Chapter 737: Honeybun’s Strength Growth

As he made his way towards the portal, Moon decided to quickly drop by the nearest Trading Center. He went in, and within ten minutes he was already out with ten Surpasser-rank corpses that cost him around a hundred million given there top condition and powerful races.

Despite the high cost, Moon did not regret the expenditure a tiny bit.

Moon wanted to feed Honeybun and Mirage the best of the best to ensure they grew fast and well.

Moon stepped through the portal, greeting the base’s people with a warm smile as he passed through the main chamber, then headed straight for the spirit pavilion atop Mirage’s back.

When he arrived, he found neither Talan nor the brute at their usual posts. It didn’t take long to track them down. The two of them were inside his supposed throne room, deep in discussion, and this time they’d brought company, two individuals who, by their looks, appeared to be earth mages.

"What are you two up to?" Moon asked, stepping in.

Talan and the brute spun around and snapped into salutes.

"Boss! We were just going over what edits you might like added to the chamber. Perfect timing, actually, since you’re here you can tell us exactly what you’d—"

Moon cut him off with a wry smile. "This is perfectly fine as it is. I don’t want any edits."

"But boss—"

Moon’s smile twitched. "I said I don’t want any."

The brute sighed, finally relenting. "Alright, boss. Whatever you say."

Moon shook his head, amused despite himself, then shifted to business. "How are you both? Anything new while I was gone?"

"Nothing major, boss," Talan reported. "After you left, the beast attacks stopped entirely. Quiet ever since. We tallied up the profits, too, everything came to around sixty million, give or take, and we didn’t lose a single person. Just like you ordered, we set aside everything the blacksmiths, runesmiths, and other craftsmen could put to use, and sold off the rest. After all that, we’ve got about twenty million in cash sitting in the vault."

"Good work. Both of you." Moon clapped them each on the back. Then his tone changed, "I’m going to need this room to myself for about an hour with no interruptions. Can you clear it out for me?"

The two understood at once, no questions asked.

"Of course, of course!" Talan said quickly.

They gestured with their heads to the two earth mages, and the four of them filed out, pulling the heavy double doors closed behind them. The moment the doors sealed, the chamber’s silencing and concealment runes activated, wrapping the room in complete privacy.

Moon was alone.

Moon drew the vial of undiluted Black Tortoise blood from his storage ring, tilting it left and right under the chamber’s light, the dark liquid swirling thick and rich inside the glass.

Honeybun’s eyes locked onto it as though the vial were the only thing in the entire room, its gaze fixed and unblinking.

Moon crouched down with a soft smile. "Alright, Honeybun. Tom gave us something special. Let’s see what it does for you, okay?"

<...Okay,> the little turtle replied, still staring at the vial.

Moon patted its head for a few seconds, then popped the cork with a soft sound. He gently tilted Honeybun’s head upward and began to feed it the blood.

Honeybun gulped it down, its eyes going wide as the potent liquid hit, and within moments the entire vial was drained dry.

Moon stored the empty vial away and watched the turtle closely, curious, waiting for any sign of a reaction.

One minute passed.

Two.

Five minutes passed, and yet nothing happened.

"What’s going on?" Moon frowned deeply. "Why isn’t it working? Not only is it racially compatible with Honeybun, it’s also a natural treasure that cost Tom hundreds of millions, it should be doing something by now—"

As if answering his complaint, Honeybun’s aura erupted.

Power surged up from the little turtle in a rolling wave, and crystal began to form across its entire body, spreading over the golden shell in a cascade of gleaming facets. The air in the warded chamber grew heavy, dense with pressure, the resonance of Black Tortoise blood merging with the turtle’s already formidable constitution.

Moon stepped back, a massive grin spreading across his face.

"There it is. That’s what I’m talking about."

Moon watched, transfixed, as the aura climbed.

"Look at you go," he murmured, half to himself, half to the turtle. "The blood of an S-Rank behemoth, settling into your bones. Every drop of that durability, that defense, that vitality, it’s all yours now."

The crystal spread further, brighter, the turtle’s presence swelling with every passing second. "The Black Tortoise took a team of peak Surpassers three days and three nights to kill."

The aura surged higher, reaching toward the ceiling of its current tier, pressing against the peak of Five-Star Evolver. It climbed and climbed, Honeybun’s body drinking in the blood’s full potency, the little turtle’s aura growing visibly denser, its crystal formations sharper and more numerous than before.

Then the aura reached its apex, the very peak of Five-Star, and stopped there, pulsing, before slowly settling and stabilizing.

Moon exhaled, watching the crystal recede and the golden shell return, now gleaming with an even richer luster than before.

"Peak of Five-Star." Moon shook his head in wonder. "You are one good push away from Surpasser rank."

A proud, almost disbelieving laugh escaped his mouth. "At this rate, you really are going to leave me behind."

Honeybun lifted its head, meeting Moon’s eyes with a happy gaze, radiating a strength greater than it had held moments ago.

Moon knelt and rested a hand on the warm golden shell.

"Tom’s going to lose his mind when he hears what his gift did for you. We’ll have to bring you by so he can see it for himself at some point." He grinned. "You’ve still got a Surpasser-rank corpses to work through...hopefully that can potentially get you even closer to breakthrough... I can’t even imagine where your ceiling is."

The little turtle nestled contentedly against his hand, peak Five-Star and climbing, the future of the strange, wondrous creature stretching out further than Moon anticipated.