Brain: '…'
Brain: 'Okay, I admit it does look a little similar, but is there a possibility that it's really just a little bit similar?'
Eyes: 'You tell me, do you even believe what you're saying?'
Brain: 'I believe it!'
Eyes: 'Heh!'
Brain: '…'
Brain: 'Mouth, say something! Otherwise, what's the point of you? You're the bridge of communication between humans. Now is the time for you to do your part!'
Mouth: ;)
Mouth: 'Speak? Speak what? Brain, you tell me what I can say! Help me organize a language?'
Clyde's feelings were just that complicated.
The brain and cognition were at odds.
All the organs were in a state of wanting to speak, feeling they should speak, but not knowing what to say.
As if there was a slight problem in organizing language.
Really just a tiny problem.
"Uh…", After hesitated for a long time. No one knows how long, when Asher had already finished training with several pet beasts and was preparing to head back, Clyde finally couldn't hold it in and spoke.
He reached out and pointed at the little jellyfish floating midair, moving through the air as if swimming in the ocean, and said very uncertainly, "Your pet beast… what species of jellyfish is it?"
"It looks a little… familiar?", By the end, Clyde's voice faded.
He still wasn't quite sure.
Asher hadn't spoken yet.
Hearing this, Freya noticed the little jellyfish and curiously leaned closer to it.
Clyde: "!"
Clyde, shocked, yanked Freya back.
"What are you running around for?", Clyde glared at Freya.
Freya was also startled by Clyde's sudden action.
Although Clyde's attitude toward her was usually… ahem, not great, verbal spats were common.
But that was limited to bickering.
There were never real physical confrontations, at most just a little sparring between pet beasts, and there was no need to talk about winning or losing.
So being physically stopped and restrained by Clyde scared Freya's little heart into pounding.
She was scared.
Freya looked at Clyde with a shocked and uncertain gaze, unable to understand why he suddenly exploded.
But Asher immediately understood what was going on.
"It's fine," Asher beckoned to the little jellyfish.
Little Jellyfish: "Gulu!"
The little jellyfish pulsed happily, waving its tentacles and quickly swimming toward Asher. Then, with a "gulu," it curled into a ball, its long tendrils all retracted.
It turned into a small, very squishy and bouncy-looking basketball.
Held in Asher's hand, squished flat and round at will.
Freya looked on, eyes glowing, "That looks so nice to touch! I really want to squish it too!"
Freya exclaimed loudly, unable to resist.
Clyde: "..."
Clyde once again felt like the organs in his body were at war.
Mainly the eyes, brain, and mouth.
Clyde even began to doubt his instincts.
'Am I overthinking it?'
'Maybe this really isn't a Box Jellyfish?'
"The little jellyfish mutated, specific species unknown, and the mutation direction is still unclear."
"But attribute-wise, the little jellyfish isn't that dangerous," Asher said with a smile, looking as though he completely understood Clyde.
Clyde nodded.
'Understood.'
'Probably due to mutation, this jellyfish only looks a little like the Box Jellyfish.'
This explanation made sense.
Just like what the brain instinctively argued earlier, those things in the ocean, especially within the same genus or species, looking somewhat similar is normal.
Jellyfish to jellyfish, even if they look weird, they still share about half the traits.
Add mutation to that… makes sense.
Plus, the little jellyfish is obedient, non-toxic, and appears to be within a manageable danger level.
Clyde nodded and gave Asher a slightly apologetic smile.
"Looks a bit like a Box Jellyfish, but thinking more carefully, I must have mistaken it," Clyde said apologetically.
Freya: "?"
"No way, bro?", Freya turned to look at Clyde with shock and disbelief, her already big cat eyes widening even more.
Full of incomprehension.
"Box Jellyfish!"
"You mistook this little guy for a Box Jellyfish?"
"No, if a real Box Jellyfish knew this, it would come slap your face twice!"
Saying this, Freya even nodded seriously, then looked at the adorable little jellyfish being squished like a stress toy by Asher.
"It's obviously so cute!"
"And it's not even the same shade of blue as the Box Jellyfish, which is almost black-blue. Just by looking, you can tell this one's non-toxic. How could you confuse the two?"
Freya couldn't understand.
Her brother was a top student back in school, wasn't he?
How many years has it been since graduation… oh, quite a few actually.
Still, that's no excuse.
It's not like Beast Tamers don't need to keep learning about beasts.
In fact, because it became a profession, Beast Tamers actually need to learn even more related knowledge, otherwise, they can't properly raise powerful pet beasts or become stronger Beast Tamers.
The drive shifted from external demands to internal necessity.
Anyone with a dream would push themselves.
Clyde scratched his nose, looking a bit awkward, but quickly explained, "It's not just the appearance. The Box Jellyfish has a unique pattern, a pale marking made of lines that resembles the sun and moon embedded together."
"No other jellyfish has that marking."
Circle and crescent moon.
The embedded pattern was just a little complex.
"Just now when Professor Asher was teaching the little jellyfish to contract and move, I thought I saw a similar marking on its body, but looking closely now, it does seem different," Saying this, both Clyde and Freya leaned closer to Asher, one on each side, looking at the little jellyfish.
Asher, the little jellyfish's Beast Tamer: "…"
'Alright, nothing too big of a deal.'
Following the siblings' gaze, Asher also curiously looked down to examine the jellyfish's markings.
'Mm… actually, yeah, it does look a bit like a sun and moon embedded design.'
Asher had noticed the shallow, special marking earlier too.
But because it was unformed and somewhat complex, he hadn't thought too much of it.
Now that Clyde pointed it out, 'Whoa!'
'So it can be interpreted that way!'
Also… Asher took out his phone and searched for the Box Jellyfish's markings.
