"Compared to quite a few Level 1 researchers, the only thing you lack is time. Think carefully about how fast you became a Level 2 researcher."
Asher: "..."
He actually felt that Clyde was a little sincere.
"As long as someone gets to know you deeply, they will definitely be full of trust in you."
"If possible, I really, really hope it's you, Professor Asher, who helps me," When Clyde truly wants to flatter someone, it's absolutely impossible for Asher to resist it.
Too powerful.
Too overwhelming.
Asher felt he needed a break.
Clyde: 'No no no! I must strike while the iron is hot!'
Just then, Asher's phone rang.
It was the sound of a text message.
Asher made a pause gesture to Clyde, "Hold on, let me check this message first."
Seeing this, a trace of regret flashed across Clyde's face.
'Just a little short. Sigh! Everything was so suitable. Time, place, just lacking a tiny bit of luck.
But Clyde still nodded, showing a gentle expression, "No problem."
Asher nodded, took out his phone, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
'Good.'
'This text notification came at just the right time.'
If Angel hadn't already moved out of Asher's phone, he would've suspected this was Angel's doing.
Asher opened the message.
Then, Asher looked at the message, then at Clyde, and a strange expression appeared on his face.
Clyde: "?"
Clyde noticed something strange.
'Wait?'
'Isn't this just a regular message?'
'Could it be related to me?'
'Otherwise, why would Professor Asher look at me with such a strange gaze?'
Clyde felt something was off and wanted to ask, but didn't know how to start.
After all, Asher had just glanced at him.
Would asking directly be too much?
Clyde fell into a dilemma.
"Hmm…", Asher lifted his other hand, absentmindedly rubbed his chin, thought for a bit, and typed out a line on his phone.
Put away the phone, Asher looked back at Clyde, "Alright, I accept your request."
Clyde's eyes lit up instantly.
Although he didn't know what was going on, Asher agreed, and that made him very happy.
The road to strengthening Flame Emperor was within reach.
"No problem going to my research institute, right?"
"The equipment I'm familiar with is more complete there."
Clyde nodded repeatedly, "No problem, no problem, absolutely no problem, it should be me cooperating with you, Professor Asher."
Clyde didn't feel there was anything wrong with Asher's request.
'Is there a problem?'
'No! Don't bring up the fact that I am a Tier 8 Beast Tamer Ace.'
When facing someone who can make him stronger, no matter who that person is, showing respect, isn't that only natural?
An excited Clyde completely ignored the matter of the text message.
Since Professor Asher didn't mention it, it must not be important. Anyway, it had nothing to do with him.
That's what Clyde thought.
———
Then when Clyde arrived at Asher's research institute, he stood at the door, looked down at that familiar face, and showed a confused expression.
"No way?", Clyde frowned, puzzled.
"What are you doing here?", Clyde looked at his 159 cm tall little sister and asked with confusion.
Freya angrily glared at Clyde's long legs and his perfect 185 cm height.
"I should be asking you!"
"What are you doing here?"
Freya put her hands on her hips, looked up at Clyde's eyes, and questioned loudly.
"Of course because I commissioned Professor Asher," Clyde was surprised for a moment, but quickly regained his composure.
"But you…", Clyde once again looked at Freya with that 'looking down at a child' gaze.
Freya: *Getting mad* 'I really want to punch my brother now!'
Unfortunately, Little sisters exist to make big brothers break down and have headaches.
"Hehe."
"I also did."
Two sentences successfully gave Clyde a massive headache.
Clyde regretted it.
Truly, he would rather partner with Peter and complete the mission together than run into this sister… it's not about dislike, it's about poor compatibility.
When these two are together, they'll really fight.
Fortunately, because it was at Asher's research institute door, both of them held back a bit and only competed with their eyes.
As if their gazes could kill invisibly.
"All here?", At that moment, a stranger's head poked out from inside the institute.
Clyde and Freya turned to look at the newcomer together.
Similar faces and sharp eyes made Levi, who came to greet them, feel like he wanted to retract his head like a groundhog.
'No way.'
Levi cried inside.
On the outside, he still looked quite composed, "Mr. Clyde, Miss Freya, right?"
"Professor Asher is already waiting for you."
"Please come in."
Clyde and Freya exchanged a glance, and it seemed like they had an invisible gaze battle.
The winner couldn't be seen by outsiders.
But on the surface, both managed to act like they could coexist in the same space and lifted their feet toward the institute.
The institute's floor was also custom-made.
Hard-soled shoes made a rhythmic clacking sound when walking on it.
However…
Levi, walking at the front, had a particularly bad headache.
The footsteps behind him sounded like this:
Clack—Clack—Clack—
—Clack—Clack—Clack
Completely out of sync, not a single step matched.
Levi: '…Never seen such ridiculous coordination.'
'Wait?'
'Can this count as reverse synchronization?'
Levi thought uncertainly.
He quickened his pace.
Just thinking about their identities, Levi still felt he couldn't handle them.
Beast Tamer Ace.
Tier 7 Beast Tamer.
Siblings.
And born into a prestigious family.
Just thinking about it made Levi want to sigh. Better quickly bring them in and hand them off to Professor Asher.
Entering the institute, the siblings both observed the place.
It was obvious this was a very high-spec research institute. Clyde and Freya could tell from the area, materials, and building structure just how much importance the NY City Beast Tamer Alliance placed on Asher.
Definitely top tier.
Freya had never met Asher.
It had always been hearsay, so her eyes were filled with curiosity and doubt.
'Is this Professor Asher really that amazing?'
She couldn't help but wonder.
