Charles's gaze settled on a long spear about two meters in length, its shaft adorned with intertwining patterns of frost and flame.
Ice and Fire Supreme Spear [Rare]: Forged from fine steel, this spear is a formidable weapon for slaying ferocious beasts. If embedded with an ice and a fire beast core, both of the first tier, it would unleash its true potential. Typically priced at 150 silver coins.
"Wow, it's really heavy!"
Charles lifted the spear, and instantly felt its heft as veins bulged on his hands. With a gentle swing, the spear's tip traced an arc, slicing the air with a whoosh.
"You've got a great eye, handsome! This spear was crafted by Yanni, our chief master smith at the weapon shop. It took him eighty-one days to forge it. For someone as discerning as you, I'll only charge 200 silver coins!" A middle-aged man grinned broadly, likely the owner of the weapon shop.
Having been poor before, haggling had almost become an instinct for Charles. He scratched his head and slowly extended five fingers: "50 silver coins, take it or leave it?"
Did the shop owner think he was ignorant of the market, trying to swindle him?
This spear was exactly what Charles wanted, especially because of its retractable design, which allowed adjustments between 1 and 2 meters—perfect for use in densely vegetated forests.
But Charles didn't have 200 silver coins on him.
"What? 50 silver coins! Aren't you slashing the price a bit too much?" The owner gritted his teeth, his face showing his pain.
Charles smiled slightly, pointing at the two notches on the spear tip: "If I'm not mistaken, this spear needs two first-tier beast cores to be considered complete, right? You dare to sell a semi-finished product for 200 silver coins?"
The shop owner's face twitched, puzzled: Despite his young age, how was this boy so knowledgeable?
Initially, the weapon was designed to require an ice-type and a fire-type beast core.
But after the spear was made, none of the hunters who went into the mountains to collect beast cores from ferocious beasts returned alive...
He decided to back down a bit: "Didn't expect you to be an expert, 150 silver coins, and the spear is yours."
"70 silver coins," said Charles.
"120 silver coins, and I won't sell for less!"
"80 silver coins!"
...
Eventually, Charles struck a deal for 100 silver coins. Holding his brand-new Overlord Spear, he grew more fond of it by the minute:
"This spear has a lot of potential for improvement, but where am I going to find those two first-tier beast cores?"
First-tier beast cores, small probability drops from level 10 and above ferocious beasts, are critical materials needed for pets to advance beyond level 9. These cores are rarely available on the market, often priceless.
Charles had already scoured the surrounding shops and even inquired at the Beast Master Guild, to no avail.
Without the elemental power of ice and fire beast cores, it could only be called the 'Supreme Spear,' not the 'Ice and Fire Supreme Spear.'
"Never mind, there's no rush. Once we reach the Ferocious Beast Mountains, there will be plenty of opportunities to find beast cores."
Stowing the Supreme Spear back into his [Storage Space], Charles also stocked up on numerous essentials: drinking water, dry food, a tent, snake-driving wine, solar panels, spare batteries, and a camping light... all necessities for life in the wilderness.
Thanks to the nearly limitless storage of his system [Storage Space], Charles's supplies were not limited.
However, to avoid revealing that he had such a system, he still bought a hiking backpack to carry some daily necessities and deceive onlookers.
Max's stomach suddenly made noise.
He stuck out his pale pink tongue, looking up at Charles with hopeful eyes, occasionally glancing at the roadside burger joint.
"You must be starving after following me around all afternoon," Charles said, petting Max's head.
Max's expression grew even more pitiful, continuously making a whimpering noise.
"Alright, alright, we're leaving the city tomorrow, and I promised to cook you something delicious tonight!" Charles said with a gentle smile.
...
Carrying groceries back home, Charles had just turned on the gas stove when a sudden knock echoed from outside: "Charles, are you home?"
He opened the rusty iron door to find Lily standing there, which surprised him.
Lily was wearing light makeup and dressed in a pale cheongsam, a style Charles had never seen her wear at school. Her slender, shapely legs were encased in semi-transparent black stockings, and her high heels made her nearly as tall as him.
Charles glanced at his somewhat messy home and felt a bit embarrassed: "Miss Lily?"
Lily frowned slightly and gave Charles a light glare: "When there's no one around, you don't need to call me Miss Lily. Just call me by my name!"
Charles scratched his head: "Lily, what brings you here so late?"
After swapping her high heels for slippers, Lily stood up straight with a slight smile: "What, are you trying to send me away?"
"No, no, no... please, come in!" Charles gestured welcomingly.
"Hmph, I knew you wouldn't dare," Lily said with a proud smile.
