King of Beasts

Chapter 16: Fang Lans Message

Damn!

Seeing Fang Lan’s message, Lu Ran couldn’t help but clench his phone, immediately worrying about her situation.

How could this be? She was chosen right after me?

Although Xiaobailong mentioned that black cards are descending en masse, this coincidence seemed too uncanny.

Has she already formed a contract with a pet beast?

Lu Ran quickly scrolled down, eager to find out whether Fang Lan had followed the black card’s guidance to become a beastmaster.

Even though he and General Ha had a blast in the novice secret realm, and he kind of wanted to stay a few more days, for ordinary people, that place was still very dangerous.

Fang Lan: Hey hey hey, this is really happening, pick up your phone, where have you died off to again?

Fang Lan: Should I follow its guidance to become a beastmaster? It feels risky, but… it seems so intriguing, I don’t want to give up this chance, what should I do?

Fang Lan: Damn it, I’ve decided, I’m going to try, I can hardly hold back anymore.

Lu Ran: ?????

Don’t try it! Wanting to try everything will only hurt you!

Can’t you think it over for a bit longer? Who makes such a quick decision.

Fang Lan: I’m back home, I plan to form a contract with my beloved treasure. It seems making a contract with a large dog might be better, but I still want to give it this ‘evolution’ opportunity!

Beloved treasure…

Lu Ran remembered, that was a spider, Fang Lan’s favorite spider.

The breed was the “Daxia wolf spider,” common in many regions of Xia Country, and a very ordinary kind of spider.

They were bulky, agile, and ferocious predators, known in some places as “ground heroes,” important natural enemies of various agricultural and forestry pests like scarabs and moths.

But the reason Fang Lan particularly adored her Daxia wolf spider was because it was… a rare, abnormally colored Daxia wolf spider.

The common Daxia wolf spider was a dusty gray, while hers was a blue-purple hue.

Still, is forming a contract with a spider truly okay…

Even though Xiaobailong said that Infinite City has its own consciousness and would arrange an appropriate trial secret realm based on the initial pet beast chosen by the newcomer, Lu Ran remained concerned.

This one’s as impulsive as me.

Guess that’s just how siblings are, even without any blood relation!

He continued to scroll through the messages.

Fang Lan: !!!

Fang Lan: It’s so magical (astonished face), I’ve completed the contract, and it’s become so cool, it’s almost as big as your General Ha now!!!

Fang Lan: [Image]

Lu Ran stared at the picture sent by Fang Lan, showing a medium-sized dog-like blue-purple Daxia wolf spider, momentarily stunned.

Wait, can a spider that small really get that big after awakening supernatural powers?

Fang Lan: It’s so strong, its poison has become much more potent, the toughness of its silk has increased dramatically, and even the silk it spits out can be poisonous now. I tested the poison, and it seems like it could knock out an adult instantly…

Lu Ran: ????

Wait, why does your pet beast inherently have poison-type abilities?!

Ah, the Daxia wolf spider naturally has poison? Then that’s fine.

Damn, those who form a contract with electric eels must have their own lightning power.

Fang Lan: I’ve got ten minutes before I teleport away, not sure if Xiaolan and I will be okay, but it should be fine… It said it would protect me well.

Fang Lan: Lu Ran!!! I didn’t tell my parents about this, just texted them saying I’m staying at my bestie’s house tonight. When you see this message, don’t go blabbing to them, wait for me to return. If I don’t come back, please take care of mom and dad.

I…

Lu Ran’s head ached reading Fang Lan’s messages. Fang Lan had always been bolder than him, even wilder in personality, daring to catch spiders and snakes with her bare hands in elementary school. It was no surprise she was excited about something like this.

Lu Ran quickly tried to call Fang Lan…

No answer…

It seems she’s still in the secret realm or Infinite City, not yet returned.

“She should be fine.”

Lu Ran had indeed considered the possibility that if black cards were descending in large numbers, people he knew might be chosen one day.

But he didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

Fang Lan did one thing better than him.

Before heading into danger, she left a message for someone she knew.

His own preparations were not quite enough…

He’d learn from this. If he entered Infinite City again, he’d leave a message in advance to avoid any trouble…

“After the full term starts, the time to enter Infinite City will undoubtedly be greatly reduced, and taking a leave of absence for it might be difficult.”

“I can’t let my studies interfere with beast taming.”

“Right now, I can skip holiday makeup classes, but once the term begins, I won’t be able to take leaves like this. Forget it, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Xiaobailong said he can take care of these things, I’ll ask him about it later.”

Lu Ran tried calling Fang Lan again, but still no one answered.

He slumped onto the couch, his head growing heavier, but Lu Ran was certain that Fang Lan was fine. If he didn’t possess the talent for telepathy, Lu Ran had to admit that when it came to interacting with animals and sensitivity to the wild, he was no match for Fang Lan. Worrying wouldn’t help, so he decided to wait.

…

Meanwhile.

Infinite City No.3.

A tall figure stepped out of a private room, excitedly gazing at the mysterious starry sky.

“What the heck, it was just a novice trial, so simple, but how did we only get a B rating after performing so well?”

“Never mind, let’s first see what this place is all about.”

Fang Lan looked around and quickly noticed another figure emerging from a private room nearby.

Seeing this figure, she hurried over.

“Um… hello!”

“Are you a newcomer?”

The figure was dressed in a black T-shirt and brown shorts, draped in a white lab coat, her long, beautiful legs encased in black tights, her cool demeanor immediately made Fang Lan stop in her tracks.

“Uh…” Fang Lan stared at the woman, captivated by her beauty… but she was so aloof.

Hmm? Fang Lan took a closer look at the woman and suddenly remembered something.

