Alliance?

Huai Shi pretended not to understand and cocked his dog head. "Huh? Aren't we allies already?"

Jonathan chuckled. "That can only be called passersby from the same camp, right? When others are in trouble, would you really help them?"

"Of course, I would." Huai Shi blinked his innocent big eyes at him, as if talking about something utterly reasonable.

Anyway, boasting costs nothing; might as well boast first.

It was a seller's market now.

After studying under Raven for so long, if he wasn't too accomplished when it came to being heartless, then when it came to being thick-skinned, ahaha, he really didn't look down on others' levels.

He wasn't in a hurry.

After all, Jonathan was the one who was anxious.

He didn't mind teaming up with others, especially since Jonathan had a reliable background. But if he didn't take anything in return, wouldn't that mean Jonathan came for nothing?

In any case, Huai Shi wouldn't agree until he extorted something substantial from him today.

Jonathan, too, fell silent, his face filled with astonishment, not sure if he was shocked by Huai Shi's shamelessness or genuinely admiring such noble morals.

After a long time, he sighed. "Shah was right... you don't do anything unless there's profit in it."

"Oh my, we're all members of the Astronomical Society. What's this talk of money and benefits? At home, you rely on your parents; out in the world, you rely on your brothers. If you come to me for help, could I possibly be unwilling?"

After mentally making a note against a certain grandson named Shah, Huai Shi squeezed out an awkward smile, then immediately threw out another question. "But there should be many Explorers from the Astronomical Society in the city, right?"

He asked, "Why seek us out?"

"Uh..." Jonathan's expression suddenly became conflicted. "Ahem, that's a bit of a long story."

Huai Shi went with the flow and nodded. "Then how about we call it a day here and continue tomorrow?"

"..."

Jonathan's expression became even more aggrieved.

Kid, why aren't you playing by the rules?

Huai Shi blinked his sparkling big eyes as if he knew nothing, while his tail wagged triumphantly, waiting for Jonathan to speak.

He wasn't asking for much; he just wanted to tease him a bit.

These past few days, with his good brothers around, he couldn't utter any of his usual wisecracks, and it was quite frustrating.

Jonathan sighed and laid out the reasons one by one.

Actually, everyone has their circles.

Even in peace-loving communities like anime fandoms, people fight tooth and nail over a character, let alone in the academic world, right?

As a Scholar versed in both geology and geomagnetism, Jonathan's Ability could not be said to be low. Although a Scholar's Power wasn't much use here, his combat strength after Metamorphosis remained quite impressive.

He could be said to be a rare Talent.

But the problem was... there were always some people who would latch onto 'empiricism' and rant everywhere that geology wasn't science...

Facing such idiots, Jonathan would usually beat their brains out.

After doing this a couple of times, though he felt great, his reputation suffered.

Hmm, if this were a public institution, he would definitely be the most unpopular person in his department, always receiving the smallest share when bonuses were distributed.

Moreover, most of those who came in this time were Scholars in fields like biology and meteorology, with hardly any in geology, making it so he couldn't even find a group to huddle with for support.

Another reason was that an experimental project in the Underground World, on which he had poured immense effort, had failed.

Sometimes academia is that cruel; a law often takes decades or even a century to hypothesize, analyze, and establish before it can be applied and practiced. But negating it only takes a moment.

A small, unforeseen bug completely destroyed his geological model, causing all his previous hard work to go down the drain.

Unwilling to join others' research groups as an assistant, and not having the time to find a new research direction, he was left with nowhere to turn.

Just when he was in deep distress, he received a recommendation from his former teacher, Shah, for a task from Creator·Niflheim: go to the Country of Mist to find Fu Yi.

Looking after a kid? Back when he was doing his PhD in America, he even had to attend parent-teacher meetings for his supervisor. Besides, the young woman was quite pretty; it wasn't a raw deal...

Might as well make the best of his remaining usefulness.

However, Huai Shi's appearance reignited a glimmer of hope in him.

He decided to hang in there a bit longer and, incidentally, switch his research direction!

"You want to study the Divine Body?" Huai Shi widened his eyes in disbelief. "So many people just died, and you're still thinking of messing with something so dangerous?"

"Ahem, I'm not planning to steal it. I actually just want to collect some more research data. You see, before I chose to specialize in geology out of interest, Lady Mei and I were both students of Shah. I still remember some of the laws regarding the 'origin of life' and 'historical evolution'..."

Jonathan awkwardly rubbed his hands. "So I thought, since I've stumbled upon such a great subject, why not gather some data and laws, write a paper, and maybe even get my 'paleontology' certificate while I'm at it."

If he succeeded, he would be a triple Scholar!

Mastering geomagnetism, geology, and paleo-evolution would surely make future progression easier, wouldn't it?

But when he declared his intentions, what greeted him was not the astonishment and admiration he had anticipated, but rather two indifferent stares.

Huai Shi and Fu Yi exchanged a glance.

"I think we better just forget about it," said Fu Yi.

