Where a human might have 10 points in defense as an arbitrary reference value, the natural shell of a low-level creature already started at 100 points or higher. It was a fundamental difference in starting point that made beasts so superior to unfused humans in direct combat.
A human punching a Stone Lurker would break their hand before cracking it. That was the reality of the gulf between mana born and non mana born species.
But their cooperation was mutually beneficial…
The % bonuses affected the beast too.
And upon fusing something new was born, when a human combined their essence with a beast the power base was lower, the multipliers applied to that new base. You get half the beast base but didn't just obtain the beast's skills and bonus benefits...
A human with 10 defense fusing with a beast with 100 defense didn't get 110 defense. They got something closer to 60, depending on compatibility and cultivation method.