“Are you… Dr. Gu?!” Fang Lan exclaimed with surprise.

“Do you know me?” the woman in the lab coat responded, taken aback.

“My name is Fang Lan, I’m a freshman at Shanghai University in the animal medicine major this year, I’ve seen your interviews, Dr. Gu.”

The woman in the lab coat was even more surprised, not expecting that a random newcomer she met would turn out to be her junior.

Her cool expression melted into a faint smile as she said, “I see, nice to meet you. I am indeed Gu Qingyi. Since you’re a junior, just call me Senior Gu.”

“It seems you have many questions right now, and I have some time. Let me help clarify them for you.”

“Great! Thank you, Senior Gu!” Fang Lan instantly became a fan, because she knew how remarkable the person in front of her was in the academic field.

So young, yet a double doctorate in animal medicine and animal science!

Could it be… she too has been chosen as a Beast Tamer?

…

Green Sea City, Starlight Community.

While waiting for Fang Lan, Lu Ran had intended to summon General Ha and help with his awakening attribute, but he felt that General Ha seemed to be asleep in the black card space.

“Heh, even you get tired, dog.”

He gave up on the idea of summoning General Ha for an immediate attribute awakening. Indeed, not only had he been tired all day, but General Ha had been fighting all day and was even more exhausted. Although injuries could heal, the fatigue of the body, spirit, and mind could not be easily restored.

He himself had drunk Vitality Tea, while General Ha only ate some fruit… so he decided to let it sleep a bit longer.

Lu Ran also planned to take this time to review the Basic Beast Taming Handbook he bought from the cat-eared intelligence dealer, so he could play the part of a big shot when Fang Lan returned.

The handbook wasn’t very expensive; the dealer only asked for 100 crystal coins, probably because it was common knowledge. After all, according to Xiaobailong, such basic information is usually provided for free by the official guilds.

However, Little Ling emphasized that their basic intelligence contained small pieces of knowledge and tips that others did not record, assuring Lu Ran that he wouldn’t regret the purchase.

Lu Ran materialized the handbook he bought and flipped to the first page.

The first page was a simple introduction to Beast Tamers.

Beast Tamers are those whose occupation involves the contracting, nurturing, and commanding of pet beasts!

The strength of a combat Beastmaster, in particular, is roughly composed of two parts.

One is the combat power of the pet beast, and the other comes from the Beast Tamer’s own beast taming skills!

The basic combat power of a pet beast is determined by both the pet beast’s growth level and species level…

Lu Ran began to search for important information.

“The level of a pet beast is the numeric level seen by the eye of data, with level 1 being the lowest and the highest level currently unknown. But, as Xiaobailong mentioned, every 10 levels, a pet beast hits a bottleneck and can’t level up any further.”

“Similarly, beastmasters are categorized as apprentices, level 1, level 2, and so on, corresponding to the pet beast levels from 1 to 10, 11 to 20, 21 to 30. To increase their own level, beastmasters must help their pet beasts break through their bottlenecks, which is achieved by passing through the breakthrough secret realm of the corresponding level.”

“Passing through the appropriate level of the breakthrough secret realm just once benefits all pet beasts…”

“It seems that the breakthrough secret realm is an unavoidable checkpoint…” Lu Ran pondered.

He continued to seek out key information.

“A beastmaster without beast taming skills cannot be considered a qualified beastmaster.”

“There are many types of beast taming skills, broadly divided into those that consume the beastmaster’s power to enhance the pet beast, and those that utilize the pet beast’s power to enhance the beastmaster himself. Hence, two schools of beast taming have developed…”

“The source of beast taming skills is the rewards from secret realms, with each secret realm dropping different items. Some special secret realms have a 1% chance to award a beast taming skill card at S rank… so obtaining a beast taming skill card is extremely difficult.”

Damn, Lu Ran was startled upon reading this and couldn’t help feeling fortunate that although he only achieved an S rank in the novice secret realm, he was incredibly lucky to have obtained a beast taming skill card.

That’s a relief.

Of course, it might also be related to the reward critical hit mechanism of the novice secret realm. As Xiaobailong explained, the rewards from the novice secret realm are far more generous than those of an ordinary secret realm of the same level, serving as a benefit for newcomers, including the experience gained from killing monsters.

Super beast mimicry… this skill probably belongs to the latter school, where the beastmaster is enhanced through the power of the pet beast!

“A beastmaster can only learn one beast taming skill per level stage, so in a situation where there’s a choice, it’s best to select the skill that complements one’s beast taming well.”

“That means… I can only learn a new skill once I reach level 1 beastmaster.”

Lu Ran continued to read on.

“Theoretically, there is no rarity level for beast taming skills; the effect they produce depends entirely on the beastmaster’s own development of the skill. There are no useless beast taming skills, only incapable beastmasters… a rather familiar saying.”

This point was specifically bolded in the handbook, making Lu Ran take careful note of it. Beast taming skills are not just about their surface effects… a beastmaster can further develop them!

A thought crossed Lu Ran’s mind, aligning with his expectations. Shortly after obtaining super beast mimicry, he had already considered improving this beast taming skill… He continued to scan for more critical information.

For instance, the species level of pet beasts is divided into supernatural species, commander species, sovereign species… and within each species, there are lower, middle, and upper levels…

Then there are the basic effects of different attributes and their relationships of restraint.

Of course, all these are quite simple, but what Lu Ran valued most was a page in the handbook dedicated to the theory of cultivation direction!

This was, in fact, the most important page in the handbook!

A pet beast’s skills need to be developed by the beast under the guidance of the beastmaster. Depending on the method of cultivation, each pet beast can be unique.

However, due to the limitations in a pet beast’s energy and learning abilities, the direction of skill development for a pet beast can generally be categorized into four main types!