There exist beasts that come in all shapes and sizes, dominating air, land, and sea wherever they claimed territory.

No man knew their exact origins, such as how they came to be or whence they came, but their frequent skirmishes against humanity brought about great concern.

For more than a millennium, scholars strove to find an answer to the mysteries surrounding this threat.

While many theorized that these creatures, long dubbed 'wildebeasts', were simply freaks of nature, the result of unstable living conditions, there were more than a few who offered alternative theories.

One such theory was that Dreid, the God of Hunting, created these creatures to fuel an everlasting hunt, while another says that he held great disdain for the other races and called forth the wildebeasts to eradicate all humankind, along with all other god-loved creations.

The intelligent folk knew that, while the words were numerous and the truth of the matter unknown, one couldn't, or rather shouldn't believe any random theory making its rounds.

Ultimately, it was up to each individual to decide for themselves what to believe in.

That being said, the paltry understanding Riaz had of wildebeasts was mostly made up of what Aldean had taught him and could be boiled down to one crucial piece of advice: don't look down on any wildebeast.

It was a piece of advice that applied well to the young warrior's precarious situation.

The wildejacks were no mere animals; they were vicious beasts, known to stalk the arid plains in search of prey.

Currently, Riaz found himself surrounded by four wildejacks and couldn't take his eyes off of them, fully aware that any lapse of attention could prove fatal.

He maintained a wide stance with his sword arm threatening any approaching wildejack into backing off again.

Though seemingly intimidated, the wildejacks couldn't be pressured to stay more than two sword lengths away.

It was Riaz's first time engaging such foes and the closer and longer he looked, the more the wildejacks appeared as not too different from dogs.

He had to admit, such an impression, greatly misleading as it was, would surely invite others to let their guard down.

Their physical features resembled a common animal's for the most part if you ignored the mutations stemming from prolonged exposure to the untamed energies of their habitat.

Their attrite claws suggested that they had carved into many a solid entity; his mortal flesh would likely put up little resistance.

He felt truly regretful.

If only he had learned qi reinforcement, allowing him to cover his skin in a protective layer, things would be so much easier.

The current him was still too green to fully grasp the profound methods of controlling his qi; however, that was still no reason to fret.

He was close to making another breakthrough, it was all just a matter of time, or rather of when an opportunity presented itself.

'That feeling, I am sure that I had partially succeeded back in Gridan and it took me only the threat of losing an arm to achieve it.'

His memory was faint, but he'd surely remember if he could find another such chance to rely upon.

Alas, what until then? Would he have to battle until he had no choice but to remember?

'Now is not the time to be worrying about pointless things.' Riaz paused his pointless thinking and collected himself.

He couldn't hold the beasts at bay forever and it was long past due that these experienced hunters found a gap in his defenses.

As soon as he made one wrong step, a wildejack lunged at him from the left.

His eyes couldn't keep track of its claws and the appearance of the beast rushing towards him resembled a blurry shadow.

Relying on his instincts, Riaz blocked diagonally, whereafter the paws slammed into his blade and not only shook him but completely uprooted his body, sending him flying.

"Ugh!" Riaz groaned and moved to adjust his legs and feet for a landing, when, through the corner of his eye, he found another wildejack swiping at him from the right.

He ultimately chose to forgo the landing and instead utilized his backward momentum to ball up and roll across the ground.

His cloak messily wrapped around him and got dragged through the dirt with the rotations of his body until his rapidly rolling body finally came to a halt.

Quick and steady, he planted one foot and knee into the dirt and raised his head with a horrified look in his eyes.

Just then, the dangerous claws had grazed the fabric of his clothing, which, to his thinking, was already much too close for any comfort.

A swath of sweat formed on his back and all the while he realized that these beasts were faster than any common animal.

He took a deep breath and rolled his right shoulder.

Dull pain in his sword arm solicited his attention and the adrenaline pumped through his veins in response.

Some maneuvers were quite painful to execute with a sword in hand, but he would not think of letting go of his sword.

A swordman's sword was his life.

He understood it after hearing Aldean's preaching, how not letting go, even in death, was deeply rooted in the wielder's pride.

