"Uncle Wang!"
The skinny boy's clouded expression changed as he noticed this man.
"Hmm, so they are related"
Rheo watched as the boy ran, tears welling up his eyes as he gave the man an embrace.
"You are becoming a man today, don't let me see you cry, Wen Yu, I'm so proud of you for passing last month's monster breeder exam. As a fifteen-year-old first-class monster breeder you are now a breeder prodigy"
Even though he sounded comforting, the stern and husky voice of the man made it hard to believe so.
Rheo head rang, one year older than me and already a first-class monster breeder, that was too rare.
Even when he said he wanted to get a monster breeder license, Rheo was hoping for third-class.
Even people who had studied many things about Monster barely got their hands on a second-class license, not to talk of him.
The man moved closer to the mega monster, the fairyfly hovering beside his face, the mega monster who didn't move an inch when pushed by many students was grunting calmly from inside the association building.
Many youngsters began capturing the fairyfly picture with their phones and making videos with it, but they didn't dare move closer to the stern-looking man.
The miniature feminine face of the fairyfly looked gentle and calm, the pair of antennae on its forehead slowly moving about, making everyone look as if they should snatch it from the man's possession.
To avoid causing commotion and aid the smooth flow of the association activities, the man gave an order to the fairyfly and this monster twirled its little wand at the rear end of the Black jade-tusked boar.
Even the skinny boy's eyes and mouth widened in anticipation.
Something happened that made everyone's mouth hang wide.
After some twirling, this mega Black-Jade tusked boar started shrinking in size, until it became the size of an adult rabbit, sitting on its butt at the entrance.
Then the man disappeared into the association building.
The skinny boy stepped forward and picked up the mini boar. It grunted and snorted, glancing down at its new body as if confused by the sudden transformation. Its innocent eyes blinked, and in this shrunken form, it looked almost... adorable.
But what combat ability could such a monster offer?
Black Jade tusked Boars were known for their tanking ability—muscle-bound juggernauts with razor-sharp black jade tusks. That was what their mega-size are for, in short, they are tank-class monsters. They could also deal heavy damage to a horde of monsters.
"Bumboa!!!" the skinny boy cried out in joy, hoisting the small boar into the air.
It seemed the transformation also reduced the weight, or how else could a skinny boy carry a boar with such weight?
Such adult Black-jade tusked boar weighs up to 6000 pounds in their normal mega form! And that was the lowest grade.
Just then, a thought crossed Rheo's mind as he watched the skinny boy lift the tiny boar.
What if it suddenly returned to its original size right in his arms?
That would be... a disaster!
Rheo shook his head abruptly.
Monsters are classified into tiers and grades.
Each grade—like Iron, Wild, Commander, Elite, Perfect, and Supreme—has up to ten tiers within it, for example, Raizen is a tier-two Iron-grade electric-type monster.
Tiers are strange. No one fully understands how they work, but what we do know is that, the higher the tier, the more powerful the monster becomes, even without evolving to a new grade. Some tiers unlock new abilities, others just enhance existing traits.
When a monster evolves into a higher grade, it usually starts at tier one of that grade and gains the basic form of a new skill. Feeding them with high-quality food related to their type can help raise their tier—but that doesn't guarantee a new ability. Sometimes, it just strengthens what they already have.
Contracting with a human also boosts a monster's tier.
Some rare evolution may let a monster evolve to a grade where it doesn't begin at tier-one but jumps to a higher tier directly, unlocking powerful abilities in the process.
Raizen is tier-two, but it hasn't unlocked any skill yet. Rheo hopes that will change when he contracts it.
Most monsters unlock one skill at least by tier-three. Although… some earth-types are so stubborn they can reach tier-five or even evolve to a new grade before anything shows up.
This Black-jade tusked boar was obviously also Iron grade, its mega size said it all, boar-type monsters were one of the most gigantic monster species on Earth. And this monster hadn't even grown to one fifth of its elite tier.
Rheo looked at the little monster and started wondering what tier it could be.
Could it have unlocked a skill?
The skinny boy took the boar inside the association building, but then commotion broke out again from the inside.
"What is it again?"
Since the monster breeder examination was actually the next two days, Rheo wished to round up everything quickly and have some rest.
The rigorous work he had done the past week had taken a toll on his body.
Men in black suits poured out of the association building, what was surprising was many people with cameras flashing every second from the inside.
Rheo ran to one side to avoid getting captured, being in the spotlight wasn't his thing.
"A C-rank monster ranger? Among our year?"
All the girls were going crazy at this latest development.
They were whispering and giggling to each other with their mini monsters close to them, one held a Tree-skulled monkey, a healing-type monster, the monster had a pink ribbon worn on its head, and just like that, like a chain reaction, many people were gossiping, the information was spreading.
Taking a closer look, these men in suits were representatives from many Ranger Guilds across far and wide of New Pearl.
"The association opened the contract registration for aspirants today, these guild representatives are looking for promising youngsters!"
Rheo understood immediately!
They were looking for promising youngsters whom they could convince to join their guilds, after all, joining guilds and raiding dungeons wouldn't in any way affect one's academic life.
The path opened for the young master to step out, and beside him was his monster pet.
A Thunder Kong, grinning brightly with its yellow teeth out.
This silverback gorilla towered about two and a half meters, standing tall and mighty with muscles bulging under its sleek black fur. It wore a swimshorts with garish floral pattern and had a single tuft of black hair, slicked back like a rock star, atop its head.
The Thunder Kong was grinning, a wide, toothy smile flashing bright yellow teeth.
The reporters and the guild representatives in black suits bundled after the youth.
While Rheo was watching, the men in black suits blocked the reporters, giving them no room for any exchange of words with the young master.
Seeing as the guild representatives and the reporters were in a brawl to reach him, this youngster was smiling lightly as if the world was revolving around him.