More than half of Spirit City's economic foundation was instantly affected.
This couldn't continue.
Because of this, Marina specifically sought out Asher.
Asher nodded.
He understood why Marina had invited him.
But...
"The issues you're talking about—seems like I don't have a way to solve them?", Asher said uncertainly.
In the past, he had always helped other Beast Tamers or professors solve pet evolution problems. He had never encountered such a hands-on difficulty before.
"Mm...", Hearing this, Marina didn't show disappointment or surprise. Instead, she nodded understandingly.
Understanding.
Deep understanding.
Professor Asher was obviously so young—it was normal to lack experience in many things.
But his ability was there. With a little guidance, he would surely learn quickly.
"First of all, we hope Professor Asher can help us research whether these beasts frequently invading the coastal areas have any special traits in their bodies."
"We need to determine whether this is caused by mutations in the beasts themselves, changes in marine populations, or other influencing factors."
Marina had already planned what to request from Asher as soon as he arrived.
As for why they didn't ask the local professors of Spirit City to handle this...
Marina glanced behind her at the group of muscular, brainless guys and didn't feel like explaining.
After all, to put it bluntly—
Spirit City's academic atmosphere was what it was.
Ahem!
That's the situation.
There weren't many well-known pet professors in Spirit City, or even in the surrounding cities. The highest rank among them was only a Level 4 researcher.
The Breeder Association had sent a few people to help examine the situation, but the results were not very satisfactory.
The rest were Beast Tamers.
There were plenty of Beast Tamers specializing in water attributes in Spirit City.
Fortunately, because there were so many of them, when the marine beasts invaded the coastal areas, these Beast Tamers naturally stepped up to protect the coastal residents.
The outcome was good.
There were some injured civilians, but not a single death.
Marina quietly shared this situation with Asher.
Asher: "..."
'Impressive.'
"Alright, I'll cooperate with your actions," Hearing Marina's plan, Asher found no issues and agreed decisively.
"During this process, I'll also try my best to use my expertise to study other possible reasons behind these beasts' madness, so we can identify the cause as soon as possible," Asher spoke sincerely.
Marina smiled, her stunning beauty shining through as her misty eyes looked at Asher with gratitude, "I'm truly grateful, Professor Asher."
"This is what I should do," Asher remained as steady as the wind, observing everything around him.
He had already noticed that the gazes directed at him were a little strange.
As for the reason... Asher instinctively looked at Marina in front of him.
'Is there something wrong with President Marina?'
It didn't really concern him, so he ignored it.
.
.
.
"This is the place we've specially arranged for you, Professor Asher. From here, you can see the sea, and it's also close to the Beast Tamer Alliance," After a brief conversation, Marina didn't immediately drag Asher into work but instead led him to his accommodations.
Asher took a look.
The environment was great.
Beautiful scenery.
A large glass door—pushing it open lightly revealed the distant coastline.
A gentle breeze blew.
The air even carried a hint of the beach's scent.
Looking up from the back door, he could vaguely see the shadow of the Beast Tamer Alliance on the cliff.
The house's interior decorations were quite different from Asher's usual no-frills style—he was someone who could live anywhere as long as there was a place to stay. But this place was warm and fresh, clearly arranged with care.
"This is perfect," Asher was very satisfied with the living conditions.
At the same time, he became more aware of just how much these people anticipated his arrival and how greatly the changes in Tranquil Inland Sea had impacted the locals.
After settling his luggage, Asher rested for a bit before preparing to dive into work.
"Have any of the invading beasts been captured? If so, I'd like to take a look now."
The Beast Tamers living next door were all part of the Beast Tamer Alliance.
Muller was among them.
Hearing Asher's question, Muller, who had been specially left behind by President Marina, scratched his head, "Huh? Professor Asher, you just arrived today. Aren't you going to rest a bit longer?"
"No need. I'll take a look first to get a general understanding. That way, I can rest with peace of mind," Asher said calmly.
Muller gave Asher a thumbs-up.
Great.
With such a responsible Professor Asher, as the vice president, how could he refuse?
"But we don't have any live ones," Muller stood up, patted the sand off his beach shorts, and explained while walking alongside Asher.
