Chapter 193: Asher, Who Doesn’t Play by the Rules!

Asher had no idea what Eliana and the other researchers were thinking.

He was busy taking stock of the gains from this trip.

He didn't know until he counted.

Once he did... the haul was far greater than expected.

"Back at the Red Soil City Hospital, it was someone else's turf. It was inconvenient," Asher said while pulling everything out of his backpack.

The spoils included the Bloodline Enhancement Potion he received from the Fourth Legion and the special red mineral he found in the Red Soil Secret Realm.

Asher set the former aside for now.

In a couple of days, he planned to distribute it among his pets that had awakened their bloodlines.

Especially Little Raven and Little Jellyfish.

Asher was curious, 'How high does bloodline concentration need to be for a pet to transform into the mythological species in its lineage?'

'Does it have to be 100%?'

'Not necessarily.'

But that wasn't today's priority.

Asher counted the ten intact pieces of red mineral in front of him.

They varied in size.

The largest piece had already been traded to Rosa.

But surprisingly, Asher didn't feel any pain of loss.

The reason was...

"Little Raven, here, have a piece," Asher casually picked up a chunk of red mineral from the table and held it to Little Raven's beak.

Little Raven: (￢_￢)

Little Raven showed a subtle, indescribable expression but obediently lowered its head and ate the red mineral Asher offered.

The moment its beak touched the mineral, something remarkable happened.

What was once as hard as a gemstone in Asher's hand instantly turned into a soft jelly-like substance as it entered Little Raven's mouth, allowing it to swallow effortlessly.

Then, Golden patterns lit up on Little Raven's black-gold feathers, connecting to form an ancient, mystical design.

"CHIRP—"

Little Raven let out a piercing cry, spreading its wings as if about to take flight.

The next second.

A golden vortex appeared in Asher's room.

Through the calm, golden whirlpool, one could vaguely see the mountains from before.

Indeed, the Red Soil Secret Realm had ultimately been brought out by Little Raven.

No, Little Raven now had the ability to open a gateway to the true Red Soil Secret Realm from anywhere.

And the key to the realm was the very piece of red mineral it had just consumed.

This mineral was actually a condensed energy form of the blood shed by the Three-Legged Golden Crow.

For other fire-type and lightning-type beasts, it could purify their bloodline or enhance their elemental energy to a certain degree.

But for those evolving towards the Three-Legged Golden Crow, its effects would be even more pronounced.

However—

Since Little Raven had already evolved and successfully awakened its Three-Legged Golden Crow bloodline, the visible effects seemed less obvious.

Of course.

The internal benefits were still substantial.

Most importantly, it allowed Little Raven to bypass its level cap.

This had been Asher's biggest headache when it came to improving Little Raven's strength.

"It evolved, it grew, but its level is locked. That's because it advanced too fast, not giving itself enough time to hone its skills and physical strength," Asher muttered, stroking Little Raven.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

In the brief moment he was lost in thought, Asher had already formulated a training plan for Little Raven.

Suddenly—

Little Raven's feathers shuddered.

Little Raven: 'The bird has a bad feeling.'

Little Raven scanned its little siblings.

Whether it was Cat-Worm, Little White Snake, or Little Jellyfish, they all looked so innocent and pure, like they had no schemes whatsoever.

Little Raven: "?"

Finally, Little Raven's gaze landed on Asher.

Little Raven: =v=

'The bird does not want to suspect its Beastmaster.'

'But its Beastmaster looks extremely suspicious!'

Seeing Little Raven about to flap its wings and charge at him, Asher quickly stopped it with both hands, wrapping it in a bear hug, pressing down its fluffed-up wings.

Cat-Worm: (￢_￢)

Little Raven: ╭(╯^╰)╮

"Alright, alright, stop messing around," Asher smacked both Little Raven and Cat-Worm on the head.

'Why the fuss?'

'What's there to fuss about?'

'Aren't we one big harmonious and loving family?'

Asher turned his attention back to the golden vortex, now slowly shrinking as the golden glow on Little Raven's feathers faded.

Without a doubt—

The portal was closing.

