Chapter 109: Essence Beyond Expectations

Shani murmured in a playful tone, "Is a baby allowed to be this wishy-washy?"

Nyx tilted his head, confused by what his mother meant, but seeing her gentle smile, his panic quickly melted away.

"Mother, do you remember me now?!"

Shani had already suspected Nyx was a total chatterbox from his indignant meows, but actually understanding what he was saying made all the difference.

She could only smile in amusement as she listened to the baby beast rambling in her arms.

"Nyx seemed panicked earlier. Is it because he hasn’t seen us in a while?" Jeryon asked as they left the medical facility.

"Kinda," Shani replied, offering no further explanation.

"I wasn’t panicking!" Nyx protested. "The ones who should be panicking about not seeing me are Mother and Father!"

Shani fought back a laugh at Nyx’s words, ultimately burying her face in the furball in her arms to muffle her giggles.

"That tickles! It tickles, Mother!" Nyx squeaked, before turning toward Jeryon. "Father, pick me up!"

Unfortunately, Jeryon had no idea what Nyx was saying, and the little panther’s dramatic protest only sent Shani into further fits of laughter.

Watching Shani laugh so delightfully, Jeryon assumed she was simply overjoyed that Nyx had fully recovered.

On the fourth floor, which was bustling with students entering and leaving the cafeteria, library, or lounging around, onlookers caught their very first glimpse of the Prince and his partner’s baby beast, the very first baby beast to hatch among the first-year students.

"Doesn’t that mean they’re one of the top partner pairs in our year?" one student asked, staring in awe.

"As partners, maybe. But as individuals, they’re still full of flaws," another student replied in a hushed, envious whisper.

"Like your rank is higher than an S-Rank?!" another student scoffed, while the rest nodded in agreement.

Called out, the envious student bit his tongue and said nothing more.

Slowly, Jeryon and Shani’s reputation among the first-years, and perhaps across all of Feline Tower, was taking a turn for the better.

Meanwhile, the two main subjects of the gossip were already in the elevator, riding up to the seventh floor to head to Shani’s room for resonance.

Even though they were no longer keeping Nyx a secret, they weren’t in the same class anymore, making her dorm room the most convenient spot for resonance.

Also, since Nyx was more familiar with Shani’s room, that’s where they went.

The moment they stepped into the familiar room, the little panther leaped out of Shani’s arms.

Nyx sniffed every corner of the room, rubbing his body against the furniture as he went.

Jeryon chalked it up to just another one of their baby beast’s odd quirks.

Shani, on the other hand, was desperately holding back a giggle, fully capable of understanding the adorable little black beast’s childish voice.

"Sniff, sniff! My scent is fading here. Rub, rub! All safe now!"

Shani let Nyx indulge in his antics until he satisfied himself with checking every square inch of the room.

Jeryon waited patiently alongside her, stealing glances at Shani’s giggling face, a soft smile tugging at his own lips.

After a while, Nyx finished his grand tour. His chubby little body hopped onto his bed, curling up comfortably.

"Let’s begin," Shani suggested before Nyx could come up with any more silly ideas.

Jeryon nodded. Settling into their usual positions, they initiated the resonance session.

Less than twenty minutes later, a system notification chimed in Shani’s ears.

[Baby Beast Nyx’s Affection toward Host (Mother): 97%. Baby Beast Nyx’s Affection toward Target Jeryon of Argenor (Father): 90%. Beast Essence Received: 39 (Bonus Active)]

Shani noticed that Nyx’s affection toward her had only increased by a single percent, whereas his affection toward Jeryon had surged by a whopping ten percent.

’It seems Nyx’s affection for me hardly goes up because it is already near maxing out,’ she thought to herself. ’And also the essence I received increased by 3 points thanks to yesterday’s 10% bonus.’

Before Shani could celebrate, the System’s voice rang out once more:

[Congratulations, Host! Your Beast Essence has reached 111 (E-Rank). Reward: Sky Heart Mansion, Daily Missions Unlocked.]

’A mansion?!’ Shani gaped, utterly stunned. ’The System doesn’t just give money, but actual real estate now?!’

She was dying to know more about this mansion that supposedly belonged to her. But before looking into its location, she inquired about the Daily Mission.

