- SPECIE: _THORNLING_
BLOODLINE QUALITY: NORMAL
GRADE: NORMAL LV 4 ( SAPLING )
PROGRESS: 3%
CONDITION: HAPPY, SATISFIED
SKILLS: BASIC>BLOOD DRAIN(PROFICIENT), SPORES(PROFICIENT), PHOTOSYNTHESIS(MASTER),
INTERMEDIATE: THORN WHIP( NOVICE)
EVOLUTION PATH: VERDANT THISTLEFIEND > THORNARCHON > YGGBLOOM > ???
EVOLUTION REQUIREMENTS: CONSTANTLY FEED WITH BEASTS AND ORGANISMS CONTAINING HIGH ENERGY LEVELS.
"Wow! Its energy level increased by one, and it even learned a new skill—an intermediate one at that!"
Adeon could hardly contain his excitement.
He knew skill tiers were tied closely to a beast's life grade, and for a Normal-grade beast to comprehend an intermediate-level skill was… unheard of. At least outside of legends and rare anomalies. He had only heard of such beasts, never seen one himself.
"Is this what Ysira meant by awakening dormant traits?" he wondered.
As his joy bubbled over, a wave of shared emotion echoed through the bond—Thornling was happy too.
'Why are we happy?'
'As long as the Beastmaster is happy, the beast is happy.'
A grin crept across Adeon's face. "I can't keep calling you Thornling," he said, watching the plant beast bask by the stream. "I'll call you… Ling."
YYIINNG~
The Thornling, now Ling, let out a delighted chime, a sound almost musical in its childlike glee.
From the side, Ysira raised an eyebrow and gave him a flat look. One that very clearly said, 'You just removed the last four letters of its name.'
Adeon chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hehe… uh… anyway! I haven't even checked your information yet."
Shifting the focus, he summoned his will, directing his mental strength toward Ysira.
Unbeknownst to him, his pupils shimmered, no longer black, but transformed into two concentric rings of glowing green runes, rotating slowly..
SPECIE: ALLMOTHER
BLOODLINE QUALITY: ?????
ATTRIBUTE: ?????
GRADE: ?????
PROGRESS: 50%
CONDITION: HAPPY, CALM
SKILLS: ?????
EVOLUTION PATH: ?????
EVOLUTION REQUIREMENTS: ????
''Happy?'
Adeon stared at Ysira's expressionless face.
'She looks only calm...but the bond says she's calm and happy?'
His eyes drifted back to the screen hovering before him, filled with question marks.
'What even is an Allmother?'
As if answering the question, a wave of information surged into his mind:
SPECIES: ALLMOTHER
(A rare and unidentified phenomenon likely caused by prolonged exposure to highly concentrated Aether. Due to its unique and unclassifiable nature, this entity has been temporarily coined "ALLMOTHER." It is theorized to be the pinnacle of all reptilian bloodlines.)
"Whoa…" Adeon blinked, rubbing his eyes. "It levelled up already... and now it even has a description panel."
An idea flashed in his mind.
'Can I… check for hidden data too?'
He focused intently on one of the question marks.
BANG.
A sharp, crushing pain slammed into his head like a sledgehammer. The world tilted violently. His legs buckled, his vision darkened, he was falling.
And then… soft arms caught him.
Hmm... Flowers.
The subtle fragrance of petals and rich earth filled his senses as his head came to rest gently on someone's lap.
A delicate hand brushed his forehead.
"Thanks... Ysira," he murmured, dazed.
About a couple of minutes later he was completely clear headed, pushing himself up from her laps he asked.
" What... happened "
" Knowing too many things before becoming sufficiently strong is not necessarily a good thing," she paused, gazed at him, patted her laps, the message was clear ' lie down'.
An awkward look appeared on his face " Is that really necessary " but her narrowed eyes told him refusing would be a mistake.