But having just returned and barely spending half an hour in his own room, Asher wasn't in a rush to revisit the Red Soil Secret Realm.

"No hurry, we have plenty of time," Asher said calmly.

Right now, he was pondering something else.

"Little Raven, tell me…", Asher stroked its feathers while rubbing his chin, his gaze shifting to his other three pets.

Hearing its name, Little Raven looked up.

Only to see Asher's shifty gaze.

Little Raven: "?"

Whap!

Little Raven didn't hold back, it smacked Asher's face with its wing.

Asher: "..."

Asher rubbed his now slightly red, warm cheek.

The only consolation was, at least Little Raven didn't shed feathers.

And that was the only consolation.

"Alright, alright, I wasn't ignoring you. It wasn't on purpose," Asher helplessly reassured Little Raven. Then, in all seriousness, he asked, "I was just thinking… Since the Three-Legged Golden Crow left behind a legacy for its offspring and newborns… is it possible that other mythological creatures do the same?"

Little Raven froze.

Cat-Worm yawned.

"Mewo! Meow!"

'This dragon thinks it's possible! So this dragon also wants to get stronger!'

Cat-Worm rubbed its dragon horns against the table leg.

They were itchy.

Cat-Worm sighed.

'When will I be stronger than the big boss?'

It desperately wanted to be at the top of the family's food chain—even just once.

That was its lifelong dream.

Little Raven narrowed its eyes at Cat-Worm.

Although Cat-Worm hadn't said anything, Little Raven sensed an aura of rebellion from it.

Little Raven: 'How bold!'

Cat-Worm: *Looks around innocently*

*Pretending nothing happened*

Noticing their silent exchange, Asher chuckled and rubbed their heads.

Cat-Worm happily rubbed back against Asher's palm.

'Still itchy.'

Cat-Worm spread its paws in a "hug me, kiss me, love me" posture.

Before Asher could react, Little Raven beat him to it.

Little Raven: 'Bird will help!'

'Helping a younger sibling—'

'Is something the big boss of the house is supposed to do!'

Bird flew, cat jumped.

Asher… pretended not to see it.

No need to ask.

He was just used to it.

In this household, the kids loved to playfight.

So be it.

They'd settle it on their own.

If he, as the "adult," intervened—it would never end.

With that thought, Asher waved at the Little White Snake and the Little Jellyfish.

'Sigh!'

He was used to it.

Really used to it.

Whenever he was deep in thought, his hands always had to be fiddling with something.

The little white snake, now a whole size thicker, could no longer casually hang off Asher's body like before. On the other hand, the little jellyfish, its bouncy, squishy texture was absolutely top-tier.

As he stroked the cool, smooth little white snake with one hand and kneaded the soft, bouncy little jellyfish with the other, Asher's brain was spinning faster than ever.

'A marine creature that failed to evolve toward a mythical direction.'

'A three-legged golden crow that came out of nowhere, leaving behind its inheritance and a secret realm for its descendants. The resources inside… there might be more, but for now, the most useful thing is the three-legged golden crow's blood.'

'Not only can Little Raven use it. I seem to be able to use it too?

Asher wanted to piece together the clues in his hands.

Unfortunately.

They were too scattered and fragmented, making it impossible to string them into a coherent thread. Thinking of this, Asher sighed helplessly, and gave the little jellyfish another squeeze.

If the little jellyfish could make a "puchi puchi" sound, Asher would have really thought he was playing with some kind of stress relief toy.

It was pretty stress-relieving.

Taking out his phone, Asher tapped on the Angel on his desk, "You heard what I just said. Anything to add?"

Angel blinked.

The answer was obvious.

Asher: "…"

Another sigh.

'Difficult.'

'It is just too difficult.'

'Why is my life so damn hard?'

Asher almost wanted to light a candle for himself.

["…Prepare a new mechanical body for Angel…"], As he said this, Asher sucked in a sharp breath.

'Nope. Nope.'

Just imagining the Angel he first met, using that as a template to recreate an exact replica?

He wasn't some kind of master craftsman or deity.

Some things were just impossible.

