After saying goodbye to Aurora, Charles found a deserted alley. He activated his skill [darkness cloak]. In the shadows, he returned home at the fastest speed, repeatedly checking to ensure no one was following him before closing the door behind him.
Charles extended his right palm, and a white six-pointed star flashed. A creature, completely snow-white with three large tails, was summoned.
Having not seen Charles for several days, Max appeared unusually excited, circling around him and making soft whimpering sounds, constantly licking Charles’s face with its icy tongue.
“Alright, alright, Max, stop it!”
Ruffling Max’s fluffy head, Charles gently pushed it away and rummaged through his storage space, taking out the materials needed for Max’s advancement.
Max stood in front of the table, clearly curious about the dark red stone on it, likely sensing the abundant fire attribute energy within it.
A series of system notification sounds rang out, and lines of prompts flashed across Charles’s screen.
[Ding! Your mystical beast Max has reached level 19. The materials required for advancement are:]
[Ice Attribute Beast Core [Second Tier] 1/1, Fire Attribute Beast Core [Second Tier] 1/1, Regenerating Potion [White Quality] 23/1, Fusion Heart 1/1]
[Do you want to begin the advancement?]
Without the slightest hesitation, Charles chose [Begin Advancement] in the pop-up panel!
In an instant, the fire attribute energy in the surroundings began to gather around Max, forming visible strands that intertwined, eventually creating a dark red cocoon that completely enveloped Max’s body.
When Max had advanced to the first tier of a mystical beast near the Polar Cold Spring, Charles had seen a similar light cocoon. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of anticipation—how powerful would Max become when it broke free from the cocoon?
When a mystical beast is advancing, it is often at its most vulnerable. Joshua had successfully ambushed Charles during the advancement of the Davouring Serpent, so Charles knew he had to stay close to Max during this time.
As night fell, the next morning came and went, then evening arrived, and still, the light cocoon showed only some peculiar patterns without any signs of breaking open.
Feeling quite bored waiting, Charles took out the piece of parchment he had bought from the black market, attempting to piece it together with the fragment he had found in the Ferocious Beast Mountains. To his surprise, the two pieces fit together perfectly.
Charles examined the two pieces of parchment closely, turning them over several times. They were covered in strange writings he couldn’t understand, and he could faintly make out a map. Feeling puzzled, he muttered to himself, “I wonder what kind of treasure this map is recording?”
As he checked the notification on his screen, he suddenly noticed that the update had been completed. A series of “???” on the parchment had transformed into words he could comprehend.
[Map Fragment](2/3): This is a map that records the location of the fallen ancient gods’ beasts. Due to the absence of the final third, only a rough location can be discerned. [Click to view detailed information]
“Ancient gods’ beasts?” Charles’s eyes lit up at the mention of this name. “I can’t help but wonder how powerful these divine beasts are.”
The term was not unfamiliar to Charles; he had heard about it during theoretical lessons with Lily. In the Beast Mastery World, the mystical beasts varied greatly in potential, and the determining factor for a mystical beast’s ultimate limit was its [quality].
Black Iron, Bronze Division, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Legendary, Mythical.
With each increase in quality, a mystical beast’s understanding of their abilities grew stronger, making them more powerful in the later stages. Those mystical beasts classified as [Mythical] were referred to as ‘divine beasts,’ and they were the absolute rulers of the Beast Mastery World.
Once, there were eight nations in the Abyssal Depths. The westernmost one, called Yarutania, was wiped out by a single powerful Beast Master who possessed a [divine beast]. After that, only seven nations remained in the Abyssal Depths.
Divine beasts also had a remarkable characteristic: their souls existed independently of their physical forms. Even if their bodies were destroyed, their souls would remain in the world, immortal and indestructible. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Moreover, if a Beast Master formed a contract with the soul of a divine beast, the divine beast would gain a new body and be reborn…
“Could this map indicate the possible location of a divine beast’s lingering soul?” Charles read the notification on his screen carefully, and his heart raced with excitement.
Max and Mousie were not weak in combat, and they had the potential to evolve, becoming quite formidable in the later stages. However, they still fell significantly short compared to the upper limits of divine beasts.
If he could tame a divine beast as his mystical beast, not only would Genosha be within his reach, but he would likely have no rivals throughout the entire Abyssal Depths!
Once he became a powerful Beast Master, wouldn’t he have everything he desired?
Since the map fragment was missing one piece, the 2/3 of the map information was incomplete, and there were no specific details about the divine beasts. However, one location on the map was circled—Celestial City, the Infinity Isles.
