Ten minutes.
President Robb demonstrated what true extreme speed meant. Riding on the back of the Snow Wolf, he experienced what it felt like to be as fast as the wind. His hair was swept back into a messy slicked-back style as he rushed to Asher's research institute at top speed.
"Tsk tsk!", President Robb circled around the evolved Violent Bear twice, clicking his tongue nonstop. "Tsk tsk tsk!"
The other four researchers were also circling the evolved Violent Bear, each holding a small notebook and a pen. Every now and then, they would lower their heads to jot something down, then raise their hands to touch the fur on the bear's legs and even tug at it.
If the bear's fur wasn't a condensed form of energy that couldn't be pulled out, Asher had no doubt they would each grab a handful and stuff it into an instrument for examination.
It was simply because the evolved Violent Bear... was too exaggerated.
Whether in size, height, or the aura and power it exuded, it far exceeded their expectations.
Who would have thought?
Before evolution, the Violent Bear was only about three to four meters tall. After evolution, its height instantly broke past fifty meters—and possibly even more.
Apart from its size, other changes were relatively minor.
Its fur changed from a lighter brown to a deep, dark brown, with faint traces of black within.
Its shoulders, arms, hands, and neck gained structures resembling armor. The lower half of its body was also covered with a long protective covering, which clattered with metallic sounds whenever it moved.
This alone boosted the evolved Violent Bear's coolness factor by at least ten points.
The biggest and most important difference was—
The evolved Violent Bear was now holding a weapon.
A giant steel battle-axe, perfectly matching its massive form.
Asher: "?"
'Are we sure this is a Sky-Shaking Bear and not an Earth-Splitting Bear?'
Seeing the Sky-Shaking Bear wielding a giant battle-axe, an uncontrollable thought popped into Asher's mind.
It was because this look inexplicably reminded him of ancient mythological tales.
'But if that is the case…'
"This size still hasn't reached the optimal form. It's a bit lacking."
Standing tall and reaching the heavens.
Splitting the sky and opening the earth.
A being that shakes the heavens—shouldn't it be at least a hundred meters tall? Otherwise, it doesn't quite make sense, does it?
Abella and President Robb, who happened to hear Asher's comment, "..."
Both of them froze, each reacting very differently.
"This size… is enough, more than enough. If it gets any bigger…", Abella gazed sorrowfully at the rubble and ruins around her.
Although she had already consoled herself…
The moment she thought about the compensation for destroying Asher's research institute, she found it hard to breathe.
'No!'
'Absolutely not!'
Her breath became ragged.
Drowning in debt.
If the evolved Violent Bear got any bigger, even the surrounding intact buildings would be dragged into the destruction.
Fifty meters—this was really enough.
"It's still not the best size?", President Robb stroked his chin, his face showing a thoughtful expression, "Although there are many beasts, those that reach this size are still quite rare."
They exist, but not many.
Not to mention that the original evolution path of the Violent Bear, the Earth-Splitting Berserk Bear, typically only reached about eight or nine meters at best.
But Asher's newly developed evolution path had boosted this height five or six times over.
And yet, Asher still wasn't satisfied?
President Robb couldn't help but give Asher a thumbs-up, 'This must be the legendary pursuit of perfection.'
"No problem!", President Robb waved his hand decisively, "If this one isn't satisfactory, we can do it again. Do you still need resources? The NY City Beastmaster Alliance's reserves are running a bit low, but don't worry. I'll apply to headquarters right now—there's no way they'll reject it."
'Just look!'
'Look at this evolved Violent Bear. Who could possibly refuse this?'
Even though Asher's research institute was located in the outskirts of NY City, the moment the massive Sky-Shaking Bear appeared, it inevitably attracted a lot of attention.
Once Asher released the news, beastmasters with Violent Bears would be lining up, eager to offer themselves for evolution research.
However—
To President Robb's surprise, Asher shook his head, "It's difficult to replicate."
President Robb: "?"
"Huh?", President Robb was dumbfounded, "Difficult to replicate? Why? Didn't you already succeed in researching this evolution path?"
"You just need to verify it further…," President Robb looked more anxious than Asher himself.
After all—
Every new evolution path developed was a major achievement for President Robb.
As the President of the NY City Beastmaster Alliance, the more impressive Asher was, the more he benefited. It would bring him more respect and recognition, as well as advantages for the entire NY City Beastmaster Alliance.
Asher briefly explained the circumstances of Abella's Violent Bear.
"The anomaly in Heavenly River City's Forbidden Zone is the key to this new evolution path," Asher didn't mention the Primal Energy, only describing the situation from Abella's perspective in a different way.
"Hmm…," As he listened, President Robb's expression showed a look of reminiscence and contemplation,"What you're describing… sounds oddly familiar…"
Asher looked at President Robb in surprise.
'Huh?'
'The Alliance actually knows about Primal Energy?'
"Mist, incurable injuries, new evolution paths… this… this sounds a lot like the legendary 'Spirit Mist Awakening'?", President Robb muttered, "Although the details are a bit different, the overall concept seems similar."
Asher: "Spirit Mist Awakening?"
President Robb nodded, looking at Asher with a wise elder's gaze, "Spirit Mist Awakening—very few beastmasters know about it nowadays because thirty years ago, it was dismissed as pseudoscience and nonsense."
"But back when we were kids, it was still a common story, and many people hoped to encounter it."
Seeing Asher and Abella's curious expressions, President Robb adjusted his clothes and hair, found a relatively clean spot amidst the rubble, and sat down.
There, on top of a pile of ruins, he began telling them an old legend.
"Mist—nobody knows what kind of mist. It could be an ordinary natural fog or one hidden deep within a forbidden zone. If you happen to encounter the most special Spirit Mist, your pet might gain unimaginable extraordinary power and transform into an beast."
