"…. Seven, seven are the rings that make up Lydenfrost, each one higher than the other, from the icy mountains of the seventh ring to the tropical beaches of the first, each with a different biome, different creatures, and different cultures. The Lydenfrost region was created by the impact of a meteorite made of a strange material that, upon impact, dispersed into the air, creating the icy dome that protects us from the boiling helmet outside to this day. The concentrations of that material at the time were extremely high, so much so that the elements came together and became alive. It was then that one of those life forms came to the fore, which is what you and I are. Beasts. Are you paying attention, Prince Hunter?
"Wasn't there something else to show me or what? Uhhggg... I’m getting sleepy..."
It was already midnight in the region of Lydenfrost, and while that silver-haired swordsman was finishing his work, a lesson was being taught in the palace of the central beast kingdom. In an empty hall, so silent that the breathing of both beasts could be heard.
"My lord, I beg your attention. You will need this information later; the tournament is tomorrow, after all."
"Well, just fast forward to the good part when the 'plague' began."
"As you wish, sir."
Beasts are animals that evolved due to the influence of the meteorite, taking an anthropomorphic form over the years and resembling their ancestors very faithfully in certain aspects. Both Hunter and his teacher are beasts; the teacher, a descendant of reptiles who possessed mostly resemblance to an axolotl, dressed in a robe the color of the sea. Hunter is a descendant of the canines, with a high resemblance to the Mexican gray wolf, wearing only red sand-colored Arabian bloomers.
"The history of magic seems to interest you."
"My dad used to tell me those stories when I was just a puppy. It's the only bit of history that really matters to me."
"Oh, might I know the reason?" Asked the teacher, intrigued by the young wolf's thought.
"Humans are a pest; they should never have even existed in the first place; they are weak, and the only thing they are good for is to eat them." Stretching its right paw forward, the beast explained.
"I see your point, young beast," said the axolotl as she picked up some books from the floor. "Let me see... where is it... Ah! Here it is." Pointing at it with her middle finger.
"Go to the conflict part and nothing else."
"Understood, my lord." Clearing her throat, the axolotl began to narrate. "Years and decades passed, and the human battlefront would not relent; what had taken us over two generations to perfect, they managed to learn in a matter of years and adapt to their lack of mana in their bodies. Studying their techniques further, they discovered that humans used mana from the environment to be able to replicate our spells."
"The only way I could see those vermin learning magic is if a beast taught them," said the wolf confidently.
The axolotl wagged her index finger side to side, indicating that Hunter was wrong in his statement. "I'd like to say yes, but there was no traitor. It turns out that those spells were cast differently, having a similar but not same result. Look at it yourself; human spell tracings are more erratic compared to our magic."
"And we've already gotten to the part I don't give a damn about, isn't there something more epic?." Expressed the wolf, crossing his legs over the table in front of him and throwing his notebook on the floor.
"My lord, I have known you since you were fifteen years old, and you are about to turn eighteen, but you refuse to learn about magic or history, apart from battles and all that. If you keep this up, you will be an ignorant king."
"Blah, blah, blah. Every class of yours ends the same way; all I will need is a battle strategy and an army; my reign will be one of the best, Annivelle. Rest assured."
"My name is Ativelle! Ati-velle! Learn it already! You barely know how to cast basic spells!" Said the axolotl, raising her fist in anger.
"Whatever, with these claws, what should I be afraid of?"
"You...!"
Suddenly, a burly beast burst through the door, slamming it hard against the wall.
"Did you have any mishaps, Miss Ativelle?"
"Prince Hunter wishes for something more 'epic' to learn; I wonder if you have something in mind, Your Majesty."
"Yes, you're dismissed, Ativelle. Go and relax; I'll handle it."
"F-father, what are you doing here!!! W-weren't you supposed to be taking care of preparations for tomorrow?" the young wolf said, quickly picking up everything he had thrown away.
"I finished early and thought I'd see how you were doing." The king then put his hand to his chin. "If classes are boring according to you, then come with me."
The young wolf stood up and to his father claimed: "I don't want to."
Then the king put his paw on his shoulder, looked him straight in the eyes with a warm smile, and said in his son's ear, "I wasn't asking you. "The king then grabbed him by the arm tightly, and although the wolf resisted, he was dragged along the ground.
"Ouch, Ouch, Ouch, Ouch, Ouch! Stop it!"
Both father and son slipped through the corridors, walking for a long time through the huge palace until they reached the royal combat arena. There, the wolf father threw his son in front of him.
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"Agh... my arm, what are we doing here in the first place?" Said the young wolf, getting up from the ground.
"Pop quiz," the king told him, extending his hand forward. "I want to see if you're ready for tomorrow."
"Pop quiz?"
"Varneo Axima Erpilka," he exclaimed, and from between the king's claws, a bluish-colored igneous ball began to form. "I suggest you run!"
"Oh, shit."
The igneous ball began to rotate on its axis, concentrating all its energy in its center. The rotation of it periodically caused a hissing sound, indicating that it was ready to be launched.
The king attacked his son with multiple of those fireballs, one after another, exploding on impact with the arena or the multiple test dummies, even decapitating some of them.
"E-Eeeeh Dad! We can talk this out, you know!" said the young wolf, dodging his father's attacks as he could, taking some grazes from the igneous projectiles on a few occasions.
"I won't stop until you prove to me that you are ready; Miss Ativelle should have taught you how to repel this two years ago," his father told him, smiling mischievously.