" pssht... Not like u're my mom" he murmured under his breath,
" hmmmm"her gaze sharpened 'repeat that one more time,'
" No... Nothing " a chill ran down his spine, reluctantly he laid down and put his heads on her laps, she began stroking his head, a warm glow emanating from her hands soothing the throbbing of his skull.
" You tried to gaze at knowledge not suitable for your level and that in turn drained you of both your Auron and your mental energy, which caused the sudden headache " she lectured him as she stroke his head.
"More like head break," he muttered, then he froze.
"Wait... you knew I checked you out? No! Not like 'wow, you're cute' checked you out, like, you know, checked your info. Not that I ... ugh! No! I mean, just… do you get what I mean?" he asked totally forgetting he mentioned checking her information.
" Whenever you use your eyes there is an outflow of Auron, wrapping around the target, any slightly more sensitive person would notice"
" Ohhh... Right. About the knowledge, if gazing at it at my current level would affect me this much, can't you just tell me?"
She gently shook her head, seeing the curious look on his face she went on,
" knowledge attracts knowledge, knowledge can be corrupted, knowing too much at an early stage is like being a beacon in the dark."
" Beacon to what" he asked curiosity blooming in him, but she gave him a pointed look and didn't reply
" ohh... too much knowledge"
" Enough of that" She said brushing the topic aside. " Let's move on to some general knowledge that you should know" she paused before posing a question at him " How are beasts categorized according to their quality?"
" Uhm... I know there are normal beasts and rare beasts " he replied, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly
" Sigh... There are six level of bloodline quality, we have; normal, perfect, rare and elite…"
Hearing her stop, he couldn't help but ask " I thought you said we had six, what about the remaining two?"
" Those aren't for you to know now... Probably no one on your World knows about the other two" she replied with a slight pause before continuing,
" Your eyes gives you an advantage over other beast tamers, where others have to tread cautiously in regards to evolution of their beasts, your eyes gives you precise information, you only need to learn the mutuality and dissociation between elements"
" Uhm... How do you know so much about my eyes" Adeon asked confused, Ysira shook her head lightly,
" I don't actually know much, but your eyes gives the same energy signature as one of my skills, but it is more complex... As for how Genesis evolves further and how it affects you, I don't know."
The glow from her emanating from her hands subsided, slowly she stood up gently pushing aside Adeon in the process, she gazed at Ling; who was still innocently swaying it's petals in happiness, before walking towards the mist.
Adeon startled couldn't help but cry out " Ysira, where are you going", she didn't answer as she disappeared into the mist.
A couple of minutes later, Ysira emerged from the mist. Resting in her arms were two eggs, each the size of a housecat…one black, the other silver.
Adeon's mouth fell open. "Are those…"
"No," she cut him off flatly.
"…your children," he finished anyway
With a deadpan look she said " Your Thornling has an unusual evolution method, so I'll be holding unto it for now" thrusting her arms forward" these are beasts or avatars gestated from one of my traits, form blood bonds with them"
"Uhm… in case you didn't know, I'm only an initiate tamer. I can only bond with one beast," he said, pointing at Ling.
"Unless it's for feeding, you won't be summoning Ling," Ysira replied evenly. "And since these are essentially extensions of me, forming blood bonds with them won't affect your limit. You're far too weak to summon me directly."
She set the eggs gently on the ground, then glanced up at him. "It's about time you went back. You've been here for two hours."
"Oh, crap…the package!" Adeon blurted, suddenly remembering what he'd been waiting for.
"Take these with you," Ysira said, placing the eggs in his arms.
Return." He murmured.
A swirling vortex opened before him once more. This time, Adeon was ready. He gave his space a quick glance, then looked back at Ysira, waving with a faint smile before stepping into the vortex.
With Adeon gone, Genesis fell into its familiar silence… or so it should have.
Ying. Ying. Ying.
The gentle chiming song of the Thornling drifted through the space.
…Sigh.
I guess I'm stuck with you from now on.