"I agree." Huai Shi nodded. "No academic ace is innocent!"

Feeling the malice from the academic underachievers, Jonathan immediately panicked. "Wait a minute, I'm actually very useful, and really strong..."

As Jonathan spoke, he waved a claw. The pile of iron materials Huai Shi had stacked in the corner was suddenly enveloped by an invisible magnetic force, abruptly condensing into a mass and floating in midair.

"See? I absolutely won't drag you down. If I exert my full strength, I can control a geomagnetic repulsion force of up to thousands of tons!"

"Wow, Universal Pull!" Huai Shi, cracking sunflower seeds, applauded. "Impressive, impressive... Awesome, awesome..."

Huai Shi kept praising him non-stop, with seemingly endless compliments, yet showed no sign of agreeing or relenting. He just looked at Jonathan with his large, basket-sized eyes, waiting for him to finish.

"...Alright, there is indeed a small drawback," Jonathan sighed, resigned. "I'm completely vulnerable when controlling magnetism, and if I overclock for too long, it can lead to shock from insufficient blood supply."

Once he said this, Huai Shi finally understood.

Oh great, he's looking for a tank.

"I don't care about the spoils of war or exploring during the Witches' Night. Any gains can be entirely yours. I just want to find a bodyguard to survive longer and collect more data for my papers."

"If it doesn't involve life-threatening situations, I'll assist you unconditionally. You just need to leave a survivor for me to finish off now and then, so I can accumulate Evolutionary Power..."

Jonathan sighed. He didn't want to waste time on this, to him, pointless negotiation. "This is my final offer, Mr. Huai. If you agree, I have additional information for you. If not, please say so now, and I can try to find someone else."

"Agree! Why wouldn't I agree?" Seeing he was about to get everything he wanted, Huai Shi immediately clapped his paws enthusiastically. "You see, I'm just a bit slow on the uptake. Don't be hasty, Brother Jo."

"It's Jonathan..." the Stone Lizard corrected helplessly.

"Same difference." Huai Shi enthusiastically extended a paw and shook Jonathan's. Regarding the Scholar's conditions, he lamented that they were all family, so why act like strangers!

After all, if he was taking one, he might as well take two. Might as well bring them both along!

"So, the information you mentioned..." Huai Shi licked his nose. "Is it impressive?"

"I'm not sure if it's impressive, but it could certainly be considered special." Jonathan heaved a sigh of relief, a clear weight lifted from his shoulders.

Finding a bodyguard these days isn't easy. The capable ones are often unreliable and might stab you in the back, while the honest, loyal ones often can't defend against open attacks or hidden schemes. A bodyguard like Huai Shi—exceptionally strong, with proven integrity, and only a bit mischievously cunning—is truly a rare find.

He had also been afraid Huai Shi might refuse.

As for the information, he was confident it was exclusive.

"This nation sustains itself with the blood of Giant Beasts," he began. "To be precise, all surviving nations do."

"What?" Huai Shi was taken aback.

"This is the true nature of the Endless War," Jonathan said. "A war to screen gods and survivors before Doomsday arrives."

Crystal Lizards are an offshoot mutation from Petrified Giant Lizards. As a gemstone-type Alien Species, they often possess special organs and abilities corresponding to their specific gemstones. The path Jonathan chose during his Metamorphosis was to become a Magnetic Crystal Lizard, a form closely aligned with his specialty.

However, something apparently went wrong during the Metamorphosis process, rendering his four legs useless and severely diminishing his mobility. In exchange, his innate Talent was greatly enhanced.

Now, he could not only detect faint changes in the planet's magnetic field but also read fragmented records from chaotic magnetic fields in areas rich with magnetic minerals.

This included... "Experimental records preserved from the previous epoch."

Jonathan said solemnly, "Before the Witches' Night, this experiment was conducted many times in the Abyss. The related laws and theorems became quite developed. The earliest Explorers weren't us, but various Abyss Hordes that strayed into it."

"Many of the genes and lineages of those Hordes have been passed down here, which explains why we see so many types of creatures here."

"But, without a doubt, Doomsday has struck many times before."

"So, epochs are separated by Doomsdays?" Huai Shi asked.

Jonathan nodded. "Furthermore, a rather sophisticated method for dealing with Doomsday has evolved here... what they call the Endless War."

"The gods they worship were themselves among the elite of the Giant Beasts! You should know this from the piece of Holy Remains on the altar, right?"

Jonathan's lizard face revealed a cold smile. "Do you know where the Sacred Oil burned by those monks comes from? It's Giant Beast Blood from creatures that have undergone seven or more Metamorphoses... This nation has persisted to this day by burning the Giant Beast Blood once buried underground, just like all the other nations."

"This isn't limited to this continent; it's likely the same on other landmasses and even in the Sea. Similar Endless Wars are probably underway across the entire realm!"

"What the heck?" Huai Shi, who had thought this place was the entire map, was stunned. "Are we in one of those progression fantasies where each volume introduces a new map?"