The first one to emerge from the cocoon of light was Usagi, and despite her size still being just over half a meter, there were some noticeable changes. Her white fur was incredibly fluffy and shiny, and the fruity fragrance she had was even more intense. Her horn was now crystal white, like an icicle, but it wasn't cold.
I picked her up in my arms and examined her carefully. She had gained three more skills: Crisis Perception and Cold Resistance, both passive, and an active one called Ice Horn. The first one was probably due to her racial characteristic, as horned rabbits have a keen sensitivity to hostility and danger. As for the other two, they are likely part of her evolutionary line.
Minutes later, it was Kurama's turn, and he had grown considerably. In fact, he had become the size of a medium-sized horse. Most of his fur had an orange-red hue, with slightly longer yellowish fur with orange tones on his ankles. He still had the white fur on his chest and belly from before. The underside of his tail remained white, but as it approached the tip, it became more and more red.
As for his skills, he gained four: Body Reinforcement: Speed, Fiery Claw, Fireball, and Fire Resistance. The first three were active, and the last one was passive.
Right after him, as if she were the star of the show waiting for the right moment to appear, the light surrounding Rin began to weaken and soon dissipated into fragments of light.
I must say that while Kurama's evolution was impressive, Rin's transformation left me speechless.
Apart from her skin and hair color still being green, she had practically become a different being. If it weren't for our connection, even though I had seen her being enveloped in the cocoon of light, I would have doubted my eyes.
Her moss-green hair reached shoulder-length. Her face, which used to be round, now had an oval shape, and her huge mouth had become smaller. Likewise, her ears, although still slightly pointed, had reduced in size. Even her nose was no longer pointed and looked completely human.
Her teeth remained sharp and slightly pointed, but they no longer had any traces of yellow. They were completely white.
As if that wasn't surprising enough, the changes were not limited to her face. Her nails were no longer yellow and had completely lost their robust and pointed shape.
Even though I hadn't touched her yet, it was clear that her skin had also undergone changes. It looked smooth and shiny like a newborn's skin.
When I approached, I noticed that her height had reached near mine, maybe about twenty centimeters difference. If I had to guess, I would say she was approximately one and a half meters tall.
Her body wasn't the only thing that had grown; her chest area had significantly increased compared to her previous state. The growth was enough for her breasts to be squeezed by the tight leather top she wore. The thong she had on was also in a similar situation, her hips were wider, and her rear had become more prominent.
Overall, it seemed like she had undergone changes similar to mine.
Looking objectively, it was as if Rin was slowly transforming into a human or something close to it. But what felt strange was her appearance of fifteen years, which was completely incompatible with her less than half a year of life.
Could my desire for a monster girl harem be influencing the Self-Evolution?
As I didn't have an answer to that, I turned my attention to Rin, who was standing in front of me with her eyes closed. Unlike the change in appearance of Kurama and Usagi, which I didn't feel dissatisfied with, I felt somewhat conflicted about Rin's change.
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To be completely honest, I felt uncomfortable with her new appearance. It's not that I disliked it; it's more of a matter of being accustomed to her old appearance.
Rin was still motionless with her eyes closed, so I placed my hand on her shoulders and gently shook her.
"Hey, no more sleeping standing up," I said to her.
In an instant, her eyelids opened, and her amber eyes locked onto me. Before I could react, she jumped onto me and hugged me tightly.
"It seems like it's no use dwelling on this," I murmured. "No matter how much your appearance changes, you're still you," I involuntarily smiled as I caressed her head. "Although it's strange, I'll get used to it."
Unaware of my thoughts, Rin let go of her embrace and grabbed the extremely tight top that seemed to be bothering her, throwing it away. Instantly, her grown mounds joyfully bounced with freedom.
While my gaze was fixed on her bouncing peaks, her hands grabbed the tight bottom part of her clothing and tore it off.
Facing her bald mound, I involuntarily swallowed hard.
While I was in a daze, her eyes locked onto me again, but this time they seemed like the eyes of a predator.
"Don't even think about it!" I shouted at her, but ignoring what I said, she pounced on me.
With my enhanced reflexes, I quickly dodged to the side, but it seemed that her physical improvements surpassed mine.
Grabbing my arm, she threw herself onto me, causing me to fall backward with her landing on top of my body.
Without wasting time, she brought her face close to mine, and I knew exactly what she wanted: to kiss me.
"Stop that, you idiotic goblin!"
I put my hand on her face to halt her advance, but her hands were actively trying to remove my clothes.
"You perverted goblin, if you don't stop, you'll go without dinner!" I threatened.
This was a threat I often used to stop her advances. But even though it was effective, it was frustrating to lose to food.
While she was still hugging me, I could feel the softness of her chest against mine. Resisting the temptation, I gently removed her from on top of me and went to prepare new clothes for her.
Although I served food to everyone, mainly to keep Rin entertained, it didn't last long. After she finished her meal, she came and lay down next to me, resting her head on my lap and started to sleep.
"What a troublesome girl," I murmured.
***
After finishing making Rin's clothes, I tried to find out if she could speak. However, even though she appeared completely humanoid, she couldn't communicate. Despite becoming more intelligent, she was still far from being able to speak.
As I investigated this, a question came to my mind: what would happen if Rin became rational? Would she remain as a tamed monster or would she lose the effect of the skill?
Well, these were questions I wouldn't be able to answer anytime soon. With that said, I began to examine her skills, and to my surprise, she had gained seven.
Body Reinforcement: Physical Strength, Body Reinforcement: Speed, Body Reinforcement: Endurance, Self-Healing, Pain Resistance, Melee Weapon Mastery, and Iron Skin.
If I don't count my unique skills, Rin has thirteen normal skills, while I have eleven.
One interesting thing I noticed is that, unlike me, even though the four of us have been through a lot, none of my tamed monsters had mastered any skills. Even though Rin used Heavy Blow more than I did, my mastery was ahead of hers. I can only assume this is because of Self-Evolution.
Interestingly, even though I was notified when Rin gained the skills during the fight, I noticed that when the three of them evolved, the system didn't notify me. It seems that it only notifies when it's not accompanied by a bottleneck breakthrough.
In order to satisfy one of my curiosities, I wanted to test the effectiveness of my leather armor. But fortunately or unfortunately, all my tamed monsters refused to attack me.
I also really wanted to test everyone's capabilities, but as it was already late, that would have to wait for another time. In the end, we went to sleep, but in the middle of the night, I was awakened by Rin's sexual harassment.
Due to my groggy state and my confused feelings, I almost succumbed to temptation, but in the end, I managed to refuse.
To be clear, I'm not gay, okay? I'm just not ready. But well, I know it sounds strange coming from someone who aspires to have a monster girl harem, but I can't do anything about it. I guess everything has its time.