"Scorch, huh?" Kekius looked down at the Gutterling. "That's a really nice name."
Jethro said thanks.
"Alright. It's already pretty late, so why don't we get some sleep. Then we can wake up refreshed tomorrow for the start of what's bound to be a crazy school year."
Oand nodded nervously. "Okay."
Kekius smiled, looking at them both. "I think this could be a good year. As long as we stick together and help each other."
"Oh my gosh, make it stop!" Dash grunted from his pod. "I thought you three just met. What's with you and being all mushy with each other?"
Ben laughed. "Did you hear the Gutterling's name? Scorch? More like SQUEAK! Hahahaha! How can you name it Scorch when it's just a mere Grey Rank and has no fire abilities?"
Jethro looked at him with a cold, silent glare, but said nothing.
Dash sighed, stretching dramatically. "Try to keep the noise down, Lizard boy. Dune values his beauty sleep." He closed his eyes to sleep. "And so do I."
With a quiet scoff, Jethro glanced at Kekius, who still had a smile on his face. "Don't mind them. It's okay. As long as we're together, they can't really hurt us."
Jethro nodded mutely, watching as Kekius lowered from his mechbeast and resigned to his pod. He turned to the other side and saw that Oand was already fast asleep.
Finally alone, Jethro let out a single tired sigh. Then, he stowed his meager belongings in the box that had been placed at the foot of his pod. The nutrient paste, his ruined beam gloves, and the Liongolem's core.
Then, he laid back, head sinking into the pillow as he gazed at the ceiling, thoughts running through his mind. Thoughts of the day he'd just had. His goodbye to his father, the battle in the Rift, everyone's death, meeting the President, Padva and the impossible academy city.
But most of all, he was waiting.
With difficulty, he held back his excitement to explore the screen. He needed everyone asleep first. Not that they would see the screen anyway, but because he didn't want them to possibly hear him talking to himself. He didn't want any disturbance either. He needed absolute concentration.
After what felt like an eternity — and the official lights out — when he was sure that everyone was fast asleep, Jethro closed his own eyes. Not to sleep, but to focus inward.
During the hovercar ride to the dorm, he had come to the conclusion that to understand this new screen of knowledge, he first had to try to control it. And the way to do that was obvious; he had to focus his mind and thoughts at one singular thing. One subject.
Once that was mastered, he would have to learn how to smoothly transition from one subject to the next without trailing off or scattering the thought process. But first, to focus on one.
Just one subject, Jethro.
In the darkness behind his eyelids, he saw the crimson lines forming, showcasing a library of information that was undoubtedly his own mind. Then, by will— the very act of intensely focusing on a singular, chosen thought —a book was selected from a shelf. When he gently opened his eyes, the screen was materialized before him.
"Yes!" Jethro said out loud, almost too loud for nighttime.
He hesitated, making sure no one had woken up because of that. After he was certain, he sat up, crossing his legs and gazing at the screen. On it was a rotating, detailed hologram of Scorch— his Red Lizard. Bandages and all. Above it, bold letters pulsed:
[Mechbeast: Red Lizard]
[Rank: Grey]
[Grade: E]
Jethro leaned in, placing a thinking finger on his chin. 'So it really is just thermal durability that Red Lizards have as powers.'
After the mechbeast description was abilities, and indeed, it was just:
[Abilities: Thermal Durability]
[Bond Abilities: Thermal Durability]
Next was the lizard's nutrient flow circuit which included: insects, meat, vegetables, fruits and specific synthmeals. Then there was a guide for the growth and development of the Red Lizard.
But all of this wasn't why Jethro was here. He had summoned this screen for one thing only:
[Red Lizard Evolution Pathways]
[Possible Evolution]
[Understanding the True Concept of Evolution]
[:Evolution naturally occurs in mechbeasts exhibiting high resonance with aether. However, high resonance is not a fixed trait. All mechbeasts can increase their resonance with aether by increasing the necessity of it. Throughout history, evolution has been driven by this imperative. Some mechbeasts exhibit innate high resonance simply because ancestors within their lineage successfully increased theirs, passing on the trait.]
Jethro frowned in thought. 'I think that makes sense. So high resonance isn't some innate trait like everyone believes. It's only because past mechbeasts increased theirs and it passed on in genes and core signatures, making it seem like a natural trait. To get higher resonance with aether in order to trigger an evolution, you have to create a reason for it.'
Like the woolly mammoth!
Jethro remembered. Basic biology. Evolution. The woolly mammoth lived in cold Ice Age environments. They had thick fur, short ears, and fat layers to help it survive the freezing climate. But when the Ice Age ended and temperatures rose, they had to adapt. Fast.
Over time, they gradually lost their fur, developed larger ears for heat regulation, and evolved to the modern-day elephants back in his world— animals suited for hotter climates.
But of course, because of the presence of magic in this world, this process would be more profound, extreme and significant. Mammoths and elephants retained a lot of similarities but some of the evolution pathways the screen had suggested were completely different forms, despite sharing slightly similar DNA and core signatures.
Jethro couldn't wait any longer, he read further, searching for what mechbeasts Scorch could evolve into.