He, too, was a warrior, a swordsman.

With swelling conviction, the fighting spirit in his heart ignited.

Aldean, spectating from the side, noticed the subtle changes in his disciple's bearing, much to his satisfaction.

"That's right, disciple," he muttered to himself. "You mustn't falter against a pack of dogs."

Much worse adversaries awaited him. Riaz would have to show true tenacity as the one to bear the treasured ring.

However, the boy's struggles had only just begun.

Just when Riaz thought that he had bought himself a moment to breathe, he sensed two wildejacks moving to pin him from the left and right respectively, the remaining two slowly pacing towards him from the front.

He roused the qi inside his dantian and willed for the energy to course through his meridians.

The muscles in his body tensed up and his breaths grew hotter while, at the same time, his eyes faintly lit up.

His blade stabbed out towards the enemy to his right and the wildejack lept back, while the one, which previously approached from his left, now aimed for his back.

However, that stabbing motion of his was a faint and the beasts fell for it.

Riaz pulled back his arm, along with a twist of his wrist, and spun around, intercepting the beast behind him.

The other wildejack was his true target all along.

Dragging his sword alongside him, his body shot past the lengthy, airborne frame of the beast, leaving behind a spray of sparks.

"So tough!" Riaz gritted his teeth and hoisted the blade.

That strike barely left a mark, even though he had put all of his strength into it.

His foes didn't hesitate to pursue him after his failed attack.

The pressure exerted by the constant barrage of attacks made it hard to think of a solution.

Feeling tense all over, Riaz had his hands full repelling the agile foes and slowly but surely was losing ground.

One beast came after another; they took turns lunging at him, seemingly intending to wear Riaz down.

'These beasts seem quite intelligent.' Riaz, in his admiration, found a tinge of dread and continued to repel the attacks with greater worry.

His footwork had trouble keeping up with the constantly shifting positions of the four wildejacks, as they flitted around in quick, short spurts that were hard to follow with untrained eyes alone.

Riaz parried their attacks time after time and scanned the terrain in the surrounding area.

He found its features truly wanting, for it was flat and bare.

There was no place for him to run off to in hopes of gaining an upper hand nor was escaping an option.

This fight had practically been set up by his teacher and while it would be wiser to flee when in danger, that should not be what his teacher wanted to see here.

Riaz was running out of ideas and his chest tightened.

This was just like the fight against the bandits. He couldn't risk leaving his back open or slipping up in the slightest.

His face grew even hotter as he was reminded of his weak past.

Back then, had it not been for the dark entity possessing him, he'd surely have died and the girls experienced a worse fate.

He countered whenever possible, but none of his attacks seemed to work and slowly he felt like he had trouble properly circulating his qi.

Riaz then realized that his morale was starting to get affected and the fury in his chest re-kindled after taking a hit to his ego.

He hated being this pathetic, he hated it; he hated it with his entire being.

'There must be a way!' Riaz raked his brain. 'Teacher would not force me into a hopeless situation.'

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

His sword left a whistle as it cut through the air and the wildejack, having dodged, performed a cunning move against him as it passed.

Riaz noticed a heavy pull on his cloak and could glimpse that the beast had used his clothing against him with the clear intent to yank him back.

This action effectively broke his stance and opened him to another attack from the front where a wildejack lunged for his vitals.

Although he began to panic, he suppressed the weakness in his heart and focused on surviving.

There was no space for hesitation.

Riaz kicked towards the wildejack aiming for his throat and his foot connected with the underside of its jaw, propelling the beast into the air; not before it could drag a claw across his chest, however.

A gash formed in the sturdy leather of his chest piece, but he was grateful to have avoided injury.

He couldn't allow this to go on.

Before anything else, he performed another rolling maneuver while he unfastened his cape and wound the cloth around his empty hand once, grabbing it firmly.

"Two can play this game, rotten pup!" yelled Riaz then swung the cape and wrapped the remainder of it around the beast biting onto the other end.

Keen-eyed, Riaz found a gap in the beast's armor and concentrated his strength to keep it tied down.

He changed into a reverse-grip on the sword and thrust downwards and through soft flesh that posed little resistance.