[Daily Mission: Pet Baby Beast Nyx 10 times. Reward: +10 Baby Beast Energy (Limit-Breaker Baby Bed detected: Reward x2). Punishment: None.]

Shani was dumbfounded. ’Not beast energy, but baby beast energy? Does that mean Nyx is guaranteed to rank up now?’

As far as Shani knew, raising a baby beast’s rank was extraordinarily difficult. Far harder than ranking up a beastman.

The most common method was to continue performing resonance sessions with the baby beast even after there was no more beast energy left to convert into beast essence.

Typically, that only occurred during their seventh year or even after graduating from the academy.

Even after fulfilling all those requirements, a rank-up was far from guaranteed.

Iris Cinder was one of the few successful cases closest to Shani. Her first baby beast had managed to reach A-Rank from an initial B-Rank.

What made it even more incredible was that its rank had shattered the natural limit of the rare-grade Fire Lynx gene, which was normally capped at B-Rank.

In Concoction class, Iris constantly emphasized that proper nutrition served as the primary foundation, ensuring the baby beast had a higher chance of ranking up when the time came.

But she had never explained in detail how a baby beast’s internal system actually functioned.

Perhaps Shani simply hadn’t learned it yet this semester, or maybe that knowledge was restricted to students in Nova City. Or perhaps researchers across the continent hadn’t even discovered it yet.

Shani was thrilled with her achievements today. She could see her future growing brighter by the second.

Her gaze drifted to Nyx, who was already sound asleep, before shifting up to Jeryon, who looked bewildered yet awestruck as he inspected his own body.

"I feel my beast essence increasing significantly, far more than I expected," he murmured.

"Indeed. It really might be increasing that much," Shani blurted out before she could catch herself.

She froze, realizing she had made a blunder. Fortunately, Jeryon was too captivated by his own condition to press the issue.

...

Jeryon and Shani didn’t share the same elective classes, so even though he wanted to observe her, he couldn’t. He could only suppress the growing suspicion brewing in his chest.

Back in her room, he had heard Shani’s slip of the tongue, but he deliberately hadn’t reacted, not wanting her to realize he was slowly uncovering her secrets.

Once class ended, Jeryon didn’t wait around for Shani or Eric to head to the Tiger Building together. He rushed over alone to catch Elias first.

"Sir, I just finished a resonance session this afternoon. I want my beast energy checked again," Jeryon told his instructor.

Elias scoffed. "Are you trying to insult me? Are you implying that I’m an unreliable instructor from Nova City, just because I haven’t brought a device that can measure your exact beast energy?"

Jeryon raised an eyebrow. ’This old man really can’t view anything in a positive light.’

Without beating around the bush, Jeryon got straight to the point. "...I feel like the essence in my body is far greater than it should be."

Elias’s demeanor shifted instantly. His expression turned serious and authoritative, fitting for a dignified instructor.

"Try releasing your beast pressure," he commanded.

Jeryon needed no further instruction. Ever since he first acquired essence, he had practiced exerting beast pressure.

Now, with his essence control vastly improved, unleashing it was effortless.

Elias narrowed his eyes as he felt the pressure radiating from Jeryon. While it didn’t affect him in the slightest, it successfully left his mouth agape.

"You’ve only completed three resonance sessions to obtain essence, right? Your essence is nearly triple what it ought to be," Elias remarked.

"So it really is because of Shani," Jeryon whispered under his breath before he could stop himself.

Elias caught the remark, but rather than dismissing it, he merely clicked his tongue. "That girl has far more secrets than I imagined, it seems."

At the thought, Elias grew increasingly annoyed that Shani had turned down becoming his Direct Student candidate, especially considering Damon had personally asked him for help, not Rowena.

Jeryon caught the mix of frustration and subtle regret on Elias’s face, unable to suppress a slight smirk. ’He shouldn’t have looked down on Shani from the start!’

His smirk faded when Elias asked, "What about your second baby beast?"

Jeryon shook his head in disappointment. "Shani keeps dodging the question."

Elias was about to curse Jeryon’s utter incompetence at persuading a girl when a knock sounded at the door, and a lovely small face peeked from behind it.

"Instructor Theron, I’d like to request leave today. I have important business outside the academy."

...