Beast Master: Hard Mode

"I hate this world!" Kai Zang screamed as he dashed through the thick forest, his lungs begging for mercy. Behind him, a mutant rhino the size of a refrigerator was charging on two muscular legs, its horn gleaming like a spear aimed at his back.

Beside Kai, a small creature kept pace effortlessly. It looked like a puppy and a squirrel had a very ugly baby, then rolled it in something that smelled like rotten eggs and old socks. This was Pugzooka, Kai's starter beast.

"You poked a rhino with a stick," Pugzooka said in a squeaky, annoying voice while running. "You poked a rhino.! With a stick.! And you thought it was meat.!"

"SHUT UP AND RUN FASTER!" Kai yelled.

"I'm literally faster than you," Pugzooka said. "You're the one who's slowing us down."

The rhino grunted and lowered its horn. A tree behind Kai exploded into splinters as the beast charged through it like it was made of paper.

"I hate this game!" Kai screamed.

"You've said that already," Pugzooka noted.

-

Three days and three hours hours earlier.

Kai Zang was a normal college student. Well, mostly normal. He went to class, ate instant noodles, and avoided social interaction like it was a group project. But he had one weird hobby that none of his classmates understood.

He loved trash games.

Not good games. Not popular games. The broken ones. The glitchy ones. The games with terrible graphics, nonsense stories, and controls that felt like someone invented them as a prank. While other students played competitive shooters and beautiful fantasy RPGs, Kai was out there searching for the digital equivalent of garbage.

His friends didn't get it. "Why do you play that crap?" they asked. Kai would just smile and say, "Because someone has to appreciate the failures."

One rainy afternoon, Kai walked into a dusty old GameStop that was about to close forever. The shelves were almost empty, and the clerk looked like he hadn't seen a customer in weeks. Kai browsed the clearance bin—his favorite place—and that's when he saw it.

A single black CD case with no cover art. Just white text that said: "Beast Master: The Beginning."

The price sticker said one dollar.

Kai picked it up and turned it over. The back was blank too. No screenshots, no description, nothing. Just a small line of text at the bottom: "Only the worthy will finish."

"Ooh, mysterious trash," Kai whispered, his heart racing. This was exactly what he lived for. He bought it immediately, ran back to his tiny apartment, and inserted the disc into his old gaming laptop.

The screen went black. Then white text appeared:

Welcome to Beast Master: The Beginning.

Before you begin, choose your difficulty.

[ EASY MODE ] - Recommended for beginners. A relaxing journey through Veridia.

[ HARD MODE ] - For true gamers only. No handholding. No mercy. No second chances.

Kai snorted. "Easy mode? Please." He didn't even hesitate. His finger slammed down on HARD MODE.

A flash of light exploded from the screen. Kai felt his body lift off his chair. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. The last thing he saw was his empty instant noodle cup floating past his face.

Then everything went dark.

-

Kai woke up face-down on dirt.

His head was pounding. The air smelled like wet leaves, animal droppings, and something else. Something funky. Something that reminded him of his roommate's gym bag after summer break.

He pushed himself up slowly and looked around. Trees. Everywhere. Thick, twisted trees with vines hanging down like dead snakes. The sounds of birds and insects filled the air, and somewhere in the distance, an animal howled like a crying baby.

"Where... where am I?" Kai mumbled.

Then he turned around.

A creature was sitting right next to him, staring at his face from six inches away. It had the round eyes of a puppy, the fluffy tail of a squirrel, and the body of something that nature probably regretted. Its fur was patchy and grayish-brown, and it smelled like a skunk had used it as a pillow.

The creature tilted its head. "You're finally awake."

Kai's brain froze. He stared at the creature. The creature stared back.

"You just fainted," the creature continued. "Hit your head pretty good. Are you okay?"

Kai opened his mouth. Nothing came out. Then his eyes rolled back, and he passed out cold on the ground.

When he woke up the second time, a floating blue screen was hovering in front of his face. The creature was still there, sitting on a rock and grooming its smelly tail like nothing had happened.

[ SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE ]

[ WELCOME TO VERIDIA ]

[ SOUL BINDING: SUCCESSFUL ]

[ YOU CANNOT LEAVE UNTIL THE TASK IS COMPLETE ]

Kai blinked and rubbed his eyes. The screen didn't go away. The creature hopped closer.

"The system is talking to you," it said. "You should read it."

"You're still talking," Kai whispered, his voice shaky.

"Obviously I'm still talking. I don't just stop talking because you faint like a dramatic baby." The creature sniffed. "My name is Pugzooka, by the way. You could have asked sooner."

Kai stared at Pugzooka for a long moment. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. Then he pointed a trembling finger at the creature.

"You... you're a beast? Look, I don't know what you are but animals don't talk. Animals CAN'T talk."

"And yet here I am," Pugzooka said. "Talking. Impressive observation skills you've got there."

Kai wanted to faint again. He really did. But his body refused, so he just sat there on the dirt, breathing heavily, while a smelly puppy-squirrel thing judged him with its tiny eyes.

The system screen flickered, demanding his attention. More text appeared.

[ TO RETURN TO YOUR ORIGINAL WORLD, YOU MUST COLLECT AND COMMAND THE FOLLOWING BEASTS: ]

- 15 Common Type Beasts

- 5 Lower Legendary Beasts

- 5 Middle Legendary Beasts

- 5 Higher Legendary Beasts

- 3 Mythical Beasts

- 1 God-like Beast

[ ALL BEASTS MUST BE UNDER YOUR COMMAND BEFORE THE GATE OPENS ]

"Thirty-four beasts?" Kai read aloud. "That's insane."

