"So what are the requirements for that altar?", Charlotte seemed to have thought of something, looked at Asher, and asked with some curiosity. Because Asher had described it in more detail.
He hadn't gotten to this part yet when he was interrupted by Charlotte, so Charlotte still didn't know what happened afterward.
Asher, who originally intended to talk about this matter, suddenly hesitated a bit under Charlotte's gaze.
"Hm?", Seeing Asher pause, Charlotte blinked, "Is there something inappropriate to say?"
As she said this, Charlotte seemed to think of something, and her expression became serious, "If it's some kind of secret technique that can't be shared, it's fine."
"I'll just mention it briefly in the follow-up report."
Asher waved his hand, "It's not that."
"Mm…"
"Box jellyfish."
"The entity that can safely and successfully enter the altar is a special mutated box jellyfish," Asher thought for a moment and still decided to say it.
Back in the mini-secret realm, the others already knew the true species of the little jellyfish.
This matter couldn't be hidden.
Besides, Asher wasn't planning on hiding it anymore.
It wasn't a big deal to say it.
"Oh, so it's a box jelly—", Charlotte nodded calmly, repeating Asher's words with a peaceful expression.
As she spoke, Charlotte realized something was off.
'Wait a second?'
'What did Asher just say?'
'What name came out of Asher's mouth?'
Charlotte and Asher locked eyes.
Asher smiled, "You didn't hear wrong, it's a box jellyfish."
"Want to take a look?"
"It looks really cute after mutating," As he spoke, Asher made a motion to summon the little jellyfish.
Charlotte shivered, and the previously distracted mind snapped back to full awareness.
'Stay focused! That's a box jellyfish!'
A transcendent species from a domain no human has ever ventured into.
"My head… hurts so much…", Charlotte raised her hands in a daze, holding her head with a blank and silly expression.
The brain is receiving information.
The brain is organizing information.
The brain… the brain can't handle it.
CPU burned out.
"Calm down, calm down," Seeing Charlotte's head about to start smoking, Asher quickly handed her a glass of water, "Drink some water, clear your mind a bit, calm yourself."
Asher spoke very considerately.
Charlotte took the cup and mechanically repeated the drinking motion.
Whether it was the water entering the mouth, sliding down the throat, and finally reaching the stomach that had a healing and soothing effect, Charlotte finally recovered from the state of shock.
"Box jellyfish!"
"When did you contract thi-this contract this big shot?"
Looking at Asher, Charlotte was utterly confused.
'This doesn't make sense?'
'When did Asher ever go to the Tranquil Current region?'
'If he didn't go there, then where did he contract a box jellyfish?'
'Was it during the trip to the Inland Sea?'
'No, that's not right either.'
'The inland sea definitely doesn't have beasts like box jellyfish.'
'Otherwise, how would the residents of the inland sea even live?'
Charlotte went through Asher's schedule over and over and still couldn't recall when Asher had the opportunity to challenge a box jellyfish.
Charlotte: '…As expected of Professor Asher.'
'A mysterious ma… man!'
Asher: "..."
Although Charlotte didn't say anything, Asher still felt like he could see everything in Charlotte's eyes.
Who knows how many inner monologues her brain was playing by now.
Asher twitched his mouth, his face showing a very helpless expression.
Charlotte grinned at Asher.
"Feels like the alliance knows a bit too much about me," Asher said softly.
But Asher just said it casually.
As long as you live in this country's territory past records and such can't truly be completely covered.
That Charlotte knew most of Asher's history was actually the most normal thing.
Asher skipped this topic.
"It wasn't the Tranquil Inland Sea."
Not even encountered by the sea.
"I met it at the welfare institute."
Asher said something Charlotte couldn't have imagined.
Charlotte: "?"
Charlotte silently typed a question mark.
Not only Charlotte.
Even Freya and the Sterling brothers beside them looked at Asher with eyes full of indescribable awe and shock.
Asher paused.
Wait a second. He could understand the shock. But what was with the awe?
Could it be that he saw wrong?
Asher carefully distinguished again and then was even more sure.
It really was a look of admiration.
And not just from one person.
Prince and Felter both looked at him with eyes full of indescribable shock.
Asher: "..."
'What is this? Brothers with inexplicable mutual understanding at unnecessary times?'
Asher didn't want to guess their thoughts at all, or try to understand why they were so shocked.
Don't try to parse weird brain circuits.
"If I say it was a coincidence, would you believe it?", Asher rubbed his forehead, "At that time… it really could only be called destined fate."
Asher briefly explained what happened during the New Year's visit to the welfare institute.
Returning to the welfare institute was impulsive.
The kid taking him to see her friend was also accidental.
Only the act of contracting the little jellyfish seemed at the time to be Asher acting too impulsively, randomly contracting a pet beast with unknown species, unknown strength, and unknown future potential.
But looking back now…
"Amazing, so amazing," Charlotte listened to Asher, her voice slightly choked, her gaze toward Asher filled with envy.
Just casually contracted a box jellyfish?
Who would believe this story?
If Asher weren't sitting right in front of her, and with three other people to vouch for him, plus the absurd experiences in the mini-secret realm, Charlotte wouldn't dare to believe Asher's words.
She couldn't help it.
The name box jellyfish was just too resounding.
"…What were you thinking at the time?", In the end, Charlotte couldn't help but ask, "Contracting a beast that looked so weak it could barely feed itself?"
"Were you really not just doing charity?"
Asher shrugged and said calmly, "Did you forget my talent skill?"
"My sixth sense is very good."
"Just like you said, even though I didn't know what condition the little jellyfish was in at the time, I had a gut feeling it should be very strong."
