Chapter 186: Loot Drop! Asher: Let’s Cut to the Chase! Just Give Me a Clear Hint!

Asher really wanted to solve this problem as quickly as a hero descending from the heavens.

But…

When he stood up, ready to take action, that sense of cognitive dissonance returned to him.

Asher: "…"

'Great.'

From rising up to giving up.

With a slightly resigned expression, Asher muttered, "Uh… if there are Tier 6 Beast Tamers among them, maybe they'll figure out the problem themselves?"

That was the best he could hope for.

Besides, Asher suddenly realized that even if he found these people… leading them safely out of here wasn't necessarily possible.

The Angel's protection applied only to him.

Asher could explore this obviously abnormal place without worry, but the Red Soil Exploration Team.

He suddenly felt a headache coming on.

And another issue popped into his mind.

He could explore this place freely, but how was he supposed to leave?

Asher looked at his all-purpose phone companion.

Phone Companion Angel: …

Could it pretend not to see Asher's eyes sparkling with anticipation?

No, it couldn't.

Asher knew that the Angel could clearly observe the outside world through the phone's built-in camera, even when the screen was off.

The Angel sighed.

["Sir, please rely on your own efforts to explore the Secret Realm. I believe you will certainly gain satisfactory rewards."]

Hearing this, Asher froze for a moment.

'Forbidden Zone…'

Although many people referred to the Red Soil Forbidden Zone as the Red Soil Secret Realm, Asher could tell that the "Secret Realm" the Angel was talking about had a different meaning from the popular, half-joking term people used.

Thinking about the true meaning of this term again, Asher narrowed his eyes, scanning his surroundings.

Deep in the mountains, he couldn't see the entire landscape at a glance, only the lush greenery and jagged rocks before him.

It didn't seem any different from the countless mountains in the south.

If not for the strange cognitive interference draining both his mind and body, he might have thought he was simply on a hiking trip.

"Let's head in deeper first," Asher had more and more questions piling up in his mind. He glanced at his phone.

The camera on the phone flickered twice, making Asher instinctively feel like the Angel was guilty about something.

Asher: 'Noted, noted, everything noted.'

"No matter whether the Red Soil Exploration Team realizes the cognitive distortion issue or not, they will definitely come up with a plan," Asher said, shifting the topic and discussing it with the Angel.

"If they notice it, they'll probably try to find a safe place to rest and wait for rescue."

Thinking about the two Ace-tier Beast Tamers outside, Asher was certain—they wouldn't just do nothing and leave them here to die.

After all, he had disappeared right before their eyes.

Peter would definitely notice the spatial anomaly.

As he walked, Asher suddenly halted.

"That is…", His gaze landed on a nearby rock formation.

To be honest, this was a mountain range, rocks were everywhere. Little Raven's strange flame had even melted a human-sized rock earlier.

But Asher noticed that this particular rock wasn't the usual dull gray color.

A corner of it revealed a faint, warm, and dazzling red.

From a distance, it wasn't very noticeable, but up close, it was clear as day.

Asher walked towards the unusual rock and reached out to touch it.

Sure enough, it didn't feel like ordinary stone. It was more like a gemstone or a smooth, jade-like material.

Clearly, neither of these things should be found here. So Asher thought of two other possibilities, 'Red Ore or Red Crystal Ore.'

As two of the rarest top-tier resources in the Red Soil Forbidden Zone, both Red Ore and Red Crystal Ore were extremely scarce.

Unlike Red Stones or Red Soil, which appeared in fixed locations, these ores were scattered randomly throughout the forbidden zone.

You could search for ages and never find a single piece.

But when you were busy mining Red Stones and Red Soil, you might suddenly and inexplicably dig up some Red Ore or Red Crystal Ore.

A game of probability.

A very rare one.

Yet here it was, right before him… Asher had never seen Red Ore or Red Crystal Ore before, and for a moment, he doubted reality.

