The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 866: Behemoth

It wasnʼt even a contest after Thor saw the options that were presented for his Evolution.

{Impenetrable Bulwark Behemoth} 1 Totem Ranked Elemental Stone, 3 Overlord Ranked horn ornaments inscribed or enchanted with [Limited Invulnerability] effects, 10kg Overlord Ranked fruits of the opposite element to the Elemental Stone.

By morning, all of the materials had been gathered, and Karl had made the three horn ornaments that the spell demanded.

Why Thorʼs horns needed [Limited Invulnerability] for this advancement was a mystery, but it did go with the name.

For this event, they had gathered in the courtyard in front of the Guild House, at Thorʼs insistence. If he was going to become an Overlord, he wanted people to notice. After all, how would enemies know to stay away, if they had never seen the might of the Guildʼs Protector?

”Everyone, welcome to Thorʼs advancement Ceremony. As he has reached the peak of his bloodline, it will take a special ritual to help him advance. First, the specially made jewellery goes on the horns. Next, the bowl full of Overlord Ranked fruit is balanced on his head, and the Elemental stone is placed on his snout.” Karl began.

The rings on the horns were necessary. The rest was just to see if Thor could stand still enough not to dump them.

”And now, with a bit of magic.”

The Guild Members began to cheer for Thor, and Karl activated [Evolution].

{Evolution Successful} Divine Thunder Cerro ⇒ Impenetrable Bulwark Behemoth

{Skill Gained} [Behemoth] Passive ability. Increases volume by 10x

{Skill Gained} [Behemothʼs Vitality] Triples Regeneration Speed

{Skill Gained} [Impenetrable Bulwark] Passive Skill. Reduces damage taken by 20 Percent, plus 1 point per day of the Behemothʼs Age.

{Skill Gained} [Blockade] Creates a wall of Ice or Lightning up to 50 cubic metres per Rank of the Caster.

Thorʼs body began to shift, seeming to ripple and shudder under his scales as his body grew. He grew longer, with a more powerful tail, and the protective fringe at the back of his head vanished, while his neck extended slightly.

The thick stomping pads of Thorʼs feet reshaped to have long, clawed toes, with webbing between them, but kept a powerful musculature to them, not dainty like Hawkʼs claws.

His scales gained vibrant white streaks to go with the gold, and finally, his evolution finished.

A few of the Gate Guards had come in to watch the spectacle, and whistled in appreciation for the evolved beast.

Now Four metres tall, but nearly fifteen metres long including his tail, with three ebony black horns on his beaked head, and thick armoured plates down his back, he was quite the imposing sight.

”Is that some form of Swamp Dragon?” One of them asked.

”Itʼs an evolution for the Divine Thunder Cerro. The System calls it the Impenetrable Bulwark Behemoth.” Karl explained.

The Guard looked confused, then moved his hands in a shrinking gesture, bringing them almost together.

”Thatʼs one of them? I didnʼt know that they got so small. They have them on the southwestern island, and the ones there are big enough to make Ancient Dragons look small.” The Guard explained.

Karl shrugged. ”Perhaps theyʼre older? Or the Evolution might have reset him to a juvenile state. What Rank are the ones you met?”

The guard frowned. ”Theyʼre all Overlord Ranked beasts, but theyʼre like Dragons and Snakes. They just keep getting bigger with age. There is a rumour that the oldest of the Behemoths is literally invincible. Itʼs simply so large and resilient that nothing can hurt it.”

That sounded right, going by the skills that Thor had. One point a day wasnʼt a big deal when he was less than three years old. But what if he was three hundred? The damage reduction would have stacked so high, and his base health would be so high with an eternally growing body, that even Totem Ranked attacks wouldnʼt get past its passive skills.

If someone taught [Impenetrable Bulwark] to Orthos, what would happen? He was twelve thousand or more years old. A creature like that could nearly survive the end of the world without taking damage.

”You look deep in thought.” Ashbringer whispered to Karl.

”His new skill reduces damage taken by one point per day he has lived. What if I taught that skill to an Ancient Dragon?” Karl whispered back.

Ashbringer smirked. ”Before or after every Demigod of every other pantheon drew lots for the chance to obliterate your body and scatter your soul between the planes?”

Karl chuckled, but everyone else thought that it was a laugh of joy for Thorʼs new advancement. He had made a huge step today, and his power was still growing.

Then, he broke through to the Overlord Rank, and his body began to grow rapidly, before shrinking to hatchling sized as Thor deactivated [Behemoth]. Then it grew back to slightly larger than it had been at Monarch Rank, nearing twenty metres.

With [Behemoth] increasing his volume, his size would roughly double in all directions, making him eight metres tall and forty metres long, the size of an adult chromatic dragon, minus the wings.

But much more powerfully built.

However, for Thor that was impractical, and his brain was working overtime, trying to solve the problem of remaining a rideable battle Thor.

He had it. The opposite of Behemoth.

He could feel how to grow, now he understood how to shrink.

{Skill Learned} [Unobtrusive Behemoth] Reduces size by up to 10x

Remi loved that skill the moment that she realized it would work on her and Karl as well. But the name was all wrong.

Shouldnʼt it be called [Just a Smol Snek]? If she was a tenth her current size, she would be absolutely adorable. Advancing to Overlord had already put her back into a smaller, Juvenile state. But a tenth that size would be perfect for making pleading attempts.

[Shameless, utterly shameless.] Hawk insisted.

[Just wait, nobody can resist cute things for long. One day, it will help us get the best snacks.] Remi replied haughtily.

In the courtyard, Thor adjusted his size to be only two metres tall, and Tessa hopped on his back with a smile.

He was longer now, more stable. While he had lost the defensive fringe at the back of his head, that also gave her more freedom to attack to the front.

Fighting from Thorʼs back would not be a problem.