Online Game: Starting With SSS-Ranked Summons

The crimson hyena emerged from the portal, its appearance identical to its living form but enhanced with the intelligence and loyalty that characterised all of Arthur's summons.

Arthur immediately accessed the creature's status information, his analytical mind processing the details.

The talent designation confirmed Arthur's suspicions about the hyena pack's capabilities. He expanded the talent description to understand its specific applications:

[Talent: Nightmare (A-Rank)]

[Effect: Forces targeted enemies to experience vivid hallucinations of their worst possible death scenarios. Victims become paralysed by overwhelming terror as they witness themselves dying in the most frightening way their subconscious can imagine. Duration and effectiveness depend on the target's mental resistance and the user's power level.]

Arthur nodded with satisfaction as he studied the talent's power. The nightmare ability was indeed a very specific illusion talent, focused entirely on fear-based psychological manipulation rather than broader mental control. It suited the hyenas' sadistic nature perfectly, allowing them to torture their victims psychologically before moving in for actual kills.

The talent's narrow focus made it both powerful and predictable—devastating against creatures vulnerable to fear effects, but potentially useless against opponents with strong mental defences or those who had experienced worse realities than anything imagination could conjure.

"Interesting," Arthur murmured, already considering how such an ability might be useful in specific situations. "Fear as a weapon has its applications, though I prefer more direct approaches. Still, the queen as one of my summons would be a good addition to the team."

Through their mystical connection, Arthur could sense the newly summoned hyena's knowledge of its former territory and pack dynamics. This creature had been a mid-level member of the Laughing Death pack, possessing detailed information about territorial boundaries, hunting grounds, and most importantly, the Cackle Queen's location.

"You," Arthur addressed his newest summon with characteristic directness, "will guide me to your former queen. I want the most efficient route that avoids unnecessary encounters with your former pack-mates."

The crimson hyena's response came through their mental link, its communication carrying the eager compliance of a creature completely devoted to its master's will. Through inherited memories and territorial knowledge, it began plotting the optimal path toward the pack's central den where the Cackle Queen maintained her court.

"Master," the hyena explained through their mystical connection, its mental voice carrying detailed territorial intelligence, "the Cackle Queen resides in the Bone Cathedral, a massive cavern system that has been modified over generations to serve as her throne room and the pack's central gathering place."

The creature explained the location, creating a vivid image in his mind. A natural cave formation that had been expanded and decorated with the skeletal remains of thousands of victims, creating a macabre palace worthy of the pack's sadistic leader.

"The path I can guide you along will take us through areas where the fewest of my former pack-mates typically patrol," the hyena continued. "However, Master, I must warn you that encounters will become inevitable as we approach the deeper territories. The closer we get to the Cackle Queen's domain, the more hyenas will be residing in the area, and they will definitely notice our approach."

The hyena's mental voice carried obvious concern about the increasing density of pack members they would face. Unlike the Golden Manes, who had operated with loose territorial coverage, the Laughing Death pack maintained concentrated populations around their queen's location, creating overlapping security perimeters that made a stealth approach nearly impossible.

"The hyenas have established multiple defensive rings around the Bone Cathedral," the creature explained further. "Scout patrols, hunting parties, and permanent guards all operate within a five-kilometre radius of the queen's location. Any movement toward the central domain triggers response protocols that have been refined over decades."

Arthur processed this information in his mind. The hyena pack's defensive arrangements were clearly more sophisticated than the Golden Manes' straightforward territorial control, suggesting that the Cackle Queen possessed strategic intelligence that exceeded typical beast consciousness.

However, Arthur found himself unconcerned about potential encounters with superior-rank hyenas. His recent demonstration against an entire legendary pack had proven that numerical superiority meant little when facing overwhelming his current power.

Arthur thought for a moment, then nodded with casual indifference to the challenges ahead. "I don't care about encountering your former pack-mates," he replied with characteristic directness. "Tell me the exact coordinates—how far in and which direction is the Bone Cathedral from our current position?"

The crimson hyena's mental response was immediate and precise, its inherited knowledge providing navigational details with military accuracy. "Master, the Bone Cathedral lies exactly 2.8 kilometres northeast of our current position, bearing approximately 45 degrees from true north. The entrance is marked by a massive archway constructed entirely from the skulls of superior-rank creatures the pack has eliminated over decades."

Arthur's spatial awareness immediately processed these coordinates, his SSS-rank Space talent allowing him to perceive the exact location despite never having visited it before. The distance fell well within his comfortable teleportation range, making the hyena's planned ground route completely unnecessary.

"Perfect," Arthur murmured with satisfaction. "That's well within range."

Without further discussion or preparation, Arthur activated his spatial manipulation talent. He could sense the Golden Beetle still struggling to catch up from their rapid departure from Pride's territory, but the beetle's assistance wasn't necessary for what he planned to accomplish.

Reality folded around Arthur, Pride, Aether, and the guide hyena as dimensional barriers collapsed before his will. Space compressed and twisted, carrying them across kilometres of hostile territory in an instant.

WHOOSH!

They materialised directly outside their destination, bypassing every defensive perimeter and security measure the Laughing Death pack had established over generations.

Arthur found himself standing in front of the very entrance that the hyena had spoken about a few seconds ago.

The entrance itself disappeared into absolute darkness that seemed to swallow light rather than merely reflecting it.

Strange sounds echoed from within—not the natural acoustics of a cave system, but sounds of monsters.

"What's that sound?" Arthur asked the hyena next to him.

There was no sight of the queen as of yet. Arthur concluded that the queen was most likely inside the cave, hence he asked that question.