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Little Raven: ╭(╯^╰)╮
Little Raven silently stared at the other three birds with sharp eyes.
In its heart, it was sharpening a knife.
'This one is bigger than me.'
'This one has more feathers than me.'
'This one looks like it needs a beating.'
'No.'
'I must endure.'
'Damn it!'
Little Raven: (¬⤙¬ )
Peter, who noticed the small movements up ahead: "?"
Peter glanced at Asher, then at the few people walking in front. The confusion in his eyes was almost overflowing.
"Ahem!"
Peter wasn't sure what was happening. He cleared his throat lightly and signaled with his eyes.
Swoosh!
The three Beast Tamers instantly retracted their secretive glances at Asher and Little Raven.
Asher: "…"
For once, Asher felt a rare twinge of guilt.
Peter had no idea what was going on. The three Beast Tamers up front were probably just as confused, not knowing what was up with their own beasts.
But Asher understood Little Raven's thoughts perfectly, so naturally, he knew what was going on with the Blackgold Roc, the Blissful Bird, and the Ethereal Crane under Little Raven's intense gaze.
'Sigh!'
Asher could only console Little Raven.
'Calm down.'
'We need to stay calm.'
'We can't just chase after them like crazy.'
'Dial back the glare a little.'
'You are the most beautiful bird!'
Asher firmly conveyed this thought to Little Raven.
Little Raven: o(^｀）o
Little Raven flapped its wings hard.
And then… another feather slowly drifted down.
Asher, quick-eyed and quick-handed, caught the falling feather and immediately stuffed it into his pocket.
But it was too late.
Little Raven had already seen it.
If not for the current situation being inappropriate, it would have gone berserk right then and there.
'Why?'
'I MEAN, WHY?'
'Falling, falling, falling!'
'At this rate, I'm going to turn into a featherless bird!'
'Bald!'
'Ugly!'
Just as Asher had barely managed to soothe Little Raven, an overpowering aura burst forth from it again. Its large golden-red eyes were locked onto the Blissful Bird and the Ethereal Crane up ahead.
The Blackgold Roc, which was large and not particularly good-looking, was lucky enough to escape unscathed.
The Blissful Bird and the Ethereal Crane, however: QAQ
'Help, help, help!'
They felt like their feathers were about to be stripped off just from the intensity of the gaze.
Their Beast Tamers were also suffering greatly.
Especially the Blissful Bird's Beast Tamer.
Of the three birds, the Blissful Bird had the fluffiest feathers, so fluffy they looked like clouds and cotton candy. That made it the true target of Little Raven's death glare.
"Uh… Professor Asher, um… could you maybe… control it a bit?", The Blissful Bird's Beast Tamer couldn't hold back and hesitantly spoke up.
Asher: 'Ahem!'
"I got it."
Asher looked at Little Raven: 'Little ancestor, how about heading back?'
Little Raven: ╭（╯＾╰）╮
'Very angry.'
But even more unwilling to be left alone in the Mental Sea Beast Space.
'Fine. I will just endure—just a little.'
The three birds in front finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The other Tier 7 Beast Tamers around them also began to realize that something had happened without their knowledge.
Their gazes mainly landed on Asher and the Blissful Bird's Beast Tamer.
Then…
They looked at Asher's bird, Little Raven.
At first glance, it didn't seem all that special?
The only curiosity was its breed.
'But judging by the Blissful Bird's Beast Tamer's expression… is Professor Asher's bird really that powerful?'
'It can actually intimidate an Tier 8 beast?'
In an instant, the Beast Tamers of the Flying Cloud Tiger and the Electro Thunder Lynx grew deeply curious about Asher.
The only one who wasn't curious at all was Nia.
She even found it completely unsurprising.
'Sigh."
'A beast capable of setting off warning alarms in my alarm talent is definitely not an ordinary beast!'
Nia muttered quietly in her heart.
At this moment, she finally understood those netizens spreading rumors.
Asher's beast was just too strong.
If it wasn't a newly emerging species from a lab experiment, it could easily crush other Beast Tamers' confidence.
How could the gap between people be this vast?
