The kitten's eyes sparkled—Kael had saved a vial of Moonview Elixir just for her, filling her with boundless joy. She couldn't help but snort haughtily, "Kael, at least you still have a conscience! For this, I'll graciously overlook your past mistakes!"
Her tone was comically pompous as she eagerly snatched the elixir from Kael and gulped it down in one go.
The moment the potion entered her system, her body began to transform. Her originally yellow fur shifted into a silver sheen, mirroring the elixir's radiant hue—pure and flawless, without a single blemish.
Her coat had become so lustrous that any girl who saw it would undoubtedly be enchanted.
Her body also grew slightly larger, though the change was subtle. As the effects settled, the kitten blinked, licked her paws, and examined her new appearance with immense satisfaction.
"As expected of this genius Dragon-Cat—peerless in both power and beauty!" she declared smugly, thoroughly pleased with the elixir's enhancements.
Kael, however, immediately rained on her parade. "Did your strength actually improve? Or are you still stuck at the sixth-tier?"
In truth, he already had a hunch. Given the drastic physical changes, the elixir had clearly taken full effect. Her power must have surged significantly—though to what extent remained to be seen.
"Don't underestimate me!" The kitten glared indignantly, then carefully assessed herself before thrusting out a tiny paw. "This lady has now reached the peak of the eighth-tier—a full two-tier leap! I told you, I'm a prodigy among Dragon-Cats!"
She bared her teeth in a triumphant grin.
Jumping from the sixth-tier to the eighth-tier was decent progress. Kael nodded, though eighth-tier strength no longer impressed him much. These days, he could swat aside eighth-tier experts with a mere wave of his hand.
Even the aftershocks of a battle between tenth-tier powerhouses could effortlessly annihilate eighth-tier beings.
Noticing Kael's indifferent expression, the kitten let out a few disgruntled "meows", deeply offended by his lack of awe. With a huff, she leaped right in front of him, her tail lashing.
"Don't you dare look down on me! My eighth-tier is nothing like your ordinary eighth-tier! Have you forgotten I'm a dragon?!" the kitten huffed with an air of superiority.
Kael's eyes lit up—she had a point. As a rare hybrid, her strength couldn't be measured by conventional tiers. Back when she was only sixth-tier, she had been able to release that mysterious smoke to obscure the vision of a tenth-tier powerhouse like Zev, even if only briefly. That alone was impressive.
In battles between tenth-tier experts, the slightest advantage could mean the difference between victory and defeat!
"So, does that mean you've gained new abilities this time?" Kael asked, a hint of anticipation in his voice.
"Of course!"
With her confident reply, Kael grew even more curious. What kind of power had this little creature unlocked now?
For unique magical beasts like her, newly acquired abilities were never ordinary. Take dragons, for example—they were born with unmatched physical prowess and devastating combat power.
The kitten didn't keep him waiting. Eager to show off, she gave a proud little snort and twitched slightly.
Suddenly, Kael felt the world around him shift. The scenery transformed before his eyes, and in an instant, he found himself standing before a colossal magical beast.
It was a gigantic purple serpent, over ten meters long, with spread wings and black patterns coiling around its body. The oppressive aura it emitted was unmistakable—this was a tenth-tier beast!
That's right—it was none other than the Winged Serpent, a tenth-tier monster!
The creature's pressure felt tangible, crashing down like a mountain. The massive serpent flicked its forked tongue, its predatory gaze locked onto Kael as if ready to devour him whole at any moment.
The sudden appearance of the purple Winged Serpent startled the nearby Unicorn Rhinos. They, too, felt its overwhelming dominance, and some even trembled—a natural reaction of lower-tier beasts in the presence of a higher-tier predator.
"A tenth-tier magical beast?!" Alaric bellowed in alarm, his entire body tensing as he prepared for battle.
But Kael shook his head, stopping Alaric with a faint smile. Clapping his hands, he said, "Impressive. This illusion is incredibly lifelike. So, kitten, your new ability is illusion magic?"
The moment he spoke, the scene before them shifted once more. The enormous Winged Serpent vanished instantly, leaving only the little kitten in its place.
The kitten licked her paw smugly. "See? This is the power of yours truly! I can transform into any powerful magical beast!"
Kael nodded slightly. Indeed, the ability the kitten had just awakened was illusion magic—and a formidable one at that. It had nearly fooled even him. The Winged Serpent had been so vivid, so real—from its gaping maw to its venomous fangs, every detail was flawless.
What truly stood out was that her illusions could even replicate the oppressive aura of a tenth-tier beast, startling Alaric and the other Unicorn Rhinos into genuine fear.
The only other time Kael had encountered such convincing illusions was when he first arrived in this world, from a creature known as the "Crimson Nightmare."
However, the Crimson Nightmare's illusions had flaws—anyone with sufficiently strong mental power could see through them.
But the kitten's illusions were on a whole other level. So potent that even Kael had almost been deceived! Only because he was mentally prepared, and because she had chosen to mimic the Winged Serpent—a beast he had recently encountered—did he manage to guess the truth.
Otherwise, he might not have realized it was an illusion at all.
"Truly remarkable," Kael praised, though he couldn't help but wonder: "Kitten, this ability must have limitations, right?"
At this, the kitten's ears drooped slightly. She nodded glumly. "Yeah... I can only transform into beasts I've seen before, and there's a time limit. It doesn't last very long."
Kael's eyes gleamed with understanding. No wonder she chose the Winged Serpent—of all the beasts she's encountered, it must be the most powerful.
As for the time constraint, that was only natural. If she could maintain the illusion indefinitely, that would have been the real surprise.
Yet Kael felt far more excitement than surprise. After all, the kitten's illusions were near-perfect replicas—even with his current strength as a tenth-tier mage, he had struggled to see through them. As for the Unicorn Rhinos, they were still tense and wary, as if expecting the Winged Serpent to reappear at any moment.
This meant that if he brought the kitten into battle against another tenth-tier mage, her sudden transformation into the serpent would at the very least leave the opponent momentarily stunned—giving Kael the critical first strike.
"Excellent work, kitten. I'll reward you with a hundred gold coins!" Kael declared, his mood soaring.
The kitten's eyes instantly sparkled, and she nodded vigorously. "Yes! Kael, I love you! You're this lady's favorite human!" She purred, squinting her eyes in delight.
Kael couldn't help but chuckle. This little creature really was cheap labor—a hundred gold coins was all it took to make her ecstatic.
Not that the kitten minded. Tilting her head, she happily imagined the gleaming pile of gold, her inherited dragon-like greed making her especially fond of shiny treasures.
With a smug grin, she added, "Oh, and my Mystic Smoke ability has improved too—it can cover a much larger area now."
This news delighted Kael even further. Snagging this kitten had been an absolute steal—her value was practically on par with a tenth-tier powerhouse!
His gaze swept over the fifty-plus ninth-tier Unicorn Rhinos, their massive framesturning them into mobile fortresses. With this formidable force and the kitten's unique abilities, Kael's confidence surged.
"Reynolds Family… here I come!" He roared inwardly.