The Golden Medal,
Its full name is the Golden Pioneer Medal!
It is a merit badge issued by the Supreme Council subordinate Human Alliance, where Gary Smith belongs, divided into Golden Medals, Morning Star Medals and so forth...
There are two ways to obtain the Golden Medal. Either complete ten Gold Tasks issued by the Alliance, or be a hero who sacrificed in an official pioneer task.
As for Gary, he belongs to the latter category.
His parents were semi-official personnel, who sacrificed in an official pioneer task, and he received a Golden Medal, he could also choose to exchange it for a huge wealth of equal value.
In a sense, he is the rightful direct line of the Human Alliance.
The function of the merit badge is simple, it can be exchanged for a pet beast of Golden Spiritual Power, which is to say, a beast of Commander's Potential! (Human ranks of Red Copper, Silver, Gold correspond to pet beast ranks of Servant, Elite, Commander)
It's similar to how children in the Pokemon world can get a starter Pokemon with potential at the age of ten.
Of course, not everyone is entitled to one, otherwise, there wouldn't be so many petty bug catchers and rubbish competitors.
But none of these things would be mentioned in the beautiful naive world.
The reason why Gary hasn't chosen to use his merit badge, it certainly isn't because of some psychological PTSD, and he's not doing this out of the dog's blood reason such as not wanting to use his father's belongings.
Part of the reason is that he's been recovering from his awakening, not to mention that there are conditions to use the Golden Medal.
The first condition is reaching the age of 18.
The second is to have a clear socioeconomic status.
Thirdly, after collecting it, you have to complete five Bronze Tasks issued by the Alliance within a year of promoting to Bronze Rank. You have to complete two Silver Quests within three years of reaching the Silver rank, and one Gold Task after upgrading to Golden Spiritual Power rank.
Each task has its corresponding rewards and it's also possible to obtain the internal points of the Alliance which can be exchanged for rare resources.
The conditions are not too harsh.
If you are unwilling, you can also exchange it for a large sum of money and purchase pet beasts yourself.
Even with these terms, Gary can still accept it, as the first beast is the foundation of a BeastMaster, and is of great importance.
However...
This is Abyss City!
Even in the United Alliance, it is a quasi-first-class city in terms of the number of rounds of infrastructure, garrison quantity, economy and development level, second only to fourteen first-class cities, followed by hundreds of second-class cities.
The reason it's called that is not some ridiculous reason like powerful individuals having a unique last name, but because it borders the human ecosystem and the demon ecosystem.
The Abyss!
A huge rift valley of unknown length, almost dividing the world.
On the other side are the demon ecosystems, where numerous super-life creatures are living in groups, giving birth to countless magical eco-secret realms.
Legend has it that the bottom of the Abyss connects to the Abyssal Dimension. Due to instability in space, sometimes void creatures trespass, and even the Spirit World would occasionally link to reality here. With such a chaotic place, naturally, there are many expelled Cults of Evil God lurking...
You could almost call it demons dancing wildly.
Although Abyss City and several nearby cities are tens of thousands of miles away from the real front lines, and they are guarded by many satellite towns, and there has been no large-scale war in decades, so it seems safe.
However, if you were to carry out an official task, there is a high chance that you have to approach the Abyss or eliminate the organizations of followers of the Cult of Evil God.
Although danger is accompanied with chances, but...
It's too unstable!
Also a problem is that the pet beasts commonly exchanged by the Golden Medals are the leftovers of Special Section soldiers exploring the wilderness or the spoils from suppressing the Cult of Evil God.
Most of the pet beasts are affiliated with an evil faction, and some are even descendants born under the influence of the Evil God's powers.
After testing, if there is no major problem, it will be kept, and minor problems are ignored.
With great power, but unstable spiritual powers, mutation or backlash is possible.
And they are inherently unsafe.
But usually, no one would mind these. To be able to get a pet beast with the potential of a commander is already a huge blessing, they can't be too greedy.
Although Gary is not oversensitive himself, because of the "Taboo Sun", he needs a couple months to rest and recover his spirit and is unable to complete official tasks.
So, he chose to start with what he has on hand, seeing if he can use [Eyes of Truth] to start accumulating capital, and get a pet beast with Command Potential as the first beast to control.
When his strength is strong enough, then use the Golden Medal to exchange for the second or even third pet beast.
If the initial accumulation of capital failed, he would decisively go to exchange it.
And as it turned out, it only took him three months to complete the Peach Pig Breeding Manual, and he already has a bargaining chip with the school.
However, it still takes a few months for the Peach Pig population to double, and in the end, it is also not guaranteed to be able to exchange for a commander-tier pet beast.
In particular, the resources of the school are mostly secret realm pet beasts like those from Peach Blossom Valley, and they are mainly plant-type and animal-type.
If he wants to solve the Nightmare Demon issue, he must find pet beasts of the Curse System, Spirit System, Dreamland Type.
As for spiritual instability... for him who has witnessed the taboo secrets and has not collapsed, it is not a disadvantage at all.
The beast would be lucky not to be polluted by him.
