Chapter 436: You Can Do That?!

Ethan snapped, lashing out at Talon.

"Not now! You want to die too?! What can you even do against that thing?"

His voice cracked as he shouted, the frustration and fear he had been suppressing finally spilling out.

"If it weren’t for you, I would’ve gotten a fifth beast already! I’d have another option, another way to fight this thing! But instead, I’ve wasted so many resources trying to evolve you!"

The words were cruel, and some part of him knew it.

But Ethan was terrified, exhausted, and running out of time. He had already been running out of patience, and facing death in the face didn’t exactly help.

Talon continued calling.

The Griffling was stubborn and prideful, and it had never been particularly good at accepting Ethan’s decisions when they conflicted with its own ambitions. Even now, with death looming over them, it refused to back down.

’Summon me!’

The message came through their connection with such force and clarity that Ethan momentarily froze.

Then he shook his head.

’No. I’m not wasting my last bit of mana on you.’

Talon called again.

Ethan ignored it.

The Griffling had failed to evolve time and time again. Its potential had frustrated him, its repeated failures had cost him resources, and its inability to advance had become a burden he couldn’t afford to carry anymore.

One that may even cost him his life.

He couldn’t see how summoning it would change anything.

But Talon wasn’t asking for permission anymore.

Suddenly, Ethan felt something strange through their connection.

A surge of mana.

Then a familiar presence materialised nearby.

Ethan’s eyes widened.

’What the fuck?’

Talon had summoned itself.

The small Griffling appeared in the air above the water, its green feathers ruffled by the surrounding currents. Its wings spread wide as it faced the enormous Leviathan, showing no trace of hesitation despite the difference in their sizes.

Ethan stared in disbelief.

’You can do that?!’

The little mana he had left hadn’t been used, meaning....

’It used its own mana!’

He had never even considered the possibility that one of his beasts could summon itself using its own mana. The discovery was astonishing and created so many possibilities, but there was no time to dwell on it.

Talon was still only a C Rank Griffling.

Even if it could summon itself, it had no chance of defeating an A Rank Boss Beast.

The Leviathan’s eyes shifted toward the newcomer.

For the first time in several moments, its expression changed.

Something about the Griffling’s presence had caught its attention.

Talon’s mana was rising.

A violent gust of wind swept across the ocean, whipping up waves and scattering the mist around its body. The air grew heavier as an enormous quantity of mana gathered around the small creature, far more than Ethan had ever sensed from it before.

The wind twisted into a rapidly spinning vortex.

Within seconds, a tornado formed around Talon, its roaring currents tearing across the water and dragging enormous quantities of moisture into the air. The surrounding ocean churned violently as the pressure increased, while the Griffling remained suspended at the centre of the growing storm.

Its feathers fluttered wildly, and its body began to glow.

Ethan felt the mana surge through their connection and nearly choked on his own disbelief.

’What the hell is happening?’

The Leviathan reacted immediately.

The enormous beast raised its head, and the ocean answered its will. A colossal wave surged toward the tornado, carrying enough force to crush a fortress beneath its weight.

The wave struck.

BOOOOOOM!

Water exploded against the spinning currents, sending a shockwave across the ocean.

But the tornado held.

The water couldn’t penetrate the violent vortex surrounding Talon. Every incoming surge was torn apart and scattered, the currents twisting away before they could reach the creature at its centre.

The Leviathan’s green eyes narrowed.

Something was happening.

Something extraordinary.

Inside the tornado, Talon’s body began to change.

Its small frame stretched as mana poured into every part of its being. Its wings expanded, its feathers lengthened, and its limbs grew stronger as the energy surrounding it intensified.

Then Ethan felt it.

A sudden spike in mana.

The pressure exploded outward.

{Evolution and Beast Metamorphosis Detected.}

The notification appeared before his eyes.

{Race Evolution: Griffling → Griffin.}

Ethan’s breath caught.

The tornado roared even louder as Talon’s transformation continued, its body growing larger while the mana around it became increasingly dense.

Another spike followed.

This one was even greater than the first.

Ethan felt the difference immediately. The presence on the other side of their connection had changed so dramatically that he struggled to reconcile it with the small, stubborn creature he had known for so long.

The mana surged once more, and the notification flashed again.

{Beast Rank Increased: C Rank → B Rank.}

Ethan stared at the message.

Then another appeared.

{Beast Rank Increased: B Rank → A Rank.}

For a moment, he couldn’t process what he was seeing.

Two stages of evolution.

Two rank increases.

His Griffling had gone from C Rank to B Rank, then from B Rank to what appeared to be A Rank, all within the span of a few moments. And this was without Ethan using any Race Crystals to increase its potential or Evolutionary Shards to evolve it.

The tornado began to slow.

The violent winds gradually subsided, allowing the swirling mist to drift away and reveal the creature at its centre.

Ethan’s jaw dropped.

The beast hovering above the ocean was no longer the small Griffling he had known.

It was enormous by comparison, its body now possessing four powerful limbs and a magnificent pair of wings. Its feathers had deepened into a more vibrant shade of green, shimmering with an almost ethereal brilliance as mana flowed across them.

Its posture radiated strength and elegance, while its sharp features and imposing frame gave it a majestic presence that demanded attention.

And its wings weren’t even flapping.

The creature simply floated in the air, carried by the wind itself.

Ethan could only stare.

For all his frustration, all his doubts, and all the resources he had spent trying to help Talon evolve, he had never imagined this.

The transformation was beyond anything he had expected.

The Leviathan watched the newly evolved beast with renewed interest, its enormous eyes fixed on the creature hovering before it.

Ethan barely noticed, his eyes glued to Talon.

’That’s a fucking full-blown Griffin!’