Some failures are destined.
Some victories are also unchangeable.
The moment Dominic's Swift Leopard was forcibly knocked down, Dominic's heart... silently shattered, collapsing along with the Swift Leopard.
"Hahaha—"
Immediately.
The training ground erupted into joyful laughter.
"Commander, you're too weak!"
"Extra training, extra training! Commander, you're not cutting it! You got knocked down so easily by the Vice Commander! Isn't that embarrassing?"
"Oh oh oh—The Vice Commander's Little Lion Beast looks so cool after evolving! It's also so strong! Can we get one too?"
No one knew who shouted that.
The field, which had been filled with laughter at Dominic's expense, suddenly fell silent for a moment. Then, a bunch of fiery gazes simultaneously turned toward Asher.
Being stared at by so many eyes, almost as if they were burning, Asher: "..."
"...Ahem! It's a bit difficult," Asher clenched his fist against his lips, looking somewhat troubled.
But those gazes still showed no signs of moving away.
Even Miles, who had gained plenty of advantages, grinned honestly and looked at Asher, saying: "Professor Asher, just tell everyone what's required."
"If it's possible to try, everyone will give it a shot."
"If it's really impossible...", Miles paused here, glancing around at the Beast Tamer soldiers present.
As if considering their feelings, or perhaps showing off.
"It's better to let them give up early, instead of always longing for something impossible, right?"
"After all, not every Beast Tamer can be like me, right?"
Miles's expression was sincere, his tone earnest, completely looking like he was saying it for everyone's own good.
The Beast Tamer soldiers present: "..."
They were fuming.
'Damn it!'
'That is definitely showing off!'
'Ahhh—'
'Come fight us one-on-one!'
'The Vice Commander should fight all of us together.'
What?
Unfair?
No, no, no!
They thought this arrangement was very fair
It suited the Vice Commander perfectly.
Seeing that they were about to charge at Miles for a "fair" one-on-one battle, fortunately, Asher spoke up, interrupting their thoughts.
Tribe.
Powerful combat strength.
The strongest.
The limits of a Little Lion Beast.
The limits of a pet beast.
To sum it up simply, that was it.
But...
The soldiers who had just been stirring up trouble fell silent.
Was it simple?
Yes, it was.
Could they do it?
No, they couldn't.
"...It's not difficult to stop a Little Lion Beast from evolving, but making sure the Little Lion Beast remains unshaken and confident in itself within a massive tribe... that's a bit challenging."
Pet beasts also had a sense of competition.
If they kept being weaker than their peers, they would also feel down.
To truly achieve it?
They needed absolute, overwhelming strength.
For example, Miles's eighth-tier Little Lion Beast.
Its powerful strength directly overshadowed the disadvantage of not evolving, making the Little Lion Beast invincible against both other Little Lion Beasts and War Blood Lion Kings.
Alright.
The crowd silently shifted their gazes. To the ten comrades chosen by Asher, their eyes full of disappointment.
'Yes! That's right!'
'We are looking at you!'
'Can you toughen up a bit?'
'Hurry up and evolve your Little Lion Beasts.'
'So you can set an example for the whole legion.'
And once Professor Asher gave the final approval, they could evolve too.
The ten targeted Beast Tamers: "..."
'We're trying, we're trying.'
'We really are trying.'
.
.
.
Fortunately... their efforts paid off.
On the fourth day after Miles's Little Lion Beast successfully evolved, two more Little Lion Beasts evolved. Transforming into Golden-Eyed Lion Kings.
The moment he received the news, Dominic rushed over.
Circling around the evolved Golden-Eyed Lion Kings twice, Dominic stroked his chin with one hand and supported his elbow with the other, muttering: "Oh wow—"
"This looks even cooler than Old Miles' Little Lion Beast after evolution," Dominic exclaimed loudly, every word full of sincerity.
'Indeed.'
The two Beast Tamers of the Golden-Eyed Lion Kings nodded vigorously in their hearts, never before finding the Commander's words so agreeable.
Their Little Lion Beasts evolved to be even cooler.
If the War Blood Lion Emperor's appearance and charisma carried the lineage of the War Blood Lion Kings, adding a touch of dominance—
Then the Golden-Eyed Lion King had a different kind of coolness.
