Chapter 248

Chapter 248

Although Lorant had to admit that there were indeed some not-so-handsome creatures among his beast pets, they were still his own bred beast pets. In Lorant's eyes, they were all cute, or at the very least, adorably ugly!

Even the Devouring Frogs had a bit of cuteness to them.

However, these ugly secondary beasts really didn’t gain Lorant’s favor, and he didn’t bother hiding his feelings of disgust towards them.

Besides, he didn’t care if his attitude upset them. After all, if they really had emotions, they wouldn’t be sad about something like this.

Therefore, Lorant had little patience for this particularly traditionally ugly secondary beast.

Without regard for its struggles, he grabbed the ugly creature by the neck and yanked it over. Then, he took out a few medicine pellets that the floating octopuses had formed while he was applying the potion to the big potato.

Each of these pellets was about one-third the size of Lorant's fist and was made from the same potion he had applied on the potato, mixed with a few other materials.

Lorant took one out and had Baby use silk to pry open the flying rat’s mouth, roughly stuffing the pellet inside.

The enraged rat, suspended in the air, opened its terrifying, tooth-filled mouth and bit the pellet into pieces in one bite.

It howled and swallowed the pellet in two bites.

Satisfied, Lorant watched the creature, still full of energy, trying to rush over and bite him. He clapped his hands and told Baby to take the stinky thing away.

A day later, the thin layer of potion that Lorant had carefully applied on the potato had completely solidified into a soft, gel-like shell.

The secondary beast that had eaten the pellet didn’t appear to have changed, but Lorant could clearly sense that its life energy was entirely different now.

If Jacqueline closed her eyes and sensed its aura, she’d likely think it was a beast pet she had never seen before.

She wouldn’t associate it with the potato at all.

After checking that both beasts were healthy, Lorant proceeded to arrange their next breeding.

The breeding method for this lower-tier beast pet was peculiar in that it required two rounds of breeding. After the first round, what you got was still a beast egg, but after a special treatment of the two beasts, what they bred would become a beast pet egg.

Lorant guessed that without his breeding guide, no one would ever think to use this method for breeding beast pets.

It was just too bizarre.

Compared to the strange process, the breeding itself was quite ordinary, though still hard on the eyes. But for Lorant, who had seen it all before, it barely raised an eyebrow.

Lorant, as cold as someone who had been killing fish for ten years, calmly watched the two beasts finish twitching and then had Baby, who had its eyes covered, lock them up again.

Even though Baby had officially entered its long adulthood by age, in Lorant's heart, it was still a child.

And a kid shouldn’t see that kind of stuff!

With the breeding completed, Lorant felt completely relaxed.

Lorant hadn’t told Jacqueline the good news yet.

He planned to wait until the beast pet was fully bred before telling the legendary mage the good news.

Otherwise, even Lorant would find it hard to explain how he could be so sure his plan was entirely correct without having conducted any experiments.

It just didn’t feel right—scientific or magical.

At least on the surface, Lorant still tried his best to pretend to be an ordinary person who needed countless experiments to get it right.

The necessary procedures had to be followed, otherwise it would be far too conspicuous.

No matter how hard he tried, he still didn’t quite pass as an ordinary person.

After completing everything, Lorant stretched lazily, preparing to rest well. He would wait for the large beast pet to lay the egg in two weeks before contacting Jacqueline again.

By then, the work he had promised Jacqueline would be officially completed, and the beast pet store would have one more type of beast pet available for sale.

According to the description, this should be a C-grade attack-type beast pet, one of the beast pets Lorant was most eagerly anticipating.

He already had the Glassy Ice Flame Dog and the Furious Ragdoll Bear, both powerful attack-type pets, so he wasn’t in dire need of another.

As for functional beast pets, he had quite a number of them, each capable of drawing significant attention.

Still, Lorant was eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the Wingless Flywheel.

The reason was simple: functional beast pets attracted more attention from practitioners, while powerful attack pets appealed to low-level practitioners with money and wealthy noble merchants.

