[Beast Mutation System]
Host: Kale Ardentis Species: Hexarion Human
Tamed Beast: NEO (Nemesis Hydra)
Elemental Affinities (Dormant): Fire (0.05%), Water (0.01%), Earth (0.08%), Wind (0.02%), Light (0.00%), Darkness (0.01%)
Integration Progress: 0.12% (Minimal growth detected from devouring Alpha-rank biological matter).
~
Kale’s eyes narrowed in obvious disappointment. The progress was not just slow; it was glacial. Devouring the Alpha Gore-Husk Apes had provided a slight boost to physical strength and integrated a minuscule amount of their "Ape-might" trait, but the elemental progress was nearly non-existent.
He felt the slight tightness in his muscles, the lingering echo of the ape’s physical power, but his magic remained entirely dead.
"Absolute Affinity," Kale muttered, rubbing his temple where a dull ache of fatigue lingered. "It’s a talent that grants perfect potential, but potential is a hollow vessel without the right fuel.
Neo devouring standard Feral or Alpha-rank beasts is like trying to fill an ocean with a dropper. The elemental traces in their DNA are too diluted, too bogged down by standard biological functions."
He looked at Neo. The Hydra was a masterpiece of 1.1 million failed simulations, a creature built on a Draconic foundation and reinforced with the adaptability of a Dark Octagon.
But even a god-tier species needed concentrated essence to wake its dormant genes. If they kept going like this, the beast tide would swallow them long before Neo reached even a fraction of his true potential.
"I need a jumpstart," Kale reasoned, his mind already shifting into the cold, analytical gears of the Genetic Engineer. "If the problem is dilution, the solution must be concentration."
With a mental command, Kale manifested the Gene Lab. The room was instantly partitioned by greenish, holographic screens that displayed complex double-helix structures and mana-density charts.
The soft light bathed the wooden room in a pale green glow, reflecting off glass vials and stone instruments on the shelves. He began to pull data from his memory, specifically the records of the Red Volcano Spirit and the Deep Earth Serpent he had dissected in his Apprentice lab.
"Hypothesis," Kale stated for the system to record. "If I can synthesise Chimaeras with an elemental purity exceeding 90%, and feed them to Neo, the concentrated essence should bypass the standard slow integration process and force the dormant affinities into an active state."
He began the first simulation. On the screen, a Crystal Slime base was selected, its neutral nature making it the perfect canvas.
He attempted to strip away 95% of its biological needs- digestion, reproduction, even its basic nervous system- replacing those genetic slots with high-density Fire-element mana sequences derived from Tyrant-rank Draconic blood.
The simulation displayed a small, orange-glowing orb that pulsed like a miniature star. It was a "Fire-Catalyst Chimaera", which was essentially a living pill.
"Now," Kale commanded, "simulate the consumption and integration process with the Nemesis Hydra’s DNA."
The holographic representation of Neo’s DNA approached the orange orb. The moment they touched, red warning lights flashed throughout the chamber, casting a harsh crimson glow over his face.
[WARNING!!! WARNING!!!]
[Simulation Failure detected.]
[Target: Nemesis Hydra Physiology]
[Cause: Extreme Genetic Instability.]
[Probability of sudden chromosomal collapse: 87.4%]
[Reason: The incoming mana density of a 90%+ affinity catalyst exceeds the structural integrity of the Hydra’s current rank. Neo’s physiology is an abomination of seven high-rank sequences; adding an unstable elemental ’bomb’ will trigger a rejection cascade.]
Kale gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning white as he stared at the red failure screens. The red light reflected in his eyes, making them look bloodshot.
"87%... It’s a death sentence," he muttered. "If I feed him a pure fire elemental, his Draconic body will try to contain it, but his Octagon adaptability will try to morph to it, and his Absolute Affinity will try to synchronise everything at once. They’ll fight each other until his cells literally explode."
He didn’t stop there. He tried a Water sequence. The simulation returned a 92% probability of collapse. He tried an Earth sequence with the Stone Turtle genes, hoping the earth’s defensive nature would stabilise the reaction. The probability of collapse dropped, but it still sat at a devastating 81%.
No matter how he adjusted the parameters, Neo’s very complexity, the thing that made him the ultimate predator, was now the barrier to his growth. His body was too sophisticated to accept crude, high-density injections of power.
