Seeing the two evolution paths pop up on the system screen, Charles was filled with excitement: Mousie had evolved during the advancement process?
With a sh on the screen, two option boxes appeared before Charles''s eyes, along with a countdown timer.
Since Mousie only had two evolution paths, the options weren''t as varied as they were for Max.
[A. Critical Evolution]: Quality upgrade to tinum, evolving into a Dark Souls Flying Squirrel. Sess rate: 70%. Gains exclusive skill [Soul Sword], which can extract an enemy''s soul to forge a soul de, dealing damage to the enemy''s soul. Failure results in a downgrade to Silver quality.
[B. Specified Evolution]: Quality upgrade to tinum, evolving into a Dark Demigod (infant stage). Sess rate: 100%. With each evolution, the Demigod form will grow until it reaches the ultimate form, God of Apocalypse, possessing terrifying domain skills. Requirement: Dark Sacrifice Candles ×2, Humpback Whale Oil ×10kg.
"These evolution paths both look pretty impressive. Which one should I choose?"
Charles frowned slightly. If the choices had been as distinct as Max''s four evolution paths, he wouldn''t have hesitated to choose the nine-tailed demon wolf for Max.
Critical evolution could grant Mousie the ability to extract souls and wield soul swords—a rare and powerful soul-based attack. However, the 70% sess rate made Charles uneasy, especially since failure would result in Mousie being downgraded to Silver quality, a setback he found hard to ept.
As for the specified evolution, bing the God of Apocalypse sounded incredibly powerful just from the name. Plus, it would gain a domain skill, boosting allies within the field while weakening enemies—exactly the kind of ability Charles needed.
The only issue... the materials required were pretty demanding. He already had the Dark Sacrifice Candles, found among some grave robbers'' relics he had collected. But the Humpback Whale Oil, made from the oil of a humpback whale, was far harder toe by.
"Both evolution paths are perfect. Even though the specified evolution requires rare materials, I can''t let Mousie take a 30% chance of failure." With the countdown timer quickly approaching zero, Charles decisively selected [B. Specified Evolution]!
As someone with notoriously bad luck, Charles had learned not to trust in his own fortune. Even with a 70% sess rate, he wasn''t willing to gamble.
Plus, specified evolution promised to turn Mousie into the God of Apocalypse one day, a being of immense power.
At that moment, Charles began to understand why dark energy was so frowned upon in Genosha and among humans as a whole. Just from Mousie''s evolution paths, it was clear that everything rted to dark energy veered toward the sinister and forbidden.
Either it''s aboutunching soul attacks or directly evolving into a Demigod—both seem like something straight out of a viin''s ybook.
But, as the saying goes, Mousie is his mystical beast, and no matter what, it would never betray him. The stronger Mousie became, the stronger Charles would be, so why care if it was considered forbidden?
Since Charles had chosen the specified evolution path but hadn''t yet gathered all the necessary materials, Mousie couldn''tplete its evolution just yet.
Charles took a quick look at Mousie''s updated stats after the recent level-up.
——Shadow Flying Squirrel——
[Name]]: Mousie
[Attribute]: Dark
[Level]: Lv21
[Quality]: tinum
[Skills]: [Mimetic Illusion], [Darkness Cloak], [Darkness Drawn]
[Weakness]: Entire body is a weak point
[Likes]: Scaring people
[Mood]: Hungry
[Health]: Weak
[Loyalty]: 89
[Evolution]: 2 possible paths
[Description]: After being struck by lightning all afternoon, Mousie is both physically and mentally exhausted. It longs for its cozy bed in the Beast Mastery space. Of course, a few words of praise from you would make it very happy.
After reviewing the stats, Charles smiled softly and rubbed Mousie''s little head, unable to resist praising it: "Mousie, you were so brave today! I''ll make you a feast tonight to celebrate!"
Mousie: [Nodding enthusiastically.]
Hearing Charles''s praise, Mousie couldn''t help but lick its lips. If it hadn''t been for his encouragement, it would never have dared to face that terrifying lightning.
[Ding! Your praise has made Mousie very happy. Loyalty +1.]
Current Loyalty: 90.
"Who knew that a simplepliment could boost loyalty? Mystical beasts are just as sensitive as humans. They crave recognition and appreciation," Charles thought with a chuckle.
Once loyalty reaches 90 or above, a mystical beast bes absolutely loyal to its Beast Master, obeying everymand and following them to the end.
In other words, just like Max, Mousie had be a battlepanion that Charles couldpletely rely on.
Charles noticed that Mousie had gained a new skill, so he took a closer look at the skill panel.
[Darkness Drawn]: Mousie drains energy from enemies to either restore its own stamina or boost its attack power. This skill is also effective on any summoned projections.
