Chapter 79 -79-SS-Rank Pet: Thorn Turtle

Chapter 79: Chapter79-SS-Rank Pet: Thorn Turtle

John had only just opened his eyes.

Before he even had time to sit up from the bed.

A system notification popped up in front of him first.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations!]

[Your Pet Egg "Thorn Sprite Egg" has successfully hatched!]

[You have obtained an S-rank Pet — Thorn Turtle!]

[The pet has automatically been stored in the Void Arsenal!]

"Finally hatched?"

John instantly became wide awake.

He had been waiting an entire day for this pet egg.

He immediately opened the pet panel.

[Thorn Turtle]

[Quality: S]

[Level: Lv1]

[HP: 800 = Level × 800]

[Spell Power: 50 = Level × 50]

[Physical Defense: 40 = Level × 40]

[Magic Defense: 40 = Level × 40]

[Talent: S-rank Tenacious Life — Maximum HP increased by 100%.]

[Skill: Ice Bolt — Condenses frost magic and fires an ice bolt at the target, dealing damage equal to 100% of Spell Power. Cooldown: 0s. MP Cost: 10.]

No cooldown!

In other words.

As long as it had enough mana, this little guy could theoretically spam Ice Bolt endlessly.

And the truly ridiculous part wasn’t even the skill.

It was the stat growth!

Its current HP growth was 800 points per level.

"Eight hundred HP per level..."

John rubbed his chin.

If it were the same level as him right now, Lv35.

That would be—

35 × 800 = 28,000!

A pet.

With twenty-eight thousand HP.

And keep in mind.

Even after [Darkblood Physique] doubled his maximum HP, John currently only had 38,060.

If this turtle were the same level as him.

Its HP alone would already be close to three-quarters of his own.

"No wonder it’s an S-rank pet."

John couldn’t help sighing in admiration.

Just then.

Something suddenly occurred to him.

His finger froze.

Inside his inventory...

Didn’t he still have something?

John immediately opened the Void Arsenal.

His gaze swept rapidly across the massive amount of equipment and materials inside.

Very soon.

A brilliantly glowing card entered his sight.

[Pet Evolution Card]

[Type: Special Item]

[Effect: Permanently increases the quality of any pet or pet egg by one rank.]

[Maximum Quality: Divine.]

This was loot he had obtained earlier after killing Nightstalker Selena.

He had never used it.

John looked at the Pet Evolution Card.

Then at the S-rank Thorn Turtle.

What was there to hesitate about?

Save it for New Year’s?

"Use it."

[Ding!]

[Confirm use of Pet Evolution Card on S-rank Pet "Thorn Turtle"?]

"Confirm."

The moment he spoke.

The card instantly dissolved into countless golden particles.

The next second.

The entire pet interface was engulfed in light!

[Ding!]

[Evolution successful!]

[Your pet "Thorn Turtle" has evolved from S-rank to SS-rank!]

John’s eyes lit up.

He opened the panel again.

[Thorn Turtle]

[Quality: SS]

[Level: Lv1]

[HP: 1,500 = Level × 1,500]

[Spell Power: 100 = Level × 100]

[Physical Defense: 100 = Level × 100]

[Magic Defense: 100 = Level × 100]

The moment John saw the first stat.

His eyelid twitched.

Fifteen hundred HP per level?!

If it reached Lv35 like him, that would be 52,500!

That was already far higher than his current maximum HP of 38,060!

What kind of punching bag was this?

This thing was a mobile fortress wall!

John continued reading.

[Talent: Extreme Frost Life]

[Quality: SS]

[Effect 1: Maximum HP increased by 200%.]

[Effect 2: Greatly increases resistance to Ice-type status effects.]

The original 100% HP bonus.

Had directly evolved into 200%!

No wonder its HP growth had exploded to such an absurd level.

Next came the skill.

[Ice Bolt]

[Quality: SS]

[Effect: Condenses highly compressed frost magic and fires an ice bolt at a locked target, dealing Ice-type magic damage equal to 200% of Spell Power.]

[Cooldown: 0 seconds.]

The damage had directly doubled.

And the cooldown remained—

Zero seconds!

On top of that.

Another skill had appeared beneath it.

[Frostthorn Thicket]

[Quality: SS]

[Effect: Instantly summons a mass of extreme-frost thorns, dealing Ice-type magic damage equal to 300% of Spell Power to all enemies within a 20-meter cone in front.]

[Additional Effect: Reduces affected targets’ Movement Speed by 80% for 5 seconds.]

[Cooldown: 10 seconds.]

AoE.

A massive slow.

And a full 80% at that!

"Now that’s what I call evolution."

John clicked his tongue in amazement.

However.

At the very bottom of the panel.

There was still one special description.

[Pet Growth Trait: Every 10 levels, the pet will automatically comprehend one race-exclusive skill.]

John: "..."

One skill every ten levels?

That meant the higher its level became.

The more skills it would continue to gain.

John suddenly found himself looking forward to it.

Would this turtle eventually turn into some kind of super fortress carrying an entire artillery battery on its back?

"Come out. Let me have a look."

With a thought.

[Summon Pet "Thorn Turtle"?]

"Summon."

Buzz—!

In the center of the tent.

A ring of pale blue ripples suddenly spread through space.

Immediately afterward.

A blue sphere of light, almost as large as a car tire, appeared out of thin air.

Bang!

It slammed heavily into the ground.

John lowered his gaze.

His eyes brightened slightly.

"Oh?"

"Not bad."

Standing on the ground was a small turtle with a crystalline blue body.

Its shell was translucent and ice-blue.

Inside, faint streams of frost magic could be seen slowly circulating.

Along the edges of its shell.

Clusters of blue, ice-crystal-like thorns had grown outward.

Every single one was perfectly translucent.

The light inside the tent fell across them.

Scattering tiny blue specks of light in every direction.

It looked as though the turtle carried an entire frozen thorn garden on its back.

Its four short legs were also covered in pale blue scales.

Its head poked out from beneath its shell.

Two round eyes stared upward.

There wasn’t even the slightest trace of the imposing aura one might expect from an SS-rank pet.

Instead.

It looked a little dumb.

John crouched down.

The Thorn Turtle raised its head and looked at him.

"Guu?"

At the same time.

Another system notification appeared.

[Ding!]

[Detected: First Summon of Pet!]

[You have one free naming opportunity!]

[After naming, further name changes will require a special Rename Item.]

"A name?"

John rubbed his chin.

Thorn Turtle.

Ice element.

Blue.

Covered in crystalline frost thorns.

Suddenly.

He thought of a certain red twin-tailed girl living next door to him.

The corner of his mouth curled upward.

"Then I’ll call you—"

"Ice Rose."

[Ding!]

[Naming successful!]

[Your SS-rank Pet "Thorn Turtle" has officially been named — Ice Rose!]

"Guu!"

"Guu guu!"

Ice Rose seemed extremely satisfied with the name.

Its four short legs suddenly pushed its body upward.

Its head lifted proudly.

The next second.

Boom—!

A burst of blue-white frost magic suddenly erupted from its body!

The crystalline thorns all lit up at once.

Visible waves of icy air surged outward in every direction!

John’s expression changed.

"Fuck!"

"Don’t—"

Crack!

A thick layer of frost instantly spread across the tent supports.

Immediately afterward.

The already less-than-sturdy military tent tilted violently to one side.

Rumble!

The entire tent collapsed!