Chapter 2 Age, Types, Attributes and Variations

Chen Fei sat down in front of the Holy Fossil Consortium's Perennial supercomputer. Even though all the fossils contained within this particular database were only of the Perennial-Tier, they still had a high-tier Human Knight guarding the entrance. This only emphasized the amount of importance modern human civilisation placed on fossils in the current day and age.

SInce Chen Fei met the requirements to become a Fossil Knight, he was given one free Perennial Fossil, curtesy of the Holy Fossil Consortium. The fossil was chosen at random, however did take into account the fossils that a person browsed when making a selection.

Letting the supercomputer scan Chen Fei's wrist, the black screen in front of him flashed one with a bright blue light. The words "input" could be seen on the screen, and a holographic keyboard materialized in front of him.

"..... I've only got ten minutes, so I'll have to be quick..... Hmm, let's start with the oldest Perennial Fossils, considering they normally summon a stronger revived fossil when contracted....".

The images on the screen changed and dozens of small blocks, each representing a different fossil came up on the monitor. Obviously, the fossil in the top left corner was the oldest Perennial Fossil the Holy Fossil Consortium had on hand while the fossil at the end of the list was one that had been fossilzed in a lab, obviously an experiment done by scientists to create man made fossils.

Generally speaking those fossils that were made by humans through experiments and testing were weaker than those that were naturally formed. It was primarily due to the fact that man made fossils hadn't absorbed nearly enough spiritual essence in order to reach the same level of quality as a normal Perennial Fossil.

By extension, no man made fossils had ever exceeded the tier of Perennial. Information on the higher tier fossils weren't readily avaliable to the public, however it was publicly known that their were six recorded tiers of fossils.

Every tier higher was stronger than the last. Almost always exceeding the previous tier in strength, speed, spiritual essence and number of unique abilities. These types of fossils were the reason why Fossil Knights were considered walking nuclear weapons.

Chen Fei let out a deep breath before selecting the oldest fossil that he could see.

"Nyasasaurus Rib Fossil.... roughly 250 million years old..... The presence of a Rib Fossil makes it more of a defensive summon while also possessing a Fire Attribute..... Despite its age, I can see why no other potential Fossils Knights would want to get this Nyasasarus Fossil....".

There were four distinct categories from which all revived fossils were ranked against. These four catergories were how fossils at the same tier were ranked, and were considered more valuable or more powerful by Fossil Knights.

The Nyasasarus was considered one of the earliest dinosaurs and its fossils were rated at roughly 245-250 million years old. The age of a fossil was on category upon which they are judged, generally speaking the older the fossil the more powerful.

The second category was type. This refered to the part of the fossil that was used to summon and contract a revived fossil. This category was different from species to species however a general rule of thumb was that the skull of the fossil was the most powerful. A skull fossil was an all-round revived fossil that didn't lack in strength, speed, intelligence, endurance or spiritual essence.

Rib fossils refered to an increased defensive power and a higher endurance and stamina level. Mammoth and sauropod dinosaurs, the long necked ones were the fossils that benefitted most from rib fossils.

Leg or arm fossils, depending on the species were usually speed, most normally referred to as attacking speed. Those bird or raptor fossils, the ancient species that specialised in speed benefitted the most from leg and arm fossils.

Tail and hip fossils were a bit of an enigma in the eyes of many. When used to revive a fossil they showed below average strength, speed, intelligence and endurace. However their spiritual essence levels exceeded that of any other fossil type. When used with another fossil of the same species, they increased all abilities several times over.

The third category was attribute. This was a category that was still being researched, however it was common knowledge that every revived fossil would possess some sort of attribute associated with it. The public often referred to the powers guaranteed by the attribute as elemental powers or even magic, however this was technically not correct.

"Fire, Water, Air, Lightning, Metal, Wood, Earth are the seven basic attributes. However, some fossil attributes exist beyond that like Ice, Lava, Crystal, Storm, Flower, Leaf, Grass or even just a Physical attribute. These attributes are caused by spiritual essence however why this occurs has not been made public....".

Since the Nyasasaurs had a Fire attribute, it meant that if Chen Fei were to make a contract and summon the revived fossil, all its attacks would be fire attributed. If the attribute was strong enough, it may even be coated in flames when it was revived.

"But a defensive fossil with a Fire attribute isn't necessarily good. If it was an Earth or even a Wood attribute than maybe it would've been selected already. Considering that they are defensive attributes....".

Chen Fei's eyes scrolled up and down the list, constantly changing the categories from age to fossil type to attributes. Since he met the requirements to become a Fossil Knight, choosing the strongest fossil would be beneficial for his future.

Since the supercomputer took Chen Fei's browsing into consideration, spending the most time on stronger fossils would increase the likelihood of him receiving a high-tier Perennial Fossil.

