"You f****r..."
The gentleman, despite his slow reactions, realized he was under a stealth attack by a sneaky bastard.
BOOM—
A surge of immense Spiritual Energy erupted, unleashing intense destructive power.
The Mire Monster grew enormous. It transformed into a two-meter-tall sludge giant and punched towards the assailant.
A Red Copper-tier Beast Tamer could unleash Spiritual Energy, granting their Pet Beast a layer of enhancement buff and boosting its overall strength.
The reason the Mire Monster, a Low-Tier Servant, hadn't been replaced was because it had developed a second Dark attribute. Under its Master's nurturing, it had mastered multiple skills, rivaling High-Tier Servants.
PUFF!
Chu Yi thrust a claw through the opponent's back, causing a bout of lung bleeding.
Surprised by the destructive power of [Tearing Claw], he acted quickly, transforming his left hand into a robust beast claw to block the incoming attack.
BOOM—
A shadow swept past, and the heavy force sent Chu Yi flying. His left hand throbbed with pain; one finger was fractured, and the joint was dislocated.
Chu Yi rapidly retreated.
He understood. The opponent was targeting Lulina, tailing them for extortion. As he'd thought before, who normal would come here in the middle of the night? It was like looking for a good girl in a nightclub. To protect himself, killing the opponent was entirely reasonable.
"Kid, attacking a Red Copper-tier Beast Tamer, you're in deep trouble."
The gentleman clutched his lower back, his face pale yet fiercely vicious.
A small piece of the Mire Giant shattered. It turned into a puddle of shadow energy that enveloped its Master's wound, mending it by transforming the injury into shadow.
The two faced off.
Suddenly, at the same moment, both drew their Star Bracelets and scanned each other.
Chu Yi obtained information about the Mire Monster.
[Name]: Mire Monster
[Rank]: Low-Tier Servant
[Level]: 18
[Attributes]: Earth, Dark
[Weaknesses]: Ice, Water
[Skills]: Enlarging, Corrosive Fangs, Shadow Jutsu
[Special Abilities]: None
[Status]: Combat
[Evolution Paths]:
① Swamp Monster: Berries x3...
② Giant Swamp Monster: Tier-3 Water Crystal Core x1...
③ Molten Rock Demon: Tier-4 Fire Crystal Core x8...
④ Poison Swamp Giant (Mutated)...
Huh, where's his Pet Beast hiding?
The gentleman searched for his opponent's Pet Beast, secretly watching the corners.
This kid is also a Beast Tamer, but where is his Pet Beast? What type is it? What skills does it have!?
His opponent, on the other hand, remained calm and struck viciously. This made the gentleman hesitate.
Not someone to mess with.
Meanwhile, Chu Yi was... waiting for his skill's cooldown. It was perfectly normal for Pet Beast skills to have a cooldown period.
SWISH!
Chu Yi's eyes turned cold. Under the gentleman's wary gaze, he spun around and darted into a nearby forest.
The speed was unimaginable.
He ran away?
The gentleman was taken aback for a moment, then immediately gave chase.
He realized the opponent was only Black Iron-tier. As a Red Copper-tier, what did he have to fear?
With a flick of his wrist, he revealed a bottle of knockout drug, gripping it tightly.
He planned to drug him, force out Lulina's whereabouts, then kill him.
This trick never failed against those haughty women.
Given his status as a Beast Tamer, his victims could only endure the bullying in silence, which made the gentleman even more pleased with himself.
"Mire Monster, use [Shadow Jutsu]!"
At the command, the Mire Monster softened, enveloping the gentleman. It transformed into a pool of shadow and quickly dashed towards the forest.
[Shadow Attack] was a rare Dark-Element skill that allowed full Elementalization, making it suitable for escape, pursuit, and stealth.
SWISH!
A shadow like a gray venomous snake swiftly burrowed into the forest.
Just then, a bag of lime powder scattered over the shadow-snake, turning it snow-white.
