No Longer the Laughingstock
["Quest 2 required clearing an instance dungeon."]
Perfect timing. He could use it to level up Selena as well.
Leon walked toward the novice dungeon entrance. His hand rested on her waist. Selena gritted her teeth. Her Purple eyes burned with fury. But she didn’t move. She couldn’t. The contract wouldn’t allow it.
Her white silver hair swayed with each step. Her fitted snow-white robe whispered against her thighs. The gold sash emphasized her narrow waist. Her peach-shaped hips moved with reluctant grace. Her F cup breasts rose and fell with angry breaths.
She was in her beastified form. Claws visible. Lightning crackling around her body. She looked magnificent. And terrifying.
An open plaza stretched before them. It was packed with people. Students. Teachers. Beast-girls. All of them stopped and stared.
"Leon, did you take a wrong turn?" A voice called out mockingly.
"This is the novice dungeon entrance. What’s a talentless waste like you doing here? Someone who hasn’t even contracted a beast-girl?"
"Exactly. What are you even trying to crash?"
Several boys stood in front of the dungeon.
Beast-girls stood behind them.
They pointed at Leon. They burst out laughing.
"Leon, are you here to try your luck again?" A chubby boy sneered. His face twisted with contempt. "Hoping to find some stray beast-girl you can pick up?"
"Hahaha! Pick up a beast-girl? Leon, what happened to that rabbit beast-girl you found last time?" Another voice joined in, dripping with malice. "Did she starve to death?"
Leon’s expression darkened.
Before, he had once found a D-rank rabbit beast-girl. She was on the side of the road. On the verge of death. He had cared for her with all his might. He had fed her. Nursed her back to health.
But once she recovered, she abandoned him. Without a second thought. She chose a B-rank beast-soul master instead. She even mocked him on her way out.
*"A D-rank like you? You think you deserve someone like me?"*
*"You’re nothing but a stepping stone."*
*"I’m moving up in the world."*
Leon remembered her words. He remembered the pain.
In this world, a man’s aptitude could be improved. But a woman’s beast-soul was innate. With more men than women, most girls would choose beast-soul masters several ranks above them. Even if they only ended up as backup beast-girls. Never seeing battle. Enduring abuse and humiliation. They accepted it willingly. That was reality.
Leon frowned slightly. Then he smiled.
"Dear Selena." His voice was calm.
"Show them what you can do."
Selena’s Purpleeyes flashed. Though reluctant, she had no choice.
The contract bound her. She moved. She vanished from where she stood.
The next instant, she appeared before one of the boys. Her palm struck his chest. He flew backward.
"AHHH!"
The boy screamed. He crashed to the ground. His elbows and knees scraped against the stone. Blood seeped through his torn skin.
His beast-girl reacted instantly. Her body shifted rapidly. Her beast-soul activated.
She transformed into a horned bovine beast-girl.
Huge. Powerful. Muscular.
Her horns glinted in the sunlight. She charged at Selena.
Selena didn’t flinch. She raised her palm. One strike.
The A-rank beast-girl flew backward. She slammed heavily onto the ground. Dust exploded around her.
The plaza fell silent.
An S-rank beast-girl was a one-in-ten-thousand talent. There were barely any in all of Aurelia City. The sheer gap in power was insurmountable.
"What rank is that beast-girl?" Someone gasped.
"Lola’s Demonic War Ox is an A-rank beast-girl!"
"*Hiss!*"
"It looks like Leon actually succeeded in contracting!"
"This beast-girl... could she be S-rank?!"
They were all martial high school students. At the same combat level, who could defeat an A-rank beast-girl in a single blow?
"How is that possible?"
"How could Leon contract an S-rank beast-girl?"
"This... this must be an illusion!"
Everyone’s faces filled with terror. They were clearly shaken by Selena’s power. The others scrambled backward. Terrified that she might come for them next. When they looked at Leon and Selena again, their hearts were filled with dread.
Then, several more screams rang out.
Leon walked forward. His footsteps echoed in the silence. He stopped before the group that had mocked him the loudest. He looked down at them.
"In the future, when you see me, you take the long way around." His voice was ice cold. "Understood?"
Those boys immediately lowered their heads. They didn’t dare utter another word.
But one boy refused to accept it. His name was Dario. His face twisted with rage. He summoned his beast-girl. She was an A-rank Fish-Spirit clan beast-girl.
She transformed into her beastified form. Scales covered her skin. Webbed hands extended. She lunged at Selena.
Selena’s Purple eyes narrowed. She moved. One claw. A flash of lightning.
The beast-girl screamed. Her arm was torn open. Blood sprayed across the ground. She collapsed. Her arm was shredded.
Selena had shown mercy. Everyone could see it. Otherwise, that wound might have been across her belly.
Dario stared in horror. His beast-girl whimpered on the ground. He didn’t say another word.
After that display, everyone had confirmed it. The rank of Leon’s newly contracted beast-girl. That overwhelming pressure. That devastating power. It was definitely S-rank.
"Hmph."
Leon looked at the silent crowd before him. A wave of satisfaction washed over him.
From today onward, he was no longer the laughingstock. He was now someone who possessed an S-rank beast-girl. And in the future, he would possess the legendary Divine Beast White Tiger!
"Leon... y-you... how could you do this..." A teacher happened to be nearby. He stammered in disbelief.
"Bullied your fellow students..."
"How could I?" Leon sneered.
"Hmph. They bullied me over and over. Again and again. But I can’t even show off my beast-girl?"