Chapter 443: When Did I Unlock That?

Ethan started with his own status, staring at the blue System Interface.

{Name: Ethan Crowe

Title: Lord of Beasts

Titled Rank: B

Strength: 45

Speed: 47

Stamina: 43

MP: 83

Beasts: 5/5}

He mentally compared them to his previous status.

‘My Strength was 32, Speed 36, Stamina 31, and MP was 75.’

Every stat had increased.

The improvements weren’t particularly dramatic individually, but the difference was still substantial. He’d felt the extra power in his body since advancing to B Rank, yet seeing the numbers laid out like this made it easier to appreciate just how much stronger he’d become.

‘Not bad.’

Disappointingly, aside from the slight buff, he didn’t seem to have received anything else from evolving to B Rank as he had previously. Though he couldn’t exactly complain after how things had turned out, nor did he feel like he deserved anything additional either.

His gaze settled on his Strength

‘Forty-five…’

He tried to put the number into perspective.

If a Strength stat of ten represented an elite, Untitled human capable of bench-pressing around three plates, then forty-five meant he possessed roughly four and a half times that baseline strength.

Ethan laughed.

‘That’s fucking ridiculous.’

The number itself didn’t seem particularly impressive, but imagining what it represented in the real world was another matter entirely.

And this was only his base strength.

It didn’t account for the effects of his skills, especially Beast Assimilation. But it also didn’t account for the sheer differences in physical structure between humans and monsters.

A beast and a human with the same Strength wouldn’t necessarily be equal in a direct contest. Depending on its size, mass, natural weapons, and physical constitution, the beast could crush the human without much difficulty.

Stats were useful, but they weren’t everything.

Ethan knew that better than most.

Still, his stats were nothing to be scoffed at, and he couldn’t help but reflect on the progress he had made. After briefly considering his increased Speed and Stamina, he turned his attention to the stat that mattered far more to him.

MP.

‘Eighty-three!’

His mana reserves had increased as well, which was always welcome. With five beasts available to him, every additional point mattered.

Still, raw stats weren’t what had allowed him to survive the Tower.

His skills were.

Ethan navigated to the relevant section.

{Skills: Beast Link (D), Beast Call (D), Beast Communication (D), Beast Mend (C), Beast Impact (C), Beast Resistance (C), Beast Assimilation (B), Beast Recovery (B), Beast Suppression (B), Beast Summoning (S)}

{Sub-Skills: Minor Assimilation (D), Partial Link (D), Minor Impact (C), Partial Assimilation (B), Absolute Suppression (B), Complete Link (B), Independent Beast Summoning (S)}

Everything looked familiar.

Almost.

Ethan’s eyes immediately settled on the final entry in the sub-skills list.

‘When did I unlock that?’

He selected it.

{Independent Beast Summoning (S) – Allows the host to summon beasts by having them bear the cost of their own summoning. The mana cost is equivalent to Beast Summoning. The beast must be willing to be summoned and must possess sufficient mana.}

Ethan blinked.

Then his lips slowly curled into a grin.

‘Oh, that’s fucking good.’

Until now, summoning his beasts had required him to pay the mana cost himself. With five beasts at his disposal, that could become a serious problem during prolonged battles, especially when he needed to summon multiple powerful creatures and utilise other skills.

This changed things.

As long as a beast was willing and had enough mana, it could cover the cost of its own summoning.

There was one obvious limitation.

‘The beast has to agree…’

Ethan couldn’t simply force one to appear and expect it to pay the price.

Still, that hardly mattered.

His beasts were all generally obedient, even Storm, though only time would tell with the Leviathan. They also understood when a situation called for cooperation, and he could always choose between ordinary summoning and the independent method depending on the circumstances.

Having the option alone was incredible.

He’d need to test the exact limitations later, but for now, he was satisfied.

‘All right. Now for the interesting part.’

His beasts.

Ethan switched to the Beast Tab, already anticipating a few surprises.

He wasn’t disappointed.

He started with his newest acquisition.

