Kalik walked through the open earthen doorway, ready to be done with this torturous trial the Gods were putting him through.

They had already spat in his face forcing him to use the same weaponry as the human after his years of training to use the ancestral weapon of choice of his people.

He gripped the stones the man had given him in his hand as he entered, the sound of the door closing behind him, but Kalik stayed unperturbed.

He had received a second subtree skill stone from his class completion quest, as well as appropriate weaponry and a piece of clothing that he honestly put away immediately as it embarrassed him.

[Subtree Stone: Meridian] [Rare]

[Subtree Stone: Brutal Tranquility] [Epic]

While the stone was of Epic Rarity, he was honestly very happy to see the name of the stone more than anything.

Finally, something that matches with me.He thought, having a glimmer of hope.

There was also the weapon he had gotten.

[Delinquent’s Worn Knuckles] [F-Grade] [Uncommon]

The gods must have a sick sense of humor to think that he, a proud warrior of the Rahk would ever resort to extortion of someone, but he hardly had a choice but to use the weapons because of his class requirements.

Then there was the item he had received, which made him grimace.

[Ruffian’s Bancho Cloak] [F-Grade] [Uncommon]

Truly the Gods thought poorly of him.

He let out a sigh, steeling himself for yet another unwanted yet necessary trial.

“I have gone through much to get here,” Kalik muttered, looking at his hand that had been healed a white line, the only indication of it being previously severed, “But there is always more still.”

He gripped the stones in his hand tightly, prompts filling his screen.

[You wish to consume Subtree Stone: Meridian] [Rare]

[Confirm?]

[Yes] [No]

“A warrior of the Rahk never backs down from a fight! I accept!”

The sleek stone stayed silent at Kalik’s acceptance for a beat, then quickly melted in his hand pooling in his open palm until it finally was subsumed by his flesh sending a wave of cold he could only call one of death.

He ground his teeth, feeling his tusks scream in protest from the pressure as he did his best to hold out from the feeling overtaking him.

Soon the cold flipped to intense heat that made him feel as if he had been thrown into a cooking pit yet several times hotter.

The radically changing waves of heat and freezing temperatures crashing inside of him forced Kalik to double over, his jaw locked so tightly in pain that he couldn’t even pause for a breath.

And just as quickly as it came, it was over. Peace had found him.

[You have consumed Subtree Stone: Meridian] [Rare]

[You have unlocked Primary Subtree: Sun Lion’s Body of the Still Lake] [F-Rank]

[Passive effects have been applied]

[You have unlocked 5 new skill stone slots in Sun Lion’s Body of the Still Lake]

[You have unlocked 1 of 1 Primary Subtrees]

[Sun Lion’s Body of the Still Lake] [F-Rank] P1(0%)

Kalik took in a calm deep breath, feeling the cold air turn and find equilibrium inside his lungs.

He closed his eyes, exhaling and taking in another large lungful before shouting at the top of his lungs, roaring with everything he had nearly shaking the walls around him.

But he felt calm still, he had found tranquility in his anger and fury. It was a constant and he now knew how to live in tandem with the boiling rage he couldn’t escape before.

A smile creased his face. His mind was clearing and he looked to the next stone, anticipation creeping up inside him.

[You wish to consume Subtree Stone: Brutal Tranquility] [Epic]

[Confirm?]

[Yes] [No]

This time Kalik was prepared for what was to come, he stood his body tense ready for the onslaught of the power that was to envelope him.

“I am ready!”

The stone inside his grip melted, leaving his clenched hand empty as it tightened against his own flesh, the unforgiving chill running up his arm, every pore, every vein, every inch of it until it found home in his chest.

Then suddenly a burst of heat beat from his chest overtaking the cold until it was all he could feel, all he could think of, all he could process, unrelenting, cruel fire.

He let out a silent scream but only felt his face upturn into a smile as he battled with the stone’s process, his body cracking and splintering underneath his skin as he felt the power well up inside him.

And finally, it was over. Notifications chimed in his head as he stood there heaving one breath after the next, small puffs of white smoke.

