Chapter 412

Chapter 412

The pair of thin blue wings clung tightly to Little Qing and Little Black's skin, making it hard to spot these organs on the back of this humanoid creature without a close inspection.

Lorant carefully touched it, and the texture felt like hard plastic, not what you'd expect on a living creature.

Little Qing and Little Black seemed tickled by Lorant's touch, giggling and dodging away.

However, Lorant's touch also made Little Qing and Little Black aware of his curiosity about its wings, so it boldly spread its wings to show off.

Instantly, a pair of sapphire-blue wings, much larger than Little Qing and Little Black's body, spread out behind it, the thin wingtips brushing against Lorant's fingertips.

These wings didn't look like butterfly wings or bird feathers; they were more like very thin, yet ornate bat wings.

These were the most magnificent wings Lorant had ever seen on a beast. He had seen countless light-winged butterflies, but never a pair as stunning and dreamlike as these.

The MagicEater Sprite's wings not only had a sapphire-like base color but were also adorned with various blue gemstone crystals along the visible bones.

Some looked like sapphires, while others resembled crystals, clustered on the Sprite's bones, creating a beauty that no jeweler could replicate.

It was a natural, wondrous beauty, like the most elegant piece of art, captivating anyone who saw it.

Feeling Lorant's gaze, Little Qing and Little Black shyly flapped its wings a few times, the dreamlike wings shimmered even more under the light.

Lorant gently rubbed Little Qing and Little Black's head. Its small size was adorable; Lorant could cover its head with just two fingers.

The MagicEater Sprite's sapphire-blue hair, though it looked like hair and sapphire in texture, felt like soft animal fur, giving a pleasant touch.

Its hair seemed to have a strange magic; when it wrapped around Lorant's fingers, it felt like they were connected by a data cable, instantly understanding each other's minds.

This reminded Lorant of the movie 'Avatar,' where aliens connected with strange alien animals using the tendrils on their braids and the animals' tails to achieve a mental connection.

Little Qing and Little Black seemed to have a similar ability.

After playing with Little Qing and Little Black for a while, Lorant took it to eat properly.

Even for an S-class beast, the first meal after birth must include the entire eggshell; otherwise, Little Qing and Little Black's initial nutrition would be insufficient, hindering its future growth.

Little Qing and Little Black appeared delicate and fragile, but as an S-class beast, the MagicEater Sprite couldn't possibly be weak.

In terms of physical strength alone, ordinary level ten beasts couldn't compete with it.

The sapphire eggshell didn't seem thick, but due to the size of the monster egg, it was only a thin layer.

Moreover, it was quite hard due to its texture.

If not for Lorant's specially made gemstone egg-opening knife, Little Qing and Little Black might not have been able to open its eggshell.

But once it emerged from the monster egg, perhaps because the integrity of the eggshell was compromised, its hardness decreased.

Little Qing and Little Black easily broke off large pieces of the eggshell and ate them like cookies.

It crunched away happily, and soon after finishing, it curled up and fell asleep in Lorant's hand, hugging its legs.

Its smooth and beautiful hair spread out, covering the entire beast like a sapphire-blue blanket.

Lorant bundled up Little Qing and Little Black and tucked it into his pocket.

Although the child looked fragile and deceptive, as someone who had raised many beasts, Lorant knew very well that Little Qing and Little Black was far from being as fragile as it appeared.

Its physical strength and abilities are likely capable of effortlessly shredding rocks dozens of meters thick, and it could single-handedly defeat powerful beasts without breaking a sweat, after all, this is an S-class Beast.

From the perspective of a beast, it is a legendary-level beast, and even if it is not renowned for its physical strength, it certainly cannot be weak.

Therefore, there’s no need to handle it with excessive caution.

Lorant doesn't need to worry about whether his actions might accidentally harm it; instead, he should be careful that this little one doesn’t, say, stretch and accidentally pierce his arm in a careless moment.

When the little one fell into a deep sleep, Lorant finally had the chance to open his Beast Compendium to check the specific information about it.

From the moment he touched the little one, Lorant could feel the Beast Compendium in his mind beginning to stir restlessly.

