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"Why don't we take a look at your pet beast first? Let the little jellyfish see if there's an opponent it wants to fight," Asher decisively pushed the responsibility onto the little jellyfish.
If they got rejected later, it wouldn't be his problem—it would be because the little jellyfish didn't want to fight.
Little Jellyfish: "?"
"Gulu?"
'A chill ran down its back?'
The little jellyfish understood what Asher was saying.
It cast a reproachful gaze… Oh, wait, the little jellyfish didn't have eyes. Instead, it puffed up and deflated rapidly in anger, expressing its fury toward Asher through its actions.
[○｀Д○]
'Beastmaster, bad!'
Through the contract, Asher precisely felt the little jellyfish's exasperation.
Even Muller and Sophia, who stood nearby and couldn't understand the little jellyfish, could tell.
Hmm.
The kid was really angry.
Asher calmly coughed twice.
'Ahem!'
'Not a big problem.'
"Then let's give it a try," In the end, Asher didn't let the little jellyfish take the blame.
After careful thought, he agreed to Sophia's sudden battle invitation.
Asher glanced at the little jellyfish's status panel.
Because of its mutation, there were still many question marks on the little jellyfish's panel.
Strength?
Unknown.
Bloodline?
Unknown.
The only thing known was its innate skill—[Gluttony].
The more it ate, the stronger it became… But just having this innate skill was far from enough for the little jellyfish.
This battle would be a chance to uncover more useful information.
"Alright," Sophia was slightly surprised by Asher's agreement—just a little bit.
As a beast tamer, welcoming battle and facing combat was never something they feared, and failure was even less of a concern.
The true meaning of battle was to discover a pet beast's shortcomings and test the results of training through combat.
"What's your little jellyfish's strength?", Sophia's gaze swept over Asher's four pet beasts.
Judging by the length of their contracts and the aura emanating from each one, she estimated their strength.
Without a doubt—
That big bird named Little Raven was definitely the strongest in the household, followed by the cat-dragon with two dragon horns.
As for the jade-silver snake and the unknown jellyfish… they were probably at the bottom in terms of strength.
Little White Snake: 'Snake-snake, I'm super strong, okay!'
Little Jellyfish: 'Mhm, mhm, that's right, I'm at the bottom!'
The little white snake was competitive.
The little jellyfish… was as indifferent as could be.
What?
It couldn't beat anyone in this household?
Sigh.
That was the most normal thing ever.
Who in this household could it beat?
Forget about this place being full of hidden experts—each one was a top-tier fighter in their respective ranks.
Even if it left this house…
Who could it defeat?
The little jellyfish accidentally recalled its past of starving until it had to eat its own tentacles. Instinctively, it waved its eight long tentacles, looking like it was about to stuff them under its jellyfish cap.
Asher: "…"
Having gotten used to carrying snacks in his pocket, Asher reflexively pulled out a pack of rock-solid biscuits—so tough they were practically bricks, something no one would willingly eat, and even most beasts would dislike.
He watched as he unwrapped them and fed them to the little jellyfish.
Muller and Sophia both turned to Asher with expressions of shock, disbelief, and heartache.
"I didn't expect you to be this kind of person," Sophia's voice carried a hint of anger, "What's wrong with buying some good food for your pet beast? You're feeding it biscuits so bad that even humans would spit them out after one bite?"
"Don't you know that water-attribute beasts have special dietary requirements?"
As she spoke, Sophia thought of her own pet beasts.
Ice Mandarin Duck.
Longfin Sea Demon.
Two-Headed Jade Coil.
Rainbow Scaled Koi.
Each one pickier than the last.
Too dry? Won't eat.
Too wet? Won't eat.
Too bland? Won't eat.
Too salty? Won't eat.
They might as well write "picky eater" on their foreheads.
Even so, Sophia still took great care of them, preparing food suited to their tastes.
A beast tamer caring for their pet beast was the most basic, natural thing to do.