Its flowing mane completely disappeared, replaced by tightly packed scales that looked incredibly strong.
The fusion of light gold and emerald scales shimmered in the sunlight, making the Golden-Eyed Lion King seem to glow.
Its large eyes were sharp and piercing.
Coolness level UP UP ↑
Miles, who arrived a moment later and happened to hear Dominic's words: "..."
He glanced at the evolved Golden-Eyed Lion Kings.
Miles had something to say.
Miles stroked his chin.
"They do look a bit cool," That said, Miles really couldn't bring himself to say anything dishonest.
Cool was cool—no matter how subjective aesthetics were, when something reached a certain level of coolness, denying it took a great deal of courage.
For example, when facing the Golden-Eyed Lion King.
The War Blood Lion Emperor, following behind Miles, glanced at him with dark, brooding eyes before shifting its hostile gaze toward the two Golden-Eyed Lion Kings.
The newly evolved Golden-Eyed Lion Kings, locked under this deadly stare: "..."
'Farewell, we're leaving, don't mind us.'
They wanted to run.
But they couldn't.
The only thing worth praising was that the Golden-Eyed Lion Kings didn't immediately collapse and give up, unlike the previous War Blood Lion Kings. They still had some will to resist.
Seeing this, the Beast Tamers of the Golden-Eyed Lion Kings couldn't help but tear up.
"Wuuu! The Little Lion Beasts after evolving are amazing."
"Exactly! Even braver than the Commander's War Blood Lion King."
Dominic, suddenly used as a comparison, turned around with an incredulous look.
Unfortunately.
The two Beast Tamers were too busy bonding over their shared pride to notice Dominic's expression.
Just as Dominic was about to exercise his authority as the Commander, Miles stopped him.
Miles waved at the two Beast Tamers, "Go find some teammates with similar strength or slightly stronger opponents for battle. I want results later."
Then Miles looked at Asher, "Professor Asher, is this arrangement okay?"
Asher nodded.
'No problem.'
'Testing a pet beast's combat strength after evolution is a necessary step.'
'Moreover...'
Asher stroked his chin, shifting his gaze from the evolved Golden-Eyed Lion Kings.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Pet Beast: Golden-Eyed Lion King]
[Attributes: Metal + Wood]
[Species: Mid-tier, High-grade]
[Level: Tier 5, Mid-stage]
[Skills: Flying Kick, Giant Wood, ..., Golden-Eyed Domain]
[Evolved]
[Bloodline: None]
[Innate Skill: War Blood Boil]
[War Blood Boil: When damage exceeds 50% of its HP, it forcibly enters War Blood mode, doubling size, strength, and defense. In this mode, continued damage boosts attack power until only 1% HP remains (non-evolvable).]
[Evolved! I Feel Power Surging Through My Whole Body—Come Fight!]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Asher stroked his chin again.
Compared to the War Blood Lion Emperor, Asher felt that the Beast Tamers of the Fourth Legion would likely prefer the evolution path of the Golden-Eyed Lion King.
How should he put it...
Burning health in exchange for immense combat power, while automatically locking the last bar of HP to prevent the Golden-Eyed Lion King from truly dying. Afterward, all it needed was a healing pod to recover.
No side effects.
'Such an ability...'
Might not be of much use to ordinary Beast Tamers.
But for legion Beast Tamers, it was a different story.
Sure enough.
Compared to the War Blood Lion Emperor, the moment the two Golden-Eyed Lion Kings appeared, they stirred up a massive storm within the Fourth Legion.
Then...
A fourth-tier Golden-Eyed Lion King fought two fifth-tier War Blood Lion Kings in a one-on-two battle and didn't fall behind. When it faced the third one, its talent skill [War Blood Boil] was triggered, successfully taking down all three opponents.
A fifth-tier Golden-Eyed Lion King also took on a sixth-tier Little Lion Beast and a sixth-tier War Blood Lion King in succession. However, when facing the sixth-tier War Blood Lion King, [War Blood Boil] was triggered, and unfortunately, it couldn't achieve the great feat of taking down three in a row.