"Those beasts invading the coast are all incredibly fast and fierce. They fight like they have no regard for their own lives—either you die, or I die. Catching one alive is nearly impossible."
"Besides, capturing them alive doesn't benefit us much. No one wants to contract these beasts, so whether they're dead or alive doesn't really matter."
"But since you want a live one...", Muller stroked his chin, then nodded, his dark-skinned hand rubbing the stubble on his chin, "Then we'll figure out a way to catch a few!"
Difficult, sure.
But since Professor Asher wanted it, they had to get it done.
They couldn't let Professor Asher feel they weren't cooperating.
Just imagining how President Marina would react if they failed... Muller shuddered all over.
'Work, work.'
'It's just work.'
'Let's get to it now.'
Asher looked at the strangely fired-up Muller, question marks popping up over his head.
'Wait.'
'Isn't this excitement a little too over-the-top?'
'Forget it.'
'Maybe this is just a regional difference in enthusiasm?', Asher thought uncertainly.
By the time Asher arrived in Spirit City, it was already noon. After settling in, when he finally reached the coast, it was afternoon.
Though Spirit City was about ten degrees warmer than his home city, compared to a real summer beach, the sea breeze at this time of year was chilly. It wasn't hot at all—if anything, a jacket would be welcome.
Just like Asher.
Long-sleeve shirt, long pants, and a jacket—all three pieces firmly worn.
He turned to look at Muller walking beside him.
Open-chested short-sleeve shirt, big beach shorts, and flip-flops—the ultimate trio.
Asher shot him a look of admiration.
'Respect +++'
"Ha ha ha!", Muller saw Asher's expression and immediately guessed what he was thinking, laughing out loud, "Professor Asher, don't be surprised. This is just how we locals dress!"
Before Muller could continue, an annoyed tongue-click interrupted, "What nonsense are you spouting? Most locals don't even dress like that."
It was a girl's voice with a local accent.
A peculiar tone—instantly recognizable as someone on the cusp of womanhood, still carrying a bit of youthful innocence.
Asher turned to look.
A short-haired girl wearing a one-piece swimsuit, covered by a light sun-protective cardigan.
Her skin, exposed outside the swimsuit, was slightly tanned—a healthy wheat color from the sun.
The skin peeking from the edges of her swimsuit, however, was naturally fair.
Asher's gaze lingered on her outfit.
The girl: "..."
"I know I'm dressed a bit boldly, but it's for convenience in the water," The girl—Sophia—sighed in exasperation.
Sophia Garcia.
A senior at Water Otter University, the top student in the combat department, specializing in water-attribute pet beasts. Her hometown was Spirit City.
When she was at school, she hadn't been aware of the special situation happening in Spirit City.
But the moment she returned, she found out—the beasts in the ocean had been frequently invading the coastal shoreline, disturbing the livelihoods of many fishermen.
Except for New Year's Eve, Sophia had been patrolling near the coastline the entire time.
Whenever she spotted traces of invading beasts, she immediately sought ways to eliminate them.
If she couldn't handle it alone, she'd send out a distress signal and get other Beast Tamers nearby to help deal with it together.
Sophia had always known that Spirit City was seeking assistance and solutions.
But what she never expected…
Was that she would see Asher here.
Asher?
"Wait… don't tell me you don't recognize me?", Sophia noticed the utterly confused look in Asher's eyes, as if he truly had no idea who she was.
"Uh… have we met before?", Being asked that directly, Asher did feel a little awkward.
He desperately searched his memory, turning his entire past life inside out, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't recall who the person in front of him was.
He didn't know her.
He really didn't know her.
But from the look in the girl's eyes, Asher was absolutely certain—she definitely knew him.
Now, this was awkward.
"…We've never met, but I think you should at least know who I am," Sophia sounded both exasperated and slightly annoyed.
"I'm Sophia Garcia," She introduced herself once again.
Asher blinked, "That name… sounds kind of familiar?"
As for anything else?
Sorry.
He really couldn't remember.
Off to the side, Muller's eyes were wide open, darting back and forth between Asher and Sophia. His expression of pure amusement was impossible to hide.