But Asher…
Then, before they could finish their judgmental stares, the little jellyfish almost swallowed the entire biscuit package along with the wrapper.
Muller and Sophia: "…"
"Uh… well…", Muller was at a loss for words.
This… didn't seem quite like what they had imagined?
Asher waved his hand dismissively, "The little jellyfish can eat anything and everything. It's not that I don't want to make things fancy."
For Little Raven and Little White Snake, he did prepare exquisite meals, with occasional extra snacks and afternoon tea.
But for the little jellyfish…
Forget it.
Being able to keep it half-full was already a blessing. Why bother with all that fancy stuff? In the end, the only one exhausted would be himself.
"Sorry, I was wrong earlier…", Sophia realized she had been too quick to judge and promptly apologized.
Asher smiled, not taking the matter to heart.
"Let's find a suitable battlefield," Muller glanced at the two of them and pointed toward the ocean.
"Professor Asher is using the little jellyfish. What about you, Sophia? Since both are water-attribute beasts, the seaside environment should be best."
"Plus, we can check if there are any beasts invading the coastline."
Neither Asher nor Sophia had any objections.
"The seaside is perfect," Sophia nodded.
"I'll use Rainbow Scaled Koi—it's only third-tier intermediate, just the right match."
The rest of her pet beasts were all fourth-tier. Using them against an unknown, potentially weak jellyfish… Sophia felt a little guilty.
Ahem!
Let's say it one more time—this was definitely not a personal grudge.
She was just curious about the true strength of this jellyfish that looked so much like her dream pet, the Box Jellyfish.
Then, just before the battle began, Asher witnessed what "the perfect outfit for the sea" truly meant.
Neither Muller nor Sophia hesitated to stand in the water, their lower legs soaked as waves crashed against them. They had no worries about wet clothes or shoes.
Meanwhile, Asher…
Dressed too properly, he stood between them like an outsider, visibly out of place.
Fortunately, none of them really cared.
Asher's attire?
Normal.
Completely normal.
"I'll be your referee then!", Muller placed his hands on his hips and laughed.
Asher stood on the sand, a short distance from the water, while Sophia stood in the shallows. The beach and sea became their battlefield's boundary.
"Come out, Rainbow Scaled Koi!", With a wave of Sophia's hand, a nearly one-meter-long fish, shimmering with multicolored scales, appeared in the water.
Asher had never seen a purely water-attribute pet beast fighting in such an ideal water environment before.
In water, the Rainbow Scaled Koi's strength would naturally increase.
But in the end, true strength still depended on the beast itself.
Third-tier intermediate.
A fairly normal rank—not too strong, not too weak. If Asher used any of his other three pet beasts, this battle would be over in seconds.
But today, the one fighting was the little jellyfish.
Asher's gaze carried a hint of concern.
Yet his other three pet beasts showed none of his worries—
Little Raven: 'Go for it!'
Cat-Dragon: 'Go for it!'
Little White Snake: 'Go for it!'
'Bro! You got this!'
Little Raven, Cat-Worm, and Little White Snake all stared intently at the little jellyfish and its opponent, the Rainbow Scaled Koi.
Rainbow Scaled Koi: *bubble-blowing*
"Oooo~"
It was just an ordinary Rainbow Scaled Koi.
It thought today was just another normal battle.
'But why does the pressure from the opponent feel… off?'
Asher, noticing the immense stress on the Rainbow Scaled Koi: "…"
He reached out and lightly tapped Little Raven, Cat-Worm, and Little White Snake on the head in turn.
"That's enough, don't interfere with the little jellyfish's fight."
"I need to see its true abilities. Only then can I properly plan its future training, evolution, and development route."
Little Raven, Cat-Worm, and Little White Snake: *Obedient*
The three little ones immediately quieted down.
Asher sighed helplessly.
Sophia couldn't help but curl her lips into a slight smile.
