Compared to his previous attempts, this process was much faster.
The strands of golden energy, fine and threadlike, stretched toward the egg's core one after another.
Each one attached cleanly, none drifting off course. The precision was almost mechanical, leaving no room for error.
Liam observed quietly, taking note of the egg's reaction.
Judging by the density and flow of energy, this creature was a second-grade species.
He didn't necessarily need one right now, but he had no reason to reject it either.
The stronger his options, the better.
In fact, the thought made him smile faintly.
If his guess was right, as he continued to unlock higher permission levels, there might come a time when he could use the abilities of more than one creature at once.
It was only a hunch, but it was a possibility worth preparing for.
The process continued without interruption.
For half an hour, Liam focused on nothing else, maintaining the steady flow of energy until the egg's core was completely enveloped.
The last strand sank into place, sealing it with a soft glow.
The room fell silent for a brief moment.
Then a voice rang out, calm and mechanical:
[A new species has been detected.]
[The database has been updated. Second grade peak, Fiery Blue Mantle Whale.]
"A whale?" Liam muttered, his brows lifting. He immediately summoned his panel, the translucent interface appearing in front of him.
A new entry flashed at the top.
Fiery Blue Mantle Whale.
Growth Limit: Semi-step, Golden Core [Entry]
Rarity: 0.2
Lifespan: 1,000 years
Special Skills: Body Impact, Fiery Breath, Blue Halo
Liam's eyes lingered on the panel, widening slightly.
The stats were impressive, more than impressive. This wasn't just a decent addition to his collection, this was a powerhouse.
A memory surfaced.
Without wasting time, he gestured toward one of the puppets nearby.
It moved, retrieving a thick leather-bound book from the house and placing it in his hands.
He flipped through the pages quickly, skimming illustrations until his fingers paused on one particular image.
There it was.
A massive whale floated in the air on the page, drawn with careful strokes.
Its body was immense, casting a shadow across a painted sky.
Dozens of eyes were etched along its head and sides, gleaming like polished gemstones.
Its metallic-looking gills shone under the sun, sharp and ridged, giving it a regal yet dangerous appearance.
And around its neck, or what could be considered its neck, was a cloak-like halo of blue fire.
The flames seemed alive even in the picture, curling and twisting as if the artist had captured their motion.
The fiery mantle stretched down its length, trailing behind as though marking its passage through the air.
Liam's expression turned serious as he traced the outline of the illustration with his thumb.
"This is the one," he murmured.
Then he began to read.
Once fully grown, this creature possessed the strength to fight an entry-realm Golden Core monk of the human race.
Even as a semi-step being, its power was enough to terrify human experts.
It was classified as a devil, not only for its strength but for its appetite.
Records spoke of it descending on human cities, sucking people straight into the air and into its waiting mouth, devouring entire populations within hours.
"Powerful enough to contend against an early-stage Golden Core monk," Liam muttered, scanning the record again. "And capable of escaping a middle-stage one without much trouble."
His lips curled slightly. "Perfect."
This time, Liam did not need to enter the divine mind's space to see the creature.
His eyes glowed faintly, his vision piercing into a strange dark pocket of space, another minor feature he uncovered before.
The surroundings fell away until there was nothing but a void lit by four glowing orbs, each one floating slowly, radiating a faint light that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Liam immediately recognized the first three.
The wolf, the boar, and the eagle. His contracted beasts, the ones he had seen many times before.
Their light was steady.
But his eyes locked on the fourth.
A purple orb burned brighter than the others, casting a soft glow that spread across the darkness.
He felt the pressure it emitted even from where he sat.
Then the image formed.
A massive whale appeared within the darkness, its body easily one hundred meters long.
Its skin shimmered in deep purple hues, and its surface was covered in clusters of eyes, dozens of them, glinting like cold gemstones.
They blinked slowly, unhurried, as though time itself was moving at the whale's pace.
Along its sides were gills that stretched into curved slits, giving it the appearance of a permanent, eerie smile.
Around its body, a faint burning halo drifted, its glow pulsating in rhythm.
As if sensing Liam's gaze, the whale moved.
Its enormous head turned toward him, the motion slow.
The space trembled, and a deep vibration rolled through the dark void, not deafening but heavy, like distant thunder shaking the ground.
The sound carried meaning.
Liam understood immediately.
"Thank you for saving me from death."
The words did not come from its mouth but were simply understood, resonating in his mind.
He nodded slightly, though there was no one to see the gesture. The whale was right.
Without his intervention, without proper care, the egg it had been sleeping in would have decayed and died. Its life would have been wasted before it had even begun.
Another thing.
Most monks did not purchase beast eggs for the sake of raising the creatures inside.
Beast eggs were valuable commodities, prized not for the life within them but for the energy they contained.
When refined properly, the essence could be used in pill-making, enhancing medicinal efficacy several times, or even used in weapon refining to strengthen a weapon's durability or add unique properties.
Liam knew very little about such practices.
The details of how the energy was extracted or refined were not something he had studied deeply.
All he knew was the general truth: most eggs were not meant to hatch. They were cracked open, their contents consumed for cultivation and craft.
The fact that he had chosen to hatch this one instead was what allowed the creature to live.
The purple whale blinked again, its many eyes shimmering in unison.
The halo around it flared for a brief moment, bright enough to push back the darkness in the surrounding space before slowly dimming again.
Liam could feel its acknowledgment. Its bond with him seemed to strengthen, a faint thread forming between them, connecting them more firmly than before.
He drew back his gaze from the pocket space, letting his glowing eyes return to normal.
The information he had read still lingered in his thoughts. A creature that could fight an early-stage Golden Core monk, escape from a middle-stage one.
It was not just perfect.
It was exactly what he needed for the next performance.