I Contracted a Demon, but It Turned Into My Pet

Lucian exhaled in relief as he turned his gaze to the stunned Greenpeak Wolf.

The Furious Bear was dead—now it was this wolf's turn.

But just as Lucian prepared to strike, the wolf bowed its head and let out soft whimpers. Its beastly eyes met his, brimming with pleading.

Lucian realized what it meant—it wanted to live. He slowly lowered his raised hand.

Lysera, watching, asked, "Are you really going to spare it?"

Lucian offered a small smile. "You know that old saying?"

Lysera blinked. "Which one?"

Lucian's eyes lit up. "If a wolf turns to look back, it's either to repay a kindness—or to take revenge." He laughed. "If I spare it now, and it lives to repay me… I might just end up with myself a Greenpeak Wolf mount!"

He paused, excitement shimmering in his voice. "That would be so cool!"

Lysera fell silent.

Lucian waved a hand dismissively. "Go on, get out of here. I won't kill you."

"Don't forget to repay me—preferably as a she-wolf, hehe…"

Lysera—speechless.

The wolf shot Lucian a grateful glance, then wobbled slowly into the forest.

Lysera sighed. "You're being such a softie."

Lucian shrugged and chuckled. "Well, who just wants to slaughter an unarmed wolf on sight?"

He shook his head. "It's not weakness—it's natural reaction. When your power matches the situation, you chose kill or let live. Even devils can feel mercy—and even good guys can be vicious."

He grinned. "If I want to live by my own choices, I've got to keep getting stronger—stronger every day."

Lysera nodded, grudgingly impressed.

Lucian added casually, "Also, I only spare cute ones. The ugly ones? No mercy."

Lysera rolled her eyes.

"It's getting late. That's enough for today. Let's go cook rabbit!" Lucian said as he began to head back.

But he paused, circling back to the Furious Bear's corpse. He molded a metal blade, bracing himself against nausea, and carefully sliced off one front paw. He muttered, "Oops, almost forgot—bear paws are gourmet delicacies. Can't waste them…"

Lysera—speechless again.

"Does this bear have a soul core?" Lucian suddenly asked, cradling the paw.

"It doesn't. It didn't manifest a core," Lysera answered.

Lucian nodded in disappointment. Then he whistled a tune and headed home, bear paw in hand.

Night fell. After a while, a massive figure appeared near the Furious Bear's body in the forest. It let out an earth-shaking roar, its crimson gaze sweeping left and right, finally locking on Lucian's retreating path.

Back in the cave, as Lucian roasted the bear paw, an icy breeze swept past him.

"Heh… feels chilly behind me. Hope nothing bad's coming…"

Then Lucian remembered. "Wait—this was a cub. If its mother finds out I killed her baby… that could be bad."

Lysera replied, "That's possible."

Lucian shivered. "If the mother comes after me… I don't think I'll survive!"

Adult Furious Bears were at least Tier Seven—Lucian wouldn't stand a chance.

"Don't worry," Lysera reassured him. "Elvira Sol's mana aura is still on guard. Even if the mother shows up, she won't dare come near."

Lucian breathed easier. "Okay, then… Wow, this paw smells incredible! Let's add some honey…"

⸻

After another night of training, Lucian opened his eyes.

"Your magic signature has progressed from 'just-leveled Tier Three' to 'early Tier Three.' At this rate, you'll hit Tier Four within about three days," Lysera reported.

Lucian nodded. "So the jump from Tier Three to Four is the real bottleneck?"

"Correct. Anyone below Tier Four is considered a low-tier mage. Four to Six is mid-tier, Seven is advanced, Eight is archmage, Nine is wizard, Ten is great wizard. Beyond that lies Sacred Rank—Saint Magi."

"Within each of the first ten tiers, there are sub-phases—initial, early, mid, late, and peak. Each marks a different level of power within the same tier," Lysera explained, then shrugged. "But for you, those fine distinctions don't matter much. With your ability to cast spells instantly and with no cooldowns, you're already dominant—even beyond your tier."

"Absolutely!" Lucian replied confidently. He finished breakfast, resealed the cave entrance, and headed back into the forest to hunt and level up.

He believed his biggest priority now was improving combat finesse—better timing of spells, chaining combos, managing pure mana output.

In this world, mana could be converted into any element—fire, water, earth, light, dark, ice, wind, thunder. Efficiency depended on the mage's elemental affinity.

A fire-affinity mage might convert one unit of pure mana into two units of fire mana, but converting to water might only yield half.

And with practice, these efficiency differences only widened. That's why mages typically specialize after Tier Three.

Lucian, however, lacked that worry—he was truly neutral.

He practiced converting his mana into every attribute on the fly—red, yellow, blue, green, black, white—flowing colors shifting around his palm.

After a while, his head started to spin. When he checked with Lysera, he realized his spiritual power had drained.

Lucian stopped. Mana could be replenished quickly, but spiritual power required time—or potions, or magic circles.

He considered fighting monsters soon to restore both power and experience.

But even after three kilometers of hiking, he had seen no signs of beasts. The forest was unnaturally silent—no chirping, no rustling, nothing.

So quiet, Lucian's skin crawled.

"Usually this deep in the woods I'd hear something," he muttered, swallowing nervously. "In horror movies, places like this mean something's about to happen."

His unease became a knot in his gut. He snapped his fingers and turned around.

"Huh?" Lysera asked, confused. "Weren't you here to hunt and get stronger?"

"But I need to stay safe! The deeper I go, the worse it feels. I don't have danger-sense yet, but… my instinct says something bad is ahead. Better to retreat."

Lysera tsked. "You're such a coward."

Lucian rolled his eyes. "Not cowardly—prudent. I'm no one-idiot punching hero. If I went blundering in now, I'd get killed before I grew stronger. Then I couldn't be high stakes yet … high stakes later."

A sudden roar echoed through the trees.

Before the words even finished leaving his mouth, a ferocious roar erupted from the forest behind him—thick with bloodlust.

Lucian jolted as if struck by lightning. He didn't even look back.

He just ran.

As he bolted, he shouted, "See?! I told you something bad was coming!"

"That roar… it definitely sounded like a bear. I bet it's the baby bear's mom!"

"And it's one smart bear, too—actually knew to hide in the bushes!"

"It probably didn't dare approach because of Elvira Sol's mana lingering around. If I hadn't kept some distance, I'd be bear food right now!"

Lysera opened her mouth, but then just nodded. "You're… not wrong."

Even she had to admit—Lucian's instincts were scarily accurate.

Lucian kept running, but curiosity got the better of him. He glanced over his shoulder—only for his scalp to go numb.

From the depths of the forest, more roars echoed out, each more savage than the last. The very ground trembled beneath his feet, and trees shuddered violently.

Then he saw it.

A massive, jet-black shape barreled through the trees, a juggernaut of fury crashing through ancient roots and trunks like they were twigs.

Towering trees that had stood for decades were snapped like toothpicks beneath its charge as it tore through the forest—headed straight for Lucian.