Beastman (3)

"Stop right there!"

Here they come.

At the woman's voice ringing out behind us, I locked eyes with my party. They nodded. I turned around with a scowl and addressed the red-haired woman leading the pack.

"Who the hell are you people?"

"What? 'Who the hell are you people'? Is this bastard joking?"

"What? Bastard? This crazy bitch looking to die? Hey, you wanna die?"

"...Is this guy a complete psycho?"

A throbbing vein popped out on her forehead. She stomped toward me in a rage, and I walked toward her as well, pulling up her status window at the same time.

Status window.

So this is Rodica. Damn... she's actually incredible.

After checking Rodica's status window, I couldn't help but be impressed.

Whoa... she already has both Wolf's Blood and Moonlight Clan? If I just raise her level, she can evolve straight into the next class.

Wolf's Blood and Moonlight Clan were the essential traits required to obtain Werewolf, one of the advanced classes branching off from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Beastman. In other words, since Rodica already possessed both, all I had to do was raise her class level to the Master threshold of 60 and she'd unlock Werewolf on the spot. On top of that, every stat except Wisdom and Luck was sitting at 90 or higher. That was why I'd rated her so highly.

For reference, the Beastman class was such an early-to-mid-game bully that I'd even raised a couple of them on my F2P alt accounts. The ones I'd built back then were a wolf beastman and a rabbit beastman, so I knew the class reasonably well.

It's a damn shame I can't make her mine right this second.

Back when I'd claimed eleven fairies at the Fairy Shelter, I'd discovered a hidden function of Temptation (Lv.2/Mythic). Stealing a fairy who already had a master triggered a level-down. Claiming a masterless fairy, however, didn't. Rodica already possessed top-tier combat power among 5-stars. If I wanted her at full strength, I'd have to snuff out her master — the Beast King — before I took her.

I finished analyzing Rodica, dismissed the status window, and looked at her.

She was far tougher and more hot-blooded than I'd expected. She strode right up to me and slammed her forehead against mine, growling like a beast.

Thud.

"Hey. You wanna die?"

Wow.

The distance between our lips was razor-thin. If I leaned forward even a little, they'd touch.

"Who in the world actually wants to die?"

"Then what's with that attitude? Want me to kill you right now?"

"That's some bullshit. You're the one looking to die. We were already clearing this dungeon, and you barge in out of nowhere and pick a fight like you own the place? How exactly am I supposed to take that?"

"Don't give me that shit, you crazy bastard. You've got some nerve raiding the private dungeon of the great Beast King, ruler of Pista Castle, without permission."

"You're the one talking shit. Who said we didn't get permission? We paid the dungeon fee."

"What?"

Rodica faltered slightly at the mention of a dungeon fee. She'd assumed we were raiding without authorization, so hearing we'd paid threw her off. But she quickly scowled again.

"You paid the dungeon fee?"

"That's right."

"Who the hell do you think you're lying to? I already checked. There was no party scheduled to raid this dungeon today."

"Oh, shit. You checked? Damn, busted."

"What?"

Rodica was thrown off again — this time because I'd just casually admitted I'd been lying.

"But you know what? What kind of guts do you have, getting this close to me?"

I flashed a wicked grin and pulled Rodica into my arms.

"You crazy son of a—!"

"BEAR HUG!!!!!"

"Ghk?! W-what kind of strength is this... GRAAAAAH!"

I squeezed Rodica with everything I had. Her Strength stat was high, but mine was a full eleven points higher.

"Rodica!"

"You bastards!"

The moment Rodica screamed, the Beast King's other two fairies — Amulie and Pribi — came charging in.

The two fairies' appearances shifted. A pair of adorable cat ears popped up on Amulie's head, and a cat tail sprang from her rear with a little boing. As for Pribi, a big fluffy squirrel tail burst out behind her. Amulie was a cat beastman. Pribi was a squirrel beastman.

"Not so fast!"

"You will not pass!"

"Haaaah!"

My party members weren't about to sit still. They sprinted past me in an instant and cut off the two beastman fairies. My party and the Beast King's two fairies clashed — and the fight was surprisingly even.

Amulie, the cat beastman, showed off astonishing agility and reflexes, slashing at my party with razor-sharp claws. Aquaril and Sonic pressed in, swinging their swords, but Amulie evaded their attacks with ease. On the other side, Pribi was pelting acorns in a ranged duel with Oralisa. Kanisia and Abraham closed in to stop her stone-throwing, but she launched herself into incredible leaps and left the two of them looking like dogs chasing a chicken. And even while doing that, she kept launching acorns at Oralisa.

Beastmen, all right.

We had the numbers and the higher ranks. The reason the fight was still even was because Amulie and Pribi were beastmen. There was a reason the class had earned the nickname "early-to-mid-game bully."

Still... seeing it in person is something else.

