Now that he was already knee-deep in nonsense, Ricky decided to dive in all the way.
He straightened his small mosquito body like a master storyteller preparing for a grand reveal. Then, despite communicating telepathically, he made a show of clearing his throat with a dry cough.
"Who said he is weak..."
Dark Shadow blinked in surprise. "What do you an? Isn’t he clearly weak? If I wanted to, I could kill him just by snorting."
"Ohh, Dark Shadow... what do you know..."
Ricky’s voice turned grave, and his compound eyes glead with ancient mystery. He gave her a long look—full of false solemnity—as though she had just questioned an age-old truth.
Then, in a deep, reverent tone, he declared, "Actually, these two... they’re not ordinary creatures. They are the incarnations of powerful beings, reborn into this era through a mysterious accident. They’ve forgotten who they were... but soon, with the passage of ti, they’ll awaken—and beco unstoppable."
He lowered his voice dramatically.
"So you better watch out..."
He spun the story with effortless flair, letting the words settle into the silence of the courtyard like the echo of an old prophecy.
"Really...?" Dark Shadow asked, her ntal voice laced with doubt, though her expression betrayed curiosity. Her eight glossy eyes shimred with uncertainty. As a reclusive spider who had rarely interacted with others, she was strangely easy to fool.
Ricky nodded with exaggerated seriousness.
And to a small extent... he wasn’t entirely lying.
There was sothing off about Boar and Alexandria. Ricky had felt it since the beginning. They weren’t just two random beasts who stumbled into evolution. Even with his system and bloodline advantages, they weren’t far behind him.
He could feel it—a strange pull, a peculiar aura around them. It wasn’t sothing tangible, but it clung to their very existence, like the gaze of fate itself. As if the world was subtly nudging them forward, watching over them.
They didn’t seem like chosen ones—but sothing was clearly guiding their steps.
"Let’s keep this between us..." he added, lowering his ntal voice into a conspiratorial whisper.
Dark Shadow’s eyes glowed faintly. For a mont, she stared at Ricky, emotions stirring in her usually cold heart.
He trusts ... He’s really treating as a friend, she thought.
He’s sharing sothing so secret with ...
In that mont, her suspicion lted into sothing warr.
But then—before she could respond—an intense fluctuation tore through the mana around them. The peaceful courtyard buzzed with wild spiritual force, and a loud voice pierced the still air.
"I’ve succeeded!!"
The shout ca from Boar. His voice rang out with ecstatic joy, and he practically danced in place, kicking up leaves and dust.
"I managed to learn the ditation technique Big Sister Dark Shadow taught !"
He was panting, his eyes wide with excitent, nostrils flaring as waves of raw spiritual energy rolled off his thick hide.
The effort of many days and nights had finally borne fruit.
"Impossible..." Dark Shadow whispered, her tone shaken. Her body tensed as her eight legs braced against the stone beneath her. All eight eyes widened, reflecting the flickering light of the spiritual grove.
With a sudden flash, she vanished from her perch.
The next instant, she reappeared beside Boar, her movent ghostlike, as if space itself bent to her will.
"Show ," she said, trying hard to keep her voice level.
She had taught him a technique designed specifically for spiders—Spider Descending the Mountain. It was not only ancient but structured around the unique physiology and spiritual nerves of arachnids. There was no way a dumb pig should be able to learn it.
And yet...
Following her, Ricky also flew over, his wings stirring the leaves as he descended beside the two.
The mont he got close to Boar, he felt it—an overwhelming surge of vitality. It hit him like the scent of fresh blood, pure and potent. His instincts scread at him to feed, to devour, but he clenched his will and suppressed the hunger.
Boar was... different now.
His two tusks had grown visibly longer, their edges sharpened like daggers. His skin, already thick, had darkened into a dense, iron-grey tone, gleaming faintly in the light as if polished steel ran beneath it.
The spiritual force rolling off him was more refined, more stable.
"Go ahead," Dark Shadow said, her voice laced with disbelief.
Boar grinned, puffing out his chest. He nodded and settled into a stance. Then, drawing a deep breath, he began to follow the steps of the technique exactly as she had taught.
With a pulse of energy, his thick hide shimred—and in the next mont, it transford. A protective layer of armor ford across his body, forged from his own mana and flesh.
"Woah..." Dark Shadow gasped aloud, unable to hide her amazent.
Ricky’s earlier words echoed in her mind.
Incarnations of powerful monsters...
She turned to glance at Ricky for the briefest mont. Their eyes t—his compound gaze and her unblinking ones.
Then both looked away, neither speaking. The mont was heavy with unsaid thoughts.
Dark Shadow’s emotions swirled in confusion.
Why does he know so much...?
He was just a pest. He didn’t even possess bloodline mories. Yet he knew grafting techniques, spiritual fertilizers... and now, strange secrets about other beasts?
Just then, Boar broke the silence with an eager squeal.
"Now, as per our promise... Big Sister Dark Shadow, you’ll help us reach Stage 2, right?"
His snout twitched excitedly. The thought of finally stepping into the realm of the strong filled him with fire.
Dark Shadow gave a quiet nod.
She had promised. If either of them managed to learn the technique, she would help them progress.
To be honest, she never expected Boar to succeed. He always looked a little... simple and stupid.
Yet, sohow, he had done it.
At that mont, Alexandria slowly approached. Her steps were light, hesitant. Her small body radiated a somber air, and her head was bowed low. Her golden eyes glimred with sadness, catching the edge of sunlight filtering through the trees.
She didn’t yet know what Boar had accomplished.
When Dark Shadow noticed her, she turned and asked, "Ahh, little Alexandria, have you managed to learn the technique as well?"
The words struck like a thunderbolt.
Alexandria’s body stiffened. Her small paws clenched tightly, her shoulders trembling slightly. She didn’t lift her head.
Inside, sha boiled.
How could I... fail?
She had always believed herself clever. Sharp. Quick to learn. Yet, while Boar celebrated success, she stood there with empty hands.
The technique had two parts: one to sense mana, the other to strike and kill.
She had failed the foundational half—failed to even feel the flow of Mana through her veins.
But it wasn’t a complete loss.
She had grasped sothing else. Sothing buried deep in the killing aspect of the technique—a single sharp thread of insight.
Still, the sha lingered.
The weight of the group’s eyes turned toward her. Even Ricky watched her quietly.
Taking a deep breath, Alexandria straightened her spine.
"I haven’t completely failed..." she said, her voice louder than necessary. It trembled slightly, but pride laced every word.
She wasn’t going to crumble—not in front of Boar. Not in front of Ricky.
Not in front of anyone.
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