But even when the Beast was out of whatever influence it was in, Leo didn't have the mana to do anything.

This was the problem with higher-ranked beasts. Even a Low 3-star beast was so troublesome to tame. Part of it was that it displayed higher strength due to its sheer size.

Even when Leo was now a High 3-star Beast Master, it couldn't outpower the Low 3-star completely. Because Leo only managed to cause damage to a small area when the actual size of the beast was considered. Not to mention the most damage was done to the other earth layer, which mended itself superfast. But Leo saw it; it was slowly getting out of steam.

Even if the Colossus regenerated its mana, it was nowhere near as fast as Leo's. And the disparity only increased when the mending of the outer layer cost the beast highly for the large area of impact damage that Leo had been doing recently, combined with Niri's unpredictable solar beams.

When Leo once again tried his luck to tame it, the rejection was weaker. And he could tell that sooner or later it would submit.

As he mediated, his thoughts once again drifted towards the wolf pup, more like a proper wolf since its height now even surpassed Shyra due to it having a Royal Bloodline.

He was surprised after seeing that the wolf's traits were completely locked and would only awaken after the so-called baptism under the shadow of the Eclipsed Sun.

But she was powerful as it is. Especially the [Astral Aura Weave] skill, he had been using it to enhance the impact of [Critical Strike]; they both, when used together, enhanced each other's effects.

He'd been using it constantly to amplify the force of [Critical Strike], the two abilities feeding into each other like a perfect loop. Now that Critical Strike had reached high-grade, he could channel three limbs at once at 600% power. Charging both legs and one arm at the same time turned him into a living projectile—leaping with absurd force and crashing down with devastating punches.

If not for [Astral Aura Weave], his ankles would have shattered countless times. Critical Strike boosted power but not durability; every impact still slammed back into his own bones. But the aura projections absorbed and redirected that force, preventing the self-inflicted damage and saving him a terrifying amount of stamina—stamina that was otherwise spent constantly healing or mitigating the backlash of his own attacks.

Thanks to the weave, his jumps no longer felt like they were tearing his joints apart.

Another thing caught his attention: neither of his tree beasts had ranked up to Low 3-star. It was as if something was holding them back. They were already sitting at the height of Pseudo 3-star, but no matter how he tried, Leo couldn't find the push that would take them to the next stage.

Then there was the matter of bloodrank.

Once they reached the Royal stage, the purity meter hadn't moved even a fraction from 0%. The only change was the automatic inheritance of a strange, ancient family line. He had no way to test this with Niri, since there were no comparable cores to feed her. But the direwolf pup… she had reached the Royal bloodline immediately after absorbing the female alpha's and male beta's cores.

And even after fusing the remaining pups' cores into her, not a single percent had increased—only her aura had grown denser and more intense, as if her strength was being compressed against some unseen ceiling.

He guessed it was tied to them all being stuck at Pseudo 3-star, so he shelved the thought for later.

Two hours passed.

His mana was full again.

"Let's go."

He swiftly unsummoned Shyra—she was drained dry—and called out Niri. Both of them activated [Solar Beam], charging one in each hand. The moment he slipped out of [Stealth], the colossus snapped its massive attention toward him.

But this time, Leo brought out someone new.

"Come out, Nyxa!"

Silver motes drifted from his chest like scattered moonlight before converging and expanding into a massive silhouette.

An eight-meter-tall beast stood before him—sleek, powerful, covered in smooth dark fur that gleamed faintly like polished stone. An eclipse-shaped sun-mark glowed on her forehead. Her mane was thick with a soft radiance; her claws were curved and razor-sharp; her long plume-like tail swayed with barely contained strength.

She carried her mother's noble bearing… and her father's regal presence. A perfect blend.

Her claws dug into the earth as she realigned her stance. Her gaze swept to Leo first. Eyes narrowing just slightly, as if recalling the strange space she had been confined in—forced to listen and follow commands she didn't always want to. But that place had fed her, so she tolerated it.

But now she had a name.

When her eyes met his, Leo couldn't help smiling. Because the moment he named her, the system chimed:

[Eclipse Sun Direwolf]

Name: ? → Nyxa

Bond: Chain Bond 36% → 44%

She definitely approved.

Nyxa's thoughts were cut short as stony spikes erupted from the ground toward her. Before they even reached her, she flickered—vanishing in a blur of silvery afterimage and reappearing meters away. The movement was eerily similar to the male alpha's evasive footwork.

"Good!" Leo barked, pleased. He'd seen her practising both of her skills relentlessly inside the spiritual space, as if preparing for a real battle. And it showed—she blinked from position to position, slipping through the barrage of projectiles with growing confidence.

Now it was Leo's turn.

This time, he didn't even need Stealth to get close.

[Astral Aura Weave]! – 400 mana/min

[Critical Strike]! – 100% (2 limbs) – 800 mana/sec

He launched himself upward with a thunderous blast, the jumping force impact carving out a crater nearly twenty meters wide.

As he soared, he briefly cancelled the skill to save mana. By the time he reached the peak of his ascent—around 300 to 400 meters—both Solar Beams were adequately charged. He thrust his hands upward and unleashed the twin beams into the sky, the recoil blasting out a shockwave.

The force acted like twin boosters, rocketing him downward with brutal acceleration.

Then he reactivated his skills.

Aura surged around him. He moulded it into a blunt, heavy surface—a condensed mass of force. His aim: the colossus's head.

Below him, the titan was busy raising its stone barriers against Niri's Solar Beam on one side while swiping at Nyxa on the other.

Perfect timing.

Leo dropped like a divine hammer.

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