William’s pupils shrank as he read the information in front of him. He had only seen the first half of the Myriad Beast’s information, but it was more than enough to tell him that his hunch was right.
What he felt was an existence that was stronger than the Diabolical Hell Ape. He stood in place, daring not to move[,] as he read the full information of the being that was in front of him.
< Cernunnos >
— The Horned One
— Lord of the Wilds
— Protector of the Forest
— Threat Level: Myriad Beast (High)
— Can be added to the Herd
— Success Rate: .000001%
— This Myriad Beast is often referred to as Horned One because of its majestic antlers that are second to none. He is a protector, and a provider, which has also earned him the title The Lord of the Wilds due to his power, and influence, to control every beast living inside his domain.
— The Torc on its antlers symbolizes Life and Death, and holds the power to control Nature and Life Magic.
— This Myriad Beast has a dual personality. Due to being able to wield the power of life and death, it sometimes has a gentle personality and, at times, is a Death God that will reap the lives of others.
— Just like the forces of nature that are wild and unpredictable, it is both a giver and taker of life. It would be best to tread carefully in the presence of the one who is said to also wield the power to summon the Ancient Treants to fight by its side.
—–
‘Fck!’ William cursed internally. He didn’t know if he should praise or slap himself for picking this time to visit the Centaurs in the Whimsical Forest.
The Myriad Beast in front of him was no laughing matter. It had a dual personality, which made it very dangerous. The only advantage that William possessed at the moment was that this particular Beast was also a herd type creature.
He hoped that out of respect for his profession, Cernunnos wouldn’t do anything to harm him and Ian, who was right beside him.
“Forgive me, Great One,” Bastian pressed his closed fist over his chest as he greeted Cernunnos. “Our friend, William Von Ainsworth had arrived. He came here to see the Great Chiefta–“
Bastian wasn’t able to finish his words because Cernunnos silenced him with a stare. It then looked at the red-headed boy who was also looking back at him with a calm expression.
“Ainsworth you say? Are you related to James, perhaps?” Cernunnos inquired. It had a neutral expression on its face, so William didn’t know if it had a good relationship with his grandpa or not.
“He is my grandfather,” William answered. “Your Excellency, do you know of him?”
“Of course. How could I forget James?” Cernunnos nodded. “We’ve known each other for many years. In fact, both of us met fifty years ago.”
William smiled because it seemed that the Myriad Beast and his grandfather were old acquaintances.
“Since you are related to him then you can… die now!” Cernunnos roared as the dark-green snake that was resting on his arm increased its size and charged towards William with the intention of eating him whole.
William hurriedly grabbed Ian’s hand and vanished from where he stood. He had retreated to the Thousand Beast Domain in order to escape the attack of the Myriad Beast who seemed to have a vendetta against his grandfather.
Cernunnos clicked his tongue when he saw that William was able to escape his attack. It then recalled the dark-green snake, which obediently coiled itself on his arm again and rested its head on his shoulder.
Bastian’s body became stiff as he stood in place. He didn’t expect that their benefactor would be attacked by the Guardian that ruled these lands.
“Your Excellency, he was the boy who had saved our tribe when the Wyverns attacked,” Bastian commented.
Cernunnos paused before shifting his attention to Bastian. The pressure he was radiating earlier disappeared and was replaced by a gentle and refreshing aura.
“… Why didn’t you say sooner?” Cernunnos inquired.
“… Your Excellency, you didn’t wait for me to finish.”
“Are you saying that it was my fault?”
Bastian hurriedly shook his head like his life depended on it. After living with Cernunnos for a while, they had realized how quickly its mood changes. However, most of the time, it was gentle and kind.
Sometimes, it would even mediate between the conflicts of the denizens of the forest when it affected the balance of nature within its Domain. Due to its nature, it didn’t mind if both sides killed each other because it was part of the natural cycle.
Still, whenever Cernunnos was in his aggressive mood, it would still be lenient enough and not kill anyone right off the bat.
Clearly, Cernunnos and James didn’t have a good relationship and might even be enemies for the Myriad Beast to instantly attack the young boy who was a guest of the Chiron Tribe.
—-
“Are you okay, Ashe?” William asked as he helped his mermaid lover who had instinctively transformed to protect him when the dark-green snake charged towards them.
Ashe had two forms, her usual mermaid form and her mermaid battle form.
If she was on land then she would stand on two legs and fight. However, her strength would be halved when fighting on land. Only when she was in the water could her full power be unleashed.
She was wearing sea-blue armor that seemed to be made from a metal that Wiliam wasn’t familiar with. His only gripe was that the armor was quite revealing and showed Ashe’s curves which the red-headed boy had already claimed for himself.
‘Well, at least it’s not bikini armor,’ William thought as he stared at Ashe’s Battle Regalia.
“Have you stared enough?” Ashe asked as she bumped her closed fist on William’s head. “What’s wrong? Why did that Millennial Beast attack us? I thought it knew your grandfather!”
William raised both of his hands in order to calm the Mermaid who was throwing a barrage of questions at him.
“Correction, it wasn’t a Millennial Beast, that one is a bonafide Myriad Beast,” William answered. “Second, how was I to know that my old man and Cernunnos had bad blood between them? This is the first time I’ve seen The Lord of the Wilds and the first thing it did after asking a question was attack me.”
Ashe calmed down a bit after hearing William’s explanation. However, that calmness soon disappeared as the words that William had said registered in her mind.
“T-That was a Myriad Beast?!” Ashe stuttered as she covered her lips with her hand. “How can you tell?”
“It’s because this is not the first time I have met a Myriad Beast,” William replied.
He trusted Ashe, but the System had warned him repeatedly to not tell anyone about his Appraisal Ability because it might cause some problems if people were to discover it.
There were also Appraisers in the world of Hestia, but most of them could only appraise weapons, armors, jewelry, accessories, and artifacts. However, none had the ability to appraise Beasts and people.
The System even added that if William were to upgrade his Shepherd Job Class to its final form, he would gain the ability to appraise the True Name of any mortal in the world of Hestia.
Having the ability to know the True Name of named beings was a priceless ability because it would give William the power to control their lives. This was why The System had advised him to never tell a soul about it.
Not even to his family, Masters, and lovers.
“If that was a Myriad Beast, and it’s on bad terms with your grandfather then what do we do now?” Ashe asked anxiously. “If we leave this Domain, won’t we appear in the same place we were standing a while ago?”
William once again nodded his head to affirm his lover’s worries.
“Ah don’t worry, I’m not going to harm you again. At least, not until after you finished your business with the Centaur Chieftain.”
William’s and Ashe’s bodies stiffened when they heard the voice of the Beast they had tried to speak to just a few minutes ago. The two exchanged a glance before their heads slowly turned to the side to see the four-meter tall Cernunnos standing a few meters away from them.
