Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 422. 2 Chances every 5 hours

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Evolution Link: A refined function of the Evolution affinity that allows the user to establish up to two active resonance links with living beings. Linked targets may gradually reveal evolutionary pathways that had remained dormant with the fulfillment of growth, training, and other requirements. This ability does not grant evolution directly. Excessive use may cause mental strain, unstable pathways, or incomplete manifestation of potential. The revealed evolution information lasts for 5 hours.

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"YES!" Theo threw both his hands into the air and shouted.

Clara, who was making tea, and Elias, who was reading an academy book, both turned toward him at once.

"I GOT IT!" Theo shouted again, his voice now completely stable.

Both Caara and Elias tried to smile, but they were just too stunned. Theo stood there with his fists clenched, grinning brightly.

It made them feel like their master was finally back.

"What did you get, young master?" Elias asked curiously.

Theo quickly recited the whole detail about the ability, leaving both of them staring at each other in disbelief.

"So does that mean..." Clara asked, her eyes wide with astonishment.

"I can help evolve those I haven’t tamed," Theo said with so much excitement that he had to sit down to stop himself from jumping around.

"This is... unbelievable..." Elias muttered, at a loss for words, while Clara’s eyes gleamed.

"Do you want to test the skill, young master?" she asked with a knowing smile, making Theo grin even wider.

"It’s your choice who I start with, Clara," Theo said, his heart racing. Finally, he could do something beyond just evolving insects.

Clara’s forehead flashed with a white light, and soon, a large creature materialized.

The boar, as if sensing something had been happening for a while, approached Theo and nudged him gently to check on him.

Its gesture made Theo pat its head a few times.

"Evolution Link."

He said it aloud right away while placing his hand on the boar, implying his intent on using the ability on the beast.

Theo checked the ability in his status again, and there it was.

A red five-hour countdown had already started, something which he had already expected.

Theo then opened the boar’s status and smiled.

"Can you see this too?"

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Ironclad Boar

Uncommon

Level 10

Type: Earth type beast

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Evolution Potential: Not detected

Evolution Information: N/A

Evolution Requirements: N/A

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Clara opened the status as well, her eyes widening in shock.

"This! What is this new section added to the status at the end?!" she exclaimed, her shock evident from the expression on her face.

Elias felt like he was being left out, and Theo stood up and moved toward him.

"Uhh... Should I get my beast out, young master?" Elias asked.

"No need," Theo replied and grabbed his hand, making Elias flinch and instinctively shut his eyes in a scare.

"Evolution Link."

Theo muttered and activated the ability again to check Elias’s status.

He wanted to burst out laughing from excitement, but he bit his lip to hold himself back.

"...Check your status."

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Elias Veyne

Level 10

Type: Human Type

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Evolution Potential: Not Detected 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Evolution Information: N/A

Evolution Requirement: N/A

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Theo took a deep breath and savored the beyond shocked expression on Elias’s face.

"I didn’t have a clue I would get an ability like this. But what’s more surprising is the part that you can see what I can see as well," Theo said and leaned back.

"What should I do right now, Young Master? This will last for five hours, right? Should I try to trigger something?" Clara asked, brimming with excitement for the boar, who immediately sensed that something good was happening.

"I don’t know if it will be that easy, Clara. But you can try. You have five hours before it’s gone," Theo replied as he lay back down.

Clara nodded and quickly moved, determined not to waste the opportunity her master had gifted her.

"Well, using it on me won’t do anything, right, young master?" Elias asked.

Theo nodded. "The only thing I know about human evolution is that I only got it while I was near a gate. But you will get it too..." His voice trailed off as his mind began to drift.

’Wait...’ He felt like he was onto something.

’Didn’t Father gain enlightenment too? Could it be... can I make him evolve after five hours as well?’ Theo asked himself.

For the first time in a while, despite the strain on his mind, Theo felt like he was having a development.

Aura was something he had gained and was grateful for, but his affinity upgrading? That was something no one could have seen coming.

’But I can feel the strain on my body every time I use that ability...’ he realized. Theo felt like every ability he wielded seemed to demand a price, and that was especially true with the strain on him.

Be it his body or his mind, one or the other was always being sacrificed to achieve something.

’Maybe I should stop pushing myself this far and tone down this self-harm... This time, the others are keeping tabs on me, worrying about me... I cannot keep on disappointing them with my selfishness again and again.’

With that thought, Theo drifted back to sleep while Elias quietly approached him and placed a blanket over him before returning to his sleep.

This time, when Theo opened his eyes again, it was already late at night.

The more he tried, the clearer his awareness became and the more he felt like he was awake.

Theo got up and stretched, feeling a heaviness in all his joints from lying like this for so long.

Stepping out of his room, he was met with complete silence and the dim light scattered by the lamps.

For the first time ever, Theo was awake at night instead of during the day, and that felt kind of weird.

The mantis joined him as he stepped outside, and together, they began walking.

From the corridor, Theo looked out over the nearby land and saw the distant town glowing with countless lights.

His gaze then shifted to the training grounds, which were now completely covered in darkness.

Except for one.

Focusing on it, he spotted a figure moving within the lit area, clearly practicing.

As he focused on the build and the stance of the person, he was left without a doubt.

Lucien was still training, practicing his swordsmanship late into the night.