"Hahaha!", This time it was Clyde who let out a heartfelt laugh, 'So funny.'
Asher gave Clyde a dead-fish-eyed look.
'A bit of sympathy?'
Clyde: 'Ahem, understood, totally understood, I'll restrain myself.'
Seeing Clyde's fake-looking expression, the corner of Asher's mouth twitched involuntarily.
'This guy is really...'
Asher helplessly yet skillfully grabbed Little Raven from his head and pulled it down, "Alright, alright, stop messing around."
"I'm in the middle of finding you a suitable sparring partner."
Even in front of Clyde, the actual person involved, Asher still spoke loudly without a trace of restraint.
'What?'
'Need to be a bit cautious?'
Sorry, Asher didn't think there was anything that needed caution, if he wanted to say it, he just said it.
Clyde: '...Well, thanks a lot then.'
But Clyde was indeed quite curious.
'How did Asher come up with letting a Tier 6 Little Raven fight a Tier 9 Flame Emperor?'
"Because the intensity of Little Raven's flame is indeed what you're looking for, and I also want to find a suitable opponent for Little Raven, one that can make it feel a strong sense of crisis but won't actually kill it," Asher said seriously.
Little Raven had stayed at the peak of Tier 6 for quite a while.
For those in the know, it was tier-locked; for those who didn't... ahem.
Asher wasn't as anxious as one might expect about this matter.
The road must be walked step by step, food must be eaten bite by bite. This isn't something urgency can change, so it must proceed one step at a time.
It's just that the opportunity happened to be right in front of Asher, a Tier 9 Flame Dragon that could make Little Raven feel a strong sense of crisis.
But could also restrain itself in combat, after all, it's a domesticated pet.
Such a wonderful sparring partner.
If it weren't for this coincidence, Asher would have a hard time finding one.
If he missed it, he'd definitely feel regret.
Clyde: "..."
Indeed, kind of hard to refuse.
"But this isn't right," Clyde resisted such a tempting bait and forced his brain to stay calm and clear.
"Little Raven's flame is powerful, but that doesn't mean you can copy it just by fighting it. If that really worked...", Clyde squinted, hmm, didn't feel like continuing.
You'd definitely learn a bit of how Little Raven manipulates fire.
So what if Little Raven is a Tier 6 pet beast?
It has a unique technique in playing with fire, that's worth learning
Seeing Clyde trying hard not to be drawn in and trying to stay clear-headed, Asher curled his lips and couldn't help but laugh.
"You're right," Asher nodded.
Clyde: "..."
Clyde already started regretting. He probably shouldn't have said that earlier, now the learning opportunity in front of him was...
"In theory, staying in a combat-learning environment long-term, the Flame Emperor may not be able to directly copy Little Raven's innate skills," That would be difficult, the bloodline was a gulf that couldn't be crossed.
However... that didn't mean there were no benefits.
Solar True Flame.
That's the Solar True Flame.
Close-range battle, close-range observation, there's a great chance of gaining insights into flame usage and intensity.
Solar True Flame, a ferocious and unreasonable flame.
Clyde: "Alright, stop, I agree right now."
'Definitely won't talk nonsense again.'
Asher smiled: "Don't rush, there are still conditions."
Clyde narrowed his eyes at Asher, "You sure you're not just messing with me?"
"I'm sure," Asher calmly nodded, not looking guilty at all.
Clyde couldn't keep questioning and could only assume this was real for now. Definitely not teasing him, "What's the condition?"
"First, the Flame Dragon can't use any attack methods besides flame, since this training is targeted at Flame Emperor's fire," Asher said.
This eliminated many of Flame Emperor's attack options.
Clyde thought a little and agreed to Asher's request.
It wasn't a big problem.
Sometimes during targeted training, he would also make such restrictions for the Flame Dragon.
But the opponents he arranged for Flame Emperor were usually Flame Sovereign or other Tier 8 pet beasts.
Suitable Tier 9 sparring partners weren't that easy to find.
