Immediately, everyone's eyes focused on Rocky.
"So, he's a disciple of a Grand Plant Scholar." A man frowned as he stared at Rocky.
"He's too young. Looks like he's just a teenager." another man said.
"Tch. But his beast comes from the black zone… a trash beast." A woman smirked as she glanced at Rocky's beast. Yet, jealousy was clearly audible in her voice.
Another woman nodded in understanding.
"I agree. A trash beast from the Black Zone won't be able to do anything. They should add those beasts to the banned list instead of allowing such inferior ones to tame them."
Another one spat,
"The grand plant scholar must be blind. Has he really lowered his standards to recruit trash as his disciple? It should've been me, not him."
Countless whispers rang out through the audience. Most of them believed Rocky was unworthy of his title.
They assumed he only got it through luck or some connection with a grand plant scholar, not his own potential.
"Uhm, that explains why he concealed his face." Travis snorted in scorn, glancing at Rocky from the corner of his eye.
"Because everyone would remember that stupid face and sneer at him wherever he goes. After all, this event is recorded at a global level."
"Right, my fiancée?" He chuckled as he asked Scarlet, who only replied with a cold look.
He snorted. "We're engaged. You should stay away from that useless trash… he'll stain your dignity and image."
Scarlet scowled when Travis insulted Rocky, but she only clicked her tongue and remained silent. She knew what kind of trash Travis was. Talking back to him would just be a waste of time.
Travis chuckled and said, "Hope you return to the academy. A gift will be waiting for you."
The presenter clapped his hands and spoke,
"The first round will now begin. Please listen carefully to the rules."
The presenter pointed his fingers at the small ground, where the trees and grass began to grow up with ridiculous speed. Pretty soon that place became a small ecosystem.
The presenter said.
''As you know, in order to become a greatest plant scholar, the first factor requested is your beast….it must have the ability to find plants. If not, even if you possess a huge knowledge, it is no use.''
''We've made that small ecosystem having a lot of different plants, so the beast's mission is just simply finding as many as the highest-rank plants in a fixed time. Whose beast have the most highest-rank plants is a winner.''
The presenter said.
''Understand?''
Then he nodded and said,
"Good. Now we will watch the beasts' missions through the magic screen."
[10:00]
…
[9:58]
Just like that, as time passed, the candidates' beasts rushed toward the small ecosystem. Since their real forms were quite massive, all of them maintained a tiny shape—not only to avoid trampling the ecosystem, but also to find plants more easily.
The first beast everyone saw on the magic screen was a pangolin digging into the ground, clearly searching for something.
Pretty soon, it dragged out a ginseng root that radiated a beautiful light. The pangolin smirked and tossed it into the sack on its back.
"What is that?" one audience member frowned, seeing a type of plant he had never seen in his entire life.
Travis just snorted when she heard the question.
"Bumpkin!"
Not letting the audience wait too long, one of the senior plant scholars spoke up.
"That is a ginseng root… a plant that grows underground and conceals its presence from the world. Only some unique, high-rank beasts are able to find it. The Plant Association has listed it among rare plants."
Another audience member pointed to a different spot on the magic screen.
"That demon tree is crushing rock?"
Everyone felt something strange about the actions of Scarlet's beast, but the next moment, their faces frowned when the demon tree pulled a seed out from the cracked rock.
The senior plant scholar continued explaining.
"A dragon seed. It always takes root in rock, so no one can find it—except beasts with sensitivity to the rock element. It's also a rare plant."
[3:23]
As time went on, the beasts had found quite a lot of plants. Scarlet's and Larissa's beasts were clearly among those that found the most rare ones. After all, whatever plants their beasts discovered were always strange.
The other beasts didn't draw much attention, as they only found common plants, or at best a few rare ones.
[2:23]
Suddenly, an audience member quietly frowned when he saw a beast acting strangely.
"A beast is swimming?"
They couldn't tell what species the beast was, since it was wearing a black cloak, but it looked like a humanoid beast.
[1:00]
That humanoid beast then climbed onto a tree branch and went to sleep, as if it had completely forgotten its mission.
As time passed, laughter began to spread through the stands.
"Hahahaha. Look at that… that trash beast is pretty hilarious."
"For sure. A beast from the black zone is always useless… I hope this kind of thing isn't a joke from the Plant Association."
One audience member smirked.
"That's right. The plant scholars are the face of the organization… this guy is just ruining their reputation."
Travis snorted in contempt. He glanced at Rocky, then sighed.
"I don't know what the fuck that stupid guy is doing… it seems anyone who owns a beast from the black zone is always a useless weirdo."
Scarlet looked at Bobby in worry. She had already known the beast's idenity was Bobby thanks to her unique skill. She never thought Rocky was a disciple of a grand plant scholar. But right now, he was representing the face of the organization. If he dirtied that face, the aftermath would surely come.
"What are you doing, Rocky?"
"Time's up!" the presenter shouted. "Everyone, call your beasts back here. We will count their work."
A/N: I hope you enjoy this novel. Support by adding to your library and giving a power stone or two. Thank you.
I will also appreciate a review to keep me motivated.