The group's attention turned to Seojun, their smirks widening.
"Well? What's taking so long? Show us your beast, or are you too shy?" one of them sneered.
Another laughed. "Maybe it's so weak that he's embarrassed to let us see it!"
Seojun's system spoke in his mind.
[Host, summon Huno in his Cerberus form! Or Nymira! Let's shock these idiots!]
Seojun sighed, ignoring the excitent of his system. Instead of making a scene, he simply raised his hand.
A second later, sothing small erged from his body, landing on the ground with a soft, wet sound.
For a mont, silence filled the air.
Then—
"PFFFT—AHAHAHAHA!"
The entire group burst into laughter. One of the guys clutched his stomach, struggling to breathe through his laughter.
Another draped an arm around Rio's shoulder, grinning. "Hey, be happy, Rio! Your bird might be weak, but at least it's better than this!"
Soone else pointed at the tiny, wobbly creature on the ground. "A SLI?! Are you serious?! A SLI as your beast?!"
"That's the weakest monster in existence!"
"Man, I thought Rio had it bad, but this guy? He's hopeless!"
More mocking followed, and so of them even pretended to wipe away fake tears.
Seojun, however, remained completely calm, simply looking down at the small, seemingly harmless sli. The others had no idea—no clue at all—that they were laughing at sothing far beyond their understanding.
he group continued walking through the dense forest, their laughter echoing through the trees. Rio sighed and summoned his beast back into his tar's space, and Seojun did the sa with his sli.
But the others still couldn't get over it.
"I just can't believe it, man! A sli?! A freaking sli?!" One of them wiped fake tears from his eyes. "This is why tars are considered the weakest class!"
Another guy smirked. "Yeah, weak familiars equal a weak master. It's simple logic. No wonder beast doctors are just support roles."
"Forget fighting—what's he gonna do? Have his sli clean up after us?" The entire group roared with laughter again.
Suddenly—
Grrrrr…
A deep, guttural growl ca from the bushes ahead, imdiately cutting their laughter short.
"Tch. Just when we were having fun." The leader scoffed, then shoved Seojun and Rio aside. "Move it, weaklings. Let the real fighters handle this."
Another party mber sneered. "Yeah, we don't need dead weight getting in our way."
As the rustling in the bushes intensified, sothing finally erged.
A group of monstrous creatures stepped forward, baring their fangs. They resembled oversized hyenas, but with eerie, glowing red eyes and jagged black fur streaked with patches of exposed muscle. Their jaws were unnaturally wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth dripping with saliva. Long claws scraped against the ground, and the stench of blood and decay clung to them like a second skin.
One of the creatures let out a chilling cackle, a grotesque mix between laughter and a snarl.
"If I rember correctly, they're called 'Bloodfang Hyenas.' They're carnivorous hunters that stalk their prey in packs. Once they mark a target, they don't stop chasing until it's dead." Rio muttered.
One of the party mbers snorted. "Oh please, don't act like we need a lecture." He twirled his weapon lazily. "We've dealt with these things before. They're nothing special."
Another party mber smirked. "And they sure as hell ain't food, either. These things are full of disease and filth."
The leader cracked his knuckles, grinning. "Enough talk. Let's clean this up."
Weapons were drawn, and the party prepared for battle, completely ignoring Seojun and Rio, as if they weren't even there.
After their encounter with those monsters, they co across even more going deeper in the forest.
The group hid behind the thick trees, peering through the gaps between the leaves. In the clearing ahead, a nest of ant-like beasts ca into view. Their dark red exoskeletons glistened under the dim sunlight that filtered through the forest canopy. Each one was about the size of a normal dog, moving in an organized manner as they carried chunks of at and plant materials back to their nest, which was a massive mound of hardened soil and twisted roots.
Rio muttered under his breath, narrowing his eyes. "Are these the new species we're looking for?"
The ants continued working, completely unaware of their presence. So were digging, expanding the entrance of their nest, while others patrolled the area in small groups. A few carried what looked like fresh monster corpses back to the nest, their sharp mandibles easily slicing through flesh.
Seojun, still watching them, calmly said, "Nope. It's not them."
The woman sighed as she noticed Rio still looking confused. She folded her arms and shook her head, clearly amused by his lack of knowledge.
"You don't know what these are?" she asked with a mocking tone. Rio just shrugged, clearly not recognizing the creatures in front of him.
"These are the Termagant Ants," she explained, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "They're known for being one of the least aggressive species of ants, and they don't attack unless provoked. They're not even worth our ti, honestly." She looked at Rio, a smirk on her face. "I guess I'll have to teach you everything, huh?"
Seojun glanced at the woman but said nothing. He had seen these creatures before and knew exactly what they were—harmless for the most part unless disturbed.
The woman continued, "They're nad Termagant Ants because of their termite-like behavior. Unlike other aggressive ant species, they're scavengers and mainly live off whatever they can find. But still, they're not really dangerous. They're just a nuisance."
One of the other guys laughed and added, "I bet this guy doesn't know these ants are basically just a giant pest, huh?"
Rio, feeling a bit embarrassed, rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, you can't expect to know everything also I have a na it's Rio" he muttered, his face reddening.
The woman didn't let up, her mocking tone clear as she turned back to Seojun. "No one cares who you are idiot And don't get too excited about them. These ants are just the regular pests. They're not part of the dangerous species we're supposed to be looking for." She looked at Rio again and chuckled.
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