Chapter 17: Winterseed -XVII-

"Beast eggs!" Rowan's voice trembled with excitement as he leaped to his feet, his eyes locking onto the egg that hovered in the air before him. This was the moment he had longed for—his first step into the world of beast taming.As someone with a powerful beast taming skill, receiving a beast egg was an invaluable experience. And as someone who had never tried beast taming before, Rowan's joy was even greater.

Without wasting time, he reached for the egg, his face alight with excitement. He couldn't wait to see what kind of beast it held and what special power it might possess.

The beast egg was about the size of a baby's head, and Rowan had to use both hands to hold it carefully; dropping it would render it useless.

As Rowan observed the egg, information about it quickly appeared before him.

[Beast egg: Contains random magical beast

-->Time to hatch: 72 hours]

Seeing the lengthy hatch time, Rowan wasn't bothered and immediately activated his beast taming skill on it.

DING! [Your SS-rank beast taming skill has activated... The hatching period has been reduced! (New time to hatch: 30 seconds)]

The next 30 seconds felt like an eternity as Rowan watched the egg. What kind of creature would emerge? Would it be strong? What abilities would it have? His mind raced with possibilities.

A faint crackling sound suddenly broke the silence, and a small crack appeared on the egg's surface. The crack spread, snaking across the shell. Rowan leaned in, his heart pounding with anticipation.

Tiny pieces of the shell began to fall away, revealing a soft glow inside. The light grew brighter as more of the egg broke apart. Finally, with a sharp crack, the top of the egg split open, and a small creature began to emerge, still partially hidden in the glowing light. Rowan watched with excitement, eager to meet his new companion.

The newly hatched creature hovered in the air, its small, gray body perfectly smooth and unblemished. Its skin was soft, almost velvety, with tiny patches of fur starting to appear along its back and limbs. It observed Rowan with a gaze filled with innocent curiosity and a hint of playful mischief.

From its appearance, it was easy to tell it was male.

DING!

[Beast egg hatched successfully]

[Revealing details]

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Nickname: N/A

Race: Ashfire Wolf

Foundation realm (Low-stage)

Unlocked skills: Fireball (Lv 1); can shoot a fist-sized fireball with a cooldown time of 3 hours.

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[You've tamed your first divine beast]

[You've unlocked divine beast plain]

[Beast plain: A pocket dimension with suitable conditions and adequate energy for all divine beasts]

"Ashfire Wolf!! These beasts were incredibly popular in the game; they started out weak but became extremely powerful as they grew stronger and older! I can't believe I got this from a basic mystery card!" Rowan rejoiced.

It took a lot of self-control to keep himself from screaming in excitement.

A skill book and a beast egg after opening 40 mystery cards was not bad at all!

'If 40 had these two, then the last 60 must contain something even more precious, like blueprints!' he thought, glancing at his new pet.

The Ashfire puppy was still looking at Rowan with its big, adorable eyes. The curiosity in its gaze remained, but there was a hint of annoyance, as if it was disappointed in Rowan for leaving it hanging for so long.

"Come here, little one," Rowan said softly, reaching out a hand toward the creature with a gentle smile.

"Blaze... That's what I'll call you," Rowan continued, his voice filled with determination. "You're going to grow strong, and we'll see what kind of magic you can really wield."

DING!

[Nickname 'BLAZE' confirmed]

Rowan ignored the system message, staring at the puppy in his possession with a calm smile. At this moment, he felt like a father whose wife had just given birth.

As for little Blaze, the annoyance in its gaze intensified with each passing second.

[Your pet is furious]

[Your pet is hungry]

[Your pet wonders what sort of father you are] Sёarch* The Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

[Your pet asks, 'Do you want me to die of hunger?']

Rowan could only stare at these prompts with a blank expression as he realized a major problem: what would he feed his pet?

---

While Rowan experienced a whirlwind of emotions opening his mystery cards, something different was unfolding in Glenwood.

It was late at night, and the moon still hung in the sky.

Inside a spacious, luxurious bedroom with intricate details adorning the walls and a large bed, the very fat Lord Fagin lay sprawled, his large figure nearly covering the bed as he twisted his body in ways that seemed impossible. His annoyingly loud snores echoed through the room.

Standing beside his bed were two beautiful women, their dark gazes fixed on his sleeping form as their minds wandered, contemplating their next actions.

Both women were striking, with long, luscious black hair and faces that accentuated their maturity. One looked older, seemingly in her early thirties, while the younger one appeared to be in her early twenties.

The older woman was Elara, and the younger was Liara.

Elara and Liara were the same women who had been taken from Winterseed because of their beauty and brought to Glenwood to serve its perverted Lord. They were also present when Wara and his men reported to Lord Fagin about their visit to Winterseed.

After spending over two years in this hellish place, both women began to long for home. But escape seemed almost impossible; they were weak and would likely be tortured if caught trying to flee.

Nevertheless, they never lost hope, believing their lord would come and save them. But this hope was shattered when they received the report.

So tonight, they decided to take fate into their own hands.

Standing on the right side of the bed, Elara clutched a small knife in her hands. One didn't need to think twice to guess what she was about to do.

Standing opposite her, Liara looked terrified and worried. "Elara, are we really… Are we really going to do this?" she asked, her voice trembling as she glanced nervously at the door.

"I can't take it anymore; I've waited long enough," Elara muttered, her grip tightening on the knife. "I can't sit by and hope anymore, Liara. We have to take matters into our own hands."

Hearing her reply, Liara felt helpless. She was afraid of getting in trouble with these people. She wanted nothing more than to kill this fat bastard after all he had done to her, but she knew it was impossible to do so and get away with it.

As for Elara, she had already made up her mind. She lifted the knife above Lord Fagin's body, ready to stab him.

Her heart pounded in her chest, a part of her still hoping for another way. But that hope had long been extinguished—there was no one coming to save them.

Sadly, before she could get her revenge, the door creaked open, and two guards walked in.

Hearing the creaking sound, Elara swiftly hid the knife beneath her dress, while Liara shivered in fear, even though she wasn't the one holding the knife.

The guards looked at both of them with suspicious gazes. "What are you two still doing here?" they asked in low voices, trying not to wake their sleeping Lord.

"Lord Fagin asked us to stay beside him while he rested. If you want, we could leave now," Elara quickly replied.

The guards continued to eye them suspiciously before moving toward the bed to wake Lord Fagin.

Elara quickly signaled Liara, and both women swiftly left the room before Lord Fagin could awaken.

After a series of calls and soft taps from the guards, Lord Fagin finally rose, his furious eyes glaring at them.

"Sorry for waking you, Lord Fagin, but the spy from Winterseed is here," the guards quickly explained.

"Was that why you had to wake me up? Can't you listen to his report and pass it on to me when I awake?" Lord Fagin grumbled, a deep frown on his face.

"We did as you said, my lord, but he refused. He claims he has very important, juicy information that he must deliver directly to you."

Lord Fagin's eyes narrowed as he sat up, his annoyance replaced by cold curiosity. "Juicy information, huh? This better be worth my time." His voice was a low growl as he motioned for the guards to bring the informant in, his mind already racing with different possibilities.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry, guys, I couldn't update yesterday because I was busy with my new book, which I have already published: (I Can Bind and Absorb Characters.)

But don't worry, I will release two chapters at once! The next one will come in ten minutes!