Absolute Beast Dominion

A/N: Bonus chapter for the Supergift—Castle, gifted by 'HronoSapians'

Thank you!

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Chapter 661: Bad People! Papa, Let Me Beat Them Up! - 2

"Hehe, Sister Miho is back to her previous self!" Niri said in a jovial tone when she noticed Miho's spirits were higher than before.

Niri landed beside Miho and hugged her from the side as they walked.

"What happened? Why are you happy so suddenly?" Niri kept on insisting as Miho's face turned redder and redder.

"N-Niri, my hair will get untidy. Please be careful!" Miho said, trying to separate herself from Niri.

"Oh..." Niri realised her mistake and went back to fix Miho's hair with her soft, tiny fingers.

"It's all good now!"

Niri once again started to circle around the group, sometimes even floating high into the air.

At one point, Leo asked Sylrael to hold Niri's hand to stop her from running away, which Sylrael did hesitantly.

Leo didn't hold her himself because he wanted Sylrael to get comfortable around Niri, since he was sure they would make a good team in the future.

He hadn't unsummoned her because not only did Niri not want to be unsummoned so she could spend time with the group, but Lily also made a good point: Niri should learn to interact with strangers.

And they thought it was better to start with a safe group of top-10 students.

Meanwhile, Kaelion only cast a side glance at Niri before looking ahead.

"Scary Uncle..." Niri pouted at Kaelion's stern look, then slipped free from Sylrael's hold and revolved around Leo and Lily.

"Mama and Papa are the best!"

"Alright!" Leo caught the naughty kid by the wrist and brought her down.

"No flying around until I say so, understand?"

Niri nodded like a chicken and was once again handed to Sylrael, where she got herself busy looking around.

Just how many more absurdities will I see around him? Kaelion thought.

How the fuck did his beast gain intelligence so quickly while also being born in the world for no more than 5 months? Kaelion was baffled.

Because a wild beast only becomes intelligent when it makes a lot of mistakes, does tons of trial and error with its abilities, learns from them, understands other things, and observes other living beings' behaviour.

And only after gaining considerable experience—which usually takes around 5 decades for any wild beast with a suitable inherent personality without guidance and with prior intelligence-related mutations—can it reach the juvenile stage of intelligence.

And this was for wild beasts.

It is many times more difficult for a tamed beast. Unlike what one would expect, a tamed beast doesn't actually gain intelligence faster.

When comparing two of the same beasts, of the same species, type, and experience—with one tamed and the other left in the wild—the wild one is more likely to gain intelligence than the tamed one.

The reason is simple: the Beast Master who tamed them tries to teach them and, in the process, starts giving the beasts things on a silver platter. Meaning, if the tamer tries teaching the beast a new skill, move, or technique, it isn't the beast that is imagining things; it's the tamer forcing the imagination on the beast, which the beast only learns to 'copy' and 'repeat'.

Guidance can accelerate a beast's development, but excessive reliance on the Beast Master can hinder the development of independent intelligence. And this is where the best of the best Beast Masters end up making mistakes.

And this isn't classified as real intelligence by the world. Even a beast speaking human language wouldn't be classified as intelligent if the World doesn't deem it to be one.

And since the criteria for intelligence are so strict for wild beasts, even a beast with juvenile intelligence might turn out to be smarter than ordinary people, sometimes even better than those considered smart.

This was why Kaelion was so shocked when he learned Niri had gained intelligence. In addition to speaking human language, she was a master at reading other people's emotions.

And due to this high level of emotional intelligence, the world had deemed Niri to be an intelligent beast. Here, Niri's inherent curiosity played a major role.

The group finally reached the storm hall.

The moment Leo pushed the door open slightly, loud noises and the scent of blood could be heard and smelled through the gap.

Everybody's eyes immediately sharpened as Leo pushed the door open with a slam.

But he was taken aback by the scene.

There they were, Ronan and Aaron, hacking at each other with their swords, while three people stood behind them, sweating bullets as they cast healing magic one after another and drained their mana reserves.

Even the people who were already in the class stopped when Leo's group entered, looking at them awkwardly.

"Ho!" A childlike, girly voice broke the silence, and a figure floated in front of Leo's group.

It was Niri.

Sylrael seemed a bit panicked, as if she hadn't realised when Niri had slipped out of her hand.

"Bad People!" She sharply raised her hands towards them while landing on the ground on her feet and slightly turning her head towards Leo.

"Papa! Let me beat them! I will show you how strong I am!" she enthusiastically said as a thin vine released from her palms and shot towards Aaron and Ronan.

Both men's eyes widened as they immediately slashed at the incoming vine.

"They are stronger than they look, then here it is—ahh!" Niri cried out while clutching her head in pain.

Lily had already acted and reached up to her.

"Naughty girl, don't do useless things. See, do they really look like bad people?"

"Mama, why?" Niri cried while rubbing her head and looking towards Aaron and Ronan with a pout.

"I just wanted to show my strength to Papa..."

"Get back, or else I will have Leo unsummon you."

"No!"

Niri immediately darted away and took cover behind Sylrael.

"Big sister, save me!"

Sylrael could only nervously smile while being caught up in her antics.

"Mama? Papa? What?" Tavian, who was sitting at the back, spoke up first as the silence finally broke.

"WHAT?!!!"

The loudest reactions came from Lyra and Dhalia, who literally jumped from their seats as if to get a better look at Niri.

Even Ronan and Aaron forgot their pain from the open wounds across their arms and chests as they stared at Niri.

"Ahh... so scary..." Niri muttered.

Brant, who was simply standing at the back of the room, was also surprised.

"Is that... that little Dryad?"