Chapter 201: What’s Wrong with a Big Tiger? Humans Don’t Understand the Ecology of Pet Beasts!

"Hahaha!", Larry laughed heartily, "Professor Asher, you really know how to joke!"

'Professor Asher knows nothing?'

'Nope, he must be joking.'

'How could Professor Asher possibly not know?'

Larry looked at Asher with a wise gaze, his eyes sparkling like Pikachu.

"Whatever you need, just say the word!"

"Really!"

"I guarantee I can offer you a price you'll be satisfied with."

The fat sheep, Larry, was just shy of directly saying—

Slaughter me!

Hurry up!

Don't hold back!

Asher: "..."

Well, he had to admit, he was indeed a little tempted.

A fat sheep delivered straight to the door, ready to be slaughtered.

Ahem, but his conscience still existed. Mainly, Asher himself hadn't figured things out yet, so he could only cough twice.

"I'm not joking," Hearing Asher's serious tone, Larry also realized—

'Oh.'

'Professor Asher might really be telling the truth.'

But… Larry turned to look at the evolved Striped Thunder Tiger, then back at Asher.

'How could this have nothing to do with Asher?'

'Just by looking at the evolution of the Silverfang Tiger, it is obviously 100% connected to Asher.'

"The Silverfang Tiger's evolution is indeed related to me, but I'm also confused about its evolution and don't understand why it evolved out of nowhere," Asher immediately understood Larry's gaze and spread his hands helplessly.

"Can I say that I really wasn't trying to make the Silverfang Tiger evolve in the first place?", He had simply wanted to test if he could slightly improve the Silverfang Tiger's condition.

And then…

Then, this unexpected outcome happened.

Larry, finally grasping the meaning of Asher's words: "..."

Wren and Kent, who were standing by the side: "..."

'What is a genius?'

'Is this what a genius is?'

'This is just like those little jokes online, isn't it?'

'As if the heavens are personally chasing after Professor Asher with a bowl of rice, insisting on feeding him.'

'Meanwhile, Professor Asher looked utterly disgusted: 'I don't want to eat!'.'

Seeing their expressions, Asher suddenly felt a chill sweep over his heart.

'Yikes—'

He didn't know what these people were thinking, but their gazes were a bit disturbing.

Asher shook his head and refocused on the evolved Striped Thunder Tiger.

"Hmm… what do you plan to do next?", As he spoke, Asher suddenly paused, cutting off the tiger's dangerous thoughts, "Don't even think about anything illegal, like killing your previous Beast Tamer."

"That is absolutely not allowed," Asher even made a big X with his hands.

"How could the Silverfang Tiger be so ruthless? Professor Asher, you're overthinking—", Larry instinctively tried to defend the Silverfang Tiger.

But the moment he looked up, he met the slightly disappointed gaze of the Striped Thunder Tiger.

Larry fell silent.

Inside, Larry let out a sharp internal scream.

'Holy crap!'

'Why is this evolved Silverfang Tiger so bloodthirsty?'

…Well.

Thinking about what that bastard did to the Silverfang Tiger before, the tiger had simply absorbed those experiences and wanted to use the same methods for revenge.

Was that wrong?

No.

If anyone was wrong, it was that bastard.

The evolved Silverfang Tiger had nothing to do with it.

At the same time, Larry once again realized—

The evolved Silverfang Tiger before him, with its seemingly malevolent power, was, at its core, still not the type to save lives.

Battle intent.

Slaughter.

The evolved Silverfang Tiger was still a fierce beast.

Thinking of this, Larry sighed. His dream suddenly seemed even harder to achieve.

After being slightly emo for three seconds…

Larry quickly pulled himself together.

'Calm the fu*k down, Larry!'

'You absolutely can't give up just like that.'

For years, Larry had been pushing for the development and standardization of the pet beast care industry.

The results had been significant.

But for pet beast care to hold the same status as pet beast cultivation and evolution research… that would take a lot more time and achievements.

Previously, Larry hadn't found the right opportunity, but now, the Silverfang Tiger's new evolution form seemed like the perfect chance.

If he missed this, there wouldn't be another one.

No matter how difficult the process was, he had to try.

Asher didn't know about Larry's complicated thoughts. He simply watched the Striped Thunder Tiger in front of him, waiting for its answer.

Striped Thunder Tiger: "..."