[You have consumed Subtree Stone: Brutal Tranquility] [Epic]

[You have unlocked Secondary Subtree: Brutal Tranquility] [F-Rank]

[Passive effects have been applied]

[You have unlocked 5 new skill stone slots in Brutal Tranquility]

[You have unlocked 1 of 1 Secondary Subtrees]

[Brutal Tranquility] [F-Rank] P1(0%)

[You have advanced to F-Rank]

[You have received Title: Student of the Tyrant Asuran]

[You have received Title: Prodigy of the Rahk]

[Prodigy of the Rahk]

Kalik sighed, letting out a painful breath as he slowly fell forward, his tired body unable to support his weight any longer. A single thought coming out in a voice much deeper than he recalled his own to be his vision darkening as he fell to the floor.

“Even in celebration, I can not escape that damned man…”

—------------------------

Quetz shivered slightly as she entered the small room, not because she was scared or anything. Ok, maybe she was a bit scared of the dark. She didn’t like being restrained.

She had been through enough with her flock now that she had come to terms and confronted some of her traumas, but there was always something lingering still. Mental scars such as the ones she had didn’t heal overnight no matter the salve.

Quetz looked around the room giving a sad coo, the two stones in her hands jingling against one another lightly.

“Quetz isn’t scared… Quetz will get stronger…” she said to herself, “Good girls do what they’re told and Drake told Quetz to use the stones so she’s going to…”

She looked down at the stones seeing the small sheen of the two weapons she had gotten from her quest, both sitting in their holsters on her new comfy cute pants.

Quetz gave a small grin.

[Toting Hand Guns] [F-Grade] [Uncommon]

[Cowboy Techno Chaps] [F-Grade] [Uncommon]

She chirped happily to get new shiny things and the comfortable new pants she had gotten made her wiggle with a joyful coo.

“They’re so cute too! Quetz likes the old cowboy’s taste!” she giggled.

Quetz knew she was procrastinating, not wanting to feel the onslaught of mixed and painful feelings the stupid stones made her experience.

“But Drake is going to be mad if Quetz doesn't use the stones…” she pouted, not wanting to disappoint Drake.

She cooed and took in a deep breath squeezing the first stone.

[You wish to consume Subtree Stone: Fierce Gale] [Rare]

[Confirm?]

[Yes][No]

“Quetz won’t go back on her word. I’m a good girl! Y-yesh!” she said, accidentally biting on her tongue.

She wailed from the pain of nipping her own tongue, but it only lasted a moment before the stone in her hand liquified, disappearing in her grip as it crawled up her arm with the same cold she despised from the Main Class Stone.

Quetz groaned and cooed painfully, flapping her wings as if to try and throw away the chill that kept snaking up her arm. And soon, just like before the chill subsided, consumed by the overwhelming heat of how it felt to fly below the sun several times.

Throwing her wings back and forth trying to cast away the heat that felt as if it was burning her feathers, she dropped to the snow, rolling back and forth to extinguish the non-existent flame consuming her.

Finally, with a heaving breath, she sat upwards, the battle inside her waning replaced by a subsuming feeling of power welling inside.

[You have consumed Subtree Stone: Fierce Gale] [Rare]

[You have unlocked Primare Subtree: Raging Gale’s Concerto] [F-Rank]

[Passive Effects have been applied]

[You have unlocked 5 new skill stones slots in Ragin Gale’s Concerto]

[You have unlocked 1 of 1 Primary Subtrees]

[Raging Gale’s Concerto] [F-Rank] P1(0%)

Quetz groaned, sweat dripping down from her forehead and dampening her feathers.

“Quetz doesn’t like the way these stones feel…” she sighed, slumping forward onto the ground, “Ah… the snow feels sho good…”

She brought the second stone in front of her face frowning at it.

“Don’t make Quetz feel yucky please!” she begged, gripping the stone.

[You wish to consume Subtree Stone: Gunman’s Arsenal] [Uncommon]

[Confirm?]

[Yes] [No]

Quetz pouted, “Only because Quetz has to…” she muttered bracing and closing her eyes tightly.

But the intense feeling she expected never came. Instead, a small prickling feeling crawled up her arm leaving a slight chill but compared to before was completely bearable.

