After the talent awakening, everyone was escorted into an abode.
The rooms varied in quality throughout the ranks, and of course, An Xuan was assigned the worst abode in the entire sect.
The room was small, dimly lit, and had the faint smell of mildew. A single bed with thin sheets, a rickety wooden desk, and a small window that barely let in any light.
He sighed as he set his things down, mentally preparing himself for whatever came next.
"Alright, let's check out this system…" he muttered, sitting on the edge of the bed.
He stared at the glowing screen in front of him.
"System information."
[Ding!]
[———Monster Girl Evolution System———]
⋙ Status Window
⋙ ???
(Unlocked when the user reaches the Novice Beastmaster Realm.)
(The current realms are: Apprentice, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, Grandmaster, Saint, Emperor, Sovereign, Immortal...)
(The minor realms are: Early, Middle, Late, and Peak.)
[End]
An Xuan blinked a few times, unsure of what he was seeing.
"Only these two options? Or do I get more as I get stronger?" he wondered out loud.
After a moment of thought, he tapped the [Status Window] option.
*******
[Status:
Name - An Xuan
Age: 19 years old.
Race: Human
Cultivation Realm: N/A
Cultivation Technique: N/A
Evolution Points: 0]
—[Unnamed Monster Girl]
Race: N/A (Tap to roll the first race)
Evolution Form: 0 (100 Evolution Points needed.)
Cultivation Realm: N/A (1 Evolution Point needed.)
Combat Power: N/A
Current Abilities: N/A
*******
"Hmm... So, I don't have any points yet, obviously." An Xuan tapped the system screen thoughtfully.
"System, how do I get these Evolution Points?"
[You can earn points by interacting with your Monster Girl, including spending time with her and feeding her. Additionally, you can obtain Evolution Points by killing other beasts.]
"Alright, sounds easy enough. But how do I summon her?"
[Just think about summoning her, but before that, you need to roll her race.]
An Xuan didn't waste any time.
He tapped the [Race] option, and the screen suddenly began spinning. Different races appeared in a blur of colors, each one flashing in and out, each one more bizarre than the last.
Then, with a sudden stop, the wheel froze, and a race appeared.
[Common Rarity: Squid.]
"...A squid?" An Xuan stared, somewhat incredulous.
"My luck... damn it. Now what?"
[Call her name and she will appear.]
An Xuan frowned.
"Well, I guess I should give her a name…"
He thought for a moment before deciding.
"Mei'er."
In an instant, a small orb of light appeared in front of him. The orb grew brighter and brighter until it suddenly burst open, revealing… a cell.
A visible, glowing cell.
"Wait... what?" An Xuan blinked, completely confused.
And then, the system spoke up again.
[As soon as you raise the Evolution Form option, the Monster Girl will begin to grow. Currently, it remains as a cell because its Evolution Form is level 0.]
"So, it's stuck as a cell until I evolve it?" An Xuan muttered.
[Exactly. In the next evolution form, it will begin to take on the form of a girl. However, it will retain certain features from its race.]
An Xuan stared at the small cell floating in the air.
"So, a squid girl? Tentacles and all?" He shuddered as he thought of a cute girl, with tentacles on her body.
"Ugh..." he shook his head, clearing the thought of his mind.
[If the host wishes, you can choose the traits for the Monster Girl's evolution. For example, traits like Mature, Mommy, Cute, etc. Would you like to set those?]
"Mhm..."
Thinking about it, An Xuan followed the system's steps and selected his preferred option.
Then, he turned back to the glowing cell and cautiously reached out to touch it.
[Beep! Mei'er feels happy! +0.1 Evolution Points!]
"It works like this...?" An Xuan blinked in surprise.
He grabbed a small portion of the food they had given him and held it out toward Mei'er.
The moment the food touched the cell, it vanished from sight.
[Beep! Mei'er feels satisfied! +0.3 Evolution Points!]
The tiny cell—Mei'er—began to float around in little circles, almost like it was celebrating.
A faint sparkle of joy radiated from it.