The reason why he is looking for the Student Council President is because having a relationship with the officers makes it easier to handle affairs. He could use the green channel in the school without queuing and waiting, saving a week or two of time.
After a long silence, a message came.
[Student Council President: Not raising pigs anymore?]
The expression on Gary Smith's face stiffened. If he didn't know the person's character, he would definitely think this was mockery.
It's a Peach Pig,
Not an ordinary pig!
Henry Horseman isn't just an ordinary horse breeder either, he can even tame fairies!
[Dusk Raven: Mm.]
This time, Gary Smith waited for five minutes without a reply.
Could it be that she doesn't want to help?
Gary Smith was fine with this. After all, his relationship with the student council president was only that of ordinary colleagues. It would be normal if she didn't want to help.
"It seems like I'll have to go find the headmaster myself..."
As Gary Smith was pondering and about to stand up, a violent wind suddenly set off a dust storm.
He instinctively looked up and saw a girl with white hair and red eyes descending from the sky. Behind her, demonic vampire wings were flapping as she slowly landed till her black leather shoes gently touched the ground.
The tall and slender body showcased during the process was practically perfect. Her proud curves were wrapped in a white shirt, and one could faintly see the well-proportioned figure; the pleated skirt wrapped around her buttocks looked as tempting as a delicious peach.
Her slender legs were wrapped in white calf socks, straight and delicate, almost glowing white, shining brightly under the sun.
However, beneath this sexy appearance, the girl's perfect facial features sculpted by the Creator, carried an indifference that was as cool as ice.
After her landing, the pink bat wings behind the girl also shrank. In the end, they turned into a big purple eyeball—a doll with small demon wings, and a black tail in a reverse triangle shape was floating beside the young girl.
However, it did not look terrifying. In fact, it looked like a big-eyed doll that could fly.
Though the Abyssal Demonic Eye looked unhappy, it was vigilantly watching Gary Smith, like a farmer guarding their vegetable patch from a crop-stealing monkey!
Gary quietly opened the Eyes of Truth.
[Abyssal Demonic Eye]
[Attribute: Spiritual System / Abyssal Lineage]
[Strength: Elite Pinnacle]
[Potential: High-ranking Commander]
[Skills: Detection, Spiritual Shock, High-temperature Beam, Petrification Beam, Fear Beam, Intimidating Eye]
[Introduction: It is a spirit-type pet beast that can gain the ability to fly after possession. As an abyssal species, it is a characteristic product of the Eye Demon's position in the ecosystem. It produces offspring in the dreams of Eye Demons or other monsters. It does not like living in groups and is brutal and powerful in nature. It requires a large amount of abyssal demonic insects and blood and flesh containing spiritual power for proper nurturing. It cannot resist sour food.]
[Evolutionary Path: Eye Demon Servant (materials required)... Evil Eye Demon (materials required)... Rare Evolution—Eye Demon Tyrant (materials required)...]
Not only were the attributes revealed, but it also listed more than a dozen possible evolutionary paths, even including the top-tier Eye Demon Tyrant.
However, Gary could only get a general idea. Fully unlocking that knowledge would consume a great amount of spiritual power, enough to drain him.
Therefore, he still needed to increase his strength.
In addition to this, the Eyes of Truth revealed an interesting piece of information—the materials from the Abyssal Eye Demon can be used to make Skill Secret Food.
Once consumed, one can obtain the special skill [Global Vision] that grants a 360° blind spot-free vision to the pet beast.
What a godly skill for battle!
My mom will no longer need to worry about me getting ambushed!
However, the specific method would only be unlocked after contracting with the first beast, through the Legacy of the Secret Cuisine.
This increased Gary's expectations for the future abilities of the Key of Truth.
Gary looked at the Abyssal Demonic Eye again, and felt like it wasn't an abyssal monster at all. It was clearly a mobile treasure chest monster!
It was extremely powerful and had four distinct racial talents within its beam skills. Its remaining skills were also from the spiritual system, giving it a wide range of attacks. Coupled with the potential of a high-ranking commander, there's a high chance it could become a Morning Star Level overlord creature in the future.
If he doesn't find a suitable pet beast this time, he could also ask it for help to resist the invasion of the Nightmare Demon.
Yummy...
"Hiss!"
The Abyssal Demonic Eye floating next to the girl suddenly felt a chill down its spine as if it was being stared at by something dangerous.
However, under its all-around vision, no enemy was approaching!
Could it be something that can turn invisible?
Thinking of this, the Big Eye Orb couldn't help but move closer to its Master.
This isn't cowardice, it's just being cautious!
Gary also felt that his gaze might be too intense. He reluctantly moved his eyes away from the Abyssal Demonic Eye and kindly reminded her:
"Club President, you shouldn't wear a skirt when you fly. It's easy to expose yourself!"
As his words fell, the scene fell into silence.
The white-haired girl looked down at the toeless ground, pondered for a moment, grabbed the corners of her skirt with both hands, gave them a pull upwards, and asked expressionlessly:
"Does it look good?"