He licked his lips in amusement as he gazed at the runes in front of him. Finally, the day he had always dreamed of had come.
To open the gate to the beast world always required a lot of factors. Normally, if beast tamers didn't have any beasts yet, they would need a ritual to open the gate. But once they already had a beast, it was a different story… more complicated than ever.
Every 100 levels, a beast would be able to open the gate without facing any trouble, yet there were still a few uncommon cases.
Take Scarlet as an example. She had already obtained a second beast without needing a level 100 beast.
And he was another case, even more special because his beast hadn't even reached level 50.
(I think the core reason is my beast's origin… a beast from the black zone with a calamity-species rank.)
"This time, I'm gonna check the black zone more carefully," Rocky muttered before commanding Bobby to shrink into a tiny figure. He jumped onto Rocky's shoulder and pointed his furry fingers ahead.
In the blink of an eye, a magical gate materialized five meters away. From inside the gate, he could hear the deafening roars of beasts echoing outward. The plants in the dungeon near the gate quickly grew at a ridiculous speed thanks to the beast world's natural mana.
Rocky took a deep breath and felt the freshness stirring in his nose.
"Great! Let's go."
***
He saw a gigantic bear and quickly strode toward it, but Bobby's pitch-black aura that leaked out instantly caught the bear's attention. It bared its fangs and glared at him, clearly warning, "Get lost if you want to live."
But Bobby just gave the bear a cold glance, enough to make it bolt away on the spot as if a weak prey had just encountered its natural predator.
Rocky's first target failed completely.
He sighed.
(Indeed, most beasts from the black zone are hated by others. It's a stupid decision if I try to tame a beast around here.)
After a moment, he changed his target. He decided to head to the black zone instead. He could tell that only the beasts from there were compatible with him.
He didn't want to waste his time here when none of the beasts wanted to get close to him.
Two hours later.
He stood at the foot of the mountain… a familiar place he had arrived at before.
The atmosphere was still gloomy, no different at all.
He gulped and walked in.
The hideous beasts didn't stare at him like before; instead, they fled as soon as they sensed his presence.
He could tell why.
Bobby. Bobby's presence was a terrifying existence to them.
At some point, he frowned when he saw a blanket of mist stretching endlessly across the rocky mountains.
(Such a horrific place… how did I come here before without recognizing it?)
Bobby still pointed his fingers ahead.
Rocky nodded and stepped into the mist. Actually, he didn't need to worry at this moment.
After all, he possessed a calamity-species rank from the black zone. And of course, Bobby's home was Rocky's home too.
One hour later, he thought he had arrived at the deepest part of the black zone.
Suddenly, he saw a shadowy figure in the thin mist ahead… but his expression twisted in fear when he saw its immense shape, on par with an ancient titan.
A claw-shaped shadow stretched toward the sky and then slammed down onto the ground. Its long maw opened wide, revealing ragged teeth in disproportionate shapes. Nine heads gathered at one point as if they were tearing apart their prey. Even though it was just the shadows, it was enough to prove that this beast wasn't some common being.
A creaking sound echoed through the eerie air, like rusted gears scraping against each other.
The beast was chewing bones? Rocky guessed.
At some point, the nine heads suddenly turned their attention toward Rocky. In the blink of an eye, the immense shadowy figure vanished. Then, a beast slowly walked out through the thin mist.
Rocky frowned, dumbfounded. The beast was completely different from what he had imagined based on that shadow.
"A black cat?"[1]
The pitch-black cat gazed at him for a moment before running toward Rocky. Just a few seconds later, it stopped right in front of him.
Its ember-like eyes gleamed in the dull, dark air as it tilted its head.
"Yowl~"
Rocky gulped and summoned the system screen.
—
Name: [None]
Race: Tyrant Cat
Compatibility: 100%
Species Rank: Calamity
Level: 1
Unique Skill: Chaotic Transformation
Current Preferred Mana Core:[None]
Current Mood: Want a master
—
''Holy fuck!'' Rocky held his head in bewilderment, gazing at runes ahead.
Calamity! Damn it! He possessed another beast with calamity-species rank.
At this moment, has he been called a genius in taming beasts? He didn't know because truly his taming ability was literal trash. But for some reason, his compatibility always had a highest with the beast from the back zone.
What a insane.
He cleared his voice and lowered himself to pet the black cat.
''Matt…it's your name from now on.''
''Meow~'' The black cat pushed his head into Rock's palm enthusiastically as if he was really like that name.
Ting!
—
Race: Tyrant Cat
Level: 1 →24
Species Rank: Calamity
Strength: 30 → 145
Constitution: 25 →123
Mana: 50 → 180
Speed: 50 →199
—
Rocky nodded as he looked at the system screen. It had to be.
The assimilation between beasts in terms of stats.
Bobby jumped down from Rocky's shoulder and greeted the cat by showing his paw pads. The black cat meowed and responded by showing its paw pads too.
It seemed like a greeting among beasts.
Rocky nodded in satisfaction when he saw his beasts getting along well.
He summoned the system to check Matt's mood and skills.
—
Name: Matt
Race: Tyrant Cat
Compatibility: 100%
Species Rank: Calamity
Level: 24
Unique Skill: Chaotic Transformation
Current Preferred Mana Core:[None]
Current Mood: Wanna pet
—
[Name]: Chaotic Transformation
[Description]: A chaotic creature that possesses hideous, diverse transformations based on its imagination.
—
His jaw nearly dropped to the ground when he read the description.
"Which means I can become a dragon… even a gigantic titan? …What a broken skill."
Without hesitation, he triggered the [Chaotic Transformation] skill.
Boom!
His vision suddenly changed. All he could see was green in the air. He frowned and said,
"Meow~"
"Meow~"
Rocky's expression twisted in disbelief when he looked at himself. He raised his claw.
(I became a cat?)
He rubbed his chin as a thought stirred in his head.
(I understand… I can only transform based on Matt's imagination.)
He quickly disabled the skill and returned to his original form. Even if he couldn't become a dragon or a titan, it was still very good.
He could transform into a cat to spy, even peep at a girl while she was bathing.
He smiled while petting Matt's head to satisfy him.
Ting!
–-
[Your beast has created a skill]
[Name]: Nine Lives
[Description]: A tyrant cat reborn from chaos… Everyone rumors that it has nine lives after devouring the Beast God's nine children, yet none could verify it, because none could kill the cat.
—
"Another dream?"
A/N: I guess no one can guess that it's a cat...And, Powerstone
[1] I got the idea from Cath palug, a nasty, evil cat in Welsh mythology, and I hope people don't just see it as a house cat.