"Ah... cute," An Xuan muttered, smiling as he watched the small, glowing form spin in the air.
He glanced around the room and noticed the food and a small book on the desk. It was titled [Beast Cultivation Basic Manual].
He grabbed it and started reading the book.
The first few pages explained the basics of cultivation with beasts. It was simple enough to understand, even for someone like An Xuan, who wasn't familiar with this world's ways.
The manual talked about how cultivators and their beasts would absorb the natural energy, or "Qi," from the world around them.
The Qi was everywhere—in the air, in the earth, even in the plants.
By connecting with their beasts, cultivators could draw that energy in and use it to strengthen themselves and their beasts.
According to the manual, the process started with the cultivator and their beast standing still, focusing on their connection.
Once that bond was made, the cultivator would slowly draw in the Qi from the environment and pass it into their beast, helping it grow stronger.
Over time, this would allow both the beast and the cultivator to reach new realms, becoming more powerful.
"Okay, this doesn't seem too hard..." An Xuan muttered as he closed the manual.
He turned to the small cell floating in front of him.
"Alright, Mei'er, time to try this out."
The tiny glowing cell spun happily in the air, still buzzing with energy. He figured he might as well try to start the process now, even though she was still in the form of a cell.
"Stay close to my chest," he said softly, extending his hands.
Mei'er floated toward him, and he gently cupped his hands around her, bringing her close to his chest.
While holding her, An Xuan closed his eyes and focused. He imagined the Qi in the air, surrounding them, and slowly started to draw it in.
He could feel the air around him shift slightly as if the world itself was responding to his call.
He focused on sending that energy down to Mei'er, trying to connect with her in the same way the manual had described.
At first, it felt like nothing was happening.
He just stood there, waiting, his hands warm around the small cell. But after a moment, he felt a faint warmth beginning to rise from the spot where he held her.
It was a subtle feeling, but he could tell that something was happening. The Qi was flowing into Mei'er, just as the manual had explained.
"Just a little more..."
He focused harder, pulling more and more Qi from the air. Slowly, he felt Mei'er's form begin to pulse lightly in his hands as if she were absorbing the energy.
He wasn't sure how long he stood there, but after a while, he felt a small shift. The warmth he had been feeling began to grow, and a faint glow started to surround Mei'er.
She seemed to be responding to the Qi in the air, slowly growing stronger.
An Xuan opened his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips.
"It's working..."
Mei'er, still in her tiny cell form, seemed to vibrate with energy, her tiny light flickering in response to the Qi flowing through her.
[Beep! You have cultivated for five hours with Mei'er! +5 Evolution Points!]
An Xuan blinked in surprise as he saw the message.
"Five hours? It really passed that quickly?" He rubbed his eyes, feeling like he'd just sat down for a moment.
[Mei'er has reached the Apprentice Beast Realm!]
"Well, that was fast..."
[Her innate ability—"Phantom Tentacles" has been awakened!]
"Details."
[Phantom Tentacles—
Type: Innate
Level: 1 (0%)
Description: Summons five invisible tentacles from any location that can perform desired actions. Their maximum length is ten meters.]
"Ah... normal tentacles, but they're invisible and I can summon them from wherever I want." He grinned slightly, considering how useful that could be.
"This could be useful. I guess I should try to raise its level," he uttered.
"Phantom Tentacles..."
Because An Xuan was looking at the ground, semi-transparent tentacles appeared from the ground.
"Interesting..."
He moved his hand, and consequently, the tentacles also moved themselves. But then, feeling a little curious, An Xuan decided to try something different.
He stopped moving his hand and just thought about the tentacles moving.
To his surprise, it worked.
Each tentacle shifted and adjusted on its own, moving exactly how he wanted without any physical movement from him.
However, after a few moments, he felt something strange.
It wasn't a bad feeling, but it was like something was being pulled from inside him as the tentacles moved. It was a subtle drain, almost like he was expending energy.
And a few minutes later...
[The innate ability—"Phantom Tentacles" has reached level 2!]
"Sweet!"
