Chapter 389

Chapter 389

Lorant couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless. Blue Star’s overwhelming popularity—was that really his fault?

While ordinary entrances to the Black Forest aren’t entirely free, they only charge a nominal beast tax.

This means adventurers who hunt or gather items from the Black Forest need to have their haul appraised at the outpost, and a cut goes to the outpost to cover their daily expenses.

In reality, if ordinary adventurers don’t bring back much, they’ll only fork over a couple of copper coins as a registration fee.

But Blue Star is different. Blue Star not only collects the beast tax on creatures slain by adventurers in its training area but also charges a jaw-dropping admission fee.

To enter the first and lowest-level area, it’ll cost you 20 silver coins a day, and stepping into the second area will set you back two gold coins.

The top-tier area is, by everyone’s standards, ridiculously expensive, requiring 50 gold coins to enter.

Yet, even with such steep prices, it doesn’t put a dent in people’s enthusiasm.

Twenty silver coins buy you an area where no beasts above level three will show up, ensuring your safety. After crunching the numbers, adventurers know what choice to make.

A place where they can practice with peace of mind, without worrying about being ambushed by high-level beasts, isn’t something you can just swap out for twenty silver coins!

Moreover, not just the first area, but all three zones Lorant set up are incredibly popular.

While the number of people entering the second-level area is much smaller than the first-level training area, the ticket revenue is even more impressive due to the higher price.

Those who’ve just acquired Glassy Ice Flame Dogs and Furious Ragdoll Bears are more eager to head to the second area to experience the strengths of these two beasts.

Glassy Ice Flame Dogs, which can reach nearly level seven in beast strength as adults, and the even stronger Furious Ragdoll Bears, can dominate the second area, protecting their owners during battles.

They’ve got your back.

As beasts become more popular, more folks without any practitioner chops are choosing to become Beast Tamers.

These people had nothing but enthusiasm before, but due to their lack of talent, they’d barely even laid eyes on a beast, let alone faced these terrifying creatures.

This place lets them ease into beast interactions at their own pace, which is incredibly welcoming for them.

The training area alone puts their minds at ease.

Not to mention, Lorant has thoughtfully provided optional add-on insurance for these ticket-buying practitioners.

The training area has prepared a magical firework for Beast Tamers and practitioners that, when yanked, shoots a unique signal into the sky and comes with a built-in locator.

When in danger and in need of rescue, one can pull this firework to call for help.

The guards, spotting the firework, will rush to the scene and whisk the endangered adventurer away.

The guards, who possess a staggering number of Glassy Ice Flame Dogs and Furious Ragdoll Bears, have abilities that no adventurer here would doubt.

At least within the training area marked by Blue Star, these people are strong enough to protect others’ safety.

Of course, such high-quality and thoughtful service isn’t free. Each rescue firework is sold at a high price, but sales are booming, almost reaching the point where every adventurer entering the training area has one.

Whether they use it or not is another matter, but having it is a matter of life and death for these people.

Under possible circumstances, no one dares to joke with their own life.

Gold’s great and all, but you’ve gotta be alive to spend it, right?

As the saying goes, the most painful thing is when the person is gone but the money is not yet spent.

These adventurers are quite clear-headed in this regard.

So when Lorant and Lancelot arrived, they saw a sea of beasts and adventurers.

The training area sells tickets every day and has very strict opening and closing hours.

This leaves little room for those who want to demonstrate their dedication here.

Before 8:30 in the morning, the steel gate in front of the training area will not open. Although it is still connected to the Black Forest and can't be fully sealed off, if someone tries to sneak in without buying a ticket, they will be permanently barred from entering the training area once discovered.

After 9:00 PM, the guards of the training area will start driving away those who are unwilling to leave, as they want to go home on time to have a warm late-night meal!

Under such circumstances, people who have bought tickets will wait at the gate from 8:00 AM, rushing in as soon as the gate opens, eager to make the most of every second.

Leaving halfway is out of the question.

Many of these people are not Beast Tamers but other professionals themselves. Their purpose here is not to bond with their beasts but to train their combat skills through this training area.

The number of these people is excessive, even crowding out many Beast Tamers from having enough space to fully bond with their beasts.

Not to mention some ordinary people or low-level practitioners turned Beast Tamers, who are very likely to be bullied by those grouped practitioners in such places!