"So, is this Red Ore or Red Crystal Ore?", After a moment of thought, Asher stopped dwelling on it and tried to pry the red mineral from the rock.

Unfortunately.

His strength wasn't quite that impressive.

'No luck.'

Asher turned his gaze to the Little Raven in his arms.

Little Raven: "…"

Little Raven lifted its head, barely having time to look at Asher before he forcefully pressed its head down.

Yep.

He was careful not to hurt its feathers.

But he still noticed, some feathers loosened slightly.

Asher quickly retracted his hand, pretending nothing had happened.

Luckily, Little Raven was too angry to notice and was glaring furiously at the red mineral.

╭(╯^╰)╮

'Annoying!'

'The bird is mad!'

'But I can't actually stay mad at my Beastmaster.'

What made it even angrier was that it couldn't even meet its Beast Tamer's gaze anymore.

The more it thought, the angrier it got.

So angry that flames burst from its eyes again.

This time, Little Raven wasn't startled. In fact, just before the flames emerged, it felt its eye sockets heat up and resisted the urge to turn its head toward Asher.

Instead, it focused on the innocent rock in front of it.

Sizzle—

Well, there wasn't actually any sound. The rock suffered the same fate as the previous one, it disintegrated into a pile of ash in the blink of an eye, carried away by the wind.

But this time, the rock dropped loot, uh, no, resources.

A palm-sized piece of red mineral landed on the ground.

Asher easily bent down and picked it up—effortlessly.

Holding the unknown Red Ore, Red Crystal Ore, or whatever-special resource of this mountain in his hand, he felt a warm current circulate through his body.

Asher's eyes widened in shock, "I can use this thing?"

He was genuinely startled.

Most resources directly benefited beasts. Humans could only use a small portion, usually after special processing and refinement into potions.

But holding this raw material in his hand, he felt something.

Asher racked his brain…

He had never heard of this.

He only hesitated for three seconds before deciding.

'No need to figure out what it is or how it works, just need to find more.'

Scanning the surroundings, Asher's gaze toward the rocky terrain completely changed.

'Hehehe!'

'If breaking rocks can drop resources…'

"Little Raven, go!"

"It's time for you to support this family."

A moment ago, Little Raven had been a bit listless, but now its eyes lit up instantly.

'Hmm? What did my Beastmaster say?'

'I knew it!'

'Without me, this household will fall apart in seconds.'

'Let's go!'

One person and one bird worked together seamlessly, launching a ruthless assault on the rocky mountains wherever they passed.

———

A lot can happen in an hour.

Nia looked at the newly arrived Tier 8 Beast Tamer, her face showing an expression of being so stunned she couldn't even speak.

'Eighth rank…'

'Yes.'

'It is indeed an Tier 8 Beast Tamer.'

'But no one said it is another Ace-level Tier 8 Beast Tamer!'

Nia felt like her life had just gone through some extreme ups and downs.

Thinking back to just a month ago, she was merely a Tier 6 Beast Tamer, stuck at that level for years, struggling to break through the final barrier. Although her daily life was exciting, the high-level resources she could access were not as plentiful as she had imagined.

Then—

In just a single month—

She had met three Ace-level Beast Tamers in a row.

Nia took a deep breath and silently thanked Professor Asher in her heart.

"You're the only one who came?", Peter looked at the man in front of him, narrow eyes, a gentle smile on his face, his tone was downright unpleasant.

Clyde adjusted his frameless glasses. Despite Peter's aggressive attitude, he didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "Little Peter, do you have a problem with that? Who else but me was available at the moment?"

"By the way, I heard you lost a Pet Beast Professor in the Red Soil Forbidden Zone."

Peter: "!"

Peter was so furious that he was about to roll up his sleeves and fight Clyde.

At that moment, Madam Henrietta, who had gone to fetch Clyde, walked in. She saw Peter looking ready for a brawl and, without hesitation, rolled her eyes at him.

"Ancestor, can you calm down?"

"He's being passive-aggressive at me!", Peter shouted.