Clyde especially hoped his younger sister could become an Tier 8 beast tamer sooner.
Then he'd have one more exclusive sparring partner.
Win-win.
Freya: *chills down her back*
She turned cautiously and saw Clyde with a calculating expression.
Freya hugged her Jaeger and took a few steps back again.
'Stay away from the source of danger, never get tricked!'
"And then, just leave Little Raven with one breath," Asher continued.
Clyde: "?"
Clyde looked at Asher, his gaze becoming serious.
'What?'
'Seriously?'
Asher nodded, "Of course seriously, otherwise what's the point?"
Leave one breath.
As long as it could be safely put into the medical pod, it's fine.
Anyway, in his research institute, if there's anything in abundance, it's medical equipment.
Normally they don't get much use.
Now there's finally an occasion to use them, so why not put them to good use?
Little Raven: (￢_￢)
Little Raven glanced at its beast tamer holding it, thought for a bit, and in the end said nothing.
'Fine, Beastmaster's words aren't completely without reason.'
Also...
Little Raven remembered the Flame Dragon it saw that day, it looked eager to fight.
'Wants to fight!'
'Loves fighting!'
Clyde also felt the blazing battle intent from Little Raven and laughed, "Alright, then I'll tell Flame Emperor not to hold back at all."
Asher made an OK hand gesture.
'Couldn't be happier.'
Such a good sparring partner, if it weren't for this great opportunity, where would you even find one usually?
You simply can't. Don't miss it when it passes by.
Clyde: '...Why does it suddenly feel like I'm that poor sucker walking straight into a trap?'
'Uh... must be my imagination.'
'Yep, definitely that.'
Clyde absolutely wouldn't admit something like that.
Asher: 'No problem.'
If this could make Clyde feel better, Asher didn't mind him thinking that way.
Then, from after lunch, the training field intermittently echoed with sounds of battle and impact, "Tsk tsk."
"Tsk tsk tsk."
"The world is getting worse."
"People have no principles anymore."
"Tragic, Little Raven, tragic."
Every staff member in Asher's research institute, each one had fruit and snacks in hand, stood not far off, watching the battle between Little Raven and Flame Emperor.
The result was...
Hard to describe.
Let's just say, the time Little Raven spent in the medical pod gradually changed from every ten minutes to fifteen... twenty minutes.
"The latest result is out. This time Little Raven lasted 26 minutes and 17 seconds under Flame Emperor's attack," Levi on the side held a stopwatch and excitedly announced the good news to his colleagues.
"Oh oh oh! Not easy, not easy! Watching the kid get this far step by step, it's really not easy," Pierce clapped enthusiastically from the side, showing full support.
Onlooking Eliana: "..."
Didn't really want to comment.
But looking at the pitiful Little Raven lying on the ground, even its feathers charred black, a flash of heartache passed through Eliana's eyes.
'Sigh, at least I see Little Raven often.'
Sometimes even fed it some fruit snacks or the like.
Suddenly seeing Little Raven in such a pitiful state, Eliana couldn't help but feel bad and thought, 'Is this really necessary?'
Little Raven was already at the peak of Tier 6.
Compared to how hard Asher worked as a beast tamer, this strength was already more than enough. Crushing all his same-age beast tamer peers.
With proper training of other pet beasts, Asher should already be a Tier 3, no, 4 beast tamer?
Thinking of this, Eliana gasped again and showed a slightly pained expression.
It's known, an excellent battle pet student, after four years of university, at most becomes a Tier 3 beast tamer. Asher not only met that target, he surpassed it.
So what's the rush?
Can't he let Little Raven relax a bit?
"That's how pet beast training is," Sarah seemed to see what Eliana was thinking and smiled at the still-young girl.
"I'm not a beast tamer, but I've met many beast tamers and talked with quite a few of them," Sarah said softly.
"I've seen those who really pamper their pet beasts. As long as the pet is happy, training and battles don't matter."