However, he had been holding back the Beast Compendium to keep it from popping out uncontrollably, so he could complete his first interaction with the little one.

First impressions are everything, and a good first impression can strengthen their bond in the future.

Whether it's Fa Meng or the little one in front of him, they’re both highly intelligent creatures. For these little ones, they have their own emotions, ways of thinking, and their own ideas. If you don't treat them as equals, these little ones might feel neglected and disrespected.

Lorant believes that treating these little ones like mere pets would be an insult and a lack of respect to them.

So now, unless the Beast Compendium forces itself to jump out, Lorant will always wait until the newborn beast has fallen asleep before checking the specific content in it.

The Beast Compendium slowly unfolded before Lorant, and it seemed to be somewhat excited, glowing with an unusual light. Between the pages, a sapphire blue glow faintly flowed out, quite extraordinary.

Lorant selected the S-class Beast entry, and the large book automatically flipped to that page.

Lorant even vaguely sensed a hint of joy from this Beast Compendium; it seemed to be very pleased to add such a powerful beast to its pages.

It’s strange to sense emotions from a book, but Lorant had this feeling, and he was certain he was not mistaken.

The pages of the book quickly flipped open and automatically hovered in front of Lorant, casting a dazzling, radiant sapphire blue light into his eyes, so bright that it even dyed his black pupils a brilliant sapphire blue.

Then, at the end of the fading blue light, a tiny, winged creature hovering in mid-air, like a flower fairy, appeared before Lorant.

Unlike the usual appearances shown in the ability guide.

In the usual ability guide, what Lorant could see was often a general representation of that type of beast pet.

It wasn’t that Lorant would see the exact same little creature in the ability guide as the one he touched.

For example, the candy rabbit depicted in the ability guide was purple, but in reality, candy rabbits are a type of beast pet with diverse colors, and any color could be bred; the image in the ability guide was just a simple representation.

When Lorant unlocked the candy rabbit ability guide, he hadn’t even bred one in that color yet!

The Furious Ragdoll Bear was even more so. Lorant, intrigued by the unfamiliar image in the ability guide, tried to have the beast pet shop sew a batch of dolls of the corresponding shape, and based on these dolls, he bred a large number of Furious Ragdoll Bears. However, this attempt wasn’t very successful.

When the core of the Furious Ragdoll Bear was inserted into the new doll shown in the ability guide and into the little bear for which Lorant had specially bought the copyright, the effects were almost the same.

No matter how they tested it, there was no discernible advantage in the so-called 'ability guide-produced' doll shape, with the results being nearly identical to the little bear Lorant had chosen.

This proves that the ability guide’s solution might be optimal, but it’s not the only one.

And the more Lorant studied the ability guide and bred beast pets, the more he felt that sometimes what the ability guide provided might not even be the optimal solution.

The information on the ability guides of several beast pets was eventually re-filled by Lorant after countless studies with the mage team.

Fortunately, the ability guide at least has a recognition function, which can automatically select the best one between two different solutions.

Continuing with the example of the Furious Ragdoll Bear, Lorant believes this beast pet could find an even better-suited doll body, and the facts have proven his idea.

In every breeding of the Rage Ragdoll Bear, Lorant would have the people from the beast pet store prepare a large number of ragdolls in different shapes besides the already confirmed bear form.

Including some custom-designed dolls that customers paid a hefty price for, he would let the undeveloped beast pet eggs choose among them.

Those oddly shaped ragdolls sometimes turned out to be more favored by a portion of the Rage Ragdoll Bears than the teddy bears, though most of these were just isolated instances.

However, these isolated instances could still allow the Rage Ragdoll Bears to select a body more suitable for themselves.

The dolls chosen more frequently would be selected and gradually increased in number. Now, the Rage Ragdoll Bears have evolved into three distinct forms.

The two bear forms naturally remain the most bred, while the other three have also begun to take shape, signifying notable progress.

Those Rage Ragdoll Bears that chose other dolls often grew to be the strongest among their siblings.

This was naturally good news for Lorant, as those special forms of Rage Ragdoll Bears also fetched higher prices, and those who paid more could get a beast pet slightly stronger than a B-class beast, which was a worthwhile investment.