If only he had some sunflower seeds in hand, he would have happily sat down and enjoyed the show.
Sophia: "…"
She shot Muller a look.
Muller just laughed heartily, his eagerness to watch the drama unfold undiminished.
He was watching on his own merit—why shouldn't he get to enjoy it?
Fortunately, Muller had at least a sliver of conscience. Once he'd had his fill of entertainment, he clapped his hands and stepped forward, wearing a delighted expression, "Sophia, this girl here is our Spirit City's famous young Beast Tamer prodigy."
"Of course, not as famous as Professor Asher, though," Muller added with a wave of his hand.
Sophia rolled her eyes but didn't argue with him.
As famous as Asher?
Was she even worthy?
"Oh, right. She used to be number one on the Beast Tamer ranking's combat power list. Do you remember her now, Professor Asher?", Muller chuckled, finally revealing their real connection.
Unlike Asher, who was completely lost, Muller had guessed Sophia's reason for approaching them the moment he saw her.
After all—
As a fellow member of the city's Beast Tamer community, Muller and the rest of Spirit City's Beast Tamer Alliance had always kept an eye on Sophia's growth.
They had been incredibly proud when Sophia had climbed to the top of the battle power ranking.
Then Asher had knocked her down from first place.
And because of his status as a pet beast evolution professor, they had been shocked. But after the shock, they had accepted it.
That was just how the world of Beast Tamers worked.
The strong reigned supreme. If you had what it took, you took the throne. No need for pointless complaining.
Strength was the only truth.
Asher's power had stunned and impressed everyone.
So when they realized Asher genuinely didn't recognize Sophia, Muller was initially surprised but quickly brushed it off, immediately finding a logical explanation for him.
It wasn't that Professor Asher didn't care about his competitors.
It was just that Professor Asher was too busy training pet beasts and researching their evolution to bother with trivial matters like these.
Sophia: "…"
'Oh, wow. Thanks so much!'
"Oh, so it's you," Asher said. Now that it was mentioned, he finally remembered seeing that name at the top of the battle power ranking.
"There were too many challengers, so I didn't really memorize all the names," Asher said this sincerely.
And once again, Sophia was left speechless.
Too many challengers…
Yeah.
Asher had only gone there once.
And then—whoosh—he skyrocketed straight to the top, monopolizing the number-one spot. The previous first and second places couldn't even hope to surpass him, so naturally, Asher had stopped paying attention.
He didn't even remember who else was on the list.
Sophia and the others, however, were different.
As someone who had been knocked off the top spot by Asher, she definitely wasn't jealous of him. But her level of attention toward him had far surpassed even her former rivals.
She was well aware of Asher's subsequent research into the evolution of beasts.
And the more she knew, the more unwilling she felt—
She wanted to surpass Asher.
She wanted to reclaim her spot at the top of the rankings and outmatch him in strength.
But…
Dreaming was easy.
Actually achieving it was incredibly difficult.
The greater the challenge, the more Sophia focused on Asher.
She knew so much about him that his appearance was deeply ingrained in her mind.
That was why—
She recognized him instantly at a glance.
Unfortunately…
The Asher standing across from her didn't recognize her at all.
He had even forgotten her name.
After saying this, Asher met Sophia's vaguely accusatory gaze. He felt a tiny twinge of guilt… but just a tiny bit.
He quickly brushed it off and found it perfectly reasonable.
He had only seen the name once. Wasn't it normal not to remember?
On the contrary, the strange one here was Sophia—
She recognized him instantly, which he found kind of weird, okay?
A baffled Sophia: "…"
"Professor… Asher," After some thought, Sophia decided to address him the way Muller had.
She knew Muller, the vice president of the Spirit City Beast Tamer Alliance, so naturally, she knew how he referred to Asher.
"Did you come here after hearing about Spirit City's situation to deal with the sea beasts?", Sophia's curious gaze fell on him, "Or are you planning to contract a water-attribute beast?"
There was a reason behind her guess.
The coastal areas of Spirit City being constantly harassed by beasts was something that other cities had more or less heard about.
There was quite a bit of discussion about it online, though compared to the newly unearthed ancient tomb, it was somewhat overshadowed.