Amulie and Pribi, having activated Beast Transformation, looked like they were in costume — animal ears and tails, and that was it. Nothing else had changed. Objectively speaking, calling someone a beastman just because they'd sprouted ears and a tail was pretty ridiculous, but that was exactly how beastmen had looked in Fairy Masters too. If turning into a beastman had meant becoming some half-animal, half-human hybrid, a lot of people would've rejected the class. Though the furries probably would've loved it.

Anyway, reaching the final class would turn them into something you could actually call a true beastman. Right now, they were cosplay girls, nothing more and nothing less.

But why are only these two fighting? Where are the other two? Oh, you've got to be kidding me.

Confirming that only Amulie and Pribi were in the fight, I looked for the Beast King's younger brother and his fairy. Then I let out a hollow laugh.

"You must flee, Master! Those traitors have set their sights on you!"

"R-right! Let's get out of here!"

The moment the fighting started, the two of them had taken off without so much as a backward glance. Well, they were still just 3-star weaklings, so I could understand — but even so, weren't they running a little too fast?

"Abraham! Grab those two!"

"Understood!"

I ordered Abraham, who'd been left on the sidelines, to catch the two runaways. Beastmen had naturally high Agility, so Abraham had no hope of keeping up with Amulie and Pribi. But Jericho and Telmuer, mere 3-stars, were well within his reach. Abraham took off after the fleeing 3-star duo.

"Y-you bastard...!"

"Nngh! Stay still. Do that and you won't have to get hurt."

"Bullshit...! GRAAAAAAAH!"

"This bitch..."

Despite my kind advice, Rodica — still locked in my grip — refused to stop struggling. Then again, there was no way a fairy would take advice from another master.

"Nngh...!"

I was squeezing with everything I had, but I felt my arms being forced apart, bit by bit. Rodica had activated Beast Transformation. The skill's effect boosted her Strength stat.

"Haaaah!"

She gathered her strength, and the moment my arms loosened even a fraction, she exploded with power, twisting her body and breaking free.

"Grrrr... I'm going to kill you."

She sprang backward, putting distance between us, then dropped into a crouch and glared at me like she wanted me dead. Wolf claws had erupted from both her hands, wreathed in a flickering crimson aura.

I answered in kind.

"Tsk, tsk. You foolish creature. I even showed you the painless path, and you still insist on walking the road of suffering."

"Shut the fuck up, you son of a bitch!"

"You're the dog here, not me."

I clicked my tongue, and Rodica roared as she charged. I launched the black orbs forming around me straight at her.

BOOM! BOOM! KRA-KOOM!

The black orbs streaked toward her at high speed, but Rodica dodged my magic attacks with ease. Beast Transformation didn't just raise Strength.

It boosts all the physical stats, doesn't it?

One of Beast Transformation's effects was raising Strength, Agility, Vitality, and Durability — the four stats tied to physical ability. Her Agility had already been high, and now it was even higher. Her movements were nothing short of lightning.

"I'll kill you!"

FWOOSH! BANG! BANG!

Rodica evaded every last Black Barrage and, in the same motion, launched Fist Aura blasts that detonated every Will-o'-the-Wisp orbiting around me. She leapt in a single bound and swung her arm at my throat like a wolf going for the kill.

"Ta-da!"

I pulled a scroll from my inventory and tore it open right in front of her. The magic stored inside activated and shot toward her.

"Kh?!"

Even she couldn't dodge a scroll's magic while suspended in midair. She twisted her body, trying to evade, but the spell's hitbox was about as wide as an exercise ball. There was no getting out of it.

The magic flying toward Rodica sank straight into her body. Thud. She went limp and dropped.

The scroll I'd just used was enchanted with Stun. A spell that knocked the target out for five seconds — and a single one of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠these cost a staggering two million Gold. But it was worth every last coin. The moment the spell landed, a 5-star, level-100 fairy dropped into a stunned state instantly.

I rushed over and mounted her before she could wake up. Pinning her torso firmly with my legs so she couldn't escape, I locked my hands around her throat.

"...Ghk?!"

Five seconds passed and Rodica came to, but it was already far too late. I had an absolutely dominant position, and she had no way out.

"Take a little nap. I'll wrap this up quick."

"Ghhhhk?!"

I squeezed her throat, and Rodica thrashed in agony. She punched and clawed at my forearms, but she couldn't pry ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my arms off.

"Grrrk...!"

Rodica struggled, then went limp. True to the beastman class, she was extremely vulnerable to CC.

Confirming she was out cold, I stood up and looked behind me.

"Ghk...!"

"Damn it!"

Amulie and Pribi, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pinned down by Aquaril, Sonic, and Kanisia, wore expressions of bitter frustration. They'd fought hard against my party, but they couldn't overcome the numbers disadvantage. More importantly, hadn't we spent nearly a month grinding dungeons just to raise my party's stats? No matter how much of an early-to-mid-game bully the beastman class was, they had no chance of beating a party I'd raised with that kind of intent.

"Move it!"

"Kh!"

"For a bunch of traitors... ghk!"

Right on cue, Abraham returned with the runaway Jericho and Telmuer in tow. Their faces were swollen — they'd clearly gotten a beating for resisting.