I Contracted a Demon, but It Turned Into My Pet

Lucian was beyond excited. He first cast a Tier 4 Flame Armor on himself for protection, then began experimenting with a combination of Razorbind and Blastfire Orb, trying to imitate those characters in anime who soared freely through the air.

At first, he was clumsy and awkward.

Sometimes the vines tangled on branches and threw him off course.

Other times, the fire propulsion was either too strong or too weak, causing him to overshoot or miss his target entirely.

The whole process was incredibly difficult, but Lucian was determined to fly through the forest like those anime heroes—and to fulfill his own childhood dream. Even if he crashed and fell over and over again, he refused to give up.

And his persistence paid off.

With perfect magic control, all he needed was to master the trajectory and contraction of Razorbind, and the thrust and angle of the flame propulsion.

Within just half an hour, he was already able to glide through the air—much faster than he could run on the ground!

Granted, it was only forest-level traversal for now, and it required his full attention. To reach the point where it became instinctive—or to release spells mid-flight while aiming and attacking—he would still need long-term practice and combat experience.

But Lucian was already thrilled. This mode of movement was just too exhilarating!

"Yes!!"

A figure dashed between the giant trees of the forest. Chains shot from his waist and yanked him forward as flames blasted from the magic circle on his lower back. He rocketed forward, narrowly missing a massive tree trunk, then twisted midair as another chain fired toward a nearby tree, hooking on and allowing him to whip around in a sharp turn.

"This is amazing!" Lucian shouted with joy. Atop his head, Nobu clung to his chin with its tiny pink hands, looking like a soft, squishy helmet—absolutely adorable.

"Gu…j…yu!" Lucian roared in excitement, and Nobu echoed him. The two of them—one large, one small—whizzed through the forest, twisting, flipping, accelerating, gliding. They were having the time of their lives.

Up ahead, a Rock Ape fled in a panic, screaming as it bounded desperately through the treetops.

"I'm coming for you!" Lucian grinned wickedly as he locked onto the creature. Razorbind shot forward from his waist, while the flames behind him flared hotter. His body shot through the air like an arrow.

"Take this!" he laughed. In the blink of an eye, he was right above the Rock Ape.

Startled, the ape hastily conjured several boulders and hurled them at Lucian, but Lucian had already adjusted Razorbind's path to dodge. At the same time, numerous magic circles materialized in front of him.

A barrage of thirty-times-enhanced Blastfire Orb!

In an instant, the Rock Ape's area was engulfed in a rain of fireballs. Several massive orbs struck the creature directly.

The ape let out a shriek and plummeted from the trees, gravely wounded.

Lucian landed beside it.

"Chii… chii…" The ape whimpered, lying helpless on the ground. Its eyes were full of desperate hope, begging to live.

Lucian stood over it and sighed.

"I know this is cruel, and it isn't fair to you… but this world works differently. I want to grow stronger, and that means I can't let you go."

He gave a crooked smile. "Guess I'm not a good guy either."

With that, he raised his hand and channeled his mana.

Beams of light pierced the Rock Ape's head. Lucian felt his body strengthen once again.

By his estimate, if he finished off the remaining five or six Tier 3 beasts in the cages, his physique would reach the peak of Tier 3.

And if he managed to take down another beast like a Furious Bear, maybe he'd jump straight to Tier 4.

"I'm getting way too strong!" he muttered proudly, clenching his fist and feeling the power surge through him. Then he turned back toward the cages, waiting for the next magical beast to be released.

Hours later…

"Go reincarnate already… Hah… hah…" Lucian panted heavily, gazing at the beast that had just collapsed before him with a wry smile.

"I'm still too weak…"

Just a Tier 5 beast had left him in such a sorry state. He was disgracing the name of every isekai protagonist before him.

Tier 5 Wood-type beast—Verdant Rhino. Incredibly tough and powerful. Even with his instant-casting and rapid recovery, it had taken more than ten minutes to bring it down. If it weren't for the mobility provided by his self-designed magical 3D maneuvering gear, he would've been skewered by wooden spikes long ago.

And even so, he'd still taken some damage. A half-centimeter-deep wound had opened on his waist from a wood spike, and both of his arms were red and swollen from trying to block the creature's vine-whip lashes.

Before his transmigration, Lucian had never suffered an injury this serious. Looking at the bleeding wound on his waist, he let out another bitter smile, then walked over to the Verdant Rhino's corpse and extracted its magic core.

It was a green gem, about the size of a bird egg—larger and far more beautiful than any Tier 3 or 4 core he'd seen. It shimmered like an emerald.

But he didn't absorb it just yet. He wanted to see what his Tier 4 self could truly achieve first.

The battles had significantly improved his combat technique and physical control—especially after surviving several brushes with death. His mastery of magic had also become more refined.

And with so many beasts slain, his physique had already reached the early stage of Tier 5—one tier above his current magical rank!

He stored the core inside Nobu. As long as Lucian didn't permit it, Nobu wouldn't absorb it on its own.

Then Lucian turned his gaze toward the three Tier 6 beasts still huddled in their magic cages.

Should he try one?

He hesitated, fear creeping in.

Even Tier 5 beasts had nearly killed him several times. If not for his fast reactions, he would've died on the spot more than once.

Sure, Elvira Sol had left him a safety net that would prevent him from dying for real, but the constant threat of death… that wasn't something easy to endure.

No one liked living on the edge between survival and annihilation.

Lucian took a deep breath, and his eyes gradually sharpened.

He was the protagonist, wasn't he? How could he back down now?

If he retreated here, what would he do the next time he faced an even stronger foe?

How could he ever make Elvira Sol fall for him, wash his feet, and give him twins?

No way. For the foot-washing—no, for the twins—he had to get stronger!

After a short rest to recover his stamina, Lucian walked over to one of the Tier 6 beast cages and reached out to touch the barrier.

[Analyzing…]

[Tier 6 Sabertail Beast — Gold and Earth dual-type beast!]

[Skill Replication Panel Activated]

Tier 1: Golden Claw Strike

Tier 2: Gilded Roar

Tier 3: Blade-Tail Extension

Tier 4: Empowered Goldblade

Tier 5: Feral Sonic Roar

Tier 6: Golden Beast Armor

It was a dual-element beast!

Lysera appeared before him. "Dual-type beasts might not have the raw magic power of pure-element ones, but their abilities are much more versatile. That makes them harder to deal with in combat."

"In fact, this Tier 6 Sabertail Beast isn't much weaker than a Tier 5 Furious Bear. In some ways, it could be even more dangerous!"

Indeed, while the Sabertail Beast wasn't as physically strong as the Furious Bear, its agility and magic versatility more than made up for that.

Considering Lucian's current physical capabilities, if he got hit by one of the beast's attacks, he could very well be critically injured—or even die.

Lucian curled his lips. "Elvira Sol sure overestimates me…"

He turned to examine the other two Tier 6 beasts.

One was the Demonic Jungle Ape, a Gold-Wood dual-element beast. The other was the Dreadclaw Bear, purely Gold-element.

The Demonic Jungle Ape was similar to the Sabertail Beast, but even stronger in raw power—definitely harder to handle.

The Dreadclaw Bear? That one didn't even need comparison. It might've only had one element, but it was the definition of brute force. A Tier 6 Dreadclaw Bear was on par with the Tier 5 Furious Bear, and likely the most dangerous of the three.

In the end, Lucian settled on the Sabertail Beast.

After all… this was just practice. No need to go crazy all at once, right?