I don't want to see what this thing can do if it has access to its skills. There has to be something I can do to break this stalemate. I'll try something else... The [Greenwood Wolf] shows grace as it keeps leaving the encirclement of sharks with a flurry of movements and attacks. Khan is getting progressively angrier as the fight persists.

Soon I won't be able to fund this war of attrition. I don't know how long the wolf can last, but it doesn't seem to be exhausting its supplies. An opening appears, but not for Khan. The wolf managed to get one second of respite and used that time to charge rich green energy in its maw. The flowers in their green fur grow in number and are more vibrant as the ability is about to complete. That's when I gift Khan my skill [Dash].

The sudden influx of speed catches the beast off guard, causing the ability to misfire and not cast. The wolf coughs up blood as Khan rips into its body. Khan is relishing in the carnage.

The wolf tries its best to persist, but the heavy damage it wasn't prepared to take ruins the graceful tempo it had going for it. It releases the first and only howl it gave during the fight. It wasn't a skill or a swan song but a cry of desperation and regret. It wanted to fight a little longer, maybe win for their tamer. Alas, it gets sent to the healers as I almost collapse as well. Both my mana and health are dangerously low, even though I appear to be in perfect health.

"I don't like how your beasts fight, but I can respect the effort you and your beasts put in to be this strong. It might be an awkward time for introductions, but my name is Heather, and I am the tamer for the Auroran Institute team. I've heard all about you from the general gossip circulating the tournament grounds, but it's nice to meet you in person. My teammates were not happy when you won the hill game."

"Okay... What have you heard about me?"

"You should know, people that have witnessed you or your beasts' feats talk. It's nothing defamatory if that's what you're wondering."

I start thinking of the battle, and my curiosity continues to grow. Khan was exiled from the world for reasons I don't know, but whatever the reason, it resulted in him drifting in an infinite expanse, petrified and in his weakest form. He also has an unranked trait that states that he should not exist. Khan is arguably the best beast I have for combat, and that's pretty impressive since my other beasts, especially Flash Gordon, are powerhouses in their own right. He's still a rank-C creature with fewer levels, but he was still heavily outclassed by the wolf.

Other rank-A creatures or those with higher levels rarely caused such an issue, and the wolf couldn't even squeeze out some abilities. I don't know what tamer skills Heather used to buff her beast, but since I was doing the same. It's still strange. Khan would have lost if I didn't have a weird amount of health for my level.

"Hey, Heather. Can I ask you a few questions?"

"Uh, sure! I have to go soon, but I can answer a few questions. Depending on what they are, of course!"

"What makes your wolf so strong."

"...shouldn't you know that? Since you are a pretty strong tamer?"

"I can guess, but I'd rather get a straight answer."

"Wait. Don't tell me you aren't studying under a master tamer or something. It's an open secret that even non-tamers are aware of if they have to deal with monsters a lot. I thought you were going to get personal with your questions."

"The only person I can stomach calling master is a martial artist."

"That explains the gi. There's a lot of information, so I'll summarize and paraphrase what my master told me. Not all creatures start off at level one at rank F. Because of that, there will be creatures born better than others and will have an easier time ranking up and evolving.

But if a creature manages to be born at rank F and slowly evolves one step at a time, slowly growing in rank at each milestone, something great will happen at rank A. The same happens if the creature is born at rank A, but silver spoons are universal."

"What's the great thing?"

"They get stronger."

"..."

"I got to go tend to my beasts. They hate losing, and I might need to skip out on my match in the loser's bracket. Plus, I need to meet up with John. He's done with his tournament."

"Why would you purposely give up the next match? Shouldn't you try and stay in?"

"Yeah, but if that weirdo undead kid wins, I wouldn't want to fight him. He and his monsters give me a weird vibe, and even winning against him would make me feel sick. I can't explain it, but I have a weird perception of things."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The final match is a pretty big deal. There is a stage just for this fight that's bigger and better than the others. The platforms are higher and sturdier. The judge gives a lengthy speech about opportunity and grading, but I'm not interested. I want to fight and leave.

Everything has been recorded and shown to the audience, and all the "cameras" are now on this final fight. I wonder if this competition is on television or being streamed on the internet. I should've asked dean Palmer when I saw him. I've given up on hiding my strength long ago since that won't help me much anyways. I don't have the power to have the liberty to appear weaker. I'll keep secrets like my mansion or the origins of Khan secret no matter what, though.

The dialogue wraps up, so I sit and wait for the final match to be officiated. The 'weirdo undead kid' has won the loser's bracket and will be my opponent again. He has not shown off his third 'beast,' so I have no idea what will be coming. After a moment of respite, the finals finally begin.

He is still riding around on his zombie horse. He gives me a toothy smile and waves at me. I ignore him and send Khan in for the first match. He still hasn't completely calmed down from his last fight, so I might as well make use of his rage buff. He sent his "wolf spider" out, but it looks slightly different.

