My F-Rank Sagea is Secretly an EX-Rank Calamity

Chapter 15: Just a Few Matchsticks

While the remaining students scanned the ash-choked cavern for useful artifacts, Asher attended to Kaito.

Before he could finish checking on his companion, a pair of students approached him.

It was the boy from earlier—Riley Cloverwick.

He held out a glowing, ruby-red egg, easily the rarest Gloom-Weaver specimen in the nest.

Beside him stood his twin sister, Ria, who gingerly offered a silver-bound grimoire they had recovered from the debris.

"Um... Flynn. We found what we came here for," Riley muttered, his voice carrying a newfound layer of respect.

Asher turned around, giving them his full attention. He honestly hadn’t expected anyone from the class to actually try and communicate with a social outcast like him.

"We figured you should have it," Riley continued, offering the ruby egg forward. "It... it would be most suitable for you."

Asher let out a low, cynical huff, remaining nonchalantly indifferent.

’Do they seriously expect me to suddenly become friendly with them? Tsk.’

"No thanks. You guys should keep it," he replied coldly. Giving them the shoulder, he turned away and moved to another corner of the cave to continue his search.

>>> THE AFTERMATH <<<

Coincidentally, Edgar’s party had just finished clearing their own designated cavern.

Both groups made it out to the exit of the Forbidden Sector Salvage at the exact same time.

The two parties paused, glancing at one another.

Several students in Edgar’s unit had sustained minor injuries; some were covered in deep scratches, while another limped heavily on a twisted ankle. To make matters worse, they had very few relics to show for their struggles.

Edgar’s smug demeanor instantly soured into a deep frown.

"I see you guys managed to survive, too," Edgar said proudly, trying to assert dominance.

Then, his eyes drifted to the massive haul of high-tier, glowing loot Asher’s team was effortlessly carrying.

Asher followed his rival’s gaze, a sharp smirk cutting across his face.

He casually shrugged. "Oh, these? We just found a few matchsticks. No big deal."

DING!

[HOST SHOULD REST.]

[A NEARBY TAVERN HAS BEEN SPOTTED.]

’Is it just me, or did something about you change?’ Asher mused internally.

[NOVA VESTA AT YOUR SERVICE.]

’Huh?! Nova Vesta?!’

[HOST SHOULD REST.]

’Nope, never mind. You’re still just as annoying’.

Asher let out a weary sigh and called out to his squad. "Let’s head to an inn."

His team followed him without a single complaint, their movements completely synchronized.

Marnie watched in awe, she’d never seen anyone like Asher.

"They look way too happy..." one of Edgar’s loyalists muttered under his breath, watching them leave.

"Maybe... maybe we should have followed Flynn instead?" another whispered.

The treasonous comment caught Edgar’s sharp ears.

He gritted his teeth so hard they nearly cracked, his fists clenching violently at his sides as a bitter wave of humiliation washed over him.

Despite the stinging defeat, his disgruntled group had no choice but to follow Asher’s faction in silence.

>>> THE COMPANION REBORN <<<

After arriving at the town center, Asher’s group managed to secure a spacious inn to rest.

The students who had fought alongside him immediately began spreading the word to the rest of the loyalists, whispering tales of Asher’s terrifying hidden powers and the absolute annihilation of the Gloom-Weavers.

Meanwhile, Asher remained locked away in his rented room. He sat on the edge of the creaking bed, staring down at Kaito, who was resting on the floorboards.

"Vesta."

No response.

"Oh, right. Nova Vesta."

DING!

[HOST REQUIRES ATTENTION.]

"Not really, but whatever. That plant I discovered earlier... you said it could help Kaito grow?"

[CONFIRMED.]

[RELEASE PLANT FROM STORAGE?]

"Yes."

[COMPLETING REQUEST...]

With a faint glimmer of particles, the rare flora materialized directly into Asher’s palm.

The Sol-Aura Spore.

It was a delicate, translucent fern that had grown deep within the ashes of the burnt nest.

Its intricate veins pulsed with a soft, bioluminescent white-gold light, and tiny, ember-like spores floated gently around its leaves.

"Here you go, buddy," Asher muttered, holding it out. "Say goodbye to being useless."

The squirrel hissed sharply, looking thoroughly offended by the comment, before snatching the plant and greedily feeding on it.

Asher watched closely, his jaw tight. For all his indifference, he was secretly praying for the anomaly to work.

Suddenly, Kaito’s silhouette flared with a blinding light. His small body levitated mid-air, entirely encased by a swirling, brilliant yellow orb.

