Chapter 168: To The Academy - 2 Chapter 168: To The Academy - 2 Brant began calmly, his fingers tapping lightly against the wooden armrest as he explained. "About roadblocks in beast ranking up—it simply occurs when a being evolves from one phase to another. Much like humans have childhood, teenage years, adulthood, and finally old age. Beasts follow a similar progression. From 1-star to Pseudo 3-star, a beast can be considered a child. From 3-star to Pseudo 6-star, it enters a teenage phase. At 7-star, it becomes an adult, and at 8-star, it reaches what could be called old age. Beyond that—9-star and 10-star—those stages are considered transcendence, as beings at that level begin to gain divinity." Leo nodded slowly, absorbing the explanation. Seeing that he understood, Brant continued. "So basically, when a beast reaches the peak of a phase—say, in your case, Pseudo 3-star, the childhood phase—it can no longer advance as smoothly as before. It can’t simply rank up like it always has. At that point, it requires external assistance. And that external assistance is what we call elemental crystals." "That means every phase requires elemental crystals?" Leo asked, brows knitting together. Brant shook his head. "No. That’s true only for the childhood phase. Other phases may require different things—sometimes along with elemental crystals. And keep in mind, the required amount also increases. A single crystal might not suffice. That’s true even for Pseudo 3-star." Leo nodded again, the weight of the information settling in. "Then how would I know what elemental crystals my beasts require?" Leo asked, already forming a guess. Brant paused for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly as he thought. "Hm... that day, I saw you had a panther and a wolf beast as well, right?" "Yes," Leo affirmed without hesitation. "These types of beasts are mostly physical-type," Brant said, nodding to himself. "I’m fairly certain they don’t possess elemental attacks. In that case, they would require attributeless elemental crystals. You’re lucky—attributeless crystals are the cheapest and the most abundant." Hearing that, Leo frowned slightly. "What if they had elemental attacks?" he asked. "Hm?" Brant tilted his head. "Then you’d need elemental crystals corresponding to every element your beast uses. Feed those to the beast, and then wait for it to advance." Leo froze. "Every crystal... of all elemental attacks?" he repeated blankly. Brant raised an eyebrow. "What? Do they have such attacks?" Leo recalled Shyra’s abilities. Without another word, he lifted the ox-horn dagger Lily had gifted him and demonstrated. "This..." he said, activating [Violet Hellbrand]. Violet flames burst forth, coating the dagger’s blade. The air shimmered with heat as the fire burned unnaturally, laced with a faint toxic haze. Brant’s brows rose in surprise. "That’s... fire and poison," he said after a moment. "That means you’ll need crystals of both those attributes as well." "May I ask how they’re priced?" Leo asked carefully. Brant nodded. "Outside the academy, common elemental crystals like water and fire usually go for one gold coin each. Special crystals—like poison—can reach three to four gold coins. Even five, in some cases." Leo grimaced. Fuck. He also had [Mist Shroud]—another special attribute. The realization hit hard, and he suddenly felt broke all over again. Shit, wait— "Professor," Leo said quickly, "what if there are some special beasts whose species name contains peculiar attributes... like the sun or the moon—but it doesn’t have any attacks related to them?" Brant was momentarily taken aback. "Sun and moon?" "Yes," Leo said, a trace of hope creeping into his voice. Brant thought for a moment, then nodded. "If it’s merely in the species name, but the beast hasn’t awakened any abilities related to those attributes, then normally it doesn’t need to utilise those crystals to rank up. So no—you won’t need them." He paused, then added with a grave tone. "And since you brought up sun and moon crystals, I should warn you—they’re rare. Extremely rare. Be prepared to pay a hefty price for them. Even fifty to a hundred gold coins would be considered cheap." He said this while observing Leo closely, guessing that one of his beasts might possess such a trait—yet he couldn’t place which. A Dryad, a Panther, a Colossus, and that Direwolf... where does sun or moon fit? Brant wondered. Hearing this, Leo let out a quiet sigh of relief. There was no way he could acquire even one sun or moon crystal—let alone multiple. After a short pause, Brant spoke again. "Well, if you ever face difficulties ranking up a beast, I suggest visiting an analyst within the academy. They’ll thoroughly examine the beast and provide a detailed report—what crystals you need, and at higher stages, what other materials might be required." Leo nodded. He was about to leave when another thought struck him. "How do wild beasts rank up then?" he asked. "If no one helps them?" Brant smiled faintly, as if he had been expecting the question. "Wild beasts possess inherent sensing abilities that guide them toward the elemental crystals they require. However, once tamed, most beasts lose this instinct. From that point onward, the responsibility falls entirely on the Master." Leo nodded again. "Anything else?" He thought for a moment, then asked, "What area do you teach, Professor? I saw you using wind and water earlier... is that your specialty?" Brant laughed softly. "It’s far too early for you to receive combat teachings from me. Even giving you a single pointer would be unfair to other new students like yourself. Have patience. Once you’ve acquired a basic understanding of the world, you’ll be free to attend any class that suits you." Then he added with a nod, "Yes, I am a wind and water combat trainer. If you end up walking that path, you’re free to approach me." After a brief pause, he added again, "Well, you can approach me if you encounter any difficulties." Leo nodded sincerely. His understanding of the world was still shallow—learning directly from a professor felt like skipping high school and jumping straight into college. "Now go," Brant said, waving him off. "We’ll be departing soon."