Spirit Beast

After arriving in this world a few days later, he obtained information about this world from the mouth of a wolf named Landon.

Indeed, Mateo had arrived in a another world. The world was divided into three realms: the Paradiso Realm ruled by Astraea, The Celestial Sovereign, the opposing Inferno Realm ruled by Lucius, The Lord Of Torment, and the neutral Material Plane inhabited by various races, along with some neutral gods and demons in each realm.

However, for gods to come to the Material Plane, they had to seal half of their divine power.

This was to prevent enemies from ambushing them or seizing the source power of their divine essence, that like their second heart.

As a result, gods rarely ventured into the Material Plane.

They were currently in the Material Plane, where the dominant races were Humans, Elves, and Beastman.

Most of the land in the Material Plane was occupied by the numerous human population.

Elves, known for their exquisite beauty, mastery of magic and archery, were a rare sight and resided within the Elven Forest. Elves with pointed ears were born natural sharpshooters and magicians.

However, their beauty also sparked human greed, leading to some slave traders capturing elves and illegally auctioning them in underground markets.

Beastman lived in the north, divided into lion, tiger, wolf, and bear tribes. Beastman were composed of multiple tribes, most of which had good relations with other races, except for a few tribes engaged in perpetual conflict with certain human nations.

Among the human nations, there were three major powers: the Eastern nation of Arayama, the Western nation of Ventoria, the Southern nation of Solhar, and the neutral Magic and Martial Academy located in the center.

There was also the Temple, devoted to the worship of The Celestial Sovereign, Astraea, with immense influence.

As a result, dark magic and magic from Inferno Realm were considered taboo in the Material Plane.

Of course, there were creatures who worshipped other gods as well.

Elves revered Elven God, Aeloria, The Eternal Weaver.

While Beastman and beast-like creatures worshipped Beast God, Thraugor, The Wildfather.

Some humans even worshipped The Lord Of Torment, Lucius.

Power in this world was categorized and ranked, primarily into swordsmen and wizards. Swordsmen possessed "vitality force," a form of energy.

Swordsman ranks were as follows: Novice Swordsman (red vitality force), Junior Swordsman (orange vitality force), Intermediate Swordsman (yellow vitality force), Advanced Swordsman (green vitality force), Sword Master (blue vitality force), Great Sword Master (indigo vitality force), Sword Saint (purple vitality force).

Wizard ranks were: Novice Wizard, Junior Wizard, Intermediate Wizard, Advanced Wizard, Magic Scholar, Great Magic Scholar, and Magic Saint.

Anyone with good health could practice vitality force, while magic required innate talent.

Magic was divided into seven elements: Fire (red), Water (blue), Earth (brown), Wind (green), Light (white), Darkness (black), and Space (purple). Light and Darkness were rare, while the ability to manipulate space was only possessed by rare high-level spirit beasts.

Although elves had a natural aptitude for magic, they couldn't possess vitality force, while Beastman couldn't wield magic.

Apart from humans, elves, and beastman, there were also spirit beasts, ordinary beasts, and dragon tribes. Most spirit beasts lived in the Spirit Beast Forest, varied in appearance, and were classified into ten levels. Levels one to three were low-level spirit beasts, four to six were mid-level, seven to nine were high-level, and level ten were considered legendary beasts, residing at the center.

Dragon tribes could also be considered spirit beasts, but they possessed advanced intelligence from birth and could transform into human form when mature. They were powerful beings living on Dragon Island in the sky.

Spirit beasts at level seven already possessed higher intelligence, level nine could speak, and level ten legendary beasts were rumored to be able to transform into human forms, though no one had ever seen it.

As for Mateo, he was currently a spirit beast, a third-level Gale Wolf. Gale Wolves were a type of wolf-like spirit beast that could use low-level wind magic such as Wind Blades. Most were second-level spirit beasts, with a few being third-level, and they typically lived in groups of five to seven.

The gray-blue wolf approached foraging bunny with careful steps. It pounced and bit the bunny, its sharp teeth piercing the fur and staining the white skin with crimson. The bunny struggled for a moment before dying.

Not far away, a handsome and heroic white wolf easily dodged an attack from a third-level spirit beast, Blazing Fang Boar. Swiftly, it darted beside the boar and bit its throat, killing it with a twist.

Mateo looked resentfully at Landon, who effortlessly caught a Scarlet Flame Boar, and vented his frustration by biting down on the dead bunny in his mouth.

Yes, they were hunting now. Landon wanted Mateo to catch prey to demonstrate, but as this was Mateo first time walking on all fours, he stumbled with every step, making it impossible to catch anything. Naturally, Landon looked down on him.

