suddenly slammed on the brakes, stopping all that psychological momentum.

“Being seduced by some damned urge I don't even understand makes me feel like I've actually become an animal. It's disgusting. I'm not some dog in heat being led around by pheromones.”

Clicking her tongue, she even deactivated Eyes of the Beast.

“Then are we heading back?”

“No.”

She had no intention of scrapping with other people without even knowing why. But she did want to see who would ultimately emerge victorious.

“We'll move to higher ground with a clear view.”

“Yes, understood.”

Her subordinates accepted her decision without complaint.

But just then—

“Grrr?”

A pack of werewolves pushed through the undergrowth and appeared in front of the Baekho Guild.

“Hmm?”

Baek Miho's gaze changed the moment she recognized them.

The Baekho Guild was the most famous guild in Korea for Beast Transformation. As such, they kept a separate list of hunters in other guilds who possessed the skill, with the aim of offering to recruit them someday.

That was why she knew exactly who these werewolves were.

“Hyena Guild remnants.”

She'd heard some of them still hadn't been caught by the police. It seemed they, too, had been lured into the forest by the promise of proving themselves worthy of becoming king.

The problem was that they were evil to their core, and having served Broki for so long, they understood this Trial of the King better than anyone.

‘There can be only one king!’

GRRR!

The moment they happened upon the Baekho Guild, the werewolves bared their teeth without hesitation, radiating murderous intent.

They attacked without warning.

“Kill them!”

“Graaagh!”

The Baekho Guild were the strongest contenders for the throne. Unless the werewolves killed them now, they might lose it to them.

But their blatant bloodlust awakened the animal instincts Baek Miho had barely managed to suppress.

“... Tch.”

Baek Miho clicked her tongue in displeasure.

‘Pups who don't know their place.’

SNAP.

The tie holding her hair back snapped, and her hair burst outward like a lion's mane, turning pure white.

‘Beast Transformation!’

Half human, half beast.

Unleashing her true power, Baek Miho tore apart the leading werewolf's heart with her claws.

At that very moment—

—Prove yourself worthy of becoming king!

“... Huh?”

The voice rang out as though rejoicing in her slaughter.

—Kill, and kill again!

—The one who survives to the end is the truly strong one!

“So that's what this is?”

Baek Miho realized what the voice truly wanted.

“A battle royale.”

She really didn't like this.

It was forcibly bewitching people into killing one another.

And with her senses heightened to their limit by Beast Transformation, she could hear screams throughout the forest as people killed each other.

The battle royale had already begun elsewhere.

“I really don't like this.”

Even while fighting the Hyena Guild members, Baek Miho ground her teeth in displeasure.

Then her Eyes of the Beast suddenly spotted someone walking far in the distance.

The sight of him strolling along so casually with a sword in each hand was utterly out of place.

‘But why is he alone?’

Had he killed all his companions and become the sole survivor?

If so, he was truly the worst kind of person. Killing even his companions, blinded by the power of a king!

... But then she sniffed the air.

‘There's no smell of blood.’

Had he not killed anyone? Then why was he alone?

Even as she fought the Hyena Guild, Baek Miho kept stealing glances at him.

Until he disappeared from view.