Hours turned into a full day as Kale sat in the Artificing Lab, refusing to leave. The mercenary team, Fabio, Paula, and the others, had already begun their own recovery and training, but Kale was lost in a sea of data.
He reviewed his Trinity Crafting skill and the Absolute Affinity trait over and over, searching for a loophole.
"Wait," Kale said, his eyes snapping open after a brief, tranced-out silence. "If devouring them causes a rejection cascade, it’s because the energy is being forced inward through the digestive and metabolic pathways. It’s an invasion of the system."
He looked at the soul-sigil mark on his own forehead in a mirror resting on the table.
"But a Bond is different," he whispered, tracing the faint lines. "A Tamer’s bond is a bilateral exchange. It’s a filtration system."
His mind raced. In this world, a Tamer and their Beast share mana, life force, and even abilities. When a Tamer bonds with a beast, their souls overlap, creating a unique energetic link that protects them both.
"The natural way," Kale murmured, a dark grin spreading across his face. "If I create Elemental Chimaeras with 80 to 90% affinity, high enough to be catalysts, but low enough to remain genetically stable, I don’t feed them to Neo. I tame them myself."
He pulled up a new simulation window, his fingers dancing across the energy-projected keyboard.
"I act as the bridge. If I bond with a Fire-affinity Chimaera and an Earth-affinity Chimaera, our shared bond will allow me to refine and stabilise their energy."
"Neo’s highest available potential and trait of Absolute Affinity will simply draw out the affinity of the newly Tamed creature through the bond."
"Something like this might not have been possible for anyone else, but it is possible for me as a Hexarion Human; I can bear the weight of that process without too much problem."
It was a brilliant, harrowing plan.
He wouldn’t be just a Tamer with one beast; he would be a living elemental hub.
[Processing new Method: Elemental Resonance through Shared Bonding]
[Calculating Success Probability...]
[Genetic Stability: 92% (Accepted)]
[Mana Feedback Control: 85% (Accepted)]
[Integration Efficiency: 400% improvement over devouring raw cores.]
Kale let out a long, shaky breath, the tension leaving his shoulders. He had found it. But then, his gaze landed on the "Rank" section of his own status window.
[Apprentice Tamer (Lesser)]
[Bonding Slots: 1/1 (NEO)].
"The limit," he muttered. "A Tamer only gains a new bonding slot when they advance a major rank. To tame these elemental catalysts, I need to reach the Master Rank."
The path was clear, but the work was monumental.
He couldn’t just create these beasts now; the research required to hit the "sweet spot" of 85% affinity without causing the chimaera to collapse during gestation would take weeks, if not months, of meticulous gene-splicing.
He needed to find the perfect bases for these "Guardians." For Earth, he would need to delve deeper into the Stone Turtle DNA to create a Terra-Calyx Chimaera.
For Wind, he would need the Spirit Wind Roc sequences to build a Zephyr-Wisp. Each one would need to be a specialised biological battery, designed not just for combat, but to resonate with Neo’s Absolute Affinity.
Neo, sensing the intense focus of its master, climbed onto Kale’s shoulder and let out a soft, inquisitive growl from its central head, its warm scales brushing Kale’s neck.
"We’re not there yet, buddy," Kale said, reaching up to stroke the Hydra’s green scales. "I can see the blueprint, but we’re still Apprentices. We need to slaughter more of this Tide.
We need the Accredit, we need the materials, and most of all, I need the experience to break through to the Master rank."
He picked up a pen and a fresh stack of parchment, the greenish light of the Gene Lab reflecting in his eyes. He didn’t start the growth process. He didn’t reach for the slimes.
Instead, he began to draw, putting ink to paper with absolute focus. He sketched hundreds of lines of genetic code, mana-pathway diagrams, and soul-sigil resonance charts.
He would build an army of catalysts. He would become the most complex Tamer in history. But for now, he would remain the Genetic Engineer in the shadows, calculating his way toward a throne the world didn’t even know existed yet.
The research for the Elemental Resonance Project had officially begun. Outside, the Greenroot Guild’s alarms began to scream once more, signalling the approach of a second, larger wave of the Beast Tide.
Kale Ardentis didn’t look up from his notes. "Let them come," he whispered, his pen scratching across the paper with ruthless precision. "Every Alpha they send is just more data for your evolution, Neo."
The Hydra roared in response, a monstrous, multi-layered sound that echoed through the lab, promising a future where the slow growth of the present would be forgotten in the wake of a supreme, elemental storm.