In Azureville, Genosha, Hale waited at the station with two new Cyber Academy students. He was a teacher at the Genosha branch of Cyber Academy and also the admissions officer for the Azureville area, a Level 6 Beast Master with wind attributes.
“Teacher Hale, how much longer do we have to wait? We had planned to leave for the capital today, and I’ve packed everything!” complained a lean boy, standing around 1.65 meters tall.
“Jace, if you don’t want to wait, you can step outside,” Hale replied, his expression unchanged.
Jace immediately shut his mouth, obediently holding up a sign bearing the names Charles and Catherine Otolov. He knew better than to provoke Hale, who was not easily swayed and wouldn’t accept any gifts.
As time passed, two figures appeared before Hale.
“Hello, are you a teacher from Cyber Academy?”
“That’s right, you must be Charles, and this is Catherine Otolov?” Hale asked.
Both Charles and Catherine nodded.
“My name is Hale, the admissions officer for the Azureville area. You can call me Teacher Hale. Come with me; we’ll stay overnight at a hotel and head to the capital first thing tomorrow morning.” As he spoke, Hale handed a long object to Charles.
Charles instinctively accepted it. “Teacher Hale, what is this?”
Hale explained, “This is something Uncle Ezra asked me to give you.”
Curiosity piqued, Charles glanced at Hale, wondering about the relationship between him and Ezra. Although he had met Ezra a few times, he had only ever seen him in a black cloak, making it impossible to discern his appearance.
A message appeared on the screen before him:
[Black Gold Long Knife (Purple Quality): Crafted from black gold using a special technique combined with core fire, this knife can conduct various attribute energies. It is incredibly durable and exceptionally sharp. If the black gold content during forging is insufficient, rare metals can be used for enhancement, raising its quality to orange.]
[Rare Metals: Black gold, flame alloy…]
Additionally, the Black Gold Long Knife came with an ability called [Black Gold Knife Glow]: Infuse it with attribute energy, allowing the knife to unleash a cutting aura for long-range attacks.
Charles’s eyes lit up as he read the information. The weapon Ezra had found for him was not only of purple quality but could also be upgraded to orange quality with enough rare metals! The [Black Gold Long Knife] was just over a meter long, shorter than the [Ice and Fire Supreme Spear], but it came with the [Black Gold Knife Glow], allowing for long-range attacks.
This meant he had an offensive option even without his mystical beast, though he was curious about its effectiveness. He planned to find a place to test it later.
“Hey, buddy, I’m Jace. That long knife looks pretty good! It must be at least blue quality, right?” Jace said, leaning closer to inspect the weapon.
Charles regarded the short, thin Jace. “It’s about that; it’s okay.”
“Here’s the deal: I’ll give you 1 gold coin for it. That’s more than enough! Don’t worry, I won’t rip you off!” Jace whispered eagerly.
One gold coin? Charles nearly laughed. A regular purple quality weapon would cost nearly a hundred gold coins, especially since this [Black Gold Long Knife] could potentially be upgraded to orange quality, making it even more valuable!
“Jace, that knife is not something you can use,” Hale interjected as they approached the car.
“Teacher Hale, what do you mean I can’t use it? It’s just a blue quality weapon! I have one too!” Jace retorted, pulling out his blue quality weapon.
[Blazing Knife (Blue Quality): Forged from fire attribute metal, this weapon has minor flaws in its crafting, allowing for only one fire attribute gem to be embedded…]
Charles had expected a top-tier weapon, but it turned out to be an ordinary blue quality long knife, even inferior to the [Ice and Fire Supreme Spear]. It could only embed one first-tier beast core and had just a single fire attribute.
“Put it away; you all get in the car first. Charles, wait a moment,” Hale instructed. Once everyone else was inside and it was just him and Charles, he added, “Uncle Ezra gave you that knife for a reason. Do you know how to unleash its full power?”
Charles shook his head, indicating he didn’t understand.
“1 + 1 > 2,” Hale said before stepping into the vehicle. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
Charles suddenly realized the implication: combining attribute energies would enhance the [Black Gold Knife Glow]’s power. This thought crossed his mind because, like Ezra, he could control multiple attribute energies.