The Striped Thunder Tiger kept thinking.

The Striped Thunder Tiger fell into deep thought.

'Hmm…'

'I can't just KO that scumbag directly?'

'Then what should I do next?'

'That is a good question.'

The Striped Thunder Tiger didn't know either.

"In any case, your contract with him will be terminated soon with the Alliance's help. With enough evidence of his abuse, it won't take long," Asher explained.

Not only that—

Who knew if that guy had done this kind of thing before?

Whenever a Beast Tamer was found to have maliciously mistreated or abused pet beasts, the Alliance would investigate their past deeds thoroughly.

Based on the severity of the crimes and how long they had persisted, a final judgment would be made.

Whether it was a prison sentence or something else…

In the worst-case scenario, the Beast Tamer's other pet beasts could also be confiscated, which meant they would be stripped of their Beast Tamer status entirely.

Upon hearing this, the Striped Thunder Tiger let out a heavy snort, white steam rising from its nose, clearly dissatisfied.

'Ending the contract?'

'That is just the bare minimum.'

'We have nothing to do with each other!'

'Just thinking about that guy makes the tiger sick!

Asher: 'Got it, got it, really disgusted by that guy.'

'Which is understandable.'

"So next…", Asher thought for a moment. He was quite interested in this evolved Striped Thunder Tiger.

"Want to come with me first? I can help you find a new Beast Tamer," After a brief pause, Asher added, "If you don't want a Beast Tamer anymore, that's fine too."

The evolved Striped Thunder Tiger didn't seem to show hostility or aggression towards anyone besides its former Beast Tamer. Given its talent…

'Hmm, even if it just takes a temporary job, as long as it is willing, plenty of people will be interested.'

The Striped Thunder Tiger stared at Asher for a while, then slowly lowered its head and rubbed against him.

Its coarse fur pricked at Asher, making him itch slightly.

Striped Thunder Tiger: 'Fine! I'll listen to you!'

Before the tiger could enjoy its prideful moment, a large wing suddenly smacked it on the head.

Little Raven: 'Ha! Taste my bird strike!'

Striped Thunder Tiger: 'Awoo—!'

Little Raven, filled with rage, furiously whacked the Striped Thunder Tiger's head with both wings.

Little Raven: (▼ヘ▼#)

Watching from its spiritual sea, this big tiger's actions had been annoying the bird for a while.

'Rubbing?'

'Only the bird is allowed to rub against its Beastmaster!'

'Furry?'

'A giant fluffball?'

'No way!'

'That makes it even worse!'

Before, Little Raven had barely held back.

But now, seeing the Silverfang Tiger not only recover but also planning to follow its Beast Tamer, it finally couldn't stand it anymore.

Asher had no choice but to cooperate silently, releasing Little Raven from the Beast Space within his Spiritual Sea.

Then…

"Professor Asher, is this your pet beast?", Larry's mouth fell open, staring blankly at Little Raven before him, so shocked he could barely speak.

Fierce.

Incredibly fierce.

Even though Little Raven wasn't as big as the Striped Thunder Tiger, the way it relentlessly chased and beat the tiger… The Striped Thunder Tiger was practically wishing it could cover its head with both paws and pretend it didn't exist.

Seeing Little Raven getting more into the fight while the Striped Thunder Tiger was retreating step by step, Asher quickly stepped forward to call a halt.

"Stop, stop, stop! Little Raven, that's enough!", Asher shouted in Little Raven's direction.

Little Raven turned back and shot Asher a fierce glare.

Asher wasn't intimidated in the slightest.

Instead, the one standing beside him, Larry, accidentally took the hit from that glare.

For an instant.

Larry felt like he was once again being locked onto by some massive beast.

A kind of paralysis spread over his entire body.

Only when Little Raven turned its head back and continued pummeling the Striped Thunder Tiger did Larry finally regain his senses.

"Phew—", He patted his chest and let out a long sigh of relief, "Good, good, that glare wasn't directed at me. My poor heart…"

Then he glanced at Asher, who had taken the full brunt of the glare.

'Oh wow.'

'Not affected at all.'

Larry couldn't help but raise Asher's status in his mind once again.

This time, it wasn't just because of Asher's talent in pet beast evolution research, nor was it because he saw value in some particular ability of his. This was purely because Asher himself possessed an undeniable strength.

