The tome's cover glowed. Pages flipped open on their own, stopping on a spread illuminated with golden script.
[BEAST TAMER - CLASS SKILLS]
[Starter Skill: Tame Beast (Active)][MP Cost: 50 | Cooldown: None][Effect: Attempt to form a permanent bond with a defeated creature. Target must be at 10% HP or below. Success rate: (40% base) + (Charisma × 2%) + (Luck × 1%). Failed attempts do not consume MP.][Current Success Rate vs. Level 5: 205% | Level 10: 155% | Level 15: 105% | Level 20: 55%]
The percentages scaled down as target level increased. Even with seventy Charisma, a Level 20 creature was a coin flip.
Riri's gaze tracked to the next entry.
[Level 5 Skill: Shared Senses (Active/Toggle)][MP Cost: 10/minute][Effect: See, hear, and smell through a bonded creature's perspective. Can switch between multiple tamed creatures. Host body remains vulnerable while active.]
[Level 10 Skill: Pack Tactics (Passive)][Effect: Tamed creatures within 100 feet of each other gain +25% Attack and Defense.]
[Level 15 Skill: Summon/Dismiss (Active)][MP Cost: 20 per creature][Effect: Instantly summon bonded creatures to your location or dismiss them to a pocket dimension. Dismissed creatures do not consume active companion slots and remain in stasis.]
[Level 20 Skill: Beast Fusion (Active)][MP Cost: 200 | Cooldown: 24 hours][Effect: Temporarily merge two bonded creatures into a single enhanced form. Duration: 10 minutes. Merged creature gains combined HP pools and abilities.]
The skill tree continued down the page, Level 25, 30, 35, but the text blurred into illegibility beyond Level 20. Locked behind progression gates.
Riri closed the tome. The weight of it felt different now, not just a book but a blueprint for an entirely new way to fight.
She'd spent five days perfecting solo knife work. Choke points, environmental kills, stamina management. All of that was about to become secondary.
Now she needed creatures.
System #2's interface pulsed.
[May I make a suggestion?]
"Go ahead."
[The Training Dungeon rotation updates every three days. Tomorrow's roster includes 'Hollow Grove,' a forest-themed E-Rank dungeon. Enemy types: Dire Wolves, Shadow Foxes, and Thorn Serpents. Level 3-7 range.]
[Dire Wolves are classified as mount-capable creatures with high Strength and Constitution. Shadow Foxes have natural stealth abilities and high Agility. Thorn Serpents inflict poison and have ranged attacks.]
[With your current Charisma, you have a 205% success rate on anything Level 5 or below, and 155% on Level 6-7 targets. You could theoretically walk out with three high-quality companions in a single run.]
Riri pulled up the dungeon schedule. Hollow Grove unlocked at 6 AM. Seven hours from now.
Wolves meant mobility and tanking. Foxes meant scouting. Serpents meant range and crowd control.
"What's the Boss encounter?"
[Hollow Grove Boss: Alpha Direwolf - Level 10 - ELITE][HP: 800/800][Abilities: Pack Leader's Howl (buffs all wolves), Savage Leap, Rending Bite][Note: Defeating the Alpha causes all remaining wolves in the dungeon to flee or submit.]
Level 10. Her taming rate against it sat at 155%, guaranteed with margin for error. And if defeating it made the other wolves submit, she could cherry-pick two more companions from the pacified swarm.
She checked the dungeon's clear record.
[Hollow Grove - Current Records:][Fastest Clear: 4 hours, 12 minutes - Party of 5][Highest Rank: A-Rank - Party of 4][Solo Clears: 3 total, all C-Rank or lower][Warning: Dire Wolf packs coordinate ambush tactics. Shadow Foxes disable traps and create illusions. Thorn Serpents have 40-foot attack range.]
Three solo clears, none above C-Rank. The dungeon was designed to punish lone Players: pack hunters, stealth ambushers, ranged threats. Everything that made solo knife work a nightmare.
She wasn't going in to clear it the normal way. She was going shopping.
System #2's interface drifted closer, particles swirling.
[You should rest. Tomorrow's going to be intense, and your Intelligence upgrade means your brain is processing faster than before, which increases mental fatigue accumulation—]
"I'll rest after." Riri pulled up her inventory. "Show me what gear I can afford."
[Current Credits: 26,541]
The System Shop materialized, a cascading menu organized by rank and type. She filtered armor first. Beast Tamer wasn't a frontline class. She needed mobility over raw defense.
[Shadow-Weave Tactical Set (Rare - Full Set)][Cost: 12,000 Credits][Set Bonus: +15 Agility, +10 Constitution, Passive: Reduced noise from movement][Components: Jacket, Pants, Boots, Gloves]
The Agility boost would push her to 115. Reduced noise meant better positioning during taming attempts.
[Beast Handler's Charm (Uncommon - Accessory)][Cost: 3,500 Credits][Effect: +5 Charisma, Tamed creatures recover HP 20% faster | Ring slot]
[Stamina Recovery Band (Rare - Accessory)][Cost: 4,200 Credits][Effect: +20% Stamina regeneration, -10% Stamina cost for all physical actions | Bracelet slot]
[Hunter's Eyes (Uncommon - Consumable)][Cost: 3,500 Credits (5-pack)][Effect: Enemy HP bars visible at 200 feet, weak points highlighted | Duration: 2 hours per dose]
She added everything to cart, then filtered consumables.
[Health Potion (Greater) x10 - 2,000 Credits][Mana Potion (Greater) x4 - 1,200 Credits]
[Confirm purchase?]
Riri tapped YES.
Golden light flared. Items materialized on the sectional beside her: the Shadow-Weave set folded in neat blacks and grays, ring and bracelet in velvet boxes, potion vials clinking softly, five sealed ampules of Hunter's Eyes.
[Transaction complete! Remaining Credits: 541][New Combat Power: 2,847 (equipment bonuses applied)]
She picked up the tactical jacket. The fabric was lighter than her old gear, almost weightless, but when she flexed it between her hands the material didn't give.
Riri stripped off the sleep shirt and pulled on the new gear piece by piece. Pants first, fitting like a second skin, flexible at the joints, reinforced at the knees and thighs. Jacket next, settling across her shoulders with barely any weight. Boots that laced to mid-calf, soles designed for silent movement. Gloves that left her fingers free but protected her palms and wrists.
The Beast Handler's Charm slid onto her right ring finger. Warmth spread up her arm, the Charisma boost registering immediately.
The Stamina Recovery Band clicked around her left wrist. Her breathing steadied, deepened, like her lungs had found an extra gear.
She caught her reflection in the dark window glass. Black on black tactical gear, hood down, hair falling past her shoulders. The contrast was still there, delicate face against lethal gear, but now the outfit matched what was underneath it.
[Riri Lee - Level 5 | Class: Beast Tamer (Unique - SSS)][HP: 244/244 | MP: 670/670 | Stamina: 193/193][Combat Power: 2,847][Agility: 115 | Charisma: 75 | Intelligence: 67][Active Companions: 0/3 | Bonded Creatures: 0/12]
Six hours until Hollow Grove.
Riri set a mental alarm through the System interface, lay down on the sectional still fully geared, and closed her eyes.