"Origin Pet World
Trusted Egg Broker. Exotic Creatures. Guaranteed Potential."
Shang Wei's smile faded as his eyes narrowed. He turned the card over, and with permanent ink, the words were written. Lin Fang, and then the phone number: +86 138 0013 8664
"Lin Fang," he muttered, fingers tightening slightly around the card. A smile bloomed on his face. "It looks like he isn't as naive as I thought. He caught me pretty quickly. But then again, this is what I want…"
Back at Evergreen Apartments in Huaxi City;
The soft glow of the laptop screen was the only light in the dim room of Lin Fang's.
It was well past midnight, and the rest of the apartment lay silent. Even the neighborhood of the city beyond the windows had settled into almost stillness. But Lin Fang was wide awake.
He sat at the desk with his shoulders hunched and his eyes slightly bloodshot as he stared at the Yube app playing on his screen. Nestled in his lap and curled into a tiny ball, Black snored lightly in its direwolf puppy form, rising and falling gently with each breath. Just watching it sleep itself gave Lin Fang a strange comfort.
On-screen, another video played. The hunter, dressed in full combat gear, was demonstrating how to engage a Level-22 Firefang Boar using coordinated attacks with his companion.
"Remember, even if you don't have a high-tier monster, what matters is control. Your movement prediction and battle sense are the difference between a pass and a broken leg."
The video faded out, replaced by the next thumbnail in the playlist: "Surviving the Practical Round: Tips to Defeat a Level-20 Monster on Your Own!"
Lin Fang sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face.
"So it's not just writing and summoning tricks," he muttered. "It's actual combat, with and without monsters…"
He rested his forehead on his knuckles. "And here I thought I'd breeze through with the rank-ups."
The video resumed, explaining that the Monster Hunter Examination was split into three stages: written theory, tactical team combat, and solo combat against a wild monster. The minimum requirement to pass? Take down a Level-10 monster unaided without any monster companion or weapon, or any defensive equipment, or hold your ground against a Level-20 for five minutes.
"No wonder people spend years preparing," Lin Fang grumbled. "And I've got four days…"
He looked down at Po's sleeping face, then back to the screen. "I cannot waste a second chance. No matter what, I need to pass the examination. Without mana, I have no chance to become a hunter, as the competition rules forbid one to use mana crystals. Black is the ticket to getting a tamer certificate, but becoming a tamer is even harder than becoming a hunter, as I also need to showcase my physical capabilities. I can use the Combat Merge skill to increase my stat, equal to Black, but that only lasts 3 minutes and has an over 6-hour cooldown time period. That means I can only use it once, and it has to be saved for the last battle I will fight. Hmm…"
He clicked the system interface and brought up the Nursery Pen tab. As the interface expanded, his tired eyes flicked across the updates.
[Xuan Hei - Level 3]
[Cloud - Level 8]
[Tempest - Level 9]
Not an earth-shattering change, but it was better than his lower expectations. He nodded. "Good."
He closed the Nursery Pen and leaned back in his chair again. "Only four days remained. I need to train harder. I can't repeat what happened in the dungeon raid two days ago. There's only one way to do this…"
The system interface hovered before Lin Fang's eyes once again, and for a long time, he just stared at it.
[Training Ground]
Just above the Nursery Pen tab. Lin Fang sighed and leaned back in his chair again.
He hovered his hand over the glowing icon.
[Enter Training Ground?]
"I need to gain as much experience as I can, fighting against monsters," he muttered under his breath.
He clicked on Enter.
A familiar sudden jolt in his skull made his breath hitch, and the world around him dissolved into white space. He found himself standing once more before the massive golden crystal floating silently in the middle of an endless white void.
He took a slow step toward it.
[Please select the habitat.]
[You selected Silver Moon Snow Mountain]
3, 2, 1…
The landscape around him warped, and the world of ice and snow snapped into existence.
As the same biting chilly wind welcomed him, his breath instantly misted in the air.
"Holy sh*t… I forgot wearing winter clothes again…" he hissed, doubling forward as the chill stabbed at his bones.
But he didn't collapse this time.
Lin Fang gritted his teeth and wrapped his arms tightly around his torso, pushing himself forward.
"Need to get stronger…" "Need to get stronger…"
Constantly mumbling the same words, step by step, he trudged through the path. After a while, he found a patch of solid ground, flat, but still faced with wild, chilly winds.
He collapsed there finally, panting heavily, and sat cross-legged.
"This is not a time to be weak," he whispered, letting out an exhale, trying to encourage himself. "I'll have to do this."
Minutes passed in silence.
Lin Fang stared at the swirling sky and tried to meditate, bearing the cold that was biting his skin deeply. Eventually, His breath grew slower, and his heartbeat became stable.
*Ding!
Eventually, the screen appeared again, with a chime rang in his head.
[You have remained sedentary for more than 15 minutes. Activating Defense Protocol.]
[Spawning the Guardian… Please evacuate or engage.]
*Ding!
[Penalty imposed. Training duration extended by +15 minutes due to inactivity violation.]
[New remaining time: 51:24]
"It's going to be here…" He clenched his fists, rising to his feet.
[Summoning Guardian Beast: Frost Bear King]
A deep rumble split through the wind as the snow exploded several meters away, scattering upward like a geyser for a moment. Lin Fang stiffly turned his head to look behind him. "Eh? Where's the elephant? Why is there a Bear now?"
*Graaaa*
In response, the Frost Bear King raised its head and let out a roar that shattered the silence. The sheer pressure of its voice sent snow sliding off nearby cliffs and shook the very bones in Lin Fang's body.
"The hell… System, are you pulling my leg? Nope! Changed my mind. Not doing this!" He leaped to his feet and turned tail, sprinting down the slope with everything he had, instead of facing it. "Since when do Polar bears become prehistoric animals… They are not…"