[Searching for mechbeasts with similar type DNA and viable evolution pathways]
[...]
[...]
[Found three viable evolution pathways for the Red Lizard]
[:Solar Flare Salamander (Silver Rank) - 45% DNA Similarity and 7% Core Signature Match]
[:Crystal Icedrake (Gold Rank) - 15% DNA Similarity and 12% Core Signature Match]
[: Infernal Dragon (Black Rank) - 6% DNA Similarity and 60% Core Signature]
Jethro paused. Not certain if he was seeing correctly. "An Infernal Dragon?"
His heart suddenly began to thump with excitement. Yet subconsciously, he held back his expectations, especially after facing heartbreak twice in this regard.
But was it really possible? What this screen was telling him. Could his Red Lizard really evolve into an Infernal Dragon?
Infernal Dragons were the most powerful of all heat-type dragons or lizards. Unlike Primary Dragons, Thermal Dragons and other lesser Drakes who specialized in either fire, magma or heat, the Infernal Dragon controlled every single form of heat-based elemental destruction.
Their shifting mechanical scales were crimson, and fire burned at the end of their tails, and horns. They were also the rarest of mechdragons, including the World Dragon, Lightning Dragon, Earthstorm Dragon and the World Ender Dragon.
Could Jethro's tiny little Gutterling evolve to something that powerful?
The only way to know was to keep reading. And so Jethro did. He read and read all through the night.
He noticed a difference between the three possible pathways Scorch could follow to evolution. The Solar Flare Salamander had the highest DNA Similarity with Scorch at 45%. That would have meant that the evolution process would be easier and faster, but the Salamander also had the lowest match with Core Signature at 7%.
The Crystal Icedrake had a 15% DNA Similarity and a 12% core signature match. Neither of those were high. But the Crystal Icedrake was a rank higher than the Solar Flare Salamander so it could be worth it.
However, the most surprising of all was the Infernal Dragon. It had a mere 6% DNA Similarity with Scorch, and yet, their Core Signature matched by 10x that! 60%!
That was completely mind-blowing!
It left Jethro rolling over his bed, erratic as he read more to understand. He sat upright, flopped back down, rolled over, then pulled himself up again to sit cross-legged, the crimson glow of the screen reflecting on his mesmerized face.
Soon, he found himself on the screen detailing the very first step to begin the evolutionary pathway from weak Grey Rank Red Lizard to powerful Black Rank Infernal Dragon.
[Evolution Pathway]
[:Red Lizard → Infernal Dragon]
[First Path: Initiative Aether Priming]
[Visit a firestorm, volcanic cavern or flame forest to draw higher-grade flame-based aether]
[Expose Scorch to this potent aether. The aether quality is dangerously excessive for a Red Lizard's core. But survival will necessitate adaptation; overtime, the core will strengthen and evolve to process the aether]
[Note: This should be the only way aether is administered to Scorch. If the core is already filled with aether, or the mechbeast knows it can get normal aether later, there'll be no reason to adapt to the flame-based aether for survival].
Jethro stopped reading and collapsed backwards on his bed. "This freaking screen just casually told me to walk into a firestorm." He sighed.
What he needed to do was take a step back and process everything he'd just read.
First, evolution. It occured in mechbeasts when their resonance with aether reached a certain threshold. One that was considered high. At least high enough.
Resonance itself was a measure of how attuned a mechbeast was to the aether around it— like a kind of spiritual synchronization. Unlike what Beastcorp and everyone believed, Resonance could increase over time due to necessity— survival challenges, battles, stress environmental changes or strong emotional experiences.
The higher the resonance, the stronger the potential of evolution.
The reason why Beastcorp believed high resonance was fixed was because some mechbeasts inherited it from ancestors. If a mechbeast's ancestor had increased its own resonance enough to evolve, its DNA and Core Signature would carry this forward into their descendants.
Each possible evolution was determined by DNA Similarity (physical blueprint) and Core Signature match (magical/soul imprint).
Both aspects— body and soul —must fully align to a hundred percent with the target mechbeast for evolution to be complete.
Which meant, if Jethro chose the Solar Flare Salamander as his target mechbeast, he would have it easier completing the processes to evolve the body than the soul, simply because Scorch matched higher with the Salamander's DNA than with its core signature.
But the Infernal Dragon. The DNA Similarity was very low at 6%, but that 60% Core Signature match was huge. Scorch basically had the heart of a dragon.
Nevertheless, if Jethro was going to do this, he needed to be prepared for how difficult it would be to complete the processes to evolve the body. That part… that part scared him.
In the silence of the dark room, a smile stretched on his face. But hell, it also excited him.
It left him pondering on his earlier decision. The one he'd made almost a week ago during breakfast with his father. Because now, he actually had a chance. No matter how small it looked.
He could be a Riftwalker.
A wave of sleep crashed into him and his eyes fluttered shut while his lips remained in a smile. But there was still a problem…
The sheer magnitude of the discovery had left Jethro so elated and hopeful that he had forgotten to question the source of this infinite knowledge of beasts he now possessed.