The moisture within the Mire Monster reacted with the lime, rapidly releasing heat, and its entire body began to boil.
This process was neither too fast nor too slow.
The Mire Monster's movements slowed, and its consciousness blurred. It crashed into several large trees, steam rising from its entire body.
"AAAHHH..."
Still in shadow form, the gentleman felt a scorching heat as the released warmth frantically licked at his body.
Moreover, the Mire Monster began to harden. Its body stiffened, causing the gentleman enveloped within unbearable suffering and threatening to suffocate him.
Though Pet Beasts were born from Extraordinary Life, they also had inherent weaknesses.
As an Alchemist Apprentice of the Starfire Sequence, it was perfectly reasonable for Chu Yi to carry a bag of lime.
PHEW!
The overwhelmed gentleman broke away from the shadow state, gasping for fresh air.
At that very moment, Chu Yi, who had been hiding in the shadows, shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring. His left claw pierced the gentleman's chest.
Fast! Too fast! Chu Yi's timing was sheer genius!
SWISH...
There was no surprise at all.
Thanks to the Armor-Piercing Attack of [Tearing Claw], Chu Yi thrust his claw deep inside, squeezed fiercely, and crushed the gentleman's heart. A large amount of blood gushed out, drenching his hand.
The gentleman's previously relaxed expression froze, his eyes staring wide.
The next moment, they dimmed again.
His face was filled with disbelief. He had never expected that he, a Red Copper-tier, would die so absurdly at the hands of his prey.
There was no thrilling, dramatic process.
After just two exchanges, Chu Yi had seized the opportunity and executed a swift, clean kill.
The Mire Monster squirmed, confused without its Master.
In a weakened state, Chu Yi finished it off with a claw.
He had eliminated one Master and one Pet Beast.
Countless motes of light, like Fireflies, floated from the corpses and were greedily consumed by the Ghost Hand.
His level rose to 4, reaching the first stage of Tier-4!
Additionally, his Beast Taming level absorbed some Spiritual Energy, moving one step closer to Rank Eight!
[Evolution Point +1]
"Fortunately, he was just a Loose Cultivator Beast Tamer. His combat awareness couldn't compare to those from the academies," Chu Yi panted heavily.
Beast Tamers had different ranks, and those like the gentleman were bottom-tier trash. He had relied on his Mire Monster, operating in gray areas. He was good at bullying the weak, but his actual combat power was poor, skilled only in that one aspect.
SIZZLE SIZZLE...
The Ghost Hand devoured the Soul, practically exploding with excitement.
Chu Yi received some feedback from it, his physique strengthening significantly.
Staring at the corpse for a while, the intense bloody smell finally made him vomit violently.
It was his first kill. He hadn't initially planned to kill the opponent. He had only intended to disable him, make him download a bunch of illegal loan apps, and transfer the money to himself. But, in a moment of heat, he'd accidentally killed him... Who the hell could have thought this fatso was so pathetically weak? He'd keeled over after one hit! Couldn't he have held out a bit longer?! A supposed Red Copper-tier, how could he be so fragile! Just how much of a poser was he! But then again, it might have been because he was attacked by a bunch of mutated Pet Beasts earlier and had consumed too much Spiritual Energy.
"I'll set this aside for now. How should I handle the corpse..." Chu Yi flicked the blood off his hand, contemplating seriously.
Bury it? Not to mention I have no tools, Bika can't dig. Plus, it could easily be detected by some reconnaissance Pet Beasts. Set it on fire? With all this wilderness around, I'd probably end up rotting in jail. However, tonight is a blood moon. Dying at the hands of a Demon... is that reasonable? Yes, that's certainly reasonable.
Chu Yi praised his own brilliant insight.
EEK...
Bika trotted over.
Seeing Chu Yi's limp arm, his injured left hand stained with blood, Bika's small head drooped, filled with self-blame.
I'm too weak. Even with a proficient [Little Spark], its power is only enough to light a cigarette. If I were stronger, Master wouldn't have gotten hurt at all!