"Your pet beasts are really united, and their relationships are great," Sophia's voice carried an indescribable envy.
Her own pet beasts… were also united, but perhaps because they all had the same attribute, they were constantly competing, each wanting to prove they were the boss of the group.
As a Beast Tamer, Sophia often found it quite headache-inducing.
Looking at the harmonious atmosphere among Asher's pet beasts, she felt that after the battle, she needed to get some advice from him.
"Alright, alright, you two done yet?", Muller stood with his hands on his hips and shouted in the direction of Asher and Sophia, "Battle ready!"
"Three! Two! One… Begin!", As Muller's voice fell, Asher and Sophia quickly adjusted their focus.
The battle began!
"Little Fish, use Water Spray!", Sophia wasted no time in launching the first attack.
She wasn't sure how strong the little jellyfish was, so she tested the waters with the most common and basic water-type skill, one that usually didn't deal much damage.
Asher glanced at the little jellyfish's four skills and hesitated.
So…
Was there any skill that suited this situation?
Several battle strategies flashed through Asher's mind.
'Hmm, not suitable.'
'Not suitable.'
'Still not suitable.'
So… "Little Jellyfish, dodge."
At the same time, he prodded the little jellyfish's consciousness in the mental sea, 'Can you use [Gluttony]?'
Little Jellyfish: "?"
With a slight sidestep, the little jellyfish easily dodged the not-so-powerful water jet, sending a deep sense of confusion to Asher's mind.
'[Gluttony]?'
'Use [Gluttony] for what?'
"Use Water Pillar!"
Sophia waved her hand, leveling up the skill. The moist water elements spread and diffused in the air.
She noticed something.
The little jellyfish's movements consisted only of dodging, dodging, and more dodging.
Sophia raised an eyebrow.
Where were the skills?
Where was the fight?
Where was the counterattack?
If she didn't know the little jellyfish's skills, she could at least force it to act on instinct.
That should reveal some of its abilities, right?
Only dodging? What kind of battle was that?
And looking at how much the little jellyfish resembled her long-coveted, but never-obtained Box Jellyfish, Sophia decided to hit a little harder, at least force out the little jellyfish's fighting spirit.
Counterattack!
"Little Fish, Water Prison Bind!"
Sophia shouted, and in an instant, several large spheres of water formed in mid-air, surrounding the little jellyfish. In the blink of an eye, it was completely encased.
Asher and the little jellyfish: "?"
Although the little jellyfish wasn't a water-type beast, a water prison—normally effective against other attribute creatures—wasn't all that useful against it.
A jellyfish drowning in water? Really?
Sophia saw through Asher's thoughts and let out a light hum, "This move isn't just for trapping. Explode."
As she spoke, muffled sounds came from within the water prison.
BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!
Muffled explosions echoed from within the sphere.
One splash after another burst forth.
The little jellyfish's body trembled slightly from the impacts.
"Play dead," Asher frowned for a moment, then calmly instructed.
In an instant, the little jellyfish, which had been twitching from the explosions, suddenly went limp, lying motionless as if it were dead.
Sophia: "?"
Sophia was stunned.
Muller was stunned too.
'Wait, is this even a real skill?'
"It's not my fault, this is its natural ability."
Facing their shocked and doubtful gazes, Asher maintained a straight face.
Sophia & Muller: "…"
Heh.
Were they allowed to say they didn't believe it?
Which self-respecting water-type beast learns playing dead instead of actual battle skills?
Asher sighed.
Silently accepting the blame on behalf of the little jellyfish.
Asher: 'This must be karma for trying to make the little jellyfish take the fall for me before…'
Asher poked at the little jellyfish's consciousness again in his mental sea, 'Eat!'
Simple.
Just one word.
Eat!
Asher had thought about the little jellyfish's innate skill, [Gluttony], before.
The interesting thing was that this skill allowed the little jellyfish to eat just about anything—even its own body—so why couldn't it eat skills?
