Beast Tamer: I Can See Evolution Paths

After all, he's his own brother.

What could Asher do?

He even thought out the best option for Vicky.

A wild beast egg. You could wait for it to hatch and then form a contract. That's the best option.

Say it and do it.

Once he had a goal, Asher acted much faster.

But well, sometimes luck is really unpredictable.

"…You really, I don't even know what to say anymore," After dealing with several beasts but still not encountering any that were laying eggs, Asher gave Vicky a speechless look.

He had definitely learned something new today.

"Logically speaking, this season should be the egg-laying season for beasts," Asher said while stroking his chin.

Vicky, beside him, looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated, clearly uncertain.

After thinking for a bit, Vicky still spoke up, "Uhh… I mean, is there a chance, bro, real bro, that spring is actually the mating season?"

That's when the real egg-laying and hatching season starts.

Asher pretended not to hear.

Was it really that hard for a beast to lay an egg?

Shouldn't it be easy and effortless?

Alright, if we're being honest. Except for a few weaker beasts with limited potential, most beasts don't reproduce easily either.

The stronger their power, the harder it is for them to reproduce. This rule has never seen an exception in beasts, and even seems to be intensifying.

Just like humans' ten-month pregnancy.

The more powerful a beast is, the longer it takes to produce an egg. Then it takes even longer to hatch the child from that egg.

If even a tiny mishap occurs during any part of this process, the offspring could die right away.

Thankfully, most beasts lay more than one egg in a clutch, so there are usually backups.

Otherwise, the reproduction rate of wild beasts would have plummeted by now.

Which would probably be a good thing for humans, actually.

Watching Asher running around for his sake, Vicky also revealed an embarrassed expression.

This obviously had nothing to do with Asher.

But for his sake…

"If you have stuff to do, don't worry about me. You can go handle your business first," Vicky looked at Asher seriously.

"Your work is more important."

It wasn't just a polite gesture.

Vicky genuinely meant it.

Asher waved it off, "It's still within what I can afford to waste."

"If I really run into something super urgent, just watch how fast I run off."

Vicky choked.

"Good then," Relaxing, Vicky nodded, "I was just afraid our brotherly bond would make you delay your own affairs."

Asher: "Shouldn't it be a father-son bond?"

Vicky rolled his eyes at Asher.

He didn't need to worry about Asher at all.

He even had the mood to joke, clearly, his mood was great.

Asher laughed out loud.

His gaze turned toward the deeper part of the Forbidden Land, but he didn't rush in.

Although Asher's goal was indeed the deepest area, when it came to action, Asher was never a reckless person.

Still the same line.

A lie repeated enough times gains power.

Asher had a vague feeling, don't rush, stay in the outer zones a bit longer, maybe you'll discover something interesting.

Asher trusted his instincts.

With plenty of time and no urgent tasks, what's wrong with wandering a bit more?

Not a problem at all.

———

[Bluewind University]

Iris looked at the academic paper in front of her and whistled long and loud with satisfaction, "Nice!"

Ever since Asher publicly shared the idea of Fox-Fox's different evolution paths, the students in Bluewind University's Pet Evolution Research Department had all fallen into what could be called a frenzy.

Just ask, who wouldn't want to follow this line of thought?

To research an as-yet-undiscovered evolution path for Fox-Fox?

Using this opportunity and Asher's fame, they might just become a bit famous too.

In the future, in academic circles about Fox-Fox, maybe their name could be temporarily tied to Asher's.

Just saying that would already be something to be proud of.

However… Having ambition, ideas, and dreams is naturally good. But to make them happen, you still really need some skill.

Not just a little. But some seriously strong professional skill. Which is quite rare among freshmen.

Sophomores and juniors aren't that much better off. Seniors about to graduate are relatively more competent.

And so—

In just about a month, Iris had already seen several quite interesting papers and projects.

These papers also detailed, from all angles, their reasoning, goals, and desired outcomes.

It could be said they were quite thorough and well-founded.

Iris had kept quiet this whole time.

Until she saw the paper in front of her now, finally, an amused expression appeared on Iris's face.

"I knew it, all that electric, wood, and wind attribute stuff, none of it is as interesting as the light attribute."

"Didn't Asher already figure out the evolution path of Little Moon Fox?"

"Just copy that as a model, how hard can it be?"

As she spoke, Iris shook her head with a face full of incomprehension.

This should be easy, right? Why has no one dared to try it?

Others: "…"

Thanks, teacher. They were actually very aware of their own limitations.

Can Little Moon Fox's evolution path really be compared to Little Sun's?

On the surface, it's just an elemental contrast. Light and dark. Seems like you could just copy and tweak the required materials, and that would be enough.

But the problem is…

If it really were that simple, why haven't researchers who already figured out the light-attribute evolution path discovered the corresponding dark-attribute path?

The reverse is true too.

Is it because they didn't want to?

Clearly, it's because they just couldn't do it.

So they simply chose not to humiliate themselves.

Instead, they honestly started from their own strengths and specialties.

Instead, they could even gain some favor.

The main strategy was to play to strengths and avoid weaknesses.

"Hmph!", Iris knew this very clearly, but she didn't criticize anything.

One could only say this was very normal, a kind of logic that couldn't be more normal.

It's just that… there was still a slight sense of inadequacy.

Until she saw this paper.

"Let me see…", Iris flipped to the research team page and was surprised to see four freshmen names listed.

Iris: "?"

'Are the freshmen nowadays all this capable?'

Immediately after, Iris, not at all surprised, saw Amber's name among them.

This year's little genius among the freshmen.

