HIERARCHY IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

"WOLF!!" The pup rushed towards Bel, jumping into her arms.

"They have become friendly," Bel said as she cuddled with the pup.

She had collapsed due to most of her mana being forcefully sucked from her body to support Ossa's temporal evolution.

After a couple of hours, she awoke, finding herself in the den of the alpha shadow wolves, the parents of the pup, who had engaged them in battle.

Confused, she looked around, trying to find out where she was and how she got there.

As her eyes darted through the dark cave, she spotted the pup and its mother tending to the wounds of the male wolf who lay there, unconscious.

Remembering what had transpired, she stepped back in fear, but the creatures paid her no heed as they had completely accepted defeat.

The male who had lost to Ossa was the alpha male, the leader of the shadow wolves in that territory. He, the leader, was the strongest in the pack, almost reaching tier 6 in the mystic beast form.

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Ah, I guess I should explain the beasts in the world of Terra. All life, including that of the beasts, are my children.

The beasts on Terra are categorized into four: basic beasts, normally referred to as animals; magical beasts; demonic beasts; and divine beasts.

Basic beasts are usually domesticated creatures that serve as food and a means of transportation. Some magical beasts can also serve as such, but the differentiating factor is that basic beasts have no mana core and thus no mana.

Magical beasts, on the other hand, have mana cores and thus mana, which allows them to use magic. Like the shadow wolves who can melt into the shadow and even turn their bodies into black wisps of shadowy smoke.

Demonic beasts, like most magical beasts, have a mana core and can also use magic, but the differentiating factor is that they exude demonic energy, and their appearance is usually gruesome. A good example is the ghoul, a humanoid creature whose vertebrae column is visible from its back, spines protruding out of it.

Its fingers protrude into claws, allowing it to easily tear into its prey. Its ears are pointed, like that of the elves, but unlike their elf's beautiful nature, the ghoul is an ugly creature.

I'm not into looks, but according to human standards, it's ugly, as it has no nose; in place of its nose, two openings. Its mouth is full of fangs that it uses to bite into its prey.

Even without the demonic energy it oozes, one could tell immediately that it was a demonic beast.

On the other hand, there are divine beasts, mythical creatures who are rarely sighted. They represent the pinnacle of strength and beauty, like the blue-flamed Phoenix and the Flood dragon.

They, unlike demonic beasts, exude a type of energy known as divine energy, the same type of energy that Angels and gods like myself exude.

In the world of Terra, these are the four types of beasts, and just like humans who grade their strength in tiers, beasts are also graded in tiers from tier one to tier seven. But unlike humans, beasts are grouped into three categories irrespective of whether they are basic or divine beasts. That is normal, mystic, and dragonic.

Each stage has seven tiers, and the alpha male is a mystic tier 5 beast who is close to hitting tier 6.

To understand the strength of each stage and tier, Let's use the shadow wolves to make it easier to understand.

A normal shadow wolf can barely make use of shadow movement, lasting a few seconds in the shadow. As the tiers increase, the duration increases. Their strength is mediocre, as they would be unable to bring down Ossa, a mere skeleton soldier, but in groups, they have a chance.

A mystic shadow wolf starts to show signs of turning their bodies into shadowy smoke that is practically invulnerable to physical attacks. As the tiers increase, they gain strength and can attack in that state, as the alpha male was able to do.

A dragonic shadow wolf becomes the shadow, having the ability to send others into the shadow realm. It is practically invulnerable to both physical and most magical attacks and can go toe to toe with tier-one mystic dragons.

This should do, for the summary of the hierarchy in the animal kingdom. Let's go back to Ossa's story.

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As the rules of the shadow wolves dictate, the one who defeats the alpha shadow wolf becomes the new alpha.

They are cowardly by nature, but when it comes to upholding their traditions, they are all in on it.

Some wolves snarled, unwilling to accept another creature as their leader but could not attack, as one who was able to defeat a mystic shadow wolf was not someone they wanted to mess with.

And even if they could, he would just come back to life, as it was common knowledge that undead soldiers are immortal.

Confused and on guard, Ossa looked at the shadow wolves, who had now bowed their heads in respect to their new ruler.

"See, they are now cool with us. When I woke up, they were outside, but no one attacked me, even though you were asleep," Bel explained.

Ossa, who had the mind of a three-year-old, could not understand what was going on, but with the vibe he got from what Bel said, it meant to him that they were friends.

"Friends?! Then why do some of them want to hurt me?" Ossa thought as he could sense the malice from the creatures before him.

[Quest]

[Host intelligence is too low]

[Hunt ten normal magical beasts]

[Reward: Intelligence increased to that of an adolescent mind]

"Master, is that a job... OK, I will do it," Ossa thought to himself, his eyes burning with resolution.

In front of him were normal magical beasts, but he felt that killing them would be wrong as Bel looked at them like they were friends.

"Master Bel, I have a job... Let's go," Ossa thought, trying to communicate with Bel.

Bel, sensing something, looked at Ossa, who had an eager look in his eyes.

"Do you want me to follow you?" she inquired, as that was the feeling she got from how Ossa was looking at her.

He, in turn, nodded vigorously, confirming her thoughts.

"Let's go, I am even starving."

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Sorry for the info dump.