No matter how tough a bone is, it can always be gnawed through; in the end, it's only a matter of time.
Kent had been exploring for quite some time, and his body was starting to feel weary, so he decided to rest.
The Wind Blade spun around, breaking through the earth relentlessly. In no time, a cave was dug out.
Kent rested there that night. His exploration was planned for ten days, so there was no rush. He decided to take his time.
He started roasting meat, the meat of the Divine Strength Savage Bull. He had consumed a fair bit in the past few days, but there was still plenty left. Every time he ate, he felt his strength return, and fatigue vanished.
Suddenly, he heard faint sounds. Upon closer listening, the sound seemed to be coming from underground.
"No way," Kent muttered, staring at the ground, curious about what could be making the noise.
The sound grew louder. Before long, the ground started shaking. No, it wasn't shaking—it was splitting open, and something emerged from the earth: a spiked, cone-shaped creature appeared in front of Kent.
"This... this is... a Mountain Spire Beast?"
Kent didn't recognize it at first but quickly scanned it and learned its name. The Mountain Spire Beast had a cone-shaped body, capable of burrowing through the earth. It shared some similarities with the pangolin, but unlike the pangolin, the Mountain Spire Beast was also skilled in building and stacking earth. It could construct sturdy houses and carve out beautiful homes. This creature possessed a considerable level of intelligence and construction ability.
Moreover, Mountain Spire Beasts were never solitary; they existed in large groups, building elaborate underground homes.
Kent's curiosity was piqued, and he wanted to find their lair to see it for himself.
"Yiya-ya~" The Mountain Spire Beast was very timid. Having wandered into Kent's cave, it began to make loud calls, but it wasn't in a hurry to leave. The reason was clear—it had smelled the rich aroma of the Divine Strength Savage Bull meat.
Kent was intrigued. He tossed a small piece of meat toward the creature, curious to see if it would eat it.
The Mountain Spire Beast, typical of a glutton, jumped up and eagerly devoured the meat. After finishing, it looked very content, its eyes darting around with an almost mischievous gleam.
Kent couldn't help but smile wryly at the sight. The Mountain Spire Beast was quite interesting, and he turned his attention to its abilities.
Abilities:
DiggingConstructionEcholocation
Although the Mountain Spire Beast was only a silver-tier creature, its echolocation ability intrigued Kent.
Echolocation: Emits sound waves to detect objects in the surrounding area, an excellent method for locating minerals.
Kent immediately thought of sonar. Wasn't this essentially the principle of sonar, used for detecting oil, mineral veins, and natural gas in his previous life?
"If I could share this ability, it could help me find those kinds of resources. But it's all about luck, and it would take too much time," Kent thought, shaking his head. He didn't have the energy to go after such things; he wasn't lacking in cultivation resources.
However, he was still interested in contracting the Mountain Spire Beast. Doing so would allow him to witness the creature's lair firsthand.
After all, every original beast and monster had one chance to be contracted. Once he had seen enough, Kent could simply cancel the contract.
As for making it his fourth contracted beast, Kent didn't even consider it. At best, it would be a temporary contract; after all, the Mountain Spire Beast's rank was too low for him to be interested.
Since coming to Earthstar City, Kent's worldview had once again expanded. He was no longer the Kent he once was.
The students who contracted bronze and silver-tier beasts had long been left far behind. Or rather, Kent had entered a higher world, with a vastly different status, perspective, and experience.
With this thought, Kent decided to act. Using his system privileges, he spent three drops of essence blood to force a contract with the Mountain Spire Beast.
He established a mental connection with the creature and sensed its uneasy mood. He quickly tossed it another piece of Divine Strength Savage Bull meat. The Mountain Spire Beast instantly perked up, forgetting its fear and happily eating the meat.
Kent wasn't in a hurry. He kept feeding the Mountain Spire Beast meat to raise its loyalty toward him. Once its loyalty reached a certain threshold, it would become more affectionate and even take him to its lair.
Although Kent could force the creature to take him there, there would be many others in its lair. If they found out he had forcibly contracted one of their kind, they wouldn't be kind to him. After all, these creatures were highly intelligent, and Kent wanted to be treated as a guest.
After feeding the Mountain Spire Beast around thirty pounds of roasted meat, it could eat no more, its belly round and full. Its loyalty to Kent had reached the necessary level, and it eagerly trotted over, nudging Kent's feet with its head.
Kent patted its head, then used their mental connection to request that it take him to its lair.
The Mountain Spire Beast hesitated briefly, then nodded. Its body was as tough as iron, with sharp edges, and its face was deeply embedded in its body for protection. This helped it avoid injury when digging.
The Mountain Spire Beast was small in size, and once it agreed, it immediately burrowed back into the hole it had created. Kent activated Garfield's Super Transformation ability to shrink his size, following the creature into the tunnel.
As they moved along, Kent shared the Mountain Spire Beast's echolocation ability. He sent out sonar waves, receiving various feedbacks in return.
"Yiya-ya~"
Kent detected a large cavern ahead. Not long after, he heard more "Yiya-ya" calls from other Mountain Spire Beasts. He knew they were getting closer to the lair.
The tunnel didn't seem too deep, only about a hundred meters. Kent activated the oxygen supply function and continued breathing normally.
"Yiya-ya~"
Around a bend, another Mountain Spire Beast appeared, seemingly asking where the creature Kent had contracted had gone and whether it had found anything interesting.
After a brief exchange, the Mountain Spire Beast looked at Kent, immediately stepping back two paces and showing signs of fear in its eyes.
Kent smiled kindly at it. Whether or not it understood his gesture was uncertain. If it took it as a devilish grin, things could get awkward.
However, after the contracted Mountain Spire Beast explained the situation, Kent was treated as a guest and invited into the lair.
"Not bad. This is like an underground palace," Kent remarked, impressed by the architecture in the lair. The various caves had been beautifully constructed.
As Kent entered, more and more Mountain Spire Beasts came out to observe him. He was led into a massive cavern, which appeared to be a meeting place for the Mountain Spire Beasts. The cavern was about two acres large, big enough to accommodate hundreds of Mountain Spire Beasts.
"Master, this is Wang," the contracted Mountain Spire Beast introduced Kent to the group.
Kent nodded at a 40th-level Lord-tier Mountain Spire Beast and expressed his goodwill. He then took out a hundred pounds of Divine Strength Savage Bull meat.
The Divine Strength Savage Bull was a royal-tier original beast, and its meat contained abundant energy. If the Mountain Spire Beasts ate it, they would benefit greatly. After the contracted Mountain Spire Beast had consumed thirty pounds, it immediately leveled up twice.
As soon as the Divine Strength Savage Bull meat appeared, the Mountain Spire Beasts' eyes lit up, their tongues hanging out and drooling at the sight.
"Thank you," the Mountain Spire Beast King said, accepting the gift and expressing its gratitude. "As a token of appreciation for your visit, I have decided to reward you with something precious."