[You have consumed Subtree Stone: Gunman’s Arsenal] [Uncommon]

[You have unlocked Secondary Subtree: Gunman’s Weapon Sling] [F-Rank]

[Passive effects have been applied]

[You have unlocked 5 new skill stone slots in Gunman’s Weapon Sling]

[You have unlocked 1 of 1 Secondary Subtrees]

[Gunman’s Weapon Sling] [F-Rank] P1(0%)

[You have advanced to F-Rank]

[You have received Title: Student of the Tyrant Asuran]

Quetz gave a chirp of relief.

“That wasn’t so bad!” she cooed, but her reprieve only lasted a moment after she finished reading her notifications as she felt her skin worm, the bones under her skin crackling and a sudden darkening of her vision as the room swam around her.

“Geh!” she screamed as she fell backward, blacking out.

—---------------

Clotho reluctantly entered the earthen room, nodding to his sister as he did.

“I hope no one changes for the worse…”

Those were the last words Clotho heard, his ears twitching in apprehension as the earthen wall closed behind him, leaving him in a darkened room.

Unlike the others, he did not have the quests to complete but he had received two Subtree Stones from Drake.

[Subtree Stone: Restraint] [Uncommon]

[Subtree Stone: Marionette] [Uncommon]

Clotho didn’t hesitate to use the stones, not wanting to wait any longer for the ability to grow stronger and protect his sister. He knew very well he could have waited until they returned and bided his time, gathering cores until he was able to purchase a better subtree stone, but just as the small squirrel girl had said.

It would be expensive and he was already so begrudgingly indebted to the man already.

Clotho knew he was starting lamed but to him, it was a willing struggle. Despite his appearance as a doting and caring brother now, before the Great Wolves took their clan into the hunt he was a shy and helpless boy.

He had always been helped by someone, his sister, their parents, the clan head. It was always someone else, never his own strength, his own struggle.

But after he met that man, the human his sister revered to the point of disgust. He not only made it forward on his own ability but he found with his hard work he was excelling beyond his own expectations. It was almost as if.

He was born for this.

Clotho gripped the stone, his teeth baring as a low growl escaped his lips.

[You wish to consume Subtree Stone: Marionette] [Uncommon]

[Confirm?]

[Yes] [No]

“Yes…” he growled.

The stone cracked and melted into his palm, a cold chill shooting up his arm, but he easily fought against it. Enduring the freezing pain.

It didn’t even compare to the pain from back then after all. It was almost laughable.

Soon the cold turned to heat and Clotho overcame it as well, nearly letting loose a scoff at the attempt to break him.

Then there was power. A stream of pooling power welled within him as he let out a puff of white smoke his canines peering through his upward smile.

[You have consumed Subtree Stone: Marionette] [Uncommon]

[You have unlocked Primary Subtree: Fate’s Doll] [F-Rank]

[Passive effects have been applied]

[You have unlocked 5 new skill stone slots in Fate’s Doll]

[You have unlocked 1 of 1 Primary Subtrees]

[Fate’s Doll] [F-Rank] P1(0%)

Clotho laughed, feeling the euphoria of the subsumption of the stone taking hold of him. He had never before felt such pleasure. His life was filled with slim recollections of such joy. The most recent ordeal overtook even those memories of his family, his sister.

“More!” he shouted, gripping the second stone.

[You wish to consume Subtree Stone: Restraint] [Uncommon]

[Confirm?]

[Yes] [No]

The stone shattered in his hand, the specs turning to liquid as they touched his skin and Clotho excitedly waited for the feeling of power to come again.

But this time was different, the chill that battered against his body intensified, turning his muscles rigid as it dropped to the ground, his arms outstretched and clawing at the snow-covered ground in front of him.

Spittle and drool pooled below his gaping maw as he screamed, hearing the crackling of bone below his skin like broken glass.

And just as quickly he felt as if they were seared back into place with a heat that made the torture he had endured from his time as a slave seem blissful.

The knife’s edge balance of his consciousness seemed to drag on against the flames inside him before they finally sputtered out and he was able to breathe, his body slackening and dropping to the cold ground in a heap.

[You have consumed Subtree Stone: Restraint] [Uncommon]

[You have unlocked Secondary Subtree: Timeless Petrification] [F-Rank]

[Passive effects have been applied]

[You have unlocked 5 new skill stone slots in Timeless Petrification]

[You have unlocked 1 of 1 Secondary Subtrees]

[Timeless Petrification] [F-Rank] P1(0%)

[You have advanced to F-Rank]

[You have received Title: Student of the Tyrant Asuran]

Clotho felt his head clear as his vision darkened, too exhausted to even scoff or smile.