The wildejack yelped and frantically swiped at the fabric of the cloak, tearing itself free.

However, Riaz remembered to twist the blade before it escaped from being perforated and quickly re-assumed a defensive stance.

The wildejack that he had kicked previously had already scrambled to its feet, increasingly ferocious and only further agitated when Riaz stabbed its kin.

After being stabbed, the wildejack lurched with a steady stream of blood escaping the wound in its torso.

The injured beast stuck its tongue out and panted, unable to prevent its long legs from shaking.

Riaz grew more cautious, but then the beast soon fell over and appeared to have succumbed to the hole in its chest.

He exhaled in relief and his mouth formed a gloating grin. He must have unknowingly struck the beast's vitals; that must have been it!

"What's this? Guess you mutts are not that tough after all?" Riaz ridiculed the remaining wildejacks and his arm raised the sword with greater firmness, shaking less.

He felt silly for being so intimidated at first, but wouldn't his current predicament be solved if he focused on the weakness he had discovered?

'Well, it's easier said than done.' Riaz calmly reminded himself.

He knew that he shouldn't get cocky from achieving one victory, but still, he felt proud of his deed.

'Did teacher see that? I bet he must be quite impressed.' Riaz wanted to throw a glance towards Aldean, but couldn't afford to.

The remaining wildejacks, while agitated, somehow grew more hesitant or maybe patient after witnessing his kill.

Riaz expected them to rush him in retaliation, but it became clear that he still underestimated the beasts' intellect.

'No, something's off,' he thought. 'If they're pack animals, then wouldn't it make sense for them to have a leader?'

Despite his assumptions, there was no apparent difference between the three. None of them stood out in particular.

He began to wonder, 'Did they act on their own initiative?'

'These animals are a little too coordinated and cunning. No, something just doesn't feel right.'

Despite his gut-feeling warning him, he chose to increase the offensive. He couldn't afford to further prolong the fight.

He dashed towards one of the wildejacks and thrust his sword forward.

He perceived the soft spots and targetted them with clumsy thrusts that often missed their mark.

Riaz told himself to get it together and focus his attacks more.

His mind was too distracted by thinking.

He perceived that something was wrong with how the beasts avoided him but, despite that, never ceased the aggressions.

It gave him the impression that the wildejacks were waiting for something. But what were they waiting for?

He increased the pace of his actions and traded form for speed.

Avoiding and attacking, the pattern continued.

The game changed when the ground under his feet caved in and he lost his balance.

"Wha—" Riaz gasped and his face contorted.

He could feel the hairs on his neck stand up and focused on the ground beneath him.

There, from the collapsing dirt, he discovered a set of jagged teeth closing in on him from below.

Like a clap of thunder, one thought boomed in his head: he had fallen into their trap.

No, in the first place, how could a pack of dogs come up with such a plan?

'Am I going to die?' Riaz's heart felt like it might burst as the wildejack emerged from the ground.

It was different. It was faster and two red beads glowed in its eye sockets, menacing to behold.

He wanted to call for help, but his throat dried up and the words lumped together, unwilling to escape his mouth.

"Disappointing." Aldean's voice cut through the tension like a sharp knife.

A split second before the wildejack could leave a lethal injury on the falling Riaz, the beast's movement seemingly froze mid-leap.

Riaz's eyes widened as, slowly, the wildejack, which was visibly smaller in size compared to the others, came apart with a spray of blood.

He fell to the ground while murky blood splattered onto him and his surroundings and his mouth opened and closed as he lay with his back against the crumbling ground.

Defiled by blood and chunky bits of flesh, his body shook heavily from shock while his widened eyes took in what had happened.

"This little one is beyond your capabilities," Aldean explained. "It's smaller but faster than the others, not to speak of its cunning."

Riaz sought the silhouette of his teacher and quickly crawled out of the collapsing spot, leaving behind the sliced carcass of the wildejack, half-buried in the newly formed hole in the ground.

Earlier, his guts had warned him and as it turned out there was some sort of tunnel system underneath.

This wildejack, which was different from the rest, had hidden thoroughly and waited for the others to lure him here.

He knew not the methods it had employed to coordinate with the others, but clearly, he was still too inexperienced.