After reading the skill description, Charles couldn''t help but feel a surge of excitement.
In the past, while Mousie could summon mystical beasts, those summoned creaturescked the full strength of the original, making theirbat effectiveness much lower. Mousie had to rely on constantly summoning new creatures in a sort of war of attrition, which was a massive drain on its energy.
But now, with [Darkness Drawn], both Mousie and its summoned creatures could regenerate energy during battle, significantly increasing their endurance and overallbat effectiveness.
His primary battle beast was Max, and Max often relied on Mousie''s summoned creatures to distract the enemy. Mousie''s new skill had effectively transformed Charles''sbat potential!
Charles was tempted to test out the new skill immediately, but seeing how exhausted Mousie looked, he decided against it.
"Mousie, you''ve worked really hard today," Charles said gently, stroking Mousie''s sleek fur.
After sending Mousie back to the Beast Mastery space, Charles couldn''t help but gaze in the direction of the imperial capital. A familiar figure shed through his mind.
He extended his hand, revealing a prominent red mark in the center of his left palm. When he looked at it, a countdown timer appeared before his eyes: [1 year, 348 days, 3 hours].
This [Human Contract], which had once been a source of humiliation for the old Charles, now served as a powerful motivator for the new him.
One day, he would go to Aredale Academy himself. And when he did, Grace would see that the phrase "Do those gentry have blue blood, certainly" was not just a bold statement from a boy but a promise. He would also finally break the human contract that bound him.
But before that, there was still a long road ahead.
Whether he ventured into the Abyssal Depths or journeyed to the imperial capital of Genosha, the path from Lsengard would be fraught with danger. He needed to be fully prepared, and ideally, he would gather all the materials needed for Mousie''s evolution before setting out.
...
In the following days, Charles shifted from the leisure of his holiday to a more focused and intense routine. asionally, he would take Mousie and Max to the ferocious beast mountains near Lsengard to get ustomed to their newly acquired skills and sharpen theirbat instincts.
During the rest of his time, he practiced in the garden of Lily''s estate, having Mousie project copies of ferocious beasts for Max to spar against in mock battles.
On the expansivewn, two figures were constantly shing—an adult [wood-eating fox] battling against Max.
Normally, Max could effortlessly defeat the copies Mousie summoned in mere seconds. But ever since Mousie activated the [Darkness Drawn] skill, the copy could heal its injuries and restore stamina with every attack itnded on Max, while Max gradually grew weaker.
As the battle continued, Max began to fall behind.
"Watch out!" Charlesmanded through [Mind Communication]. The wood-eating fox summoned wood-elemental energy, forming arge wooden stake and smashing it toward Max.
Seeing the stake flying toward him, Max pushed off the ground, leaping into the air to avoid the attack. At the same time, it activated its second skill, [Bone-Achingly Cold]. Pale mes ignited around its body, and snowkes began to fall.
Forcing Max to use its second skill was a sign that Mousie''s summoned copy was starting to exert real pressure on Max.
Whoosh!
The pale mes spread rapidly, and under the icy fire''s assault, the wood-eating fox''s temperature plummeted. In that split second when its movements slowed, Max seized the opportunity and shed its throat with a sharp w.
The wood-eating fox copsed to the ground and vanished into ck energy.
[Ding! Your mystical beast Max has defeated a wood-eating fox (Lv. 21), experience +50, current level: Lv. 21!]
[Ding! Your mystical beast Mousie has gained experience during battle training, experience +20, current level: Lv. 21!]
"No fair! You''re cheating, bullying me because I only have one battle skill..." Mousie crossed its arms, clearly upset, and flew over to Charles forfort. Not to be outdone, Max also rushed to Charles''s side, barking incessantly.
Seeing the two creatures, one big and one small, seeking his attention, Charles couldn''t help butugh.
He reached into his storage space, intending to grab a few bottles of [Regenerating Potion], but suddenly realized he had run out.
After both Max and Mousie reached Lv. 20, Charles noticed the experience required for leveling up increased exponentially, significantly slowing their progress. Max had been stuck at Lv. 21 for almost a month, with no sign of leveling up.
To speed up their progress, Charles had been feeding them regenerating potions to restore their stamina, engaging them in relentless battle practice day and night.
Yet despite the intense training, neither Max nor Mousie had leveled up further. Instead, Charles''s stock of miracle drugs was nearly depleted.
Reflecting on theck of progress over the past weeks, Charles felt frustrated: "At this rate, I won''t even reach fourth-level Beast Master in two years. How am I supposed to defeat Grace?"
Just as Charles was wracking his brain, a figure suddenly emerged from the shadows beneath a nearby tree. A man in a ck robe stepped forward, shing Charles a sly grin:
"Young one, you seem to be in quite a rush. Need a little help?"