The vehicle started, heading toward the largest hotel in the city.
“Charles, what quality are your mystical beasts? I have two Golds and one Silver!” Jace chattered away in the car, clearly a talkative person. In just a short time, he had already addressed Charles multiple times.
“Charles, that girl up ahead is named Sadie; all three of her mystical beasts are Gold quality!” Jace continued, and Charles looked ahead to see Sadie, who seemed to be lost in thought, appearing a bit dazed.
Catherine quietly gazed out the window, unimpressed by the presence of three Gold quality mystical beasts. For her, they weren’t particularly noteworthy. Instead of daydreaming, she was mentally replaying her recent spar with Charles, constantly analyzing and striving for improvement. Becoming stronger was her ultimate goal.
“Charles, you still haven’t mentioned the quality of your mystical beasts. And what about this lady’s?” Jace turned his attention to Catherine.
Before either Charles or Catherine could respond, the vehicle stopped, and Hale turned around. “We’ve arrived at the hotel. Everyone out, and I’ll give you the room keys shortly. Get some rest tonight.”
“Okay, Teacher Hale.” Sadie, who had been lost in thought, nodded sweetly, her voice soft and soothing like water.
As they entered the hotel, Hale, still focused on his phone, reminded them again, “Remember to rest early and have your things packed in advance.”
Charles found it strange that Hale felt the need to remind them twice. Observing Hale’s expression, he noticed a hint of concern in his eyes.
What could be troubling a sixth-level Beast Master like Hale? Perhaps Charles was overthinking it.
“Teacher Hale, is there a place nearby to train?” Charles asked, eager to test the [Black Gold Long Knife]’s power.
“Yes, follow me,” Hale replied, leading Charles to the underground level of the hotel. Jace and Sadie paid no mind, but Catherine followed closely.
In the underground training facility on the fourth floor, Hale pointed to a nearby steel pillar. “You can try it out there.”
Charles nodded and gripped the [Black Gold Long Knife] tightly. He didn’t use any attribute energy; instead, he relied solely on his physical strength and swung the knife!
“Clang!”
The sound of metal clashing rang out as a deep gash, about five or six centimeters, was carved into the hard steel.
“That strike already demonstrates the strength of an ordinary fourth-level Beast Master!” Hale exclaimed, impressed. He understood that Ezra had taken Charles as a student because of his multi-attribute abilities. Now, it was evident that Charles’s physical prowess was also exceptional among his peers.
Charles was quite satisfied with the power of the Black Gold Long Knife; it was indeed sharper and more resilient than the Ice and Fire Supreme Spear. Next came the experiment with the Black Gold Knife Glow.
He stepped back until he was about 20 meters away from the target, channeling pure ice energy into the blade. With a swift motion, he slashed, and a flash of pitch-black light erupted before vanishing in an instant—so fast! If he hadn’t been paying attention, he might have thought the flash was merely an illusion.
But how powerful was it? Just as Charles was about to approach the steel column for a closer look, he saw a steel cylinder, about ten centimeters in diameter, slowly sliding down from where the knife’s light had disappeared. The cut surface was incredibly smooth, like a mirror!
Estimating the damage, Charles figured that even a Level 4 Beast Master would struggle to defend against such an attack if caught off guard. The power was comparable to Puncture Thorn, yet it consumed only half the energy. However, a 15-meter attack range felt a bit too close.
He continued to step back until he reached roughly 30 meters, preparing to use Black Gold Knife Glow again.
The steel column was once again severed! The cut surface was not as smooth as the first time, and the speed was slightly slower; it seemed the optimal attack distance was around 20 meters.
With only the multi-attribute Alloy Knife Glow left to try, Charles was about to proceed when Hale interjected, “There aren’t any suitable targets left; the noise is too much.”
As he spoke, Hale summoned a mystical beast—[Blue Fox]—
[Attributes]: Wind
[Level]: 59
[Quality]: Platinum
[Skills]: Wind Shield, Wind Blade, Storm Tornado…
[Weakness]: Wood…
A Blue Fox, towering at four meters, materialized, its claws sharp as blades and teeth like daggers. Despite being indoors, a gentle breeze stirred around them.
“Attack it, and let me see your strength!” Hale urged.