Chapter 328

Chapter 328

After returning from the desert, Lorant felt restless for several days.

Being chased by a legendary beast was terrifying enough to be remembered for a lifetime, but being chased by a group of legendary beasts? That was simply a hellish experience.

To completely heal such psychological trauma, time is needed to heal everything.

However, it turns out that even without a long period of time, as long as one stays busy, it's easy to overlook some underlying psychological shadows.

To overcome his inner fear, Lorant found the best method was to exhaust his energy every day in the beast storage, not stopping until he was completely exhausted.

This proved to be a very effective measure. When Lorant fully immersed himself in the beast storage, facing those beasts and secondary beasts, his life and inner self gradually returned to normal.

Jacqueline's wounds were almost completely healed by the Sacred Light Peacock on the day they returned.

She stayed at the pet shop for just two days, healing all her injuries before returning to the Beast Tower. She instructed Lorant that if he needed her for anything, unless it was an emergency, he should wait at least a month.

The live beasts captured from Griffin Ridge were like a group of stunning beauties smiling and waving at her, making it hard for Jacqueline to contain her excitement.

She wanted to spend some quality time in her laboratory, 'enjoying' the joy brought by these new beasts.

Lorant naturally agreed happily. Although the materials needed for breeding the "Magic-Eating Fairy" were still lacking, he didn't want to go through such an adventure again in a short time. An adventurous life might be the thrilling existence many people yearn for.

But for Lorant, it was clearly too thrilling.

He still preferred a peaceful and beautiful life.

The owner of the Blue Star Pet Shop made himself a cup of hot cocoa and thought contentedly as he sunbathed in the glass greenhouse.

Of course, the pet shop wouldn't let him stay idle for long.

The Wingless Flywheel had already stocked a considerable number of individuals in the pet shop. Those buzzing little black spheres flew freely like a dark cloud above the pet shop every day, making a lot of noise.

But the number sold to the public was still only a small portion from two auctions.

If they don't start selling to the public soon, these little guys will dominate the pet shop and the Kamkuo pastures with their numbers.

With enough Wingless Flywheels, plus the already prepared Curry Monster product line, Floating Giant Duck routes, fireworks sales from the Firework Fairies, the fire-fur variant of the Fluffy Slimes, the Meat Mountain waiting for large-scale breeding, and the well-developed fertilizers, etc.

Lorant decided to host a new round of exhibitions at the pet shop before summer officially began.

This pet shop exhibition will adopt a similar model to last year's, but the number of exhibition centers will be expanded.

In addition to Holland, Lorant has large Blue Star Pet Shop outlets in major cities of the human empire such as Mauplan, Kamkuo, Kentucky, as well as the Lopulo tribe of the orcs and the elves.

With these stores, Lorant's exhibition could naturally be more extensive.

To let the pets and some new products that the pet shop is preparing to launch in the next phase officially enter the public's view, making it easier for those who don't always follow the pet shop to collectively learn about its latest achievements.

When Jo received Lorant's request, he was full of determination and set to work preparing.

By the time he joined the pet shop, the first exhibition had already concluded, which was the pet shop's first large-scale event in Holland that sparked widespread discussion.

That exhibition was undoubtedly a huge success.

It was even used as a prime example for multiple analyses in Jo's classroom, and now, less than a year later, he actually had the chance to organize an exhibition himself, which thrilled Jo.

However, Lorant didn't tell Jo that he had a few other ideas.

The breeding of the "Wulu Shell" has now reached its final stage, but the breeding time range provided in the beast chart is too broad for Lorant to determine their exact birth time.

However, this does not hinder Lorant's desire to make a big splash at this exhibition before it begins.

This is the first A-level beast that the beast store has truly bred in large quantities, and Lorant has high expectations for it.

Even if this beast is not a combat-type beast, its unique abilities are definitely enough to shock the world!

Lorant enters his beast storage and goes to the second floor to check on the beasts that are nurturing the 'Wulu Shell'.

These currently quite disgusting "bat-snails" are actually a product of the combination of a beast and a secondary beast. After the two engaged in a reproductive union, they became inseparable and could only live together in a linked manner.

