Chapter 32: The Dark Dragon Soul

In front of Charles, a huge figure appeared, like a small mountain blocking out the sky, casting Charles completely in its shadow.

—It was actually a dragon?

Charles could hardly believe it was real, but a dragon with a wingspan of tens of meters had appeared out of thin air before him.

The overwhelming presence of the dragon made even Charles, as its Beast Master, feel a bit tremulous.

"Is this the spirit beast hatched from my golden egg? This isn't just an SSR; it's an SSSSSSSSR!" Charles looked at it excitedly, wanting to check the dragon's attribute panel.

However... nothing appeared.

"How can this be... Did the system malfunction?" Charles wondered.

The dragon let out an impatient roar, "Are you my Beast Master? You look much weaker than I expected. I hope you won't hold me back in battle."

Charles felt anxious and completely unprepared for how to deal with a gigantic dragon. Besides, he was worried about something else—

His current stock of ferocious beast meat totaled only a few hundred kilograms. Wouldn't this giant creature eat him into poverty in one bite?

"They say being a Beast Master is an expensive profession. I didn't believe it before, but now I get it..." Charles muttered, feeling the pain in his wallet.

However, there was something odd about this dragon...

Charles squinted and looked closely, gradually noticing the issue.

Although this dragon looked impressive, it stood there dumbfounded, and Charles couldn't feel any of the dragon's innate pressure from it. It seemed more like a model.

With this doubt, Charles started observing his surroundings carefully. Before long, he spotted it: a small, round flying squirrel with a brownish-yellow body, looking quite adorable.

To be precise, it was a small flying squirrel, as it was gliding in the air with its wing membrane stretched out, something regular squirrels couldn't do.

A squirrel?

Charles felt like a bolt of lightning had struck him out of the blue.

In that very short moment, Charles had already fantasized about riding the dragon and sweeping through the entire ferocious beast mountain range. But now, he was told it was all a lie?

From an ancient dragon to a little squirrel, the sense of disappointment was overwhelming.

And at that moment, the towering dragon's figure gradually became illusory until it completely disappeared, leaving a fluffy little creature falling from the sky...

"Squeak~"

"Help, help!"

"Am I going to die here today?"

The majestic voice disappeared, replaced by a weak one that Charles almost didn't hear.

Whizz—

Max shot through the air like an arrow, leaping off a tree and catching the little flying squirrel mid-fall, curiously studying the small creature.

"So... soft. Did I die and go to heaven?" The voice came from Max's back as the flying squirrel peeked from behind its tiny paws.

Standing on Max's back, the flying squirrel curiously eyed Charles before its attention swiftly shifted to the skewers of roasted meat in front of him.

"Mousey is very hungry right now. Hand over all the tasty food and drinks, or else..." The flying squirrel crossed its arms and glared at Charles menacingly. "I'll act cute and adorable for you!"

Using the fiercest tone to say the most timid words...

Seeing the adorable demeanor of the little flying squirrel, Charles felt his heart melting. At that moment, a light screen flashed, revealing the flying squirrel's information.

——[Shadow Flying Squirrel]——

[Name]: None

[Attribute]: Dark

[Level]: Lv11

[Quality]: Gold

[Skills]: [Mimetic Illusion], [Darkness Cloak]

[Weakness]: The whole body is a weakness

[Hobby]: Scaring people

[Emotion]: Afraid

[Health]: Good

[Loyalty]: 65

[Evolution]: Two routes

[Description]: Originally an ordinary flying squirrel, it accidentally entered an ancient ruin and was mutated after being corrupted by the residual thoughts of the dark dragon soul.

"A dark-attribute spirit beast, this is the first time I've seen one."

In Charles's memory, whenever Lily mentioned this attribute in theory classes, she always glossed over it in a few words. It seemed like a taboo, something no one wanted to talk about.

Charles picked the flying squirrel off Max's back and held it in his palm.

Gently rubbing its chin, the flying squirrel let out a series of "squeak" sounds, and when Charles touched its belly, it made a very peculiar noise.