—-----------------------

Atropos hesitantly entered the earthen room, giving a nod to her brother as he did to her. She turned around, getting one last look at her savior, the man she was so greatly indebted to.

Lord Drake.

His visage filled her head with hope and joy, even after he continued to increase his pack with one woman after the other. But what was a hunt without competition?

The door closed as she heard one last string of words from Lord Drake.

“I hope no one changes for the worse…”

What could he mean by saying such things?She thought, her face furrowing slightly.

“The Great Wolves themselves could come down and I would not change for the worse, Lord Drake…”

Atropos gripped her hands in front of her chest. She knew. She knew Lord Drake only thought of her and the other girls as a father would a daughter.

“But even if he does not love me in the same way now…” she sighed, a smile creasing her lips as her eyes opened slowly, an eerie blue reflected in them, “I am sure there will come a day he does…”

One hand went to her cheek as she thought on it blissfully, her other gripping the first stone in her grip as she thought on how she would use her strength to destroy anyone who stood in his way or besmirched him.

[You wish to consume Subtree Stone: Weapon Mastery] [Common]

[Confirm?]

[Yes] [No]

“But of course,” she mused.

The feeling of the chilling cold only served to increase the shiver sent down her spine as she thought of how she would help and serve Lord Drake, his face flashing time and time again in her mind as she battled against the severe cold that soon cascaded to intense heat in her body.

But it could not even hold a candle to the punishment she had received for simply having beautiful eyes from before, or the beating passion she had for the man who punished those same disgusting people.

In fact, she reveled in the intoxicating feeling of being alive as she embraced it, the pain only small pinpricks in comparison.

Letting out a gasp of air Atropos saw her hair dampened and only stopped long enough to read the new prompts of the stone’s completion.

[You have consumed Subtree Stone: Weapon Mastery] [Common]

[You have unlocked Primary Subtree: Weapon Mastery] [F-Rank]

[Passive effects have been applied]

[You have unlocked 5 new skill stone slots in Weapon Mastery]

[You have unlocked 1 of 1 Primary Subtrees]

[Weapon Mastery] [F-Rank] P1(0%)

The skill was not the best she knew, but she also knew it was the same as Lord Drake’s. Which made her shiver down to her very soul.

“And now I have come closer to him in a small way…” she smiled as she wrapped her hands around herself, “But I mustn't waste time.”

Atropos gripped the second stone, one she had been given by Lord Drake that differed from the one she wanted, but she couldn’t defy a request from him.

[You wish to consume Subtree Stone: Mage Bane] [Uncommon]

[Confirm?]

[Yes] [No]

Atropos sneered at the prompt, detesting the fact that she was to use a stone that could be used against Lord Drake but begrudgingly accepted.

“Only because I must,” she frowned.

The stone shattered and the pieces melted as they fell against her skin, consumed by her flesh as the droplets rolled down it.

She let in a swift gasp of cold air as colder still was the piercing force of the stone running up her body.

Atropos squirmed but quickly began to go stiff as she was brought to her knees on the ground, her eyes closing shut against the pain.

But once again he helped her, and the face of her savior flashed in her mind.

Another gasp escaped her lips as the cold turned to heat, searing both the stone’s power in her body as well as the image of the reason she went through such pain.

Lord Drake, the man she would be forced to love from afar.

The turbulent clashing of power inside her soon calmed and allowed her to breathe evenly for a moment as it coalesced into a deep well of a euphoric crescendo.

“All shall love him, and despair…” Atropos muttered as she lurched forward, her body releasing the sound of bones breaking beneath her skin and a reverberating ‘pop’ as she finally succumbed to exhaustion.

[You have consumed Subtree Stone: Mage Bane] [Uncommon]

[You have unlocked Secondary Subtree: Mage Bane] [F-Rank]

[Passive effects have been applied]

[You have unlocked 5 new skill stone slots in Mage Bane]

[You have unlocked 1 of 1 Secondary Subtrees]

[Mage Bane] [F-Rank] P1(0%)

[You have advanced to F-Rank]

[You have received Title: Student of the Tyrant Asuran]

[You have received Title: Unrequited Love of the Tyrant]

[Unrequited love of the Tyrant]

—-------------

Landin sighed, ignoring the last little tidbit that Drake said as he closed up the hole behind him.