Now, the bat, adhered to the front of the snail shell by a peculiar mucus, is starting to show signs of loosening.

Lorant carefully observes the condition of the bat-snail outside the cage, then presses a button on the cage to convert the solid outer wall into a cage with gaps.

He takes a long birch branch from the side and carefully pokes the gelatinous mucus around the bat through the gaps.

The mucus has now become quite thin, and with a little effort, Lorant can insert the tip of his branch into it.

This indicates that the breeding of the Wulu Shell has now reached its final stage.

Lorant has Kong Yi transfer this batch of beasts to his breeding room, while he begins to make the final preparations.

Two days later, under Lorant's expectant gaze, the magma bat finally frees itself from the mucus and successfully crawls out of the snail's shell.

At this time, the sluggish snail's shell, standing as tall as a person, has become soft under the influence of some unknown ability, presenting a translucent color.

Under the light, it looks somewhat like jade.

Except for the top fifth of the shell, which appears empty under the light, the rest of the shell has turned a deep black.

Contrary to the smooth and round appearance of the snail shell, the magma bat has become quite weak, and the entire secondary beast appears utterly exhausted.

It has almost lost all of its attacking abilities.

This makes it very easy for the floating octopuses to drag it aside and stuff it back into the cage.

Then they turn their attention back to the experimental table in front of Lorant.

Lorant is having Bao Bao use its silk to cut open the large snail shell from the top using its silk like a saw.

Bao Bao cuts the snail shell horizontally about ten centimeters above the color boundary line where the light shines through, immediately revealing what's inside.

The original body of the sluggish snail has vanished, and now the snail shell contains a dark, inky liquid.

Lorant gently stirs the liquid with a birch branch, and can see some completely transparent small spheres floating up and down in it.

If it weren't for the unsightly appearance, it might even resemble a bowl of tangyuan or round ice jelly.

The main reason Lorant has this association is that this pool of liquid does not emit a strange odor, but instead has a subtle aroma, reminiscent of well-fermented fruit wine.

It smells quite enticing.

Seeing the condition inside the snail shell, Lorant silently breathes a sigh of relief.

He takes out a portion of 'aquatic beast concentrated blood' from the side, which he has purified and mixed from the blood of hundreds of different types of aquatic beasts.

Many of these were contributed by his fishing results by the Holy Shield River, which gives Lorant a profound sense of achievement.

This blood had undergone special treatment and now had no trace of a bloody smell. It wasn’t even a bright red color; instead, it was golden and emitted a pleasant scent of plant sap.

Lorant used a homemade dropper to extract a tube of liquid from this blood and directly dripped it into the liquid inside the snail shell.

The golden blood dripped into the thick, black liquid, instantly creating a magical effect.

The liquid throughout the snail shell began to clear around the golden blood, soon transforming into a clear liquid dotted with transparent eggs.

Lorant dipped the birch twig back in and gave it three counterclockwise stirs. The transparent liquid began to take on a faint tea color with his movements.

Baby promptly dragged over a large basket of various shells and conches from the side, all donated by aquatic beasts with shells or conches.

These aquatic beasts were not easy to acquire. Even though there were no requirements for the type or level of the beasts, Lorant only managed to obtain ten thousand of them after posting a task on the Blue Star platform.

Lorant inspected each shell in the large basket to ensure they were cleaned with a cleaning solution.

Some shells still had traces of beast meat on them, which Lorant set aside for secondary cleaning later. The suitable shells were then passed to Kong Yi to be pounded into powder with a small wooden mallet wrapped in water deer hide.

After mixing these powders evenly and pouring them into the snail shell, stirring with the birch twig, Lorant had Baby slice the birch twig he’d been using into six segments, all of which were tossed into the snail shell.

The liquid inside the snail shell now turned black again, and because of the addition of many things, it became more viscous and full.

Lorant instructed Baby to adjust the space created by cutting the snail shell, which now came in handy as the increased liquid just filled all the space.

Lorant had Baby reattach the cut snail shell back onto the snail shell, thus completing today’s breeding.

About a week later, Lorant reopened the sealed snail shell.

After some time fermenting, the delicacy—oh no, the beast eggs—were beginning to take shape.

