Little Raven flapped its wings.
Little Raven breathed fire.
Little Raven: "Chirp? Chirp? chirp?"
Little Raven looked at the defeated opponent, showing an expression of kingly disdain.
The first student who encountered Asher and thought he could take advantage: defeated
"Waaah!", The student clutched his head and cried.
"Teacher, why is your pet beast so strong!"
"Aren't you a teacher who studies pet beast evolution!"
'Why?'
'Why is it also so strong in combat?'
'Unreasonable!'
'This is completely unreasonable!'
Asher: 'No, this is very reasonable.'
Asher smiled and reached out to Little Raven. Little Raven obediently folded its wings and landed on Asher's arm.
You couldn't tell at all that just a moment ago, it took only a minute to defeat the opponent's pet beast.
Including the time the opponent used to switch pets, Little Raven took less than eight minutes total to defeat all four of the opponent's pet beasts.
Opponent: "?"
Opponent: "!"
'This is a bit too fast, isn't it!'
The opponent was nearly in tears.
Asher continued smiling.
"Since I dared to set such conditions, it means I have at least some confidence in my own strength," Asher said calmly.
"I can't just lose to any random person."
"Otherwise, where would my previous record go?"
Other onlookers: "..."
Because this was Asher's battle, the crowd watching was unexpectedly large.
Everyone was curious.
How strong was Asher's pet beast, and how capable was Asher at commanding in battle?
As it turned out… even more powerful and exaggerated than they imagined.
The students who previously didn't take Asher's strength seriously all had serious expressions after witnessing Asher's first opponent get defeated so quickly.
"Looks like Professor Asher is really strong in pet beast battles."
"Maybe it's that Professor Asher's pet beast is strong. If I remember correctly, that pet beast of his evolved through a unique path he specifically researched."
"Holy crap! You mean that Golden Crow thing? I think I saw it on the battle power rankings."
"I knew the pet beast was strong, but I didn't expect it to be this strong."
"But maybe the guy lost so quickly because he underestimated his opponent?"
"Hmm… even if he underestimated, it's not possible to be completely wiped out in under ten minutes, right?"
Everyone fell silent.
Yeah.
No matter how you try to explain it.
Little Raven's displayed strength was solid proof.
Even if you underestimated the opponent.
If you truly had strength.
There's no way you'd lose this fast, and definitely not this miserably.
So, there's only one truth, Asher's pet beast is really, really strong.
Everyone's expressions became serious.
Gone was the previous attitude of laughing and treating Asher's reward as some kind of freebie.
A benefit?
Better see if you can win first.
If Professor Asher makes it into the finals… that's what would be truly embarrassing for them.
Byrd, who hadn't even signed up for this exchange week, was happily watching from the sidelines, arms crossed, offering commentary.
"Tut tut tut!", Byrd shook his head with excitement written all over his face.
"Look how fast this guy lost."
"Way too fast."
"Professor Asher is awesome!"
Seeing Byrd yelling like that, the handsome young Jasper patted him on the shoulder, "What, you're not worried about your own pet beast anymore?"
Byrd: "..."
Byrd gave Jasper a speechless look.
"You make it sound like I have a way to fix it," Saying that, Byrd waved his hand, "Sigh, I've accepted my fate, this year's just like this, I'll try again next year."
Then Byrd smacked his lips, "Each year the evaluation gets harder, who knows what it'll be like next year."
Byrd shook his head.
'Couldn't be bothered to talk about it anymore.'
Jasper realized he'd touched a sore spot.
He awkwardly scratched his nose.
'Ahem!'
'Is it too late to apologize now?'
'I really didn't mean it!'
Byrd: 'Heh! heh!'
Byrd chose to continue watching Asher's match.
When you're down on your luck, what's the fastest way to feel better?
Of course, it's watching other people be down on their luck too.
"But that guy deserved to lose anyway," Kates walked over to the two of them with hands behind her back, bouncing along, and looked at Asher, who was still battling.
