Chapter 2: Beast Master Awakening Ceremony

14:00.

Right on time, the whole of Lsengard Senior High School was buzzing with excitement.

On the way to the plaza, the surrounding students were all thrilled, looking forward to today's Beast Master Awakening Ceremony.

Among a crowd of senior high boys and girls, Charles felt a surreal sense of returning to his own senior high school days.

He also wondered what kind of pet he might find today.

In this Beast Mastery world, personal ability is directly linked to the strength of one's pet.

If the spectral wolf mentioned by that girl in the classroom were to attack them now, Charles was sure he would be powerless to fight back.

To survive in this dangerous world, he must become a Beast Master!

"Chirp——"

"Roar! Roar! Roar!!"

From a distance, ferocious roars tore through the air as the group reached the center of Lsengard, an expansive open area.

The plaza, spanning hundreds of thousands of square meters, was impressively vast and filled with various ferocious beasts, resembling a giant pet market.

Under Lily's guidance, the group reached the edge of the plaza.

A white tiger with two pairs of wings, standing three meters tall, roared as Charles passed by. It seemed as if it might break its chains at any moment and tear them to shreds, causing the surrounding students to retreat in fear.

There was also a pink fox with peach blossom eyes resembling a human's, its every furrow and smile seeming like a woman making coy advances. One male student suddenly broke from the group, drawn by its gaze, only to be kicked back by Lily just as the fox was about to snap its jaws.

At this point, the plaza was filled with up to a thousand ferocious beasts, restrained by thick iron chains. Their forms varied wildly, many of which Charles could not name, including some mutant plants that caught his attention.

The so-called Beast Master Awakening Ceremony was more akin to the college entrance exams of his previous life.

After the vice president of the Beast Master Guild had finished his long and tedious speech, the ceremony finally moved on to its main event—

Forming contracts with the tamers of choice!

At the front of the line, Lily wore a captivating smile, her eyes fixed on Charles throughout:

"Alright, students, everyone may now choose their preferred pet within the plaza! Place a drop of your blood from the palm of your right hand onto the forehead of a ferocious beast. If the ferocious beast chooses to submit, the contract is complete."

"However, I must remind everyone that forming a contract can be dangerous, so please measure your capabilities..."

Looking around at the myriad ferocious beasts, Charles furrowed his brow slightly.

For this Beast Master Awakening Ceremony, the Beast Master Guild had captured thousands of ferocious beasts six months in advance. Creatures that flew in the sky, swam in the water, ran on the ground, and even plants rooted in the soil were included.

How could one ensure the selection of a powerful pet?

This posed a challenge for Charles.

This method of selection, akin to a blind cat catching a dead rat by chance, was no different from opening a blind box.

What if he ended up choosing a weak fighter? In battle, not only would it fail to protect its master, but it might not even be able to protect itself. Would he not be doomed then?

Before his journey here, Charles had played many gacha games.

With his notoriously bad luck, he never pulled an SSR in 100 tries. Who could guarantee that today he would miraculously pull off a successful single draw?

As Charles scanned the ferocious beasts scattered across the plaza, a few lines of text suddenly flashed before his eyes.

——[The Double Sword Praying Mantis]——

[Attribute]: Metal

[Level]: 1

[Quality]: Bronze Division

[Skills]: Bronze Division, Fierce Gnawing

[Emotion]: Hatred

[Health]: Leg injury [View treatment options]

[Evolution]: 4 paths

[Description]: This is a Double Sword Praying Mantis, whose metal attribute endows it with unparalleled combat abilities. Its claws are sharper than steel blades. Although its talent is ordinary, it possesses four evolutionary paths, allowing you to train it according to your needs. It has huge potential.

Upon reading these lines, Charles halted. The Double Sword Praying Mantis instantly raised its blade-sharp claws, its emerald eyes staring at Charles warily.

Charles rubbed his eyes and, upon confirming he wasn't seeing things, felt a surge of excitement.

It seemed the screen was giving him information prompts, similar to what he recalled seeing when he met Lily in the office earlier.

With these screen prompts, he could finally avoid the gamble of a blind box!

However, amidst his excitement, Charles also felt a bit of concern.

If these attributes were visible to everyone, wouldn't the high-quality pets be frantically snatched up?

How could he possibly get a chance?

Realizing this, Charles wandered around the plaza, choosing his preferred pet while observing the reactions of those around him.

Ahead, a crowd had gathered, seemingly embroiled in a dispute.

"Fatty, are you looking for trouble? I got here first, I should be the one to form the contract!" a skinny boy shouted, grabbing the collar of a person next to him.

The other person, clearly not backing down, scuffled with the skinny boy: "Dare call me fatty? Looking for a fight? I saw that white tiger first!"

Charles moved closer.

