Chapter 8: The End

How could this be?

Upon witnessing the change in the pendant, Lu Ran's mind became a whirlwind of confusion.

His family's heirloom? He hadn't even noticed it when he came in... Did it come in with him?

However, its transformation at this moment was astonishing.

Originally, due to the appearance of superpowers and the black card, Lu Ran had already felt that this world was foreign enough, as if something unknown was lurking behind the scenes.

Now, discovering that even his family's heirloom had such a remarkable origin only deepened his astonishment.

His expression was one of bewilderment.

He turned his focus inward toward the black contract card floating in his mental sea.

His mind remained in a fog.

So, these supernatural powers… they didn't just appear recently, did they?

No, they must have existed since ancient times, long before any of us could comprehend!

His family's heirloom was undoubtedly tied to this whole series of supernatural phenomena.

"There's just too much I don't understand."

"Could it be that one of my ancestors was chosen by the black card, becoming a Beast Master? And this stag antler... perhaps they took it from a secret realm."

"But if the black card has existed since ancient times, why has there been no record of it…?"

"If it weren't for that person's post, if it weren't for the black card itself appearing in my hands…"

"In the end, how many people have been chosen by this cursed place to become Beast Masters?"

"Arf! Arf!" Lost in thought, Lu Ran was snapped out of his musings by the painful cries of the injured General Ha, who, now back to his senses, was feeling the sharp sting of his wounds.

Pain, pain, pain…

The cries roused Lu Ran, prompting him to quickly react.

"I'll use this to help you heal."

The healing power from the divine stag was of an epic rarity—far superior to the common bloodstanching mushroom, surely.

This pendant had likely been in a dormant state, losing its original power, which was why it hadn't been detected at first.

But now, having arrived in this place and absorbed a certain amount of 'supernatural energy,' it had revived. That was likely the reason.

"Healing power," Lu Ran murmured, clutching the bloodstanching mushroom and pulling the pendant down.

In that instant, the familiar sensation of the contract card returned.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Ran focused his intention on healing General Ha.

The next moment, the stag antler emanated a brilliant golden light!

The golden light enveloped General Ha's wounds, and what happened next was beyond belief.

The wounds, which had been torn open, began to heal at an incredible speed.

In just a few seconds, the once bloody injuries were completely restored, with no trace of scarring left.

Except for a few patches of fur missing, it was near-perfect healing!

Even more astonishing, General Ha felt warmth spreading throughout his body, as though nourished by the very essence of nature.

"Ow!" In an instant, General Ha was stunned, unable to comprehend what had just occurred.

Lu Ran, however, beamed with joy.

He quickly patted the healed area on General Ha's body and said, "You may be bald now, but you've gotten stronger, and your flesh is tougher!"

"Woof!" General Ha blinked, looking down at his body with a mournful gaze before quickly turning his attention to the stag antler in Lu Ran's hand.

"Although I don't understand how this works, it seems like we're invincible now," Lu Ran grinned.

Never mind the heirloom issue. He'd think about it after returning.

"Woof woof!!" General Ha's eyes glittered like flashing lights, nodding frantically, feeling that with this, he could take on not just five cats, but fifty!

This thing was ridiculously strong—if it weren't for instant kills, no injury was beyond healing.

"Don't get too carried away," Lu Ran cautioned. "We can't rely entirely on our ancestors' protection. But, with this unexpected turn of events... the plan will need to change."

Gripping the pendant, he took another deep breath, recalling his mother's face.

Though he still didn't fully understand the nature of the stag pendant, Lu Ran knew it was their greatest asset right now. It had significantly increased their safety in this trial realm... and their plan to level up was now far more viable.

...

Having obtained such an epic item, Lu Ran felt he couldn't afford to squander the opportunity bestowed by his ancestors' heirloom.

He had slain two demon cats, bringing General Ha from level 1 to level 2. What about from level 2 to level 3?

Lu Ran intended for General Ha to level up as much as possible here, gaining greater combat strength.

A slow step means slow progress—this truth was universal. Since the conditions allowed it, Lu Ran wasn't going to miss any chance to harvest resources.

If a crisis arose in the future, he would be strong enough to protect himself and those he cherished.

Why couldn't he be the one at the top of the world?

Someone had to stand at the peak.

He could rule over insects, so why not beasts?

"If I keep getting stronger like this, even if that dream becomes a reality, I should be able to stop those monsters from destroying the city beneath my feet."

Thinking of the dream, Lu Ran's motivation only grew.

Four hours later.

In the heart of the dense forest.

"Idiot, didn't I tell you? Even though we have healing items, we should still try to avoid getting hurt!"

After recovering, Lu Ran and General Ha, now driven by greater ambition, began to actively seek out prey.

Along the way, they encountered new extraordinary creatures.

Most were between levels 1 and 3, with lower-tier creatures predominating.

Creatures like the tooth-ear rabbit—an extremely aggressive rabbit species, seeking death!

And the giant rat beast, looking larger than a duck, though still rather delicate.