As they navigated through this mix of tension, glaring, and a fresh perception of Asher, the group finally reached the coordinates of the large mountain provided by the Red Soil Exploration Team.
And then…
All eight of them fell into silence.
"Are we sure this is the place?"
Peter stood at the back, arms crossed, brows furrowed, an indescribable yet highly skeptical expression on his face.
"This is definitely it," After checking the left side and confirming the coordinates with Leo and Luna, Asher nodded with certainty.
They hadn't gone to the wrong place.
So…
"Where's the mountain?", Peter trusted Asher.
As a Beast Professor, Asher was already taking on greater risks by coming along, so it was only natural that he'd verify the location beforehand.
But the real problem was—
They were standing at the theoretically correct coordinate location, yet before them was an empty expanse, as vast as a grassland.
An endless—oh, wait, no.
Due to the ever-present faint mist in the air, their view wasn't exactly endless.
But they could still clearly see that there was nothing in front of them. No mountains, no ridges—not even a single tree or blade of grass.
The group exchanged glances.
You look at me, I look at you.
"Did we… run into a ghost?", The Blissful Bird's Beast Tamer, still clutching his anxious heart, wiped the sweat off his forehead and blurted out.
Peter crossed his arms, his expression ice-cold: "Heh!"
A single syllable—yet dripping with sarcasm.
The Blissful Bird's Beast Tamer immediately shut his mouth.
'Stop scolding, stop scolding.'
'I know I have been thinking too much.'
Nia frowned, absentmindedly tugging at her hair, "Should we look around a bit?"
"Maybe—"
"There's no maybe," Peter interrupted her directly.
"If the coordinates are right, but the mountain isn't here, that means there's a serious problem in this area."
Saying this, Peter pulled out his phone.
Unfortunately—
No signal.
Peter clicked his tongue in frustration.
"…Should've just ignored the concerns and brought Henrietta along."
He didn't want to admit it, but this situation wasn't something he could easily handle.
"So what do we do now?", The Flying Cloud Tiger's Beast Tamer glanced around.
"Explore?"
"Or retreat?"
Standing around dumbly wasn't an option.
Peter knew he needed to make a quick decision.
"Pairs of two. Professor Asher stays with me. The rest of you form your own teams. Twenty minutes to explore."
Even if Peter wasn't great at handling strange situations, he wasn't about to just give up. A compromise was necessary.
Leaving empty-handed was absolutely not an option!
For better coordination:
The Blackgold Roc's Beast Tamer paired with the Flying Cloud Tiger's Beast Tamer.
The Blissful Bird's Beast Tamer paired with the Electro Thunder Lynx's Beast Tamer.
The Ethereal Crane's Beast Tamer paired with Nia.
Each pair headed in different directions, their expressions grim.
Eight people, four teams. The weakest, Asher, was protected by the strongest, Peter.
They dispersed in four different directions, each with a serious expression.
The location was correct, yet the mountain they were looking for was gone. What did this mean?
It meant that something was seriously wrong.
To better protect Asher, Peter released an eighth-rank Swamp Monster.
Asher: "..."
"Don't dislike the Swamp Monster's appearance. In terms of defense and damage reflection, it's quite capable," Peter said, interpreting Asher's silence as disapproval of the Swamp Monster.
Asher shook his head, 'I'm not disliking it."
'It's just that...'
'Despite looking like that, it has no odor at all. In fact, its speed can rival quite a few agility-based beasts. The Swamp Monster is truly a fascinating species.'
Because it was so versatile, even though it had no evolutionary path and could only be raised to mid-tier 8 at best, many people still wanted to form a contract with one.
The only problem was—the Swamp Monster had no reproductive method.
They all reproduced through self-cloning.
Yes.
A Swamp Monster's death signified the birth of another Swamp Monster. Their numbers remained constant.
So, forming a contract with a Swamp Monster was just as difficult as contracting a dragon-type beast.
Asher hadn't expected Mr. Peter to have one.
He withdrew his gaze.
With safety secured, Asher started thinking about other matters.
Looking at the barren ground beneath his feet, Asher felt a mix of emotions.
'This is really...'
