Chapter 3 Spinosaurus Spine Fossil

A mixture of resentment and shock flashed through Chen Fei's eyes. The sight of the massive Spinosaurus Spine Fossil caused him to clench his fist slightly before letting out a loud exhale, releasing the pressure built up in his hand.

".... f*ck....", he muttered.

By all means the Spinosaurus was an excellent specimen that was more than worthy of being in his top five choices in regards to his first revived fossil. Possessing a Dual Water and Earth Attribute the Spinosaurus was already much stronger than other fossils at the same tier, and its size dwarved when the massive Steppe Mammoth which Chen Fei wanted more than anything else.

However.....

"The existence of its genetic abnormality was something that the scientists at the Holy Fossil Consortium considered an adverse variation. Its abnormally large size limits it capabilities on both land and water. Considering the Spinosaurus primarily ate fish and aquatic creatures, one might say it was more at home in the water than on land. I've never seen one in the flesh before, so I don't even know if a normal Spinosaurus could go up against a Tyrannosaurus, or even a Carnotaurus.....".

Chen Fei let out a sigh.

Before it was fully grown, the Spinosaurus would be a literally monster when fighting low-tier demonic beasts and mutated monsters. Its physical strength and speed would allow it to get the upper hand on pretty much every creature out there at its own level. Perhaps even a tier above it.

But when it was fully grown, its strength wouldn't be able to keep up with its own size. Even with Chen Fei supporting it with his own spiritual power, he knew fully well that its combat performance would be limited, since it couldn't sustain its own weight.

Chen Fei scratched his chin for a moment before rubbing his temples in thought.

"..... if I can obtain a Fossil Cultivation Method that directly or indirectly increases the amount of spiritual power I can store than perhaps it can keep up its performance during battle. Quality is important, but if I ever plan on getting another revived fossil, then quantity is what I need. An ocean of stones over a pond of diamonds as one would put it....".

Taking one last glance at the Spinosaurus Perennial Fossil, Chen Fei stared at the two large spinal bones with a mixed expression on his face. Part of him was excited about getting such a strong fossil for his first contract, but he knew that in the future, whether that was one year or even ten years later, he might be paying the price by getting this fossil.

What he would be paying with, he didn't know.

He shrugged his shoulders before stretching them out a little bit while speaking.

"Just focus on the present for now Chen Fei..... the fossil needs to be delivered first and before that you need to obtain a Fossil Cultivation Method. The Holy Fossil Consortium's Holy Library would have forums for this kind of thing, and I'm sure there must be scientists or researchers who are constantly developing new Cultivation Methods.....".

Chen Fei considered himself a rather cautious person. He was definitely not one to shy away from danger, however he was definitely the first person to run away from it if the situation called for it.

He always looked towards the future and the benefits he could reap in said future.

Making friends with special backgrounds..... gifting someone who had certain means and abilities to obtain objects..... not making enemies without first getting a grasp on their powers and backgrounds.... pretty much everything a shady villian would do when considering world domination or absolute control.

Having lofty ideals was always a good thing, however, paving the road towards said ideal always ended up crossing the paths of other people. That's when things got messy.

"I've met the requirements to become a Fossil Knight. This was a chance that even I didn't foresee. From here on out the first things I need to do is obtain money. With money, things can be bought. With a lot of money, a lot of things can be bought. With a sh*t tonne of money, people can be bought. With all the money in the world, freedom can be bought. And if freedom can be bought, than surely there must be someone with Cultivation Method that suits my needs.....".

Fossil Knights were in high demand for everything these days. Usually used as security or bodyguards, they were potential walking armies that could summon dozens of different revived fossils at once, attacking or defending their clients or targets.

The Holy Fossil Consortium. The Ancient Fossil Association. The Imperial Fossil Mausoleum.

They were huge government sponsored organizations that nurtured and accepted both Human Knights and Fossil Knights as mercenaries or as they liked to be called, protection and detection specialists.

These organizations received jobs, and Human Knights and Fossil Knights accepted earning money and information while the Three Big Ones took a small slice of the rewards. Call it a finders fee or a tax but they took some of the money.

Chen Fei swiped his wristband on the side of the wall, causing the massive thick metal doors to slowly creak open.

"I signed a contract with the Holy Fossil Consortium which allows me to received one free Perennial Fossil, and access to their database and job listings. In return, I have to complete one mandatory mission per year and give them 10% of any earnings I make until I become a Bronze Fossil Knight".

Chen Fei was currently a mortal. Someone who hadn't cultivated spiritual essence into spiritual power. This was what the majority of the population were. Mortals who didn't have the ability to cultivate.

Above the mortal rank was the Copper Human Knights and Copper Fossil Knights. They were considered equal to some degree, however Fossil Knights always brought something more than themselves whenever they were fighting, which is what allows them to get the upper hand over Human Knights.

