WORLD OF BEASTS: A Girl For The Beasts

Beast World

Chapter 016: Beast World

Halvir stopped right in front of the wooden door built into the trunk of the giant tree. His hand rose and tapped lightly against the wooden surface—not out of formality, but from a habit rooted in respect.

He waited.

The wind rustled through the leaves. The house stood silent and sturdy, as though it had been part of the tree since the very beginning.

Anindira held her breath. From this close, she finally noticed how meticulously the wooden planks had been joined together. No nails protruded. No ropes hung loose. Everything was locked together by interlocking pieces of wood, precise and strong. The floor trembled ever so slightly with the sway of the tree, making her stomach feel as though it were floating.

“Yes.”

The voice came from inside—calm, low, without any further question.

Halvir slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The room was warm. Sunlight filtered through gaps between the wooden planks and leaves, casting thin golden lines across the wooden floor. The scent of aged wood mingled with tree sap and something resembling dried herbs.

Halvir carefully lowered Anindira to the floor. Before fully letting go of her, he turned toward a blond-haired man standing in the corner of the room.

Once again, Halvir asked for permission—briefly, without unnecessary words—so that Anindira could sit on a wooden bed covered with a layer of soft hide.

Hans nodded.

Anindira sat down slowly. The wood beneath her felt cool but sturdy. Her heart was still racing, not because of the height, but because she had finally realized that she was truly inside someone’s home... atop a tree, dozens of meters above the ground.

“Who is she?” Hans asked. His voice was friendly yet sharp, his eyes assessing.

“Anindira,” Halvir answered flatly.

“Where is she from?” Hans narrowed his eyes. “I’ve never seen her before.”

“I found her.”

The answer was short.

Too short.

Hans raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lips curling upward. His gaze swept over Halvir from head to toe.

“Hm,” he muttered. “You saved another woman again?”

“Eum.”

Halvir’s tone remained as flat as the wooden floor beneath their feet.

Anindira swallowed.

Again?

Something pinched lightly inside her chest. It did not hurt, yet it disturbed her. She shifted her gaze aside, pretending to be occupied studying the woven wooden patterns on the wall.

She did not realize—or perhaps did not want to realize—that the feeling had a name.

Jealousy.

Hans stepped closer. His gaze now settled directly on Anindira. It was not intimidating, merely observant. Like a hunter who had long since stopped hunting and now only examined wounds.

“Where?” he asked.

“In the FORBIDDEN FOREST,” Halvir replied casually, as though he were mentioning the name of an ordinary river.

Hans’s expression changed instantly.

His eyes widened. His head snapped toward Halvir, his face a mixture of disbelief and the need to make sure he had not misheard.

Halvir let out a short sigh.

“At the border of the FORBIDDEN FOREST.”

The emphasis was unmistakable.

“Halvir,” Hans chuckled dryly, “since when did you learn how to joke?”

His tone sounded light, but his eyes were not laughing.

“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong with your hearing?” Halvir replied flatly, almost sounding mocking.

Hans clicked his tongue and rubbed his face.

“But... the Forbidden Forest is extremely dangerous,” he said, serious this time. “Even for men. How could there possibly be a woman there?”

Halvir glanced toward Anindira.

Only for a fraction of a second, yet long enough to confirm that the girl was there, breathing, and sitting before them.

“But I found her there. Not inside—at the border,” he said. “She was only moments away from entering it.”

“Seriously?!”

“Eum.”

Halvir’s nod was short.

Firm.

Silence returned to the room.

Only the wind outside stirred the leaves, causing the house to creak softly—as though it, too, were trying to absorb the impossibility of the story that had just been told.

BEAST WORLD

THE FORBIDDEN FOREST

The forest had always existed.

It stood beside the ordinary forest—separated only by an invisible boundary—yet the two had never truly merged. Its trees were darker. The air inside was heavier. And the silence surrounding it felt wrong.

As though the forest itself was breathing...

and waiting.

The FORBIDDEN FOREST.

A name never spoken lightly.

Only the strong dared enter it.

Even then, survival was not guaranteed.

At minimum, a person needed to have reached the *Emerald rank.

And even so, many ultimately left behind nothing but blood and bones within its depths.

Many men entered.

Few returned.

Inside the Forbidden Forest, savage monsters roamed freely.

Creatures that had never—and could never—cross the boundary into the Ordinary Forest.

Whether because the boundary restrained them...

or because the forest itself refused to release what had become its own.

The Beasts, however, could enter.

The problem was never entering.

The problem was leaving.

