The insect charged at the boy with far more speed than its massive size suggested. Adlet dodged to the side with surprising agility. The creature only attacked in straight lines, making its movements predictable, but no less dangerous.
For the first time since he had begun training to become a Protector, Adlet entered the forest unarmed—without his bow or knife. With no way to confront the beetle, he had no choice but to run. He sprinted through the trees and undergrowth, weaving between trunks and low-hanging branches, trying to put distance between himself and the creature. Fatigue began to gnaw at him; his legs burned, his lungs screamed for air. If this insect behaved like its smaller counterparts, climbing a tree would be useless—it would simply climb or smash anything in its path.
Adlet searched desperately for an advantage. A clearing appeared, littered with stumps and fallen branches, making every step treacherous. The beetle lunged again. He tripped over a thick branch, rolled onto his back, and threw himself aside just in time. The rush of air from the attack grazed his skin, leaving a shiver in its wake.
Leaning against a stump, Adlet's eyes caught the glint of a lumberjack's axe half-buried in moss. His hands shook as he grabbed it, gripping the worn handle tightly. The beetle lunged once more. He rolled aside, and with a burst of adrenaline, swung the axe with all his might into the creature's thorax.
The beetle staggered, its mandibles snapping with a metallic click. Adlet panted, his body trembling from exertion. He had believed he'd grown stronger since meeting Pami, but now he realized his strength was still raw, untrained. Survival alone did not make him a Protector.
He steadied his breathing, pushing away the nagging doubt. He hadn't yet glimpsed any true power within himself, and that was the problem. If he wanted to defend himself, he needed control, focus—and courage.
The beetle charged again, slower this time, weakened by the strike. Adlet ducked under its horn, rolled across the ground, and slammed the axe into its carapace once more. The creature twitched violently, then finally collapsed.
A brief silence followed. Adlet's legs trembled beneath him. And then, faintly, particles of light began rising from the insect's body. They glowed darkly, almost black, like the shadowed hue of the beetle's shell, swirling upward, coalescing, and flowing along the axe handle before surging into Adlet's arm.
He stumbled backward, overwhelmed by exhaustion, and his eyelids grew impossibly heavy. The world blurred.
"Hello, Adlet."
His eyes opened to a green meadow with a gentle river flowing through it, exactly as in his first encounter with Pami. The darkness was gone. Suspended in the air before him floated his companion, its seven white tails waving like ribbons in the breeze.
"Hello, Pami. What happened to me?" Adlet asked, amazed at his calm. The chase already seemed like a distant memory.
"You have triumphed once again. And it seems you've even absorbed a new companion," Pami replied.
"I'm still just as weak… What good is another companion if I don't know how to use this power?"
"You still think you're weak, yet you survived," Pami said gently.
"So what really happened out there? Am I going to be hunted by every beast in the region now that you're with me?"
"It's unlikely that anyone noticed any change in you," Pami reassured him. "You would not be targeted because of me."
"And that light? The one that rose from the beetle?"
"You defeated it and made its strength yours," Pami explained.
Adlet studied Pami's tails. One now shimmered with a dense, black mist.
"Does that have something to do with your new appearance?"
"It does. The beetle's power has settled into this tail."
Adlet frowned, anxiety creeping into his chest.
"So… does that mean the beetle will also live inside my mind now?" he asked, his voice betraying his unease.
Pami's voice was steady, reassuring. "No, Adlet. The beetle's essence merged with mine, but there is no room here for another being. It is absorbed into me. We are still just you and me, as we were before."
Adlet let out a slow breath, his worries beginning to ease.
"Thank you, Pami," he whispered.
The last words of Pami lingered in the air, hanging like an echo that refused to fade. Adlet tried to answer, but something tugged gently at his consciousness — a soft pull, as if a quiet current were drawing him upward.
The inner world began to dissolve.
Colors bled together, the outline of Pami blurred, and a strange warmth tightened in Adlet's chest — a mix of comfort and longing, as if he were leaving a familiar place he had never truly known.
His body felt heavier.
His breath, more real.
The ground, more solid.
Then everything slipped into darkness.
One heartbeat.
A second.
A third.
Reality struck like a returning tide.
Adlet's eyes snapped open. He was back in the forest clearing, still gripping the axe, the defeated beetle lying motionless before him. Fatigue weighed on his body, but clarity filled his mind. Standing nearby was the old man he had encountered earlier, eyes sharp and observant.
