Chapter 186 - Coco's Evolution
[Ah…] Qin Hua slowly moved her paws, stepping one after another and circling her one and only precious follower.
She eyed the cat from top to bottom as there were several noticeable changes, with the cat's physical appearance now very different.
Her yellow-white colored fur had a blue sheen to it and a pair of branched horns similar to that of a deer were protruding from her head.
Her eyes had also become a lot bigger and cuter and, similar to her fur, they as well had a tinge of blue to them.
[Is this really Coco?]
Answering her rhetorical thought, a meowing sound came out but unexpectedly Qin Hua was able to understand what that meant.
[Yes, master!]
[Coco, you can talk to me?]
[Yes, master]
[Good girl.] Qin Hua tiredly smiled. This was good. They had gained a lot by entering this rift.
And it looked like just like her, Coco had also undergone some sort of evolution. They were even able to communicate now which was no doubt going to be very helpful.
But there was one thing that irked her… When she evolved, she had transformed into a fierce savage beast… However, Coco somehow became even more adorable that too with two horns protruding from her head!
What the hell was this bias?
Moreover…
[Hmmm? What is with this blue…]
As Qin Hua lazily looked around, her eyes fell on the water drake's corpse next to the cat, and suddenly a big realization dawned on her.
GASP!
[DON'T TELL ME! COCO, YOU LITTLE THIEF! DID YOU TAKE MY CORE???!]
Qin Hua immediately swung around to dig into the drake's dead body and clawed her way into the animal searching for her precious treasure.
And not long after a big mana core showed up near the drake's throat. Only then, she relaxed a little, turning to look at Coco once again. [Aha ha ha. My bad. You are not a thief]
Seeing the cat pout as she was wrongly accused, she quickly changed the topic. [Cough. Cough. Come here. Let me inspect you. Did you get some new skills?]
______________
Name: Chunky Coco
Species: Draconic Felis silvestris
Grade: Rare Beast
Title: The Lucky One
Level 21
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Health: 5000
Mana: 150
Strength: 100
Agility: 100
Stamina: 110
Intelligence: 160
Wisdom: 5
Luck: 1200
______________
Elemental affinity:
Light element affinity: Intermediate
Water element affinity: Intermediate
______________
Skills:
[Greater Heal], [Healing Aura], [Defense Shield], [Water Bubble], [Water Blast], [Healing Rain], [Follower's Experience Share: 50%]
______________
Qin Hua let out a deep breath as she read and re-read the various details. What she had doubted was indeed correct!
Coco had gained a water affinity but the drake's mana core wasn't consumed yet. Was it perhaps another innate ability awakened because of evolution?
She tried thinking about it but her head hurt. [Well, whatever. As long as you are fine! We can think about the other things later. Let's get home first.]
She was fully exhausted and felt like her body was going to break apart any time now. Besides, she didn't want any more surprises from this mysterious rift, so she wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.
[Oh! That reminds me. The rift crystal is still remaining! Woof!] She glanced at the collapsed rocks and the almost blocked cave tunnel.
After tossing the drake's corpse completely into her inventory without leaving behind a single broken scale, she then casually swung her paws around, breaking a path right through the gap in between the rocks and the debris.
The clear lake also looked destroyed and the small tunnel under the lake was blocked by more boulders. Qin Hua dove into the lake and then cleared the various hindrances one by one.
After a few minutes, the tunnel was once again accessible. [Please be inside.] She muttered inwardly and strolled inside when her gaze fell on the shining object at the end of the tunnel.
It was a small crystal, which was probably the size of her eyes and it was placed atop something like an altar.
[This much struggle all for this? Woof!] Qin Hua shook her head and swiped her paw to take the crystal.
Almost immediately multiple notifications chimed in.
