The only reason Lu was explaining so much was that Brant had vouched for Leo—calling him cautious and honest, though cunning when required. The only things he truly lacked were support and knowledge.

"Wait? Wouldn't that mean you can also be revived?" Leo asked.

Lu looked at him, confused.

"How did you come to that conclusion? It's my Phoenix's trait, and we can't inherit traits. And even if I had the trait, where would people bring my core from if I died? I mean, a soul core could be said to be our cores, but they dissipate within moments when people die. So no, I cannot be revived."

But I can share traits. Well, they don't need to know that, do they? Leo thought while nodding in understanding.

While Leo was lost in thought, his beasts returned to check on him.

Brant's eyes narrowed the moment he noticed them.

"You…" he said slowly. "Didn't you have a soul-related talent called 'Beastiary of Souls'?"

Brant, seeing that Leo had finally relaxed around them, decided to strike.

"How are you able to tame beasts? Your talent name doesn't suggest that," he said, his tone casual but his eyes sharp.

Since technology still wasn't advanced enough to know the description of a talent, people could only guess the function by the talent's name.

Well fuck.

I knew they weren't here for nothing. Time to pull some bullshit.

"Uh… somehow I was able to connect with my beasts through the soul," Leo replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "And when I tried reaching them through that connection, I ended up taming them."

Brant narrowed his eyes slightly. He could tell Leo was hiding something, but after a brief pause, he still nodded.

"And what about your strength?" Brant continued,

"Leaving your beasts aside—" he paused, sweeping his gaze across Shyra, then Niri, Nyxa, and finally Howl.

"—which are, I would say, all Pseudo 3-star, with the Colossus at Low 3-star. But you—you yourself radiate strength surpassing them. Nearly Mid-3-star."

His voice grew heavier.

"How is that possible? Technically—normally—Beast Masters possess lower strength than their beasts. Hell, most of them are glass cannons, relying entirely on their highest-ranking beast to back them up. But you're different. Why?"

This professor will strip me bare!!

Thankfully, he doesn't know I'm actually a Pseudo-4-star. Phew.

Time for another round of bullshit.

Leo calmed his breathing as cold sweat trickled slowly down his spine. Outwardly, however, his posture remained steady, his expression confident.

To draw more out of him, Brant subtly released his aura. It wasn't aggressive—just enough pressure to make any ordinary 3-star feel uncomfortable, unsettled and eager to talk. What he didn't know was that Leo wasn't having any of it.

"I don't know," Leo said after a moment. "At some point, I just… naturally started becoming stronger as my beasts ranked up. It felt like they were lending me their strength."

It's true, Leo thought. If Professor Brant can only tell I'm Mid-3-star, then he can tell my strength comes from them.

And Leo was right.

Brant seemed satisfied. From what he sensed, Leo wasn't lying. He nodded slowly, then once more shifted his gaze toward the beasts.

"Have to say," Brant muttered, "you tamed quite the interesting bunch…"

Lu nodded in agreement.

"Pseudo-3-star at these sizes?" Lu said, his sharp eyes scrutinizing Shyra and Nyxa. "Boy, don't tell me they're all noble bloodlined."

He even glanced at Niri. A Pseudo-3-star with such a small frame could only mean one of two things—either an abysmally low bloodline… or an exceptionally high one.

And knowing Leo, it had to be the latter.

Well, two of them are Royal—

"I don't even know that," Leo interrupted. "When I reached out to them through my soul, their latent energy felt pure. It seemed like they could grow strong, so I tamed them."

Another lie.

The truth—that he could literally see their information laid bare before his eyes—could never be revealed though.

"He's still hiding things," Lu said to Brant telepathically.

"I think it's just his cautious nature," Brant replied. "Even I wouldn't trust some random old pervert I met recently."

Lu clicked his tongue in response.

"Three Pseudo 3-star beasts and one low star…" Brant muttered. Then he froze. "Wait."

His eyes widened.

Even Lu, who had been internally cursing Brant a moment ago, felt his breath stop when the implication hit him. He blurted out loud,

"Fifty per cent attribute share!? What the fuck?!"

Lu stared at Leo as if he were some kind of walking anomaly.

These old monsters are way too good at maths.

Tsk. Are they Asians?

On the outside, Leo simply looked back at them, completely clueless as to what had caused such a reaction.

Then Brant turned to him sharply.

"Brat. What's your soul rank?"

Leo stiffened. The question caught him off guard. Every time something abnormal about him surfaced, people always went straight for his soul rank.

Those three goons who came to kill him at start.

Even the guy with the Windbreath Hound.

"Common…" Leo said cautiously, hoping they would accept it.

"Don't lie, kid," Brant said firmly. "We know you have a higher-ranked soul. There's no way you'd have 6-star talent with a common soul. At the very least, you'd need an uncommon one."

He paused, then added,

"Now. Tell the truth."

Then, as if tossing bait into the water, he continued,

"Say it, and I'll try to help my most to your beasts overcome their bottlenecks. They've been stuck at Pseudo-3-star for quite some time, haven't they?"

Huh?

Are soul rank and talent connected? Leo thought.

Shit—status!

He quickly reviewed his information.

Name: Leo

Soul Rank: Rare, *Mythical*

Talents:

[Beastiary of Souls]: 7-stars

*[Primordial Beast Taming]: 10-stars*

Huh? Seven stars?

When did that happen?!

Argh, scratch that!

"I don't know, Professor Brant," Leo said truthfully. "When I was tested, they told me I had a common soul."

Brant fell silent, deliberating for a moment. Then he spoke again.

"Did you consume some sort of treasure after your test, but before the academy trial selection?"

How!? How the hell is he connecting all of this?! Is he a genius?! Fuck!

"Yes," Leo admitted after a beat. "I did consume a treasure. It looked like a flower."

"And you gave part of it to your girl?" Brant asked, seeking confirmation.

Tsk

---

A/N: Alright, people. I haven't forgotten the bonus chapters. Matter of fact, even the 200 Powerstones goal was also completed the previous week.

You guys are so peak.

So, right now, there are 4 bonus chapters pending...

And I am pretty sure you guys will even get the GTs to 300 this month, that's 2 more bonus chaps.....

Kuhmm, cough cough. I will try my best to publish them as soon as possible, preferably together or else one by one. Gimme some tiiiimmmmeeee.

(人´∀｀)

Please don't hate me. (╥﹏╥). I am human after all.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.