The overgrown patch of the estate gardens was quiet, save for the rustle of dry leaves. Neo wiped a streak of dirt from his forehead, preparing to crawl back through the narrow gap in the thorny vines. The sun was dipping below the high stone walls, casting long, distorted shadows across the grounds. It was time to head back.
He took one step toward the exit, but then froze.
His enhanced senses, sharpened by the sheer density of his expanded core, picked up a faint, rhythmic sound. It wasn't the heavy, metallic clanking of a patrolling knight. It was the soft, deliberate crunch of paws on dry soil.
Neo slowly lowered his center of gravity, ignoring the dull ache in his overtaxed muscles. He peered through the thick web of blackberry bushes.
A few meters away, a patch of shadow detached itself from the wall.
It was the Cloud-Lynx cub from the birthday banquet. The beast was no longer confined to its reinforced steel cage. A length of broken iron chain dangled from a heavy leather collar around its neck, dragging silently through the dirt. Its pristine, cloud-white fur was matted with dried blood—likely belonging to whatever unfortunate handler had tried to feed it.
The creature had six muscular legs, a sleek, predatory frame, and eyes that glowed with a faint, unnatural blue light in the dusk.
To an adult knight, the cub was a nuisance. To a five-year-old boy with the physical strength of a wet paper towel, it was a death sentence.
'Of course,' Neo thought, his breathing going entirely still. 'It just had to be the six-legged blender.'
He didn't move. He didn't breathe. He simply watched the beast sniff the air, hoping it would pass by his thorny hideout and continue toward the outer woods.
But luck was a luxury he didn't possess. The lynx stopped. Its ears twitched, swiveling directly toward the dense patch of briars where Neo was hiding. The glowing blue eyes narrowed, locking onto his silhouette through the gaps in the leaves.
The creature bared its fangs. Viscous drool dripped from its jaws, sizzling faintly as it hit the damp earth.
There was no time to panic. Neo's mind calculated his options with cold, detached efficiency.
He couldn't outrun it. His short legs and pathetic agility meant the beast would catch him in three seconds flat. He couldn't scream for the guards. By the time they heard him and breached the overgrown gardens, the lynx would have already ripped his throat out. And he couldn't use his offensive skill. Firing a concentrated blast right now would atomize the beast, but it would also blow his own arm off and level this entire section of the estate, completely exposing his secrets.
He had to kill it with his own two hands.
'Well, things could be worse,' he thought, his jaw clenching.
The lynx let out a low, guttural hiss and lunged.
It didn't jump over the briars; it crashed straight through them. Thorns tore at its white fur, but the beast ignored the pain, driven by feral hunger.
Neo acted. He didn't try to stand his ground or block. Instead, he threw himself sideways, diving into the dirt just as the beast's jaws snapped shut exactly where his head had been a fraction of a second prior.
His quick reaction saved his life, but his fragile body betrayed him. His boots caught on an exposed root, sending him tumbling awkwardly across the rough soil. Before he could recover, a set of razor-sharp claws raked across his shoulder.
Pain flared, hot and blinding. Hot liquid soaked into the fabric of his tunic.
'Damn it! Too slow!'
The lynx landed heavily, its six paws tearing up the dirt as it immediately pivoted to face him again.
Neo scrambled backward, pressing his back against the thick, thorny trunk of the oldest blackberry bush. His physical stamina was already running out. His lungs burned. The beast lowered its head, preparing for a lethal pounce.
Neo pushed the pain aside. He couldn't overpower the monster, so he had to use his environment.
He extended his right hand, his fingers grazing the damp soil. He didn't draw a massive amount of power. He only needed a thread. Using his basic manipulation, he channeled a thin, invisible wire of mana into the earth, wrapping it tightly around the broken iron chain dragging behind the beast.
The lynx sprang forward, a blur of white fur and fangs.
Neo pulled.
The invisible thread of mana yanked the iron chain backward, wrapping it sharply around a thick, protruding tree root. The beast was caught mid-air. The collar choked its neck, violently halting its momentum.
The lynx crashed into the dirt mere inches from Neo's boots, letting out a choked, furious yowl. It thrashed wildly, its six legs kicking up a storm of dust and leaves, trying to break the heavy leather collar.
'Not today, you overgrown rat.'
Without wasting a single second, Neo threw himself forward. He didn't go for the snapping jaws. Instead, he grabbed a heavy, jagged stone from the dirt with both hands.
The beast managed to twist its head, its glowing blue fangs sinking into the meat of Neo's left forearm.
Agony shot through his nerves, but Neo didn't scream. He used the beast's own bite to anchor it in place. Using the momentum of his fall and the entirety of his meager body weight, he brought the jagged stone down in a vicious, sweeping arc.
The stone smashed into the side of the lynx's skull.
Bone crunched. The beast's body convulsed, its jaws locking tighter around his arm in a death grip.
Neo didn't stop. Blood and sweat rolled down his face as he lifted the heavy stone and brought it down again. And again. And again. He hammered the rock against the creature's skull with mechanical, ruthless precision, ignoring the tearing pain in his own arm, focusing purely on the dull thud of stone against bone.
He struck until his fingers went numb. He struck until the heavy stone slipped from his bloodied grasp.
The lynx stopped thrashing. Its six legs twitched once, then went entirely limp. The glowing blue light in its eyes flickered and died, leaving behind a pair of dull, glassy orbs.
Neo collapsed backward into the dirt, his chest heaving as he gasped for air. He stared at the dead beast, his left arm throbbing with a dull, sickening pain where the fangs had pierced his flesh.
He laid there in the shadows, listening to the quiet rustle of the wind.
A moment later, a familiar, crisp chime rang in his mind.
[ You have slain a dormant beast, Cloud-Lynx Cub. ]
[ Experience recognized by the World's Will. ]
[ Basic Mana Manipulation has leveled up. (Lv. 3 -> Lv. 4) ]
Neo closed his eyes, letting out a harsh, exhausted breath.
He had survived. But staring at the prompt, the reality of his situation settled over him like a heavy shroud. His mana was vast, but his vessel was weak. If that beast had been fully grown, or if he hadn't found that rock, his journey would have ended in the dirt.
'I need a weapon,' he thought, prying the dead creature's jaws off his bleeding arm.
'And I need to learn how to fight.'