It's a complete role reversal.

Lorant observed from above for a while and couldn't help but frown: "There are too many adventurers here, which is not what I initially envisioned."

This is a place for Beast Tamers, and Beast Tamers should not be yielding to these practitioners from who knows where.

Lancelot was more aware of this than Lorant.

He shrugged, unsurprised, and smiled: "I told you before, with such a perfect training area, those practitioners will definitely not pass it up. It can keep the beasts' levels in check and provide such a high level of safety. If it were in the past, even I would find it hard to resist its temptation."

"And the Beast Shop hasn't forcibly prohibited them from appearing, so how could the practitioners not come?"

Lorant naturally understood the reasoning Lancelot mentioned. He clearly knew how enticing this training area is to people.

This is not an online game where people can choose a training area that matches their level to safely battle monsters!

Beasts don't care about the gap between themselves and the people they face; they just want to equally tear apart all adventurers to satisfy their inner cruelty!

Even if a level one practitioner is extra cautious, they might still encounter a level three beast at the edge of the Black Forest and be devoured in a single bite.

These are extremely dangerous issues for adventurers!

"No, I have to find a way to limit others from coming here." Lorant pursed his lips, his eyes turning as an idea immediately appeared in his mind: "How about this? Starting today, all non-Beast Tamer practitioners who want to enter here will have their ticket prices doubled and need to be assigned different entry times based on their profession."

"For example, mages and priests can enter the training area on Mondays and Wednesdays, while knights and warriors can enter on Tuesdays and Thursdays. As for Fridays and Saturdays, they will be allocated to other professions with fewer numbers, such as archers and assassins."

"This way, the crowd will definitely be limited, and the resources of Beast Tamers won't be occupied too much. What do you think?" Lorant turned his head to seek Lancelot's opinion.

Lancelot was noncommittal about this: "I think it's feasible, but those practitioners will probably be furious when they hear this news."

Lorant shrugged, very nonchalant: "What can we do? This is the headquarters of Beast Tamers; we can't sacrifice the interests of Beast Tamers to satisfy others."

"If they want to blame someone, they can only blame the Mage Association, Warrior Association, Knight Order, and other organizations for not being able to provide a training area like I do for their practitioners."

"Besides, they only need to become Beast Tamers to enjoy the treatment of Beast Tamers, right?"

"There are no thresholds for us Beast Tamers!" the owner of the beast pet shop said smugly, his tail practically wagging in the air.

He could indeed enforce a rule to ban all practitioners except Beast Tamers from entering, but the beast pet shop is a very special place.

Harmony breeds prosperity, and that's the golden rule.

As he said, if anyone feels this method is unfair, they can just go and buy a beast pet. As long as they pass the Beast Tamer exam, they can become a Beast Tamer, right?

The knight, seeing Lorant's proud little demeanor, felt a tickle in his heart. He covered Fa Meng's curious eyes with one hand and pressed the back of Lorant's head with the other, quickly leaning in for a deep kiss.

Fa Meng struggled out from under Lancelot's hand, shaking her head in dissatisfaction.

She flew off to the side, sulking.

As if she hadn't seen the two of you nibbling at each other before, how stingy!

All the changes in the Blue Star territory made Lorant feel that everything looked exceptionally prosperous.

Thanks to the thorough and reasonable planning done in advance, everything here was progressing smoothly according to plan, with no need for any changes.

This made Lorant deeply gratified.

After spending some time in the territory and checking on the smoothly operating inns and hotels in the villages, Lorant and Lancelot returned to the beast pet shop.

After returning from the Lopulo Mountains, Lorant discovered the two special SR-level Wulu Shells—the All-Transmission Shells.

Naturally, Lorant had to pay extra attention to these special beast pets.

Thanks to the detailed records in the beast warehouse, Lorant could clearly and intuitively see the environment and conditions under which these two beast pets were bred.

Every step of the Wulu Shell breeding process, from the initial time details to the final temperature and humidity specifics, even the thickness of the bedding used during incubation, every detail was meticulously documented by Lorant.

After returning to the beast pet shop some time ago, Lorant had Kong Yi begin replicating this process, strictly following every step and controlling all variables, to attempt to replicate a batch of Wulu Shells bred under the same conditions as the All-Transmission Shells, to see if these beast pets could continue their special lineage.