Although they had only known each other for a day, Charles remembered from school that Lily had always looked out for him. Without her, Robert might have confronted him long ago.
Noticing the lit stove, Lily tied on an apron and then opened the fridge: "You haven't had dinner yet, have you? How about I show you some of my cooking?"
"This... I really shouldn't impose, I'll cook," Charles gestured with his hands.
Lily glared at him, pretending to be offended: "What, you think my cooking isn't good enough?"
"I wouldn't dare say that!"
Charles settled back on the sofa, gently petting Max.
For some reason, watching Lily busy herself in the kitchen while wearing an apron felt incredibly homely to him, like a housewife preparing dinner for her husband after a hard day's work.
Tomorrow, they would head into the Beast Mountains, and perhaps it would be a long time before he could enjoy such a lavish dinner again.
"Dinner's ready, eat it while it's hot."
Lily called Charles over. She had prepared four dishes tonight: fish and chips, beef Wellington, pizza, barbecue, and a vegetable salad.
The meal was a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, rich in nutrients.
However, Charles suddenly noticed a few bottles of alcohol on the table, and, remembering some past incidents, he cautioned, "Lily, maybe we should skip the alcohol tonight. We need to get up early tomorrow, and I recall your tolerance for alcohol..."
His mind flashed back to some unpleasant memories.
A student and a teacher, their first meeting was in a bar.
That day, Charles had been bullied by Robert, and Lily had been dumped by her nth boyfriend. The two, seven years apart in age, ended up drinking together. However, Charles had overestimated Lily's drinking ability and ended up covered in vomit.
"Enough talking."
Lily snapped her fingers and popped off the caps of two bottles with her bare hands.
Charles: ?
My goodness, those are glass bottles! No wonder she's still unmarried at 25.
Lily's tolerance was indeed poor; her fair face turned a rosy red after just half a bottle.
"By the way, Charles, we're leaving town tomorrow. Have you prepared everything you need?" Sitting across from Charles, Lily looked at him with a gentle smile, her voice soft and sweet.
It was as if she had a switch that could flip between 'dominant' and 'tender' at any moment.
Charles picked up a piece of fish and chips, nodding, "Everything's ready. If there's anything missing, we can still buy it tomorrow morning."
He took a bite; the fish was light and smooth, utterly devoid of any fishy taste, showcasing her superb culinary skills.
Max, sitting beside them, was also happily eating, clearly enjoying the meal.
"Is that your pet? He looks really cute." Lily seemed to have finished eating, sipped some water, and then quietly watched Charles. She appeared to enjoy watching him eat the meal she had cooked.
Suddenly remembering something, she straightened up: "By the way, have you ever tried letting your pet [bestial soul merge]?"
"Bestial soul merge? What is that…" Charles put down his chopsticks, looking at Lily with a puzzled expression.
"Hmph, I knew you'd forget, always sleeping through my theory classes," Lily said, glaring at Charles with slight annoyance:
"The so-called bestial soul merge is when a Beast Master recalls their beast in a soul form to possess them. This way, the Beast Master can temporarily gain the attributes and abilities of their pet, achieving a '1+1>2' effect in critical moments, though the duration is short."
"Is that even possible?" Charles was surprised.
He remembered that this tip wasn't mentioned on the interface; it must be considered 'common knowledge' in this world, which the system assumed everyone knew.
In a world dominated by Beast Mastery, battles between two Beast Masters naturally revolve around their pets.
However, in the early stages, a Beast Master's combat ability is often much weaker than their pet's, leading some to target the opposing Beast Master directly.
Through bestial soul merge, one could largely avoid such 'dishonorable' tactics.
"Do you not have air conditioning?" Lily's face was covered with a thin layer of sweat, and the alcohol made her feel even hotter as she fanned herself continuously.
Charles shook his head somewhat embarrassedly.
Previously, his family was so poor that they barely managed to get by—forget air conditioning, they didn't even have a fan. For over a decade, they had endured summers just like this.
"Forget it, I'll take a shower."
Lily pulled out a small mirror to check her makeup, which had smeared. Taking a shower to cool off would also be a good chance to touch up her makeup.
A rustling noise came from the bathroom, and shortly after, Lily's curious voice called out, "Charles, what is this next to the shower gel?"
Charles, who was still eating dinner, sensed a great change all at once.
Next to the shower gel—could it be... Dropping his chopsticks, Charles dashed into the bathroom, but it was already too late.
In Lily's hand was an item resembling jelly, unique in shape.
A plane cup!
By then, judging by its shape and feel, Lily seemed to have guessed its purpose, her expression growing complicated:
"Charles~"
"Can you tell me what this treasure, hidden in the bathroom cabinet, is?"