"So I can improve the Cultivation and Spirit Roots of my Contracted Beasts as well?" Zar rubbed his chin in thought, having almost entirely adapted to the unbelievable things happening to him. "With this, I can essentially create an army of these—what were they called again?"
"Oh yeah," his smirk widened. "Shadow Beasts."
After taking a few minutes to fully digest everything, Zar shifted his icy gaze to where the town of Verndale was located.
To where he had been cruelly killed…
Killing intent surfaced from the depths of his chilling eyes as he turned away and started flickering deeper into the forest like a mirage.
'I may have been the trespasser, and you can't be blamed for disposing of the rat,' Zar thought coldly. 'But before my consciousness faded, I heard you say something. Something that places you in my way. As such—'
*Fwooop!*
"You have to die."
Taking with him his first Shadow Beast, Zar disappeared into the depths of the Great Forest of Jargon.
Spring gave way to summer, and with the passing of three months, not much changed for the denizens of Verndale. They ate, they played, they laughed, and they cultivated.
Zar, however, wasted very little time on that nonsense. As a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator, he rarely had to eat or perform other mortal activities, and as someone uninterested in going easy on himself, he never once considered playing or anything else of the sort.
Only the pursuit of greater power and freedom drove him forward.
During these past few months, he slaughtered Low-Rank Demon Beasts like usual. However, unlike before, he now had the option of converting deceased Demon Beasts into his Shadow Beasts, which he did repeatedly.
Every time he defeated a stronger Demon Beast, he'd replace one of his weaker Shadow Beasts with the shadow of the beast he killed. He also consistently spent Lifespan to increase the maximum limit of his Shadow Beast count, which ultimately led to him having a total of 26 Shadow Beasts, each one at least at the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation.
As for how he managed to acquire so many powerful Shadow Beasts, he dumped Lifespan into his Cultivation and Spirit Roots every so often, causing both his power and talent to soar.
Though, by soar, it was really meant relatively…
[Qi Condensation (2nd Layer) → Qi Condensation (4th Layer)]
[Inferior Five Elements Spirit Roots → Ordinary Five Elements Spirit Roots]
Overall, in terms of talent, he had just become average. But that increase in talent to average played a major part in Zar improving his cultivation by a whole two layers.
A feat that would've previously taken him half a decade to accomplish without the assistance of the Infinite Beast Evolution System!
Today began like any other, with Zar hunting alongside his Shadow Beasts. Both he and his Shadow Beasts gained Lifespan with every kill or spiritual plant plucked, but as he almost immediately realized, everything had diminishing returns.
And seeing as the part of the Great Forest of Jargon they were trapped in only had Rank 1 and Rank 2 Demon Beasts roaming around, Zar's Lifespan started to stall.
BLING!
[Lifespan: 15/340]
It was nonetheless a good amount by any standards, comparable to the average Lifespan of a Foundation Establishment Realm Therian.
However, for the insatiable Zar, it was not nearly enough…
He yearned for more!
"But how would I go about doing that in these barren, backwater lands?" Zar heaved a heavy sigh, his frustration growing worse and worse as of late. "Maybe I should try to sneak into a goods transport out of this place or something?
No… that won't work. Not with the one who killed me likely keeping a close eye on everything going in and out of here."
Zar had learned a devastating secret about the place he grew up in while listening to the words of that powerful Lion Therian in his last moments. And with it, the Foundation Establishment Realm was no longer enough to escape.
And this time, the word escape was used literally.
Because they were—
Trapped.
Like caged beasts.
Scowling, Zar cursed a few times.
Ultimately, he calmed his nerves and refocused on his priorities, but the punchable face of that lion bastard still lingered in the back of his mind.
The first leaves of autumn fell with the ending of a very hot summer. And on one particular day, a pleasant System pop-up appeared before Zar.
[Congratulations, you have successfully contracted a total of 33 Shadow Beasts, all above the 3rd Layer Qi Condensation Realm!]
[Your Beast Master Rank has been officialized!]
[Beast Master (None) → Beast Master (Beginner)]
"A Beginner Beast Master?" Zar stopped swinging around his blade-like hands for a second, drawn to the freshest swarm of System Notifications. "What does this do for me?"
Ding!
[To answer your question, a Beast Master is a special profession exclusive to the Infinite Beast Evolution System. Each rank-up will not only improve your maximum Shadow Beast count, but it will also increase the stats and combat ability of all your Shadow Beasts!]
[Shadow Beast Count Limit (33) → (40)]
[Shadow Beast All-Stat Bonus (0%) → (10%)]
[The improvements are small for now, but they will become exponentially better over time!]