So far, the only SR-level beast pet replicable in the beast pet shop is the Spark Fur, and that's due to the unique nature of the beast pet Slime itself.

It's an experience that can't be replicated with other beast pets.

As for the other beast pets, like Maomao and Little Qing, they appeared earlier when the breeding records at the beast pet shop weren't very complete. So, it was more of a stroke of luck, with no verifiable basis. Even if Lorant wanted to replicate and try, there was no way to start.

However, after the beast warehouse was fully improved, these special beast pets that were hatched, such as Lorant's Jiaojiao and these twin Wulu Shells, naturally became subjects for Lorant to study closely.

Once they could be replicated, it might allow Lorant to master a method of preserving special bloodlines!

Those mage teams, upon hearing about the two shells with special bloodlines, turned green with envy.

They took all the information on the All-Transmission Shells overnight, going over it countless times daily, hoping to unearth some treasure from the lines.

The fact that beast pets have a chance to develop special bloodlines during breeding is no secret to most people inside the beast pet shop now.

The immense energy these special bloodline beast pets can generate has also been noticed by many.

If a way could be found to mass-produce these beast pets, the value that could be obtained has been vividly demonstrated by the Spark Fur.

Now, the Spark Fur has its own Slime ranch, and although it still belongs to the Slime House, it has been separately managed by dedicated personnel.

The Spark Fur bracelet is now the most cost-effective winter magic auxiliary item in the entire low-tier magic materials market, and currently, there isn't even a direct competitor in its market!

As the weather grows colder, Lorant can imagine how popular these little things will be.

Facing the allure of such special bloodlines, it’s hard for anyone to resist.

At least, Lorant is totally hooked.

Therefore, he instructed Kong Yi to replicate the exact conditions used in breeding these special monster pets, hoping for identical results under the same conditions.

Sadly, the Jiaojiao replication experiment has wrapped up.

While Lorant was outside the Lopulo Mountains, Kong Yi tried countless times in the monster pet shop. Even with temperature, humidity, and breeding time controlled to the second, the final results still only yielded some ordinary Windbreaking Horses.

After numerous tries, Lorant decided to put a stop to this draining experiment, planning to try again next year, replicating the exact dates, to see if luck would reveal a method for breeding such a special Windbreaking Horse.

After all, among monster pets, there is the Spitroot, which can only be bred in spring, so time, season, temperature, etc., could all have a magical impact on breeding.

You can’t go wrong with more tries.

If creatures like Jiaojiao, the seven-colored unicorn, could be mass-produced, Lorant would be over the moon, unable to sleep from excitement.

And although the experiment with Jiaojiao failed, it doesn’t mean the experiment with the two Wulu Shells will also fail.

They still need to follow through with the necessary steps.

Today marks the day the first All-Transmission Shell replication experiment yields results.

Fifty small monster eggs lie quietly in the breeding room, waiting for the right time to come into this world.

What kind of monster pets these eggs will hatch will determine the outcome of the attempt to replicate the special bloodline of the Wulu Shells.

Both Lorant and Kong Yi have set aside time, and mages such as Monroe and Jin Baoli have also arrived. On this crucial day, the mage research group leaders, despite their busy schedules, have all come to the breeding room to await the results.

As the first little one emerged from the monster egg, Lorant’s eyes widened in amazement.

That monster egg clearly produced two small Wulu Shells.

And the most prominent external characteristic of the All-Transmission Shell itself is—

Twinning!

In that moment, Lorant knew his experiment had truly succeeded.

The All-Transmission Shells had indeed been replicated by him.

Even if only one or two of the monster eggs in this batch became All-Transmission Shells, everything he had done would be worth it.

Though overjoyed, Lorant kept his excitement in check. These monster pets in front of him have not all hatched yet, and the specific situation is still unknown.

What if this was just a stroke of luck and another bloodline mutation appeared out of nowhere? Then wouldn’t he have been happy for nothing?

So to determine whether this replication experiment was effective, it would still require multiple experiments to confirm the result.

However, the following situation greatly exceeded Lorant’s expectations.

After all fifty monster eggs hatched, a full twenty-seven of them produced twin shells!

Such a probability is no longer something that can be explained by luck! Without even needing another experiment, Lorant can now declare that his attempt this time was effective!

