Chapter 283: The Beasts We Became

The Chief’s Road continued deeper into the earth. By now, the ancient road barely resembled the passage they had entered several Chapters ago.

The smooth stone floor had disappeared beneath layers of roots, shattered rock, and enormous claw marks, while the walls had become increasingly distorted by the territories of the Beasts living around them.

Arthur moved at the front of the group, Dusk resting against his shoulder as he watched the darkness ahead. They had been fighting almost without pause. And somehow, they were getting faster.

A massive roar shook the cavern. Arthur looked up. Something enormous moved through the darkness, two golden eyes opening between the roots. Then a gigantic crocodile crawled out of the swamp surrounding the road, its scales black enough to absorb the light around them, its jaws opening wide enough to swallow a person whole.

Arthur stepped forward and reached out as it charged. The moment his hand touched its rough scales, the information appeared in his vision.

[Species: Blackscale Crocodile]

[Evolution Path: Ironhide Devourer → Abyssal Swamp Emperor]

Arthur’s eyes narrowed. "Chief."

The crocodile slammed its jaws down. Arthur moved aside, the impact shattering the stone beneath him.

Vedas was already moving. "Mine!" The Goblin King crashed into the Beast from the side, his golden spear striking its armored body and sending it skidding across the cavern.

The crocodile twisted violently, its tail sweeping across the ground. Kong jumped over it. Mithra flashed beneath the Beast’s body, her blades striking several weak points before she disappeared again. The creature roared and tried to turn. It never got the chance.

Arthur raised one hand.

[King’s Mark Authority — Columns of Light]

Golden pillars erupted from the ground around the crocodile, cutting off its escape routes. Vedas understood immediately, driving his spear forward, the golden weapon piercing through the weakened scales. The Blackscale Crocodile collapsed.

A familiar surge of energy spread through the cavern. Vedas’s level rose.

[Level Up!]

[Goblin King]

[Level 35 → Level 36]

Arthur smiled. "One more."

Sun stared at him. "One more?"

Arthur looked deeper into the road. "There’s a lot more."

Sun sighed. "I knew you were going to say that."

They continued. The next Chief emerged less than ten minutes later, a massive manta-shaped Beast descending from the ceiling, its crystal wings reflecting the golden light from Arthur’s mark. Arthur touched it as it passed.

[Species: Crystalwing Manta]

[Evolution Path: Prismfin Colossus → Starsea Dragon]

"That’s new."

Athena glanced toward him. "What?"

Arthur looked at the Beast. "Nothing."

The Crystalwing Manta suddenly released a storm of crystalline shards. Athy immediately took to the air. "Above!" The group scattered, the shards tearing through the ground where they had been standing moments earlier.

Eden’s eyes glowed as she used Sharing. "Left!" Arthur shifted before another wave arrived. Mithra appeared beside the Beast and struck. Sun followed with a staff thrust that released a shockwave. Kong grabbed one of its wings, the Crystalwing Manta struggling, and Kong grinned before he threw it. The Beast crashed into the cavern wall.

Melo’s dream mist spread through the area, disrupting its senses long enough for Vedas to close the distance, his golden spear flashing. The Beast fell.

Another surge of experience followed.

[Level Up!]

This time, it wasn’t only Vedas. The others felt it too. Melo’s tails flickered as energy flowed through her body. Athy’s golden eyes brightened. Kong rolled his shoulders. Mithra looked down at her hands.

Sun stared at himself. "Again?"

Athena looked toward them. "How much experience did that Beast give you?"

Sun checked his own status. "Enough."

Mithra smiled. "Level thirty-six."

Athy fluttered her wings. "Same."

Kong gave an excited grunt, and Melo’s tails swayed happily.

Arthur looked across the group. Everyone had reached Level 36, not through some shared pool of experience, not because someone had distributed it to them. They had each earned it through the battles they had fought. And the deeper they went, the faster those levels were coming.

Arthur looked toward the road. Something about that bothered him. Not the strength. The pattern.

They had spent days fighting their way through the Everglades. At the beginning, every Chief Beast had been a serious threat. They had needed careful positioning. They had needed Athena’s analysis. They had needed Eden’s vision sharing. They had needed Mithra’s speed, Kong’s strength, Sun’s precision, Melo’s illusions, Athy’s aerial support, and Vedas’s growing power.