The Four-Winged Tiger he had seen earlier had attracted dozens of people, appearing to be in high demand, with students even arguing over contracting it.

"Just as I thought, when everyone can see the attributes, the good quality ones naturally become hot commodities."

Charles sighed softly, then glanced at the white tiger.

——[The Four-Winged Tiger]——

[Attribute]: Wind

[Level]: 1

[Quality]: Black Iron

[Skills]: None

[Emotion]: Fear

[Health]: Good

[Evolution]: None

[Description]: This is a Four-Winged Tiger, which looks majestic and possesses astounding combat power, but in reality, it is a coward. If you unfortunately form a pact with it, in battle, it is likely to abandon you and slip away.

o.0 ?

Just from one look, Charles stumbled, nearly losing his balance.

Black Iron, Bronze Division, Silver, Gold...

This Four-Winged Tiger was of Black Iron quality, among the lowest in pet quality, lacking any combat skills and incapable of evolving.

A definite weak fighter!

If it weren't for the system prompts, Charles might have been fooled by its intimidating appearance!

Yet such a combat-incapable pet had become a hot commodity, with dozens of people vying for it—a sight so absurd that Charles couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

This also confirmed something for Charles: it seemed that only he could see these prompts.

"So, I have a cheat that allows me to see the attributes of ferocious beasts?"

"Hahaha!"

"I knew it! In the novels I've read, the protagonists always have various cheats after they travel to another world. How could I possibly be without one?"

The gloom in Charles's heart cleared away, and he felt great. His gaze quickly settled on a pet at the very edge of the perimeter.

——[Borrow-Arms Monkey]——

[Attribute]: Wind

[Level]: 2

[Quality]: Bronze Division

[Skills]: Iron Fist, Steel Palm, Feces Project

[Emotion]: Excited

[Health]: Good

[Evolution]: 2 paths

[Description]: This is a Borrow-Arms Monkey, with strong, agile arms capable of immense strength. Against stronger opponents, it can even strangle them to death with its arms, achieving victory against higher-ranked adversaries. In dire situations, it can unleash its ultimate move!

This Borrow-Arms Monkey is of Bronze Division quality.

Among the hundreds of ferocious beasts on the outskirts, fewer than ten are of this quality.

It is also at Level 2. With each level increase, a pet's combat power rises significantly. Charles had seen all the pets on the periphery of the tamer plaza, and none were more outstanding than this one.

It might not look impressive, but compared to the weak fighter like 'the four-winged tiger,' it was far stronger—not by just a little bit!

However, when Charles saw that one of its skills was "feces project," he couldn't hold back!

He remembered what Lily had said in class: once a contract is formed with a ferocious beast, the Beast Master might randomly acquire one of its skills.

If it were [Iron Fist, Steel Palm], that would be fine, but if it were [Feces Project]... the thought was too horrifying for Charles to even imagine!

He didn't know if it was strong, but Charles knew that if he acquired that skill, he might never lift his head high in the Beast Master community again...

Although there was only a 50% chance of getting [Feces Project], as someone who's perennially unlucky, Charles didn't dare to take that risk!

Having quickly looked over the pets on the outskirts, Charles turned his gaze towards the central area of the plaza.

There were some more powerful ferocious beasts there, but the Beast Master Guild considered them too dangerous for Senior High School students' awakening.

"It wouldn't hurt to take a look. If there's nothing suitable, I might as well settle for that Double Sword Praying Mantis!"

entered the central area of Beast Mastery Square.

Just seeing the first ferocious beast, his eyes lit up.

[Succubus Sheep Spirit]!

If the pet was a little succubus, maybe its combat strength didn't really matter?

...

Two hours had passed, and students from Lsengard Senior High School were gradually leaving the Beast Mastery Square.

Most of them looked disheartened, and some even bore wounds, clearly indicating that the contract formation process had not gone smoothly.

Of course, there were also a few lucky ones who had successfully formed contracts with ferocious beasts, becoming honored Beast Masters!

They were now proudly showing off the pets they had subdued to those around them.

"What's going on, hasn't Charles come out yet?" Lily furrowed her brows slightly, glancing at the time—it was already 16:05 in the afternoon.

She couldn't help but worry—had the vigorous session in the office earlier exhausted Charles too much, causing some accident during his contract formation?

Just then, a female student hurriedly approached Lily, her face etched with concern: "Miss Lily, I saw Charles heading towards the center of the plaza!"

"Fatima, what did you say!"

"Charles went to the center of the plaza?!!"

The process of forming a contract was extremely dangerous; the slightest misstep could lead to accidents! The central plaza housed numerous ferocious beasts of Level 3 and above; even she wasn't sure of handling them. What was Charles thinking?

With immense anxiety, Lily quickly left the crowd and dashed toward the central area of the plaza...