He has truly mastered a method to consistently breed Wulu Shells with special bloodlines!

The quantity of special bloodline Wulu Shells is enough to prove that Kong Yi indeed discovered a certain technique in this breeding process that ensures the stable appearance of the Quanchuan Shell's bloodline.

What's more, this technique allows for a significant number of Quanchuan Shells to be bred!

Although Lorant does not yet know which step ultimately resulted in the appearance of the special beast, this does not hinder his ability to produce this unique Wulu Shell in large quantities now!

To continue breeding this special shell, he simply needs to repeat the process!

The next step is to find ways to simplify the process and identify the key step.

That step is also the information that the mages most want to obtain.

What exactly causes the beast to develop those special bloodlines, and why are they so unique? Can changes in other aspects create beasts with more special bloodlines?

These are the details that several mage teams are eagerly seeking from the monster eggs.

Even without those benefits, the mages' thirst for knowledge drives their ongoing research into the beasts' mysteries.

To unveil the mysterious veil of the beasts, these studies must be conducted!

Facing these highly enthusiastic and motivated mages, Lorant naturally wouldn't dampen their spirits.

Honestly, Lorant himself is also very curious about this matter.

So the shop owner gave the go-ahead, telling the mage teams they could all research this special topic, with credit going to whoever figures it out first.

In the history of beast pets, their names will be remembered!

The group of mages left the breeding room in high spirits, and Lorant began to carefully settle the newly born Little Qing and Little Black with Kong Yi.

With such a large batch of Quanchuan Shells, Lorant's mind was buzzing with ideas again.

To him, the Quanchuan Shell is like a fantastic big screen that can broadcast live in real time.

The enlarged Wulu Shell screen looks a bit like the cloth movies shown on Friday nights in the small square of a university campus.

However, what the Quanchuan Shell broadcasts is the live version seen by the twin shells.

This is the ultimate promotional tool. The emergence of the Quanchuan Shell and mastering its breeding method have given Lorant more promotional avenues.

Coincidentally, Lorant currently has several things that need promoting.

The Blue Star territory is now well-developed, boasting beautiful houses, clean roads, full public facilities, lush greenery, and smiling faces. The whole village resembles a paradise on earth.

Especially to ordinary people who have known hardship, it seems even more so.

Lorant believes that broadcasting images of Blue Star, even without much embellishment, will be enough to make people yearn for it!

At that point, the number of people wanting to visit Blue Star will be endless.

Among these people, Lorant needs those with special skills and professional talents.

Scholars, craftsmen with superb skills, anatomists who can dissect powerful beasts, and alchemists who can prepare various potions, etc. These are the talents that Blue Star currently lacks. With these people, the Blue Star territory can further develop.

Currently, Blue Star appears very prosperous, but in reality, it is only sustained by the changes Lorant brought from his previous life.

In the Blue Star village, the vast majority are ordinary people. The number of practitioners and special talents is not only less than that of cities in the human empire, but even a well-developed village outside is stronger than Blue Star.

It is only through good management and planning that this place appears so beautifully dreamy.

So in Lorant's eyes, Blue Star has clearly not yet reached its best state, and it is necessary to advance certain initiatives.

Especially since he later wants Blue Star to meet the daily needs of adventurers at the Lopulo Mountain Pass, in this regard, Blue Star still has a long way to go.

After spending some leisurely days at the beast pet shop, Lorant and Lancelot chose a day to head over to the Knight Academy together.

The Knight Academy, which they hadn't seen for a long time, had transformed in many ways.

In the ancient castle, many beast pets were freely darting about.

Several dark clouds were swiftly moving across the sky above the campus, and Lorant knew at a glance what they were.

Other than the Blood-Eyed Black Crows and the Wingless Flywheels, there were no other options!

These playful little creatures have now become a charming addition to the cityscape.

Before this, when Lorant lay in the beast pet shop sunbathing every day, he couldn't help but think that if there were birdsong and the hum of insects, it would make the world seem more vibrant. Unfortunately, all the animals in this world are dangerously aggressive creatures.

So before the appearance of beast pets, Lorant's thoughts remained just a thought and couldn't be realized.

But with the appearance of the two flying beast pets, these little ones can now be seen soaring in the sky more and more in the city.

