Chapter 9: Infinite City

“I choose, Infinite City!”…

Infinite City.

Sacred and majestic.

It seemed as though it was nestled in a rift in the world, isolated from everything else.

In the deep blue silk-like sky, diamond stars sparkled dazzlingly.

Rampant starlight sprinkled generously across the land.

Across the vast area, those gray-white rooftops, under the twinkling starlight, quietly showcased their simplicity and mystery.

At this moment, within a room standing in the southern part of Infinite City, a figure slowly materialized amidst a flash of white light.

This person was none other than Lu Ran, who had just recently completed the novice trial.

Lu Ran cautiously observed his surroundings, not expecting that his return would present him with two options.

Upon seeing the choices, he naturally did not hesitate to select Infinite City, the gathering place of beastmasters.

Through this place, he should be able to unravel many mysteries.

However, at this time, Lu Ran was most concerned about the rewards he had just received.

After all, this was the result of a day’s hard work with General Ha.

With nine ratings from SSS to F-level, he had received an S rating.

He was quite satisfied with this rating.

Although it wasn’t the highest, an S-level rating was certainly not something the average person could achieve.

Only Lu Ran and General Ha knew what they had done in the secret realm that day.

To say they were like weasels entering a henhouse would not be an exaggeration…

Most people would probably only manage an E to F-level rating if they avoided danger and persisted for a day.

In comparison, he owed much to the pendant; without the Divine Deer Pendant, he and General Ha wouldn’t have gotten far.

Unfortunately, even though he had a powerful healing item, General Ha’s species level was still too low. Before evolution, after all, he was just an Erha, not very efficient in combat.

If someone had contracted with a fierce tiger or a polar bear, ignoring injuries, they would likely be more brutal in fighting monsters.

But that was alright. General Ha should still be able to evolve indefinitely. As long as they worked together, they could surely break through species limits. It was not impossible for them to rival or even surpass mythical creatures like giant dragons in the future.

The wonders of the secret realm made Lu Ran believe.

Thanks to the Divine Deer amulet, they were off to a strong start with several nice rewards.

Lu Ran took out his identity card, one of the rewards he had obtained in the secret realm. It looked and felt similar to the contract black card, only it was white, and it seemed like all those resources were stored within this card.

The identity card displayed:

Name: Lu Ran (can be renamed)

Beastmaster Serial Number:

Below these two basic pieces of information, there were four more options: Communication, Team Up, Backpack, and Teleport.

The 10,000 crystal coins and three resources he had just earned in the secret realm were all in the Backpack.

Among these three resources, the beast taming skill was also in card form, which could be tentatively referred to as a skill card.

As for the crystal coins, they had no physical form, just a digital display, similar to online banking. Lu Ran surmised that these crystal coins must be the “universal currency” of Infinite City, likely used by swiping the card?

He looked around the room, which contained only the most basic furniture and a few other items. One pillar platform, in particular, caught Lu Ran’s attention.

This was because it had a spot that seemed perfect for “card swiping.”

Lu Ran approached it, and the next moment, an optical screen appeared before him with a dense array of images and text.

“This is…”

Name: Spider Cave

Secret Realm Level: Novice

Difficulty: Simple

Challenge Crystal Coins:

Name: Wild Boar Valley

Secret Realm Level: Novice

Difficulty: Ordinary

Challenge Crystal Coins:

Name: Giant Beast Forest

Secret Realm Level: Novice

Difficulty: Hard

Challenge Crystal Coins:

The screen showed basic information about some secret realms and the cost in challenge crystal coins. It seemed that entering other secret realms required purchasing a ticket.

There were 10 secret realms listed on the first page, and Lu Ran saw that he could flip through to page 5, meaning there were over 40 novice-level secret realms available to him!

Flipping further, Lu Ran also found some particularly outrageous ones, like Lake of Death.

Name: Lake of Death

Secret Realm Level: Novice

Difficulty: Abyss

Challenge Crystal Coins:

“Really is…” Lu Ran was momentarily at a loss for words.

The secret realms’ difficulties seemed to range from simple, ordinary, hard, to abyss.

The challenge cost for these secret realms typically ranges from 100 to 1,000 crystal coins.

With the 10,000 crystal coins at his disposal, Lu Ran could attempt numerous challenges. However, after a cursory glance, nothing piqued his interest…

The previous simple-level novice trial in the Forest of the Demon Cat was taxing even with the aid of an epic item—they were exhausted and injured multiple times.

Ordinary difficulty… and even more so, hard and abyss-level challenges, are best avoided until more is understood about them.