“Can that guy be any more dramatic? I mean based on what has been happening so far…” Landin thought aloud, clenching his hand around the stone, “It’s only natural some things change. Whether it's for better or worse, is up to us.”

Landin double-checked his stones, as well as the items he received for the quest completion.

[Subtree Stone: Regalia] [Epic]

[Subtree Stone: Nurturer] [Uncommon]

[Ritualist’s Unlucky Staff] [F-Rank] [Uncommon]

[Ring of the Earth] [F-Rank] [Uncommon]

He reread the descriptions placing each one into his inventory in turn. Some gave him pause.

“What does it mean unlucky staff… Why am I getting a staff that is unlucky? This thing isn’t cursed is it..?” he grumbled.

Landin also remembered what Drake had said, and placed all of his clothes and old armor into his inventory stripping down to his skivvies.

“Alright show time.”

[You wish to consume Subtree Stone: Regalia] [Epic]

[Confirm?]

[Yes] [No]

“No backing down now! I’ve come too far to stop changing for the better!” he roared, gripping the stone.

His howl cascaded through the small room, Landin trying to psych himself up for the pain he knew was coming given how the Main Class Stone nearly knocked him out.

And just as promised his body locked up, forcing him to fall naked in the snow that felt warm to the touch compared to the cold, forcing his body rigid as a block of human-shaped ice.

His jaw snapped shut as he froze fighting against the stone’s consumption, feeling almost as if he chipped a tooth, but soon he was limber once more and fighting against sweltering heat that had now encompassed his whole body as he screamed his hands on his head.

Landin let out a deafening scream while trying to calm his mind and body from the heat boiling his insides.

Finally, after what felt like hours, he could hear his breathing calm, notifications chiming through the blood in his ears.

[You have consumed Subtree Stone: Regalia] [Epic]

[You have unlocked Primary Subtree: Regalia Maker] [F-Rank]

[Passive effects have been applied]

[You have unlocked 5 new skill stone slots in Regalia Maker]

[You have unlocked 1 of 1 Primary Subtrees]

[Regalia Maker] [F-Rank] P1(0%)

Landin gripped against the ground huffing puffs of white smoke as he smiled, reading the description.

“Now that is a skill! About damn time,” he beamed, thinking of the small little blue wolf currently in his inventory safe and sound.

“And now one more,” Landin grunted, pulling out and gripping the second stone.

[You wish to consume Subtree Stone: Nurturer] [Uncommon]

[Confirm?]

[Yes] [No]

“I won’t go back to the old me, there’s only forward now. Yes!”

Landin tried to sit up, but the stone quickly melted, faster than the first, and put him right back down on the ground reeling from the swift onset of bone-chilling cold.

He gave a wry smile, or at least tried to, at his attempt of bravado in standing up for the second round. The smile however only managed to come out on his face as a crushed mess when the pain that accompanied the cold began tearing at his flesh and bones.

Soon the heat returned solidifying whatever was happening beneath his skin in a christening flame, sweat pooling on his skin, melting the snow beneath.

Moments later, it finally subsided and he was able to enjoy the relief of the last stone’s power calming within him.

[You have consumed Subtree Stone: Nurturer] [Uncommon]

[You have unlocked Secondary Subtree: Summoner’s Helping Hand] [F-Rank]

[Passive effects have been applied]

[You have unlocked 5 new skill stone slots in Summoner’s Helping Hand]

[You have unlocked 1 of 1 Secondary Subtree Skills]

[Summoner’s Helping Hand] [F-Rank] P1(0%)

[You have advanced to F-Rank]

[You have received Title: Student of the Tyrant Asuran]

“That… That wasn’t so bad right?” Landin ventured, trying to get up again only to have his body collapse instantly, his entire being protesting against the sudden gut-wrenching pain that was taking place under his skin.

“Okay! I w-was wrong!” he growled, as his vision tunneled, eventually turning pitch black.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com