The more he interacted with Asher, the more Larry found himself shocked.

'Young people these days… Their strength is simply beyond imagination!'

'Absolutely incredible!'

Little Raven pursued relentlessly.

The Striped Thunder Tiger kept retreating.

It took Asher rushing forward and soothing them both at the same time before he finally managed to grab hold of Little Raven, calming it down from its berserk state.

This gave the Striped Thunder Tiger a moment to catch its breath.

Asher looked at Little Raven, then at the Striped Thunder Tiger, now covered in lumps from the beating. A trace of quiet despair appeared in his eyes.

'…Wait.'

'Wasn't I planning to convince the Striped Thunder Tiger to come home with me for research?'

'Will that still work?'

Asher once again made an attempt to ask, "Striped Thunder Tiger, would you like to come with me first…"

Before he could finish, the Striped Thunder Tiger had already sidled up to Asher, acting even more affectionate than before.

Asher: "?"

'What just happened?'

'Something isn't going as expected?'

"Roar—"

'Let's go! Big Sister is amazing! Mighty and domineering!'

Asher: "…"

'Alright.'

He didn't understand beast ecology.

He didn't understand that whole M-whatever S-whatever thing either.

[T/N: M=Ma*ochist, S=Sad*st]

Anyway, if these two were fine with one hitting and the other taking the hit, there wasn't much else for him to say.

Besides, given Little Raven's nature, it would never let itself suffer a loss, so Asher had even less reason to interfere.

So be it.

After confirming everything, Asher prepared to leave with Little Raven and the Striped Thunder Tiger.

"Hey, hey, hey!", Larry became anxious.

'This matter isn't settled yet!'

Asher looked at the approaching Larry and the competition scene that had clearly been delayed due to the Striped Thunder Tiger incident. Clearing his throat, he said:

"Mr. Larry, the competition is still ongoing. We can discuss the Silverfang Tiger's situation later."

Then Asher added, "As for the details of Silverfang Tiger's evolution, I'm not entirely clear at the moment, but I do have some clues. If you're still interested, you can contact me later."

Larry wanted nothing more than to follow Asher right now.

But just as Asher said—

The competition, there was still the competition, and he couldn't leave yet.

Larry sighed.

'Ah!'

"Then let's exchange contact information, Professor Asher," Saying that, he took out his phone and moved closer to Asher.

Wren, who was beside him, hesitated for a moment before thickening his skin and moving closer as well.

Kent even forcefully inserted himself.

Wren: "?"

"Why are you adding Professor Asher?", Wren eyed Kent warily, "You're not thinking about poaching him, are you?"

"Heh," Kent sneered at Wren.

Why add Professor Asher?

Obviously, because having more connections means more opportunities.

Sure, if they ever needed Asher's help, he might not necessarily agree.

But what if?

Adding him at least gave them a chance.

Kent couldn't be bothered to explain to Wren. Instead, he still harbored resentment in his heart—frustration.

'A Beast Tamer as outstanding as Professor Asher, why isn't he a beast breeder instead?'

Asher had no idea about their convoluted thoughts.

The Silverfang Tiger's evolution into the Striped Thunder Tiger had indeed delayed the competition's progress in this area.

Fortunately, the tournament organizers demonstrated strong organizational skills and quick adaptability, proposing a solution that satisfied everyone and successfully allowed the competition to continue.

However, in the second round, where contestants had to care for multiple pet beasts at once, Ivy was ultimately eliminated.

"I was feeling a little down at first, but I didn't expect…", Ivy's mouth dropped open as she stared in shock at the massive tiger mountain beside Asher. So big it even towered over him. She was too stunned to speak.

When she first stepped out of the competition venue and didn't see Asher, she had felt a little sad.

But she never expected…

What exactly had happened while she was competing?

After Vicky and June, who had watched the whole thing, explained the situation to Ivy, her mouth dropped even further open. There was even a hint of disdain in her eyes when she looked in the direction of the Silverfang Tiger's original Beast Tamer.

"I can't believe there are people like that!", Ivy snorted heavily.

Then she turned to Asher and said, "But for this Silverfang Tiger to meet you, Asher. It's really its good fortune!"

Ivy's expression was sincere.

The Striped Thunder Tiger, lying beside them, opened its eyes slightly to glance at Ivy. Its whiskers twitched gently.

Big Tiger: 'Alright! That's true!'

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