"Beast tamers don't want their pets hurt and always hesitate in battles. If the pet acts wronged or pouts, the tamer immediately gives in."
"Is that really good for the pet?", Sarah shook her head.
Eliana couldn't help but ask curiously, "And then? What happened to that pet?"
"Mm... not great. The tamer pampered it too much, it never had a chance to face hardship on its own and eventually lost the courage to face anything."
"It was clearly a pet beast with great potential, but in the end turned into a domestic pet. Well... good or bad, I don't know. Only the pet and its tamer truly know."
Listening to Sarah's words, Eliana's gaze gradually shifted to Little Raven.
'If Little Raven ends up like that...', Eliana sighed softly.
She still thought Little Raven looked more beautiful flying on the battlefield.
Surely even Little Raven itself enjoyed the joy brought by constant battles more.
In this regard, Asher really went all out.
After another healing session, Little Raven crawled out of the medical pod and wanted to challenge Flame Emperor again.
"Rest," Asher forcefully held down Little Raven.
"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!"
The normally quiet child was anxious enough to make noise.
But Asher still didn't release the hand pressing on Little Raven.
"Already at the limit, that's enough for today," Asher looked at Little Raven and said, "Calm down?"
"In the short term... mm, for quite a long time, you probably won't be able to beat Flame Emperor."
Little Raven's gold-red eyes were full of frustration.
It stared at Asher, as if cursing him silently.
'Boosting others' morale! Killing my own momentum!'
"The gap in strength is right there, not something you can flatten just by trying hard," Asher helplessly reached out and rubbed the fluff on Little Raven's head.
"Instead of thinking about how to beat it quickly, better to think about what you can learn from it, experience the pure joy of combat," Asher encouraged Little Raven.
Little Raven: 'Though still, the bird doesn't want to listen.'
Seeing Little Raven puffed up in anger, Asher chuckled and rubbed the feathers on both sides of its beak, "Alright, alright, one more match before dinner, okay?"
"But it's the last match today," As he spoke, Asher raised a finger for emphasis.
"Before that, Little Raven needs to review the mistakes and oversights from earlier, then we'll reinforce those. Let's aim to last half an hour in the final pre-dinner match."
"Chirp!"
'An hour!'
'The bird can do it!'
Asher: "..."
'Fine, as long as Little Raven is happy.'
As for what will happen by then... hmm, when the car gets to the mountain, there'll be a road.
Play it by ear.
Asher smiled.
And not far away, Clyde, who had commanded Flame Emperor to several victories, also showed a serious expression, "This is really..."
"What's with that face?", Freya, who also came to watch the Flame Emperor vs Little Raven battle, crossed her arms and looked at her brother with a puzzled expression.
"You talk like you didn't just rub someone into the ground."
"Shameless!"
Freya didn't hear the previous conversation between Asher and Clyde, but she more or less knew what was going on, it was just that she couldn't hold it in.
Trash-talking, that kind of thing... sometimes it's just uncontrollable.
She believed her brother would understand.
Clyde glanced at Freya and didn't explain anything about what she said.
It was really because... Clyde's mood was still quite complicated.
The strength Little Raven displayed...
During the first round of the battle, Clyde already noticed, it wasn't a simple Tier 6, it was the peak of the Tier 6.
Peak! As if at any moment, he could take that step into the Tier 7.
Then look at Asher's age... and think about when Asher contracted his pet beast and became a beastmaster...
'Is this really the strength a newcomer, a beastmaster at this age, is supposed to have?'
Clyde didn't understand.
Clyde was greatly shocked.
Clyde felt as if his entire worldview had been heavily shaken.
Thinking of this, Clyde gave a particularly complicated glance at Freya beside him, who was still making sarcastic remarks, 'That one, my dumb little sister, oh, how can you be this dumb?'
"Even at this close distance you couldn't tell anything?", Clyde said helplessly.
Freya blinked her big watery eyes, "Tell what? What am I supposed to tell?"
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