The sound echoed again in Lazry's head—cold, mechanical, and emotionless.
[ Ding.
[ Control Mission Activated.
[ Level One: Stay and do nothing while Gruig tries to tame your beast for 5 seconds.
[ Reward: First-level control of your nameless legendary devouring beast. ]
[ Level Two: Stay and do nothing while Gruig tries to tame your beast for 10 seconds.
[ Reward: Second-level control of your nameless legendary devouring beast. ]
[ Level Three: Stay and do nothing while Gruig tries to tame your beast for 15 seconds.
[ Reward: Master-level control of your nameless legendary devouring beast. ]
[ Level Four: Stay and do nothing while Gruig tries to tame your beast for 20 seconds.
[ Reward: Complete-level control of your nameless legendary devouring beast. ]
[ Level Five: Stay and do nothing while Gruig tries to tame your beast for 25 seconds.
[ Reward: Absolute-level control of your nameless legendary devouring beast and an additional peak Lycannis Ability. ]
Lazry froze. His eyes scanned the system mission and read the texts written to it. After reading for a few minutes, he almost thought the system was mocking him.
Stay still while someone tries to tame his beast?
Was this some kind of sick joke? After the clan stripped him of his first legendary nine-tailed demon fox, after humiliating him and calling him useless, the system now wanted him to stand and watch as another person tried to take his new legendary beast away?
His jaw tightened. His heart thumped like a drum against his ribs.
"This system…" he muttered under his breath. "It's testing me again?"
He clenched his fists and lowered his gaze toward the small, six-eyed dog beside him, who was still sniffing the marble floor curiously. Its aura pulsed faintly, like a black tide rolling beneath its fur.
Even though it was small, it exuded something ancient and hungry, something that made the very air tremble around it.
Lazry frowned. "Do nothing, huh…"
His mind rapidly spun. If he attacked or interfered, he would lose the mission and possibly his chance at fully controlling the beast. But if he just stood there, this arrogant stranger—Gruig—would attempt to bind his dog, possibly hurting it or stealing it away completely.
"No," he whispered, shaking his head. "Not again. Not this time."
Still, he knew the system wouldn't give him an impossible task. There had to be a reason. Maybe it wasn't asking him to be helpless—maybe it was testing something deeper.
He started pacing slowly in front of the hotel's grand lobby, mumbling to himself while Butler Winston and the young red-haired stranger looked at him in confusion.
"If I move… the mission fails. If I do nothing… I'll gain control. But how long do I have to do nothing? Twenty-five seconds? That's nothing. I can endure that. But what if he's strong enough to actually harm it? No, no, I've seen that dog. It's not normal. It devoured curse spirits in seconds. That power isn't something that can be tamed easily. But… what if the system expects me to trust it completely? That would make sense. It wants me to trust the bond."
He rubbed his chin, whispering faster now, almost forgetting that people were watching. "If I trust it, maybe it'll protect itself. If I interfere, maybe I'll ruin it. Hah… so I'm supposed to just sit there and look calm. Easy, right? Just don't move. Just… don't move."
"Uh… young master?" Winston asked quietly.
Lazry ignored him. His eyes lit up suddenly with realization, and immediately, a faint grin spread across his lips. "Yeah… yeah, that could work. Let him try."
"What could work?" Winston asked again, concerned.
Lazry didn't answer. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the red-haired young man standing a few meters away, smirking confidently.
"You're Gruig, right?" Lazry said suddenly.
The young man blinked. "Huh?"
Winston looked confused too. "Young master, you know him?"
Lazry's voice stayed calm, but his eyes had a glint of mischief. "I do now."
Gruig looked startled for a second before letting out a short laugh. "Oh, so you did know me after all. Here I thought you were ignoring me, senior."
"Senior?" Lazry repeated, tilting his head slightly.
"Of course." Gruig puffed his chest. "You were in the same academy batch as my older brother. The Lycannis family's prodigies, right? I'm two years younger, but I always admired you."
Lazry frowned faintly. "Admired me?"
