“At the recruitment ceremony, there are no restrictions on the use of any skills, and no responsibility is assumed for any accidents that occur during the matches. By then, I will make sure your fate is a thousand times worse than Daniel’s!” A voice echoed faintly from behind the ambulance.
Through the rearview mirror, Charles caught a pair of icy eyes staring back at him.
With the siren blaring, the vehicles on the street made way, allowing the ambulance to speed through, rushing Daniel to the largest hospital in Lsengard. Fortunately, after examination, it turned out he only had broken ribs and a slight dislocation of his internal organs, nothing too severe.
Hearing this news, Charles breathed a sigh of relief.
Half an hour later, Daniel’s father, David, along with a few others, arrived at the hospital. After Charles explained the cause and sequence of events, he noticed David’s face turn shades of blue and purple.
It was understandable; any father would be heartbroken to see their child injured, especially since the Smith family was one of the top three families in Lsengard. Such an act was a blatant provocation against the entire Smith family!
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Charles politely declined the man’s invitation, took his business card, and quickly left the hospital with Aurora.
Afterwards, he spent some time with Aurora browsing a jewelry store and then stopped by a shop to purchase alchemy ingredients. It was getting dark by the time Charles finally returned home. Recalling the scene at the martial arts field, he clenched his fist lightly: “Looks can be deceiving. What was just a minor friction during training turned into deep-seated resentment.
Thomas harbored a murderous intent?”
Charles didn’t much care for those who still doubted him or even challenged him openly. However, if someone dared to harm his friends, that crossed a line for him.
After storing the purchased ingredients in his storage space, Charles took a deep breath to steady his emotions, picked up a booklet from the table, and began preparing for the assessments at the recruitment ceremony three days later.
Although he had ranked first in the ferocious beast mountains training, scoring 100 out of 100 points, the total scoring was out of 200. A poor performance at the recruitment ceremony could still risk his chances of admission into one of the three major academies of the imperial capital.
The assessments at the recruitment ceremony consisted of three parts:
Mystical beast aptitude, 30 points.
Personal assessment, 30 points.
Practical sparring, 40 points.
With only three days left, Charles could focus on strengthening exercises for the Beast Master individual assessment. Whether it be agility, team enhancement, or even defense, any unique standout performance could earn high marks in the individual assessment.
After reading the recruitment ceremony guidelines in the manual, Charles pondered, “My explosive strength is exceptional, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to develop the [puncture thorn] technique during battle. Targeted strength training could be a good choice.”
Thinking this, he summoned Max and Mousie from the storage space, handing Mousie a pair of boxing gloves: “Mousie, project the double sword praying mantis, then put on these gloves and join me for strength training.”
“Training? What does Mousie need to do?” Mousie rubbed his sleepy eyes.
“Attack me, hold nothing back,” Charles chuckled.
…
In the early morning by the river, enveloped in a thick, cold mist, dull sounds occasionally pierced the air.
On the lawn of a riverside estate, Charles stood in a horse stance, fists clenched, his body drenched in sweat, arms marred with mottled scars.
Before him, Mousie, transformed into a bloodthirsty rhino, charged with unstoppable momentum, its massive body kicking up dust and whooshing air.
The pain from the collision had become somewhat numbing, but Charles stood his ground, gritting his teeth as he faced the oncoming attack of the bloodthirsty rhino head-on.
Boom!
A muffled sound echoed as Charles’s right arm collided with the rhino’s horn, the intense impact stirring up a wave of air.
[Ding! You have killed a ferocious beast, bloodthirsty rhino (Lv.19)!]
[Your mystical beast Max (Lv.21) gains +5 experience!]
[Your mystical beast Mousie (Lv.19) has grown from combat training, gaining +10 experience (total stored 830)!]
Watching the massive body of the bloodthirsty rhino vanish into a phantom, Charles exhaled deeply, clenching his fist, his bones cracking softly.
Although the experience gained from training was diminishing, Charles’s strength continued to be enhanced through repetitive training sessions.
“Again!”
Charles issued the combat command, and Mousie projected the double sword praying mantis. After exchanging blows with Charles and the demise of the praying mantis, Mousie conjured up a lightning demon ape… the projections Mousie transformed into seemed endless!
The dull thuds of impacts continuously echoed across the courtyard, from sunrise to sunset, and back to sunrise, until both Charles and Mousie were utterly exhausted. Even consuming regenerating potions couldn’t restore their energy anymore. They finally collapsed onto the grass, gasping for breath.
“Phew—”
Taking a deep breath, Charles tossed a pack of nuts to Mousie, then got up and headed to the bathroom for a shower.