Once a foot crossed that invisible line, the way back was no longer a right—

it became a trial.

BEASTS & POWER RANKS

In Beast World, power is not merely felt.

It can be seen.

The Beasts are divided into distinct ranks, recognized by the color of their eyes.

Those born without natural talent possess eyes no different from ordinary humans.

But those who break through the limits of their abilities...

their eyes change.

Not merely in color.

But in brilliance.

Like precious gemstones.

Just as gemstones become more beautiful through refinement, these ranks are forged through time, blood, and wagers of life itself.

The ranks, from lowest to highest, are:

*Gold — golden-colored eyes (Precious Metal: Gold)

*Diamond — crystal-clear eyes, almost translucent (Gemstone: Diamond)

*Emerald — shimmering green eyes (Gemstone: Emerald)

*Amethyst — purple eyes (Gemstone: Amethyst)

*Sapphire — blue eyes (Gemstone: Sapphire)

*Ruby — red eyes (Gemstone: Ruby)

*Ruby is acknowledged as the highest rank.

Yet for hundreds of years, almost no one has seen one.

Because of that, in many regions, *Sapphire is regarded as the highest recognized rank—the limit of power still considered “possible” for a person to achieve.

The intensity of eye color also carries meaning.

Dark, dense colors indicate power that has recently surged upward—unstable, wild, and dangerous even to its owner.

In contrast, bright and clear colors signify stability.

A sign that body and soul have become one with that power...

and are preparing to move even further.

Except for *Sapphire.

For those who have reached that point, clarity no longer signifies advancement.

It signifies mastery.

THE FORBIDDEN FOREST & THE PRICE OF POWER

Most Beasts stop at the *Emerald rank.

Not because they do not wish to become stronger, but because their bodies cannot endure the next surge.

From *Emerald to *Amethyst, power no longer grows gradually.

It leaps.

It crashes.

It tears from within.

There is one path known to everyone.

The FORBIDDEN FOREST.

A place where life and death are distinguished not by intention...

but by results.

Yet that path is cruel.

The surge of power gained there can kill a person even after they survive the monsters.

Without proper treatment, the body will collapse under the weight of its own strength.

There are no doctors.

No help.

No companions.

Those who enter the Forbidden Forest must be prepared to face everything...

alone.

The monsters within are not merely savage.

They are fast.

Massive.

Ferocious.

Creatures capable of turning a hunter into prey within a single breath.

Entering the Forbidden Forest means accepting one simple truth:

Either you are eaten.

Or you kill.

And if you survive...

you must bear the consequences of the power you seized with your own hands.

That is why those who return from the Forbidden Forest are called—

THE BEST OF THE BEST.

Yet even that title guarantees no advancement.

Many survive...

and remain where they are.

The Forbidden Forest is not merely a place to level up.

It is a place to survive in the harsh and merciless Beast World.

*AMBER — THE HEART OF MONSTERS

Monsters defeated within the Forbidden Forest leave behind a legacy.

Their hearts.

Those hearts are refined into *Amber—a rare resource and another reason so many risk their lives.

The most common is Gold *Amber.

Small and golden-yellow in color, it is used to restore and increase energy.

The brighter and sharper its color, the higher its quality—and the higher the level of the monster that was defeated.

Rarer still is Green *Amber.

This *Amber can maintain age regeneration up to thirty years with a single consumption.

However, once that period ends, the body requires a minimum three-year interval before it can accept another Green *Amber.

The most dangerous—and most valuable—is Red *Amber.

This *Amber can neutralize all forms of poison.

Both Green *Amber and Red *Amber are possessed only by the highest-level monsters.

And to obtain them...

death is always very close.

HALVIR & THE BALANCE OF POWER

Halvir is a *Sapphire.

A rare rank.

A difficult rank to achieve.

In Blue Forest Village, there is only one *Sapphire.

And that is Halvir.

The village is led by six clan elders.

One of them comes from the Jaguar Clan, the same clan as Halvir.

Aside from Halvir, only seven individuals have reached the *Amethyst rank: the six elders and one mate-sharing companion of one elder.

One *Sapphire.

Seven *Amethysts.

Those eight individuals are respected not only because of their strength, but because of the wisdom born from surviving too long in a cruel world.

Halvir is stronger than the elders.

Yet he still respects their leadership.

He does not submit—

but neither does he look down on them.

In Beast World, it is that kind of balance that keeps a village standing.

Note: The houses of Blue Forest Village are inspired by the traditional treehouses of the Korowai people of Papua.