["The number of beasts invading and harassing the coastline is increasing. If you ask me, could this be a prelude to a beast tide from the ocean?"]
["Pfft, pfft, pfft! What nonsense are you spouting. There may be many beasts in the ocean, but there aren't that many that can completely leave the sea and water environment to launch an attack on humans. If you ask me, maybe it's because the ocean's environment has been polluted, and these marine beasts are here to take revenge on humanity."]
["If it's revenge, shouldn't it be those certain someones next door who get targeted first? What does this have to do with us?"]
["Heh, how do you know those certain someones are doing well right now?"]
["Good question. Thinking about it gives me chills."]
["Oceanic beasts: We represent the Sea God's punishment of humanity."]
["Speaking of which, does the ocean have a Sea God? Considering all the weird and bizarre things out there, even some water elements can become beasts, so having a Sea God doesn't seem that strange, right?"]
["There's no Sea God in the conceptual sense, but it's not impossible. I nominate the Water Dragon! Azure body, majestic dragon horns, rare in number—perfect candidate for the Four Sea Dragon Kings!"]
["LOL, as if evolving into a Dragon King is that easy!"]
["Exactly! At the very least, you'd need to thrash three Dragon Kings! Oh, maybe it's four now!"]
["Big guts! You guys are speaking blasphemous words!"]
["If we're really talking about it… I think the beast most like a Sea God should be the Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish."]
["Hiss—now that's a bold take!"]
The online discussions were lively.
Every time they started talking, they would inevitably go off-topic.
But the main underlying theme that never changed was—could this be a sign that oceanic beasts were gathering and preparing to launch a beast tide against humanity?
Unlike the beasts outside the Forbidden Zones—
The ocean was vast.
It contained many beasts and groups.
However, different species of beasts rarely gathered together. Even if they did, they wouldn't actively launch meaningless battles or attacks on humans.
These beasts, dwelling in the cold seawater, preferred to stay quietly in their own territories—fighting their own enemies, competing for territory, reproducing… carrying out various ecological behaviors.
Except for some naturally violent beasts—like the Shocking Demon Shark and the Star River Venomous Eel—most oceanic beasts followed the principle of "If you don't provoke me, I won't provoke you."
They simply couldn't be bothered with the humans living on land.
A beast tide initiated by marine creatures… It hadn't happened once in 1,200 years.
If it really happened—
It would be utterly terrifying.
Because of this, many Beast Tamers voluntarily joined teams to eliminate sea beasts.
Some Beast Tamers who didn't have water-attribute pet beasts but wanted one also seized this opportunity to try their luck.
Who knew? They might just come across a powerful beast.
Even if they couldn't defeat it alone, weren't there plenty of people around?
One shout and a whole group would come running.
A real bargain, truly a bargain.
Many Beast Tamers came to take advantage of the situation.
At the same time, they also indirectly helped alleviate the pressure on Spirit City and removed threats for the fishermen.
Asher didn't think that far ahead.
Instead, Muller, standing nearby, glanced at Sophia for a few seconds before shifting his gaze away.
"No, I already have a water-attribute pet beast," Asher said with a smile, "President Marina invited me to see if I could find the source of Spirit City's marine crisis."
Sophia was momentarily stunned.
'Already has a water-attribute pet beast?'
'Oh!'
'Wait, that isn't the key point.'
'Asher is specially invited by President Marina?'
Hearing this, Sophia froze solid.
Well… how should she put it?
Knowing that Asher was an incredibly skilled pet evolution professor was one thing.
But the fact that their own leader—the highest authority in their city's Beast Tamer Association—so formally and respectfully invited Asher still left Sophia feeling a bit complicated.
It was the daily struggle of wondering how the gap between people could be so vast.
For example—
She was still struggling to break the record that Asher had set.
Yet Asher had long since left that record behind, along with everyone else on the ranking list—including her, who was right below him.
Sophia didn't believe Asher even remembered the names of the others on the list.
Impossible.
Meanwhile, Asher had already moved on, embarking on new research and a new journey.
Sophia: "…"
She really wanted to turn around and leave.
But before that… her curiosity got the better of her.