Arthur remembered the first battles. The hesitation. The uncertainty. The moments where one mistake could have ended everything.

Now? A Chief Beast charged them, and they simply moved. Athy redirected it from above. Mithra cut its movement. Kong stopped its charge. Sun struck its legs. Melo disrupted its senses. Vedas finished it. Arthur barely needed to interfere.

He looked at the group again. They had changed. Not just individually. Together.

Another roar echoed through the passage. Arthur turned. A massive bear stepped onto the road, its fur golden, reflecting the faint light surrounding the ancient ruins. It stood nearly twice the height of Kong.

Kong’s eyes immediately lit up. "Big."

Sun glanced at him. "That’s what you’re focusing on?"

Kong nodded, and Arthur laughed quietly, approaching the Beast and touching its golden fur.

[Species: Goldenback Bear]

[Evolution Path: Sunhide Behemoth → Dawn Mountain King]

Arthur pulled his hand away. "Chief."

The Goldenback Bear roared, then charged. Kong met it head-on, the collision shaking the road, his feet digging into the stone as the bear pushed him backward. He grunted. The bear pushed harder. Then Kong smiled, suddenly grabbing the Beast by both arms. "Mine." He twisted, and the Goldenback Bear went flying, crashing into the ground hard enough to crack the stone.

Sun stared. "He’s getting stronger."

Mithra smiled. "Everyone is."

The bear recovered surprisingly quickly, slamming both paws into the ground, a wave of earth surging toward the group. Arthur raised his hand.

[King’s Mark Authority — Light Aura]

Golden light spread across everyone. The wave of earth crashed against them. Nobody moved.

Kong stepped through it. Vedas followed. Mithra disappeared. Athy dove from above. Sun’s staff struck the ground. Melo’s dream mist spread. The bear suddenly found itself surrounded.

Arthur watched. They didn’t need instructions anymore. Everyone already knew what the others would do.

The Goldenback Bear roared and swung at Kong. Kong caught its paw. Vedas struck its side. Mithra appeared behind it. Sun’s shockwave slammed into its legs. Athy blinded its movement from above. Melo disrupted its senses. The Beast stumbled.

Arthur finished it with a golden spear thrust. The Goldenback Bear collapsed.

[Level Up!]

Another level. Arthur looked around.

Vedas. Melo. Athy. Kong. Mithra. Sun.

All Level 36.

And there were still more Chiefs ahead.

"How many now?" Luna asked.

Athena checked the records. "Twenty-nine featured Chiefs."

Arthur looked toward the massive passage. "And the rapid group?"

"We’ve defeated seven more."

Luna counted quietly. "That makes thirty-six."

Arthur nodded. Thirty-six out of fifty. Fourteen remained.

But for some reason, the number didn’t make him feel closer to the end. It made him feel like they were approaching something.

The deeper they went, the stronger the Chiefs became. Yet their rewards were increasing just as quickly.

Arthur looked at the enormous claw marks covering the walls. "The deeper we go, the stronger the Beasts become."

Athena nodded. "And the more experience they provide."

Arthur’s eyes narrowed. That was the part he couldn’t ignore. At the beginning of the Everglades, a single Chief Beast had forced them to fight carefully. Now they were defeating them in rapid succession. The road wasn’t simply becoming more dangerous. It was accelerating their growth.

Arthur looked at the ancient road stretching endlessly ahead. "The Earth Mirror wasn’t just protected."

Athena looked at him.

Arthur’s expression became thoughtful. "It was training whoever reached it."

For a moment, nobody answered. The idea settled over the group. They had assumed the Chief Beasts were simply guardians.

But guardians didn’t need to become progressively stronger. They didn’t need to provide progressively greater rewards. They didn’t need to form a road that forced challengers to continuously adapt and grow.

Athena slowly looked down the passage. "Then whoever built this road expected someone to get this far."

Arthur stared into the darkness ahead. The ancient road continued downward. Beyond it waited fourteen more Chiefs. Beyond them waited the Earth Mirror. And somewhere beneath all of it was the reason this place had been built in the first place.

Arthur tightened his grip around Dusk. "Then whoever built this..." He looked toward the darkness. "...expected someone like us."

The road answered with a distant roar. Something enormous had heard them coming.