Chapter 465: Pseudo 5-star?

Ding!

> 2-headed Hydra [Spirit] (Mid 4-star)

-> 3-headed Hydra [Spirit] (Peak 4-star)

[Element: Water, Poison, and Earth.]

>New Poison Type: Netherblight

>Description - A catastrophic venom variant influenced by draconic aspects that fuses corrosion, decay, paralysis, and body-numbing toxicity into one lethal affliction. The poison burns flesh like acid, rots vitality from within, suppresses mana circulation, and gradually paralyses both body and senses, leaving victims conscious as their bodies slowly collapse.

Effective against any beast that doesn’t possess poison tolerance or immunity; even if possessed, effects like flesh burn will still occur. Highly effective against beasts ranked at or below the user. The poison’s effectiveness progressively weakens as the target grows stronger.

Leo didn’t even get the chance to exclaim before the 50% feedback slammed into Lily. Not to mention the 100% increase in base intelligence—her mana volume skyrocketed!

>Stats Updated! [Lily]

{Increase in base stats due to natural body growth and stat-boosting consumables provided by Katherine}

Vitality: 216 -> 250 [2166 -> 3200]

Strength: 208 -> 240 [2158 -> 3190]

Agility: 205 -> 240 [2205 -> 3190]

Stamina: 209 -> 250 [2209 -> 3200]

Intelligence: 4120 -> 6150 [6070 -> 8100 -> 9100]

Mana: 206,000 -> 307,500 [303,500 -> 405,000 -> 455,000]

50% Feedback from:

Lunaria (Peak 3-star) - 250

Drycha (High 3-star) - 200

Pryde (Peak 4-star) - 2500

(Total feedback from all beasts = 2950)

RRROOOAAAAARRRRHHHHH!!!

The Hydra released a thunderous roar as two more heads started growing from the base of its neck, increasing the total count to three. One had blue embedded into its forehead; the newly formed one was yellowish-brown; while the centre head’s colour shifted from pure purple into a neon green shade with miasmic purple spreading around the edges.

But the Hydra wasn’t the problem—it was Lily. But before she could lose control once again, Katherine acted.

One moment, she was hovering beside Leo; the next, she was standing beside Lily’s meditative figure.

Katherine placed the index and middle fingers of her right hand against Lily’s forehead while raising her left hand high toward the sky.

What happened next left Leo’s eyes wide open.

A vortex made entirely out of pure mana erupted outward from Katherine’s raised palm as Lily’s mana began draining at an astonishing speed.

Mana: 455,000 -> 401,000 -> 362,000

The mana vortex rose as high as the Owl’s hovering position, nearly 500 meters above the ground. The vortex consisted of every colour of the rainbow, swirling violently through the air.

But instead of dissipating to increase the mana density in the surroundings like Leo had expected, something else happened.

Mana: 29,000 -> 11,000

When only 11,000 mana units remained within Lily’s body, Katherine removed her hand from Lily’s forehead and focused entirely on the mana vortex.

The vortex suddenly started collapsing inward on itself. But the collapse wasn’t random—the entire mass was converging toward a single point at the centre.

The revolving mana kept compressing until the enormous vortex was reduced into a diamond-shaped crystal only a foot tall and wide. The crystal was a dark shade of purple with a faint tint of yellow.

A pseudo-5-star Mana Crystal.

Katherine waved her hand, and the crystal floated toward Leo, who carefully caught it.

"Keep it. Might come in handy," Katherine said before turning her attention back toward Lily, who remained deep in concentration as though attempting something else.

Leo stared at the mana crystal.

This alone was valued at 3 Million AC. It was almost like a trade-off—a Mid 4-star Crocodrake beast core worth 3 million AC exchanged for a pseudo-5-star Mana Crystal of equal value.

He didn’t question it further and stored it away inside his Spiritual Space.

Then suddenly, he felt a new connection knocking within him. The channel was trying to open itself through Lily’s soul bond. He didn’t resist it and allowed it to connect unhindered.

Ding!

>Soulmate ’Lily’ has successfully established a new connection with Host’s Soul

>Established Connection: Spirit Beast - 3-headed Hydra

[ Bonded Beast Information ]

Beast: 3-Headed Hydra

Name: Pryde

Current Rank: Peak 4★

Beast Bloodline: Super Bloodline

Bloodline Purity: 96%

Bloodline Potential: ★★★★★★

Current Status: Stable, spiritually active, naturally hostile toward intruders.

Traits:

[Spirit]: Exists primarily as a spiritual lifeform, greatly reducing received physical damage and ordinary physical attacks. Naturally immune to toxins, paralysis, and physical body alterations.

[Draconic Authority]: Possesses overwhelming draconic pressure capable of suppressing weaker beasts, destabilising mental integrity, and forcing lesser draconic creatures into instinctive submission.

[Greater Elemental Affinity]: Innately controls elemental energies with exceptional precision due to its draconic lineage. Elemental attacks are denser, stronger, and easier to manipulate than those of ordinary spirit beasts.

[Superior Mana Regeneration]: Constantly absorbs mana from the surroundings, restoring mana at a rapid pace while sustaining prolonged combat and nearby allies.

Affinities:

1. Water

2. Poison [Netherblight] 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

3. Earth

>Note: Increase Soulbond level with individual ’Lily’ to share the beast’s traits.

---

"It really happened..." Leo muttered as he went through the system notifications.

"I can even share the traits!" he exclaimed after realising he could inherit the Hydra’s traits once his soul bond with Lily reached a certain threshold.

As he continued reading through the messages, he noticed something.

"There are no skills?" he muttered.

In place of skills, there were affinities. But when he focused more carefully, the affinities actually contained subcategories.

Affinities:

1. Water

- Water Cannon

- Tidal Burst

- Crushing Wave

- Hydra Rainfall

2. Poison [Netherblight]

- Netherblight Breath

- Hydra’s Blight

- Nether Mist

- Rain Toxin

3. Earth

- Earthen Spikes

- Seismic Rupture

- Earthen Wall

"W-wow... these are all derivatives born from the affinities? Damn." He was getting a bit jealous because his beasts didn’t allow him to copy the affinities, but rather, he had to be satisfied with just bending the copied skill.

But thankfully, after the soulbond with Lily, there were no such limitations remaining for him. Now it would only limit him to elements that Lily didn’t have. Like the ice element he acquired from Zelut recently.

And though Leo could technically use all of them because Lily’s elemental powers were shared with him, he didn’t know the exact moves themselves. Normally, he would have to imagine techniques on his own and attempt to recreate them through trial and error.

But now that the moves already existed as recorded abilities, all he needed was a little concentration, and the rest would flow naturally like second nature.

He also realised something else.

Including himself, they now had two Peak 4-star beings on their team.

He was simply unrivalled within his age bracket...