With unsteady hands, he held his sword close to him and watched as the remaining wildejacks fled.

Their leader was dead, no doubt they were not foolish enough to stay.

"Pick yourself up, disciple." Aldean brought the horses and spared the worn-out Riaz no further glance.

'Did I do something wrong?' Riaz felt something amiss.

He certainly slipped up at the end, but, in his honest opinion, he had performed well overall.

Riaz quickly scrambled to a nearby dark spot and picked something up.

In his hands was a torn fabric of his cloak, ripped in places, it could not be worn again.

He lifted his gaze and watched Aldean approach the lifeless remains of the first wildejack to die.

Seeing that the cloak had no further use, Riaz quickly gave up on salvaging it, thus, after throwing it away, he hurried to his master's side.

"Teacher, is something the matter?" he asked, finding Aldean distracted by something, oddly enough.

In front of Riaz, Aldean gripped the carapace-covered leg of the beast and held it up to show him; after which he snapped it with a crunch and displayed the armored section.

Riaz recoiled with a shudder at both the sound and violent image and had to moderately strain to keep his eyes trained on what Aldean was trying to show him.

"The body parts of a wildebeast can be harvested and sold. The materials gained from it have various uses and will always find a buyer." Aldean explained.

His fingers skillfully dug under the claws and violently tore them off one by one, preserving their quality.

He then repeated the same process on the claws around the other joints and handed Riaz the claws before firmly grabbing the head of the beast and lifting it.

Having turned the beast's head around, he used his fingers to point out the snout.

"Take this part for example; it has a sturdy carapace, but its shape and size make it very difficult to process."

Aldean's hand wrapped around the snout and clenched around it with another crunch.

"However, the same can't be said for the teeth."

The carapace crumbled like a cookie and he shook the fractured snout for teeth and bone shards that were swept along with the blood, raining onto the ground.

"Ugh... teacher, this..." Riaz wanted to protest in disgust, but Aldean wouldn't have it.

"Don't be so squeamish, brat! One would mistake you for a lass." He glared at the boy. "This is par for the course in our world, so don't you avert your eyes."

With a stern tone, he lectured, "The teeth can be used for rituals and alchemy, so gather them up now."

The grumbling Riaz picked up the teeth in a hurry, then ran off to the side to retrieve the cloth he had discarded earlier.

He carefully placed the teeth within the cloth and by the time he returned, Aldean had carefully laid the beast out on its side.

Riaz wordlessly squatted next to him and waited for the next instructions, but heard not a word from his teacher's mouth.

Aldean maintained silence and Riaz was beginning to doubt himself, wondering whether he had done something to upset him.

The discomfort of getting the silent treatment prompted him to speak and call out, "Teacher?"

Aldean sighed, then pointed out the chest of the beast which had a gaping hole in it.

"You have done well to discover a weakness here. Parts of the body are hardened and impervious to weak cuts, but there are multiple gaps that you can stab through."

Riaz could likewise see the gaping hole his blade had left behind and nodded.

"It bled out quickly since you have severed its heart," remarked Aldean, then pointed at another three areas. "The lower neck is not armored, nor are the backside of the joints and private parts. Make sure to remember."

Aldean rubbed his hands together and stood up, as did Riaz.

"Then there's the blood of wildebeasts; it is quite special actually."

Riaz tilted his head and Aldean could guess what he was wondering.

"It is a potent ingredient used in elixirs and pills, you've already heard that much, but that's not why it's so special."

He turned towards Riaz and jabbed his finger into the boy's shoulder.

Riaz immediately groaned in pain and pulled back.

"See, your flesh is soft and your bones are weak." Aldean crossed his arms. "So far, you have only learned to temper your body by damaging your flesh and bones over and over until they become more firm and resilient. In other words, you'd be tearing down and rebuilding. However, there is another method to achieve the same effect."

Riaz mulled it over once and quickly came to a realization, "Is it somehow connected to the blood?"

Aldean nodded in affirmation.

"Since ancient times, consuming the blood of mighty beasts has been a proven way to increase one's body cultivation, but as much as you can consume the essence of beasts, you are at risk of getting consumed by their fierce will if you're not careful."

