Chapter 361 361. PRIDE

Noah walked into the wide area and immediately fell into marvel. Rows upon rows of big cages filled his eyes and they created two walls on either side leaving a path to the center of the place.

The sight before him felt magical and fantastical that it made him recount the different things he had seen in Cregar. It definitely had a spot on the list of marvelous things.

The beasts in the cage were of various sizes and species, but they all had one thing in common.

Wings.

Big wings far larger than the average human stood on the backs of these creatures more than twice the size of an average human.

Most of them growled or purred, but none did so in hostility. Heck, it seemed they were in communication with each other. A wondrous thing since amongst wild beasts such was rare. Especially since they were of different species.

The cages were about five rows up and more than fifteen horizontally creating a great wall-like scenery of large beasts in large inscribed cages. But considering the fact that there were lots of members rushing out of the city almost every time, that incredible number of beasts was manageable.

Noah soon reached a queue, a long one at that. He could swear he counted about 60 individuals before him and all of them were facing a table at the central part of the room.

It was even more shocking to find that there were other walls of beasts. The place felt like a library featuring many shelves, massive ones, but instead of books beasts filled their insides.

There were about five individuals attending to the line at the same time, so the line could reduce quickly.

But even at that he still had to spend about thirty minutes before his turn reached.

"How may I help you?" The orange-haired lady he found himself in front of asked, her face expressionless, and she had a pair of what resembled reading glasses on.

The white light shining high above created a sing beam where that area had the most light and the entirety of the room only featured little light.

It looked like a spotlight, so he could see the lady's face clearly, and couldn't help but admire her pale white smooth skin.

"I need a beast to go here," Noah responded showing the lady the map as Lina had instructed him.

"That's quite far. It would cost you 700 small silvers," she replied in a flat tone after inspecting the said area.

Noah didn't like that price, but he couldn't do much about it, he was new to the system.

His purse appeared in his hand. And he counted the set amount required.

The lady received the payment. "Are you new to how we do things," She said suddenly making her portion of the table shift to the side and she ushered him in.

"Yes I am," Nosh replied following her into the dimly lit portions of the room filled with rows and rows of living beasts.

Something he had not noticed on the other side of the room; were the few humans that patrolled the area and the many ladders filling the rows.

"I give you a short intro on how we do things." She announced.

"Like you saw the other time, your pay is determined by how far you're going from the city. We choose beasts based on their capacity and we guarantee their quality. Nevertheless, since they would be with you throughout your journey they may or may not get tired, depending on how you use them," she explained.

"The beasts are mostly docile and a device has been constructed to allow control over them."

"It's called a Half-bond. Since it allows partial connection between the user and the beast."

"You don't have access to its mana core and any of its powers, but you can command them into fighting. But if any of the beasts end up dead a fine will be required from you, ad they may be as high as nine-thousand small silver coins." She paused stopping to look at him.

"You look like someone new around here, yet you're rank C. That's surprising."She commented continuing on her path.

Noah remained silent at her words and limited himself to taking in the grandness of that place.

"We have arrived here," She eventually spoke halting her steps before a seemingly random spot in the wide room.

"There are three beasts to choose from, each with their own capabilities." She spoke when a beam of light suddenly shone on the said beasts and they cringed at the sudden brightness.

"The first one," She said glancing at a bird beast. It stood at about 4 meters in height and was completely grey, but featured an abnormally long and pointy blood-red beak.

"It's pretty fast like the others, it features a big orange core and is of the fire affinity. Believe it or not, it's pretty violent and its flames are surprisingly hot for its middle-stage level. The only issue is its eyesight."

"Its longsightedness makes its attacks pretty flimsy in close-range battles. Notwithstanding from the sky, its attacks are impeccable, but since you'll be mostly on the ground after your initial flight, don't expect that much precision." She explained with the first emotion Noah had seen on her face.

"She's been through a lot and I can guarantee her ability," A soft smile appeared on her face.

"The second on the other hand has pretty much basic attack power, but it's fast, like the others. But its attacks are nothing short of mediocre," she explained focusing on a blue armless-serpent with wings large wings.

Noah could understand why its attacks could be mediocre. Its arm-less state would be a real disadvantage.

"The third is actually capable of far more than the two of them. But she has an issue with anger and pride," she explained gazing at a red fox about 3m In height and almost double that in length.

Its wings were the color of its fur; orangish-red on the outside and featuring white fur beneath. They looked perfect for something its size since it could easily fold them.

The beast looked appeasing to the eyes especially since it simply lay and did its own thing, but the lady stared at it with her head shaking.

"She's the fastest and strongest beast between the three. It features an orange core slightly smaller than the bird, but its fire abilities surpass hers," she explained.

"It doesn't seem aggressive," Noah commented already making his choice.

"Well, she is. Very even. Don't be fooled by her cuteness. We've had renters complain about her disobeying instruction and lighting everything ablaze during fights, thereby hurting the renter before they could force her under control with the half-bond," she explained.

"Hmm. So stubbornness" Noah muttered.

"Exactly. She still holds her pride as one of the fastest beasts out there, and after some tests against other beasts and even humans she's amounted decades of pride."

"Even with all this, she gets the job done, but a person might have issues especially when their level might be a bit lower than hers."

"I personally advise that you don't choose her since she's already halfway into the middle stage," she commented glancing at him, but he already had a smile on his breathtaking face.

"Nah I'll go with her," Noah replied, she would be the subject of his test. "Does she have a name though? You seem close to the beast," Noah added.

With a defeated sigh the lady opened her mouth to speak. "She's been officially given the name Cory. But many prefer to call her, Pride."