Now Jar was a powerful sight: broad shoulders, sturdy limbs, a stocky build, and a huge belly. Just looking at his physique, he was in a completely different league from the other Grimalkynes.
If all the Grimalkynes in the Dragon Slayer Tribe had physiques like Jar's, they could reliably hunt some large monsters, from Earth Sand Dragons to Great Jagras. The pressure of simply surviving would be much lower, too.
Their ecological niche in the Great Sand Sea would rise accordingly. They'd at least make it into the middle tier.
But the change in Jar's body wasn't what Xingyan thought of first. Instead, he thought of his Kulu-Ya-Ku buddy. Had he finally figured out why his buddy had suddenly gotten smarter?
Jar recalled everything he'd done to that scale with perfect clarity. Xingyan had bestowed it upon him, and after carrying it home, Jar had been so excited that he couldn't resist taking a couple of bites. But he hadn't been able to chew through it.
The changes had only begun after Jar ground a little powder from the scale's edges and dissolved it in water. His teeth had gradually grown tougher and sharper. He knew he was damaging the gift from the Dragon Slayer Boss, but he just couldn't help himself.
He'd been hungry for it. He'd wanted to eat it. And he'd figured that if he only ground off a little powder from the edge, and did it discreetly, the other cats wouldn't notice—after all, it was a scale from the Dragon Slayer Boss! What Grimalkyne in the Dragon Slayer Tribe could resist something that belonged to the Dragon Slayer Boss?
A slippery slope!
His thoughts had started sliding downhill!
By the time Jar realized something was wrong, he'd accidentally bitten off a thinner, weaker spot along the