No close-up photos, just some weird angles and a lot of imagination and overconfidence.
Asher nodded, no longer worried about being exposed.
He was just an ordinary guy who formed a contract with a pet beast.
What did he know about Box Jellyfish? Nothing.
The now-calm Clyde looked at the pet beast and thought, 'What was I thinking just now?'
'Oh! Asher is training several pet beasts.'
From afar, Clyde could make a rough judgment, but now that he was closer, he could clearly feel the aura emanating from the little jellyfish.
Then, Clyde showed a shocked expression.
'Is it my illusion? Or did the aura from this little jellyfish feel just a little bit weaker than that of Little Raven?'
'Is this really not an illusion?'
'Two pet beasts with near Tier 6 peak power?'
'No way?'
'Can something like this really happen in reality to someone Asher's age?'
Clyde questioned life again.
Asher had no idea what was running through Clyde's mind.
If he did, Asher would probably say, 'Sure. Of course. Why not?'
Little Raven wasn't even the fastest growing in terms of strength among the pet beasts.
Though Little Raven was the strongest, that was only because Asher formed a contract with it first.
Actually, the fastest growth belonged to the little jellyfish.
No helping it.
Little jellyfish had cheat codes.
Same world.
Same game.
The little jellyfish came with natural modification cheats. As long as it got enough energy, its strength would skyrocket, "whoosh whoosh whoosh."
Like riding a rocket.
Asher still exercised control, just like with the Flame Dragon Jaeger issue.
Energy might rise, but the pet beast couldn't control it yet.
Asher would never let that happen to his own pet beasts.
Faced with a sudden surge in strength, how to master it?
No shortcuts.
Only training, training, and more training.
Tempering through a thousand trials to master every thread of energy in the body.
The little jellyfish was also very cooperative in training.
It had successfully achieved stable control over its strength, and its strength even rose a little more, now just slightly behind Little Raven.
But if Little Raven couldn't break through again, the little jellyfish might really catch up.
Thinking that, Asher beckoned to Little Raven.
Little Raven landed in Asher's arms.
Next second, with a light flap of its wings, Little Raven smacked the little jellyfish flying out of Asher's hands.
Little Jellyfish: "?"
The little jellyfish wasn't flustered or afraid. Midair, it unfurled its long tentacles.
Eight tentacles spread like wings.
The moment they appeared, they stabilized the jellyfish, stopping it from falling and making it float steadily in the air.
Little Jellyfish: "Gulu~"
Little jellyfish was used to it.
Little jellyfish wasn't angry.
Little jellyfish… sprays water.
Little Raven: "!"
Little Raven, who was just sitting obediently in Asher's arms, suddenly flapped its wings and flew out, rushing at the little jellyfish without looking back.
Asher: "…"
Alright.
Asher said he was used to it too.
How did the previously so obedient and cute little jellyfish turn out like this?
Asher thought for a moment.
Anyway, it had nothing to do with him.
Not a big problem.
Clyde and Freya on the side: "…"
The siblings glanced at each other, then both looked away.
"That's definitely not a Box Jellyfish."
"Right."
One spoke, the other nodded. The usually combative siblings unusually reached consensus.
No choice.
The Box Jellyfish was shrouded in multiple auras.
Mysterious.
Unfathomable.
Ocean overlord.
Sovereign.
Expecting them to believe that this silly-looking little thing was actually super powerful, a creature no human Beast Tamer had ever successfully contracted in 1,200 years?
What a joke.
That's not how jokes work.
Completely convinced, definitely not a Box Jellyfish.
"Cough, cough," Asher looked at Little Raven and the little jellyfish roughhousing, then helplessly looked at the sibling pair beside him.
"You guys go train first. I'll probably need a while here."
Seeing Asher showing rare awkwardness, Clyde nodded understandingly, "Alright, I'll take Flame Emperor and the others to warm up. After that, we'll have our match?"
"Okay," Asher gave an OK hand gesture.
Watching Clyde and Freya head off to train, Asher finally turned his attention to Little Raven and the little jellyfish fooling around.
"You two, if you don't stop now, one of you is going hungry today, and the other won't get to battle Flame Emperor," Asher's voice wasn't loud.
But he precisely hit both pet beasts' weak spots.
Whether Little Raven or the little jellyfish, both instantly froze.
Didn't dare move.
They blinked big watery eyes at Asher… oh wait, little jellyfish didn't have eyes.
Little Raven glared at the little jellyfish.
'Damn it!'
'Deadweight sidekick!'
Little Jellyfish: "Gulu~"
Asher looked at these two little creatures, one soft and one shadowy, but neither backing down when it came to competition, and had no choice but to step forward and helplessly separate them left and right…
"That's enough, okay?"
"Next, it's time to prepare for today's battle segment," These words were said by Asher to Little Raven.
"The earlier you get beaten, the earlier you rest, and the earlier you recover. In the afternoon you can last a bit longer," As he spoke, Asher nodded.
Cat-Worm: *body stiff*
'Scary!'
'It's just too scary!'
'This dragon can't bear to hear such words!'
The little jellyfish's long tentacles also looked a little shrunken with fear.
Battling is one thing.
Battling when you know there's no chance of winning is a whole other thing.
But Little Raven's mood was different.
Little Raven's mood was especially high.
"Chirp!"
'Good!'
———
"How should I put this result," Asher stood at the side with his arms crossed, looking at Little Raven who had been sent into the medical pod, and let out a long sigh.
"Really not surprising at all."
Freya next to him also nodded with mock seriousness, "Truly not surprising at all. Honestly, this kind of thing is very normal."
"After all, my brother's Flame Emperor is Tier 9 in strength."
"It's not something you can just casually leap across, you know."
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y