Charles casually clicked into the forum where a man was broadcasting news.
"A tone reproduction miracle drug, hemostatic powder, was auctioned today at the Misubi auction house for a whopping 50 silver coins. Someone saw Charles from Lsengard Beast Mastery High School entering the appraisal room with a miracle drug..."
In the video, the man's voice was altered, and he wore a mask, obscuring his identity.
The explosive video quickly garnered over a hundred thousand views, and within minutes, hundreds of comments piled up.
"A miracle drug for tone reproduction can only be crafted by an alchemist! We barely have any alchemists in all of Lsengard, how did a high school student get his hands on such a treasure?"
"Baseless accusations, you guys shouldn't spread rumors so recklessly. Could it be that Charles bought it previously?"
"You think Charles bought it? That's a joke! I go to the same school as him, and his family is so poor they can barely make ends meet. How could he afford a miracle drug..."
"It must have been stolen then. I have no proof, but that seems like the only explanation."
"I can't believe it, a Beast Master stooping to petty theft."
"Charles has really disgraced our Lsengard Beast Mastery High School..."
"Everyone, share this video on the campus forum and make Charles come out and explain!"
Seeing these messages, Charles was speechless.
Explain what? Should he tell them he crafted the miracle drug himself? That would only make them less likely to believe him.
Spreading rumors is easy, dispelling them is hard. He didn't feel like explaining; after all, the 50 silver coins were now firmly in his hand, no matter what others said.
"This hemostatic powder fetched a high price of 50 silver coins at auction, which, though partly due to luck, attests to the preciousness of the miracle drug."
"I've already picked out some armor, but I still need a proper weapon. I need to find a way to make some more money."
A piece of blue-quality armor cost several dozen silver coins, and a suitable weapon would be even more expensive.
Fortunately, Charles now knew alchemy. With sufficient materials, he could craft numerous miracle drugs during the remaining six days. Besides selling them for money, he could also keep some for his own use when venturing into the mountains.
With this in mind, Charles hailed a cab and headed to the Herbal Shop in the northern part of the city.
An hour later.
Standing at the doorway of an old, storied herbal shop, Charles sniffed the air:
"There's a strong scent of blood in the air..."
The surrounding quiet was unusually profound. As Charles tried to locate the source of the bloody scent, a sudden vibration came from beneath his feet.
Charles darted aside: "Not good! Max, get ready for battle!"
"Rumbling!!!"
As soon as Charles spoke, the spot where he had been standing broke apart, the flagstones shattering, and a massive ant burst forth from the ground.
— [Alloy Ant] —
[Attributes]: Metal
[Level]: 4
[Quality]: Bronze Division
[Skills]: Giant jaws tearing apart
[Mood]: Aggressive
[Health]: Good
[Weakness]: The joint between the body and abdomen / Thunder attribute
[Description]: This is a hungry, ferocious beast. Long hours of burrowing underground have left it tired and thirsty, desperately eager to devour any living thing it encounters.
"Clack! Clack! "
Upon seeing Charles, the alloy ant repeatedly snapped its massive mandibles, as if performing a pre-dining ritual. When it opened its mouth, Charles saw rows of neatly arranged barbs, shaped like fish hooks, making escape nearly impossible once bitten.
The moment the alloy ant appeared, Max had already positioned himself protectively in front of Charles. Facing a ferocious beast several times his size, Max did not hesitate.
The temperature around them plummeted as ice elements coalesced into icy spears, thrusting violently at the alloy ant.
"Plop, plop..."
The ice spears collided with the alloy ant, emitting harsh clashing sounds and sparks flying, yet they failed to inflict any damage.
"Damn, its shell is too hard. A frontal attack won't break through; we must target its weak points!" The more perilous the situation, the more Charles reminded himself to stay calm. He then shouted to Max, "Max, its weak point is at the joint between its chest and abdomen, attack from below!"
Amidst the relentless assault, the alloy ant became thoroughly enraged. It sped up its charge, intending to tear its prey into pieces.
Just as it was about to bite Max, an ice spear formed beneath it and stabbed towards its lower abdomen.
