Monster Pet Evolution

"A Mountain… Mountain Spirit!" he screamed in abject terror.

Screaming his lungs out did little to alleviate the all-consuming despair he felt. He had heard of their existence, but he had never seen one up close until that point. The sheer presence of the Mountain Spirit exuded such gravity that looking up at it from the foot of the mountain made him feel like nothing more than a speck of dust.

"Let's go!" said the leader of the Monster Hunting Squad as he dragged his motionless squad member up to his feet. They quickly climbed on the familiar and flew away.

Maybe it was a fear of heights, but Stripey was moving abnormally slowly.

The earth trembled with every step the Mountain Spirit took.

Gao Peng squinted into the distance, motioning for Da Zi and the others to slow down. He saw a giant figure emerge from behind the mountain in front of them. It left a trail of devastation in its wake, slash marks gouged deep into the bark of the broken trees and fallen logs.

The giant figure was over 1,500 feet tall, and its body was as round as it was big. It was clad in layers of jet-black granite, like a suit of armor. Clouds of dark smoke billowed forth from the shell on its back and coalesced around its head, flashing intermittently with streaks of red. It had 36 spidery legs, each as tall as a skyscraper. Without much ado, it started moving in Gao Peng's direction at an alarming speed.

The Mountain Spirit's aura was simply overwhelming. Birds and beasts alike fled in a frenzy to get out of its path.

"Uhhhh—" The beast let out a long, plaintive cry that was heard by every living creature in a hundred mile radius.

"Gao Peng, we need to run now!" Da Zi clamped onto his sleeve and started dragging him away.

Goldie stood rooted to its spot, fists tightly balled up. Its muscles were swelling so quickly it almost ripped its outfit.

On the verge of tears, Silly grabbed large fistfuls of Gao Peng's hair in panic. "That thing is huge. We have to get out of here now!" Instead, Gao Peng grabbed him and turned him in the direction of the beast. "Tell me. What do you see?"

No response. Silly was as still as a corpse. Gao Peng turned him back around only to find out that Silly had passed out from fear. He couldn't help but exclaim in disgust. What a coward!

As he turned around to face the beast, he gasped in shock. Even though he already had an idea of what to expect, he still wasn't ready for what he was facing.

[Monster Name]: Disaster Mountain Spider

[Monster Tier]: 51 (Emperor Tier)

[Monster Grade]: Epic

[Monster Attribute]: Earth/Rock/Magma

[Monster Ability]: Giant Body Level 1, Earth Control Level 5, Magma Control Level 2, Harden Rock Level 3

[Special Characteristic]: Heart of Earth (Absorbs elemental energy from the earth, increases the power of Earth-affinity techniques.)

Passive Effect 1: Earth Control Level increases by a level.

Passive Effect 2: Earth Protection; as long as it's in contact with the ground, it can indefinitely absorb Earth elemental energy to form an impenetrable layer of granite armor. This ability is inextricably linked to its Earth Control ability.

Disaster Cloud (The earth is not its only source of power, nor is the magma flowing deep beneath the earth. Excess magma energy collected is released in the form of ash-gray smog through the holes on its back. This smog is known as the Disaster Cloud, and it surrounds its head like a crown.)

Passive Effect 1: These clouds have incredibly powerful magma energy and can absorb these energies indefinitely.

Active Effect 2: Disaster Cloud Mastery; an incredibly powerful attack that rains magma from the skies.

[Monster Weakness]: Impenetrable defense, impossibly large body; as long as it's in contact with the ground, it can raise its defensive power indefinitely. However, mobility is extremely poor, and it has to be in contact with the earth to maximize its battle potential.

[Monster Introduction]: An Earth Shield Spider that consumed the heart of an evolving Mountain Spirit King. It was lucky enough to merge and evolve with the Mountain Spirit King to evolve into an extremely rare Disaster Mountain Spider.

[Requirements for Legendary]: …

Stripey had really hit the jackpot. Even Gao Peng had to marvel at its luck.

Stripey was Epic now. It must have briefly become a Legendary in the process of evolving and gone back to Epic after hitting Emperor tier.

Unfortunately, that meant that Stripey couldn't travel with him like it used to. Stripey was basically a fortress now, only good for defending a particular location.

A whirlwind of emotions was sweeping through Gao Peng. He was overjoyed for Stripey, yet he was also wracked by an acute sense of loss.

"Stripey." Gao Peng spread his arms, a huge smile on his face. "Congratulations on making it back."

Stripey's enormous body drew closer and closer, uncomfortably so. Gao Peng looked a little nervous. To be hit by something of that size would be tragic. Even Goldie would be pulverized instantly.

All of a sudden, there Stripey was. It was as if a mountain had landed in front of them, blotting out the sky. The sheer amount of air its massive body displaced whipped up a violent gale that flattened every tree in the vicinity.

Head held high, Gao Peng walked up to Stripey with a small smile on his face. Without breaking eye contact once, he gently stroked the parts of its sandpaper-coarse granite exterior he could reach. It was warm to the touch.

"Good boy. You've grown so big now. You can't run around like you used to, you know?"

With a huge rumble, a crevasse opened up within the granite. In the inky depths of the crevasse, there was a single vermillion orb that radiated pulsating waves of immense wisdom and power. It was Stripey's eye.

"Master, I want to to hold you again..." Upon seeing Gao Peng, its mind instantly cleared. Its doubts, fears, and everything in between vanished into the wind.

All it felt was an immense affection for the man in front of him.

"But… I can't hold you like I used to," said Stripey wistfully. Its voice was a low, deep, rumble that seemed to echo and reverberate from the very depths of the mountain.

"You can talk now?" Gao Peng had to pick his jaw up off the floor.

Stripey wasn't communicating with him through their Blood Contract. Through some organ of its own, it had an honest-to-goodness voice now!

Gao Peng realized belatedly that this wasn't the time to focus on that.

The granite rocks on Stripey's exterior weren't uniform in size. There were large rocks and little rocks. Gao Peng picked a small, protruding rock off the surface and gently rolled it between his fingers.

"Why don't you go to the mountains behind the Southern Sky Group? Don't worry about anything else. You're my familiar, and I'll see to it that no one gives you trouble."

"Okay…" Slowly, Stripey blinked. It would go to the ends of the Earth for Gao Peng.

"Since you've absorbed the Mountain Spirit's essence, from now on, you shall be the Ruler of The Mountains."

"Ruler of The Mountains? Ruler, of, The, Mountains!" The Spider's mighty voice was carried by the wind deep into every nook and cranny of the surrounding mountains…