The days after Monfroy's estate settled into something John hadn't let himself have in a while. No raids. No masks. Just Monster Paradise, wide open and waiting.
Ythera's Verdant Ember Core pills went out on the third morning, one to every Monster and every Tamer who'd stabilized fully at peak Mythical-rank. Nobody rushed it. She insisted on that part specifically.
"Rushed breakthroughs crack," she said, laying the last tray out on the grass. "I'd rather you all take an extra day than spend the next century managing a hairline fracture in your own soul."
Nobody argued with her.
...
Alfred went first, the way he always did. Gold-red light bled up through his fur and settled into something deeper and darker, edged with the same starlight that had marked him since his Eldritch evolution.
[Alfred: Ruinmaw Tyrant of the Black Stars]
[Rank: Calamity, First Stage]
[Strength: 20,000 | Defense: 20,000 | Speed: 20,000]
[Calamity Core: 60,000 / 60,000]
