Chapter 344: Yuki After the tiger accepted Noah’s offer, he looked down at the massive creature with a practical consideration. "We should probably give you a proper name. What would you like to be called?" The tiger simply stared back at him with those intelligent eyes, its expression suggesting complete uncertainty about the concept of choosing its own name. The beast had likely never been called anything beyond simple territorial designations or threats from other creatures. Lola stepped forward with an enthusiastic smile, clearly having given this some thought already. "How about Yuki? It’s a famous delicacy in the demon kingdom, and with those beautiful white stripes against the darker fur, it seems fitting." Noah frowned slightly, processing the suggestion before raising an obvious concern. "Wait, that sounds like a girl’s name, though, doesn’t it?" Lola rolled her eyes in exasperation, her expression suggesting she was dealing with someone incredibly dense. "Of course it is! The tiger before you is female. How did you not notice that?" "Wait, really?" Noah looked back at the tiger with genuine surprise, clearly having completely missed what should have been obvious physical indicators. His lack of knowledge about animal species and biological markers was showing dramatically. Lola laughed at his obliviousness, finding his confusion endearing despite its absurdity. "Yes, really. I’m honestly amazed you went through that entire fight and negotiation without realizing. Did you think all tigers just looked like that?" Noah felt slightly embarrassed by his oversight but tried to move past it smoothly. "Well, Yuki, it is then. Welcome to the family properly." The newly named Yuki seemed to accept the designation without complaint, her tail swishing slightly in what might have been satisfaction or simply acknowledgement. Noah’s expression became more serious as he considered their immediate situation. "Yuki, we need to be honest with you about something. We’re currently on a dangerous mission to reach a location deeper in this territory. It’s going to involve significant combat and unknown threats that could prove lethal even with our combined strength." He paused to ensure the tiger was paying attention to the important information. "I don’t want to bring you into that level of danger immediately after you’ve just agreed to join us and while you’re still recovering from our fight. So we’re going to continue toward our destination now, and we’ll come back to pick you up once we’ve completed our objective and confirmed it’s safe." Yuki nodded her massive head in understanding, showing the remarkable intelligence that had convinced Noah she was worth recruiting in the first place. The tiger recognized the wisdom in not rushing into unknown danger before establishing proper coordination with her new companions. Before departing deeper into her territory, Yuki approached both Noah and Lola, rubbing her enormous head against their hands in a gesture of affection that seemed almost domestic despite coming from a master-rank magical beast. The warmth in the action suggested genuine appreciation for the mercy and opportunity she had been given. Noah scratched behind Yuki’s ears gently, surprised by how soft the fur felt despite its obvious durability. "We’ll be back for you soon. Stay safe and recover your full strength." Lola also gave the tiger an affectionate pat, clearly already attached to their newest companion. "Take care of yourself, Yuki. We’ll have more enhancement items for you when we return." Yuki made a sound that might have been agreement or farewell before turning and padding away into the deeper forest, her powerful form disappearing into the shadows of her territory. Despite the recent defeat, she moved with renewed confidence, as if the encounter had somehow increased her status rather than diminished it. Noah and Lola watched her depart before resuming their own journey toward the World Tree’s coordinates, now travelling as a duo once more but with the knowledge that their group would soon expand to include another powerful companion. ------ Noah and Lola ventured deeper into the forest, the ambient mana growing so dense that he could practically breathe mana more than air. The very air seemed to shimmer with concentrated magical energy. The trees had grown to truly massive proportions, their trunks wider than before. The forest floor was carpeted with luminescent fungi that provided eerie blue-green illumination, while floating wisps of pure mana drifted through the air like ghostly fireflies. The ecosystem had transformed into something alien, far removed from the relatively normal wilderness they had traversed earlier. "The mana concentration here is extraordinary," Lola observed quietly, her archmage-level senses allowing her to perceive the intricate patterns of energy flowing through the environment. "We must be getting close to the World Tree’s immediate territory. Only something of immense power could sustain this level of ambient magical saturation." Noah nodded his agreement, though he was more focused on the increasingly oppressive sense of danger emanating from deeper in the forest. His instincts were screaming warnings about threats that existed on entirely different scales from what they had encountered previously. The scenery began shifting dramatically as they progressed. The luminescent fungi gave way to rock formations that grew from the earth. Streams of water flowed through channels carved into ancient stone, creating an otherworldly landscape that seemed more magical construct than natural environment. Then they felt it. An aura so overwhelming that it stopped both of them in their tracks. The presence emanated from somewhere ahead, radiating power that dwarfed everything they had encountered so far. The sheer magnitude of the aura made the master-rank beasts they had fought earlier seem like children by comparison. This was something operating on a different level of strength. Grandmaster rank, Noah realised with absolute certainty, his enhanced perception allowing him to sense the qualitative difference between this presence and anything else in the forest. After having met so many grandmasters and watched many more die in the battle between the elves, Noah was fairly experienced in judging a grandmaster’s strength. A massive creature emerged from behind a cluster of rock formations, and Noah’s breath caught at the sight of it.