*Ding!
[Lightning Pterosaur Shard ×100 Assimilated]
[Lightning Pterosaur egg (Summon Token) has been added to your Inventory]
[Side Quest 1: Obtain a Second Monster – Completed! 300 Coins have been added to the Balance.]
[Lightning Pterosaur is detected to be from Lottery. Rejected from the Summoner's shop.]
[New Product Added: Blood Coagulation Pill]
[4 Remaining Lightning Pterosaur Shards dismantled. 40 Coins have been added.]
[Lottery Wheel has been refreshed]
As the string of notifications filled the screen, Lin Fang's eyes widened, taken aback in surprise. "Rejected?"
Reading the notification again, Lin Fang murmured in realization. "So, the monsters I gain in the lottery wheel cannot be added to the Summoner's shop, eh?"
Taking a deep breath, he came to terms with it quickly as he already had six different types of Direwolf anyway. Well, it would be nice to have a different monster, but it is fine. Or at least, that's what Lin Fang convinced himself of.
"Anyway, let's check with the new item."
"Summoner's Shop, Open."
He scrolled down through the Summoner's Shop, eyes narrowing as he scanned the listings again.
As he went past the two existing items, his eyes fell on the third one.
Item: Blood Coagulation Pill
Price: 3,000 Coins
He blinked, taken aback.
"Three thousand! Uhh… what's with this inflated price, all of a sudden?"
He clicked on it instinctively.
A window popped open, elegant and dark red, describing the product:
A rare pill-based elixir that converts the essence of one's blood into mana, temporarily unlocking the ability to form a spirit bond with a monster.
Duration: Lasts for 60 minutes
Side Effects: Dizziness, iron deficiency, nausea, and extreme fatigue for 12–18 hours.
Lin Fang's brows furrowed. "A pill that lets even a plainfolk become a monster tamer or a hunter…" He leaned forward. "No wonder it's expensive. It's perfect for someone like me. But the side effects are a bit much, and the price… even from the store's earnings point of view, for one hour and such side effects for the rest of the day, who would be willing to spend 300,000 credits? But…"
He glanced toward the direwolf pup again. For a second, the joy from his earlier earnings seemed thinner and fragile now.
"Forget about selling it, I can't even have the guts to purchase one of them and list it in the market." He muttered. "For now, let's keep it aside, just like the Growth Pill."
"Lottery Wheel."
As Lin Fang proceeded to look at the changes the Lottery Wheel had undergone, he spotted a new image that now occupied the spots that once belonged to Lightning Pterosaur.
The image is that of a lion with dagger-like fangs and rugged white fur, its body sleek, and its eyes glowing.
He clicked on it.
Smilodon
Grade: Epic
Attributes: Fire
Potential: Level 40.
"The sabertooth one is good, but not as strong as a direwolf or has any advantage of flying as a pterosaur.
Lin Fang's eyes flicked toward his coin balance again, 388 coins, which is just enough to give him 7 more tries.
"Nah, I had enough for the night. We can aim for this when I have more money," he whispered. But a second later, he lay on his back and groaned. "I need more and more money to get things I want in the Summoner's Shop, and earning more money makes my heart anxious. Ugh… it feels so pathetic. Anyway, let's be done with this thing."
He got up again and went back to the Summoner's Shop.
*Ding!
[Purchased: Blazing Direwolf Egg. 100 coins have been deducted.]
[Purchased: Electral Direwolf Egg. 100 Coins have been deducted.]
[Purchased: Terran Direwolf Egg. 100 coins have been deducted.]
He returned to his NovaMart dashboard and adjusted his listings. The remaining two are kept unavailable, while these three were listed as only 1 product available.
Blazing Direwolf Egg – Price: 40,000 Credits
Electral Direwolf Egg – Price: 40,000 Credits
Terran Direwolf Egg - Price: 40,000 Credits
"Let's see how far this market stretches."
Upon raising their prices further and closing down the laptop, as if remembering something he had forgotten earlier, he opened the inventory, where a Lightning Pterosaur summoning token was resting, waiting for him to hatch it.
He clicked on it.
[Hatching the Egg]
*Ding!
An instant light exploded from the inventory, filling the room for a second.
Even Black stirred and opened its eyes, blinking its large eyes as a quiet screech echoed in its ears.