Charlotte wanted to say something but held back.
Her remaining questions were completely blocked by Asher, 'Damn it!'
She originally wanted to learn some tricks from Asher, maybe she'd get lucky in the future too.
Charlotte: 'Damn lucky bastard! Us unlucky ones and the lucky ones must forever be at odds!'
Asher didn't speak.
'Mm, lucky bastard. Not bad.'
He liked this title.
Luckily, Charlotte still had some ability to regulate herself…
"But this is the legendary luck of the chosen one, isn't it?", But Felter beside them didn't.
He looked at Asher with eyes so jealous they were practically turning into Sharingan.
True physical Sharingan.
Freya added fuel to the fire beside him, "They say when God closes a window for you, He will open a door."
"But why is it that for some people, God opens the window, opens the door, and even helps tear off the ceiling?"
"Can't understand it!"
Felter nodded furiously, "Can't understand it!"
The two spoke in unison, ""Damn lucky bastard!""
Asher calmly coughed twice, cleared his throat, then raised his hands and pressed down, "Thank you all for the compliments, too kind, too kind."
Felter and Freya: "..."
'That was sarcasm, don't you get it? It wasn't a compliment.'
"Hahaha!", Prince laughed loudly, "Luck is a kind of strength too. Professor Asher is truly amazing!"
"My luck isn't bad either. That's why I met Little Light!"
Asher's mouth twitched again.
'Something feels off.'
Asher remembered Prince named his Lightyear Dragon Rider "Little Red" or something last time?
Is this really a daily-renamed nickname?
Forget it, as long as Prince and Lightyear Dragon Rider understand each other, why should he, an outsider, worry about it?
Unnecessary concern.
"…Anyway, that's how I met the little jellyfish," Asher quickly finished recounting the story of encountering the little jellyfish at the welfare institute.
"At the time it was purely instinct, and I also wanted to help it, so I made the contract."
"Otherwise, I really didn't have plans to contract a new pet beast any time soon."
Charlotte instantly understood what Asher meant.
Indeed.
If we reverse the timeline… Asher should have already contracted three pet beasts by then.
Little Raven, Asher's ace.
Cat Dragon. Though it looked odd, its strength was definitely not weak.
The prize pet egg, Little White Snake. Whether it was training the ace and Cat Dragon, or raising the Little White Snake, it would all cost a lot of time and energy.
To contract another pet beast?
Even if Asher is a genius, there are still only 24 hours in a day. He can't turn one hour into two, or double his day to 48 hours.
In limited time, Asher's capabilities are also limited.
"You had it pretty rough back then too," Charlotte looked at Asher with understanding and sympathetic eyes.
Asher smiled, "A little tired, but it wasn't unbearable."
"Consider it a challenge for myself," As he said that, Asher smiled again.
Hilarious. Asher didn't even know how to explain. The big issue at the time wasn't time, it was how to feed the little jellyfish.
Feeding a pet beast with the [Gluttony] talent skill was a seriously head-splitting problem.
Fortunately, the little jellyfish now has its god-tier equipment: the Mirage Pearl.
Visibly, this kind of problem definitely won't happen again in the future.
Asher could finally rest easy.
No more worrying about the jellyfish's food once it evolves again.
After finishing the origin story of the jellyfish, Asher continued to recount what happened next.
"But the Mirage Pearl…", Asher said, and didn't hide anything.
He looked at Charlotte, "It got eaten by the little jellyfish. It's gone."
Asher spread his hands.
The message was clear.
Don't ask him for it.
He really doesn't have it.
Charlotte gave Asher a helpless glance, "Do we look like that kind of person?"
"Even if it's other Beast Tamers, the alliance wouldn't say anything about what you found on your own expeditions. Trades and such are your own decisions."
Even though the Mirage Pearl sounded magical, Charlotte honestly had no desire for it.
As for others who might be interested?
They don't even know this thing exists.
Just let them stay in the dark.
Asher smiled.
For what happened afterward, Freya and Felter also helped fill in a lot.
But as for the conversation with the tier-8 box jellyfish, Asher still omitted quite a bit.
At this point, Asher's expression grew more serious, "My main reason for coming to Star City was to say this to you in person. That black sludge, the Aberrant Species, is a beast with parasitic abilities."
Completely different from insect-based parasitism.
It invades a beast's body.
Slowly, little by little, it influences the creature's very essence.
Hollowing out the creature from within until what's left is just its outer shell, filled entirely with black sludge inside.
However, the most terrifying part is, the host's thought process and usable abilities remain entirely that of the original beast.
Not altered or controlled by the Variant Species.
"Hic—", Upon hearing this, Felter couldn't help but let out a huge hiccup.
His entire body trembled.
"I… hic!"
"Hiccup… stop…"
Felter's eyes teared up.
'Damn it! His dignity! Completely gone! Why won't this hiccup stop?'
Freya and Charlotte both couldn't help but laugh.
Prince laughed even louder, and didn't forget to pull out his phone to take photos and videos of Felter.
In the end, it was Asher who brought a cup of water to Felter. With water in his mouth, Felter finally managed to stop hiccupping with difficulty.
"Damn it! Asher is my real brother, right?"
"I want to change brothers!"
"Damn it!"
Felter mumbled and grumbled non-stop.
Without Prince even needing to speak, Freya just glanced at Felter, "You're dreaming pretty big. I bet your brother also wants a younger brother like Professor Asher."
Prince bared his teeth in a grin and gave a thumbs up.
Didn't say anything.
But it was like he said everything.
"Stop dreaming," Freya crossed her arms and said with a smile, "What happened to you that you're hiccupping and can't stop."
Felter swallowed the mouthful of water he was holding.
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