Unlike the Glassy Ice Flame Dogs and other terrestrial beast pets, these two flying beast pets are inherently free-spirited and hard to confine.

Especially when the beast pet shop made clear during Beast Tamer training that these beast pets need to be given enough time for outdoor activities every day, these two flying beast pets have become increasingly free around their respective owners.

Most of the time, their Beast Tamers would choose to let these children roam freely outdoors, as long as they can return to their side during meal times and be at their side when needed.

This way of raising them has made these two little ones appear more and more frequently in the city, and now the people in Mauplan are quite used to the sight of these little black clouds they can see when they look up.

These little ones don't pose any threat to people anyway, and even outside the city, if they see someone being attacked by scattered beasts, they might even intervene to help.

The people of the entire city are quite taken with these little coal-like creatures.

There are even children who would go out of their way to buy treats that the Wingless Flywheels like, hoping a 'wild' Wingless Flywheel might perch on their windowsill and let them carefully touch it.

So after talks between the city and the beast pet shop, these flying beast pets were allowed to fly freely around the city, unrestricted.

As one of the first institutions to adopt beast pets, the Knight Academy has a number of beast pets among its knight students that far outnumbers those of other adventurer groups or organizations.

And the variety is vast.

In addition to the astonishing number of flying beast pets, on the vast lawn of the Knight Academy, Lorant also saw many Glassy Ice Flame Dogs frolicking in packs.

In the school, these little ones rarely feel lonely, as they can play and frolic with their companions on this soft lawn every day.

Just like in the beast pet shop.

Near the lake, there are a few lounging Windbreaking Horses.

The Knight Academy's approach to these beast pets is to first build a stable with the help of the beast pet shop, which is large enough for all students to use.

This allows these big guys to have a place to rest in the school.

At the same time, these stables are not locked, and as long as the Windbreaking Horses are willing, they can always come out from the back of the stables to stroll on the lawn.

Quite free.

As for whether the owners of these free Windbreaking Horses can find them when they are looking for them, that's not the school's problem.

Lorant even saw a few fluffy Slime creatures hopping across the lawn, occasionally being grabbed by students sunbathing on the grass to use as backrests.

These little guys belong to the Knight Academy, a gift from Lorant as a teacher to the academy.

After Lorant and Lancelot stepped out of the teleportation circle riding the special Windbreaking Horses Jiaojiao and Little Qing, they walked proudly across the Knight Academy lawn.

Not far away, several Windbreaking Horses that saw them gently lowered their heads in their direction, their long green manes fluttering in the wind, expressing the beasts' heartfelt respect for their leader.

Little Qing was brimming with pride, holding its head high, eager to show off to every Windbreaking Horse it had defeated to flaunt its dominance.

Like Maomao, it is the leader of a certain group of beasts in the pet store, but unlike Maomao, who still has its bloodline advantage, the Dog King's bloodline dominance naturally commands awe and obedience in the Glassy Ice Flame Dogs. Only a very few Glassy Ice Flame Dogs, who are strong enough and just a step away from a special bloodline, would have the courage to challenge it.

So Maomao has little trouble managing the dog pack; it only needs to put the few troublemakers in their place.

But Little Qing is different; it is just an SR-ranked Windbreaking Horse, and the 'Skin of the Wind' bloodline doesn't dominate its peers.

Although its special bloodline gives it some advantage in competitions among Windbreaking Horses, far more Windbreaking Horses refuse to obey it than the number of Glassy Ice Flame Dogs that refuse to obey Maomao.

Holding the title of Horse King in the pet store for so long is entirely due to Little Qing's own strength, earned through relentless battles.

This feisty little one has battled nearly every Windbreaking Horse that has lived in the pet store, meaning every Windbreaking Horse sold by the pet store has been under Little Qing's rule.

Seeing its former subordinates, this naturally boastful one couldn't wait to rush forward and show off in front of Lorant.

Lancelot, stone-faced, tugged Little Qing's reins and forcefully turned its head back.

"Get moving, you!" Man and horse wrestled: "Behave!"

"Roar!"

Lorant chuckled, shaking his head as he watched the two struggle.

The bond between Little Qing and Lancelot is naturally very good.

