Inside the bustling hall of the Beast Master Guild, a long queue formed as people clamored to purchase materials from Charles’s spectral wolf.
The materials were in short supply, and the demand was high. Those at the end of the line, realizing they had no chance to make a purchase, shamelessly rushed to the front to cut in line.
The hall quickly descended into chaos.
Seated comfortably in the VIP section, Charles stretched leisurely as his phone vibrated continuously.
[Dear customer, your account ending in 9527 has received 2700 copper coins. Current balance: 0 gold coins, 3 silver coins, 100 copper coins.]
[Dear customer, your account ending in 9527 has received 1800 copper coins. Current balance: 0 gold coins, 4 silver coins, 900 copper coins.]
[…]
In less than half an hour, Charles sold the spectral wolf’s beast core for a high price of 3000 copper coins. After the Beast Master Guild took their 10% cut, he pocketed 2700 copper coins.
Seeing the money roll in, a broad smile spread across Charles’s face.
However, selling materials took some time, so Charles didn’t plan to stay much longer; he needed to select a suitable set of equipment. freewёbnoνel.com
As he was about to leave the hall, someone tapped him on the shoulder. “Isn’t that Charles? What a coincidence seeing you here at the Beast Master Guild!”
Charles turned around to face a pale, rail-thin young man.
Upon recollection, Charles remembered his name was Robert, a former classmate who had frequently troubled him in high school, leveraging his family’s influence. Not a pleasant character.
Robert’s eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Charles’s guild emblem. “You’ve become a Beast Master too? That’s truly eye-opening. I just contracted a top-tier pet yesterday. Let me broaden your horizons!”
With a smug smile, Robert snapped his fingers. A six-pointed star array materialized in front of him, and a white tiger stepped out from it.
Charles stared in recognition—it was the four-winged tiger he had dismissed just days before.
—— [The Four-Winged Tiger] ——
[Attribute: ] Wind
[Level: ] 1
[Quality: ] Black Iron
[Skills: ] None
[Mood: ] Fearful
[Health:] Good
[Evolution: ] None
[Description]: This is a four-winged tiger that looks majestic and has astounding combat potential.
However, it is actually a coward. If you unfortunately make a pact with it, and encounter a battle, it’s likely to abandon you and flee.
Seeing the smile on Robert’s face, Charles realized that he was just here to show off… But Robert was mistaking garbage for treasure!
“Robert, are we close friends? Stop brown-nosing!” Charles gave no quarter, brushing Robert’s hand off his shoulder with a sharp motion.
In his eyes, Robert was as good as dead to him.
Heading into the ferocious beast mountains wasn’t a child’s play. With the pathetic attributes of the four-winged tiger, it likely wouldn’t survive the first night.
“sigh…”
Sensing Charles’s disdain for Robert, the usually docile Max suddenly lunged in front of the four-winged tiger, ready to fight.
The four-winged tiger, bold on the outside but timid at heart, was immediately scared witless, hiding behind Robert and trembling with fear…
The tiger’s urine had a pungent smell that quickly spread, causing the people around to cover their noses and dodge amidst laughter.
A creature over three meters tall was frightened into wetting itself by Charles’s frost wolf. Robert’s face twitched in embarrassment. “Ah… about that, it had a stomach issue yesterday and isn’t feeling well! I need to go and buy some spectral wolf meat, so I’ll catch up with you later!”
Recalling his pet, Robert swiftly darted into the nearby crowd, then shot Charles a vicious glare. “Enjoy your few days of pride! Too poor to even feed yourself, and you think you can afford a Beast Mastery?”
“Ferocious beast meat can boost a pet’s strength. I’ll feed my four-winged tiger dozens of pounds, and soon it will easily overpower your pathetic frost wolf!”
Bang!
Robert hadn’t even finished his rant when someone kicked him out, sending him crashing to the ground.
A man raised his fist angrily, “Young and already picking up bad habits, cutting in line? You want spectral wolf meat too? Get to the back!”
Robert scrambled up, his jaw nearly dropping at the sight of the long, twisting line—he’d driven straight here after seeing online that spectral wolf meat was for sale. How could there be so many people already?
…
After leaving the Beast Master Guild, Charles decided to check out some equipment on the next street.
From a distance, he heard a loud hawking voice:
“This spear, forged from the finest black iron, can pierce through anything in the world! Only 500 copper coins!”
