This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Rivian's gold-quality Leafwing Moth was one of the numerous evolutionary forms of the black-iron-quality Silkworm, a spiritual creature so common it bordered on mundane.

But despite its low quality, the Silkworm held a unique position among contracts—they could meet the contractual needs of over a third of newly awakened individuals, while also being incredibly cheap.

Actually, cheap isn't even the correct term for them. They were pretty much free.

Silkworms could be found in almost any garden or park, their tiny, white plump bodies inching along leaves or spinning fine silk threads among the branches.

They were a creature the poorest of beast-tamers could easily contract by just plucking one from a bush.

In towns and cities, children played with them, fascinated by the shimmering silk threads they produced, unaware that this humble creature was also one of the most popular beginner contracts among the underprivileged.

Moreover, if one couldn't even afford to feed them with the spiritual plants needed to evolve, letting them just graze on normal plants outdoors will cause it to eventually evolve into its default form—the black-iron Silkmoth. However, this form is so low in potential, that even the poorest of individuals would at least attempt to make it evolve into something better.

What truly set the Silkworm apart wasn't just its high population—it was its array of evolutionary forms.

While most spiritual creatures were limited to one or two evolutionary paths, the Silkworm had known forms that corresponded to nearly every element.

Feeding a Silkworm a diet rich in spiritual plant materials imbued with a specific element would cause it to spin a cocoon of silk infused with that same element.

When it emerged from this elemental cocoon, it would take on an evolved form aligned with the element of cocoon it used for its metamorphosis. This unique property made the Silkworm a viable option for tamers of nearly any elemental affinity, even if it wasn't their ideal choice.

However, despite this impressive range of evolutions, the Silkworm's lack of popularity among those with even a slightly decent affinity grade. All of its elemental evolutionary paths were dead ends, unable to ascend beyond gold-quality, a ceiling that disqualified it from the considerations of more talented or wealthy tamers.

However, the resources required to evolve a Silkworm in either of these two directions were too high for most ordinary families, and those that could afford to raise one, or even several, would simply buy more powerful spiritual creatures.

Nevertheless, despite its disadvantages, the Silkworm was a staple of lower-class tamers. To the talented, it was a creature of last resort, its potential for nearly any element was tempting but rarely worth the investment.

However, to the poor it was a lifeline, a creature that could at least offer compatibility with their affinity and reach the fairly decent gold-level, even if it didn't promise greatness.

Rivian's Leafwing Moth was one of the gold-quality forms that, while aesthetically stunning and moderately useful for reconnaissance, still failed to rise above the Silkworm's limitations.

It was often described as a "pretty face" in the world of spiritual creatures—a creature valued more for its elegance than its combat abilities.

Yet, Kain saw potential. He didn't believe that a race as malleable as the Silkworm wouldn't have more advanced evolutionary forms—they just haven't been found yet or all required some special evolutionary condition.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

If he could crack the code to push the Leafwing Moth beyond its known limits, and maybe even find some commonality to push forward other evolutions of the Silkworm, it could reshape the reputation of the Silkworm entirely. A creature dismissed by the talented could become a cornerstone of tamers across all walks of life.

Kain had already asked to see the contract of all of his assistants in person, so he should be able to call up virtual representations of all of them in the System's Evolution Simulator.

Not wanting to waste his very limited amount of time until the launch of his project, Kain mentally entered the System while pretending to take a nap.

At the center of the room stood a tall glass compartment of the Simulator. Within moments of Kain selecting the Leafwing Moth, a shimmering virtual image materialized inside the compartment.

The Leafwing Moth was as elegant as a butterfly, despite its name. Its delicate, semi-transparent wings shimmered with an iridescent green hue, veins of gold tracing intricate patterns reminiscent of leaves. Its body was slim and silken, with soft tufts of fur around its neck like a fur collar. Long, feathery antennae extended from its head, glowing faintly with spiritual energy.

Kain swiped his hand along the touch screen of the Simulator, pulling up the creature's profile.

Immediately, his eyes caught on a flashing exclamation mark within its profile that Kain knew indicated a special evolutionary condition.

"Bingo," Kain muttered under his breath, leaning forward as though the virtual image would yield its secrets faster that way. Clicking on the notification, he opened the detailed explanation of the condition.

Silken Harmony: The evolutionary form requires the Leafwing Moth to spin its cocoon using silk threads contributed by at least three other Silkworms or their evolved forms, each representing a different elemental attribute. The combined silk must be woven together with its own threads to form a cocoon infused with harmonized elemental energy.

Kain's eyebrows shot up once he read this condition and immediately understood why this condition hadn't been satisfied before, even by coincidence.

Silkworms and their evolved forms were naturally solitary creatures. Even in captivity, keeping Silkworms of different elements together was nearly impossible without rigorous effort and training.

It wasn't just about putting a few Silkworms in a room and letting them do their thing. The process required a perfect balance of attributes and cooperation among multiple moths, two things that were fundamentally alien to Silkworms and their evolved forms.

Even if someone managed to get three Silkworms with different attributes together, getting them to contribute silk for one cocoon? That's asking for a miracle

Now with his biggest obstacle identified, Kain took a look at his abundant amount of GP, and immediately got to work simulating.