The crowd relaxed at last when basarios behaved so obediently.
"This is incredible. I thought taming a Zinogre was already absurd, but less than half a month later, he's tamed a massive basarios too."
Since Bai Chen returned twenty-two days ago, the settlement had been saturated with rumors.
Some said his strength eclipsed the whole Research Commission; some said he never slept; some said his very presence cowed monsters into submission. Most of the stories were outlandish — no one could offer hard proof.
The Chief of the Ecology Institute stepped forward and circled the wyvern, inspecting the giant before him. He muttered, almost to himself, "How on earth did it grow this large?"
He reached out and ran his hand over the wyvern's plated hide.
That single act drew more scholars down from the ramparts; in moments, the wyvern was swarmed by researchers, and even Bai Chen was pushed to the fringe of the group.
The scholars launched into their observations, clicking tongues at the Rock wyvern's size. The Chief repeated, disbelieving:
"Impossible. How can a juvenile Rock wyvern be this big?"
If New World basarios were simply larger than their Old World cousins, why didn't other monsters show similar growth? Why only Rock Wyvern? The creature's scale contradicted every rule of natural growth the Chief knew.
He remembered Bai Chen — the knight — and elbowed through the crowd until he stood before him.
"What did you do? How did you make it grow this big?" he demanded bluntly.
The question drew the scholars' attention; all eyes turned to Bai Chen, eager and hot.
Bai Chen lifted the bond-stone in his hand and answered plainly:
"It's our knights' method. We use bond stones to awaken a mount's potential. I only triggered the dragon's latent growth."
His words weren't a lie — just not the whole truth. On the distant Old Continent, knights did use bond stones to unlock a mount's potential and guide its development.
The techniques Bai Chen actually used were more exotic, but his explanation fit the scholars' models well enough: teach the beast abilities it can learn or awaken latent traits under certain conditions.
In theory, if a beast experienced extreme stimuli — sudden ancestral memory, exposure to elder-dragon blood, or other rare catalysts — it might awaken ancient traits like Elder-Dragon Blood.
Bai Chen's secret, then, was simply that he'd simplified impossible prerequisites. The logic aligned with natural theory; it was plausible. If other knights learned of Bai Chen's irregularities.
He could always claim a superior mastery of bond stones — after all, no knight had fully exploited them yet.
"Bond stone?" The scholars had clearly never heard of this object.
"Yes. It's our reliance for taming," Bai Chen said.
The Chief reached instinctively for the stone, wanting to examine it, but Bai Chen stepped back and refused.
"Sorry, Chief. This bond stone is mine. I can't hand it over."
There was only one such stone in his possession; if the scholars tampered with it and broke something, Bai Chen would have nothing left to show for his work.
The Chief — an experienced Wyverian — understood the ethics of research: you cannot violate another's will in the name of study.
He sighed and instead resolved to ask the Commander to procure a bond stone from the Old Continent.
Regaining his composure, the Chief asked politely:
"May we perform a thorough study of your mount?"
Bai Chen agreed to a limited cooperation.
"I'll let you do the basic observations, but no blood draws, please."
He did not wish to reveal the Rock wyvern's awakened Elder-Dragon level vitality. The Chief's face lit at the concession — this was far better than he'd dared hope.
"The arena is better for research," Bai Chen said, and with that, he placed the Basalt Dragon back into its capsule.
The scholars' eyes glittered when the device snapped shut — this object had captured their rapt attention. What was this? How could such a tiny sphere hold a living mountain?
Bai Chen led the procession into the settlement and filed a request to use the arena. The scholars trailed behind him like a flock, fearful he might leave them with nothing.
Ira watched Bai Chen go, hearing nearby hunters' comments:
"Riding a wyvern into battle — that's a new kind of tactic."
"Imagine having a Rock wyvern as a partner — I'd laugh myself to sleep every night."
"Yeah, but who can afford the food? And what about control? If it turns, you won't even get a Felyne rescue wagon out in time."
Ira smiled inwardly. If Bai Chen could make tradition-minded hunters consider fighting with monsters instead of against them, that shift alone might make the world a far more interesting place.
Bai Chen was at ease in the arena. He released both the Basarios and the Zinogre from their capsules.
The scholars immediately buzzed then calmed, awed anew by the Zinogre's enormous scale — larger than any recorded specimen in their folios.
Sensing the researchers' zeal, Bai Chen cautioned:
"Basarios is calm — you can study it. But please observe the Zinogre without disturbing him."
He'd already warned the two about patient tolerance; the Rock wyvern was docile so long as no one harmed him.
The Zinogre agreed to tolerate cautious observation, though its pride made it grudging about contact.
With that, the scholars filed into the ring and began their fieldwork. Behind Bai Chen,
the Second Fleet Captain and the Tech Division Chief hurried up — word had already reached them of the strange capsule that could store monsters.
They'd come to see the wonder for themselves.
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