His palm-sized, fledgling pterosaur emerged from the inventory. Its feathers are already shimmering with sparks of electricity, except that the electrical sparks aren't bluish white but golden in color.
Its wings were even bigger than Lin Fang's arm, quite larger than its body size, a bit unusual to look but the pterosaur fledgling managed to curl its wings in a perfectly normal way.
Meanwhile, a notification appeared.
[You have successfully hatched: Lightning Pterosaur]
[Please assign a Name.]
Lin Fang swiftly inspected its details.
Unnamed
Species: Lightning Pterosaur
Grade: Epic
Potential: Level 40 (Lord Tier)
Element: Lightning, Wind
[Please assign a name.]
Lin Fang stared at the little pterosaur, which puffed its feathers proudly once again, electricity dancing across its wings.
He didn't think long to name the pterosaur. "Tempest," he said softly. "That will be your name."
The Pterosaur let out a sharp, proud cry, as if it approved.
Lin Fang shook his head with a smile. "Welcome to the family, Tempest."
He reached out, running a gentle hand over the soft, golden-edged feathers. They sparked slightly, but didn't hurt him. "First Black and now Tempest. A plainfolk like me can bond with such powerful monsters. I wonder how many I could control..."
He couldn't help but glance at the direwolf pup as it was trying to reach its paw as if patting the fledgling Pterosaur. The latter screeched, swatting its paw away.
"Even though it was just born, it already looked proud." He grinned at the sight."
A beat of silence later.
"Whatever the case…" Lin Fang shook his head and smiled faintly. "As long as I get them to Commander Tier, I could venture into the wilderness on my own, whether to hunt down the monsters or solo the dungeons. Leveling up is not a big deal for me, though. I have Growth Pills. All I need is more money…"
He leaned back and stretched, cracking his knuckles one by one.
"Let's not think too much... focus on things one after another."
A soft smirk crept up his face as he lay down for the final time and closed his eyes. He imagined walking into the wilderness, riding a Giant Pterosaur while a giant Direwolf is clearing up the field. He exhaled slowly, a small laugh escaping his lips. "This house… This house is ridiculously lucky for me."
Black let out a tiny sneeze, waddling up to his chest and shutting its eyes while Tempest tilted its head in confusion before curling up beside him, going to sleep instead of exploring the room.
As the two monster companions slept, Lin Fang took out his phone and opened notes, mumbling.
"Alright, with two monsters as my arsenal, even if I don't possess mana, I can have the future of a hunter. With that said, a few things that needed to be noted down, based on today's date: June 14th, 2016.
The date is unknown, but I'm sure that somewhere in the second half of this year, a stellar rift will open up on Mt. Hua. By that time, I need to get the hunter license. And have some experience in fighting.
*One, Get a Hunter's License. *
*Two, Evolve Black and Tempest to Commander Tier*
*Three, Join a reputed guild*
After writing those three points in notes under the title: Goals, he once again mumbled, "If I remember correctly, on the eve of the upcoming Global New Year, there will be a terrorist attack on the City Hall, resulting in the death of the Mayor and dozens of casualties. It has nothing to do with me, but since I know it, I should do something about it to save those people, giving them a second chance to live, too."
He typed in the notes.
*Four, Stop the Terrorist attack on City Hall on Dec 31st.*
"Hmm, of course, since I'm living in this house, I cannot lose this opportunity to connect with Li Liu. Whether she is straight or bi, it doesn't matter as long as her feelings for me are real."
*Five, confirm Li Liu's orientation and relationship status.*
"Hmm… what about my business then? I cannot just depend on selling Direwolf eggs. I need to think about investments, but…" He let out a sigh, massaging his forehead. "Due to the lack of money all the time, I never paid attention to the stock market before. But in the upcoming seven years, a few companies in Zhonggou will vastly grow to become behemoths. Luckily, I'm nothing but a tiny and lone butterfly. No matter what I do, I won't have enough power that I can create hurricanes by flapping my wings. So, I don't have to worry about it and invest a part of my savings. It would be nice if it were a small-time company, though."
*Six, look for companies and invest 500,000 credits. Use 200,000 credits in mutual funds. Keep the remaining for emergencies.*
"Okay, these six goals should be enough for now."
Lin Fang put away the phone and closed his eyes.