This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Within the dozens of minutes, it took for Kain to go through the Black Mission questionnaire there was a new addition to the Gold Missions window. One that rewarded 400 credits and was one of the few that rewarded so many credits and didn't require hunting a spiritual creature more powerful than he could handle alone.

Although it wasn't the full amount that he wanted, it could get him more than half-way there. Maybe he'd run into more than one orange-grade spiritual creature along the way.

Or if he was okay with rushing Bea, he could pay for just 40 minutes but considering that the probability of her getting the best evolutionary results was already below 50%, he didn't want to add any mental stress to her by rushing her during such a sensitive time.

The new Gold Mission Kain recalled seeing on the Silver Mission board earlier worth only 40 credits.

'Perhaps there were some new developments in the mission that suddenly warranted increasing the reward by 10 times…'

However, interestingly it was not a mission that required a beast-tamer to complete it. Rather it was an information-based mission. Specifically, one targeted more at evolutionary planners.

According to the mission description, a bronze-quality fire-type Glimmering Salamander had failed twice to successfully evolve into a gold-quality Infernal Salamander.

Similar to the affinity ceremony in which the soul can only handle 3 tries, typically each spiritual creature can only unsuccessfully evolve 3 times at the same stage without fatal damage to their soul.

Not to mention that just after the first evolution the damage to the spiritual creature's vitality and soul will make future cultivation difficult, especially if they don't manage to eventually successfully evolve to restore the lost vitality by reaching a higher order of life.

However, it was surprising that the Glimmering Salamander wasn't able to successfully evolve. The evolution to the gold-quality Infernal Salamander was a pretty low-risk evolution. In fact, it was extremely rare for it to fail to evolve as long as enough energy and the correct materials were provided.

However, considering that the mission wasn't solved when it was a Silver Mission, Kain assumed that the issue wasn't that easy to solve.

Normally, as a first-year student of the Planner major, Kain would not have any confidence in taking on a mission like this. However, after the most recent System update, if there were any special evolutionary conditions that needed to be met by the Glimmering Salamander he was hoping that the Simulator would shed light on it.

Not to mention, that he would just need to come up with a confirmed explanation for its failed evolution, not even come up with a complete evolutionary plan.

It didn't cost him anything except time and maybe some GP to give it a shot, and it was the highest-valued mission he felt like he'd even have a shot at completing. Therefore, he decided to give it a try.

After accepting the mission, it disappeared from the mission board, and it will only reappear if Kain fails or gives up the mission.

However, Kain didn't immediately leave to complete the mission. Tomorrow was his appointment date with Barret to look at the results of using Aby in the beer.

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The next day, Kain arrived at Barret's modest home and knocked on the door.

Barret answered promptly, his eyes holding a mixture of guarded expectation and reluctant hope. The dark circles around his eyes and unkempt beard betrayed the tension of the past week.

As he led Kain into the room where the barrel had been stored, he shot Kain a skeptical glance. "So, it's been a week. I hope you're not just wasting my time."

Kain nodded, trying to match Barret's seriousness with his own resolute demeanour. "I understand your doubts, but I'm confident you'll see the difference."

Barret rolled his eyes slightly at Kain's confident statement.

Barret's eyes followed Kain as he approached the barrel, his arms folded defensively. Kain carefully unsealed the barrel and took a sample. The aroma that emerged was rich and inviting, a noticeable improvement from the smell released from the barrel a week earlier.

Kain poured a small amount of the beer into a glass, its deep, amber color gleaming in the soft light of the room. He handed the glass to Barret with a hopeful expression. "Go ahead. Try it."

Barret took the glass, eyeing Kain with a mixture of skepticism and curiosity. He sipped the beer slowly, and as the complex flavors—notes of caramel, toasted malt, and a subtle yet distinct hint of spice—danced on his palate, his eyes widened in surprise. The beer was smooth, well-balanced, and possessed a richness that was both familiar and novel.

A flicker of appreciation crossed his face, and he took another, more deliberate sip.

"Well, I'll be damned," Barret muttered, setting the glass down with a hint of awe. "This does taste exceptional. Far better than anything I've managed before. I've got to admit, you've improved the flavor."

"However," the Barret's face darkened again, "this does not at all prove your claims about preserving the spiritual power contained in the beer."

Kain nodded thoughtfully, acknowledging Barret's lingering mistrust. "Here's what I propose. Reseal the barrel and continue to sample it every few days. Track the changes in flavor, texture, and spiritual power. Normally, once the barrel is opened for the first time after fermentation, the spiritual power and quality would rapidly decline, but the method I used should slow down that process."

Barret's eyes narrowed, but he seemed to consider the suggestion seriously. "And you think this will work?"

"It's the best way to prove it," Kain said confidently. "If my method works, you'll see a much slower decline in quality."

Barret gave a curt nod, still skeptical but willing to give it a chance. "Fine. I'll do as you suggest. But remember, if this fails, it's on you. I can't afford any more setbacks."

Kain smiled, relief washing over him. "Thank you for giving it a chance. I'm confident you'll be pleased with the results. I am going away for a while due to a mission, but I trust that you'll sample it as we agreed."

As Kain prepared to leave, he saw Barret taking another, more appreciative sip of the beer. Despite the lingering doubts, the slight glimmer of hope in Barret's eyes was undeniable.