Coming back to the point, this time the ability chart did not present an image representing the beast pet group. Instead, what appeared before Lorant was the exact image of the little creature he had just seen.

The little sprite with sapphire wings happily flitted about for a while, then appeared slightly weary and sat down.

Adopting the same posture as when it had just sat cross-legged on Lorant's palm, it sat cross-legged in the center of the page, tilting its head to look at Lorant with its sapphire-colored eyes.

They were filled with the same fond expression Lorant had seen not long ago, all of which gave Lorant the illusion that he was looking at the little creature he kept in his pocket.

If this was the case, could it prove that the ability chart was also encountering the MagicEater Sprite, an S-class beast pet, for the first time, hence it couldn't use other images as substitutes for this species?

Lorant always had a special feeling that the ability chart seemed somewhat alien to the MagicEater Sprite.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Lorant thoroughly examined the content about this beast pet on the ability chart.

After all, the content on the ability chart was at least correct, wasn't it?

At that time, the content about the Codex on the ability chart was comparatively brief and straightforward compared to other beast pets, with basically no detailed information, just a few vague statements.

When it came to the MagicEater Sprite, the ability chart continued its usual special treatment for S-class beast pets, with similarly ambiguous language.

Among the few descriptions, Lorant naturally first looked for the ability descriptions of this beast pet.

"Skills":

"Fae Magic": The MagicEater Sprite possesses its own unique magic system, different from all mage systems in this world, capable of producing more powerful effects. The sprite's magic is unbound and has multiple different branches, which the MagicEater Sprite can master after a certain period of learning.

"Mana Absorption": The MagicEater Sprite feeds on mana daily, whether it's magic items containing powerful mana or pure mana itself, all can serve as its food sources. The MagicEater Sprite stores the ingested mana in its body, purifying and transforming it. The more and purer the mana stored, the greater the power the MagicEater Sprite can display.

Unlike the almost non-existent skill descriptions for the Codex, the MagicEater Sprite at least had two abilities listed on the ability chart, which somewhat comforted Lorant.

Although it seems that further specific information still needs Lorant to explore on his own, just like with Fa Meng, to slowly discover its capabilities together.

However, up to now, Lorant still doesn't know how to accurately pinpoint Fa Meng's abilities, but with the combined thoughts of both man and beast, they have at least managed to unleash a significant portion of Fa Meng's powers.

Those abilities alone have been enough to impress numerous legendary practitioners who have come into contact with Fa Meng.

In addition, Lorant also saw something on the ability chart that he found quite interesting and important.

That is, the MagicEater Sprite is a beast pet originating from gemstones or other valuable minerals.

Therefore, this beast pet theoretically has two different forms.

Its true form should actually be some kind of gemstone or mineral, and the sprite image it presents externally is just a spiritual or outward manifestation.

And this gem-eating demon sprite was clearly transformed from Lorant's set of gemstone jewelry, which means that the sapphire jewelry he had already assumed was lost might have a chance to return!

Lorant couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Although during this period, under Lancelot's comfort, Lorant had somewhat come to terms with the fact that the set of sapphires was gone.

Lancelot had even secretly placed a nearly identical set of sapphire jewelry back on Lorant's bedside, treating him like a child.

Lorant still remembers the day he opened his eyes to see Lancelot's sapphire-like eyes smiling at him, saying, "I had a dream last night!"

"A little elf came running over and sneaked into your drawer. Do you want to see what it turned into?"

Hearing his childlike tone, Lorant realized something in his half-asleep state.

He lazily rolled over, lying on the bed, and barely moving, opened the drawer.

Sure enough, his sapphires were back.

Lancelot had the same jeweler who had modified the original jewelry craft the new set, and every detail was identical to the previous set.

Lorant acted very happy, hugging Lancelot warmly to reassure the knight who had gone to great lengths to please him.

But in his heart, Lorant knew that even an identical set of gemstones could not fully replace the original.

It wasn't that he was overly attached to family heirlooms or antiques; Lorant simply couldn't let go of things that carried memories.

This habit had been with him since his previous life.

He was an extremely nostalgic person.