Lu Ran recalled seeing options for communication and team up on the identity card, which suggested that these high difficulty secret realms are likely intended for beastmasters to tackle in teams.

But apart from these secret realm dungeons, Lu Ran also discovered an absolutely safe secret realm, standing on its own…

Name: Training Secret Realm

Secret Realm Level: Novice

Activation Crystal Coins: 1/day

The pricing was very affordable, seeming to indicate that it is simply a training ground.

“It’s better to first thoroughly analyze the materials obtained. They should help strengthen both General Ha and myself.”

Leaving the pillar platform, Lu Ran noticed the optical screen automatically disappeared. He then turned his attention to the resources in the backpack.

In the secret realm, he had obtained temporary access to the Eye of Data. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the ɴovᴇlꜰirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Now that the trial was completed, it appeared he had permanent access to the Eye of Data, even outside the realm.

However, it was only primary level, lacking the completeness of the one inside the secret realm.

The in-realm version could reveal information about other creatures, while this primary Eye of Data could only display details about himself, his pet beasts, and low-rarity resources and items, which significantly reduced its strategic value.

Name: Meteorite Mine

Level: Advanced

Introduction: An iron ore born from the influence of extraterrestrial meteoric forces, possessing excellent energy conduction and amplification properties, suitable for crafting weapons and equipment.

Name: Grass-type Awakening Fruit

Level: Advanced

Introduction: Can aid pet beasts with grass-type potential to awaken their innate grass-type powers.

Meteorite Mine, Grass-type Fruit!

No need to elaborate on the Meteorite Mine; the inability to bring in weapons was a disappointment for Lu Ran. He suspected that ordinary weapons and even firearms from the outside world could not be brought in.

The only items that could be brought in were those with supernatural powers, like the Divine Deer pendant.

Given that the meteorite mine is also a special resource, weapons forged from it should presumably be portable, right?

Lu Ran was very satisfied with this reward, but at present, he was unsure what to craft with the meteorite mine or where to go for the forging process.

The grass-type fruit also excited Lu Ran.

The supernatural beings he had encountered recently were all attribute-less and unawakened, which was undoubtedly strange.

According to his understanding, attributes like wind, thunder, water, and fire should exist.

Why did none of the creatures possess any?

This suggests that for supernatural beings to awaken their attributes, it must not be easy, likely very difficult, and external guidance would be necessary.

Attribute awakening fruit is clearly one of these external aids.

Currently, it’s unknown whether General Ha possesses the grass-type attribute.

Lu Ran felt that General Ha probably did not have it. Although Erha enjoyed eating vegetables, it was hard to imagine any correlation between Erha and the grass-type.

However, it’s not a big issue. Having obtained the attribute fruit, if it’s not usable, the worst-case scenario would be to sell it or trade with others for an attribute that is needed.

First, it’s crucial to identify General Ha’s attribute.

Determining the attribute of a pet beast was also something Lu Ran intended to clarify.

Of course, these were not the rewards that pleased Lu Ran the most. His greatest delight was receiving a beast taming skill as a reward.

To Lu Ran, the value of a beastmaster to their pet beast must lie in the beast taming skill.

Lu Ran felt that the strength of a beastmaster was likely determined by their beast taming skills.

This skill could potentially enhance the combat power of a pet beast or even the beastmaster’s own strength!

Hmm…

Name: Super Beast Mimicry

Introduction: A beast taming skill that allows beastmasters to simulate and learn from the behavioral traits of their contracted pet beasts, gaining strength and skills akin to those of fierce beasts…

What?

Lu Ran: What???

“Damn it!” Just as he was starting to feel elated, Lu Ran couldn’t help but curse loudly in his room.

What is this?

How could it be?

While he didn’t know what other beast taming skills were like, this particular skill seemed to perfectly address his own lack of combat strength.

But, learning the behavioral traits of my own contracted pet beast?

Are you serious?

Lu Ran’s face turned from green to purple with frustration.

In ancient times, there was the Twelve Animal-Style Boxing, created by those who emulated the movements of twelve different animals to develop practical fighting techniques, so this beast taming skill seemed somewhat reasonable on the surface.

Had Lu Ran’s contract been with a loong, a tiger, or a bear, he would have eagerly learned from them to gain the strength of a bear, the eyesight of an eagle, the speed of a leopard…

But the problem was… his contract was with Erha.

Lu Ran envisioned himself imitating the behavioral traits of his own Erha…

“This skill is ridiculous, who came up with this?”

Lu Ran clenched his fists.

“Even if I’m beaten to death in the secret realm, and even if I never become a powerful beastmaster in this lifetime, I absolutely refuse to play the role of… of an Erha. Probably. No, I have to find a way.”