Axton had no choice but to trust the village chief.

It wasn't the first time he had found himself in this kind of situation.

The last time was when he encountered Jackal the Hunter. A mission triggered by nothing more than a parchment he received from Iron Buck and a vague instruction.

It was almost comical how the same cycle repeated itself — receive a scroll, head to a destination, and end up entangled in a quest.

As he left the chief's residence, carrying both the parchment and the exeat, the chief man let out a long sigh of relief.

Axton had unknowingly lifted a heavy burden off his shoulders.

'I had already made plans to face the invasion myself,' the chief thought, staring at the door..

His voice in his mind was dry, almost bitter. 'But I never imagined the attack would be on such a scale. I didn't expect him to handle it either… and yet, here we are.'

He chuckled softly, shaking his head. There was irony in his laughter, but also gratitude.

The Ox Demon could have destroyed everything, yet Axton stood tall in the aftermath, stopping the end that would have befallen the village.

The chief leaned back and gazed at the ceiling, and a small smile crossed his lips.

"Looks like I found a good candidate to bear it," he muttered under his breath.

His mind went to the scroll he had given Axton as a reward.

A powerful item that bore the title of the Berserker Scroll.

The chief's eyes gleamed as he whispered again, "The legacy of the God of War and Conquest."

Without hesitation, he stood, his steps slow but firm, and walked into the hidden chamber behind his office.

Even after all the years he had guarded that scroll, this was the first time he felt no guilt for giving it away.

'I hope you can uphold the glory of what you now carry, young man.'

Little did he know that the scroll he had passed on had already transformed into something beyond recognition. Something far greater than any berserker legacy he once believed it to be.

******

(Outside the village)

Axton stood beneath the open sky, the village at his back.

His thoughts were far from the charred ruins.

He was thinking of the city of Atlas, his next stop.

However, there was one last matter he needed to handle before leaving the safety of the newbie village.

He searched for a secluded clearing beyond the farmlands, a quiet stretch where no eyes would pry.

A forest was in front and the distant chirping of birds gave the place a soothing effect.

There, Axton sat and took out two items from his inventory — the beast egg he obtained from the Ox Demon after killing it and the beast scroll he had gotten earlier.

The scroll unfurled with a crisp snap, revealing a single familiar red tag within.

A contract tag.

Axton immediately recognized it. He had used a similar one during his earlier bond with the dragon egg.

"This should work the same way," he whispered, though his eyes narrowed slightly. He couldn't shake off the nervousness that gnawed at him.

He placed the tag gently against the beast egg, exhaling as if bracing himself.

For a moment, nothing happened.

A few seconds passed and then, a blinding light burst forth, swallowing the egg whole.

Axton instinctively stepped back, shielding his eyes.

The ground vibrated faintly as small cracks spiderwebbed across the surface of the egg.

Shards of the shell fell away piece by piece, and with each break, the light grew brighter.

*Ding*

[Congratulations!]

[You have contracted a new beast!]

[Beast — The Great Bear]

The familiar chime of the system echoed, but Axton's expression turned cautious.

His instincts screamed at him to stay on guard.

…The Great Bear.

The name alone was intimidating, and given the Ox Demon's ties to the egg, he expected nothing less than a monstrous creature capable of leveling forests.

The brightness dimmed, and Axton braced himself for the sight of fangs and claws.

But instead…

"...Huh?"

His eyes widened.

What stood before him wasn't a hulking monster or a towering beast.

It was… small. Ridiculously small compared to what he expected.

A little bear, barely taller than his knee, stumbled forward on wobbly legs.

Its fur was fluffy.

Its eyes were large and innocent, and its clumsy steps made it look more like a cub who had just learned to walk.

Axton blinked, his wariness melting into disbelief.

He had prepared himself for a life-or-death struggle against a feral monster, only to be greeted by what looked like a plush toy.

The little bear tilted its head, then gave a tiny grunt before tumbling forward in its attempt to walk closer to him.

Axton almost laughed. Not mockingly, just in genuine shock.

"I was ready to fight for my life, and this is what I get?" he muttered, half amused and half baffled.

*Ding*

[Beast — The Great Bear]

[Grade: 5]

[Level: 1]

[Attack: 15]

[Defense: 60]

[HP: 80/80]

[Mana: 40/40]

[Skills: Beast Mode, Bear Hug, Beast Charge]

The system window confirmed the truth.

Despite its appearance, this little bear was no ordinary beast.

'Its attack is low compared to its defense,' Axton thought, analyzing the stats. 'Probably because it's still a cub. But even then…'

The defense alone was staggering.

At the same level, this cub was already stronger than the dragon he had contracted before.

Axton was elated.

The potential was undeniable.

'This little one would grow into something terrifying.'

He crouched, extending his hand. The bear sniffed at his fingers before rubbing its head against his palm, its tiny claws barely pricking his skin.

"Alright then," Axton whispered. "Let's see how strong you can become."

******

With his beast companion now contracted, Axton's mind shifted back to the next important thing.

…Atlas City.

Unlike the relative safety of the newbie village, the city was an entirely different place — one where the chance of power, schemes, and survival intertwining was high..

He couldn't afford to be careless.

"Status."

*Ding*

[Name: Khan]

[Class: Demolisher]

[Level: 15]

[Attack: 900]

[Defense: 750]

[Agility: 500]

[HP: 1100/1100]

[Mana: 550/550]

Axton studied his stats carefully.

He had reached the same level as the Ox Demon, but the numbers were now in his favor. In a fair fight, he could easily crush the demon.

Even with the creature's Ox Power mode, the outcome would still be his victory.

That thought alone reassured him.

The road ahead was unpredictable, filled with unknown enemies, both monsters and players alike but he was prepared.

He pulled out the exeat the chief had given him.

The item glowed faintly from a small button embedded at its center.

*Click*

He pressed the button once.

*Ding*

[You are about to leave the newbie village #666]

[Please select the city you would like to go to]

A list of cities appeared before him, each one glowing with promise but his mind echoed with the chief's words.

"Atlas City."

The moment he made his choice, the ground beneath him lit up with runes. A pillar of white light surged upward, engulfing him in a radiant glow.

In the blink of an eye, Axton vanished from the clearing.

******

Meanwhile, far away, deep within the forest where Jackal the Hunter once lived, something else was happening.

The ground trembled violently around the abandoned shack.

Birds scattered in panic, with the atmosphere saturated with strange energy.

Then, just like the portal that carried Axton away, a runic circle etched itself into the earth.

A pillar of white light erupted, filling the forest with a blinding brilliance.

Within the light, fragments of particles gathered, swirling like stars forming a constellation. Slowly, painstakingly, they shaped themselves into the outline of a man.

His lips laughed as his figure solidified.

His voice was hoarse but filled with excitement.

"Finally… I can experience life again."

With time, the outline was more defined and finished.

It was him.

The hunter, Jackal.

He was alive once more.

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