[NOTICE: PARTNER UNDERGOING GENETIC STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION.]

Asher held his breath.

[EVOLUTION PROGRESS: 1%... 2%... 5%...]

Forcing himself to remain calm, Asher didn’t blink.

After what felt like an eternity, the countdown finally maxed out.

[EVOLUTION COMPLETE!]

The yellow orb cracked open slowly. A thick, pristine mist escaped the shell first, pooling across the floorboards before fully revealing Kaito.

Where a frantic squirrel once stood, a majestic Sol-Aura beast now hovered. The creature had grown to a formidable predatory size, its ears, paws, and trailing tail ablaze with the very same white-gold flames as Asher’s Inferno.

Two curved horns made of flawless solar crystal sprouted from its forehead, pulsing in tandem whenever it channeled mana. Kaito no longer hopped; he glided soundlessly, hovering an inch above the ground.

"Sweet!" Asher exclaimed, a rare grin breaking across his face. He was incredibly grateful for the massive transformation.

DING!

[NOVA VESTA NOTICE]

[Target (Companion: Kaito) shows a 99.8% compatibility rate with ’Sol-Aura Spore’. Do you wish to force-feed the target to initiate genetic structural shattering?]

[YES / NO]

"Yes," Asher confirmed without hesitation.

[GENETIC OVERWRITE IN PROGRESS...]

[F-Rank: Normal Squirrel] core is being dismantled...100% COMPLETE]

Injecting Solar-Plasma pathways... [100% COMPLETE]

Reconstructing physical mass... [100% COMPLETE]

DING!

[ALL CORE PROCESSES COMPLETE!]

[COMPANION STATUS UPDATED]

[Name: Kaito]

[Species: Sol-Aura Beast (Ancient Solar Variant)]

Tier Status: [ERROR: UNMEASURABLE BY BASE SYSTEM TIERING]

[COMBAT-CORE UTILITY SKILLS]

[SKILL 1: CALAMITY FLARE]

Type: Active (Offensive)

Mana Cost: High

Description: Compresses atmospheric celestial heat via Kaito’s solar crystal horns, discharging a roaring, concentrated torrent of white-hot plasma.

Effect: Ignites targets with a permanent Mana-Drain Burn and melts physical armor up to Elite-Rank.

[SKILL 2: PHANTOM SHIFT]

Type: Active / Passive (Evasion-Counter)

Cooldown: 12 Seconds

Description: Dissolves Kaito’s physical mass into a weightless stream of pure photons during high-velocity movement.

Effect: Grants 3 seconds of absolute intangibility. Allows Kaito to phase through incoming physical/magical attacks and reform instantly in the target’s blind spot.

[SKILL 3: NOVA SYNERGY]

Type: Passive Link (Symbiotic Buff)

Range: Bound to Host

Description: Kaito acts as a living cosmic battery, synchronizing his liquid gold flame mane with the Host’s left-side flames.

Effect: Permanently amplifies the raw destructive power of Host’s.[IGNIFAX INFERNO] by 50%. Drastically reduces Host’s personal mana exhaustion during activation.

[NON-COMBAT / ANOMALY SKILLS]

[SKILL 4: FLASHBANG SNEEZE]

Type: Active (Uncontrolled Anomaly)

Trigger: Internal nasal irritation caused by floating mane-embers.

Description: Kaito unleashes an echoing, localized supernova flash via a violent sneeze reflex.

Effect: Inflicts 100% Blindness and Disorientation.on all entities within a 15-meter radius.

Warning from Nova Vesta: This skill is omnidirectional. It will blind the enemy, your teammates, and YOU. Use with extreme caution.

[SKILL 5: RADIANT NUZZLE]

Type: Passive (Affectionate Instinct)

Description: Residual squirrel behaviors cause the Sol-Aura Beast to press its muzzle or rest its flaming tail against the Host.

Effect: Radiates a perfectly regulated, comfortable 24°C thermal aura. Possesses zero combat value. Highly effective for drying damp clothes, surviving freezing climates, or perfectly roasting iron rations on the go.

"Oh wow... That’s a lot," Asher murmured, reading through the wall of glowing text.

He looked down at his newly evolved partner. Kaito let out a low, elegant sound, the white-gold embers at the tip of his tail flickering warmly.

"Hmm... I wonder what would have happened if I had found more of those plants," Asher said to himself, a dark, ambitious smirk spreading across his face at the thought.

"It’s like feeding you pure, unadulterated power."