"Teacher, then can wildejack blood be used to advance my body cultivation?" asked Riaz expectantly.

"No," Aldean shook his head, "it's too low in quality. If you wish to temper your body using beast blood, then you are better off acquiring higher-grade blood."

He touched his chin with narrow eyes and remarked, "Actually, you might have benefited from beast blood in the past."

"Is it because of my extraordinary foundations?" Riaz seemed to grasp what he was hinting at.

"Well, the only other explanation would be that you were born with a superior constitution; something not that unusual in prestigious warrior families." Aldean's eyes carried a meaningful glint as he spoke.

"That..." Riaz pinched the fabric of his pants and flatly replied, "It's possible... but let's say I have used beast blood before, can I do so again?"

"Naturally, if it's of greater potency that is," replied Aldean with a raised finger, to which Riaz followed up with another question.

"What about the blood of the small wildejack you've killed, teacher?"

"Still too weak." Aldean shook his head. "Maybe if you hunted something like a Blue-Crystal Scorpio, then sure, you could advance by one step, only... finding one wouldn't be so easy."

Riaz hung his head low and sighed.

"Don't lose heart, brat. Focus on what's in front of you." Aldean pointed out the wildejack carcass once more. "I have yet to show you something that can help you immensely."

Riaz immediately snapped out of it and directed his gaze towards the dead wildebeast, then his teacher.

Aldean extended two fingers and Riaz could sense a threatening aura surrounding them.

He infused his eyes with qi and focused his gaze on those two fingers, around which he could barely spot fluctuations in the air.

Before long, the fingers descended onto the carapace protecting the beast's belly and cut through it like a hot knife cutting through butter.

A fist-sized opening formed on the carcass and Aldean reached through it with his hand.

Moments later, he retrieved a round bead from within the lifeless body and held it up.

Riaz inspected the round item and took particular notice of the visible fluctuations happening within the dark, opaque object.

Seeing this, he remembered having read something about it. It looked very similar to how it was described in written accounts he had seen.

Aldean placed the bead in Riaz's palm and began his explanation.

"This is called a beast core. Remember, wildebeasts possess cores that contain their beastly energy, and, with the right method, you can siphon away a part of that energy to aid in your cultivation."

"Will it help me improve even faster?" inquired Riaz while cleaning the blood off the marble-sized bead.

"Don't worry, it will." Aldean waved his hand to dismiss Riaz, "Now, quickly, go and fetch the other one yourself. It's usually situated below the stomach, although it wouldn't be that strange if not."

"Y-yes." Riaz listened and quickly closed in on the small pit holding the remains of the pack leader.

After producing his knife, he expended a lot of effort and eventually harvested the core, albeit with great difficulty.

An urge to wash his hands tickled the back of his mind, but there was no water source nearby and he'd rather not waste his remaining drinking water.

He couldn't deny that he was still somewhat squeamish, but not to the extent of earlier.

Helpless, he looked upon his blood-stained hands that held a knife in one and a bead in the other.

He blinked repeatedly as his eyes slowly glazed over in deep thought.

'The loser is despoiled, while the winner takes the spoils. I now take the claws and pieces, but if I ever lose there may not even be a bone left to remember me by.'

Riaz felt like he had reached a deep, downright primal understanding.

Battles were not always a game of wits but sometimes a contest on who is more ruthless and strong.

Meet wit with wit and fist with fist. His understanding grew, thus he recognized his mistake.

The battlefield was not a place for doubts.

His teacher often told him of the true nature of battle: kill or be killed.

He brought the core to his teacher and, with a frustrated growl to his tone, he declared, "I know my mistake."

Aldean wiped his hands against his cloak while gazing into the distance.

He bobbed his head up and down and replied, "Good, so go and chase down the beasts that have escaped."

"They must have gotten quite far and can dig into the ground. How am I supposed to find them, teacher?"

Aldean sneered, "You'll have to figure that out yourself."

"Alright." Riaz wasn't in the mood to argue and set out without delay.

His teacher's voice reached his ears at that time.

With newfound motivation, Riaz unsheathed his sword and ran off with the blade resting on his shoulder.