"Professor Asher's strength, we've heard about it before."
That's Asher.
Professor Asher.
The man who has his own entry on the internet.
And the entry was edited and written by the official sources.
It even lists Asher's accomplishments in pet beast research and his battle results.
The former shines so brightly it's like it covers the entire field of pet beast evolution research.
The latter, though not as dazzling as the former, is still an overwhelming presence to peers. Specifically, Beast Tamers within three years of Asher's age.
Completely dominating those people.
Win?
Compared to Asher's overpowered pet beast, the Golden Crow, what could they possibly use to win?
Even Kates and her classmates from the advanced Beast Tamer academy were shocked by Little Raven's power.
'Amazing!'
'Absolutely incredible!'
The only slight comfort they had was that Little Raven's strength hadn't yet reached the seventh tier.
Otherwise, there'd be no point in fighting at all.
And Little Raven was Asher's strongest pet beast.
Whether it's a round-robin or continuous waves of battle… in any case, Asher couldn't possibly use only Little Raven for the entire event.
And it was just as they guessed.
Asher never intended to use only Little Raven in all the battles.
That would be no fun.
These students all had pet beasts at Tier-6 strength.
After all, the minimum admission requirement was a Tier-3 Beast Tamer.
One Tier-6 pet beast.
Three Tier-5 pet beasts.
One Tier-4 pet beast.
Five pet beasts in total.
But the students who signed up for exchange week were basically all first- or second-year students.
Third- and fourth-years and above were not allowed to sign up.
Why? Because they already participated in previous years.
No point in continuing to join.
That was how it usually went.
This year…
"Damn! We want to participate too! If we could beat Professor Asher…"
"Not necessarily," Someone shook their head at that, "Professor Asher set those terms because he felt it was unfair for a teacher to fight students."
"But if it were us, third- and fourth-years, fighting…"
That student paused.
Would it still be unfair?
Their lowest strength was Tier-4 Beast Tamer.
Some were even pushing to become Tier-5.
Though still far from it.
Their strength was still undeniable.
Now look at Professor Asher.
Not even 20 years old.
Seven or eight years younger than them.
To say that Asher fighting them is bullying?
'Ahem!'
Honestly.
Even saying it out loud, they didn't believe it themselves.
Third- and fourth-year students: "..."
'Fine, fine.'
'Damn it!'
'Still jealous!'
'Can't we just be jealous in peace?'
"To be fair, beating Professor Asher wouldn't be easy either."
"True, all of Professor Asher's pet beasts look really strong."
With their mindsets adjusted, these students took a "let's enjoy the juniors' show" attitude and continued watching the match.
When Little Raven was sent out, it was usually a one-against-four.
Unbelievably strong.
Everyone gradually realized, this pet beast might not be at Tier-7 yet, but it's definitely close, just a step away.
That's Tier-7.
Only a Tier-6 Beast Tamer is required to have a Tier-7 pet beast.
Which shows, how difficult it is to raise a pet beast to Tier-7!
The higher the tier, every increase in strength feels like crossing a massive threshold.
Going from Tier-6 to Tier-7 is the hardest threshold of all.
Pet beasts at Tier-6 or below are considered mid-level in strength.
Once you reach Tier-7, that's stepping into the high-tier domain.
Raising four Tier-6 pet beasts only takes time.
For students in an advanced Beast Tamer academy.
Becoming a Tier-5 Beast Tamer isn't that hard.
Grow steadily.
Raise them step by step.
As long as you have time and put in enough effort, they'll become Tier-5 Beast Tamers eventually.
But Tier-6 is different.
Tier-6 needs more talent.
They can't become Tier-6 Beast Tamers before graduation.
Whether they can after graduation, that's up to them.
Be ruthless. Work hard. Put in the effort.
However, look at Asher again. A pet beast just a step away from Tier-7.