"A water-attribute beast?"
"But I remember you only have two pet beasts on the rankings—one is a Golden Crow, and the other is called Cat Dragon… But neither of them should be water-attribute, right?"
Three Legged Golden Crow.
Not sure of the exact species, but it sounded like a bird-type beast.
Cat Dragon.
Not sure if the key trait was "cat" or "dragon"… The former definitely had no relation to water, and as for the latter… it probably wasn't water-attribute either.
"Oh, it's another pet of mine—water-attribute, Jade Silver Snake," As he spoke, Asher released the Jade Silver Snake from his spirit sea's Beast Space.
Instantly—
The Jade Silver Snake coiled around Asher's arm like a pillar, skillfully slipping its head out from his collarbone area and resting it on his shoulder.
Seeing this seamless movement, Sophia: "…"
'Your Your Jade Silver Snake and my Jade Silver Snake seem… different?'
As a Beast Tamer who also contracted a Jade Silver Snake—one that had already evolved into a Twin-Headed Jade Coil—Sophia was quite familiar with this species.
Bad-tempered and not clingy aside—
'Why does this Jade Silver Snake look so…'
Sophia frowned. For a moment, she couldn't find the right words to describe it.
'Dazzling.'
'Especially those golden eyes."
The moment she met its gaze, Sophia felt as if she wasn't looking at a Jade Silver Snake at all, but rather some far more terrifying beast wearing a Jade Silver Snake's skin.
Even though she was only wearing a swimsuit, Sophia's back broke out in a cold sweat.
Terrified.
At that moment—
Asher reached out and gently stroked the little white snake's head. Instantly, its gaze softened, turning from lifeless coldness into the gentle helplessness of melting ice.
The little white snake proactively nuzzled against Asher's palm, looking incredibly well-behaved and clingy—completely unlike a Jade Silver Snake.
"Professor Asher, your Jade Silver Snake is raised so well," Muller leaned in curiously, examining the little white snake wrapped around Asher.
"Look at these scales—glossy and lustrous. Look at those eyes—majestic and powerful!", Muller gave a big thumbs-up, his face full of admiration and respect, as if Asher had raised some unbelievably impressive pet beast.
Asher didn't think much of it.
But the little white snake, understanding the praise, proudly puffed out its chest.
Little White Snake: "Awoo~"
'That's right!'
'Praise! More praise!'
Muller played along and kept praising it.
Asher: "…"
Asher looked at the familiar proud expression on the little white snake's face, feeling somewhat indescribably complicated.
'This expression...'
'Did it learn from Little Raven or the Cat-Worm?'
'Or maybe it's a combination of both.'
If that's really the case… Asher couldn't help but worry about the last pure soul in the house—the little jellyfish.
Thinking about how the little jellyfish wasn't tsundere at all, always being straightforward to the point of hitting people in the face…
If it stayed with Little Raven and the Cat-Worm for too long and also became that kind of awkward tsundere…
Asher only thought about it briefly in his heart, but his mental tendrils uncontrollably touched the "stars" in his mental sea that belonged to Little Raven and the Cat-Worm.
Little Raven: o(▼皿▼メ;)o
Cat-Worm: (╬◣д◢)
'We're angry!'
'We're really angry!'
'The kind that can't be coaxed!'
Little Jellyfish: *Well-behaved*
So what exactly happened in this house without its knowledge?
Asher: "..."
'Ahem!'
'Calm down, calm down.'
'No need for everyone to get all worked up… okay, can't calm down.'
Asher cooperatively summoned Little Raven, the Cat-Worm, and the Little Jellyfish from his mental sea into the beast space and released them all at once.
Sophia and Muller, who were beside him, were startled. Only then did they realize—oh, Asher had let out all his contracted beasts.
Eh?
Wait a minute.
Why would Asher release his beasts at this moment?
Is there danger?
Before the two could take it seriously and get vigilant—
They saw that big bird flapping its wings and suddenly pouncing towards Asher's face.
Little Raven: *Face hug attack*
Cat-Worm: "Charge!*
Little White Snake and Little Jellyfish: "?"
It seems there's no suitable place for us to join, so let's keep watching.