Regular food? It could eat that.
Energy-infused food? It could eat that too.
Food containing energy fluctuations? Still edible.
So, if they treated the opponent's skills as food, wouldn't the little jellyfish be able to eat them as well?
The little jellyfish, which had always run from fights or played dead when escape wasn't an option: "?"
'Huh?'
Little Jellyfish blew some bubbles.
It felt like a new world had just opened before it.
If the little jellyfish had eyes, they would have shone brightly—
Wonderful!
This world was simply wonderful.
The little jellyfish joyfully waved its long tentacles, flailing wildly.
Sophia's forehead tightened, she sensed something was off. But before she could react—
She saw the little jellyfish suddenly widen its bell and, with a single gulp, swallowed the entire Water Prison Bind.
Even the residual explosion sounds inside it were gulped down.
Sophia: "?"
Muller: "?"
Rainbow Scaled Koi: "???"
The two people and one fish all showed expressions of utter shock.
Wait…
What did they just witness?
What was that?
The water prison that had trapped the little jellyfish wasn't just regular water—it was infused with skill energy. And yet, it had just been eaten?
Little Raven: 'Nice!'
Cat-Worm: 'Nice!'
Little White Snake: 'Nice!'
'Go for it!'
'Charge!!!'
Asher's three pet beasts cheered wildly for the little jellyfish, as if they were the ones battling.
Although, if any of them had been in the ring, the fight would have ended already.
But watching their weak little brother unleash an unexpected ability? They were beyond excited.
Their little brother had stood up on its own!
It had grown!
This was a huge milestone for a little brother!
Sophia was shocked. Sophia couldn't understand.
Seeing Asher's other three pet beasts so excited, Sophia quickly calmed down and resumed action, "Rainbow Scaled Koi, Water Dragon's Roar!"
Sophia stopped holding back.
As for the little jellyfish's true strength… She hadn't figured it out at all.
One second, it was using an utterly baffling [Play Dead] skill. The next, it could swallow a water prison skill in one gulp.
A sparring match… This was no longer an ordinary sparring match.
After the little jellyfish displayed that kind of ability, the match gradually turned intense.
Sophia started using her real skills.
The Rainbow Scaled Koi's strongest attack.
With the koi's energy surging, a massive water column shot up from the sea. Streams of water twisted and merged, forming a water dragon as thick as a human thigh. Its vague outline revealed scales, dragon horns, and dragon claws.
It opened its maw and lunged fiercely at the little jellyfish.
"Keep eating!", Asher only had two words.
Eat!
Eat in big bites.
The more it ate, the stronger it got, right?
Feeding the little jellyfish with ordinary food was practically impossible, but if he could expand its diet… Asher felt like a brand-new path was unfolding before him.
'Excellent.'
'Very excellent.'
'Just like that.'
'Show the complete form of your innate skill!'
The little jellyfish opened its bell as wide as possible—CHOMP!
It bit off half of the water dragon's head in one go.
Then, smoothly slurped down along the dragon's body.
But since the jellyfish's bell wasn't large enough compared to the dragon's body, it couldn't swallow the whole "water dragon" in one gulp.
The "water dragon" let out a belated roar—
Roar—uhh…
It lost steam halfway.
The mighty roar that should have been imposing suddenly stuttered like a scratched CD.
Sophia: "..."
Silence.
Silence was Sophia's last line of defense.
Because the scene before her… was too outrageous, too much of a challenge to her worldview. She couldn't even wrap her head around how that jellyfish did it.
"Ahem!", Muller, standing nearby, coughed twice, lowering his head slightly as if he couldn't bear to watch.
The direction of this battle… Muller swore he hadn't expected this, not at all.
Before the battle started, who could've imagined this scenario?
Absolutely no one.
Sophia snapped out of her shock when she heard his cough.