Although Bluewind University had Iris in the front and Asher in the back, they hadn't completely ignored these new talented students.

It's just that compared to the light radiating off Asher, their glow was a bit dimmer.

"This is getting interesting." Iris rubbed her chin, looking at the names, who weren't very familiar with each other but not complete strangers either.

A faint smile appeared on her face.

Amber's name was listed first, so she was probably the team leader or something like that.

Right after her was none other than a somewhat familiar name to Iris, Connor.

Except for the last name, the name even resembled Asher a bit.

And he also chose the dual major of Beast Tamer and Pet Evolution Research.

As for whether this Connor could reach Asher's level, that would depend entirely on himself.

The two names that followed left little impression on Iris.

Charlie, Diana.

They looked like they might be two girls? But wasn't this team two males and two females?

Iris didn't care much about this.

She wrote her approval on the side: [Approved]

With Iris's approval, the team could now withdraw a portion of necessary resources from the school for free to support their research.

Iris actually had quite a bit of hope for this team.

The points raised in the paper were not only reliable, but these kids were also very good at executing plans.

Being young wasn't a disadvantage at this time, instead, it was an unspeakable advantage.

Iris was happy to see healthy competition among students.

She even hoped this kind of competition could become even more intense.

———

[Elsewhere]

The students who received Iris's reply all looked visibly relieved.

"Whew—passed!", Diana looked at Iris's free-flowing signature and broke into a big smile.

'Nice! This is so great!'

Their thesis proposal had preliminarily passed Iris' review and inspection.

Next to her, Connor didn't think there was anything to be so excited about, "Isn't this just the natural outcome?"

"This is only our first step!", Listening to Connor's confident words, Diana didn't get annoyed.

This girl with two small ox-horn braids looked tiny, but her voice was incredibly firm.

"Worrying a little is still necessary."

"Teacher Iris's review standard is quite strict. If we couldn't pass her round, our research wouldn't even have started."

"What do we do next?", Diana wasn't the type to waste time.

She said a few words and skipped that section.

Amber looked calm: "Next… we need to find a few suitable Fox-Foxs."

"Preferably…", Amber's eyes landed on Connor.

A moment later, Charlie's gaze also turned to Connor.

Diana: "?"

Diana didn't quite get it. But just go with the flow.

Like someone else couldn't follow along.

Diana's gaze also instinctively landed on Connor.

Connor widened his eyes.

Deep in his gaze was confusion and ruin.

What?

Why were they all suddenly looking at him?

Was he really that good-looking?

"Ahem!"

"The organization now has an important mission to entrust you with."

"That's right, that's right."

Whether it was Charlie, who got along well with Connor,

Or Amber, who usually didn't talk much, or even Diana, the most unfamiliar member who joined the team last, they all looked at Connor with eager eyes.

Connor: "..."

Not the least bit happy about this.

"You should be able to handle contacting those Beast Tamers, right?"

Connor went silent.

He knew it. There's never anything good when people come to him.

But if someone had to go contact them… Connor mentally reviewed his social connections.

Shouldn't be too much of a problem? Connor thought, not too sure.

———

On the other side.

Another roadblock had been cleared.

In the literal sense.

Cloud-patterned Leopard Tiger.

A wind + fire attribute beast.

Quite difficult to deal with.

Wind fuels fire. And fire's offensive power is quite fierce.

When a normal Beast Tamer encounters it, it's quite a headache to handle.

But this was Asher. Which was basically the same as running into a natural enemy.

He easily cleaned it up.

"Hmm?", After taking it down, Asher leaned closer and checked, "This looks like a female tiger?"

"Maybe there's a Cloud-patterned Leopard Tiger den nearby?"

"If you could contract one of these, that would actually be a really good choice."

He nodded as he spoke.

Vicky's expression looked even more tempted.

No one could deny that the Cloud-patterned Leopard Tiger was powerful.

With proper training, its strength would be very formidable.

"Then… shall we take a look?", Vicky looked at Asher.

Asher nodded, "Let's take a look."

Go with the flow.

Asher didn't see anything wrong with it.

These problems weren't even problems to him. After quickly finishing off the Cloud-patterned Leopard Tiger, there was no way to just take it away.

But valuable things like energy crystal cores still needed to be taken.

Then they could follow the Cloud-patterned Leopard Tiger's footprints and see if they could find its nest.

"Too bad it's not raining, otherwise the footprints would be clearer," Vicky smacked his lips in regret.

Can't be helped.

When facing a beast you really like, it's normal to overthink a little, right?

"Depends on your luck."

"Although, your luck today might really not be that great."

Vicky: "..."

'Oof, right in the feels, bro!'

Some words might be true. But you didn't have to say them that bluntly.

Luck is just one of those unpredictable things.

The Cloud-patterned Leopard Tiger's footprints were sporadic.

But the strange thing was, they never completely disappeared?

As long as Asher and Vicky kept going, they could always find some new trace.

Taking a deep breath. Vicky's expression grew more and more excited.

'Wuwuwu! My own bro's thigh,bwhat a solid one to cling to!'

If possible, he wanted to hold on even tighter.

Asher suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

He couldn't help but shiver.

Turning around for a look—

Asher: …Alright, case closed.

"Wipe that creepy look off your face, or if I 'accidentally' mess up later, it's not on me."

Vicky chuckled sheepishly.

Magically, the two of them actually arrived at the Cloud-patterned Leopard Tiger's den.

Asher looked at Vicky.

Vicky looked at Asher.

Both of their eyes held a trace of disbelief they couldn't quite describe.

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