Charles looked over to see a crowded equipment shop. A middle-aged man with a bushy beard was energetically pitching his wares:
“And this mystic crystal armor, the breastplate made from a single piece of mystic crystal turtle shell—utterly indestructible. Not just ordinary weapons, even ferocious beasts can’t scratch you! And it’s only for one silver coin! Don’t miss out!”
Charles chuckled, “What if I used your indestructible spear to pierce your indestructible mystic crystal armor, would it go through?”
“Ah… that… that…” The bearded man was momentarily stumped, “Young man, are you trying to pull my leg?”
“Ha, no sir, that’s not it. I’m heading into the ferocious beast mountains for training next week and came to see if you have any suitable equipment. Don’t try to fob me off with cheap goods; I need real protection against ferocious beast attacks.”
“Training next week… You’re a new Beast Master, right? Follow me!” The bearded man motioned to a shop assistant to take over the sales pitch and then led Charles upstairs.
Charles casually glanced at the surrounding weapons and armor, and the system quickly popped up notifications.
[Hexaragram Spear [Tone Reproduction]:[ A conventional weapon, forged from six rare alloys. Average market price: 3 silver coins.
[Sharktooth Sword [Tone Reproduction]:[ The blade features a serrated edge resembling a shark’s mouth, designed to slice through the hide of lower-defense ferocious beasts. Average market price: 5 silver coins.
[Chrono-Emperor [White]:[ Crafted from the hide of a carrion queen ant, not only is it durable, but it also resists low-level poison attacks. Average market price: 10 silver coins.
…
Similar to the alchemy lab’s production of miracle drugs, all weapons and armor are ranked by rarity in ascending order: Tone Reproduction, White, Green, Blue, Purple, Orange, Gold…
Moreover, the system also indicated the average market prices for each item to prevent Charles from being overcharged. This thoughtful feature nearly brought tears to Charles’s eyes.
However, Charles was somewhat disappointed that most items here were common equipment. Gear made from ferocious beast materials, even if just average in quality, often started at prices above 10 silver coins.
“What a rip-off!” Charles thought bitterly.
Just as he was about to leave, something caught his eye. Among the pile of Tone Reproduction and White items, one piece of equipment was emitting a blue glow!
Pretending to examine a long sword nearby, Charles stealthily glanced over.
[Divine Scale Armor [Blue]:[ Crafted from a fallen comet’s meteoric iron, its material density is extraordinary. Wearing it enables weighted strength training. No reference price available.
The information flashed briefly, and Charles’s interest was piqued.
In most battles, pets could handle the situation, but a Beast Master’s personal strength was equally crucial; otherwise, they could easily become a burden during combat.
This Divine Scale Armor was perfect for giving Charles intensive training over the next two months.
What was more intriguing was that, although named “Divine Scale Armor,” it appeared almost like a T-shirt. It was inconspicuous when worn, not affecting daily life, and completely unnoticeable to others.
Seeing Charles’s interest in the item, the shopkeeper’s eyes began to twirl. “My good sir, you have quite the eye! This piece is the pride of my shop. Since you’re a Beast Master, I’ll let you have it for just 100 silver coins!”
Hearing the price, Charles nearly lost his balance.
100 silver coins? Why not just rob someone?
Forget about 100 silver coins, even if he sold himself, he couldn’t scrape together 10 silver coins right now…
It seems swindlers know no borders; even in another world, anything you show interest in, they’ll jack up the price.
Cursing inwardly, Charles kept a straight face and waved dismissively, “Isn’t this just an ordinary T-shirt? Worth 100 silver coins? I don’t see any special features. Never mind, I’ll look elsewhere.”
“Hey, wait… If you really want it, I’ll take 50 silver coins! The advantages, well, the advantages are…” Charles’s question had the shopkeeper stumped.
This piece of equipment had been gathering dust in his shop for years, unsold. Its only feature seemed to be its excessive heaviness.
“Forget it, I’m not interested anymore.” Charles was already at the staircase.
Seeing a sale slipping away, the shopkeeper gritted his teeth.
“40 silver coins! 40 silver coins, take it or leave it?”
“30! That’s as low as I can go!”
“20! Oh, oh… It’s even below cost now, bro, won’t you give it another look?”
“…”