Asher recalled what Leo and Luna had told him before, ("The mountain seems to be alive.")
He had originally thought it was just a metaphor or a feeling. But unexpectedly...
Asher never would have imagined that this statement would come true at this moment.
The mountain was really alive.
And it seemed to have grown legs and run away.
Who was he supposed to complain to about this?
The mountain? Gone.
The Red Soil Exploration Team? Gone with the mountain.
Asher showed a headache-ridden expression.
'Hiss—'
'This situation is indeed more troublesome than expected.'
"You seem to know something?", Peter, standing nearby, noticed Asher's expression.
Normally, Peter wouldn't ask questions, but this situation was anything but normal. Even he felt it was a headache.
"Uh...", After a moment of hesitation, Asher decided to share what he had heard with Peter.
Then, he added, "Looking at it now, this mountain did exist, and it really grew legs and ran away."
Peter: "..."
Peter opened his mouth but then shut it again.
He looked at Asher with a mix of shock and skepticism, as if silently asking: 'Are you sure?'
Asher nodded.
On this matter, Leo and Luna wouldn't have lied to him.
"Actually, if it were just a missing mountain, it wouldn't be that strange. But isn't the strangest part that there's not just no mountain here, but no vegetation either?", Asher added.
They had already walked nearly a thousand meters in this direction.
Not a single blade of grass grew.
Not even a rock.
This wasn't normal.
It was as if some tool had plowed through this land deeply.
The soil was extremely suitable for cultivation.
Peter, who had also noticed this, let out a sigh.
'Yes.'
'This is an extremely obvious anomaly that can't be ignored.'
Peter took out his phone and snapped a couple of pictures, "I'm not very skilled in this area. Once we get out, I'll ask Henrietta and the others. Maybe they'll know something."
Asher nodded.
"Let's not move forward for now. I'm going to dig a bit," Asher said, rubbing his chin.
Peter: "?"
He didn't understand.
But he respected it.
As a pet beast professor, Asher had his own ideas and research directions. To Peter, this was perfectly normal and not something to refuse.
"Alright, I'll go a little further ahead to check. The Swamp Monster will stay with you."
Hearing this, Asher gestured an "OK" sign.
With his own pet beast and the Swamp Monster watching over him, even in the mist, there was little chance of anything happening to him.
After all, there was nowhere suitable for beasts to hide here.
As for why he wanted to dig...
Asher used his innate ability to scan underground.
No reaction.
But an inexplicable sixth sense made Asher feel like something was off underground.
Asher sighed.
He also thought his idea was strange.
"But whatever, I might as well try. Consider it a whim, maybe some kind of bloodline awakening?", Asher squatted down, muttering to himself.
Little Raven flew down from the sky onto Asher's shoulder, making him stumble and nearly fall face-first into the dirt.
Luckily, at the last moment, Asher stabilized himself with his strong core strength.
Then, he started rummaging through his backpack.
Like pulling things out of a treasure pouch, he took out a multi-functional military shovel and a glass container.
He dug up a bit of soil and put it in the container.
To his surprise—
The soil, which had been black, magically turned red after being dug up.
'Could this be Red Soil?', sher immediately thought of Red Soil City's famous resource—the Red Soil series.
Before coming here, Asher had specifically looked into it.
Although Red Soil was the most common among the four major resources, that didn't mean the Forbidden Zone was full of it. It was just that Red Soil was much more abundant compared to the other three.
Most of the ground was still just regular soil.
Discovered Red Soil areas were strictly designated and protected. Excavation wasn't something that could be done casually.
How much could be dug up and taken away was strictly regulated.
'Have my luck really reached the point where I can just dig anywhere and hit Red Soil?'
Asher shook the container in his hand, feeling like something was off.
'I should dig a bit more and test it after we get out.'
For a split second, an idea flashed through his mind like inspiration, but he couldn't quite grasp it.
A bit regretful, he quickly adjusted his mindset and continued digging.
Digging here.
Digging there.
Asher dug for about ten minutes.
And what he discovered was shocking.
He had only been taking single shovelfuls, changing locations each time, like a mole digging holes.
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