The Golden Crow.
Who wouldn't be jealous?
Impossible not to be.
"Is this the advantage of being a pet beast professor?", someone couldn't help muttering.
Self-sufficient.
Designing the most suitable evolution path based on their own needs.
Because it fits perfectly, the combination exploded with strength no one expected?
Thinking of this, everyone who signed up for exchange week now looked at Asher with even more intense eyes.
It's definitely too late now to suddenly work hard and become an excellent evolution professor.
Even if they had talent for it, how long would it take from study to mastery?
No one knew.
But the benefits offered by Professor Asher were right in front of them.
If there's a chance, they'll all fight for it.
In an instant, Asher could feel the fighting spirit from his opponents doubling.
Each of them looked like they were on fire.
As if they were ready to go all out against him.
Asher smiled: "Good."
This was exactly what he wanted.
Asher wasn't here to bully weaklings.
He wanted his pet beasts to clash against truly worthy opponents.
Clash in strength.
Only that way can his pet beasts grow stronger.
Including Little Raven.
Though it seemed like Asher wasn't too worried on the surface about Little Raven being level-locked. Truthfully, he'd been thinking about it for a long time.
'Go!'
'Break the shackles!'
'Breakthrough!'
Little Raven: "Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!"
'Breakthrough!'
However, it's not something that can be achieved just by having the right opponent.
Time was also a crucial factor for Little Raven.
Seeing that, Asher had no choice but to rotate in his other three pet beasts for the upcoming matches.
Cat-Worm: ヾ(▽)ノ
Little White Snake: 'Charge—'
Little Jellyfish: 'It's feeding time!'
Each pet beast was extremely excited.
Especially Little Jellyfish.
So excited its whole body was almost turning into a rice bowl shape… ahem, not possible.
Asher held the slightly depressed Little Raven, man and bird standing aside as spectators.
"Don't be down," Seeing Little Raven's expression, Asher laughed and patted the ahoge on Little Raven's head.
"As the boss, you've gotta give your little bros some practice too, right?"
"Otherwise they won't get stronger."
Little Raven: "!"
'Oh right!'
Little Raven was shocked.
Little Raven was no longer down.
Little Raven's golden-red eyes sparkled as it watched the three bros' battles intently.
'Bird must watch carefully!'
'Observe their strength!'
'If there's any problem, bird can help correct it!'
Little White Snake and Little Jellyfish being watched: *Trembling*
Only Cat-Worm—
'Afraid?'
'That's for the weak!'
Cat-Worm says, 'Obedience is one thing, it's about respecting the boss!'
'Definitely not afraid!'
'Absolutely not!'
'Battle?'
'It's the time to go wild!'
'Charge!'
Cat-Worm's use of dark-type skills exceeded the students' imaginations.
Their expressions constantly switched between "you can do that?", "this also works?", and "no, this can't possibly be allowed…"
Shocked.
Shocked.
Eventually, they were numb.
As for the other observing students, and the five-person group from the small class who still hadn't run into Asher, they were completely speechless.
"Amazing… this teacher is just too amazing."
"This level of strength totally exceeds my imagination."
"Nope, nope! If we go up against him, there's probably no chance of winning at all."
"Just saying, among all first- and second-year students, can anyone really be the teacher's match?"
They looked at each other, exchanging the same message with their eyes.
Nope.
Definitely nope.
"Not necessarily," Just then, the usually silent Duncan suddenly spoke.
"If it's the top student…", Duncan paused.
Beast Tamer.
Combat type.
Strongest in the grade.
Naturally, they meant the top student.
Their strength was undeniable.
"But the top student didn't even sign up for exchange week," Eva spread his hands helplessly.
From thinking they could easily beat Professor Asher, hoping to encounter him early, to "only the top student can beat him", all in less than two hours.
Everyone: 'Feels like our faces are swollen!'
'It hurts!'
Asher: (・∀・)
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