"Hmm? What's this?", Chen Fei's eyes flickered to the bottom of the list.

Since it was ranked from strongest to weakest, the very last fossil would most likely be the weakest on the list. And since that all man made fossils were weaker than naturally formed fossils, Chen Fei assumed that it was complete garbage.

"A naturally formed fossil that is actually weaker than a man made fossil? What hell is its species?", he muttered.

He looked at the clock on the wall and noted that he still had roughly three minutes remaining. Even if he looked at this particular fossil for only ten seconds, he would still have plenty of time to look at the rest of the other high-tier Perennial Fossils.

He let out a deep breath and clicked on the image. Chen Fei started counting in his mind to make sure the time didn't go over ten seconds, but his eyes widened and his mouth dropped slightly when he saw the magnificent fossil in front of him.

"It's a Spinosarus Spine Fossil....".

Chen Fei subconsciously stopped counting as he gazed at the massive, yet incomplete Spinosarus Fossil. His eyes were naturally drawn to the small description on the side monitor, causing Chen Fei's mouth to drop even further.

"Water and Earth attributed fossil, and its well above average in size. Probably size the normal size for Spinosaurs Spine Fossil. Despite being incomplete, scientists roughly estimate this fossil to be over three metres in size, while the entire creature to once have been over 21 metres in height and over 40 metres in length....".

Chen Fei's eyes gazed at the massive incomplete spinal fossil with a childlike awe contained within them. Just imagining the sheer size of the creature when it was still alive would be mesmorizing in its own right.

His gaze flickered to the extra line of text underneath the brief description.

"Variant Fossil. Despite Spinosarus Fossils possessing a type of osteosclerosis that allows them a better bouyancy when swimming this particular specimen has grown to a enormous size even by modern standards. It is theorized that its fully grown size would've impeded the movement and swimming speeds of the creature. Taking into account that this fossil was found at the bottom of a river in the Holy Beast Continent it was hypothesized that it may have drowned under its own weight. Unable carry itself under the weight of its own body. This genetic trait was thought to be carried over in the event that a Fossil Master were to revive it, as seen with previous other abnormally large fossils.....".

Chen Fei nodded understandingly.

"The supercomputer rates them from most potential to lowest potential. Since the potential of this fossil was lost due to its immense size, it was rated last, considering it was so big that it wasn't able to hold itself upright.....", Chen Fei let out a sigh before quickly exiting the Spinosaurs Fossil.

Changing the search parametres once more a list of several strong and viable first revived fossils came into view.

Steppe Mammoth: Rib Fossil: Ice Attribute. No Variants.....

Utahraptor: Leg Fossil: Wind Attribute. No Variants.....

Quetzalcoatlus: Arm Fossil: Wind and Air Attributes. No Variants.....

Carnotaurus: Skull Fossil: Lava Attribute. No Variants.....

Giant Cheetah: Leg Fossil: Speed Attribtute: Bone Density Variant....

These five fossils were Chen Fei's most preferred fossils for a first revived fossil. Each of them provided something similar, that being speed, with the sole exception of the Steppe Mammoth Rib Fossil, which was one of the most strongest defensive Perennial Fossils.

The size of the fossil was slightly larger than average Steppe Mammoth Fossils, so it was roughly estimated to reach over 5 metres in height when fully developed. The thick fur of the creature combined with the increased defensive powers from its Rib Fossil made it one of the toughest fossils for beginner Fossil Knights.

An addition to its rare Ice Attribute, which negatively impacted the opposing demonic beast or mutated monster by seeping Ice Attributed Spiritual Essence into their bodies, it was a pure defensive tank that could withstand most attacks thrown at it.

All the other fossils were focused on speed, which was how Chen Fei preferred to attack.

"Hit them so fast as so hard that they wouldn't even know what hit them. The Utahraptor and the Giant Cheetah could probably escape from any dangerous situation if the need for it were to occur, and the Quetzalcoatlus is the biggest flying dinosaur to ever walk the Earth. The Carnotaurs? Similarly fast, but also has the offensive abilities of a Gigantosaurus or a Tyrannosaurus, but definitely not as strong. Still, I value speed over pure offensive power. And I'm sure the Lava Attribute can more than make up for it.....".

Chen Fei glanced at the clock on the wall, noting he had roughly ten seconds remaining. Leaning back in his chair, unconsciously holding his breath, he turned towards the screen in front of him, awaiting the decision of the supercomputer.

He crossed his fingers as he looked at the massive monitor.

"Please be Steppe Mammoth.... Please be Steppe Mammoth.... Please be anything on the top five!".

When the image on the monitor his changed, his eyes flashed with unhidden hope, unknowingly, he had held his breath for more then thirty seconds without even feeling desperate for air.

The fossil came up on screen, causing Chen Fei to become stunned, almost shocked.

"T-this.....".

The image of ten massive spines were reflected in his eyes.