After a change in mindset, Lancelot has taken good care of Little Qing, Little Seven, and the Lightwing Butterflies perched on his shoulders, spending time with them to build relationships whenever he is around them.

Even though Little Seven's strength is not very helpful to Lancelot now, this is no longer a big deal for the knight who once viewed pets as mere tools to boost his power.

Even if Little Seven can't keep up with his pace, it is still his Glassy Ice Flame Dog, his precious treasure.

According to Lorant, Lancelot has finally found the joy of keeping a pet.

Keeping a pet is not about what it can bring to you, but more about the companionship and comfort it provides. Having a furry little one by your side can greatly improve your mood.

Over time, they become family, an inseparable part of your life.

However, it seems that no matter when, Little Qing always likes to contradict Lancelot.

Especially when Lorant is around, this Windbreaking Horse becomes even more tsundere, absolutely refusing to show any closeness to Lancelot.

After a playful tussle, Lorant and Lancelot soon arrived at the door of the Knight Academy's headmaster's independent two-story building.

"Please come in, you two." A middle-aged knight, who seemed to have heard Lancelot scolding Little Qing, emerged from the bushes beside the building, holding a large pair of gardening shears, obviously having just been trimming the branches of the nearby flowering trees.

Lorant knew this middle-aged knight.

His name is Bell Augustine, the son of the old headmaster, Mr. Augustine.

This knight is usually stationed at the Lopulo Pass, guarding it for the knight order, and rarely finds time to visit his father at the knight academy.

Lorant met him during a collaboration with the knight order, where this knight was assigned to liaise with Blue Star.

Eventually, their conversation turned to the knight academy, and that's how Lorant learned about Mr. Augustine's true identity.

Seeing him here today is likely due to the recent calm at the pass where young Augustine is stationed, giving him time to rest at the academy.

As a senior member of the knight academy, Mr. Augustine has lived in this small building for years. He owns no other property besides the knight academy, having poured all his earnings from the first half of his life into the institution.

One could say the knight academy is the old headmaster's entire life.

This is what Lorant admires most about this headmaster.

Reflecting, Lorant feels he could never match the headmaster's achievements in his lifetime.

Young Augustine guided them through the gate, and Lorant caught sight of the familiar dean's office.

The old headmaster was still the same as before.

He sat quietly in his office, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, flipping through pages of leaf paper with an air of seriousness.

Young Augustine entered without disturbing him, nodded to Lorant and Lancelot, and headed upstairs to the second-floor living room.

Lorant and Lancelot, being quite familiar with the place, felt right at home.

They deftly uncovered the sofa buried under files by the wall, tidied it, and sat down. Then, they retrieved a bottle of the old headmaster's prized red wine from the depths of his wine cabinet, found their stored glasses, and began to help themselves without hesitation.

When Augustine looked up from his files, he saw that the precious red wine he had hidden away for a special occasion had already been opened and half consumed by these two rascals!

"You two rascals!" The old headmaster's beard bristled with anger. He threw the files in his hand and pushed his wheelchair out from behind the desk, abandoning his usual elegance. "Save some for me! It was hard to get someone to buy this for me!"

"I was planning to savor it slowly! You two rascals don't know the first thing about red wine!"

Despite being in a wheelchair, the old headmaster moved with a speed that would astonish even the fittest knights.

He swiftly approached Lorant and Lancelot, grabbed the wine bottle from Lancelot's hand, and poured a generous half-glass into an empty cup on the table.

Only then did he lift the glass with satisfaction, downing it in one go and letting out a contented sigh.

Lorant helplessly twitched the corner of his mouth.

With such a way of drinking, forget about savoring it slowly, the wine probably reached the stomach before the throat even realized it!

"Alright, speak up, what brings you two to see this old man? I don't believe you two busybodies are just here out of kindness to visit this lonely old man." Old Augustine comfortably leaned back in his wheelchair and turned to look at his two juniors.

Lancelot is his proud student, and during his time at the academy, old Augustine took great care of him, making him a regular here.

And Lorant is a teacher at the knight academy, maintaining a very good cooperative relationship with the academy since the very beginning of the pet shop. His impact on the changes among the academy's students during this period is evident to all.

Whether viewed from the perspective of an elder or a headmaster, Lorant is beyond reproach.

Facing these two, Augustine, like all teachers proud of their students, was full of smiles and indulgence.