But even so…
"Damn! Is it still possible to find Professor Asher now?"
"What about those other guys? What the hell are they doing all day? Just sitting around doing nothing? Why haven't they evolved yet?"
"No way! I can't stand this! Those guys hogging resources and not evolving need a beating! And it's for their own good! A few beatings and they'll evolve naturally."
"Right, right, right! Submit a request! Let's go as a team!"
A group of people rolled up their sleeves, ready to charge in.
Then…
They were stopped.
But Griffith's ban could only halt their actions. It couldn't quench their enthusiasm.
At first, Asher thought he was only slightly popular, but now he realized that no matter where he went recently, he seemed to be extremely popular.
Wherever he was, he always felt like someone was secretly watching him.
Asher: "?"
An illusion?
Probably not.
Rather… there were actually groups of people staring at him with burning eyes at all times.
Even if they couldn't say it out loud, they managed to convey their thoughts perfectly through their gazes. Look at me! Professor Asher, look at us!
We can do it too!
One order of Golden-Eyed Lion King, please!
Without looking back, Asher took his pet beasts and left.
Time to leave, time to leave.
He needed to finalize the Golden-Eyed Lion King's evolution path quickly.
He couldn't stay in the Fourth Legion even a second longer.
Beast Tamer soldiers watching Asher's retreating figure with longing eyes: QAQ
Did… did Professor Asher just dislike us?
No, no, no!
There's no way he hates us.
———
On the other side.
Asher returned to his private quarters and took out his phone.
"Anything I need to know today?"
[Online discussions about you have cooled down somewhat, though some are still following the Fourth Legion's situation.], Angel, like a considerate butler, reported the online situation to Asher.
This saved Asher from wasting time checking the internet while still keeping him informed of what was happening online.
'Good.'
'Everything is going as expected.'
[Your senior, Levi, has submitted a résumé to your research institute.]
Asher silently typed a question mark.
'Hmm? Levi?'
Asher was momentarily stunned before recalling who that was.
But… "Brother Levi has some talent in pet evolution research, doesn't he?"
'Submitting a résumé to my research institute?'
'Is he serious?'
Asher had always been clear about the role of researchers in his institute—tools.
He couldn't help but wonder: 'Is Levi planning to use my research institute as a stepping stone to start his own later?'
Not impossible.
But if he opened this door, more people would try to take advantage of it.
Before Asher could continue thinking, Angel sent another update.
[Based on Levi's online statements, he deeply admires and respects you. He firmly believes that you are an irreplaceable 'miracle' in Soren's pet evolution research field.], As it spoke, Angel presented screenshots of Levi's passionate online posts as proof.
Asher: "..."
'Good lord.'
Just skimming over these posts without reading them in detail was already overwhelming.
"…Enough, that's someone's privacy. You shouldn't just reveal it like this," Asher said helplessly.
Angel: ?
[Angel believes that publicly posted statements online do not count as private information.]
"That's only true if I don't know the identity behind the account, understand?"
It was difficult for Asher to explain to an AI what 'anonymity allows freedom of speech, but once someone's identity is exposed…'
Ahem.
Anyway, that's how it was.
[Humans are truly complicated.], Angel even added a tone of emotion to its message.
Asher: "…"
'Ah, yes, yes, yes.'
'Humans are indeed that complicated—far more than this.'
"All right," Asher rubbed his forehead, watching as Angel retracted the screenshots, "Let Brother Levi do as he pleases. Whether he gets in or not is up to him. I won't interfere."
His research institute was constantly expanding, but finding suitable candidates was difficult.
Chase and Sarah, the husband-and-wife duo in charge of recruitment, had always strictly followed Asher's requirements.
No geniuses.
No one using the institute as a stepping stone.
Only down-to-earth, hardworking tools.
If Levi still wanted to join after learning this… then he could.
Meanwhile, Levi, who had submitted a résumé along with his junior schoolmate while returning to the country, was now staring in disbelief at his rejection notice.
"…What?"
"What kind of ridiculous rejection reason is this?"
'Because me and my schoolmate are too excellent, we aren't accepted?'
'Is this some kind of passive-aggressive insult?'
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