It must be said, after seeing so many terrifying steps in the breeding process of beast pets, the breeding of Wulu Shells is indeed refreshingly pleasant in the final step.

Mainly because the scent it emits from start to finish is quite delightful.

For the first time, Lorant enjoyed such comforting scents in his lab.

Most of the time, the beast lab is filled with either the smell of blood or some even stranger odors, and the processing methods always amplify the strange smells of the beasts.

Today’s situation was a rare exception.

This put Lorant in a very good mood.

After opening the snail shell, the originally black 'broth' inside had completely dried up.

In its place lay a heap of plump beast eggs, swollen from soaking up the broth.

These beast eggs were each the size of a ping-pong ball, round and tea-colored, resembling a batch of perfectly steeped tea eggs.

As for the other materials previously added, they were completely consumed during the magical breeding process and turned into nutrients for the beast eggs.

Lorant gently tipped the small beast eggs out of the snail shell and spread them on large birch leaves. The light tea-colored beast eggs, spread on two-meter-wide emerald leaves, gleamed crystal clear and strikingly beautiful.

Lorant felt even more delighted, as this meant the breeding of the beast pets was completely over. Once the external development of the beast eggs was complete, he would be able to see the birth of his first batch of Wulu Shells.

After arranging the first batch of more than a thousand beast eggs, Lorant stepped out and headed to the adjacent lab.

This place was some distance from Lorant’s private lab, requiring a walk through a corridor and past a large common area to reach.

Kimberly and ten mages were busy conducting their experiments here.

The recruitment of mages for the beast pet shop has concluded. Lorant has instructed Kimberly and Monroe to each select ten mages as their assistants, while the other two mages have each been allocated five assistants.

This expansion has finally made the mage team at the beast pet shop look more substantial.

Meanwhile, during the renovation of the beast storage, Lorant arranged brand new magic laboratories for each of the four mage groups, modeled after the Beast Tower. The equipment is quite high-end, surpassing that of many large Mage Towers.

At this point, the newly arrived mages couldn't help but marvel at the beast pet shop's financial prowess.

At least from the investment in the mage laboratories, it's clear that Lorant holds them in high regard.

The benefits that mages can bring to the beast pet shop are indeed significant, and Lorant is well aware of this.

From the initial Glassy Ice Flame Dog to the current Lightwing Butterfly.

Without the help of these mages, Lorant would need a much longer time to thoroughly research his pets.

Therefore, Lorant always strives to meet the needs of the mages as much as possible.

Of course, Lorant is not running a charity.

He has customized laboratory plans for each mage group based on their characteristics.

For instance, Kimberly's team is currently researching the variant of the Fluffy Slime known as "Spark Fur."

When Lorant entered the laboratory, he momentarily felt as if he had stepped into a Slime home.

A dozen mages were busy at their experimental tables, with numerous knitted items haphazardly hanging from the ceiling. On one side of the laboratory, there was a pile of the latest spinning machines, with several strands of yarn partially processed on the machines. A few Spark Furs were energetically hopping around on the floor.

As soon as Lorant entered, a runaway Spark Fur bumped into his calf. He bent down, picked up the obviously young Spark Fur, rubbed its head, and placed it in a low animal cage nearby.

Due to the large number of Spark Furs, the laboratory's temperature was quite high, despite the creatures themselves not emitting much heat. Opening the door released a wave of intense heat.

"How's it going, Kimberly?" Lorant walked to the central experimental table, watching Kimberly, who was wielding two knitting needles and a ball of Spark Fur yarn as if in battle, and asked curiously.

Kimberly, flustered, pulled the yarn tangled around her ear to the side and looked up at her boss: "Progress is quite good. We've developed several knitting patterns that can enhance the energy of Spark Fur."

"Moreover, we've discovered several rune marks that are highly compatible with Spark Fur's energy. These can be integrated into the yarn during the spinning process on the textile machines."

"There haven't been any new developments in other areas yet, but I believe this is already sufficient to bring Spark Fur into the public eye," Kimberly said with considerable confidence.

Lorant nodded silently. In this regard, Lorant has always been willing to trust his employees.

