Chapter 9: A Strange Cat, A Violet Butterfly

Morning sunlight spilled across Adrian’s face.

He had been too tired last night and fallen asleep without setting an alarm. When he checked the time, it was exactly eight in the morning.

Technically, this was his one-week vacation between Grade 10 and Grade 11.

He should have been able to rest as much as he wanted.

But this world was different from the student life he remembered from his past life.

A student who wanted to become an outstanding beast tamer had to use every minute and every second well.

Still, Adrian noticed that his sleep last night had been as good as the night he took the Soulcalm Fruit.

That proved the energy released during Violet’s evolution really was extraordinary.

He opened the door and saw Roxy already tending the Purple Starvines.

He greeted her, washed up quickly, shoved down some bread and milk, and hurried out.

The Beast Tamers’ League cultivation center was forty minutes from his home.

Mr. Caldwell had scheduled him for nine o’clock sharp.

He did not want to be late.

At Vale’s Beast Feed.

“Adrian, it’s the first day of vacation. You should be resting. Why are you up so early?” Arthur Boone had already opened the shop and was arranging bundles of fresh Purple Starvine leaves and branches by the entrance.

“These vines grew so much and so well today. Roxy has already carried three or four loads down this morning. I need to call the regular customers and tell them we have good stock today.”

“Morning, Grandpa Arthur.” Adrian straightened his shirt. “I have to go to the cultivation center today.”

“I should be back this afternoon to help you. I’ll have more time this week, so you can take a break too. You must be exhausted from watching the shop while I’ve been busy.”

“The cultivation center! Good!” Arthur looked up, his smile wide. “Go add another little beast to Vale’s Beast Feed. Bring some more life into this place.”

“Adrian, don’t worry about me. I’ve been doing this for seven or eight years. Any day I don’t come to this shop, I feel restless.”

“Go handle your plans. I’ll wait for your good news.”

Adrian caught the bus.

Along the way, he watched the scenery flow past like water, the people coming and going, and the occasional beast companion by the roadside. His mood gradually relaxed.

Forty minutes later, Adrian arrived at the cultivation center.

It was a large complex of buildings.

Different areas housed different beast cubs.

He had volunteered here for two weeks last semester, so he knew the place well. Naturally, he also knew where his target was.

Spirit-attribute beasts were located in the southeast part of the complex.

Adrian quickened his pace. After confirming his appointment time in the main hall of the Spirit Cultivation Hall, he sat down in the waiting area.

He checked the time. Eight fifty-eight.

He let out a long breath.

He was a person who followed plans and schedules closely. For almost any appointment, he would arrive half an hour early to prepare.

This was actually the first time he had arrived almost right on the dot.

At that moment, he also saw a staff member in protective gear holding a transparent pet box. Inside was a pure white cat.

But right now, the cat was clawing furiously at the glass, and its angry little kitten mews reached Adrian’s ears.

He looked closely.

Several lines of panel information flashed by.

[Serene Spirit Cat]

[Attribute: Spirit]

[Quality: Common—Upper]

[Sex: Male]

Then it cut off—because the staff member quickened his pace, as if trying to get this little beast back home quickly.

Stolen story; please report.

Two doubts immediately rose in Adrian’s mind.

First, among Serene Spirit Cats, ninety-nine percent were born with the [Calm Mind] trait. In other words, they were among the most emotionally stable beasts.

What he had just seen was completely abnormal.

Second, Serene Spirit Cats were born with an average quality around Exceptional—Mid. They were considered an excellent species. How could that one be only Common—Upper?

The moment those two doubts appeared, Adrian could not help leaning out a little, wanting to see what was going on with that Serene Spirit Cat.

But the staff member had already walked far away.

Then a voice reached his ear.

“Adrian, your appointment time has arrived. You may enter and follow today’s guide to tour the specific cultivation areas.”

Adrian immediately snapped back to attention and nodded.

He walked in through a designated entrance.

Before him appeared someone he had met before.

“Senior Leo, good morning.” Adrian greeted him first.

“Hello, junior. Mr. Caldwell asked me to show you three types of beasts today and help you pick the one that suits you best.”

“Then I’ll be in your care, senior.”

This Senior Leo was named Leo Marsh. He was one of Westbrook Beast-Taming Academy’s star students.

He had graduated from Grade 12 a month ago, and his exam score was second in the entire school. He had already been accepted into Lumenhold Beast University, one of the top ten beast-taming universities in the Kingdom of Draconis.

His major was the Breeding Department.

Adrian had seen him on the school’s honor roll recently.

He had not expected to meet him here today.

Leo wore gold-rimmed glasses and looked refined. His work uniform marked him as an intern at the Lumenhold Beast Cultivation Center’s Spirit Hall.