"Alright, fine. In the end, you really have to rely on yourself," Asher reluctantly put away his phone.

Watching Asher's exaggerated sigh, Angel hesitated, as if wanting to say something.

But its programming was its core operational logic.

In the end, Angel said nothing. Instead, it fell into a tangled loop of self-diagnostics.

Asher remained completely oblivious to Angel's internal struggle.

———

The Next Few Days

Asher's life was extremely routine.

Morning workouts.

Midday study sessions.

Afternoon training for his four pet beasts.

As the last to join Asher's research institute, Levi and Eliana had initially been quite excited when Asher returned. They were eager to see how he conducted his research on a daily basis.

And then they saw…

"Wait, what?", Compared to Levi, who had already developed some understanding of Asher, Eliana was the one who was truly shocked by Asher's daily routine.

Normally reserved and stoic, Eliana's eyes were wide open, a faint blush of astonishment coloring her cheeks. Her trembling finger pointed in Asher's direction, "Professor Asher, he… he…"

She struggled for ages but couldn't find the right words to describe what she was seeing.

If Asher had been training his pet beasts for just a day or two, she might have been able to accept it.

But it had been almost a full week since Asher returned to NY City.

His time spent in the research institute was barely worth mentioning.

Most of it was spent in the training grounds.

Eliana: "…"

She was numb.

Completely numb.

Sarah, who was nearly twenty years older than Eliana, looked at her like a mother watching her child have a realization. Pressing her lips into a gentle smile, she said, "Unbelievable, isn't it?"

Eliana nodded.

"You never noticed before? Our research institute's training grounds are at least twice the size of those in most labs."

Where there were pet beasts, there had to be matching training facilities.

Even research institutes were no exception.

But most labs only built small training grounds, serving as temporary battle or training spaces.

Now that Sarah mentioned it, Eliana did recall something like that.

She had been curious about it before.

But she hadn't thought much of it.

She had simply assumed that since the institute was in a suburban area with plenty of space, Professor Asher had just arranged for an oversized training field.

She never expected…

"Professor Asher is incredibly gifted in pet beast training. Compared to being an outstanding pet beast professor, he actually wants to be an outstanding beast tamer," Sarah revealed Asher's plain and unembellished dream.

Eliana: "…"

She was utterly speechless.

What was this?

Just what was this?

Asher's talent in pet beast evolution research… She hadn't personally witnessed it yet, but even from all the rumors she'd heard, she could tell how significant it was.

Not to mention, Asher was only nineteen and already an honorary professor at Bluewind University.

That wasn't an achievement just anyone could attain.

And yet, to Asher, it all seemed… not particularly important?

Eliana was starting to feel like the country had changed too much while she was studying abroad.

Had she lost touch with domestic trends?

"Uh… With Professor Asher like this, won't the president… won't everyone think he's neglecting his actual job?", After some thought, Eliana finally voiced her concern.

At this, Sarah chuckled.

"How should I put it?", Her gaze landed on the training field, where pet beasts clashed in pairs, flames, shadows, tentacles, and water bursts colliding and scattering across the arena. A smile spread across her face.

"You haven't seen Professor Asher at work yet. Once you do, you'll understand."

Eliana didn't fully grasp Sarah's words.

Until—

Three days later, when Asher had been back for a full week.

Finally.

For the first time, Asher's morning didn't start with training. He stepped into the research institute.

From selecting an beast for research,

To filing the report,

To submitting the request to President President Robb,

To waiting for a suitable beast tamer to arrive,

To determining an evolution path,

The entire process ran smoothly, without any need for input from anyone else.

Just as Asher had said, they only had to handle the mechanical tasks, writing reports and filing applications according to his instructions.

Eliana had still been doubting whether this approach would work.

Then—

The very next day.

The Blazing Flame Hound evolved into a brand-new form.

"Thank you! Thank you so much, Professor Asher!", The beast tamer who had come to assist with the research shook Asher's hand fervently, his face full of gratitude.

Eliana's mind went blank.

'What just happened?'

'Who am I? Where am I? What have I even done?'

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