"In that case, you can start coordinating with Emma. Hand over all your current research findings to her," Lorant said with a smile, watching as the group of mages collectively sighed in relief. He then added, "Next, you can have a week's vacation. Go wherever you like, and the beast pet shop will cover the expenses."

"However, after that, your next project will be about the Meat Mountain. I hope you can continue to bring me enough surprises."

Kimberly looked at Lorant with great enthusiasm.

Not because of the vacation, although a week of free vacation does sound quite exciting.

But what made her happier was the research on the Meat Mountain.

The Meat Mountain is no longer a secret within the beast pet shop. She is well aware of how much her boss values this new, unattractive pet.

For one thing, half of the incubation room in the beast storage is now dedicated to hatching this pet, which speaks volumes.

So, in reality, all four mage groups are waiting for Lorant's new tasks. The fact that he assigned the research on this new pet to her group at this time suggests that Kimberly's group is still ranked first in Lorant's mind within the beast pet shop.

This brought a quiet sigh of relief to Kimberly, who had been somewhat tense since Monroe started leading a ten-member group independently.

Although she had worked with Monroe for a long time, Kimberly still found it hard to accept that she was less skilled in research than someone who wasn't even a mage.

The deep-rooted arrogance of practitioners was ingrained in every practitioner, even among mages, who prided themselves on their abilities and held a traditional attitude toward this.

Despite her reservations, Kimberly had to admit that Monroe was indeed an excellent researcher, so excellent that it made her feel a sense of crisis.

Lorant looked at the bracelet woven with Spark Fur and then headed out to Monroe's research team.

Several mage research teams were housed in the same area, sharing a lounge and some valuable equipment, making it convenient for Lorant to visit without traveling far.

It turned out that Kimberly's worries were not unfounded. Among all these mages, Lorant did indeed have a special preference for Monroe's team.

Firstly, Lorant found Monroe himself quite likable, and secondly, perhaps because Monroe was not a mage, he was very humble and practical, taking every task Lorant assigned very seriously. This stood in stark contrast to the other mages, who, for various reasons, reluctantly agreed but often made excuses to avoid work.

Over time, Lorant naturally preferred Monroe, the obedient subordinate.

For example, in the previous research on Spitroot, the other mages had looked down on it. After coming to the beast pet shop, they directly set their sights on other higher-tier pets, so they didn't put much effort into Spitroot.

But Monroe was different. Although he was very interested in Spitroot, after actually entering the beast pet shop, he could have chosen from countless pets, just like the others, and changed his research topic.

But he threw himself into it and, under Lorant's guidance, successfully developed a balm, which became the most impressive project submitted by the mage team to date.

This naturally made Lorant think highly of him.

What boss wouldn't appreciate a subordinate who's both obedient and capable?

Monroe's team was next to Kimberly's research lab, a similarly large research lab with ten mages.

These mages were all handpicked by Monroe, so the atmosphere here was noticeably different from the team next door.

Even the temperament of the two groups couldn't have been more different.

Although the air here wasn't exactly fragrant, none of the mages seemed to mind their working environment, each with a smile on their face and full of enthusiasm.

They had strange strips of cloth tied around their heads and stuffed in their noses to block the strange smell of the fertilizer they were researching.

They looked less like a group of mages and more like old farmers toiling in the fields.

Monroe, with his quirky personality, had assembled an equally quirky team, which Lorant found quite intriguing.

When Lorant walked in, he found the environment in the lab more tolerable than he had expected.

Although there was a smell of fertilizer in the air, it was at least the smell of processed, ready-to-sell fertilizer.

Not the dreaded stench of farm manure.

For Lorant, who had cultivated many flowers at home in his previous life, the smell wasn't unbearable.

In the middle of Monroe's lab was a huge cylinder, now filled with small one-centimeter balls, a mix of white and blue.

This was their breakthrough over this period.

At Lorant's direction, Monroe was experimenting with simple methods to extract growth-enhancing factors from animal bones and other waste materials.

Now, this large container of glass balls represented their success.

Seeing Lorant walk in, Monroe looked up with surprise and greeted him.

Their boss, whether out of excessive trust or sheer laziness, rarely showed up in the lab on a typical day.

Whenever he shows up, it's either to assign new tasks or to check on the progress of ongoing ones.

