"Rave, what do you think about man's friendship with a monster? Is something like that possible?

" Asked Evan. He was curious to know if there were people in this world who had fought alongside monsters.

"Hmm, friendship with monsters? You ask some pretty controversial questions. Most people are disgusted to even think about it, but that's a lot of those who belong to light organizations. In fact, it is possible to be friends with monsters. I know a few of those people myself, but it isn't easy.

"

Evan didn't interrupt, he was curious to know more about it. Perhaps this way, he would learn more about his alliance with Reykar.

"There are exactly the same rules at work here as in taming monsters, but the chances of success are much less. For one thing, monsters, unlike beasts, won't want to do this kind of duel, they value strength, but you have to prove it in some other way. But, even then, most monsters will fight until they die, they won't obey you. You have to get into a special situation in which you each prove yourselves worthy of each othe.. Only then can you have an alliance. I tried, but it didn't work. Luck is very important in this matter

". Rave explained in detail and adjusted his glasses.

"I see.

" Mumbled Evan.

They spent the rest of the journey in silence. Evan admired the scenery, and Rave pondered what experiment he would do next. He had also prepared a lot of questions for Evan.

...

After a while, Evan saw an abandoned castle in the distance. It was pretty large and very old. Most of it was dilapidated, there were a lot of cobwebs on the walls, and some parts of the castle were sprouting strange vines. This castle looked very gloomy and creepy. It seemed as if ghosts and ancient monsters lived in this castle.

This castle was one of the bases of the Demonic Tree. Very few people know about this place because it was located among snow-covered mountains and outwardly no different from the forgotten building. No one would have thought that people could live here.

There weren't many people in this place. Only those who were allowed by Rave or the head of Demonic Tree himself were in this Demonic Tree base. Rave practically personally owned this castle. It was the place where he conducted his experiments, as well as his people.

"Rave, what kind of experiments do you do?

" Asked Evan looking at the snow-covered castle.

"At the moment, I'm trying to force monsters to evolve. There's hardly any success so far, but it's a complicated and time-consuming process. It takes ingredients and much time, just like all experiments.

" Rave said calmly.

Evan thought.

"Rave, do you experiment only with monsters or with beasts too?

" Asked Evan.

"Beasts are different, their evolutions happen naturally, it's not interesting. The reason I can't make monsters evolve is that their evolution is like some chaos. It's impossible to control, and monsters, unlike beasts, can evolve into something completely new and different. I think monsters are more interesting and promising creatures in this respect. Okay, the lecture's over, we're here.

" Rave replied.

The Ice Wyvern landed in the castle grounds. It was a special place designed specifically for this beast. It was a massive ice chamber filled with various crystals. Rave spent a lot of money and effort to make this place comfortable for Ice Wyvern. But, these conditions helped the Ice Wyvern progress faster.

"Follow me.

" Said Rave and headed inside the castle.

As soon as they walked a few yards, a man with short black hair and gray eyes came out to meet them. He was dressed in a long black robe, it almost completely covered his body, leaving only his face visible. Under his eyes were big bags, he had clearly not slept in days.

"Oh, Rave, hello.

" The man said quietly and headed toward one of the towers in the castle.

Rave only nodded and moved on.

Joan Peris

Race - Mage

Stage - Three-Pointed Star, with two flames

Warp - White

Thought Evan.

He did not expect that a man who looked like an ordinary worker could be as strong as the head of the Academy of Mages. What's more, Joan wasn't even surprised by Evan's presence, it was a little strange.

"I thought only members of Demonic Tree were in this castle.

" Said Evan.

"They are, Joan doesn't always wear the red robe with the black tree on it. I think he's been experimenting with his plants these past few days and drank ten liters of coffee. He's one of the strongest members of the Demonic Tree.

" Said Rave.

On their way to Rave's office, they met several other members of the Demonic Tree. Each of them was something significantly different from the other. Some were cheerful, some were quiet, some were sad. One of them was even running away from a plant that had suddenly grown legs.

This castle was like some kind of madness, and yet the chaos here was quite controllable. The main laboratories and most of the base were underground; there was nothing of interest upstairs.

...

Rave's office was just one of the rooms in his lab. There were many different documents, potions, plants, monster parts, and so on. These were the items Rave needed right now. Rave's lab was huge, with over ten rooms, each very spacious.

Walking past one room, Evan saw a rank two chained monster. Moreover, several human remains were lying next to this monster. Rave and the other members of the Demonic Tree could go to any lengths to conduct their experiments.

Rave sat down in a leather chair and said,

"Evan, your situation is really unique. I believe that the grimoire you found may be one of the things our organization is looking for.

"