Seeing Asher flustered, trying to pry the big bird off his face, Sophia couldn't help but let out a "pfft" and laughed.
Although she didn't want to say it, it was indeed quite funny.
But before long, Sophia's attention shifted from Asher back to the Little White Snake and the Little Jellyfish.
The Little White Snake was easy to identify—it was a Jade Silver Snake.
After Asher's nurturing, it looked slightly different from ordinary Jade Silver Snakes, but upon closer inspection, one could still recognize the breed. At most, people would just think Asher raised it exceptionally well.
But the Little Jellyfish…
Sophia was puzzled.
'What breed of beast is this?'
It was only two-thirds the size of a palm, with eight long tentacles constantly drifting and waving in the air, as if moving through water.
'A jellyfish… it is definitely a jellyfish.'
'But among beasts, there aren't many that resemble jellyfish. One can count them on one hand.'
'Among them, the only one this small should be the unevolved Pink Jellyfish.'
But Pink Jellyfish, as the name suggests, had tiny pink speckles on its body. They were subtle but very beautiful, giving off a dreamy, girlish vibe.
After evolution, the Pink Jellyfish became even more beautiful—the pink speckles on its bell and tentacles would transform into large pink flower patterns. That was why the evolved Pink Jellyfish was called the Peach Blossom Jellyfish.
It was all about outstanding beauty.
But this jellyfish…
It was transparent.
No pink.
'Could it be a mutated Pink Jellyfish?'
Sophia wasn't sure.
But for some reason, she felt that compared to a Pink Jellyfish, Asher's Little Jellyfish looked more like a miniature version of a certain unspeakable transcendent jellyfish—wait.
'No way, no way!'
'The Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish—can humans even hope to tame such a beast?'
'Impossible, it is absolutely impossible.'
She wouldn't even dare to dream of something so unrealistic.
But still… Sophia couldn't help but keep her gaze locked on the Little Jellyfish—because it really looked so similar.
As someone born and raised in a seaside fishing village, Sophia's childhood was spent barefoot on the shore, collecting shells and exploring the tide pools.
After becoming a Beast Tamer, she chose without hesitation to specialize in water-attribute beasts.
All her contracted beasts were water-type.
But the one water-type beast she dreamed of contracting was the Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish.
The king of the ocean!
The ruler of the seas!
The most mysterious and untouchable species in the entire marine domain.
Contracting a Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish was the shared dream of countless water-attribute Beast Tamers. Unfortunately, to this day, no one had truly succeeded.
Most water-type Beast Tamers eventually settled for something similar—contracting a different breed of jellyfish-like beast.
Sophia had always looked down on that.
Hah.
A Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish was a Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish.
No matter how much another jellyfish-like beast resembled it, it would never be the real thing.
Until—
She saw Asher's Little Jellyfish.
Sophia was tempted.
Even though she knew clearly that this Little Jellyfish couldn't possibly be a Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish, she still really wanted to contract a beast that looked just like it.
If she could do that, her life would be complete.
"Asher, where did you contract this jellyfish beast?", After much internal struggle, Sophia couldn't hold back and asked Asher.
Asher finally pried Little Raven off his face, locking it tightly in one arm.
His other arm was tightly restraining the Cat-Worm, which was trying to follow suit.
Asher: 'You are absolutely not getting a second chance at a sneak attack.'
Once was already enough of a loss.
Then, Asher heard Sophia's question.
He turned his head, "Huh?"
A completely confused expression appeared on his face.
"It's like this—I think your contracted beast looks a lot like my favorite beast, but I can't contract that one. So I wanted to ask…", Sophia coughed, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Huh!", Upon hearing this, Muller also leaned in for a look and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"This jellyfish… why does it look so much like a Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish?"
Asher: "…"
Asher naturally understood what beast Sophia was referring to. And now Muller had recognized the Little Jellyfish's true identity too.
But judging by their expressions… neither of them seemed to believe it was a real Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish?
Asher felt a bit complicated inside.
Of course, he knew why neither of them took the Little Jellyfish as a real Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish.
Because over the years, the Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish had been legendary, undefeated, and no human had ever successfully tamed one.