Monroe is pretty confident about his progress and is ready for any inspection. Besides, the current research results he has don’t have much room for quick progress, something Lorant knows well.

So seeing him usually means Monroe might get some fresh assignments.

After spending over half a year on fertilizer research and feeling a bit sick of it, Monroe is really looking forward to this.

"How’s it going?" Lorant strolls up to Monroe, eyeing the alchemist in his tattered clothes.

Monroe gently takes the light-winged butterfly off his shoulder, letting it rest and drink nearby, then gets up to show Lorant around his lab.

"Not bad, boss," Monroe grins, pointing at the big barrel in front of him. "This is the all-purpose fertilizer we’ve come up with. It’s worked well on different crops in our tests."

"We’ve also got one for the early growth stage and another for when plants start fruiting," Monroe tells Lorant. "Those two are pretty much done, and we’re talking with Joe about rolling them out in Kamkuo."

"Do these have idiot-proof setups? The kind that can pull straight from household trash?" Lorant asks.

Monroe’s team’s main job is to create systems that turn human trash straight into fertilizer.

This builds on the full sewage setup in Kamkuo’s Blue Star village, aiming for recycling.

Farm manure might be eco-friendly, but it’s not exactly popular.

Lorant knows the picky noble lords of this world all too well; those snobs would definitely hate this stuff.

So Lorant decided to tackle it head-on, having Monroe turn this stuff into clean fertilizer using a bunch of magical steps.

Looking at the clean pellets in the jar, Lorant feels pretty good about his fertilizer factory’s future.

As a savvy seller, he’s got to think about what the buyers want to get them to open their wallets, right?

"Of course, it’s all done. Joe’s made a few sets, and they’re up and running in Blue Star village. I checked it out earlier, and they’re already in production," Monroe says proudly.

When Lorant first brought this up, all four mages were a bit hesitant, Monroe included.

But now, seeing the impact of their work, Monroe thinks this is way more valuable than that incense paste stuff.

The incense paste did rake in a ton of cash for Monroe, with the boss showering him with rewards, making him rich overnight.

As the guy behind the fertilizer, Monroe knows this might not make him rich, but it’s a game-changer for the world.

He could end up in the history books for this.

Lorant had brought up the grain yield problems before, but back then, Monroe didn’t really get it.

But seeing the lush plants outside Blue Star village, compared to the scraggly crops he usually sees, and the skinny kids in the Blue Star orphanage, Monroe’s starting to see things differently.

"Good," Lorant nods, pleased. "I was going to hand the Meat Mountain research to you, but I figured you might need a break."

Monroe’s eyes light up at ‘Meat Mountain,’ but he’s quickly confused by what Lorant says next.

"A break?" Monroe looks at Lorant, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Always stuck on civilian projects, I figured you might be getting a little bored."

"There’s a new type of beast pet about to be born in a couple of days, and I need your team to do a full study on it," Lorant says with a smile. "This isn’t too hard, right? You’ve done plenty of this before."

"Once the basic research is done, depending on how it goes, I’ll think about the next steps. Whether it stays with you will depend on how well you handle it."

Monroe's eyes lit up again. Although he didn't know what the new magical creature Lorant was referring to, a new magical creature represented endless potential to be explored.

This filled the alchemist with anticipation.

Meanwhile, the other mages who had not been at the magical creature shop for as long were all gaping in astonishment.

If memory served, even excluding "Meat Mountain," the magical creature accidentally bred by Robert, the last magical creature at the shop, "Firework Sprite," had only appeared a few months ago.

How could there already be a new magical creature?

Are magical creatures something as simple as cold medicine that can be easily produced every few months?

However, seasoned employees like Monroe had learned not to overthink it.

Their boss must be some kind of monster; his efficiency was beyond what normal people could imagine. Since there was no way to compare themselves to him, the mages at the magical creature shop chose to accept it without question.

Now, even if Lorant came every two days to announce a new magical creature awaiting research, Monroe and the others would only go through the motions of surprise before quickly preparing to compete for the new project.

After visiting the laboratories of the other two mages and assigning them some new tasks, Lorant wrapped up his work for the day.

In the afternoon, dressed smartly, he and Lancelot made their way to the Knight Academy.

