On his way home, Aion picked up something simple for dinner. After eating, he tended to the remaining Lunaris Herb, planting it carefully. Now, he would have to wait for the full moon, which was still fourteen days away, before adding Moondew to evolve it into a Rank 3 spirit herb. He remembered his luck previously—the herb had been planted on the day of the full moon, speeding its growth.
After finishing these tasks, Aion entered his room, settled his mind, and felt a faint glow of silver from the tattoo on his hand. In an instant, he vanished and arrived at the Origin Pet Shop plane.
He summoned Hazel and moved to the Spirit Nurturing Chamber where the egg of Umbriss had been kept. The hatching process had reached its final stage—it would emerge within the hour. Aion could only wait. Tugging Hazel gently, he whispered, "This is your new junior." Hazel tilted her head, puffed her cheeks, and looked at the egg as if declaring she would protect it. The sight was so comical that Aion chuckled softly. Together, they waited.
Half an hour passed when the system voice spoke:
"Host can use your talent, Origin Bloom, to cleanse the blood of impurities. This will increase the beast's potential within its rank and improve comprehension."
Aion approached the chamber and focused his talent on the egg for ten minutes. When finished, he felt slightly exhausted. As the chamber's lid closed, he watched intently.
Curious, he asked the system, "You didn't tell me my talent could do this. I could have used it on the spirit beasts in my shop and increased their value. And Hazel… I already paid for her evolution, so why wasn't my talent applied?"
The system replied calmly, "Host, you never asked. This is a critical stage, so I reminded you to ensure a higher quality pet. In Hazel's case, your Origin Bloom talent and her hidden bloodline were triggered, so your cost was only 5,000 origin points. Normally, the process costs far more."
Aion didn't ask further.
A faint dark glow shimmered on the egg, and with a soft crack, it hatched. A sleek, obsidian-black snake emerged, no larger than Aion's hand. Its scales shimmered with faint shadow energy, wisps curling off its body, and its silvery-black eyes glowed eerily. Despite its small size, the air around it felt colder, and the creature radiated a subtle, uncanny presence.
The little shadow snake slithered toward Aion, sensing a kindred energy, and coiled onto his hand. He quickly used Origin Insight to examine it:
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Species: Umbriss (Shadow Snake)
Level: 15 (Rank 1, Mid)
Potential: Rank 5 Commander Peak
Aptitude: 76
Skills:
Veil of Dusk (C Rank) -- Blinds enemies in darkness for several moments.
Toxic Fangmist (C Rank) – Sprays adjustable poison darts, capable of killing weaker beasts.
Shadow Venom Fang (B Rank) – Strikes with venom through its shadow, paralyzing foes briefly.
Umbral Passage (B Rank) – Travels unseen through shadows, concealing its presence and delivering a deadly tail strike.
Deathsense Instinct (Unique)--Detects harmful intent toward itself or its master; pinpoints enemies of equal or weaker strength.
( All the skills are at beginner mastery level)
---
As Aion continued, the evolution path for King-rank potential appeared on the panel. He read:
Evolution Path: Umbra Fang Viper
Potential: Mid Rank 6 (King level)
Requirements:
Beast must reach Level 39 (Rank 3 Peak Elite) and then Consume NightshadeDuskbloom (Rank 6 herb) after that Administer Ebonveil Mist Elixir with the Shadow Core and Poison Core of a Rank 5–6 beast (not above Rank 6, or energy overload will occur) and then Continuous Shadow Energy + Poison Energy infusion for two hours, enveloping the beast in a cocoon of dark mist
Aion frowned. Clearly, this wasn't something he could achieve immediately. Yet even glimpsing this path gave him insight into what Umbriss could become.
Curious, he placed the little shadow snake in the evolution chamber to explore the best pathways up to King rank. The system displayed five recommended forms, two with peak potential:
1. Umbra Fang Viper (current)
2. Umbriss Coil Serpent (Mid Rank 6 Potential)
3. Shadow mourn Umbriss ( Mid Rank 6 potential)
4. Umbral Wyrm (Peak Rank 6 Potential)
5. Umbriss Devourer Serpent (Peak Rank 6 Potential)
Seeing the options, Aion felt a spark of temptation toward Umbral Wyrm, a subordinate of dragons, hinting at the possibility of evolving toward a dragon lineage in the future.
Shaking his head, he looked down at the tiny creature coiled in his hand. Hazel watched curiously, tilting her head as if to judge the newcomer.
Aion smiled. "It's time to name you." After a moment of thought, he said, "I'll call you Umbry." A shortened version of its species name. The little snake didn't understand the reasoning, but its tiny tail flicked happily in response.
Now he had two beasts and one slot left, as he was Rank 3 Elite tamer ( Level 37). After two days of accumulating 400 shop origin points, he decided to finally explore the shop functions, curious if they could aid him in his journey. Previously, he hadn't used all the shop function at all, lacking origin points, and the 1,000 points he had earned earlier due to shop generous mission were used for upgrading the shop to Level 1.
While exploring, he asked the system about the Destiny Compass—could it locate rare resources needed for Umbry's evolution, like Nightshade Duskbloom?
"Insufficient points to detect Rank 6 herb. You would need 2,000 origin points."
The Mirage Pavilion functions were already familiar to him, and since Hazel had little love for fighting, Aion turned his attention to the Realm Voyage function. This allowed him to travel to secret realms and fractured planes.
He asked the system, and a calm voice responded: "A secret realm has been detected on your planet, accessible to Rank 3 beast tamers and below. Host may enter for six hours at a cost of 300 origin points. Contracted beasts may accompany you."
Aion's eyes lit up—he could travel, and the cost was surprisingly low. Had he known he could access it through the shop, he might never have sold the information before.
The system continued, "Host, you may only enter secret realms that are opening and fixed in place. Drifting planes or closed realms remain inaccessible. The beast tamers of your world have already used means to open this realm early. Naturally, it would have taken months to become accessible, but you may enter now. With your current strength and origin points, this is the only secret realm available to you; other realms remain hidden."
Understanding the limits, Aion gathered Hazel and Umbry into his beast space, stepped toward the shimmering realm gate, and vanished—entering the secret realm he had discovered previously.