{Name: N/A

Race: Leviathan

Growth Stage: Infant

Beast Rank: E

Beast Potential: S

Strength: 20

Speed: 7

Stamina: 9

MP: 30/30

Skills: Water Manipulation (S)}

Ethan stared.

Then he stared some more.

‘An E Rank beast with an S Rank skill?!’

He practically jumped out of his seat.

Unfortunately, he’d forgotten that Elara was still sleeping nearby.

The sudden movement disturbed her, and she stirred beneath the covers.

Ethan froze, glancing in her direction.

For a moment, he expected a sleepy complaint.

Instead, Elara opened one eye, took in his ridiculously excited expression, and laughed.

“What’s got you so excited?”

“Nothing!”

Ethan answered far too quickly.

Her smile widened.

“Right. Nothing.”

She shook her head, settled back into her pillow, and closed her eyes again.

Ethan waited until her breathing returned to its previous rhythm before looking back at the System Interface.

He couldn’t help grinning.

‘An S-Rank skill…’

Then another thought occurred to him.

‘I guess I also had an S Rank Skill when I was E Rank too.’

Beast Summoning had been one of the first skills he’d unlocked after receiving his Title. At the time, he’d barely understood what it meant, let alone how unusual it was.

Recalling that, his attention shifted to his skill tree on the Skills Tab.

Three skills occupied the centre of the structure, with all his other skills branching from them. He’d unlocked Beast Assimilation and Beast Summoning relatively early, but the third remained hidden.

He still had no idea what it was.

‘I’ll unlock it, eventually.’

For now, he had more pressing things to investigate.

He returned to the Leviathan’s status.

Its physical stats were impressive for an E Rank beast, particularly its Strength. Its Speed and Stamina were considerably lower, but that wasn’t surprising. Even as an infant, its body was built for a very different environment.

What truly caught his attention, however, was its potential.

‘S Rank…’

A slow smile spread across his face.

‘So I won’t have to worry about Race Crystals either.’

The Leviathan’s evolution would still take time, but the destination was worth the wait. Eventually, he’d have a colossal water dragon capable of controlling the battlefield on a terrifying scale.

And with Independent Beast Summoning, he didn’t even have to worry about the cost.

‘I’m going to be so fucking overpowered.’

Ethan leaned back, trying and failing to suppress his grin.

He wanted to summon the Leviathan and experiment with Water Manipulation himself, but first, there was something missing.

{Please provide a name for your beast.}

Ethan paused.

‘Right. Can’t keep calling it the Leviathan forever.’

He considered a few possibilities.

‘Squirty?’

He immediately discarded that one.

‘Poseidon?’

He shook his head.

It sounded impressive, but was a little too grandiose.

‘Water King?’

That was somehow even worse.

He rubbed his chin.

‘Something water-related…’

His gaze drifted toward the bathroom, where he’d felt that strange connection with water earlier.

Then a name came to mind.

‘Tide.’

It was simple, memorable, and fitting for a creature that would eventually command the ocean itself.

‘Yeah. Tide works.’

He confirmed the name.

{Beast Name Updated: Tide}

Ethan nodded, satisfied with his decision.

He wasn’t going to spend an hour naming a beast when there were much more interesting things to investigate.

Like its skill.

He selected Water Manipulation.

{Water Manipulation (S) – Allows the user to control water in their surroundings. Effectiveness, efficiency, and mana cost depend on the user’s capabilities, the amount of water controlled, and the complexity of the manipulation. The user’s affinity and connection with water will improve over time.}

Ethan read the description twice.

It was oddly vague, but the possibilities were enormous.

The skill didn’t appear to impose a rigid set of techniques or applications. Instead, its effectiveness depended on the user’s capabilities and what they attempted to accomplish.

‘In other words, there’s room to experiment.’

A lot of room.

‘I’ll definitely be playing around with this.’

He’d already felt the beginnings of that connection while showering.

Now he knew it wasn’t merely his imagination.

Still smiling, Ethan moved on to the beast he’d been most eager to inspect since returning from the Tower.

The Griffin that had defeated the Leviathan.

Talon.

And judging by the way its evolution had changed everything, Ethan had a feeling this next status screen was going to be even more interesting…