So far, the positioning of the beast pet store had remained quite high. The most likely beast pet products ordinary people could come into contact with were the wool and down feathers of the Slime beast pet.

But wearing a woolen jacket wouldn’t turn an ordinary person into a qualified Beast Tamer.

Low-grade attack beast pets, however, solved this problem quite well.

The price of this low-tier beast pet should be much lower than that of the high-tier Glassy Ice Flame Dog and Furious Ragdoll Bear. Though its strength would likely be on par with a third- or fourth-level beast, it would be more than enough for the vast majority of defenseless ordinary people.

After all, even those who became practitioners but lacked exceptional talent would often remain at the first or second level for their entire lives.

To become a high-level practitioner, one needed extraordinary talent, ample resources, and good luck—none of which could be lacking.

For most ordinary people, having such power was already enticingly attractive.

It was like making phones: top-tier models were important, but to keep a brand alive, the low-end market couldn’t be ignored.

And it was undeniable that the low-end market was actually the place most capable of attracting a large number of customers. Lorant certainly wasn’t willing to miss out on that.

Imagining the sales boom of the Wingless Flywheel, Lorant hummed an incoherent tune. But before he reached his room, a familiar sound echoed in his mind once more.

Lorant froze mid-step, nearly biting his tongue.

Maomao, who had been trailing behind him lost in thought, failed to stop in time and bumped her head into Lorant’s back.

Fortunately, Little Black had been moving slowly behind him, so her furry big head just nudged Lorant’s body. Otherwise, on a regular day, even a normally walking Maomao would have been strong enough to knock Lorant flying.

With no one around, Baby was much more casual and materialized from the top of Maomao’s head, looking puzzled.

The two beast pets, big and small, tilted their heads simultaneously, looking at the astonished Lorant in front of them.

Although they couldn’t see Lorant’s expression, these two weren’t ordinary humans who needed to see facial expressions to understand Lorant’s thoughts.

As beast pets, the aura around their master was enough for them to sense changes in his mood.

The sharp-witted beast pets could communicate with their master without the need for words or communication.

In the eyes of the two little ones, Lorant was surprised yet somewhat excited, and within his excitement, there was disbelief. His emotions were like a palette, a mix of various colors, making it hard to discern his primary thoughts.

Naturally, Lorant found it incredible, considering it had only been a few days since the last successful breeding simulation.

Who could have imagined that in such a short span of time, another defensive line would yield results.

This kind of luck is so good that you could probably try buying a lottery ticket with it!

Unfortunately, this world doesn't have such things as lotteries, though.

However, Lorant didn’t dwell on it for too long. Luck comes and goes, and no one can be sure of it. Since it had come, he naturally wanted to enjoy the moment.

He quickly began the next round of defense and watched the simulator with great anticipation, hoping his good luck would strike again. Unfortunately, it seemed that the goddess of luck had only passed by his head and didn’t stay for long.

By the time it was evening and he was about to go to sleep, Lorant still hadn’t felt even the slightest hint that he was on the right path.

Returning to his room, Lorant threw himself onto the bed and grabbed the dozing Bear Two, burying his face in the sleepy little guy and rubbed against him affectionately.

Bear Two was half-asleep and was jolted awake by his irresponsible owner. The gentle bear momentarily showed its fierce side, almost transforming into a giant battle bear on the spot.

But the next second, catching the familiar scent, Bear Two immediately relaxed and closed its drowsy eyes, smacking its lips as it prepared to go back to sleep.

As for the irresponsible owner pressing down on its belly, the little bear good-naturedly lifted its paw and patted Lorant's head.

It felt like the owner was more energetic than usual today.

Bear Two thought with a yawn.

Being this excited so late isn’t good!

Lorant opened the ability chart in his mind, where a row of C-grade entries lit up.

Even though it was just a C-grade beast pet, the consecutive appearance of two successful results greatly lifted Lorant's spirits.

He casually opened the ability chart and immediately became interested.