Compared to Freya, Clyde thought a bit more.
He realized, some equipment here, was the kind that even the NY City Beast Tamer Alliance couldn't get, but Asher's lab had it.
And not just one piece.
Then where did these beyond-authority instruments and equipment come from?
No need to think more, the answer naturally appeared in Clyde's mind, the Star City Beast Tamer Alliance Headquarters.
Whether it was the over-standard treatment Asher received or the fully open access to equipment and resources, it all pointed to one thing. Asher's importance was far greater than he'd imagined.
Thinking this, Clyde gently exhaled from his chest.
It seemed his choice was the right one.
"What are you exhaling for?", Freya next to him precisely caught his reaction, and side-eyed him.
Clyde glanced at his curious and emotional little sister and didn't plan on explaining how deep the waters were.
Being able to see it was one thing.
Since the headquarters hadn't publicized it, that meant they didn't want Professor Asher to stand out more at this stage. Though Professor Asher was already quite famous.
But whether there was an official endorsement or not still made a difference.
At the very least, foreign forces' attention would temporarily not fall on Professor Asher.
'So, should I explain it to her?'
'Nah, no need.'
'For someone with an empty head, it doesn't make much difference.'
Freya: "?"
A chill ran down Freya's back.
She immediately looked at Clyde.
From what she knew about him, Freya immediately concluded, 'This guy definitely isn't saying anything good about me in his heart'
"Nothing," Clyde noticed Freya's gaze and casually explained.
"Exhaled probably because the oxygen level up here was a bit thin. I just wanted to catch my breath."
Freya: "..."
Excellent, today's urge to cut off legs was just as strong.
Finally, when the two appeared in front of Asher, Levi waved to him and ran off immediately.
If not now, then when?
He felt like he couldn't stay in this space a moment longer.
'Too exhausting.'
Asher: "..."
Asher silently shifted his gaze to the pair of siblings, "Mr. Clyde, Miss Freya, hello, welcome to my research institute."
Asher smiled and took the initiative to greet the two.
Before Clyde could exchange pleasantries, Freya jumped in front of Asher and said with a smile, "Don't call me Miss Freya, it just feels weird. Don't you think it's a bit off to call someone who looks like a middle or high schooler 'Miss' or 'Ma'am'?"
"Just call me Freya. That's what all my friends call me."
"Even though we're not very familiar yet, I don't mind you calling me that," Freya fired off a barrage of words, not giving Clyde any room to speak.
Asher looked at the short, overly cute Freya and couldn't help but smile too, "Alright then, hello, Freya."
"But I can still see your maturity in your eyes."
Freya gave Asher a thumbs-up, "Great judgment."
She loved hearing people say she was mature.
She didn't want to be a forever little girl.
Clyde: "?"
Clyde: "!"
'Wait, when did my little sister get so slick at building rapport?'
"Professor Asher, Freya's right, don't call me Mr. Clyde either, just call me Clyde," Clyde quickly said.
Asher: "Uh… okay, but I'm just used to it."
Adding "Mr., Miss, Ma'am", to Asher, it wasn't a matter of respect, it was just how he addressed those older than him.
Nothing more.
Freya shot Clyde a provocative look: 'Hehe, my dumb brother!'
Clyde: "..."
"Alright then, let's talk about your requests," Asher skipped the topic.
Greetings were just a formality, no need to dwell.
Whatever's comfortable.
"I already know both of your requests, just confirming with you now."
"Mr. Clyde hopes to enhance the power of Flame Emperor's flames," Asher looked at Clyde, who nodded.
'Yes, that's exactly it.'
Then Asher looked at Freya, "Freya hopes to enlarge your Flame Dragon's body, is that correct?"
"Exactly!", Freya gave Asher a thumbs-up, "If it's not possible, that's fine too."
"I've already commissioned quite a few breeders to study how to maximize Flame Dragon's size without affecting its strength."
"It worked."
"But Jaeger still stopped growing after reaching a certain height."
"Just so happened I heard about you, Professor Asher, so I wanted to try again."
Freya honestly shared the whole situation with Asher, going for full sincerity.
Asher: "..."
'Some anime worlds really do exist.'
Just hearing the name, Asher already understood how much Freya wanted her Flame Dragon to grow tall and strong.
Asher coughed twice,."Alright, I'll first inspect your Flame Dragon in detail, then decide on follow-up research."
Freya had no objections.
"Then please release your Flame Dragons now," Asher said.
Clyde quickly stopped him, "Wait! Professor Asher, let's change location!"
Freya nodded, "Yes yes yes, not a good spot here! Jaeger will poke through the roof!"
"No worries," Asher waved his hand, "My lab ceiling is designed to open."
Clyde and Freya: "?"
'Wait?'
'What kind of design is that?'
'Is that even necessary?'
Asher nodded.
'Yes, very necessary.'
Ask, and the answer is that Asher has not yet forgotten what happened last time with Sky-Shaking Bear's evolution, piercing through the ceiling.
So when rebuilding the research institute, Asher did some special treatment to the ceiling, just to avoid encountering similar situations.
"Then the area here might also not be quite enough…", Freya looked around at the size of Asher's research institute, stretched out her finger to scratch her face, and said.
Asher stared fixedly at Freya for quite a while.
Finally, Asher turned around and brought Freya and them to a huge open space.
This time Freya said nothing.
Looking left and right, she released her pet without hesitation, a giant Flame Dragon.
Seeing this Flame Dragon named Jaeger, which was said to be entrusted with beautiful wishes, Asher fell into a new round of silence.
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