Infinite Potential System

"Your Companions? Like him? I think not!" the Azure Wyrm said, but his expression changed when a System notification appeared in front of all four Magical Beasts at the same time, the aura of a powerful being forcing them to avert their eyes for a moment.

They read the notification carefully, switching from surprise to disbelief to suspicion and eventually to hope as they realized the powerful being's offer wasn't simply an empty promise. The aura of the contract itself suggested that there were well-concealed lies and there wasn't any additional fine print.

All they had to do was serve William for the rest of their lives, and their previously stagnant condition could possibly be elevated to the next Realm in the future. For a Magical Beast at the peak of the World and just one step shy of Ascension, this was a huge opportunity!

They each readily accepted William's offer, being registered as Epic-Ranked Magical Beasts with SS-Rank Talent already, close to SSR-Rank. Since they had reached their current Realms without any help from William, this was a good method to save Potential Points.

"Do you have names?" William asked the four Magical Beasts, to which they each shook their heads. Names were something given, not earned, and none of them had been given any type of name other than those dastardly nicknames spoken by the humans.

"In that case..." William looked at the Juvenile Vermillion Pheonix first, since it was the first to consider treating William as an equal. According to the System, this Pheonix was female, so he chose a straightforward name that was easy to remember.

"I will name you Cyra, bright and vibrant like the Sun."

He looked at the Black Turtle Hatchling next, "You will be Kamei— like a god, but also like a turtle."

"What should I name you..." William stared at the Azure Wyrm that had given him the most trouble so far. "I could call you Trash, or Poop. Should I name you Disappointment?"

The Azure Wyrm looked down in shame, "I'm sorry for my previous actions, Master."

Since being thoroughly beaten by William's Magical Beast, the Azure Wyrm wasn't as arrogant as before. This was his first loss, but he would suffer many verbal losses to the Vermillion Pheonix if William named him something shameful.

William nodded, "In that case I will forgive you. Your name will be Me Long Boi, or Me Long for short."

The Azure Wyrm felt it sounded alright. "What does it mean, Master?"

"Your body is very long, like a snake, but you don't have wings. That's why I named you Long, which means "dragon" in a certain language."

"Me Long Boi... it sounds powerful."

William almost snorted in laughter, but he stopped himself and covered it with a cough. He looked at the White Tiger Cub next.

"And you will be Little Tiger. Because I think it sounds cute and you're so fluffy I couldn't help myself."

The White Tiger Cub snarled at William and thought about attacking him, but the restrictions from his contract erased any thoughts of aggression towards its Master. It nodded with a sullen look and sat down, seemingly upset with the name but its flapping tail suggested it was happy with being named regardless.

"So now that you all have names... Do you know about this person?" William pulled out the replica of Master Black once again for them to inspect.

The Juvenile Vermillion Pheonix nodded its head, "I first sensed him in my Domain a few decades ago, and now he passes through regularly multiple times a year. You will probably find him in the northern half of our territories."

The White Tiger Cub also spoke up, "I sensed him in my territory as well, five years ago. I saw him digging a tunnel and confronted him, but he disappeared into thin air and I lost track. I destroyed that tunnel, but I can show you where it is."

"Then I'll follow you, Little Tiger."

William sent Atticus off to have fun on his own, since his presence wasn't required anymore. Flame Dragon Uri had been exploring the Continent, so William wasn't entirely sure where the dragon was at the moment.

He followed the four peak Magical Beasts to the White Tiger Cub's territory, checking the System Panel while they traveled.

———

BEASTS:

-Uncommon: ( + )

-Epic: ( - )

--Uri (Flame Dragon): SS (25000PP to next rank)

--Little Tiger (White Tiger Cub): SS (25000PP to next rank)

--Cyra (Juvenile Vermillion Pheonix): SS (25000PP to next rank)

--Kamei (Black Turtle Hatchling): SS (25000PP to next rank)

--Me Long Boi (Azure Wyrm): SS (25000PP to next rank)

-Mythic: ( - )

--Atticus (Mythical Rat Snake): A (250000PP to next rank)

———

Even with the Uncommon Companion Beasts condensed, William's list of Companions was getting quite long. Not only that, but he wasn't sure how to allocate the four recent ones, since they already controlled their own territories.

"Say, Kamei. Are there any World Cores in your territory?" William asked, using the term World Cores since it was more familiar to others than "Veins".

"World Cores? There are some, why do you ask?" Kamei replied quickly.

"If one of them was absorbed, are you strong enough to handle the Beast Tides?"

The four Beasts instantly understood what was going on and became slightly fearful. Had they just contracted to a warmonger?

But the contract also forced them to remain honest, so the Black Turtle Hatchling could only respond truthfully, "There is a Beast Tide that appears every few months near the Superior Death Core, which was formed a long time ago because someone absorbed three Greater Death Cores.

Up until now, we've rotated responsibilities and managed to hold back the Beast Tide by ourselves, but we could probably manage even if there were 3 more Cores absorbed..."

William nodded, "Any more than that and you would be stretched too thin, I assume?"

"That's right, Master. Are you planning to absorb these Cores? I want to warn you that it's impossible to absorb a Superior Core, you'll die before you even get close. Even we would be helpless."

"Is it really that powerful?" William asked with a hint of surprise. He expected the Superior World Cores to spawn powerful enemies, but he didn't think it would be so unbelievable.

The Azure Wyrm spoke up this time, "I tried to absorb the Superior Death Vein once since it was already weakened, but I only barely entered the Superior Core's shell before my body was corroded all over. It took almost fifty years to recover, otherwise my Cultivation would be ahead of that stupid turtle."

"You say that, but you've never been serious about Cultivation. I Cultivate every day, but you're still slower because you get lazy. Such a shame with your talent." the Black Turtle Hatchling retorted.

William was starting to understand the situation with the Superior Cores. They were much like the Greater World Cores, which would have some sort of passive region around them that caused constant damage to anyone that came close.

Just like the Greater Fire Vein, which William had to boost his Heat Resistance Talent dramatically before even having the ability to touch the Fire Vein itself.

"I think I can absorb them on my own, but you're going to need some help first."