"Thirty-four is nothing," Pugzooka said, hopping onto Kai's knee. "My great-grand uncle tamed over a hundred. Of course, he was also eaten by a frog, so maybe don't follow his example."

Kai pushed Pugzooka off his knee. The creature landed gracefully and sniffed indignantly.

[ ADDITIONAL RULES: ]

[ 1. TO TAME HIGHER LEVEL BEASTS, YOUR MASTER LEVEL MUST BE HIGH ENOUGH. ]

[ 2. TO LEVEL UP, YOU MUST BATTLE OTHER MASTERS. ]

[ 3. TWO TYPES OF BATTLES EXIST: BEAST VS BEAST, AND MASTER VS MASTER. ]

[ 4. YOUR STARTER BEAST HAS BEEN ASSIGNED TO YOU. TREAT IT WELL. ]

"Treat me very well," Pugzooka added. "I accept belly rubs and high-quality meat. None of that cheap stuff."

The screen flickered, then displayed one last message.

[ HAVE FUN IN YOUR JOURNEY, KAI ZANG. ]

"Have fun?" Kai shouted at the screen. The screen didn't respond. It just faded away like smoke. "Have FUN?! I'm trapped in a video game world with a talking sku—squir—dog that smells like death!"

"Pugzooka," the creature corrected. "And I prefer 'eau de forest mischief.' It's more sophisticated."

Kai put his face in his hands and groaned. "I chose hard mode. I actually chose hard mode. Who does that?"

"A true gamer," Pugzooka said. "At least, that's what the system told me about you. It said, and I quote, 'Your new master is an idiot who pokes things he shouldn't.'"

"I don't believe you."

"Believe what you want." Pugzooka stretched his tiny legs. "So, what's the plan, boss? Sit here and cry, or get moving?"

Kai looked around the forest again. Tall trees. No paths. No buildings. No signs of civilization anywhere. Just dirt, leaves, and the distant howl of something he really didn't want to meet.

He stood up slowly and dusted off his pants. "Fine. We need to find food, water, and a way out of this forest. Then we figure out how to tame beasts."

"Finally," Pugzooka said. "Some leadership. I was starting to think you were useless."

"I am not useless."

"You passed out twice because I said hello."

"That's... that's a normal reaction to a talking animal!"

"In Veridia, it's Tuesday." Pugzooka started walking. "Come on, follow me. I can smell water to the east. And also something dead, but that's probably just your armpit."

Kai stared at the little creature for a moment, then sighed and followed. He had no other choice.

-

Fast forward three days.

Kai had not found a way out of the forest.

He had walked in circles. He had climbed trees for a better view—and fallen out of two of them. He had tried to ask Pugzooka for directions, but Pugzooka's sense of navigation was apparently based on "vibes" and "whatever smells interesting."

They ate berries that Pugzooka said were safe. Kai was pretty sure Pugzooka was guessing.

"I'm starving," Kai said on the third day, his stomach growling like an angry animal. "I haven't eaten real food in three days. I would kill for instant noodles. I would kill someone for instant noodles."

"That's dark," Pugzooka said from his spot on Kai's shoulder. "Also, look ahead. Is that a pond?"

Kai looked up. Through the trees, he could see a small clearing with a pond of clean, blue water. His dry mouth immediately watered at the sight.

But standing at the edge of the pond, drinking slowly, was a huge rhino. It was the size of a small car, with gray, thick skin and a horn that looked sharp enough to pierce steel. It was on all fours, but its legs were muscular and wrong somehow—like they could stand up anytime they wanted.

Kai stopped walking. His stomach growled again.

"Meat," Kai whispered, his eyes locking onto the rhino. His hunger-addled brain stopped thinking clearly. "That's a huge piece of meat."

Pugzooka turned his head slowly to look at Kai. "Boss. No."

"It's right there."

"That's a rhino. A LIVING rhino. With a horn."

"Meat," Kai repeated, already picking up a fallen branch from the ground. His hands were shaking from hunger.

"Kai. Kai, listen to me very carefully." Pugzooka hopped off his shoulder and stood in front of him. "That is not meat. That is a creature that will turn us into paste. You cannot eat it."

"Watch me."

Kai walked toward the pond. Pugzooka ran after him, squeaking in panic.

"This is how you die! This is literally how you die! My great-grand uncle got eaten by a frog for being stupid, and you're about to get eaten by a rhino for the same reason!"

Kai ignored him. He crept closer to the rhino, holding the stick like a spear. The rhino didn't notice him. It just kept drinking, its big dumb eyes half-closed.

Kai raised the stick.

Pugzooka covered his eyes with his tiny paws. "I can't watch."

Kai poked the rhino's back.

The rhino stopped drinking. It slowly turned its massive head and looked at Kai with one big, confused eye. Then it blinked.

Kai smiled weakly. "Hello, dinner."

The rhino stood up on its two back legs. It was even bigger now, towering over Kai like a furry gray building. Its front legs had tiny useless arms that wiggled angrily. It roared—not words, just pure, earth-shaking rage.

Kai's smile disappeared. "Oh no."

"OH YES!" Pugzooka screamed. "RUN, YOU IDIOT!"

Kai ran.

And that's how he ended up here, sprinting through the forest with a mutant rhino destroying everything behind him and a talking beast laughing at his misery.

"Faster!" Pugzooka yelled from ahead of him. "It's gaining!"

"I'm running as fast as I can!" Kai cried.

"Run faster!"

"I CAN'T!"

The rhino smashed through another tree, sending splinters flying everywhere. Kai felt one whiz past his ear.

"I hate this game!" Kai screamed at the sky.

Pugzooka looked back at him with what might have been sympathy or might have been pure amusement. "You said that already!"

"I'll say it again! I HATE THIS GAME!"

The rhino roared behind them. Kai ran harder.