Throughout that night, Euri's shallow sleep was interrupted by several in-game updates.
[ Scout Dog has discovered a hidden passage leading outside the sacred ground! ]
When he saw this message on the screen, he finally realized the true potential of this lazy beast. That affix finally made sense!
Euri hurriedly searched the rest of the grove for the new discovery, and found a gray icon at the very border of the explorable area. Scout Dog's face was barely visible right next to it, swimming in plants taller than his head.
The icon, however, only provided a disappointing message.
[ Opening dimensional passages comes with many deadly risks and requires a higher level of authorization. Please try after improving the sacred ground and your administration authority. ]
"What a scam!" Euri was incensed, realizing his slumber had been interrupted for nothing. Ordering the dog to return to its cultivation, Euri went back to sleep in a bad mood.
[ Scavenger Rat has discovered some edible fruits! ]
This was the second message to wake him up. Euri tried to sacrifice these fruits to the Sacred Ground's Secondary Core, the Ambrosia Pool.
[ Common Foodstuff received: 3 units ]
Seeing the acceptance message, he tentatively clicked on the [ Produce ] option, and the reply, although expected, still disappointed him.
[ Two other types of raw ingredients required ]
"Beasts and their cores, right? I'll run the next hunt in a couple of hours," he muttered after glancing at the clock and then returned to his sleep.
The next time he woke up, the sun was about to rise at any moment. The in-game message informed him that Dread Spider had its breakthrough just now. Its special attribute—Aura—had reached level 1...whatever that meant.
Perhaps last night's experience had too profound an impact on his nerves. The frustrating feelings of weakness and constant fear were certainly not easy to suppress. At that time, in the heat of the moment, adrenaline had helped. But now...
Brawler Rat and Scout Dog were absorbed in their cultivation sessions. Although the gas well was back to its peak power, neither showed signs of breaking through. After rolling around the bed for a while, Euri triggered the next hunt and instructed all four beast familiars that if the tentacles failed to suppress the invaders, they had to go and help!
Scout Dog and Scavenger Rat seemed frightened by the prospect. But Brawler Rat was already punching the air in excitement. Dread Spider showed no reaction, but Euri had a feeling that its aura would be more useful than the rest of the beasts here.
Euri had no way to observe what happened during the time hunting mode was activated, so he left his bedroom and made preparations for an early breakfast.
After what happened yesterday, he knew that hiding in his home would be unsafe. Anyone with access to police records could track him down here. Most adults in the building would be out for work during daytime, and that meant Euri had almost zero protection if he stayed here.
At least in school, he'd be in a sea of kids his age, surrounded by friends. Strangers wouldn't be able to just bust their way into a classroom to kidnap him. He only needed to be extra careful on his way to and from the school.
Just before heading out for school, the hunting mode came to an end, and Euri hurriedly examined the results. As usual, two beasts had been successfully caught while trying to enter.
[ Angry Rabbit ]
[ Rank-0 Lifeform ]
[ Physique: 0.4 ]
[ Special Attribute: Fearlessness ]
[ Scavenger Bat ]
[ Rank-0 Lifeform ]
[ Physique: 0.35 ]
[ Special Attribute: Echolocation ]
For a moment, Euri could not decide what to do with these two newbies. If Angry Rabbit's fearlessness wasn't something special, he had no reason to nurture it. On the other hand, Scavenger Bat was of no particular use to him now, not when he had another scavenger searching every inch of the sacred ground with its upgraded sense smell.
After thinking for a bit, Euri ordered his four beast familiars to drag the rabbit to the Ambrosia Pool. It struggled violently, of course. If not for Scout Dog's strength and Brawler Rat's ferocious bites, it might have succeeded in killing the other three.
[ Raw ingredients detected. Assessing conditions...]
A little surprised, Euri watched a new notification appear, giving him two options.
[ Select ingredient: Beast Body/Beast Core ]
"Why can't I choose both?" Euri wondered aloud, dumbfounded. Did this mean one beast could provide only one type of raw ingredient?
To further the experiment, he chose to sacrifice the Beast Core, and the popup was replaced by a new message.
[ Beast Core Received: 1 (Rank-0) ]
The Rabbit had stopped moving in the tiny pool the moment he had sacrificed its beast core. But the pool didn't seem interested in its body. Euri could only order the familiars to drag it out of the pool and bring in the Scavenger Bat.
[ Raw ingredients detected. Assessing conditions...]
[ Select ingredient: Beast Body/Beast Core ]
Although the beast core option was visible, it was gray in color, signifying its unavailability. Euri still clicked on it a few times in frustration before sacrificing the body of the bat.
[ Congratulations to the hardworking and smart Administrator for collecting all three ingredients for producing Ambrosia! Let the upgrades begin! ]
Euri waited hopefully for another blessing. Maybe this time, he could acquire the skill of summoning the beast familiars to the real world, just like powerful superhumans who dominated the era!
After another wave of disappointment, Euri sighed and clicked on the [ Produce ] option and saw a small loading bar appear. Unlike the cultivation sessions of his beasts, there was a timeframe assigned to it—15 minutes.
Just as Euri was about to order his beasts to return to cultivation, he noticed a tiny, glowing dot near the Ambrosia Pool that hadn't been there earlier. With a click, the mystery was cleared up. It belonged to the sacrificed bat.
[ Rank-0 Beast Core ]
[ Sacrifice/Consume ]
Euri didn't need another mini-diarrhea when he was about to head out for school. So despite the temptations, he chose to sacrifice the beast core to the gas well.
[ Beast Cores Sacrificed: 2/100 ]
Watching Sol-Wa dance on the screen in appreciation of his selfless efforts, he waited for the Ambrosia Pool to finish production.