"You know about Little Spirit Cats, right?", President Robb referred to one of the most common beasts in NY City.
Asher and Abella nodded.
Though neither of them had contracted a Little Spirit Cat, in NY City and several nearby cities, at least four out of ten beastmasters with two contracted pets had one. A 10:4 ratio was quite significant.
"Actually, about a hundred years ago, there were no such beasts as Little Spirit Cats," President Robb paused for effect, "Do you know where they came from?"
"Spirit Mist?", Asher, playing along, answered without hesitation.
President Robb nodded, "Exactly, Spirit Mist."
"According to legend, a hundred years ago, there was an ordinary man named Dave in NY City. He took in many cats, all of them stray and homeless."
"He cared for the cats and treated them very well, just like family."
"During a peculiar thick fog, many of the cats were injured, bleeding, and unable to heal for a long time. Some of the cats died, while others managed to survive under Dave's care."
"At first, Dave didn't notice anything unusual. But twenty years later, he suddenly realized something was off."
Asher guessed, "Ordinary cats only live around ten years, and even those well cared for barely make it to twenty. But that's rare."
"But the cats he raised—many of them lived beyond twenty years," Asher said in a certain tone.
"That's right," President Robb confirmed Asher's speculation, "One or two ordinary cats living past twenty isn't anything special, but what if ten, twenty of them did at once?"
"Dave took a closer look and discovered that the cats living beyond twenty years were almost all the ones that had survived that thick fog," President Robb squinted his eyes, "Dave then checked their offspring and was shocked to find that their physical traits far surpassed those of normal cats."
"Dave finally realized—oh, something extraordinary had happened to these cats. They seemed to have gained supernatural abilities, turning into beasts."
"And so, the idea of 'Spirit Mist Enlightenment' spread."
Abella raised her hand, wanting to speak. President Robb nodded toward her, "If you have a question, just ask. No need to be too reserved among us."
"I just want to ask, after evolving from ordinary creatures into extraordinary beings, whether in daily life or in other aspects—especially intelligence—they must have changed a lot, right? Before that guy noticed the cats were living too long, did he really not notice anything strange at all?", Abella couldn't figure it out.
"Probably because… they're cats," Before President Robb could answer, Asher showed an expression full of meaning.
President Robb agreed completely, "Probably because they're cats!"
The straightforward combat girl, whose contract beasts were all straightforward, battle-type, Violent Bears—Abella: "?"
Abella was still confused, but the nearby couple, Chase and Sarah, along with the two other researchers, clearly got Asher and President Robb's joke. They couldn't help but laugh.
Indeed.
If it had been any other ordinary creature that gained intelligence, people might have noticed something right away.
But if it's cats—lazy, self-righteous creatures that treat humans as their servants... Ahem.
Just imagine it. No matter what a cat does, it always seems perfectly normal. Not a problem at all.
"I think I heard similar stories when I was little... like 'The Cat's Gratitude'?", At this moment, Sarah spoke up, "Those fairy tales where a poor boy or Cinderella saves an injured stray cat, and once the cat recovers, it unexpectedly transforms into a handsome man or beautiful woman?"
Sarah turned to her husband, who was about the same age as her, seeking confirmation.
Chase: "..."
"I haven't read many fairy tales like that."
The two other researchers also looked a little awkward.
Ahem... Fairy tales like that... They really weren't into them.
Sarah rolled her eyes, "Forget it, forget it. Anyway, those stories do exist, but I never really paid attention to them before."
"After all, fairy tales are all about imagination. The bigger the dream, the bigger the heart."
"But if you connect this with the whole 'Spirit Mist Enlightenment' thing… it suddenly becomes pretty interesting."
After speaking, Sarah lifted her head and looked at the giant, evolved violent bear, who was standing there anxiously, shifting its gaze around.
Sky-Shaking Bear: QAQ
'Great!'
'Finally, someone noticed Bear-Bear!'
'Bear-Bear is so huge, yet somehow, it feels like a transparent little nobody?'
'No one cares about Bear-Bear's fate at all!'
Asher, who could understand what the Sky-Shaking Bear was thinking: "..."
'Uh...'
'Well...'
He really did almost forget about the bear.
What's that saying again?
The bigger it is, the more reasonable it seems.
The bigger it is, the less attention it attracts.
"Ahem!", Asher cleared his throat twice, drawing everyone's attention, then pointed toward the Sky-Shaking Bear.
Abella immediately jumped up, ran to the bear, and patted its... leg fur. Feeling a bit guilty, she said, "Oops, oops, I almost forgot about you."
"How about... I put you away for now?", As soon as she spoke, she met the bear's slightly aggrieved expression.
Abella rubbed her nose and made eye contact with the bear with an earnest expression, "Bear, with your size and that expression... you're a little scary."
Sky-Shaking Bear: "..."
*Deeply hurt*
A row of black, noodle-like lines appeared behind the bear's head.
"Alright then. If you don't want to go back, start cleaning up the junk here," Seeing that the bear didn't want to return to the mental sea beast space, Abella didn't insist. She walked around, pointing at the rubble and ruins around them, "You have a lot you can do, so take it step by step."
"We don't have much money, but at least you can do some physical labor, right?"
"Work to pay off your debt. We're in this together," Abella sighed dramatically, raised her hand, and patted the bear's leg fur, her expression filled with melancholy.
This was the only solution she could come up with.
Sky-Shaking Bear, who had been holding a giant axe, thinking it was about to embark on a grand career—splitting the heavens and earth, achieving great feats—only to find that its first task post-evolution was to be a garbage disposal worker: "..."
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