"Let go of me! How dare you handle me like that!"

"I'm not pure anymore,..."

Charles was amused by the flying squirrel. He checked and found out it was indeed a female.

He then looked at the detailed skill descriptions on the light screen.

[Mimetic Illusion]: Can simulate other powerful creatures using dark energy. The duration and combat power of the illusion are linked to the user's own strength.

[Darkness Cloak]: Can conceal presence and enhance sensory sharpness in the dark. In times of danger, it can enter the shadows and teleport. Teleportation consumes a lot of energy and will result in prolonged weakness afterward.

"These two skills seem very powerful. Looks like I got lucky, I found a treasure!" Charles marveled.

With the Mimetic Illusion skill, any ferocious beast Charles has fought, including other people's spirit beasts, can be mimicked. This means he can replicate the strongest spirit beast on the battlefield!

The second skill is an ultimate survival technique! There's a saying, "retreat and give way!" The system didn't mention any restrictions, which means anywhere there's a shadow, it's safe for Charles.

If he had [Darkness Cloak] back when he encountered the man-faced spider in the tomb, he wouldn't have been so embarrassed.

After reading the information on the shadow flying squirrel, Charles checked his [Personal Panel].

[Charles]

[Level]: Tier 2 Beast Master

[Spirit Beasts]: The Frost Wolf, Shadow Flying Squirrel

[Skills]: Bone-Achingly Cold, Darkness Cloak

[Abilities]: Bestial Soul Merge, Pet Vision, Mind Communication

[Status]: Good

Charles attempted to activate his newly acquired skill, [Darkness Cloak]. The pitch-black night became as bright as day.

Not only that, but his sensory abilities also enhanced in the dark, allowing him to hear the chirping of insects and the singing of birds a hundred meters away.

"Oh, right, I haven't given you a name yet..." Charles suddenly smacked his forehead. "Since you're such an adorable little flying squirrel, how about I call you Jerry?"

The flying squirrel had been looking forward to it, but upon hearing the name, it immediately looked disgusted. "I'm a Shadow Flying Squirrel, Flying! Squirrel! Don't compare me to that mouse!"

"Well... if you insist, it's not impossible," it added begrudgingly.

[Ding! The Shadow Flying Squirrel dislikes the name you gave it. Loyalty -3.]

Huh? Can loyalty actually drop?

Charles was a bit shocked. Loyalty below 60 means there's a chance it might run away, and if this little flying squirrel flew off, where would he find it?

"How about this, since you call yourself 'Mousey,' I'll call you 'Mousey' from now on?" Charles suggested with a smile.

[Ding! You gave the Shadow Flying Squirrel a nickname. It likes this name very much. Loyalty +5.]

Seeing the Shadow Flying Squirrel's loyalty rise back to 66, Charles sighed in relief.

He grabbed Mousey and gently petted its fluffy tail.

His unique massage technique made the little flying squirrel roll around comfortably in his palm.

"Oh no, you..."

"How could you do this? You finally couldn't resist and decided to take action against me..."

Mousey kept making 'squeak' sounds, and through [Mind Communication], Charles understood every word. The absurdity of it all made him laugh out loud.

"Alright, enough teasing. Let's try out your new abilities, okay?"

Before Mousey could react, Charles tossed it into the air.

Charles activated his new ability, [Pet Vision], and his perspective immediately shifted to Mousey. It felt like wearing a VR headset and entering a drone's view. From this high vantage point, Charles could perceive everything around him.

Not only that, thanks to Mousey's excellent vision, he could see all dangers within 500 meters clearly—for example, a poisonous snake on a treetop 10 meters directly ahead.

As Mousey flew higher, Charles could see tiny points of light several kilometers away, likely from thieves near the bloody pool or other teams undergoing trials in the vicinity.

However, Mousey suddenly became nervous, and its heartbeat quickened. Following its gaze, Charles saw a massive creature heading their way...