Childhood toys, the receipt from his first meal with Ruth, the old keys from his previous house, etc.

Many seemingly trivial items held great significance for Lorant.

These were things he wanted to preserve for a long time, and if possible, he wished everything from his life could be kept intact.

He couldn't bear to throw anything away, hoping that when he grew old, he could revisit these items and recall the memories of the past.

But if an old item was lost, even if an identical one was found, it couldn't replace its original meaning.

Of course, such thoughts might seem overly sentimental, but whether the gem-eating demon sprite could revert to the string of gemstones or not, Lorant could accept it.

Holding onto this beautiful expectation, Lorant left the lounge with the little creature.

He planned to begin preparing the little nest for the gem-eating demon sprite as described in the ability chart, preparing for the newborn's awakening.

The materials for the nest had just been listed in the ability chart, and Lorant noticed that several of them were not currently stocked in the beast shop.

But this wasn't a problem. Given the coverage of the Blue Star platform and the extensive resources of the beast shop, anything Lorant wanted, as long as it wasn't entirely out of reach, could be delivered to him in a short time after notifying the Blue Star platform.

About five hours later, all the materials Lorant needed had been delivered to the beast shop.

The floating octopuses, with Kong Yi at the lead, carried several large boxes floating slowly through the air, finding Lorant in an empty laboratory in the beast warehouse and placing the large wooden boxes in front of him.

Inside these boxes was the nest of the thirteenth-level beast, the "Purple Sun Golden-winged Bird," a powerful flying beast that lived a solitary life.

Their nests were mostly found at high mountain peaks, such as the high peaks of the Lopulo Mountains.

If one were to keep climbing up the Lopulo Mountains, they might find the habitat of this powerful beast.

Today, the military from the Pokara Mountains sent this nest as a gift.

After Lorant asked the Blue Star platform to look for materials, the military quickly got to work and luckily found a beast nest near the mountains.

Of course, this doesn’t mean a powerful level thirteen beast normally lives so close to the mountain entrance, and the military wasn’t just clueless.

This was an abandoned nest, probably left behind during a beast wave.

Because it was in a remote spot and posed no threat, the military hadn’t bothered to clean it up. But when they learned Lorant needed it, they sent it over.

This nest is a key material Lorant needs to build a den for the MagicEater Sprite.

Besides this massive nest—tall as a person and three to five meters wide, with tangled branches and feathers—Lorant also collected a few other materials from different places.

Essential oil from the tail of a level seven beast, the "Lilac Dog," and sap from a level eleven plant beast, the "Ghost Flower," were laid out in front of Lorant.

The Ghost Flower’s sap is crystal clear, almost like air, and gives off a sweet, tempting smell in the crystal bowl.

But in truth, this plant beast’s sap is deadly.

If humans or beasts swallow even a drop, they’ll die instantly. Practitioners might last a few extra minutes.

That’s why it’s called the Ghost Flower.

Lorant started by soaking the huge beast nest completely in Ghost Flower sap.

The lab had a specially designed half-sunken pool, which was perfect for this.

The clear Ghost Flower sap filled the pool, and the floating octopuses helped the massive nest sink into it.

Lorant stood by the pool, watching the nest soak in the Ghost Flower sap.

Weird stuff kept floating up from the wooden poles. Even though they’d been cleaned, it looked like invisible grime was dissolving and vanishing in the clear sap.

Lorant found this oddly satisfying.

The Ghost Flower sap worked like a super cleaner, quickly removing leftover dust, dirt, and even the energy from its former owner, leaving just a spotless nest.

The nest, made of branches, feathers, and beast bones, had looked creepy, but after cleaning, it practically gleamed.

Lorant had the floating octopuses help pull the nest out, then trimmed it with heavy shears, making a 'click-click' sound.

Soon, with the floating octopuses hard at work, the nest—with its messy branches, scattered feathers, and jutting bones—started to look more rounded.

Lorant had the floating octopuses use big brushes dipped in Lilac Dog tail oil to coat the nest inside and out.

When they were done, he set it aside to dry.

While this was happening, Lorant also made snacks for Little Qing and Little Black to eat when they woke up.