Copper Knights had condenses a seed of spiritual power within their bodies, allowing them to perform feats of strength, speed and endurance that exceeded the limits of the human body. Becoming a Knight meant that you could fight demonic beasts and mutated monsters, so all Knights were valued in the Military and the Three Big Ones.

"Let me see here.... Fossil Information? Nope..... Copper Knight Database? Sounds interesting but, nope..... Trading Post? I'll have to visit that later..... Ah! Here it is, Protection and Detection Services. Limit search results to "Cultivation Methods" and "mortal".... and..... ta-da~! Three search results returned..... A little disappointing but no matter".

Three small holographic images came up in front of Chen Fei. The doors were fully opened by now, but the pretty receptionist had long since left and only the high-tier Human Knight standing guard was left.

He noticed Chen Fei was still standing in the doorway but noticed he was accessing the Holy Library before remained silent and watched the hallway in peace. He could tell Chen Fei was browsing, like many newly awakened before him and that he was still a mortal with no real strength.

A Knight killing a mortal, would be as easy as killing a fly. Tedious, but easy nonetheless.

"First Job: Recruitment for mortals with the potential to become Human Knights to test a new Cultivation Method focusing on consuming massive amounts of food in order to sustain refining the body into spiritual power. Rank 2. Rewards: $5,000. Please contact us at....".

"Second Job: Recruitment for mortals with the potential to become Fossil Knights to test a new Cultivation Method that has been created based on the Spiritual Power Refinement Method and other specialized research.. Rank 2. Rewards: $10,000. Please contact us at...".

"Third Job: Recruitment for mortals with the potential to become Human Knights. Details are given once the job has been accepted. Please note that this job does have a risk to the lives of those who undergo it and the rewards to not necessarily outweigh the risk. Rank 5. Rewards: $50,000 (negotiable). Please contact us at...".

Chen Fei took in a deep breath as he scanned the three jobs in front of him.

"Which to choose..... Which to choose....".

Chen Fei bit his lip slightly raising his head away from the screen in front of him as he mentally calculated the risks in front of him.

'The first and second one are both viable, the second one seems more suitable for myself consideirng I have the potential to become a Fossil Knight. However the third one is offering a huge reward, but the threat to my life may not worth the rewards I receive in the end. However if I do survive, the rewards might be more than worth it, and I won't know unless I accept the job.....'.

He let out a deep sigh in contemplation. Gazing around the hallway he noticed the large and burly Human Knight standing several feet away and a thought suddenly popped up into his head.

"Excuse me, would you mind if I asked you a question?".

The large, burly Human Knight turned his head almost robotically, titling downwards to look at Chen Fei.

Considering Chen Fei was still fifteen years old, the size difference between him and the Human Knight in front of him was more than two feet.

"If its about Fossils I can't help you. But if its about most other things, I can probably answer your question".

Chen Fei smiled thinking the man in front of him was more amicable than he originally thought.

"It's not about Fossils, thankfully. However I was wondering about Cultivation Methods Human Knights and Fossil Knights practice. Is it possible to cultivate more than one at a time, or does something adverse happen when you cultivate too many at once?".

Chen Fei wasn't looking for a complex answer. However a simple "yes" and "no" wouldn't suffice for this type of situation.

The large man showed a strange expression before using gestures to help his words. It seemed like he didn't know the details about everything either.....

"In some cases yes, Cultivation Methods do conflict. However in most cases they do not. The end result for all Cultivation Methods, regardless of whether they are Human Knight or Fossil Knight is the refinement of spiritual essence into spiritual power. However, Fossil Knight Cultivation Methods make use of their fossils in order to cultivate, enabling a quicker, more efficient cultivation.

In my personal experience, Cultivation Methods do not usually conflict. I myself am practicing two right now, one that was given to me by the Holy Fossil Consortium as a reward, and the other as a job for one of my researcher friends. I can't tell you the details however neither of them conflict with each other. But as I said before, in some cases they do".

The burly man looked to his left and to his right before gesturing for Chen Fei to come closer.

"I knew a guy, who was practicing the same Cultivation Method I did for research. And he died due to spontaneous combustion due to his conflicting Cultivation Methods. I can't tell you why or what he practiced, however I will tell you this kid".

"Never, ever attempt to cultivate the "Endless" Cultivation Method. I matter what you do or how much money they try to give you, do not accept. You're a potential Fossil Knight so I doubt that they will try to force you but just remember this.

"There is no way to complete a rotation of "Endless". Like its namesake, you would be continuously refining spiritual essence into spiritual power until you die. If you try to stop mid rotation the massive amounts of energy within you would be disrupted and you would spontaneously combust. But if you dont' stop, you'll die from a lack of food or water. "Endless" is an abyss, and you will die before you reach the end".