"Crack—"
A crisp snap was heard, and with that strike, the alloy ant was severed in two.
[Ding! You have defeated the ferocious beast [alloy ant] (Lv4·Bronze Division quality), and your synergy with your pet has increased![
[Pet Loyalty +1! ]
[Pet Experience Points +40! ]
"Well done!"
Before Charles could even begin to celebrate, two antennae emerged from the hole dug by the alloy ant, and a shiny silver worm crawled out from the cavern.
— [Alloy Ant Queen] —
[Attributes]: Metal/Poison
[Level]: 5
[Quality]: Bronze Division
[Skills]: Toxic burst
[Mood]: Aggressive
[Health]: Good
[Weakness]: Fire attribute
[Description]: A large, fat ant in its egg-laying period, extremely irritable. Its hard and resilient exoskeleton can block most attacks, but it fears fire the most.
The alloy ant queen kept spraying a green liquid, causing yellow smoke to rise from any buildings it touched.
Fresh from his victory, Max was now fully exhilarated. His small frame nimbly dodged the venomous attacks.
The venom was highly corrosive; if it splashed onto Charles, it would eat away his flesh. Max would never allow that to happen.
"Rumbling!!!"
Another ice spear descended from above, striking the alloy ant queen's plump belly. However, the moment it made contact, it was like hitting a cotton ball; the spear's force was completely absorbed.
The alloy ant queen arched its body and then opened its massive jaws, gathering the venom into a thick, dark green water column.
"Max, be careful! That's its skill, toxic burst!" Charles warned.
Though Max's level was the same as the alloy ant queen's, his golden quality soon showed its advantage. He quickly spotted the alloy ant queen's weakness.
A pale fire enveloped Max and Charles, evaporating all the venom upon contact with the flames.
Seeing its skill countered, the alloy ant queen wriggled its obese body, attempting to retreat back into its cave.
But Max wasn't about to give it that chance.
Bone-achingly cold!
Max unleashed a powerful strike, spreading the pale flames under his feet, which completely engulfed the alloy ant queen.
Amidst the bone-chilling flames, the once formidable alloy ant queen writhed in agony. Its entire body caught fire, struggling in vain before quickly turning to ashes.
[Ding! You have defeated the ferocious beast [alloy ant queen] (Lv5·Bronze Division quality), and your synergy with your pet has increased! ]
[Pet Loyalty +1! ]
[Pet Experience Points +50! ]
[Ding! Your pet Max has leveled up, current level Lv6! ]
Realizing his level had increased, Max excitedly circled Charles and then leaped into his arms.
"Max is so smart, he can find the enemy's weakness without my having to point it out!" Charles said with a smile as he rubbed Max's head.
He had system notifications that the alloy ant queen was vulnerable to fire attacks, but Max had discovered this solely through his combat instincts.
It seemed Max was much stronger than Charles had imagined!
Hearing Charles's praise, Max grew even more excited, his icy tongue licking Charles's face and his furry tail wagging happily.
Charles took out a small knife, ready to collect the spoils. He stored all usable materials from the alloy ant into the system's storage space:
[Obtained 2 giant alloy ant mandibles! ]
[Obtained 6 alloy ant legs! ]
[Obtained 50 alloy ant teeth! ]
[Obtained 30kg of alloy ant exoskeleton! ]
"These materials could fetch a good price at the Beast Master Guild, it's just a shame the alloy ant queen got burned up," Charles lamented as he looked at the ashes scattered around the cave entrance.
He remembered seeing a set of Chrono-Emperor gear at the equipment store, priced at 10 silver coins. The skin of such worms was likely quite valuable.
Just then, Charles noticed something different about Max, who was in his arms: "Max, have you grown bigger? And you look even more beautiful, don't you?"
This wasn't just Charles's imagination. Over the past few days, he hadn't returned Max to the Beast Mastery Space but had enjoyed carrying him around town, becoming quite familiar with his weight.
After leveling up, Max definitely felt heavier.
Not only that, Charles noticed some changes in himself too; he seemed a bit stronger.
"Could it be that when a pet levels up, the Beast Master's attributes grow as well?"