Beast Tamer: I Can See Evolution Paths

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The moment Ron learned that Professor Iris had already left, he froze in place!

Crack, crack—

If a breeze blew by, he might just shatter into pieces.

Asher, now dressed in his work uniform, looked at Ron with a mixture of surprise and amusement while munching on his chive pocket.

It was the first time he'd seen someone in real life actually display those anime-like effects.

It took a while for Ron to snap out of his daze, only to find Asher watching him with a curious gaze.

Recalling his own behavior, Ron's face flushed, and he tried to act nonchalant—but the embarrassment lingered.

"Cough, cough…" He cleared his throat, clenching his fist to cover his awkwardness, but then struggled for words.

He'd lost all face.

"Don't eat breakfast during work hours… actually, forget it. Today's an exception." Ron started to change the subject, but then remembered today's special circumstances.

He couldn't bear to stay here another second.

"This is a one-time exception."

With that, Ron quickly pushed open the glass door and disappeared into the treatment room.

Asher smiled as he watched him leave, then finished off his breakfast within a few minutes.

He was well aware that Ron didn't exactly view him favorably.

He could also guess the reason.

Ron had worked hard to earn a position at the service center.

In contrast, the Alliance had simply assigned Asher a work-study position at the center without much effort on his part.

Though the salary wasn't as high as Ron's, Asher's wage was still better than many entry-level jobs, all because he had the qualifications to become a Beast Master.

He understood Ron's perspective and tried to avoid conflict.

But he didn't appreciate it when Ron took out his frustrations on him.

Whenever he had the chance to put Ron in an uncomfortable position, Asher wouldn't let it slip by.

'After this, though…'

'Ron probably wouldn't bother me for a few days, right?'

With that thought, Asher tidied up the front desk, sent a message to Ivy, and, with the hum of the old fan in the background, resumed studying his textbook.

He'd be a senior this year, so he couldn't afford to slack off now.

———

At the NY City Alliance Division for Beast Masters.

It was just past nine when the receptionist saw her first visitor of the day.

A tall, mature woman with model-like proportions and refined features, dressed in a white lab coat, approached.

At 170 cm in flat shoes, her every step radiated confidence.

The receptionist couldn't look away.

Nor could her two colleagues nearby.

'They were itching to scream, Queen, slay us!'

'Who wouldn't adore a charismatic, seductive woman? Certainly not her!'

"Excuse me, is President Robb available?" Iris asked, catching the receptionist's sparkling gaze as she came to the desk.

Snapping back to her professional demeanor, the receptionist replied, "May I ask who you are? Do you have an appointment?"

"I'm Professor Iris from Bluewind University. Here's my Beast Master ID card; I don't have an appointment." Iris introduced herself plainly, presenting her credentials.

After verifying her ID on the machine, the receptionist smiled politely. "Thank you, your identity has been verified. President Robb will be in his office in an hour. He has a pet beast conference with Radiant City this morning, but he'll have a free hour this afternoon. Would you like to schedule a time?"

"Tell him that I've discovered a new pet beast evolution. If I don't see him within half an hour, I'll head back to Radiant City to make my report."

The receptionist's eyes widened, practically shaking with shock.

After recalling the credentials on Iris's Beast Master card, the receptionist didn't dare doubt her words.

She immediately dialed President Robb, relaying the situation.

"Have her wait in my office."

"Half an hour… no, I'll be there in ten minutes."

The frantic voice on the other end was cut off by the sound of the line disconnecting.

It was clear that President Robb was already on his way.

After hanging up, the receptionist led Iris to his office.

She brought her tea and water and, after ensuring that she needed no further assistance, returned to her post.

No sooner had she returned than her two colleagues were already nudging her and whispering.

"Hey, remember that call yesterday?"

"The call you took, and now today there's a professor here saying she's discovered a new pet beast evolution. Do you think they're connected?"

The receptionist, finally putting the pieces together started becoming pale like fading into the air.

"Is… is my job on the line here?"

Her voice wobbled with a hint of panic.

She could hardly believe these two events weren't connected.

Her colleagues patted her shoulders sympathetically.

'Rest in peace.'

———

"You better be telling the truth about finding a new pet beast evolution path? You didn't just call me here for something else, right?"

"My snow wolf nearly rattled me to death on the way over."

President Robb burst into the office, sweating and slightly out of breath, with a snow wolf about half his height following closely behind.

"Long time no see, President Robb. Hello, Snowey." Iris greeted them, her gaze lingering on the majestic snow wolf rather than the now slightly pudgy, middle-aged President Robb.

One glance, and Robb could tell that Iris was less than thrilled to see him.

But that didn't matter.

"Hurry up, show me the evidence."

Without a word, Iris handed him her phone, displaying the surveillance footage that Ron had sent her the previous night.

"My graduate student sent me this, not fully understanding its significance, so I'm showing you directly. I won't be sending it to you—just watch it here." Iris said.

Robb clicked on the videos.

The first clip showed Ivy walking into the service center with the honeybug.

The second captured the honeybug in the life-support machine, detailing its evolution from start to finish.

He scrubbed through the timeline, particularly the second video, watching it multiple times.

His expression grew more serious with each replay.

"You're sure this video is genuine?"

A honeybug.

This was a pet beast that, for over twelve hundred years, had no known evolution path or potential to evolve.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Robb wouldn't have believed it.

Iris nodded. "I know my student's character. He's just a regular guy who got into the service center job right after graduation. Not the type to have any tricks up his sleeve—he's got some brains but not much cunning."

She all but directly called him a pure, naive college graduate.

Robb was silent.

"Now I see why you contacted me."

"I was wondering—if you'd discovered a pet beast evolution path, you'd be publishing a paper, not calling me."

So it happened in a rural town under NY City's jurisdiction, and she couldn't bypass him.