Unfortunately, without the proper tools, and given their elusive nature, Lu Ran could only wonder about studying these strange creatures.

Yet, no matter the level—1 or 2—none of these creatures stood a chance against General Ha.

In comparison, the demon cats were far more difficult to deal with. Given that this place was called the Demon Cat Forest, these creatures were likely just prey for the demon cats.

This led Lu Ran to feel that these were the appropriate level of difficulty for a novice trial realm.

However, there were still some formidable foes, like the green serpent of middle-tier extraordinaries that General Ha had just slain.

Of course, General Ha had also sustained significant injuries in the process.

Perhaps it was due to the increasing security granted by the divine stag's healing power that General Ha felt a sense of safety, prompting him to fight more brutally. In pursuit of victory, he was willing to trade injuries for damage, fighting with savage tenacity.

This was an extremely extreme fighting style in the natural world, as most battles in nature are fought for survival or sustenance, and sustaining injury would mean distancing oneself from life. Yet General Ha didn't care, quickly developing a new battle strategy that left Lu Ran in awe of the dog's innate talent.

But it was reckless—it could lead to trouble!

For example, this snake had venom! Fortunately, they had gathered detoxifying herbs along the way.

"Woof," General Ha said, looking at the large snake with an innocent expression.

At this point, General Ha had reached level 3.

Both General Ha and Lu Ran were now in an incredibly elated state.

If they could continue leveling up at this pace, in just 24 hours, they could maintain peak fighting spirit throughout—after all, growing stronger felt amazing.

However, despite the thrill of leveling, they paused their progress for now.

Lu Ran had discovered signs of human activity.

A dilapidated tent.

The reason they had encountered the snake earlier was because someone had been guarding the area near the tent.

Approaching the tent cautiously, they found no further surprises.

Inside, aside from a yellowed journal, there was nothing else.

Lu Ran picked up the journal, excitedly flipping through it. Although the text was indecipherable to him, thanks to his Data Eye, he was able to understand its meaning.

"This is the first stop of my journey, the once-deep forest, now the Demon Cat Forest. I came with full confidence to investigate the true cause of the forest's transformation, but I was wrong. My father was right... I shouldn't have come here…"

The journal ended abruptly.

"That's it?" Lu Ran stared in disbelief.

"The Riddler, get out of the trial realm!" Seeing the sparse details recorded in the journal, Lu Ran was furious.

He had hoped to unlock some hidden quest beyond the trial task.

Even without the journal, he knew that the "forest transformation" was a key term in this realm.

"Woof." Beside him, General Ha calmed Lu Ran.

Let's just go level up.

"Right, there's only one day left," Lu Ran sighed. The lack of information about the Demon Cat Forest, combined with their own weak strength, made exploring any further secrets of the realm a daunting task.

But after analyzing the journal more closely, Lu Ran realized that it wasn't completely devoid of useful information…

The true cause of the mutation… perhaps the well-known black storm that caused the biological mutations was only the surface reason.

The author's father had warned him against coming here, suggesting he knew something more. The one who wrote the journal likely came from a prestigious background.

Lu Ran committed these details to memory and decided to focus on leveling up for now. There was no immediate use for this information.

Gradually, Lu Ran and General Ha became engrossed in leveling up, continuously moving through the Demon Cat Forest.

Along the way, they encountered few troublesome foes, the most difficult challenge being facing multiple demon cats at once.

In such situations, injury was inevitable. While a normal Beast Master team could win, the injuries would likely prevent them from continuing.

However, with the divine stag's antler, injuries were the easiest problem to solve.

"Level 4!"

"This is so tough."

Time ticked away, and with the task countdown in sight, Lu Ran kept his eyes on the "one-day limit."

By now, they had been at it for almost 24 hours, either hunting monsters or fighting. Without the energy-restoring fruits, they would have been utterly exhausted by now.

The first three levels were relatively quick, but reaching level 3 to 4 took nearly a full day.

There was no progress bar for their growth, so they could only keep fighting, as it was the only way they knew to level up.

Thankfully, just as the countdown hit one minute, General Ha took down the final demon cat, bringing his growth level to 4.

And then, an even more delightful surprise came!

Congratulations! You've completed the novice trial.

Rating: S-Class!

Tip: Trial ratings range from SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, D, E, to F.

Congratulations! You've earned an identity card.

Congratulations! You've earned 10,000 crystal coins.

Congratulations! You've gained a high-level resource, Meteorite Ore.

Congratulations! You've gained a high-level resource, Attribute Awakening Fruit (Herb).

Congratulations! You've gained the Beast Master skill: Ultra Beast Mimicry.

Congratulations! You've earned the Data Eye (Beginner).

Please choose your return location: 1. Initial teleportation point, 2. Infinite City!

Tip: Infinite City is a large, secure area for Beast Masters who have completed the novice trial, with various special facilities for Beast Masters.

"It's over..." A series of prompts appeared, and Lu Ran exhaled in relief, then unexpectedly glanced at the return location prompt.