"I sensed the presence of a dangerous creature nearby," the man said. "Where did it go?"
"I… I managed to stop it," Adlet replied, still catching his breath. "Its light… it went into me."
Lathandre studied Adlet carefully, just as he had earlier that day.
"You don't seem to be lying this time. I can sense… something in you," he murmured thoughtfully.
"I never lied! This is the second time this has happened to me!" Adlet protested.
"Pami would have explained everything if you hadn't woken me up first," the man grumbled.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Alright, I believe you. Answer my questions, and I promise I will help you. First—who is this 'Pami'?"
"Pami is the fish I caught. We now share the same body," Adlet replied cautiously.
Lathandre raised an eyebrow.
"There shouldn't be any creature like that in this region… and you claim to have encountered two in such a short time? Very well. What did the one that attacked you look like?"
Adlet described the beetle. Lathandre's expression darkened.
"I see… In that case, let me explain a few things about Protector powers."
Adlet straightened, suddenly attentive.
"First, you must understand what a Protector is. Dangerous creatures, like the one you just faced, fill the world. We call them Apexes. Their forms vary greatly, since they originate from ordinary animal species. When a creature kills enough others, it absorbs their life force and evolves into an Apex, gaining its own Aura.
Its size, strength, and abilities increase—but it does not fundamentally change species. Birds remain birds, reptiles remain reptiles, insects remain insects.
Humans, however, cannot develop an Aura naturally. But they can acquire one by absorbing a defeated Apex. The absorbed creature becomes what we call a Guardian.
This is what happened twice in your case: the creature disappears, its essence detaches from its body, and merges with its victor."
Adlet listened without blinking.
"Protectors are humans who bear and train this power to defend humanity. Do you follow?"
Adlet nodded eagerly.
"Good. When you acquire a Guardian, your physical abilities improve, and you can even mimic some traits of the absorbed species. To strengthen this power, there are two main methods.
The first depends on how the assimilation is carried out: you gain the greatest potential if the Apex is still alive when absorbed—subduing it without killing it.
The second depends on the Apex's rank. There are multiple evolutionary stages: a rank 1 has evolved once, rank 2 twice, and so on.
But remember—a Protector can only possess one Guardian at a time. That is the fundamental rule, confirmed by centuries of observation."
Lathandre paused, eyes fixed on Adlet.
"And that is precisely why your story is… impossible."
Adlet's heart leapt.
"But it really happened! Pami absorbed the beetle—it's what happened!"
Lathandre paled.
"Wait… you mean the other creature absorbed the Apex instead of you? And its essence… didn't manifest in your own Aura?"
"No. Pami told me the power merged with him, in one of his tails."
The old man froze.
"In one of his tails?"
"Yes. He has seven."
"…Seven." Lathandre's mouth fell open, his fingers tightening around his staff.
"Adlet… do you realize what you're saying? If this is true, then this creature can store multiple essences. This is…"
He inhaled sharply, overwhelmed.
"…unprecedented. Never before recorded. Not in any archives, not in any Protector reports. One Aura. One Guardian. That is the rule."
He ran a hand over his face, unable to mask his shock.
"If it can absorb multiple Guardians… then either this is an unknown species… or you've uncovered a condition of assimilation that has never been observed in human history."
Adlet said nothing. He only knew Pami had never lied.
Lathandre's voice softened, tinged with excitement:
"Now I understand why your story confused me. And… I would like to offer you something."
"You want to become a Protector, don't you?" he asked, eyes gleaming.
Adlet looked up, surprised. "You're not just a scholar… you're a real Protector too."
"One doesn't prevent the other," Lathandre smiled. "I have been a Protector longer than I have been a scholar. Both disciplines complement each other—especially when traversing dangerous lands like the ones I explore."
"You would really help me become strong? To explore the world?"
"Follow my guidance, and I promise you will."
Adlet took a deep breath and nodded.
"Alright. I'll trust you."
The old man's smile widened.
"Then it is decided. We are master and disciple. Although… I don't even know your name yet."
"Adlet."
"Pleased to meet you, Adlet. You have earned the right to know my name—you must call me Master from now on. My name is Lathandre."
"Nice to meet you, Master."