[Ding. The crystal core of the rift has been obtained]
[Ding. Congratulations. Unique quest has been successfully completed]
[Ding. 50000 experience points and 10 skill points have been rewarded]
[Ding. You have leveled up]
Qin Hua eyed everything contently and had a big grin plastered on her face. However, as she read the last notification, her face scrunched up a bit. [Shouldn't I have leveled up twice?]
She then eyed the cat who was completely in her own world playing with a rock. [Sigh. I almost forgot about this leech.]
Her disappointment quickly changed as she remembered something.
[Ha Ha Ha. Playing happily? Ha ha. You just wait, you lazy girl. Now that you can fight, I am going to put you to work and get back all these experience points.]
[Meow. Master?]
As the two of them exchanged glances, unexpectedly, the space around them started warping.
Qin Hua felt an enormous pressure on her body and mind and before she could comprehend what was happening, she found herself in a dense forest.
The cat was also next to her looking back at her with a similar confusion in its eyes.
[Coco, are you alright?]
[Yes, master.]
Qin Hua's eyes darted here and there searching for any signs of the rift gate, but nothing was visible any longer. She also could not sniff the dense thick aroma associated with it.
[I guess we are out then?]
She rolled around the ground tiredly and let out a loud howl, after which the two of them ran back to the hospital zone, one dragging her body while the other happily chasing leaves and twigs.
When they neared the familiar place, Qin Hua let out another howl and then simply collapsed on the ground, not wanting to move any longer.
And the very next second, Lu Chen walked over to her. "You guys are back?"
The cat nodded her head up and down and Lu Chen's eyes widened on seeing the various changes.
If the beast had come back without Qin Hua, he wouldn't even have believed that this was still Coco, but now he couldn't think of any other possibility.
"What were you guys even up to?" He scratched his head with a warm smile and then bent down to check on the black wolf for any injuries.
He carefully ran his hand over, treating the beast with the utmost care and concern. He sighed in relief as there were no visible injuries. "She must be tired."
He somehow managed to pick up the huge and heavy wolf and brought her back to the underground tunnels, placing her gently next to a mana vein.
The cat as well trotted happily behind him. She didn't leave Qin Hua at all and laid down next to her, falling asleep within seconds.
Lu Chen chuckled at the sight of the two beasts and then left the room, allowing them to recover peacefully.
He couldn't see it, but Qin Hua's body which was previously not absorbing much of the mana vein was now greedily sucking in the dense thick mana from the ore.
The mana core inside her body churned and rotated actively. There was even a pitch black aura around her body with sparks of lightning coming out every now and then.
Qin Hua ended up resting for the entire day and night. By then, Alex and the first group returned back and Lu Chen and the second group went out hunting.
Before leaving Lu Chen explained and showed Coco's new appearance to Xu Meilin so that she wouldn't get scared.
However, no one gave him the reaction he was expecting.
Both Alex and Xu Meilin looked at the cat with twinkles in their eyes as the cat was even more cute and adorable than before and looked like a magical fairy cat.
They started petting her and touching her horns and even rubbed her soft fur on their faces. Coco flashed her eyes open in a panic and dashed out of their hands, hiding behind Qin Hua's fierce figure.
And just like that, the two women who were harassing her no longer dared to come close to her.
"Coco, good girl. Come here. Come here kitty." Xu Meilin even tried calling her back cutely, but the cat shook her head, unwilling to budge.
Qin Hua lazily lifted her one eye up and saw this new additional change. It looked like with higher wisdom, Coco's behavior was also changing.
Considering that the cat was still absolutely loyal to her, she didn't mind it. [You don't want to play with them?] She growled.
[No, master.]
[Alright then.] Qin Hua flashed her eyes open, looking directly at both Alex and Xu Meilin. She then gave them another angry growl, which instantly made the two run away.
[Heh. See how powerful your master is! Hmph!] She grinned contently.
And the cat nodded her head up and down vigorously with big worshipping eyes.
[Master is awesome! Meow…]
Unfortunately, Qin Hua did not realize just how much she was going to regret these actions in the future.
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