To provide an example, Landon transformed into the size of an ordinary wolf and, after three days of forced training, Mateo finally succeeded in catching his lunch - a bunny barely large enough to fit between his teeth, and it was just an ordinary wild animal.

Landon dropped Blazing Fang Boar on the ground and quickly averted his gaze from Mateo bunny. Mateo was certain that Landon had just mocked him.

In order to satiate his hunger, Mateo almost considered eating the bunny fur as well, but the furry texture was truly nauseating, so he gave up. Landon looked at Mateo disgusted expression, a hint of laughter twinkling in his eyes, and he left behind the boar hind legs, dragging away the rest.

Mateo watched as Landon figure receded into the distance, understanding that Landon had intentionally left him some food.

He quickly approached and indulged himself. Biting into the meat of Blazing Fang Boar, Mateo found Landon behavior strange. Landon seemed to know that Mateo was more than just a spirit beast, yet he didn't reveal the truth.

There was no reason for Landon to help someone he had just met, and Landon wasn't an ordinary spirit beast either.

Two days ago, an uncommon seventh-level spirit beast had approached the forest edge, radiating a powerful aura.

However, when Landon let out a low growl, the spirit beast, despite its initial confidence, had trembled and fled.

After devouring the meat until only bones remained, Landon approached. With a gaze that seemed to say, "Pig, get up," he looked down at Mateo, who was sprawled on the ground.

"Since you can hunt now, although it's just this much, it'll do for now. We'll start practicing magic today."

Mateo blinked in surprise, followed by a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.

He had read so much about the power of magic in novels. How strong could real magic be?

"Magicians hold high status in the human world. Magic has significant destructive power, and combined with innate talent, only a few possess it. However, there's a difference between magic for spirit beasts and humans. Humans rely on spiritual perception and affinity to communicate with elements and use magic. spirit beasts, on the other hand, don't need perception or affinity. They store elements using their spiritual power in a magic core, then release magic..."

"Oh, and spirit beasts don't have hearts. Instead, the magic core takes the place of the heart. The magic core is a crystal within a spirit beast body used to store elements. Magic cores have attributes; for example, if a magic core is of the fire attribute, it can't store elements other than fire, unless there are two magic cores."

"However, just like humans, once spiritual power reaches a certain level, advancement is possible. Once level nine is reached, the ancestral memories will awaken. Ancestral memories are the methods for using innate magic left behind by ancestors of the same bloodline," Landon explained in his usual indifferent tone.

Following Landon, Mateo felt a sense of doubt. Was the wolf showing confidence in Mateo abilities, or did he genuinely trust him? He hoped it was the latter; being trusted felt wonderful, something he hadn't felt in a long time.

Landon turned his head, looking at the distracted Mateo, and somewhat displeased, he asked, "Are you even listening?" Mateo snapped back to reality and replied, "Of course."

Landon "hmphed" and stopped looking at Mateo, continuing forward. They reached a grassy area not far from the cave.

Landon instructed, "Release your spiritual power."

Mateo followed Landon instructions, slowly gathering numerous blue and red dots of light around him.

Mateo widened his eyes in astonishment.

Landon appeared somewhat surprised but more delighted. He murmured, "So, I wasn't wrong... it really is..."

"What?" Landon voice was too soft, and Mateo couldn't make out his words clearly.

"It's nothing. These are the elements. Try shaping your spiritual power into a net to capture these elements and draw them all into the magic core."

"But didn't you say I only had the wind attribute? Why is there also fire?" Mateo questioned, but Landon evaded, saying, "We'll talk about that later." Mateo rolled his eyes discreetly, refraining from pursuing the topic.

Originally, his exploring spiritual power condensed into a large net, pulling all the nearby elements into the magic core. As the elements entered, a warm and comfortable sensation enveloped him.

"Alright, that's it. The power of magic depends on your spiritual power. The stronger your spiritual power, the better the magic effect. Now, try releasing a Wind Blade. Use as much spiritual power as you have. Let me see your strength."

Mateo attempted to release a Wind Blade.

A powerful gust of wind swept through, slicing through a large swath of trees ahead.

Mateo turned to look at Landon and saw a trace of surprise in Landon eyes, quickly replaced by calmness.

"Your spiritual power is strong, at least reaching level four, but why are you still at level three? Ah, I understand now. Your physical body is still weak. Once you strengthen your body, you'll naturally reach level four. Starting tomorrow, I'll train you well."

In truth, even Mateo himself didn't know that when he was still human, as an assassin, his willpower was undoubtedly stronger than others', resulting in naturally higher spiritual power.