Who Is Next?

A young lady entered the office, carrying a silver cauldron. She glanced at Christopher, then approached Murphy, bowing respectfully before placing the cauldron on the desk.

"Why are you putting it there? It belongs to him," Murphy said, gesturing toward Christopher.

The woman nodded, picked up the cauldron, and placed it in front of Christopher. "Here is your cauldron, sir." She said, respectfully.

"Thank you," Christopher replied, picking up the cauldron. "I'll be leaving. I have some things to take care of."

"Master Christopher." Murphy said, standing and approaching him. She paused a step away, inhaled his scent, and nodded slightly.

"This is for you." She took his hand and placed a gold card in his palm. "Please visit me again."

Christopher smiled. "I will. Come on, you three." He turned and walked toward the door, the three Beasts following close behind.

"Madam."

The lady who had brought the cauldron asked cautiously, "Who is that young man?"

"Someone who will leave his mark on the world," Murphy replied with a warm smile.

____

"Greetings, Master Christopher."

The two guards outside the building greeted Christopher respectfully as he emerged.

'Time to gather the tears.' He thought. He nodded to the guards and walked to his Bugatti. Christopher got in and glanced at the three Beasts in the back seat.

"Don't mess up my car." he warned.

The Beasts nodded quickly and settled quietly in their seats.

Christopher sighed. He got out of the car, walked around to the trunk, and opened it. The Beasts watched as he retrieved something from the trunk, then returned to the driver's seat.

Inside the car, Christopher took out the gold ring and a can of black spray paint. He placed the ring on a piece of plastic and carefully sprayed it black.

Five minutes later, the ring was dry. He put it on his index finger. "My life ring," he murmured. "It can hold more than three Divine Beasts and has the energy to heal any injury a Beast sustains. You should be happy."

He rubbed the ring, and the three Beasts dissolved into blue light, disappearing inside. "That way, you won't get my car dirty," he said.

He looked at the piece of plastic, noticing some overspray on the car seat.

"Damn," he muttered. "I'll clean that later. Such an expensive car shouldn't have any stains." He folded the plastic and tossed it out the window. "Time to head to the Forbidden Cave."

He placed the cauldron in the bag with the other ingredients, started the car, and sped off.

____

After a five-hour drive, he finally left the safe zone of the capital and entered the yellow zone. Christopher looked out the window, his expression grim.

Awooo!!

Graaa!!!

Rustle!!

He checked his watch. It was 6:00 PM.

'I need to hurry.' he thought. 'At my current strength, even with the Beasts, we'll be dead if we encounter an enraged Perfect-stage Beast, let alone anything stronger, let's hope we reached there safely.'

He turned off his headlights and reduced his speed, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

____

[7:00 PM]

Christopher reached the cave, and sighed in relief. He parked a short distance away and gathered his equipment. He took out two daggers and a vial from his bag.

"Ok... Now let's get ready, there are surely enraged beasts in there... And worse, it's dark."

He opened the vial and poured a green liquid onto the dagger blades.

"With my knowledge as a Supreme Tamer, there's likely only one Mythical Beast in the Forbidden Cave," he muttered. "But that doesn't mean there won't be other lower-level Beasts. Their cores will at least help boost my life force."

After coating the dagger with the green liquid, He tucked a clean vial into his pocket and got out of the car.

"Here goes nothing," he said to himself.

Christopher locked the car and walked toward the dark opening of the cave. He switched on his night-vision goggles he bought on the way, and cautiously entered.

____

The cave was dark and eerily silent. Christopher moved carefully, his senses on high alert.

Whoosh!

A shadow flickered behind him. He whirled around, daggers raised.

Whoosh!

He turned again, spotting a huge bat staring at him. 'A Blood Bat. Enraged Perfect stage, with a Level 3 combat strength.' he thought.

Screech!

Hearing shrieks above him, Christopher's eyes widened. 'You've got to be kidding me!'

He slowly looked up, only to see more than twenty Blood Bats clinging to the cave walls. Each bat was huge, with a one-meter-long body and a two-meter wingspan.

Screech!

The bats swooped down, their eyes glowing with bloodlust.

"Shit!"

Christopher dove to the side, narrowly avoiding their jaws. He scrambled to his feet, facing the oncoming horde. "Come on!"

Whoosh!

A bat dove at him. Christopher swung his poison-coated dagger, slicing through the bat's wing. It shrieked in pain and crashed to the ground. Christopher stumbled backward from the force of the impact.

'I won't die here because of this body's weakness!' He thought fiercely. 'I don't know if I'll get a second chance at reincarnation... Wait, what am I saying? I already used the chance.!'

He gripped his dagger tightly:

'If I can't defeat these beasts, then I'm not worthy to have revenge, or fulfill anything! Because I'll end up dead!!!' He yelled inwardly.

Christopher looked at the fallen bat, and sighed: 'One down, twenty-nine to go. The odds aren't in my favor. Maybe those two can help. They're at least the same level as these things, in combat strength.'

He touched his ring, and the cat and centipede materialized beside him, now three meters tall in their combat forms.

"It's good you guys have night vision, now attack!" he commanded.

The two Beasts, able to see in the dark, charged at the bats. Christopher followed close behind. "You've met your match!" he yelled. He leaped into the air, plunging his dagger into another bat.

Screech!

The bat shrieked and fell to the ground, Christopher landing on top of it. He quickly got to his feet.

"Who is next?" he demanded, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.