Lord Of Beasts

Ethan opened Spark’s newly evolved status and immediately began comparing it to the one he had checked only moments ago.

{Name: Spark

Race: Ember Wraith

Growth Stage: Prime

Beast Rank: B

Beast Potential: B

Strength: N/A

Speed: N/A

Stamina: N/A

MP: 210/210

Skills: Ember Pulse (D), Flare Drive (C), Blazing Arc (B), Inferno Core (B)}

Ethan stared at the numbers for a moment.

’N/A?’

He hadn’t seen that before.

The physical stats that Spark had possessed as a Cinder Wisp were simply gone. Strength, Speed, and Stamina no longer had values at all. Instead, whatever physical potential its old body had possessed seemed to have been completely consumed and converted into something else.

Mana.

And the amount was absurd.

Spark had gone from 111 MP to 210 MP, nearly doubling its mana capacity in a single evolution. It had also reached the Prime Growth Stage, just like Wolfy and Talon had.

’How is this thing even a beast anymore?’

It was a living mass of flame and mana, making it closer to a spirit than an actual creature. But Ethan definitely wasn’t complaining. If anything, he was getting more excited by the second. He couldn’t wait to see what Spark could actually do with that much mana.

His eyes moved to the two unfamiliar skills.

’What can they do?’

The system provided the answer.

{Blazing Arc (B) - The user unleashes a sweeping crescent of condensed flame, expanding outward in a wide arc. The attack engulfs everything within its range in intense heat and burning flames. Cost: 10 MP per activation.}

Ethan’s eyebrows rose.

”A wide-area fire attack?”

That was exactly the kind of skill he wanted from Spark.

The Cinder Wisp had already been useful, but its attacks had always been relatively small and focused. Ember Pulse had variable output, but was closer to being a flamethrower, which had its respective use cases. Blazing Arc could potentially wipe out multiple enemies at once.

’Now that’s more like it.’

He moved on to the other skill.

{Inferno Core (B) - The user dramatically increases the temperature and intensity of their flames by overloading their Mana Core. Greatly increases the heat and destructive power of all fire-based attacks for a limited duration. Cost: 15 MP per activation. Causes rapidly increasing mana consumption while active.}

Ethan’s grin widened.

”So you can make yourself even hotter?”

That was terrifying.

Spark was already made entirely of flame. If it could push its temperature even higher, the destructive potential of its other skills would skyrocket. And with 210 MP, it actually had the mana to afford and sustain it.

’Yeah... I definitely want to try that.’

Ethan closed the status window, excitement building inside him.

He was ready to let loose.

And what better way to test his newly evolved beast than against the Boss Beast of the final C Tier Floor of the Tower?

Throughout the entire race change and evolution, Talon had remained perched above them, watching. The Griffling wasn’t jealous or angry at Spark. Ethan could tell that much. Instead, there was a clear frustration in the beast’s movements, its green feathers shifting restlessly as it watched the newly evolved Ember Wraith float around.

Ethan could almost hear its thoughts.

’Why couldn’t I evolve too?’

The Lord Of Beasts was wondering the same thing.

Unfortunately, he simply didn’t have enough Evolutionary Shards to attempt another Race Crystal with Talon.

”I think the seventh time will be the charm. Maybe you just needed a little more time.”

Talon slowly descended from above, landing beside Ethan and Spark.

Spark wasn’t gloating.

The flaming orb simply bounced and spun through the air, its flames bursting outward every so often as it experimented with its newfound power. The Ember Wraith was naturally excited.

Unfortunately, watching Spark celebrate only made Talon more frustrated.

Ethan felt bad for his Griffling.

He reached out and gently rubbed its head before recalling it.

”I’m not giving up on you, buddy.”

Talon disappeared in a faint shimmer of light.

Each of his beasts had earned a special place in his heart, and even his connection with Storm was slowly developing. Talon would have its time. When that time came, Ethan would be there cheering it on.

Not simply because another powerful beast would make him stronger, but because Talon deserved to experience that happiness for itself. Although Ethan would prefer Talon to evolve sooner rather than later.

Without evolving Talon to B Rank, the system wouldn’t officially recognise him as a B Rank Titled.

And Ethan was getting impatient.

’For now, let’s get out of these C Tier Floors.’

He smiled as he unsummoned his newly evolved beast before pulling on their connection.

’Partial Assimilation: Spark.’

The flaming orange tattoo on his forearm suddenly flared to life, and a violent surge of mana exploded through his body. Ethan’s eyes widened as an astounding amount of energy flooded into him.

It was completely different from assimilating one of his other beasts.

There was no sensation of muscles becoming stronger or his senses sharpening. Instead, his entire body felt as though someone had poured liquid fire directly into his veins. His mana surged as his previous reserves had more than doubled, and the sheer amount of energy now coursing through his body was almost overwhelming.

At the same time, an intense heat began building inside him.

Ethan’s skin radiated heat as flames started leaking from his body.

”Fuck, that’s hot.”

He instinctively released more flames, allowing them to burst outward from his body and dissipate into the surrounding air.

The heat immediately became more manageable.

For a moment, Ethan simply stood there, surrounded by flames.

Yet despite the devastating temperature, it didn’t feel unnatural or painful.

Being shrouded in fire felt as natural as breathing, and stopping their flow felt like suffocating himself with heat. Ethan looked down at his hands, watching orange flames dance between his fingers before opening his status.

{Name: Ethan Crowe

Title: Lord Of Beasts

Titled Rank: C

Strength: 32

Speed: 36

Stamina: 31

MP: 75 + 105

Beasts: 4/4}

Ethan stared at his MP.

He really had more than doubled his previous mana capacity.

”That’s insane.”

A grin slowly spread across his face.

”My mana alone is close to the total average stats of a B Rank.”

And there was a B Rank Beast on this very floor waiting for him to test it out on.

The Boss Beast...