Rheo checked the time—it was getting late already. There were still some things he needed to do before the monster breeder examination in two days.
He boarded a cab home. It was a very elating journey; well, when someone had something good to look forward to, it always felt that way.
What Rheo planned to do was get home and search every nook and cranny of the internet to see if he could get his hands on a free monster gene formula. He intended to scour every free monster breeder community and group online.
Rheo's eyes sparkled with anticipation. Even if he couldn't evolve Raizen to the next tier, he wanted to experience what it felt like to evolve a pet.
After reaching his neighborhood, Rheo walked lightly past the alley that led to his house. The towering buildings loomed above, tall enough to block any trace of skylight.
However, glowing purple flowers lined both sides of the dark alley. These flowers were succulent and large, their purple light illuminating the darkness.
The Nightmoon Weed. I think it's part of a healing-type first-tier formula,
Rheo mused softly as he walked past the rows of glowing plants.
Ever since he had gotten his pet, he had been following discussions on monster pet forums and communities, although he hadn't been able to create any monster pet account.
His mind was deep in thought. He began to wonder if he should cultivate the healing element in Raizen.
Pets could have multiple types; by cultivating different elements in them using elemental-type gene formulas, they could possess multiple elemental attributes.
However, the funds required to do so weren't to be underestimated.
The thought vanished just as quickly as it surfaced in his mind.
I need to be realistic. I don't have enough money, so I'll just focus on cultivating the dual elements Raizen already has—Earth and Electric.
SWOOSH SWOOSH
Rheo jumped to the other side in fright!
Something inside the rows of weeds had caused a rustling sound in the glowing succulent plants.
In the alleyway, surrounded by towering buildings and illuminated by small bioluminescent species of mutant green plants, Rheo was certain he had heard movement. Something was rustling between them.
The corner of his mouth twitched in fear.
Surely Nightmoon Weed was a plant monster—but it wasn't in any way nutritional. No monster wanted it as a meal, right?
That was what he hoped. After all, it was just a weed—an unwanted plant!
The thought of having wild and untamed monsters running freely in the neighborhood was enough to make Rheo's heart stop. Who would be able to sleep well in such a place?
He summoned enough courage, and a thought resurfaced.
"Rheo, you are pathetic. As a future monster breeder, I'm very disappointed in you. If there is a monster, then you just have to tame it."
He scolded himself.
The basic monster taming steps were taught to all first years of middle school—monster breeder aspirants or not.
Since it was Earth's creatures that mutated into monsters, and they could be found anywhere, monster taming steps were included in all middle school curricula.
These creatures had become more intelligent through mutation.
They had once tried to overthrow humans, but after witnessing their own being contracted by humans and forming growing relationships, it was as if they evolved a curious and docile temperament.
They became more social, which also helped.
Rheo bumped his fist into his palm. This development would just increase his number of pets.
"I've got to catch it."
He could even sell it when he became a licensed monster breeder
The thought of money lit up his eyes.
The youngster moved closer to the source of the sound, his eyes reflecting the glowing light of the bioluminescent mutant plants.
RUSTLE RUSTLE
As if uncomfortable with the development, another sound slipped out.
And as he moved closer, the sound continued, as if the monster was trying to put space between them.
The youth's eyes rolled, clearly confused.
"Is it a claustrophobic monster?"
That couldn't be the case. If it were, it wouldn't be in these thick weeds.
He continued pursuing the source of the sound until he reached one edge of the alley.
Suddenly, the rustling stopped.
He braced himself for anything that might jump out; however, he created a little distance.
A glistening black figure emerged from the weeds, walking slowly over one of the glowing petals. The petal bent as the creature walked lightly on it, showing its full form
It was a black rhinoceros beetle, about four times bigger than a rhinoceros beetle from Earth's pre-mutation era.
"For real? It was just a beetle," Rheo muttered, swaying his hand as if to shoo a fly.