Its ribcage is now exposed and sticking out of its torso. As the creature "breathes," the ribs move in a way that resembles a maw. It still has its mismatched limbs and wolf head. When the match starts, Khan immediately tries to kill that thing as it runs around laughing and crying. It turns around and jumps on one of the Khans, ripping into it. Organs get pulled out almost with the precision of a surgeon.

It consumes the organs, but it turns to cloud in its mouth. It starts coughing and hacking up condensed water vapor. Khan takes this opportunity to rip a few of its limbs off. The limbs squirm and move like they have a mind of their own. The wolf is outnumbered and eventually gets consumed. It reappears near the healers, and they aren't happy. It looks like a slightly digested clump of moving flesh. An eyeball is still intact and rolling around the healer's feet.

"Your shark swarm thing is kinda broken, huh? Hehehe."

I ignore his laughter and let Khan come back. I decide to send Rob in next since I want to prove that my undead is better. I don't think I'll send Duchess to fight this guy again. He may have come up with countermeasures against her.

The [Spirit Fire Lion] appears again, looking slightly different. The flesh and fur of the beast are made of blue fire instead of just the mane and claws. I can see bones moving in the flames, and so does Rob. Rob and his relationship with bones are weird. His enjoyment of collecting bones is nothing compared to the 'bone envy' he gets. I've only seen it happen four times, and each time, Rob replaced a part of himself using his [Undead Chimerism].

Reading Rob's emotions is rougher than reading Flash Gordon's, but I can tell he is anxious or excited about this next fight. He's rubbing his [Bone Bag]. I [Bolster Resistance] then gift him my fire resistance to see if that works, and it does. It took most of my mana, but rob has a whopping 1,200 points in fire resistance.

I wonder if the [Spirit Fire Lion] produces spiritual fire or if it's a [Fire Lion] that happens to be spiritual. Is there a difference? Spirit fire should be very distinct from normal fire, but would it be a [Spiritfire Lion] instead? [Fire Spirit Lion] is in my [Lexicon], and that's more similar to an elemental or fairy than a lion. It really makes me think of the importance of how the names line up with characteristics.

Each of my beasts has a different theme for their names. Flash Gordon is an [Elemental Stone] and his other evolutions had a similar name scheme. He is a stone that has a specific characteristic. In this case, he has minor affinities with elements and can use them. Rob is a [Skeleton Grave Robber]. That gives off the vibe that Rob's class is after his race. It is his race, but if I was a monster, I think I would show up as [Human Unique Master].

[Amphitere] is a weird one because it's an original name for a limbless dragon that still has wings. It originates from history before the cataclysm. It's an actual name with origins rather than a description of the beast. She used to be a [Winged Serpent]... Now I think there could be [Lightning Amphitere] and other variations. Duchess' race is the equivalent of looking at a beast and seeing [Gorrila] for its species and nothing else.

Khan is a fucking [Ozone Prowler], whatever that means. His species is just a title. Who is anointing all these creatures? Is there a massive game of dibs in the scientific community, or is it some cosmic force's job to go around and name every munchkin? If someone finds a creature that no one knows about, do they give them a name, or do they use a high-level appraisal skill to find out what they are called? In a world with gods, is there a creature that hasn't been found, even by them? Who gave Khan his name? Is there more of him running around, or does he have a creator? Where did the beasts come from in the first place? There are gods, so is it creationism? But the creatures literally evolve!

The context of different languages gives me a headache.

[Kantarrpoe], the massive worm I defeated, literally translates to [Desert Worm] from the dwarven language. It didn't translate for me when I looked at it! [Desert Worm] is a different creature than a [Kantarrpoe]! Would a dwarf see a [Desert Worm] as a [Kantarrpoe] or a combination of letters they don't understand? I am going to have an aneurysm.

Duchess must have noticed my distress because she casts [Deprogram] on me to get me out of my self-inflicted rut. The fight has been going on the entire time, with Rob managing to dominate with his beefy resistance. Now I'm thinking of spirit fire again. Does my fire resistance resist all things fire or just heat? I know it resists heat since inductions stoves don't hurt me, but does that still count as a fire? I want to experiment, and I want to find answers to my questions. I wonder if my dad was like this as well. My biological dad was always in his lab... I really need to stop thinking and allowing my thoughts to drift.

Rob has beaten the lion into submission with his shovel. He stole the tail of the beast and attached it to his spine when I wasn't looking. He now has a tail with a blue flame at the tip. Eventually, Rob slays the beast since the lion can't do anything to him. Was that spirit fire and did fire resistance work on it? I wonder if that undead kid would torch me if I asked him to. My egg might also benefit from the encounter.

"Whatcha thinking of? Have you been charmed by me yet?"

"..."