The little jellyfish's ability was indeed astonishing, but this was far from over. Seeing the jellyfish looking slightly dazed after tanking the weakened Water Dragon's Roar, Sophia realized she still had a chance—
"Little Koi, one more time! Water Prison Bind!"
Rainbow Scaled Koi: "Oooo…?"
The koi opened its round, O-shaped mouth and bubbled for a long while, but all that appeared in the water were bubbles.
Water Prison?
Water Sphere?
Sorry.
Nothing.
Sophia: "?"
She looked down at her Rainbow Scaled Koi.
The koi, with its big unblinking eyes, stared blankly back at her, utterly confused.
Koi: 'What happened? Who am I? Where am I? Where did my skill go?'
Sophia instantly remembered how the little jellyfish had devoured the Water Prison Bind earlier. A bad feeling crept into her heart.
Because the Rainbow Scaled Koi failed to cast its skill.
[T/N: Holy sh*t! If Jellyfish can directly steal a skill from opponent, it will be OPPPP]
Meanwhile, the little jellyfish happily turned back and finished munching down the entire "water dragon" formed of condensed water.
Then, the little jellyfish gently contracted its bell and let out a tiny burp, "Guluuuu~"
Asher: "!"
Asher was shocked.
This was the first time in the half-month since contracting the little jellyfish that he had heard it burp.
'Is it full?', Asher thought so and asked directly.
The little jellyfish waved its long tentacles.
"Gulu~"
Its voice carried a hint of laziness and satisfaction.
'About ninety percent full!'
'But I can still eat!'
'After burping, I somehow felt a little hungry again!'
Asher was speechless yet excited.
Great!
As long as it could get full like this, that was all that mattered.
Asher's biggest headache had been how difficult it was to feed the little jellyfish.
Over the past half-month, his savings had plummeted at a horrifying rate.
It wasn't that Asher was stingy about spending money on his pet.
It was just that the little jellyfish could eat way too much… and after all that, its status panel barely changed.
Asher: 'Heartache. Truly heartache.'
But this battle had opened a new door for both Asher and the little jellyfish. Look! its food source was right here.
As long as it contained energy, the little jellyfish could eat it. And since skills were pure energy, the little jellyfish could eat those even more.
Sure enough.
It could eat them.
And it could eat to fullness.
Then, Asher noticed something odd about Sophia and her Rainbow Scaled Koi.
The koi seemed unable to use the skill [Water Prison Bind] that had been devoured by the jellyfish?
Asher's gaze met Sophia's.
He immediately knew he was right.
Asher was astonished.
'Is this inability to use the skill temporary or permanent?'
Asher quickly checked the little jellyfish's innate skill panel and saw an update.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Pet Beast: Box Poison Flower Jellyfish]
[Attribute: Special]
[Species: Advanced Extraordinary Mid-tier]
[Level: Tier 2 Advanced+]
[Skills: Colorful Bubbles, Play Dead, Paralysis, Holding Breath]
[Evolution Path: ——]
[Bloodline: ——]
[Innate Skill: Gluttony]
— [Gluttony 1: The more energy consumed, the faster the growth and strength improvement (Upgradable)]
— [Gluttony 2: Can devour skills from opponents up to twice its strength, converting them into its own energy intake (Refer to Gluttony 1), while sealing the devoured skill for ten minutes (Innate Effect)]
[Tasty! So tasty! So satisfying! Slurpy texture… cool and refreshing flavor… I can eat three more bowls!]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[T/N: A letdown but maybe in the future he will get the skill]
Its evolution path was still locked.
No clue about its bloodline either.
But its strength was displayed.
Tier 2 Advanced… Not too high, but not a problem.
If it wasn't strong enough, they'd just train it.
And if that didn't work, he could just cheat for it.
Then there was…
Asher stared at [Gluttony 2]'s description, a little surprised.
He didn't expect an innate skill to have two effects.
'Interesting.'
And the second effect was extremely useful.