"Who the hell remembers what you learned in previous years!" Said the wolf, trying to keep up with his father's attacks.
"It would do you a lot of good now, don't you think?"
The young beast was beginning to get tired; his movements were becoming slower and slower; it was certain that he was going to end up burned by one of those orbs of flames that his father was throwing at him if he didn't do something. It was then that the young wolf remembered a bit of those defense spells, and extending both hands forward in mid-air, he said:
"Opori... Erm... Emuro... Dettatio!"
Obviously, nothing happened; it didn't even resemble the original spell, so... What was it that the young beast remembered; it was nothing related to magic or enchantments or combat; it was more like part of a fruitcake recipe, distorted by the adrenaline of the moment.
"I didn't know you wanted to be a chef," the king scoffed. "How about trying to cook something that stops this!". The king repeated the same attack spell, but on his other hand, he had redoubled his attack power, and it was now much more complicated to escape the fierce magical flames of the sovereign.
"If you wanted to test me, fine, then see what I'm capable of!" The young wolf started running straight for his father.
"You finally stopped running away." The king extended both arms and began shooting his son at point-blank range with the igneous orbs.
But this time, it was different; instead of dodging them, the young wolf began to strike them through the outer flames with the palm of his claws, making the orb disappear. Little by little, the young beast was closing the distance between him and his father.
"Impressive, my son." The king summoned many more projectiles, but the more he summoned, the more his son repelled them. The young beast arrived right in front of him and, with a leap, propelled himself into the air so that he could checkmate his father.
"Ah, no, you won't." The king leaned in and, touching the ground, exclaimed, "Varido Aximo Taracte" and immediately, stalagmites of ice sprouted from the sand, aimed solely at the young beast in the air. The king raised his paw, and the stalagmites flew out like harpoons at a whale in the sea.
But the young beast, with the back of his arms, pulverized the stalagmites just like a martial arts master. The young beast, with his fists clenched, concentrated all his energy into a flying punch that would send his old man straight to the asylum. "This test is over, father!"
But his father took his son's punch and didn’t even flinched at such power it carried. "That's right, son. You passed the test," he said as he took his son to the ground slowly.
"I thought you had lost your mind, my old man!" exclaimed the young wolf, catching his breath and making a relieved face.
"I've known you since you were a cub, I know you detest magic to a fault." Said the king, laughing out loud, "Not bad your handling of the beast arts; I never thought you'd be able to deflate one of those fireballs."
"Such a joker, I nearly scared the shit out of myself, and well, what was all this test fuss for?"
"After preparing everything for tomorrow, I got bored and thought that it would be good to practice."
"Heh, heh, heh, you don't take away your lively old man; you're still fighting like in your youth."
" Well, I'm your papa; what did you expect." Said the king, patting his son on the back, "I see you will be a great representative of Wolf House tomorrow."
"It will be an honor, Father."
"I'm too old to compete, but it will be a real sight to see you smash the other houses' faces in," said the king, looking at his son, placing his hand on his head. "Go and make tomorrow... the best day of your life."
"I'll do my best, I must use... you know 'it', right?"
"Yes, you need to use 'it' if you want to secure your victory; the Wolf house cannot afford to lose."
"I understand, Father."
Running suddenly, one of the kingdom guards, a descendant of the snow wolves, appeared, looking for the king.
"Ah, Sain, how good it is to see you! exclaimed the king to the guard.
"It's still good to see you, your majesty. I have a little message to give you privately."
"Whisper it in my ear; I'm with my son now; be quick," said the king, walking away from his son for a while. "I'll be right back with you, champ."
The guard then approached the king's left ear, saying the following, "We captured a human inside the palace; we don't know how he got here, but when he was discovered, the first thing he did was give us a two-page writing, and he didn't resist. We already have translators working on it; at the moment, they have only deciphered a couple of words 'beware, silver, and human.'"
"I'll be on top of it; it looks like the human didn't resist, so give him a room and some food, and in the morning, let him go."
"As you wish, my lord," expressed the guard, retreating from the arena.
"Dinner must be ready by now, Hunter, I'll wait for you upstairs."
"Going!"
Without worry and without further ado, the young beast then went up to the royal dining room, where his father and some commanders were waiting for him to eat. It was a huge feast, which, at least for a human, it would be. For them, it's just a normal meal.
Time passed, and the time to sleep came to what we say to them: good night to both of them. Something for sure, at dawn, awaits them.
The coliseum was packed, the beasts settled as best they could in the stands, and the smell of beer and street food pervaded the atmosphere, where warriors would fight for possession, honor, glory, and the kingdom.
"Let us then commence the first bout, The Defiant Tribute of the Hawk House versus The Defending Tribute of Wolf House; let the combatants enter the fighting arena!" the announcer exclaimed; the beasts stomped loudly and in euphoric rhythm as the combatants entered the arena at once.
"Defending for Wolf House, we have the firstborn son of our current king, Hunteeeer Wooollff!!!"
"And challenging the defender, coming from the seventh ring of Lydenfrost, the archmage...! IT CANNOT BE!!!" Silence invaded the arena; no one could believe their eyes...
"And who the fuck do you think you are!" he asked in a furious tone, the young wolf immediately going on guard.
With her hand on her chest and at the top of her lungs, that unexpected guest exclaimed: "My name... is Griezu, and I come on behalf of the true owners of these lands! The Humans!"