"Floating Giant Duck": A type of giant duck beast pet that loves to float on the water surface. It has a flat body, excellent swimming ability, and doesn’t like to dive underwater except for foraging. It also has a good load-bearing capacity and likes to store its food on its back.

Seeing this description, Lorant instantly thought of the potential uses for this beast pet in daily life.

If he wasn’t mistaken, a beast pet that disliked diving but spent long periods floating on the water would make an excellent water-based transportation tool.

An image of a pedal boat from a park from his previous life involuntarily appeared in his mind, only to be replaced by a giant yellow rubber duck toy that occupied nearly half of a lake.

Lorant couldn’t help but imagine its possible appearance, feeling that no matter what it looked like, it would undoubtedly be an excellent water-based transportation tool.

So whether it resembled a small boat or a toy rubber duck didn’t seem strange at all.

However, how large this so-called giant duck could get was uncertain.

If it wasn’t big enough, even with various convenient abilities, it wouldn’t qualify as a proper water-based transportation beast pet.

After all, practitioners, especially knights and warriors who wielded battle aura, had incredibly powerful bodies.

Lorant strongly suspected that battle aura had comprehensively enhanced their bodies. Just looking at their strength, he had ample reason to guess that their bone density and muscle density were probably entirely different from ordinary people.

Additionally, many of these individuals were incredibly large.

With both factors combined, these practitioners naturally had frighteningly heavy bodies.

For Lorant, the Windbreaking Horse wasn’t a practical ride. At least, he needed specially made saddles to sit comfortably on its back.

But for those super tall guys who were nearly two and a half meters tall, the Windbreaking Horse seemed to be just the right size.

However, those with exceptionally tall statures are still a minority. Most humans that Lorant has seen can only reach a maximum height of two meters and twelve centimeters.

It is the elf tribe and the orc tribe that have a significant number of taller individuals.

Even for those with heavy bodies, the Windbreaking Horse can only carry a load equal to its own weight. Therefore, they must grow large and heavy enough to bear the weight of these practitioners.

For instance, when Lennart and his brother were born, they were heavy enough to nearly injure a newly born Windbreaking Horse that wasn’t sturdy enough yet.

Thus, to be a qualified mount in this world, a pet beast must have both substantial size and strong weight-bearing capacity.

Lorant could only hope that the "giant" in the ability chart really meant these beasts would be big enough.

The beasts required for breeding new pet beasts could also be easily obtained from the Beast Tower.

Like most C-grade pet beasts, the grade of the breeding beast required for the "Floating Giant Duck" wasn’t high, which was good news for Lorant.

He quickly added all these beasts to the acquisition list for live beasts.

Although Lancelot had returned to the beast pet shop, the team tasked with capturing live beasts for the shop had been working day and night at the frontlines.

The practitioners had found some enjoyment in this work. Although their efficiency was lower compared to killing the beasts outright, they earned about 20% more.

This extra 20% might not sound like much, but for practitioners who spent a fortune, it made a real difference.

Moreover, working for the beast pet shop had earned them praise from many, which further improved the mood of these practitioners.

In terms of earnings, with their strength, they had many potential paths to choose from.

The simplest option would be to accept commissions from the wealthy mages of the Congress of Magic’s Mage Towers to hunt specific materials.

However, people from the military department tended to look down on such activities. The relationship between the military department and the Congress of Magic was lukewarm, and even among mages, many looked down on those who hid in the Mage Towers as 'cowards.'

Working for them would only attract disdain.

Lorant believed that both combat and research mages were working toward the same goal, but this kind of division had existed for a long time, and some prejudices seemed impossible to change.

But working for the beast pet shop was different.

The performance of the pet beasts from the shop in the Lopulo Mountains had been observed by everyone. The majority of practitioners at the frontlines held a very friendly attitude toward pet beasts.

Once they got used to the team’s targets, some practitioners would even let the capture team handle the beasts.

Everyone understood the purpose behind the beast pet shop’s need for these beasts.

Every new beast captured could potentially lead to a new pet beast, increasing their chances of getting one.

