I am Just an Average Tamer

The wagon passed through the forest, wheels creaking against roots and damp soil. The traffickers, once relaxed, had turned silent—each man gripping his weapon, nerves pulled taut like bowstrings.

The wagon jolted to a stop.

Then it came.

A thunderous roar.

It echoed through the forest, shaking leaves loose from the trees and sending distant birds scattering into the sky.

The burly man stiffened. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he stepped down, eyes narrowed toward the treeline.

"That… wasn't normal," he muttered.

A second later, he felt it—a surge of pressure in the air, wild and suffocating. His instincts screamed.

"A Mid-Great Core beast."

He raised a clenched fist. "Get ready!"

Branches rustled.

From the shadows, lesser and intermediate core-ranked beasts began to emerge.

Dozens.

Snarling. Crawling. Circling.

He took a step forward, raising his axe.

But then—he stopped cold.

Four new figures stepped into view.

Each radiating pressure that curled the bark of nearby trees.

All of them—Great Core Rank.

Fangs gleamed. Horns curled. One had wings that flared wide, another crackled with elemental flame.

"…What the hell…" one lackey whispered, stumbling back.

One was a hulking stone bear, its eyes red and unblinking. Another—a razor-backed feline, muscles twitching under striped fur. A serpent, thick as a tree trunk, coiled behind them, and last—a hulking stag, its antlers jagged like blades.

The traffickers froze.

They were surrounded.

And the beasts attacked.

The clash was instant—screams, steel, blood. The forest lit with flares of Essence as men and monsters fought for their life.

Meanwhile—

A blue-scaled blur ripped through the forest.

Kai moved.

Each step left gouges in the earth, but he was silent—a predator among prey.

His breath steamed.

His twin daggers gleamed as they danced in his clawed hands.

The transformation was not complete—his body still human-shaped—but blue scales traced his arms, and his eyes…

They were no longer human.

Beasts came infront of him—died instantly.

One lunged.

Slash!

Its head rolled away.

Another tried from the side.

Thud!

Kai kicked it into a tree so hard its bones shattered on impact.

Most didn't even try.

They sensed it.

The crushing aura.

A dragon's rage in human flesh—an apex predator had entered their domain.

Kai's eyes glowed as he marched forward.

His voice was a growl in the wind.

"Run all you want… I'm still coming."

He was no longer thinking. Not clearly. Not as Kai.

He was hunting.

Only one thought burned in his chest like wildfire.

Kill them all.

The forest had become a graveyard.

Bodies lay strewn in mangled heaps—some man, some beast.

Blood soaked into the roots and leaves, the metallic stench was thick in the air.

The burly man roared, swinging his massive war axe in a wide arc, cleaving through the air—and through the chest of a lunging beast.

Blood sprayed like mist, but another came from the side.

He twisted his body, barely dodging a swipe of claws that tore through his shoulder instead.

He grunted, pain flashing through his face.

Three Mid-Great Core beasts encircled him.

The man's breath came ragged. His armor was torn, blood leaking from multiple wounds.

He moved—fast for his size—but he was clearly tiring.

A paw came down—he blocked with the shaft of his axe, sliding back through the mud.

"Come on, then!" he roared, slamming his foot into the earth and surging forward.

He brought the axe down like a guillotine, shattering the skull of the stone bear in a burst of gore.

But the other two didn't wait.

The feline pounced, claws slashing across his chest, sending him staggering.

The serpent came next—biting down on his leg with crushing force.

Crack!

He yelled out, slamming his axe into its eye to force it off, hissing.

In the wreckage behind him—

The wagon was no more.

Shattered wood and blood painted the ground. A wheel still spun uselessly.

And in the middle of it all—

Elina.

She lay on her side, sobbing silently, mouth still gagged, arms and legs tied chains.

Her eyes were widened in horror as she watched beasts feed on the corpses of the traffickers—the ones who'd laughed earlier, now reduced to carcasses.

She flinched with every scream, every roar, every splash of blood that hit the ground.

But the burly man still stood.

Bleeding. Trembling.

Yet his axe remained lifted, held high in both hands.

His eyes locked on the beasts circling him.

"I'm not dying here…" he growled, voice guttural. "I'll take you all with me if I have to…"

And the beasts charged again.

He met them head on, gritting his teeth as his axe clashed with the antlers of a massive stag.

His body screamed in pain, blood leaking from every fresh wound, but he didn't stop.

With a roar, he twisted his grip and sliced clean through its neck, head spinning off into the dirt with a thud.

One more Great Core Rank beast—dead.

But the victory was short-lived.

The remaining beasts lunged, fangs bared, eyes wild.

He clenched his jaw and held his ground, swinging his axe in wide, savage arcs to keep them at bay.

Dirt and blood flew with every step.

But he was slowing.

Each movement heavier than the last.

He parried a strike, another—then the serpent's tail slammed into his chest, sending him skidding back across the mud, axe dragging behind him.

Crack!

His back hit a tree stump.

Thud!

And dropped hard onto his rear, gasping.

He blinked sweat from his eyes, reaching to push himself up.

But then—

ROOOAAAARRR!

A deafening, thunderous cry ripped through the forest, shaking the ground itself.

A sound that didn't just echo—it vibrated in his bones.

Every beast froze.

Muscles tensed.

Eyes wide.

Even the burly man felt his breath hitch, heart skipping.

"…What the hell…" he muttered, blinking toward the treeline.

His instincts screamed.

Something stronger was coming.

Much stronger.

Chapter ends.

(Thanks for reading. If you guys liked then make sure to leave a comment, and I'm trying new writing styles so if you felt something off, or not liked the prose please let me know.)