Chapter 604: Surpassing The Florathi?
Isaac closed the notification before turning back toward the dragon maids. They were still gathered around Punpun, carefully watching the little rabbit as if they were afraid he might disappear at any moment. The sight almost made Isaac smile.
"The baby is already an Overlord, as you can see. If there were fifty or even a hundred babies like him, would all of you be able to handle them?" Isaac asked.
Celeste took a moment to think before answering. "Even if they’re Overlords, they’ll still need time to grow up before their strength reaches that level. As babies they won’t be difficult to manage, so yes, we can handle them. Why are you asking?"
"I plan to create more of them," Isaac replied. He answered so casually that it took the maids a second to process what he had actually said.
"You can create more lives?" Celeste asked, unable to completely hide her surprise this time. The other dragon maids reacted even more strongly, openly staring at Isaac with expressions filled with disbelief, and awe.
"Well, it’s not really that hard," he said, although he realized from their reactions that nobody else seemed to share that opinion.
For now, Isaac had decided to focus entirely on Happy Bunnies. Before creating another species, he wanted to observe how they behaved, what they ate, how quickly they grew, and whether they possessed any unique habits that the normal Monsters didn’t have. It would be easier to learn everything about one species before introducing another into the ecosystem.
There was another practical reason for choosing them first. Bramble Hares seemed to have the shortest breeding cycle among the monsters available to him, probably because they were the smallest and closely resembled the rabbits he remembered from Earth. Since they reproduced quickly, they were ideal for experimentation.
Isaac found a place to sit while the dragon maids continued fussing over Punpun. He activated his skills once more, selecting another Bramble Hare pair as his target.
He wasn’t particularly worried about creating baby monsters that were too strong from the start. Monsters naturally became smarter as they ranked up, and Happy Bunnies were born directly at the Overlord rank. As long as they were raised properly from the beginning, Isaac believed they would be intelligent enough to understand their place within the City.
There was no reason to worry. Besides, what was the worst thing that could happen?
As he continued creating more Happy Bunnies, Isaac started noticing details that hadn’t been obvious at first. Every newborn possessed the Overlord rank, yet all of them were surprisingly weak immediately after birth. Their bodies were weaker than even normal monster babies.
After observing several births, Isaac formed a theory. The Bramble Hare parents were simply too weak to nourish offspring with such powerful physiques. Their children had overwhelming potential, but the parents lacked the ability to support that growth naturally.
Fortunately, the Seed of Providence skill seemed be helping a lot. Instead of relying on the parents, the skill supplied almost all of the nutrients required for the babies’ development. From what Isaac could tell, nearly ninety-nine percent of the nourishment came directly from him.
That discovery explained something else he had noticed. Every time a Happy Bunny was born, a small amount of EXP disappeared from his own reserves. The cost wasn’t high enough to concern him, but it happened consistently with every successful birth.
Isaac wasn’t worried about the EXP consumption. He had accumulated an enormous amount after clearing monsters in the Great Dungeon, so the amount being used was almost insignificant. Even if he somehow started running low in the future, he still had plenty of EXP Potions stored away.
There was another observation that interested him even more. None of the newborn Happy Bunnies paid any attention to their biological parents after they were born. Instead, they either fell asleep immediately or looked toward Isaac while repeatedly calling him "Papa."
Isaac remembered hearing that monsters inherited genetic memories from their species. Those instincts allowed newborn monsters to understand basic knowledge without anyone teaching them.
Apparently, the Happy Bunnies’ instincts also told them exactly who had created them, which naturally led them to recognize Isaac as their father.
Watching dozens of tiny rabbits look toward him at the same time was an unusual sight. One little bunny managed to reach his foot before collapsing from exhaustion, while another simply hugged his shoe without saying anything. Isaac couldn’t help smiling a little as he watched them.
Before he realized it, quite a bit of time had passed. By the time he finished, he had successfully created forty-two Happy Bunnies.
Not every Bramble Hare pair produced offspring immediately because his altered Seed of Providence skill still wasn’t functioning perfectly, but Isaac considered the result more than satisfactory.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead before picking up the last pregnant Bramble Hare.
Walking over to Celeste, he carefully placed the rabbit into her arms. "Here, take this one. It should give birth soon, so keep an eye on it."
Celeste accepted the rabbit with a careful nod. "Understood, Master. We’ll make sure both the mother and the baby are looked after properly."
The other dragon maids also nodded, already discussing where they would prepare a place for the remaining births.
Only after that did Isaac realize the sun had moved considerably. Lyra, Kyra, and Phoebe had already returned after finishing their work in Emily’s City, and the three dragon maids helped the deliveries.
Their expressions were calm, but they kept glancing toward the dozens of newborn Happy Bunnies surrounding the area.
"Master," Lyra called.
"Yes?" Isaac turned toward her and waited for her to continue.
It was Kyra who spoke next.
"The Florathi are considered the leaders of this region, right?" she asked.
"Yes, they are," Isaac nodded.
"Do you know roughly how many Overlords they have?" Lyra asked.
Isaac thought about it for a moment before replying, "I don’t know the exact number, but I’d guess at least three hundred."
"...And we created forty-two Overlords today?" Kyra looked toward the field full of newborn Happy Bunnies before looking back at Isaac.
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