Today was Silem's first-year graduation ceremony. He had completed all the courses required by the Knight Academy for a first-level knight.

After this, like previous preparatory knights, the academy would give these students a period of vacation to practice on their own and await a breakthrough.

Once they broke through to the second level, they could enroll as second-year students.

Similarly, if they didn't manage to break through within the stipulated time, they would either have to serve as guards in small towns for a few years as required by the Knight Academy or settle the academy's training fees in one lump sum to buy their freedom.

Unlike the first time Silem returned home, Lorant now had no concerns about his younger brother.

Even if Silem truly lacked talent, Lorant didn't care.

He had long been prepared to support this kid for life.

Moreover, through his recent experience teaching at the Knight Academy, Lorant had come to realize that Silem's admission to the academy was already a lucky break given his talent.

It was unfair to expect too much more from him.

The Knight Academy was never lacking in geniuses.

Lorant had personally witnessed a student jump from the first year to the third year in just one year.

Advancing three levels in a single year was the kind of feat that earned someone the title of "genius" even in the talent-filled Knight Academy.

Silem's friend Simon had not caught Lorant's attention by mere chance either.

He had also shown remarkable talent.

The boy who had entered as a first-level knight around the same time as Silem was now a fully-fledged second-level knight.

This time, Silem didn't make Simon wait to become his classmate again but instead sent him straight to the second-year class.

It's also worth mentioning that Lorant's young follower, Natalie, was now a second-level knight as well.

As a girl who wasn't even a preparatory knight a year ago, Natalie had demonstrated astonishing talent after receiving proper training.

Coupled with her unmatched diligence, she quickly drew the attention of many.

Everyone couldn’t help but marvel at Lorant’s luck, stumbling upon such a talented girl from an orphanage.

Yet no one stopped to wonder why they lacked even an orphanage.

Naturally, Lorant couldn’t contain his excitement. Though she wasn’t yet a combat asset, her potential was undeniable, and Lorant couldn’t wait to see her grow.

Meanwhile, the Blue Star Orphanage, now based in Kamkuo, expanded its horizons and began uncovering other hidden gems.

Lorant’s instincts had paid off.

With proper care and nutrition, the children’s hidden talents began to shine.

Recently, the orphanage uncovered twenty-four children with knight talents, two with warrior talents, and one with mage talents.

At an average age of under seven, these kids were at the ideal stage for Lorant’s plans.

They will enter Hogwarts and receive formal professional training to become the first wave of Beast Tamers Lorant desires.

They were destined to become the backbone of Blue Star’s future.

Now, shifting focus back to Silem’s graduation ceremony.

This annual banquet is a highlight for the Knight Academy’s top students.

Unlike the enrollment lawn banquet, which students pay for themselves, the graduation banquet is a class-wide celebration.

All students, teachers, and parents are invited to celebrate this milestone in the knights’ lives.

The Knight Academy treats every graduation as if it might be the last, honoring it with the utmost importance. They spare no effort in making each graduation feel like a once-in-a-lifetime event.

At the same time, they also hope that the students who have experienced the graduation ceremony can have another one, which is a heartfelt wish for all the students.

After Lorant and Lancelot dressed up and attended, the whole party instantly became a gathering focused on them.

The students, who are usually extremely well-behaved in front of Lorant, finally got to be a little more playful in such an occasion. They lined up in an orderly fashion to take turns toasting to Lorant.

This successfully got Lorant completely drunk well before the party was over.

Lancelot had to decline a glass of red wine, while holding Lorant by the waist to keep him upright, and then took Lorant to the lounge on the second floor of the banquet hall.

He was now extremely grateful that the academy had foreseen situations where teachers might get drunk thanks to mischievous students and had prepared a lounge in advance.

The young man was so drunk that he was completely limp, leaning on Lancelot as if he were boneless, and could slip out of Lancelot's grip at any moment.

Lancelot had to hold him firmly. If it weren't for wanting to save face for Professor Lorant in front of the students, he would have already carried this drunkard away.

Lorant, already somewhat drowsy and blinking his eyes, ready to close them and drift off the next second, suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed Lancelot's collar as Lancelot placed him on the sofa.