Even now, upon seeing someone contract a jellyfish that looked like a Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish, their first instinct wasn't to make that connection.
Not to mention—
After its mutation, Little Jellyfish had developed certain differences from a true Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish.
The most basic being:
A real Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish, as a water-attribute beast and the ruler of the ocean, couldn't stay out of water for long. At most, it could survive outside the sea for one or two hours before dehydration set in, forcing it to release deadly venom.
Moreover… Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish couldn't fly. They definitely couldn't fly.
But Asher's Little Jellyfish…
"If I say this is actually a Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish, will you believe me?"
"No."
"Not even one percent."
"If I had to believe, I'd sooner think Asher, you engineered a new artificial transcendent species in a research lab."
Asher: "…"
"Wow, I really have to thank you all for having such faith in my abilities, to the point where you even think I can create beasts in a laboratory," Asher rolled his eyes speechlessly.
'No, seriously.'
'What kind of image does these people have of me?'
Seeing this, Muller shot Asher a look.
What kind of image?
The online discussions about Asher's dual identity as a Beast Tamer and a pet beast professor were endless, and one of the most mainstream theories was—Asher must be some kind of evil researcher.
Conducting secret, unknown experiments on beasts in the shadows.
Otherwise, how could anyone explain why all of Asher's beasts were absurdly strong?
That was the only explanation that made sense.
At first, not many people believed it, and most dismissed it as nonsense.
But as Asher continued to showcase his increasing strength in battle, and his pet beasts became more and more ridiculously powerful, slowly… this theory, which had originally started as a joke, gained more and more believers.
Take Sophia and Muller, for example.
They knew the theory was a bit far-fetched and made-up, yet at the same time, they couldn't help but feel that it wasn't entirely baseless.
Asher was speechless.
"Fine, fine. I don't even know what species Little Jellyfish is," Since telling the truth wouldn't work, Asher could only make something up.
"I happened to come across it when I was visiting the welfare institute. Thought it looked a bit like a Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish, and its strength wasn't bad either. I figured it might be some new species born from a beast mixed with Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish bloodline, so I decided to contract it."
One truth, nine lies.
Only the part about finding it at the welfare institute was real, but this time, neither of them doubted Asher's words. Instead, they felt that this explanation was the real truth, the kind where every single word was genuine.
Asher: 'This is a "when everyone else is drunk, I alone remain sober" moment!'
They don't believe the truth.
But they believe a lie.
Asher's expression was full of helplessness.
"Ah… so that's how it is…", After believing him, Sophia's expression was filled with disappointment.
Even Asher didn't know its species, and he had just randomly come across it and contracted it… As for the mention of the welfare institute, Sophia didn't overlook it.
Having looked into Asher in advance and learned about his background, Sophia naturally wouldn't press the topic.
She quickly changed the subject, "You haven't had this pet beast for long, have you?"
"Want to have a match with me?"
Sophia spoke with sincere enthusiasm, "I'm really skilled at training and evaluating the strength of water-attribute beasts. This would also be a great chance to see what your little jellyfish, which looks like a Box-Poison Flower Jellyfish, is capable of."
Sophia blinked.
She was genuinely doing this for Asher's sake, for the sake of Little Jellyfish.
She definitely wasn't trying to take advantage of the fact that Asher had just contracted this unknown-species jellyfish with presumably weak strength, so she could properly bully him and Little Jellyfish—just to vent her frustration over being overshadowed by Asher for the past six months and to make up for her irritation that Asher had failed to recognize her earlier.
Asher: 'Sure, I believe you.'
After thinking for a moment.
Asher glanced at Little Jellyfish, his expression a bit hesitant.
It wasn't because of anything else, but because of Little Jellyfish's skill set… [Colorful Bubbles, Play Dead, Paralysis, Holding Breath]—looking at this list, which one of these could even be used in a fight?
None.
Not a single one.
To make matters worse, even among the skills he had copied, there wasn't a single water-attribute skill.
How was he supposed to fight?
Seriously, was this even a battle-capable creature?
Asher: ('•‿•)
Then, looking at Sophia's expectant gaze directed at him, Asher…
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