King of Beasts

Chapter 25: Forging a Sword for the Dog

The next day.

Lu Ran woke up and glanced at the time.

Hmm… the sun was already high in the sky.

He had slept for a full twelve hours.

Finally, his weary body had gotten the rest it needed.

Since entering the novice trial secret realm, he hadn’t had a proper rest.

And this time, he was spared that strange dream, allowing him to sleep soundly.

“Nice!”

On the soft bed, Lu Ran stretched out lazily.

It all seemed like a dream, the experiences he had.

But when he summoned the black card, he knew it was all real.

After tidying up a bit, Lu Ran noticed that there was no one in the living room and realized that Fang Lan must still be asleep.

He didn’t call out to her.

Do girls really stay up that late?

Fang Lan had gone through the novice secret realm too, but last night it seemed she stayed up late chatting in the group again.

She would probably sleep until the afternoon or even the evening.

Lu Ran left a message for Fang Lan and then quietly left.

He hailed a taxi and spent half an hour returning to his own home.

First, he sent the information that needed to be given to Xiaobailong, then he quickly made some food.

“Aooo!!!”

After the food was ready, Lu Ran summoned General Ha, who had been cooped up in the black card for half a day and was nearly bursting at the seams.

If Lu Ran hadn’t warned him in advance, the creature might have torn the black card apart.

The next day’s local news would have featured a “Supernatural Erha Destroys Card in Owner-Eating Incident.”

At this moment, as soon as he came out and saw there was food, General Ha’s eyes lit up, he restrained his restless heart, and plunged his head into the food bowl.

“Eat up, eat up.”

“We’re going to Infinite City later.”

Lu Ran was planning to return to Infinite City.

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Not that he was ready to enter the secret realm so soon.

Instead, he wanted to check if the forge house had opened today.

His meteorite ore was still waiting to be forged into a sword.

General Ha, already so strong with just a stick in his mouth, could fight tigers as if they were cats. If he had a sword forged from meteorite ore, wouldn’t he be unstoppable?

Even facing a tiger of the same level that had awakened its attributes, he should have the strength for a fight, shouldn’t he?

“Woof.” General Ha nodded and sped up his eating.

“So, which of the advanced energy application skills like shaping, flow, compression, and release do you want to practice first?” Lu Ran pondered as he watched General Ha eating.

General Ha’s species level was still low, but his learning capability was strong. To bridge the gap between species levels in combat, it was crucial to leverage this advantage and develop new skills quickly.

“Woo~” General Ha indicated contently that he wanted to learn them all. He believed in his own talent!

“Right, then let’s train them all simultaneously! Let’s set a small goal to start with: develop one skill in each of the four categories.”

“Woo woo!” General Ha’s mouth curled into a smile, nodding frantically to show there was no problem.

“However, just practicing these four doesn’t seem to tap into all your potential. I’ve thought it over, and we’re going to add a bit of cultural class to your training regimen,” Lu Ran decided after a moment of contemplation, clapping his hands.

At these words, the smile that had just appeared on General Ha’s face gradually faded.

Cultural class? Did that mean the same dreary activity that Lu Ran did under a desk lamp, furiously writing every day?

Food fell from General Ha’s mouth as he took a step back in shock, his eyes wide with fear.

He could endure any training that released energy and made him stronger, but cultural class…

Lu Ran sat down.

“I think it’s quite necessary.”

Actually, his biggest concern wasn’t General Ha’s combat power.

It was his intelligence.

Not combat intelligence, but everyday intelligence.

After all, in the past year of living together, this dog had proven to be not so bright.

Everyday intelligence was important too.

Just take the incident in the Forest of the Demon Cat, for example.

This fool had actually drooled over a poisonous mushroom.

Was that sensible?

If Lu Ran wasn’t around, he was certain this creature wouldn’t survive three chapters.

Any moderately smart college student could easily trick this dog into losing his way.

As a beastmaster, Lu Ran was naturally very worried about his charge’s mental state.

Being an exemplary student skilled in both literary and martial arts himself, Lu Ran decided that in order to make General Ha “well-rounded” and prevent future pitfalls, he would, from now on, include some mental and logical training, as well as cultural lessons during General Ha’s rest periods.

“Just learn quickly enough, and there will always be more to learn,” Lu Ran said.

“Woo woo~” General Ha looked sad, his gaze falling to his food bowl. Suddenly, his meal didn’t seem so appetizing anymore.

It was one thing for a dog to practice swordsmanship; he had accepted that. But to expect a dog to read books too?

He took note of this grudge.

…

When you wake up, remember to tell mom and dad about us becoming beastmasters. I’m going to head to Infinite City soon, and I’m not sure when I’ll be back. If it’s urgent, you can find me in Infinite City. You remember my ID, right? Passerby A, 9528, just add me as a friend.