Madam Henrietta's expression remained blank, "Oh."

Then she added, "But I think he's right."

Peter, stabbed in the heart by Madam Henrietta: "..."

Thinking about how he was supposed to protect Professor Asher, and yet somehow managed to lose him… Peter silently sat down, unwilling to say another word.

The other Tier 7 Beast Tamers at the scene didn't dare to speak at all.

Three Tier 8 Ace Beast Tamers standing together… The pressure was immense.

At the same time—

They also realized something.

The situation was probably far more serious than they had imagined.

Clyde May.

Among all the Tier 8 Beast Tamers, he was one of the most famous.

Born into a prestigious family.

His ancestors for eight generations had been elite Beast Tamers, Breeders, and Pet Beast Professors.

His younger sister, Freya May, was also a Tier 7 Beast Tamer.

And he himself was widely regarded as one of the most promising candidates to reach the ninth rank.

Yet—

Such a person had actually been sent to handle the situation in Red Soil City.

The Tier 7 Beast Tamers watching from the sidelines felt like their brains were short-circuiting. They could barely process what was happening.

"So, can we prepare to leave now?", Clyde ignored the looks from those around him, or rather, he had long since gotten used to them.

Looking at Peter and Madam Henrietta, he said, "The longer we delay, the harder it will be to find him."

Peter, still holding past grudges, didn't want to respond to Clyde. Madam Henrietta, however, nodded.

"The sooner, the better."

'Three Ace Beast Tamers searching together?'

'There is no way they won't find him!'

———

"Achoo—", Asher sneezed just as he picked up another piece of red mineral. Rubbing his nose, he muttered to himself, "Are the rocks I burned cursing me?"

"No way," Shaking his head, Asher said, "Must be the wind. Probably caught a little cold."

Without hesitation, he stuffed the red mineral into his backpack.

After nearly twenty minutes of collecting, the results were not as great as he had hoped.

The drop rate from the rocks wasn't as high as expected.

Out of ten rocky outcrops, only two or three yielded any resources.

Even the red minerals that did drop varied in size.

The palm-sized one he found at the start was already considered medium-sized. He also picked up several that were only as big as glass marbles.

But the largest piece was about the size of a small jellyfish.

Counting the thirteen red minerals in his bag, Asher nodded, "Barely acceptable, I guess."

But then, turning around—

Oh no.

He realized he had wandered off the original path.

That's the thing about resource farming, it's so satisfying and fun that you forget what you were supposed to be doing.

"Ahem! Ahem!"

Asher coughed twice, forcing himself to focus again.

The moment he did—

He was shocked to realize that the perception error he had been experiencing… had completely disappeared.

It was as if time had returned to normal.

The mental exhaustion was gone, too.

Physically… well, he was still a little tired.

Carrying four Pet Beasts, plus a backpack filled with tools and resources, he was essentially traveling with a heavy load.

But for someone who had endured double the usual burden, this wasn't too hard to handle.

Asher smiled.

This time, he moved much faster.

In just a short while, he had scouted the outer edge of the mountain range.

He was currently on the eastern side of the mountains. At first, he hadn't thought much of it.

After all, it was late spring, almost summer. This area was slightly hotter, so the lush greenery seemed normal.

But—

When he reached the northern side of the mountain range, he was shocked to see.

The entire landscape had changed.

The eastern side was full of green trees and dense foliage.

But the northern side.

Was covered in golden hues, with crisp autumn air all around.

Asher stood frozen for three seconds.

A thought crossed his mind.

'If I check the western and southern sides next… Will I find winter and spring landscapes there?'

"This… is actually pretty fascinating. There's definitely something going on," Nodding to himself, Asher reconsidered his options.

'So—'

'Where is the Red Soil Expedition Team most likely to be?'

'And—"

'If I want to get out of this mountain range, which direction is the best choice?'

Asher pulled out his phone.

"I'm lost on the road of life. Can I get some suggestions?"

'Come on.'

'Tell me.'

'Where's the exit?'

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