Though the MagicEater Sprite’s main food is magic and it doesn’t need real food to survive, eating tasty treats isn’t just about staying alive—it’s a joy for the MagicEater Sprite and any smart creature.

Life’s joys come from these small, seemingly trivial things.

For highly intelligent Sclass Beasts like Little Qing and Little Black, they have not just basic survival needs but also human-like ones.

These are all things Lorant has to take care of. He’s like a guardian for these little ones, their direct link to the world, and he has to think of everything for them.

Lorant has to plan carefully for his little ones.

Whether it was out of a desire to keep them close by his side to protect him with their abilities, or simply out of a pet-keeping mentality, Lorant hoped to see his monster pets living healthy, happy, and carefree lives.

After all, the little ones don’t have to work, so why should they have so many worries?

They only need to enjoy the most beautiful aspects of this world.

Once Little Qing and Little Black woke up, Lorant took them around the entire monster pet shop and introduced them to Fa Meng and others, calling them Xiao Lan.

Lorant’s monster pets were the ‘leaders’ of the other pets in the shop, forming their own close-knit group.

Xiao Lan was a rather shy and timid little one, often burying its head in its long hair to hide completely, leaving only a small gap to peek out shyly at Lorant.

Everything other than Lorant seemed like a ‘huge threat’ to this little one, making it extremely fearful.

Even the soft Dream Weaver could startle Xiao Lan.

It was even hesitant to sit alone on Lorant’s shoulder, as if afraid of falling off, and when it did sit there, it would cling to Lorant’s ear with its tiny claws, refusing to let go.

During its first outing, it trembled so badly that it seemed utterly terrified, forcing Lorant to take it off his shoulder and place it in his pocket, where he kept his hand inside to comfort the little one.

Compared to an ordinary pocket, Xiao Lan clearly preferred the small cloth pouch on Lorant’s chest, where it had stayed even before it hatched from its monster egg.

Every morning, it would cling to the pouch, eagerly lying by the bed, hoping Lorant would take it out to play.

At first, Lorant thought this behavior was just because the little one was new to the world and still a young creature, so he indulged it. Whenever Xiao Lan begged with its watery sapphire eyes to be carried in the pouch, Lorant would agree, letting the little one happily stay in its familiar pocket.

At that time, he thought it was just a bit of dependency.

Like many children who, even as adults, remain attached to their childhood pillows or blankets, unable to sleep without them.

Lorant didn’t see any problem with this.

Although Xiao Lan, as a monster pet, was theoretically born with mature thoughts and emotions and shouldn’t have these human quirks, Lorant didn’t mind spoiling the little one a bit more.

It was a small interaction between humans and monster pets, much like how Little Qing loved to be jealous or Jiaojiao enjoyed throwing little tantrums.

However, Xiao Lan’s issue worsened.

It reached a point where if Lorant didn’t carry it in the pouch, it would tremble with fear outside.

This made Lorant realize that something had to be done to correct the little one’s mindset.

It wasn’t that he wanted to force the little ones to grow according to his own ideas, like some overly controlling parents.

In fact, if Xiao Lan just had some quirky habits, Lorant wouldn’t have minded at all and would have happily let it keep the pouch forever.

But the problem was that Xiao Lan didn’t just like the pouch—it wanted Lorant to carry it in the pouch when going out.

More importantly, this behavior stemmed from a deep fear of going outside.

This fear had become so severe that it was affecting the little one’s daily life.

As an S-class monster pet, Lorant knew these little ones couldn’t spend their entire lives quietly sitting in his pocket as tiny pets.

They were beasts, fighting machines, and among the most powerful, bloodthirsty creatures in the world.

Being this timid won’t do.

So Lorant decided to figure out a way to gradually ease the little one’s shyness, at least to the point where it could hide in his pocket and go out normally.

So, Lorant decided to use food as a lure to guide the little one to gradually build up its courage, eventually going out and even fighting alongside him.

Creatures like Fa Meng are naturally fearless, and the little fat dragon couldn’t understand Xiao Lan’s strange behavior.

When Xiao Lan was just born, Fa Meng, Maomao, and Bao Bao were all very curious about it.

Welcoming the new member, they tried to befriend it.