“It is said that there are only about 50 divine beasts in existence, most of which are aggressive and not easily tamed by ordinary people. This fallen divine beast’s soul might be my chance,” Charles thought, swallowing hard as he gazed at the map with anticipation.
He had already advanced to a level 3 Beast Master, and he needed to bind his third mystical beast. If he could form a contract with a divine beast, even if Grace had a higher talent than him, he would still be able to outshine her in two years!
However, trying to find the lingering soul of a divine beast in the vast swamps of Celestial City, the Infinity Isles, was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, unless he could locate the last missing piece of the map.
At this point, it seemed more practical to look for a Gold quality mystical beast egg in the treasure vault of Lisengard.
…
After putting the parchment back into his storage space, Charles squinted, ready to take a nap, when suddenly a bright light flashed before his eyes.
The calm air in the room turned turbulent in an instant. Threads of dark red energy seeped from the atmosphere and began to gather around the cocoon. The cocoon grew larger, and the dark red patterns on its surface became increasingly radiant.
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out as a crack appeared on the cocoon, and a beam of light shot forth from the fissure. A wave of intense heat washed over him as a snow-white figure stepped out from the red light.
When the brightness faded and Max reappeared in front of Charles, he could clearly sense the changes:
Max’s once pure white fur now shimmered brilliantly, and two markings—one red and one blue—had appeared on its sides. Its azure eyes were clearer and more radiant than before, and most importantly—
It had grown tremendously, nearly matching Charles in height, with three long tails that took up nearly half the room.
As Charles looked over, Max’s information panel appeared before him.
—[Nine-Tailed Demon Wolf]—
[Name]: Max
[Attributes]: Ice, Fire
[Level]: Lv20
[Quality]: Platinum
[Skills]: [Ice Pick Throwing], [Bone-Achingly Cold], [Energy Bomb], [Ice and Fire Barrier]
[Weaknesses]: Neck, Abdomen / Poison Attribute
[Favorite Food]: Honey Soy Glazed Meat
[Emotional State]: Happy
[Health]: Good
[Loyalty]: 92
[Evolution Paths]: 4
[Description]: Max has advanced once again! It is now excited and eager to share its joy with you. This is a moment worth celebrating, and it would be even better if you could enjoy a hearty meal of honey soy glazed meat together!
As Charles reviewed Max’s information, a gentle smile spread across his face.
Max had successfully advanced to Lv20, becoming a second-tier mystical beast!
While there was only a single level difference between 19 and 20, the gap in combat power was like a chasm. Charles had already felt this during his battle with Bradley in the Ferocious Beast Mountains.
What excited him even more was that Max seemed to have acquired a new skill upon leveling up.
[Ice and Fire Barrier]: The inner layer consists of a shell of ice, while the outer layer forms a barrier of flames, providing protection against rigid and corrosive attacks.
Determined to test the new skill, Charles lightly jumped from the window to the lawn below.
Once Max activated Ice and Fire Barrier, a layer of hard white ice crystals enveloped both him and Max, while an orange flame barrier appeared in front of them.
“Most of my current skills are attack-related, so I really need a defensive skill. Ice and Fire Barrier is just what I was looking for!” Charles exclaimed, feeling the changes in his body.
During his training in the Ferocious Beast Mountains, he had often sustained injuries, especially in chaotic battles where Max and Mousie sometimes overlooked enemies getting too close. With this defensive skill, he now had another means of protection in combat.
“Mousie, project the Bloodthirsty Rhino and have it attack me,” Charles commanded, summoning Mousie and issuing the battle order through Mind Communication.
Now that he was a level 3 Beast Master, even if the barrier couldn’t withstand the attack, his speed would allow him to dodge.
Mousie, who was currently munching on a bag of nuts in mid-air, froze upon hearing Charles’s strange command: “Attack you? Are you sure about this? Just so you know, if you get hurt, don’t blame me!”
Despite its reluctance, Mousie dared not disobey Charles’s order. It projected the image of the Bloodthirsty Rhino and initiated the skill [Rhino Horn Rips].
The Bloodthirsty Rhino reared up, its horn transforming into a two-meter-long steel blade, charging straight toward Charles.
Inside the illusion, as the rhino’s horn approached ready to pierce through Charles, Mousie panicked and attempted to brake, but it was clearly too late. The massive body of the Bloodthirsty Rhino had too much inertia to stop in time.
Boom!
With a crisp sound, Mousie felt a wave of dizziness as if it had crashed into a solid wall. When it regained its senses, Charles was unharmed, while the seemingly indestructible rhino horn had completely shattered!
Looking up at Charles, Mousie saw him standing perfectly still, without a single scratch on him…