After a disheartened meal, General Ha was retracted into the card by Lu Ran to continue pondering the meaning of a dog’s life.

Glancing once more at the message left for Fang Lan, Lu Ran confirmed everything was in order before he took out his identity card and activated the teleport function.

Would you like to spend 5 crystal coins to teleport to Infinite City?

Yes.

As soon as Lu Ran had the thought.

Crystal coins -5.

Ten seconds later, after a day’s absence, he returned to Infinite City, to his personal room.

Lu Ran didn’t plan to stay long. Although he intended for General Ha to learn skills, now was not the time.

Before leaving, Lu Ran checked his balance of crystal coins. Good, there were plenty left.

He wondered how much it would cost to forge a decent weapon.

Lu Ran opened the door and walked directly towards the exit of the residential area. This time, he did not see Xiaobailong at the door.

Aside from registering as a beastmaster, he actually had another matter that needed Xiaobailong’s help, which was to sort out his high school attendance issue.

But since he had already taken leave for the holiday remedial classes, and school was still a while away, there was no rush.

“Let’s go.”

This time, feeling quite energetic, Lu Ran chose to walk to his destination instead of using any transport.

It was a good opportunity to take in the scenery of Infinite City.

On his way, Lu Ran saw many people, most of whom seemed as new to the city as he was, stopping and looking around like tourists exploring a new attraction.

Lu Ran guessed that these were newcomers who had entered Infinite City only a few days ago and were in a phase of extreme curiosity about everything.

“Just one day apart, and it’s already a lot livelier than yesterday,” he observed.

Moreover, Lu Ran gradually learned to distinguish between veterans and newcomers.

Newcomers mostly wore normal clothing, while the veterans included some affiliated with the official bodies, who wore more formal uniforms that looked like they were custom-made, as opposed to the non-officials who dressed in an eclectic mix.

Armor, mage robes, beast skin clothing, Taoist garments… this variety left Lu Ran feeling a bit disordered, as he sensed the inconsistency in styles.

“Ordinary clothes are mostly what people wear from reality, while these distinctive ones are likely custom-made, similar to the divine deer pendant, which comes with attributes and special functions.”

On his way, Lu Ran quickly arrived at his destination, the forge house. He looked up at the building named “House of Forging” and breathed a sigh of relief – thankfully, it was open today.

Creak.

Before Lu Ran could enter, the door opened from inside, and a youth dressed as a hunter emerged, sporting a hexagram badge on his chest, probably a guild emblem. Following the hunter was a middle-aged man only wearing a sleeveless white tank top and brown shorts, potbellied.

The man said to the hunter youth, “Good luck, and remember to bring me back a bottle of good wine after you clear it.”

“Definitely. You’re busy, Old Lin, looks like there’s a new customer. I’ll head off first,” the hunter youth said, glancing at Lu Ran outside before bidding farewell to the man.

“Mhm,” Old Lin’s gaze settled on Lu Ran at the door. “A newcomer, here for forging? Who referred you?”

“Cat-eared maid. Is this Master Lin?” Lu Ran asked.

“Ah, those intelligence dealers. Alright, come on in,” Master Lin said. “I’ll have you know upfront, forging here isn’t cheap, and it might be more than what a newcomer can afford.”

“I’ve brought my own materials,” Lu Ran said as he followed him into the forge house. The interior was simple: a counter, a few small round tables, and stools.

But the walls were fascinating, adorned with various props like shields, long knives, bows and arrows, and armor, all of which looked top-notch.

Behind the counter, there seemed to be another world, separated by a curtain leading to another room. Even from the outside, Lu Ran could feel the waves of heat emanating from within.

“What materials have you brought, and what do you intend to forge?” Master Lin returned to the counter, took a seat, and motioned for Lu Ran to sit as well.

“I have a piece of meteorite mine; I want to forge a sword.”

“Hmm? A top-notch material among high-quality materials, not bad,” Master Lin expressed surprise, continuing, “Is it for personal use? But generally, meteorite mine is more suited to forging armor for pet beasts.”

“It’s for a pet beast,” said Lu Ran.

“For a pet beast? A sword?” Master Lin fell into thought, asking, “What kind of beast do you have, a monkey, a gorilla?”

Even for monkeys or gorillas that can wield weapons, it would be impractical to use a sword.

With such fine materials, wouldn’t it be better to craft some armor? At the very least, arm guards would be an option.

“It’s neither. My pet beast is an Erha, so I’d like to have it custom-fitted. Is that possible?” Lu Ran inquired.

Master Lin: ??

An Erha?

His expression froze.

Forging a sword for an Erha? What kind of joke was this? In all his years in the trade, this was by far the most bizarre request he had ever encountered!

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