“Well, if Mr. Caldwell values you so much, you must have something special. I’ll do my best to help you analyze things today.”

“Then let’s not waste time. We’ll start with the Phantom Dream Butterfly.”

“Thank you, senior.” Adrian followed behind him, still polite.

After passing two cultivation bases belonging to other beasts, the home of the Phantom Dream Butterflies unfolded before Adrian’s eyes.

It was a field of brilliantly colored flowers.

Among the flowers, about fifteen Phantom Dream Butterflies rested on different blossoms.

Sensing the two people, they stayed quiet. Only one fluttered its wings slightly. The others did not move.

The Phantom Dream Butterfly’s appearance was gorgeous.

These butterflies did not have fixed colors, but they shared one unified mark: a moon-halo outline on their wings.

Each one radiated its own unique light.

Standing there, Adrian could feel a dreamlike quality. A faint illusion even appeared before his eyes.

But Adrian quickly shifted his attention elsewhere. If one looked at Phantom Dream Butterflies for too long, it was easy to fall into mental confusion.

Fortunately, he had already taken in all their panels at a glance and memorized them.

Aside from differences in quality and level, they were basically the same.

Their personalities differed slightly, but only in small ways.

However, every Phantom Dream Butterfly displayed the exact same evolution paths.

[Phantom Dream Butterfly]

[Attribute: Spirit]

[Quality: Exceptional—Lower / Mid]

[Traits: Spirit Dream, Phantom Light]

[Evolution Path]

Evolution Path One: Phantom Spirit War Butterfly

Evolution Path Two: Phantom Evil Devouring Butterfly

Of these two evolution paths, Adrian knew the Phantom Spirit War Butterfly.

But he had never even heard of the Phantom Evil Devouring Butterfly.

The panel did not show a hidden evolution path, so this form must have appeared somewhere in the beast-taming world.

Perhaps it was not native to the Kingdom of Draconis.

Still, he opened the small panel for the evolution path and recorded the required materials and conditions.

Every one of these “ordinary” evolution paths was valuable to Adrian.

As for why these Phantom Dream Butterflies had no hidden evolution paths, Adrian had his own guess.

Beside him, Leo watched Adrian observe each Phantom Dream Butterfly so seriously and silently approved.

Normally, students who had just finished Grade 10 could not reach this state.

During his internship this month, he had brought plenty of students to look at beast cubs. Most were impatient. Before they had even looked for a few moments, they had already asked a dozen questions and then asked how to contract one.

Only after Adrian finally looked away from the Phantom Dream Butterflies did Leo speak.

“Junior, you’re very patient.”

“Mr. Caldwell told me you have a talent and skill for observing beasts. He said your knowledge of different beast companions far exceeds that of an average Grade 11 student—even stronger than some Grade 12 graduates.”

“So let me test you. Among these fifteen Phantom Dream Butterflies, which one has the highest quality, and which one do you think is the gentlest and easiest to contract?”

“Answer correctly, and I’ll give you a little surprise.”

Adrian smiled faintly and answered immediately. “The one at the bottom left, by the purple flowers, has the highest quality. The moon outline on its wings is about a centimeter wider than the others, and its blending with the flowers is the highest. If you don’t look carefully, you can’t even find it.”

“As for the one easiest to contract, it’s the one whose wings fluttered when we passed, then settled down again. That means there’s a side of its personality that likes human presence. For a Spirit-attribute beast, that’s relatively rare.”

Leo stared as Adrian answered the correct questions with almost no thought, and his reasoning was completely sound.

He was stunned.

If this had not been a question he came up with on the spot, he would have suspected Adrian had memorized a question bank and locked onto the answers.

Adrian clearly saw Leo’s expression.

In truth, even without the panel, he could have answered those two questions easily. Years of professional experience in his past life were not for nothing. Variable comparison and core-feature matching were simple techniques he had long since mastered.

Not to mention, the panel gave him proof for his answers.

Adrian looked at Leo with “expectation,” as if waiting for his response.

“Well, it seems Mr. Caldwell wasn’t exaggerating when he said your observation skills are astonishing.”

“I’ll give you this pair of glasses. If you stay in the Spirit-attribute beast area too long, it’s easy to suffer negative effects after looking at these beasts for a while.”

“Wear these, and you won’t feel uncomfortable later.”

Adrian looked. It was another pair of gold-rimmed glasses, exactly like the ones Leo wore, and a name brand too.

Functional glasses like these usually cost no less than a thousand crowns.

Clearly, this star senior was the kind of student who did not lack money.

Adrian thought about it and did not refuse.

After all, he had already felt a little dizzy from looking at them for too long.

He could just return them after today’s activities were over.

Interestingly, the moment he put on the glasses, the highest-quality purple Phantom Dream Butterfly actually flew out and came straight to Adrian.

It hovered right before his eyes.