"If you want to leave, then don't stay too far from me."

That was all Aiden said before he continued walking deeper and deeper into the gray world of monsters.

Elen frowned as she looked at his back.

Yes, she was grateful for his timely assistance and for going as far as giving her something that must have been extremely costly to obtain.

But still, that didn't give him the right to look down on her.

Who said she wouldn't be able to survive if she didn't stay close to him?

She thought angrily.

Yet despite those thoughts, her legs were already carrying her directly behind Aiden.

Her brain protested that she could survive on her own.

But her heart, which had nearly stopped beating at death's door only a few minutes earlier, completely disagreed.

And so she followed him.

Aiden walked forward calmly.

He hadn't wanted company, but now that he had one, why not put on a little show for her?

The duo continued walking for a while until they reached a large open area.

Aiden suddenly stopped and turned toward Elen.

The unexpected action startled her.

"What is it?"

"Is there a monster nearby?"

She asked immediately, her sword already raised.

Aiden shook his head before asking his own question.

"Would you like to see something fun?"

Elen raised an eyebrow.

"Something fun?"

She repeated, not entirely sure whether this blond-haired youth understood where they currently were.

Aiden nodded.

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to show you something fun?"

Elen hesitated briefly before finally nodding.

Seeing her nod caused Aiden to smile.

Then he started taking off his shirt.

Elen's expression immediately changed.

Wait...

What is he doing?

Don't tell me this is the kind of fun he was talking about?

The thought flashed through her mind.

She desperately didn't want to believe it.

No.

The blond-haired youth didn't seem like that type of person.

Still, her uneasiness increased slightly when he removed his trousers as well and casually tossed them aside.

Wait!

Is he planning to force himself on her?

If he actually tried something like that...

Was she even confident she could stop him?

Her expression changed again.

No.

She couldn't.

He was far too strong.

Fortunately, her worst fears never came to pass.

Aiden didn't even bother turning toward her.

Instead, he simply closed his eyes.

Then his body began to change.

His teeth extended outward.

Growing sharper.

Longer. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Transforming into vicious fangs.

His fingers lengthened into claws.

The hair on his head thickened.

More hair emerged along the sides of his face.

Even the hair across his body grew denser.

These were Aiden's bestial features emerging.

And then—

With all of his might—

He let out a thunderous roar.

ROOOOOOAAARRRR!!!

The very air shook violently.

The ground trembled.

Even Elen froze where she stood.

If she hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes, she would have believed that roar came from some terrifying nightmare creature rather than a human.

She was only snapped out of her daze when Aiden spoke.

"If you really want to survive, you'd better climb up and hide on top of that mountain."

Elen blinked.

Then she looked around.

Sure enough, a large mountain stood nearby.

"But why should I hide?"

The answer revealed itself almost immediately.

The ground started shaking.

Not because of the roar.

Not because of an impact.

And not because of any earthquake.

Instead, it sounded as though countless beings were running across the land.

Before the realization could fully settle in, Aiden spoke again.

"They're coming."

"Hide quickly."

"If not, I'm not sure I can fight all of them while protecting you at the same time."

Elen simply stared at Aiden's back.

His frame had somehow become broader and more imposing.

She was completely dazed.

Who was coming?

Wait a minute...

Aiden's earlier words suddenly echoed through her mind.

"Would you like to see something fun?"

That was what he had asked.

Then he had roared.

And now countless footsteps were rushing toward their location.

And who exactly lived in this place?

The moment everything finally clicked together, her face slowly turned pale.

All color drained from her features.

She turned and glared at Aiden.

"You bastard."

She cursed under her breath.

Then she immediately turned around and sprinted toward the mountain not too far away.

Fighting one of those creatures had already been a nightmare.

Just imagining what it would be like to face tens—

No.

Hundreds of them at the same time—

Sent chills racing down her spine.

"He has completely lost his mind."

She thought while glancing back.

Aiden merely smiled at her and gave her a thumbs-up.

He really had no idea he was about to die.

The blond-haired youth was insane.

Once those monsters killed him, they would undoubtedly come after her next.

She was doomed too.

Yet there was one thing she couldn't ignore.

The blond-haired youth remained calm.

No.

He was casual.

Even as the first of the ashen monsters appeared in the distance, his expression never changed.

Aiden frowned slightly before shaking his head.

No matter how much he copied it, he still couldn't replicate Han's Lion Roar perfectly.

If it had been the real thing, he would've attracted far more monsters than this small group.

"I guess the saying that a copy can't beat the original is true."

He muttered with a shrug.

Still, it didn't really matter.

After all, there were already around a hundred of those ashen monsters charging toward him.

And they would certainly be troublesome.

At least they would be if he continued fighting in his human form.

And that was something he had already decided against.

It was finally time to get serious.

There were still plenty of monsters left to kill.

And after that—

The Portal Boss.

With that thought, Aiden finally decided to use one of his modes.

Over the past year, he had accumulated quite a collection of powerful transformations through his Bestial Transformation ability.

He rarely used them.

Most of the time, his human form was already more than enough to solve any problem.

But on rare occasions, he needed something more.

And this was one of those occasions.

Standing upright, Aiden summoned his system.

A translucent screen appeared before him.

His gaze moved toward the section containing his Bestial Transformation Modes.

He quickly selected one particularly suited for mass destruction and bloodshed.

DING!

Would you like to activate:

Dark Mane Tyrant Mode?

YES / NO

Aiden's eyes flashed dangerously.

Without hesitation, he made his choice.

"Yes."

DING!

Beast Mode: Dark Mane Tyrant has been activated...