Then, he tried moving the tentacles again, but this time they didn't respond.
"Am I out of Qi?" he mumbled.
He wasn't dumb and knew that using Mei'er's innate ability consumed Qi.
"By the way, I should also be in the same realm as Mei'er, right?"
[Cultivation Realm: N/A (69%)]
"...Just a little more." he nodded to himself.
Then, he looked at Mei'er's status once again...
[Cultivation Realm: Early Apprentice Beast Realm (10 Evolution Points needed.)]
"I could either keep cultivating with her and let her evolve naturally, or just use the Evolution Points to boost her realm directly." His finger hovered over the screen for a moment before he spoke up again.
"System, what's the difference between these two options?"
[By cultivating normally, you'll also get feedback from her cultivation, meaning you'll improve alongside her. However, if you choose to use Evolution Points to increase her realm, you won't get any feedback, and the process will be faster.]
An Xuan nodded at the system's words.
"In other words, using points is the same as Mei'er cultivating alone, huh?"
[Yes, it is also recommended that the host use points. The higher the monster girl's cultivation realm is, the better the feedback you will receive during your own cultivation.]
"Yeah, the Sect Master mentioned something like that."
The higher Mei'er's cultivation realm is, the faster his own cultivation will be. And with that, he can potentially reach the same level as those geniuses.
"I need to figure out how to get more Evolution Points..." An Xuan sighed, tapping his chin. Then, suddenly, his eyes widened.
"Wait, I remember now. If I kill beasts, I get Evolution Points!"
"That means...!"
An Xuan immediately checked his pockets, and to his surprise, his lighter was still there. His lips curled up into a grin after seeing it.
Then, he snuck toward the window of his room, carefully climbing out. The night was quiet, and the cool air brushed his face as he made his way toward the nearby forest.
He walked quickly, trying to stay out of sight.
Just as he was about to reach the edge of the woods, he spotted something familiar—there it was, the bee's hive he had seen earlier.
"Perfect."
Flick!
He pulled out the lighter and flicked it on, then he moved closer to the hive, carefully holding the flame toward the base.
A few seconds passed, and then—whoosh—the hive caught fire, the flames licking up the sides of the hive, sending bees scattering into the air in a frantic panic.
An Xuan took a step back, watching as the hive burned, and waited for the results.
[You have killed a Queen Bee! +0.1 Evolution Points!
[You have killed a bee! +0.01 Evolution Points!]
[You have killed a bee! +0.01 Evolution Points!]
[You have killed a bee! +0.01 Evolution Points!]
[You have killed a bee! +0.01 Evolution Points!]
[You have killed a bee! +0.01 Evo...]
The notifications rang out as An Xuan made his way back to his abode.
A hive usually has more than 20.000 bees during summer and luckily for An Xuan, it was summertime!
Reaching out to his abode, he sat down on the edge of his bed and spoke.
"Evolution points!"
[Evolution Points: 375,5]
Seeing the amount of points in front of him, An Xuan couldn't help but smile.
Immediately, he started upgrading Mei'er's cultivation realm.
[- 10 Evolution Points!]
[Beep! Mei'er has reached the Middle Stage of the Apprentice Beast Realm!]
[- 25 Evolution Points!]
[Beep! Mei'er has reached the Late Stage of the Apprentice Beast Realm!]
[ - 50 Evolution Points!]
[Beep! Mei'er has reached the Peak Stage of the Apprentice Beast Realm!]
[ - 100 Evolution Points!]
[Beep! Mei'er has ascended and reached the Early Stage of the Novice Beast Realm!]
[Mei'er has awakened the ability—"Poisonous Ink"!]
[Poisonous Ink—
Type: Racial Skill
Level: 1 (0%)
Description: Generates a toxic ink that can infiltrate and poison any target that inhales it or comes into contact with it, slowly corrupting and potentially killing them over time.]
"Mhm... Squids produce some kind of ink... so I guess it turned into this?"
"Now... it's time to upgrade her Evolution Form..."
An Xuan tapped the [Evolution Form] option.
[Ding!]