"And here I thought I would catch a monster. Just an overgrown mutated beetle."
He pouted.
As he was thinking this, the creature's data appeared in his mind.
[Monster: EsperHorn Beetle]
[Level: 2]
[Grade: Iron (uncontracted)]
[Type: Psychic]
[Stats: STR 20 | AGI 15 | END 20 | INT 4]
Skills:
[Graviton – Manipulate target's gravity]
[TeleBeam – Instantly teleport to the nearest point touched by direct light within a 30-meter radius. Cannot be used in total shade or darkness]
Rheo's eyes widened in utter surprise. Never would he have thought he'd see this monster type here.
The glistening black beetle, about the size of an adult fist, moved closer to Rheo, walking on the bent purple glowing petals.
Rheo was stunned.
According to research, they always avoided human abodes.
At least, that was what he had read in monster articles about psychic-type beetle monsters.
But why…?
Did it want to be tamed?
He struggled to find the reason why the monster was in the alley.
Was it rejected by its family?
The thought of family resurfaced in his mind. Looking at the monster, its size was a little too big.
All EsperHorn Beetles were about the size of a baby's fist, but this one was bigger!
The EsperHorn Beetle suddenly dipped its horned head.
It took a charging stance!
Its eyes suddenly looked aggressive...
Like a raging bull, it shook its horn violently but stood fixed in its position on the glowing petals.
Rheo wanted to say, "Calm down, little guy…"
But something made his eyes widen!
As it continued shaking its horns, a faint flicker danced at the tip—then he saw it.
A thin, crackling strand of blue light arced between the beetle's twin horns, like static clinging to invisible threads.
The air buzzed faintly, almost imperceptibly, and the line of light began to pulse
"Wait… I can see it? The psychic energy form?"
The youth gasped.
His eyes widened as the connection grew sharper, more defined—like a thread of lightning stretching taut between storm clouds.
It shimmered in and out, unstable but real.
"For real? It's trying to use it on me."
A cold jolt ran down his spine. His body tensed on instinct, and he staggered a few meters backward. He nearly turned to run—until a coarse grinding sound made him freeze and glance back.
The beetle's wings scraped against one another with a dry, rasping hum, its body trembling with effort. It kept shaking its horns, violently now, as if wrestling with something unseen.
Then—crack!—a burst of psychic static flared.
The blue line between its horns sparked again—alive, glowing brighter—but just when the connection neared completion, it fizzled out with a sputtering flicker and snapped like a burnt fuse.
It tried again.
The line returned—flickering, fighting, weaving its way across the curved, horned crown—but every time it came close to stabilizing, a feeble spark would flicker, and the entire connection collapsed.
"It's struggling?"
He stepped forward, drawn by curiosity stronger than fear. The air around the creature shimmered faintly with psychic strain, like heat waves above asphalt.
Surely, it was the system that allowed him to see this. No ordinary person could witness the actual flow of psychic energy.
"This one is weak."
[DING!]
The system's abrupt notification startled him so hard he nearly jumped out of his skin.
"The heck?!"
[EsperHorn – Psychic type. It has very weak psychic power. The most it can levitate is a 2 kg object.]
"I see…"
Staring at the poor creature, it was still twitching its horns like it was lifting an invisible boulder.
"So it wanted to fling me away."
A grin tugged at his lips.
"I was just too heavy for it to lift."
He looked at the poor little guy.
"Do you like Nightmoon weed petals?"
He went to pluck a petal from the bioluminescent plant.
"I will catch and tame you today"
In the taming curriculum, Rheo remembered being taught that to tame a monster, one must note its favorite habitat and what it liked to eat. These were just part of the basic steps.
He stretched the petal tip toward it. The creature then raised its head, its eyes holding a dejected expression.
Then the little guy started moving back, walking lightly on the bioluminescent petals, its glistening black exoskeleton reflecting the green light of the plants.
Then—Flash. It vanished, gone in a pulse of light.