Supreme BeastTamer: I Can Copy and Upgrade Skills 10x!

The message that had popped up in front of Nox was, of course, the upgrade message he had been ignoring for the past couple of days.
Explore stories at My Virtual Library Empire

After reaching level 40, it was time for another upgrade. Each upgrade granted him more class-related skills and added more functions to the system.

Nox was pretty excited about this upgrade, yet a part of him was apprehensive when he remembered how extremely difficult life had been without the system for five years. Unfortunately, the system had cleared all doubts, confirming that this time his upgrade would be completed in a much shorter time frame.

With a resolute gleam in his eyes, Nox gave the go-ahead for the system to upgrade itself, and the screen flickering in his retina vanished into thin air as if it had never been there before.

A moment later, a countdown appeared before him.

[System Upgrade in Progress]

Time Remaining: 02:00:00

"Hmmm, not bad," Nox mumbled to himself as he stared at the screen. Indeed, the time was relatively short; he had expected it to take days or even weeks, considering how long it had taken the last time.

With nothing else to do, Nox simply waited for the countdown to complete, his chest rising and falling in anticipation.

Some time later, Zara emerged from the bathroom, her body still wet and her sky-blue hair clinging to her face. Her scent, a cool and crisp mixture of frost and something uniquely hers, drifted through the air, making Nox unconsciously take a deep breath. He had always found her presence captivating, but at moments like this, it was impossible to ignore.

"It's your turn," Zara said while retrieving a soft towel from her storage and patting her head dry.

"Right." Nox peeled his gaze away from her and went inside as well. Unlike Zara, who took a full hour bathing, Nox finished cleaning himself in roughly 30 minutes. After changing into a fresh pair of clothes, the two prepared to head out.

"Thirty minutes left," Nox noted.

"Where are we going first?" Zara asked as they exited the inn they had been staying at. The receptionist, who was thanking them for their stay, faded into the background, drowned out by the rolling wheels of carriages.

"To Snowhelm. They have a lot of frozen mountain peaks," Nox said, remembering the evolution requirement needed for Thirteen. A thoughtful expression crossed his features as he spoke aloud with a heavy sigh, "But we'll need to enter illegally. That will be very troublesome."

A wistful light shone in his eyes. "Agh, I really need a flying beast. If only I had a flying beast, all of this would have been solved."

Entering a kingdom by land was much more difficult compared to entering by air for several reasons. One of the most important reasons was the border checkpoints.

Nox sucked in a deep breath, letting it travel through his lungs.

That place was heavily guarded, with strict inspections on those entering or leaving. Soldiers, knights, and even trained mages monitored these entry points, checking identification, cargo, and sometimes even using magic detection arrays. Sneaking in through conventional means required extensive planning, bribing, and smuggling.

The last time he had gone to Snowhelm, it was through underground tunnels where death was an everyday occurrence. Nox didn't know if he could find a tunnel like that from here as well.

However, entering by air was much easier. He could simply fly around the kingdom's perimeter, enter through one of the less-guarded areas, sneak to the mountain top, and complete Thirteen's evolution.

A frown appeared on Nox's face. Most flying beasts powerful enough to carry a person were rare and expensive. Yes, Astralux could fly, but due to her current rank—only at the intermediate rank—it was difficult for her to travel long distances while carrying two people.

"A flying beast, huh…"

At that moment, a low chuckle, pleasant to the ears, escaped Zara's lips.

"What are you laughing about?" Nox raised a brow.

"Nothing." She smirked but continued to chuckle.

A playfully irritated expression appeared on Nox's face.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you." Zara finally submitted after a while. She took a couple of breaths and, while holding Nox's gaze, said, "A flying beast will help you achieve your goals much faster, right?"

"Umu." Nox nodded.

"Well, look no further—you can ride on me!"

"Ride on you?" Nox's pupils widened when he heard this.

"Yes, ride on me." Zara nodded, then narrowed her eyes. "Wait… I hope you're not having any funny thoughts. Did you forget about my species already?"

"Yes… I remember." Nox scratched his head, an unconvincing smile plastered on his handsome face. "I definitely wasn't thinking anything lewd."

"Tsk, I didn't ask if you were thinking something lewd, you shameless, perverted boy."

---

Some minutes later, the two boarded a carriage.

"We'll head somewhere deserted; there, you'll transform," Nox said as the carriage galloped forward. He had been very excited after learning that Zara could fly. This was something he knew about, but since he had never seen the dragon girl in her true form, he had momentarily forgotten.

With her, he was confident that fulfilling the requirements for his pet's evolution would be much faster and smoother. Not only that, but heading to Frostpire and returning would also be much swifter.

Nox asked a couple of questions regarding her dragon form.

"How long can you stay in your true form?"

"As long as I have sufficient mana," she said nonchalantly, retrieving a frozen crystal from thin air—most likely from her storage—and tossing it into her mouth. She closed her eyes, a pleased expression on her face as if it was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.

When she was done, barely taking two minutes, she said, "When I was coming here, I had to take a couple of breaks, but I don't think I'll need any for Snowhelm."

"That's good, then."

The carriage continued in silence for several more minutes, the only sound coming from Zara, who was greedily devouring the frozen crystals.

Nox was naturally curious about the frozen crystals she was happily eating. She seemed so absorbed in them, and he couldn't help but open his mouth to ask.

However, before he could speak, a familiar ding resounded in his head.

[Ding! System upgrade completed]

***

Support Supreme BeastTamer with your valuable Golden tickets and power stones!!! Let's climb the Ranking!