Beast Authority System

Luke was quiet for minutes without even acknowledging Sarah's existence, as he was trying to figure out some things. After what felt like an eternity of silence for Sarah, Luke finally broke from his reverie and nodded to himself.

He lifted his head and gazed at Sarah for a moment before instructing her, "Sarah, climb on top of the trees and use them as cover to familiarize yourself with the surroundings and see if you can find anyone here or at least find a path that will lead us back to civilization. Report back."

Sarah stared blankly at him. "H-honey, what do you mean climb a tree? Can't you see how tall they are?"

"Look here, Sarah, I don't have time for your games. It's either you do as I say or refuse, and I'll do it myself. But remember, if I were to die, then it's all on you."

Luke gave Sarah a cold, sharp gaze that left no room for nonsense. Usually, Sarah would respond with a frightened look, but this time she let her facade slip and looked Luke straight in the eyes.

She exhaled sharply and narrowed her eyes at Luke. "Are we in this situation because of you?" she asked in an even tone.

"Yes," Luke replied honestly.

"Why? How? What about your friends and family? What about your father? He needs you. Can't you get us back?"

Luke gave Sarah a self-deprecating smile before shaking his head. "Why? Hehe—because I had no other choice. How? I still don't exactly know how I did it. As for my friends and family—my dad—well, they are most likely already dead. And as for going back to our world, it actually depends on the kind of world we have landed on. If it's a world with Gods that actually exist, then we have a chance. If there aren't Gods, then this is our new home."

Sarah absorbed what he said with a blank face. "I understand. Does that mean you also want to get back?"

"Of course. Why would I care about a world where there aren't friends and family?"

Sarah gave him a humorous smile and added, "Or video games."

"No, we still don't know that yet. That's why I want you to do a little recon so that we can know for sure where we are, okay?"

Sarah nodded and looked up at the trees before exhaling. She ran toward a single tree and leaped upward, landing on a branch that looked extremely fragile, but she managed to balance herself on it.

She didn't spend another second before leaping to another branch, then another, until her silhouette had disappeared into the leaves and branches.

Luke, who had watched her disappear, didn't hear the sound of even a single leaf being disturbed. Not to mention she had already moved on to other trees and now was slightly farther away from him.

He wouldn't have even known she had already leaped onto other trees if not for the connection they had, thanks to the contract of a master and beast.

Luke exhaled, walked up to a tree close to him, sat down next to it, and leaned his back against it. While Sarah was doing a little recon, it wouldn't hurt to understand his system or this world—if the system was willing to divulge this information.

"System, show me my status."

[Affirmative]

[Status:]

[Name: Luke]

[Age: 18]

[Imprint: Unawakened]

[Rank: 5/Warlock]

[Authority Skill: Beast Submission]

[Physique: Primordial Lust]

[Physique Skills:]

• Pheromone Manipulation

• Giant Strength

• Kinetic Insight

[Contracted Beast: Rank 2 Nyxara Beast/Cat Type]

[Element: Shadow]

[Techniques:]

• Corrosion Shadow Chains

• Shadow Steps

• Shadow Blend

Luke took in the information in seconds and went straight to the core of the matter.

"System, explain the ranks."

[The magic system of this world has a magic hierarchy of five tiers, with five ranks each and each rank with five sub-ranks. This hierarchy makes it especially difficult to easily advance toward Godhood.

The First Tier is Warlock/Witch. The Second Tier is Mage. The Third Tier is Cultivator. The Fourth Tier is Supreme. And lastly, the Fifth Tier is Authority, which you already possess a skill of, but at the cost of abundant use of energy.

You're one of the few humans who possess an Authority skill before reaching the levels of deities. But fortunately, unlike others who possess Authority skills, theirs is only partial, just like your Chosen (Sarah). But yours is complete. Your Authority skill gives you absolute dominance over even Rank 9 Beasts.]

Luke listened attentively as the system went on to dissect everything about this world's magic system, leaving him bewildered as to how he managed to easily become a Rank 5 Warlock, having skipped critical steps to reach that point.

Luke asked questions about the Imprint, the physique and its skills, and even about his Shadow Element, which he learned was not even his own per se but one he inherited from Sarah after contracting with her.

He learned he was supposed to awaken an Element of his own after receiving his Imprint, then contract with a beast the normal way—the bloody, barbaric, ritualistic way. But thanks to the system, he bypassed many steps, giving him both advantages and crippling disadvantages.

The disadvantages came in the form of being unable to become a Second Tier without walking the path of this world's magic system. Even though he had the capability of contracting a Rank 9 Beast, it effectively didn't matter.

But the advantage was that, with the system by his side, he didn't actually have to fear much from this world. Potentially dying had been greatly limited, as he could basically become a supreme-level threat despite being in the First Tier.

Especially with the Primordial Lust physique connected to the system, which would earn him rewards the more he effectively used it, making him stronger even without advancing. Who knew? Maybe delayed advancement would yield even better results.

Luke could definitely think of himself as overpowered, but he didn't let that get to his head, as he didn't know much about this world. There might exist monsters that could kill him with a single glance. So his first step was to integrate himself into this world's society and learn everything about it.

But the question was how he was going to do that, knowing virtually nothing about it. And the system wasn't explaining how this world worked beyond listing how its magic system worked compared to his cheat magic system.

As he drowned himself in his thoughts, a shadow was cast over him. He lifted his head, and his eyes met Sarah's. Before she could say anything, he asked,

"Have I gone through changes, physically speaking?"

Sarah was slightly taken aback before nodding and replying, "You have become exceedingly more handsome."

Luke sighed, having expected something like this when the system explained his Primordial Lust physique. But he didn't like this kind of change, especially after the system explained it wouldn't be a one-time thing, as every time he advanced to another tier, a qualitative change would occur.

Sighing again, he asked, "You found something?"

Sarah hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"What did you find?"

After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Nothing that poses a threat to us, at least not at the moment. But I did find a young man, right about your age. He..."

"Go on. He what?"

"He looked exactly like you—not you now, but the you before going through this weird glow-up."

When Sarah said that, Luke immediately had a sick thought—but one that could only work if the system helped him.

Hey, system, is it possible?

[Yes, it is, but are you certain you'll be able to do it?]

If I want to survive in this new world, I will have to.

Luke exhaled and steeled his nerves, lifting himself up. He looked at Sarah with a solemn gaze. "Take me to him."

Sarah nodded and started walking. She didn't ask why Luke wanted to meet his other self. If she were an ordinary person with ordinary thoughts, she would attribute it to Luke being curious or trying to establish a connection to this world. But she wasn't naive. She had seen that look Luke just gave her—after all, it was the same look she'd worn each time she had to...