It could devour enemy skills up to twice its strength, absorb them as energy, and even seal those skills in return.
This power… was absurd.
A bit too much, actually.
That means the little jellyfish can completely devour the skills of beasts up to high-tier rank four, and then turn around and seal them.
And considering that the little jellyfish doesn't have any combat skills... what kind of situation is this?
Even though I have no combat skills.
But I can make you just like me—without combat skills?
Can't win?
Then I'll just drag you down to my level.
And then we'll be two weaklings pecking at each other?
Asher: "..."
Complicated.
His feelings were very complicated.
So this is what they call—there's no need to worry about the opponent's level, as long as you find a way to drag them down to your own field and level, you're invincible?
Asher sighed with emotion.
Sophia also realized the problem.
Sophia looked at the little jellyfish with a complex expression.
Say what?
What could she even say when facing such a shameless skill from the little jellyfish?
Keep fighting... fight what?
It's completely unmanageable.
"I admit defeat," Sophia puffed up her cheeks angrily and said.
The Rainbow Scaled Koi in the seawater still looked a bit unconvinced, staring with its big dead-fish eyes at the little jellyfish that had landed in front of it, occasionally poking at it with its tentacles.
Rainbow Scaled Koi: 'Angry, very angry, extremely angry.'
So angry it was blowing bubbles.
But attacking?
Not interested at all.
It already had two of its skills sealed and definitely didn't want to lose more.
Little Raven, Cat-Worm, and Little White Snake all gathered around the little jellyfish. The little jellyfish lowered itself happily to greet the three bosses of the household.
"Gulu!"
'I'm super strong!'
Little Raven: *A look of approval*
'But don't get cocky!'
"Meow! Meow!"
'As this dragon's little brother, you should have this kind of strength!'
"Awoo!"
'Barely acknowledging you as an official member of our big family now!'
The four pet beasts snuggled together.
Meanwhile, under the pressure from Little Raven, Cat-Worm, and Little White Snake, the Rainbow Scaled Koi trembled uncontrollably, unable to move.
Rainbow Scaled Koi: "..."
'I know you all have a deep bond.'
'But can't you take this emotional display somewhere else?'
'The fish is about to die!'
'The fish is really about to die!'
The powerless, unable-to-resist Rainbow Scaled Koi: *blowing bubbles*
"Ooo~"
It instinctively mastered the art of playing dead.
Whatever happens, happens.
The Rainbow Scaled Koi gave up resisting.
At this moment, Sophia still had no idea what her Rainbow Scaled Koi had gone through.
On the sidelines, Muller walked over toward the two, his face full of confusion, unable to understand why Sophia had admitted defeat.
"Eh?"
Muller looked puzzled.
"The situation was clearly in your favor!"
"Although Asher's jellyfish has a bit of a weird skill... overall, your chances of winning were still higher," Muller could tell.
Aside from eating, the little jellyfish truly had no other combat skills. Otherwise, Asher wouldn't have had to use even the playing-dead tactic earlier.
Looking at Sophia's Rainbow Scaled Koi...
As expected of a Beast Tamer specializing in water-attribute pet beasts, Sophia's training and arrangement of water-attribute skills were incredibly well thought out.
Her Rainbow Scaled Koi, at high-tier rank three, had already mastered no fewer than six water-attribute skills, including the high-tier water skill [Water Dragon's Roar]. For a Rainbow Scaled Koi at this level, this was quite an achievement.
Sophia glanced at Asher.
Asher grinned.
Muller, who had no idea what silent communication was happening between the two: "?"
"Aren't you two fighting right under my nose?", Muller asked uncertainly, "Then why do I feel like you two have some secret that I don't know about?"
What happened?
Just what happened?
In just a few minutes, why did this world—no, why did these two people change?
Did the world pause without him knowing?
Otherwise, there was no way to explain this!
"What are you thinking?"