This made the capture team’s work proceed exceptionally smoothly.

However, as the beast surge gradually subsided, the number of live beasts they could obtain also decreased. Especially high-level beasts became rare, with several days passing without sighting one.

But with the increase in new orders, low-level live beasts became abundant in the beast pet shop, making their beast-capturing journey exciting again.

After arranging these matters, Lorant once again checked on his recently bred beasts and the condition of the pet beasts in the beast storage.

The Lightwing Butterflies were full of energy, flitting about in their new, larger space.

In Lorant’s opinion, they still needed even more space to truly thrive.

Lorant was in the process of planning a larger area to build a sunlit enclosure for the Lightwing Butterflies.

Lorant plans to raise more of these beautiful little beast pets in his shop, eventually creating a stunning glass conservatory filled with flowers where these little ones can flutter about like elves, making for a breathtaking scene.

At that time, it would be an incredibly relaxing experience for him to leisurely drink tea, bask in the sun on a soft sofa, and watch the Lightwing Butterflies fluttering before his eyes.

At the same time, Lorant is preparing to have his team come up with a suitable plan to determine the best way to introduce the Lightwing Butterfly, a powerful multi-functional support-type beast pet, to the market.

This beast pet has enormous potential, and Lorant has great expectations for them.

He is well aware that with proper operation, these beautiful little ones will quickly become one of the shop’s flagship beast pets.

They will surely rank high on the list of must-have beast pets in the hearts of countless practitioners.

Therefore, the reason Lorant has not yet released the Lightwing Butterflies to the public is mainly because he believes the timing is not yet right.

The supporting measures for the Lightwing Butterflies have not been fully prepared yet. The resting racks they prefer and the living environment they enjoy all need to be adequately arranged by the beast pet shop.

For now, these little ones live together without any issues, but when they are taken away separately, the current supply of Moonlight Vines will obviously not be enough.

Based on Lorant's understanding of Beast Tamers, these huge Moonlight Vines will likely be in high demand, with everyone wanting one for their pets.

After all, you wouldn’t want your little darling to be uncomfortable in your home, right?

With the Moonlight Vines, should there also be toys for the Lightwing Butterflies to play with? It would be best to prepare a sunroom as well!

However, the beast pet shop is currently unable to provide everything needed for tens of thousands of Lightwing Butterflies.

If those Beast Tamers who take away the Lightwing Butterflies cannot buy these things, it would be a minor issue if the shop doesn’t make money, but if the Lightwing Butterflies were to suffer due to an unsuitable environment, Lorant would deeply regret it.

After all, these little ones appear to be extremely fragile. Even the Dream Weaver, which has small sharp teeth and claws, seems tough compared to these beautiful creatures, which truly have no offensive capabilities at all.

Even when teased by Lorant to the point of anger, these little ones hug his finger without even breaking the surface of his skin. They don’t even have teeth...

So, it's natural that Lorant is somewhat overly concerned. Unless everything is perfectly prepared, he would rather not sell the Lightwing Butterflies and let these little ones leave his care.

These preparations go beyond just material aspects.

For example, there are the exams that Beast Tamers need to pass before they can take the beast pets away, as well as the free training courses that the shop needs to provide. Lorant is working on all of this intensively.

Once everything is ready, he plans to try it out with his best students first and then make further adjustments before releasing it to the public.

As for the Wulu Shells, the first round of breeding is still ongoing, and it’s unclear when the first batch of secondary beasts will be born. Lorant isn’t in a hurry, though. After checking to ensure everything was normal, he left.

He then immediately rushed to the Beast Tower.

To breed the first batch of Floating Giant Ducks, it is essential to rely on the various types of beasts stored in the vast space below the Beast Tower.

It must be said that having all the beasts stored in the vast space below the Beast Tower has indeed provided Lorant with a lot of help and inspiration.

The most convenient aspect is that any breeding route Lorant thinks of can be implemented with the first batch of breeding here, thanks to the diverse collection of beasts available.