But after several days of enthusiasm and unsuccessful attempts, the two impatient ones gave up first, leaving only Bao Bao still trying to chat with the newcomer.

Lorant took it step by step, first in the relatively enclosed and safe environment of the bedroom, letting the little one get used to its surroundings, to the point where it could live alone without fear.

Then, he gradually led it to new places.

"Xiao Lan, don’t be afraid, let’s go out, okay? No, no need for the pouch, we’ll just go to the yard, not far," Lorant coaxed the little one while lying on the bed.

At this time, the MagicEater Sprite’s nest that Lorant had prepared had been moved to his bedroom and placed next to the bedside nest that Xiao Bai would use at night.

The huge beast’s nest had been shrunk down, becoming a tiny nest perfect for the MagicEater Sprite.

Lorant had put a soft cushion inside, and Xiao Lan quite liked its little bed.

Hearing this, Xiao Lan hesitated, its claws gripping the edge of the nest, its sapphire eyes met his as a small voice echoed in his mind.

'Really? Just to the yard? Last time you said we’d just go to the yard, but then we went to the lake! Lorant can’t lie!' The little one, though timid and shy, had clear logic.

And its memory was good, clearly remembering how Lorant had tricked it two days ago.

Lorant smirked, honestly, that was exactly what he had been thinking, to coax the little elf out, then gradually lead it to take a turn around the beast pet shop.

Who knew the little one was so clever.

Lorant wasn’t embarrassed at all after being exposed. He shook his head and decided to have a clear talk with the smart little one.

"Xiao Lan, I need to talk to you about this."

"I think you can’t keep being afraid of going out like this. If it continues, when I go on long trips, will you stay here alone?"

"You must have heard Bao Bao say, we’ve been away for months before. Would you be willing to stay here alone at that time?"

Xiao Lan immediately started shaking its head vigorously. It was precisely because it didn’t want to leave Lorant that it tried every means to go out with him, even if it was scared.

The thought of leaving Lorant for such a long time was something the little one couldn’t even imagine.

Just thinking about the scenario Bao Bao had shown it, Xiao Lan felt like crying in fear.

"So, Xiao Lan, you have to learn to adapt to going out. There’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m always by your side. You’re very strong; others outside are not as strong as you, so don’t be afraid," Lorant looked at the little one’s expression of 'although I’m scared, if it’s your request, I’ll change,' and his heart softened again.

But then he realized, he couldn’t keep indulging the little one like this.

Otherwise, the little one’s fear might never be cured.

Before he could harden his heart, Xiao Lan suddenly seemed to have a good idea, inspired, the whole beast got excited.

Its hair floated around like seaweed in water.

'Lorant! I have a solution! If you are going to be away for so long again, I can follow you in my true form!' The little one's eyes sparkled as he said, 'I can transform into my true form, and then I won’t perceive the outside world, only communicate with you!'

He excitedly climbed next to Lorant's face, pressing his face against Lorant's cheek, and nuzzled him.

'What? True form?' Lorant looked at the little one in surprise, a thought that he had previously dismissed resurfacing in his mind.

The little one nodded happily, sitting cross-legged in front of Lorant. After closing his pretty eyes, a blue glow radiated from him.

Lorant was momentarily blinded and had to close his eyes. When he opened them again, a set of eerily familiar blue gemstones appeared before him.

It was exactly the set of blue gemstones he thought he would never get back!

'That’s all it takes!' The little one's voice continued in Lorant's mind, he said happily, 'Now, no matter where you go, Lorant, I can come with you!'

'This way, I won’t be afraid anymore!'

Lorant clearly felt that the little one's voice in his mind became much more cheerful, obviously, he felt more comfortable in this form.

Of course, there was still an element of escapism in this, but at least the appearance of his true form resolved Lorant's previous concerns.

The next step for Lorant was to properly train the little one for combat.

After the little one spent about a week gradually getting used to life in the pet shop, able to move around freely without needing to stay in Lorant’s pocket, Lorant felt relieved.

At the very least, this made Lorant understand that the little one’s situation could be resolved through certain means, and that was enough for him.

As long as there was still room for change, Lorant would not give up.