"Well," Gruig said with a grin, "more like pitied you. My grandfather mentioned that you were so generous, you willingly gave away your newly conjured beast—the nine-tailed demon fox. I must say, that was very noble of you, Senior Lazry."
Winston's brows twitched, his face darkening slightly, but Lazry didn't react immediately. He just looked at Gruig with an unreadable expression.
"Your grandfather said that?" Lazry asked quietly.
"Yes!" Gruig said proudly. "Grandfather Grude Lycannis. He even told me how your sacrifice brought peace to the inner family disputes. He spoke of it like a legend. He said the fox was one of the rarest beasts ever found, but you willingly gave it up. That's what a true noble should be like."
Lazry's fingers twitched slightly. The name Grude Lycannis struck him like a needle through the heart.
He remembered that yesterday clearly—the endless meeting hall filled with family elders, the suffocating atmosphere, the weight of a hundred eyes on him. He remembered the old man with cold gray eyes, standing among the eight elders who stripped him of the nine-tailed demon fox.
That day, he had begged for one last chance. They hadn't listened. Grude Lycannis had been the first to speak.
"You should be thankful, boy," Grude had said, his voice sharp and indifferent. "That beast does not belong to someone as talentless as you. The Madam does not wish you harm, but you must understand—her care ends where the family's strength begins. Be content with whatever little status you have. You are weak. Stay weak, and stay quiet. As long as you act like the young master of the Lycannis Family, everyone will allow you to do anything. But this changing factor in our Lycannis Family is more important, so you must understand."
Lazry remembered those words more clearly than any curse spell he had learned.
Now, standing in front of the grandson of that same man, hearing his smug voice and his condescending tone—it all came flooding back.
Suddenly, his smile vanished. His voice grew colder.
"So," Lazry said slowly, "you came here… to take another beast from me?"
Gruig blinked, still smiling but uneasy now. "Well, don't take it. I thought, since you're so generous, maybe you'd have something to spare. My grandfather said you're a true Lycannis, you never keep all his beasts for yourself to strengthen the family," He'd point to himself, "And I promise that as long as I grow stronger, I'll make the Lycannis be stronger too."
Winston's eyes widened. "You—how dare you speak so rudely to the young master—"
Lazry raised a hand. "It's fine."
The air grew tense. Lazry looked at the boy in front of him, then at the small black dog beside him. The system mission still flickered faintly in the corner of his vision.
He took a slow breath, then said quietly, "You want one of my beasts?"
Gruig grinned eagerly. "Yes. If you have one, I'd be honored to—"
"Fine," Lazry interrupted.
Gruig blinked, caught off guard. "Wait, what?"
"You can have it," Lazry said simply. "If you can beat it and tame it in twenty-five seconds."
The words made the entire lobby go silent.
Even Winston's breath caught.
"Young master," Winston said urgently, "you shouldn't—this beast is—"
Lazry waved his hand. "Don't question my decision."
Winston pressed his lips together, bowing slightly. But deep inside, he knew what Lazry was doing. That small dog had wiped out an entire nest of curse spirits with a single white blast that came from its mouth. He knew this wasn't a test of generosity. It was something else entirely.
Gruig looked from Lazry to the small beast, uncertainty flickering across his face before his confidence returned.
"So all I need to do is tame it within twenty-five seconds?"
Lazry nodded calmly.
"And if I fail?"
"Then you get nothing."
Gruig grinned again, his arrogance returning full force. "That's it? That's the only catch?"
"That's it," Lazry replied. His voice was calm but cold now, his eyes faintly glowing under the chandelier light.
Gruig stepped forward, stretching his arms, and smirked. "Then I hope you won't regret this, Senior Lazry."
Suddenly, he'd cross his arms and immediately, the change was fast, the air around him became twisted violently as he released his curse mana. Black and red energy flared like a storm, shaking the walls and rattling the windows.
Lazry stood still, hands in his pockets with an unreadable expression.
The small six-eyed dog lifted its head, its eyes gleaming faintly as if it finally sensed something worth its attention.
The twenty-five seconds had begun.