After all, they were fellow townspeople. Sophia immediately saw through Muller's thoughts. She looked a bit helpless, a little annoyed by Muller's wild imagination, but still explained what had happened after the little jellyfish devoured the Rainbow Scaled Koi's skills.
Muller, who truly had no idea about this: "!"
Shocked!
He snapped his head toward the little jellyfish still happily playing with the Rainbow Scaled Koi, moving so fast that his neck even made a cracking sound.
"I can't even be sure if this inability to use skills is temporary or permanent."
Sophia looked at Asher, "Better stop before it gets worse."
Muller nodded furiously.
'Yes, yes, stop before it gets worse.'
'That's necessary.'
"It's temporary, don't worry. After using the skill, I can feel that it lasts about ten minutes," Asher reassured the startled Sophia, "Also, the little jellyfish's stomach capacity has a limit."
'Mmm!'
'It's just that this limit is probably going to keep increasing.'
Right now, eating two is already making it a little full. Besides, one of them had a particularly powerful skill, and also because the little jellyfish had never been full before.
Once it truly eats to its fill... Asher didn't dare to imagine.
He decided to skip this train of thought and not scare himself.
Even though Asher explained, neither Sophia nor Muller looked any less disturbed.
Ten minutes...
"Ten minutes is enough to affect the battle," Muller said, speechless, "Being unable to use a skill for ten minutes... damn, how many skills do you need to survive against you?"
A normal battle was turned into an endurance match by Asher.
One side kept using skills, while the other side kept eating them.
It was just a matter of whether the little jellyfish could eat more than the opponent had skills.
Asher chuckled.
"No worries. Once the little jellyfish learns a couple of combat skills, battles will end even faster."
Sophia and Muller exchanged a look.
Listen, listen!
Does this sound like something a person should say?
Right now, they really wanted to mute Asher.
But what they didn't know was...
Asher was currently troubled by another problem—should the little jellyfish learn special-attribute skills or water-attribute skills?
Meanwhile, Little White Snake definitely needed to learn water-attribute skills.
Just then...
A sudden swishing sound came from the seawater in the distance.
Asher's four pet beasts all stopped moving.
Sophia also turned her head sharply, looking toward the deep sea.
"It looks like... a large group of beasts is approaching?", Sophia said uncertainly.
At this distance, they couldn't see anything yet.
But the Rainbow Scaled Koi in the water seemed to sense something, stopping its playing-dead act, flipping over, and staring sharply into the deep sea.
Under the deep blue waters, a group of glowing shapes was swimming.
Asher couldn't tell what they were yet.
Muller and Sophia, who grew up by the sea, shouted in unison.
"Banyan Fish!"
"A school of Rainbow Scaled Koi!"
Banyan Fish evolved from Rainbow Scaled Koi—it was the evolved form of Rainbow Scaled Koi.
However, for a Rainbow Scaled Koi to evolve into a Banyan Fish was not an easy task. It had to receive full approval from an entire school of at least eight hundred Rainbow Scaled Koi. Only the most beautiful, most vibrantly colored Rainbow Scaled Koi in the entire group could evolve into a Banyan Fish.
Therefore, for a Beast Tamer who had contracted a Rainbow Scaled Koi, it was almost impossible to make it evolve into a Banyan Fish.
Unless the contracted beast was a Banyan Fish from the start.
Recalling the bizarre evolution method of the Rainbow Scaled Koi, Asher couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
The wonders of nature were precisely in this.
There were always strange and incomprehensible ways of evolution.
In a wild Rainbow Scaled Koi group, strength was not the most important factor. Instead, beauty was just as crucial as life itself.
As a result, wild Rainbow Scaled Koi were not very aggressive.
They followed the typical "if people don't offend them, they won't offend people" rule.
But if a group—or humans—thought they were easy to bully, they would face the strongest retaliation from the Rainbow Scaled Koi—except for those who were good-looking.
Yes.