Passing a mirror, he glanced at his physique, a slight smile curving his lips. The intensive training, though grueling, had honed his muscles, particularly the sculpted lines on his arms, which radiated palpable strength just from a glance.
Stripping off the remainder of his clothes, Charles plunged into the bath, the cool water enveloping him, sweeping away the accumulated fatigue from his body.
Lying back in the bath, Charles looked up at the starry sky visible through the window.
In this ruthless world, only absolute power could provide a sense of security. He used to feel like an ant on the ground, but as his strength grew, he increasingly felt as if he held his fate in his own hands.
With his growing power, Charles’s curiosity about the Beast Mastery World deepened. Lsengard, though not small, was just one city on the southern edge of Genosha. He had never been to the imperial capital of Genosha, nor had he ever left the Vendantia Province.
And that was just in Genosha. In places like the Abyssal Depths, there were seven such nations.
Gazing at the myriad stars, Charles imagined the world beyond the Ethereal Grove. Yet, as he watched, those stars seemed to form into Grace’s face…
Shaking his head to clear the illusion, Charles glanced at the fresh red human contract on his left hand.
[1 year, 351 days, 2 hours]
If Charles didn’t defeat Grace before this countdown ended, he would become her servant, a puppet at her whim, and vice versa.
“With less than two years left, Grace, I hope you don’t regret what you said that day.” He snorted coldly, his view of this woman having soured to an extreme.
Recalling that night, her haughty demeanor, and the insults she hurled at him and his parents, Charles couldn’t help but clench his fists tightly.
In two years, he would prove to Grace that neither she nor her so-called noble status held any value in his eyes.
“But…it’s indeed daunting. With her Beast Mastery talent, defeating her within two years would require bonding with a mythical beast.” Thinking this, Charles’s interest in the imperial capital’s three major academies waned, since there had been no news of mythical beasts throughout all of Genosha.
Just a few days ago at the Beast Master Guild, he heard that Grace had been directly admitted to Aredale Academy as the deputy dean’s protege.
As someone with connections, Grace would undoubtedly receive the best training resources. If Charles were to merely study at an academy, the gap between them would likely widen further.
But… the map he possessed, indicating the location of a mythical beast’s spirit, was incomplete. It wasn’t feasible to just go to the Infinity Isles on a whim, was it?
“—” Charles felt his mind growing increasingly muddled, he sighed lightly: “Well, I’ll worry about it later. There’s an exam to attend tomorrow.”
Overcome by the fatigue that had built up in his body, a wave of dizziness hit Charles, and his consciousness began to blur.
He had fallen asleep lying on the edge of the bathtub.
…
A ray of sunlight pierced through the curtain and landed on Charles’s face. He suddenly opened his eyes and glanced at the time on his phone.
9:32 AM.
“Damn it! How did it get so late?” He cursed, hurriedly got dressed.
The recruitment ceremony in Lsengard began at 9 AM, and he was definitely late now. With no time for breakfast, Charles grabbed a piece of bread in his mouth and rushed to the venue—the Hall of Heroes.
From a distance, Charles could see a structure resembling a massive stadium, the venue for this year’s recruitment ceremony. He could faintly hear the voice of Lord Matthew, probably reciting some guidelines for the ceremony.
Charles felt a surge of relief; although he had missed the opening ceremony, the assessments had not yet started.
Although it was his first time at the Hall of Heroes, a landmark in Lsengard, he could imagine the grandeur inside. Judging by the size of the hall, it could accommodate tens of thousands of people. In his daze, Charles almost felt like he was on his way to the Olympics.
After showing his guild credentials, Charles jogged towards the entrance of the venue:
There were two paths; one was crowded with spectators and media journalists. Judging by the congestion, if Charles tried to squeeze through, he would definitely miss the exam.
His gaze shifted to the left path, which was almost deserted, appearing to be a shortcut.
Following the nearly empty path, he reached its end, and Lord Matthew’s voice grew louder. Charles glanced at the time on his phone, then suddenly pushed open one of the doors…
Clang!
In the grand hall’s stands, Lord Matthew was giving the final speech of the recruitment ceremony. However, before he could finish, the door behind him was forcefully opened—or more accurately, flung open.
The interruption left the ceremony’s host somewhat flustered, and when it became clear that Charles was the one who had barged in, he was visibly taken aback.
Not just him, but the entire ceremony fell silent, as tens of thousands of eyes simultaneously turned toward the high platform in the great hall, where the young intruder had made his sudden entrance…
—
