My Summons Are Mythical Beasts

The bliss that he has been savoring, though, was rather short-lived.

Just like what he had said, it was indeed a fleeting moment.

Perched above a tree, with nothing but underwear covering his body, Lucas looked at the black creature that had just found its way toward him.

The creature, or rather, the beast, was not huge like what he had been encountering so far.

The size appeared normal and rather ordinary.

It was black in color and had emerald eyes. Its face was akin to a lizard, but its body was akin to an overgrown cat or dog. The beast has a mane made of flame, contrasting its black body with the orange hue of the flame. Its tail was quite thick, bare along most of its length, ending with a tufted tail with black fur at the tip.

Aside from the fact that it has a lizard-like head, one would recognize it as a flaming lion of some sort.

However, even though it looked like one, Lucas knew for himself that it wasn't.

Now, this not-so-simple beast had wandered beneath the tree that he had chosen to perch on and hide.

Staying still as a rock, Lucas held on to a tree branch with one hand while the other pressed on Spot.

In his Hellhound Manifestation form, Spot was extremely strong. However, in this form, Lucas was able to pin him down without an effort, making him stay still as well. Of course, part of the reason he could do so was also due to Spot allowing him to do it.

Aside from the gushing of water in the distance, as well as the rustling of leaves above, the only sound that could be heard in this area was the vehement sniffing of the flaming lizard beneath the tree.

The beast sniffed vigorously, its sleek tongue slithered in and out of its mouth like a swirling snake.

The beast circled around the tree, as if trying to confirm something.

It was clear that day that it had already caught their scent.

Now, the beast has determined that they were in the tree; it was just that it could not comprehend that they had climbed up yet. In that regard, it did not seem that bright.

As the beast kept on sniffing, trying to find them, Lucas had already begun to relax his grip on Spot.

A few minutes earlier, Lucas and Spot had already spotted the creature from afar. At that time, Lucas had already asked Spot if he was able to take on that beast.

Spot replied positively.

However, in order not to alert the beast, the two of them had been lying in ambush above this tree, waiting for the right opportunity to present itself before them.

Luckily, the beast had caught the scent of the torn clothes that were hanging in the distance. Following it, the beast slowly crept toward the tree that Lucas was perching on.

Now directly underneath them, Spot was already about to strike.

At this moment, the beast also realized that something was amiss.

It circled the tree a few more times, and it still did not find the prey that it was looking for. However, the scent had ended in this tree, so it was very sure that the prey was still here. It just did not know where it had hidden.

Realizing that something was wrong, the beast, as if an epiphany struck it, suddenly looked up.

However, at that time, it was already too late.

A small figure leapt toward it bravely. Its small paws and claws stretched toward it threateningly.

That same small figure, though, suddenly turned into a pretty massive beast.

Almost thrice as big as it was, the small figure, assisted by gravity and its own lunge, descended toward it an instant.

When it realized that it was being attacked, the claw was already before its eyes.

Its emerald eyes constricted, and in an instant, its flaming mane combusted resolutely. Its lizard face was covered in that same flame, as if trying to defend the threatening claws that dared to slash toward it.

The flame, though, was slashed in half by those elongated and sharp claws.

As if the heat had no effect on him, the massive paw and the elongated claws hacked toward it resolutely.

Spurt!

At the next moment, an intense pain assaulted the beast's mind.

Its emerald eyes, constricted in fear and pain, as blood slowly covered its eyes.

Before the massive beast could make another move, though, the lizard-headed beast had already moved to the side.

Even though it was injured, it was able to recover almost instantaneously, moved to the side, and proceeded to counterattack.

Its emerald eyes covered in blood looked at Spot full of rage.

The next moment, its mouth opened wide, revealing razor-sharp teeth akin to alligators.

The attack it was about to do, though, had nothing to do with its teeth.

Instead, a ball of flame suddenly condensed at the tip of its mouth. Like magic, the ball of flame was lunch. However, it was not in the direction of Spot.

Instead, it traveled upward, aiming to the figure that was perching on the tree above.

Looking at the incoming ball of fire, Lucas could not help but exclaim in shock.

Unknowingly, the lizard-headed beast was already aware of his existence.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

From the looks of it, it also recognized that he was the companion of Spot, and sensing that he was the weaker one, decided to target him first.

In that regard, it could be said that it was actually bright.

That news, though, was a bad thing for Lucas.

The incoming ball of fire traveled toward him with great speed. Fortunately, Lucas had climbed up quite far, so it took a while for the ball of fire to arrive, allowing him to react appropriately.

With great effort, Lucas kicked the flayed skin of the boar as well as his bag forcefully, afraid that they would get implicated by the ball of fire.

At the next moment after he kicked the two bags away, Lucas had already jumped from the branch that he was perching on earlier.

As countermeasures for when something like this happens, Lucas had already determined which branch he should grab and which branch he should step on to have a better chance of maneuvering around it.

Climbing was one of the survival skills taught to them by the school, and Lucas, being the athletic kind, was also quite proficient in it.

Even before the ball of fire could strike the tree he was perching on, Lucas had already moved to another branch far from the original one.

The winds blew on his bare body as he swung himself with one hand toward another branch.

Behind him, an explosion could be heard as the branch that he was perching on earlier produced cracking sound after the minor explosion ensued. The smell of burnt wood assaulted his nose, but Lucas paid them no heed as he continued to move agilely above the tree.

Under him, he also knew that Spot had already engaged with the beast once more, and it would not have another opportunity to bother him after that failed attack.

Still, even knowing that, Lucas did not dare to relax.

It was only after moving to a different tree that he allowed himself to look back and observe the battle. At this moment, he was already dozens of meters away from Spot and the beast.

The tree that he was perching on earlier, especially the branch, has already turned into charred wood. The branch fell to the ground, and smoke rose out of it, filling the area with dust and smoke almost at the same time.

The battle in the distance, though, was already coming to an end.

With the injuries it sustained from Spot's ambush, the fate of that beast was already more or less sealed.

Still, the beast was quite hard to deal with. Counting the flaming mane that covered its whole face earlier, the ball of fire, the quick dash, as well as the others, Lucas counted that the beast had already used more than four skills; each of them was also stronger than the last.

Gaining skills to increase one's star rank was quite difficult.

Having many skills at its disposal could only mean that the beast itself was of a high grade and was probably quite talented. The strength it showed was also no less terrifying than the boar and the snake.

After a while, though, it still fell to the ground, rage and reluctance still present in its emerald eyes.

The flaming mane died off, indicating the end of its life.

'A pity. I thought I would be able to use those fire to cook some meat.'

Curious about the name and the grade of the beast, Lucas, perching on a tree dozens of meters away, took out his grimoire and glanced at the new log that had just emerged at the bottom of his profile page.

[You have killed an Silver Grade-Iron Star 9, Flame-Mane Lion (100%): You gained 148.01 XP]

Just like what he had assumed, that beast was indeed of a higher grade. Its rank was also quite high.

Lucas reckoned that if it was not injured during the first ambush, the battle would have been quite as hard as when Spot fought the Sylvan Snake.

Bronze or Silver Grade, though, seemed to have no difference for Spot.

In the battle earlier, or when he fought the boar, he did not even utilize Gentle Gaze and Soft Bark; if he did, the battle would have ended even more easily.

Those skills, after all, unlike their name, were quite lethal and menacing.

The experience that he gained was also quite astonishing.

'As expected of a Silver Grade beast,' he thought in delight.

Lucas then glanced up; seeing the number of experiences he currently had, he could not help but let out a satisfied grin.