Even the contract method of the Rainbow Scaled Koi was incredibly bizarre. Defeating them wasn't enough—they required Beast Tamers to be good-looking and meet their aesthetic standards. Otherwise, the Rainbow Scaled Koi would rather commit suicide than follow an ugly Beast Tamer.
At one point, beauty contests even invited Rainbow Scaled Koi as judges to assess contestants' levels of attractiveness. [T/N: LOL!]
Absurd, yet somewhat reasonable.
But the current scene was completely unreasonable—
Just as Asher had said.
Whether it was Banyan Fish or Rainbow Scaled Koi, they usually stayed within their own territory and rarely took the initiative to attack.
Yet now, such a massive school of Rainbow Scaled Koi was invading the coastline they had never touched before, led by Banyan Fish...
Asher could personally understand the anxiety of President Marina.
Something was wrong.
Both logically and behaviorally, this was abnormal. It was something that should never have happened.
"Prepare for battle," Asher conveyed his thoughts to Little Raven and the others.
Sophia immediately released his other three pet beasts as well.
Ice Mandarin Duck, Longfin Siren, and Twin-Headed Jade Coil appeared beside the Rainbow Scaled Koi.
Muller, on the other hand, also released his own pet beasts.
Sea Swan, West Sea Siren, Star Anemone, and Banyan Fish.
Although he also had four pet beasts, Asher quickly noticed at a glance that Muller's West Sea Siren and Banyan Fish had already reached complete forms. Both were at Five-Star High Level and could break through to Six-Star at any moment. The remaining Sea Swan and Star Anemone were at Four-Star Low Level and Four-Star Mid Level, respectively.
Not a large number, but each one was exceptionally powerful.
"Prepare for battle!", The usual playful expression faded from Muller's face. His gaze was serious as he looked at the massive, densely packed school of Rainbow Scaled Koi rapidly closing in on the coastline.
Eight hundred meters…
Seven hundred meters…
They were now visible to the naked eye. Muller's expression grew even graver.
"Can the Banyan Fish communicate with them?", Asher asked quickly.
"It's useless," Muller didn't even turn his head as he swiftly replied, "We've encountered Star Anemone and Poison Barb Anemone before. Communication was completely ineffective—they only attacked."
Elimination was the only solution.
Asher sighed.
Alright.
That shortcut wasn't going to work.
As the school of Banyan Fish broke the five-hundred-meter mark, they could clearly see just how massive this group was.
This was no longer a matter of five or ten fish invading the coastline.
At a glance, there were thousands.
Muller and Sophia were under immense pressure.
They weren't even sure if they could hold them back or if they needed immediate reinforcements.
Muller quickly pressed the emergency distress signal in his pocket. The signal was instantly transmitted to the Spirit City Beast Tamer Alliance.
The entire Beast Tamer Alliance was alarmed.
Thousands of beasts invading?
Move, move, move!
Hurry!
Meanwhile, battle was about to erupt at the coastline.
"Freeze!"
"Water Bomb!"
"High-Speed Charge!"
"Wave Slam!"
Muller and Sophia displayed the demeanor of experienced fighters, and Asher wasn't about to fall behind as he commanded his four pet beasts to join the battlefield.
'Fireball!'
'Shadow Sneak!'
'Dragon's Might!'
'As for the little jellyfish… Eat! Devour everything!'
While the other pet beasts focused on attacking, the little jellyfish's job was to swallow every incoming enemy attack.
Little Jellyfish: "!"
Hearing Asher's instructions, the little jellyfish was so excited that its eight tentacles nearly tied themselves in knots.
Little Jellyfish: 'I have never seen so much food before!'
'Eat, eat, eat!'
Amidst the dazzling energy waves, the little jellyfish buried itself in devouring attack after attack…
Until—
"Wait a second? Why can't my Sea Swan use Water Wave Kiss anymore?"
"And my Longfin Siren's Wave Attack is gone too…?"
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