The two of them agreed to meet at the edge of the Fire Coast in a couple of hours since they both needed to prepare some things.
Then, they parted ways.
“She’s a danger,” Theodor said as soon as Kyle resumed walking.
“You think everyone’s a danger,” Kyle answered.
“That’s because I’m not as naïve as you, foolish Inheritor!” Theodor answered.
“Hey, it’s been a while since you called me that.”
“That’s not the topic of the conversation!” Theodor said with annoyance, as always. “She is suspicious.”
“And how is she suspicious?” Kyle asked as he walked through the other end of town.
After walking out of the town, Kyle could see the foot of the big volcano, which was around five kilometers away.
Near its foot was a city with several towering black buildings.
Surprisingly, there was a stream of lava flowing right into it.
“Because of her beast,” Theodor said.
“Why?”
“That’s a Skinner Salamander, and they are not cheap. They are one of the best Primary Beasts for Fledglings, but they have difficulties growing in the Second Realm.”
“So?”
“What I am saying is that she doesn’t want a Secondary Beast. She wants a new Primary Beast.”
“And how is that suspicious?” Kyle asked as he started to run to the city at the foot of the volcano.
“Capturing a new Primary Beast is different from capturing a Secondary Beast! Changing a Primary Beast isn’t easy, and they need to have a higher talent ceiling than the original Primary Beast.”
“A Skinner Salamander is already pretty good. There are not many beasts that can compete with it on the same level. If she wants a new Primary Beast, she is most likely looking to obtain one that can easily grow into a Mid, Late, or Peak Ferocious Beast.”
“That means she is targeting offspring from a powerful beast in the wild.”
“If she told you that she wants a new Primary Beast, she would think that you knew what that meant and that you would refuse. Capturing a random Initial Ferocious Beast in the wild is different from capturing the offspring of a Late Ferocious Beast.”
“Accompanying her will be even more dangerous than traveling to the Big Bazaar on your own!”
“Hm,” Kyle uttered as he kept running.
He was halfway to the capital of the Cradle.
‘Theodor is right,’ he thought. ‘That seems quite dangerous and suspicious.’
“What do you think I should do?” Kyle asked.
“Sell your Wasteland Metal and pay the next caravan to escort you to the Big Bazaar,” Theodor answered. “You are not a wanted criminal in the Fire Coast. You have time to earn enough money.”
Kyle hummed a bit.
“Is it possible for her to succeed without me?” he asked.
“No, but she will leave you for dead. Why do you think she wanted a Shouter? You will distract the parent, and while that one is busy killing you, she will run away with the offspring.”
Kyle slowed down and scratched his chin in thought as he entered the Fire Coast’s capital.
He barely paid any attention to the buildings and people around him while walking to the foot of the volcano.
‘Theodor might be right,’ Kyle thought. ‘It is suspicious.’
‘But somehow, I feel like she is trustworthy.’
‘Is it my Predator’s Being? I mean, my instincts have been surprisingly sharp and accurate ever since I came to fantasy land.’
Kyle thought about the Beast Tamer.
He didn’t feel any danger coming from her.
She felt like any other person with some power to him.
They were just two people who walked past each other.
‘If she wanted to kill me, I’m sure I would feel some sense of danger, but I don’t.’
Kyle scratched the back of his head as he entered a huge red building.
The flow of lava entering this city was entering this building in particular.
As soon as he entered, he was assaulted by the sound of industry.
It sounded like a steel mill in here, which was probably quite accurate.
“Hello, how can I help you?” a person in the lobby of the building asked.
“I want to sell this,” Kyle said, putting the ball of Wasteland Metal onto the counter.
‘I don’t know. It feels like helping her could be beneficial. I mean, it’s quite dangerous, but if we succeed, I can get to the Big Bazaar without any big issues.’
“Sure, let me just inspect it,” the person said, taking the ball of Wasteland Metal.
Kyle nodded.
‘Also, the deal was that she would accompany me in exchange for capturing a Secondary Beast. If we capture a new Primary Beast, that might be worth something.’
“Everything looks good,” the person said. “We can offer you 56 Ether Pebbles in exchange for the Wasteland Metal.”
“That’s a good price,” Theodor spoke.
“I accept,” Kyle said.
‘Networking, you know,’ Kyle thought. ‘In business, you gotta do some favors for others, and in exchange, they will do favors for you. You gotta build connections if you want to make it big in society.’
“Thank you,” Kyle said, accepting the 56 Ether Pebbles.
He looked into his little sack of Ether Pebbles and saw that it was quite a nice amount.
He was no longer poor.
“See you,” Kyle said as he walked out.
‘She’s a Beast Tamer, not a Fledgling. Most likely, she’s an Initial Beast Tamer.’
‘If I can make a Beast Tamer indebted to me, that would be quite useful. Who knows when I am in need of a Beast Tamer with a strong beast?’
‘I help her today, and she helps me tomorrow.’
Kyle ran out of the capital.
‘This could be a potential cooperation between two business partners. Also, her big salamander can carry all the shit that I can’t. I wouldn’t need to leave stuff behind.’
Kyle stopped halfway to Blackrock Town and fused the holder for the Wasteland Metal sphere into his armor. After all, he didn’t need the holder anymore.
‘Also, if I just follow a caravan, I don’t get to take any loot. Meanwhile, if I travel with her, I can grab all of the stuff we find, and her beast can carry it.’
Kyle frowned.
‘But she also lied.’
‘But my instincts didn’t warn me.’
As Kyle arrived in front of Blackrock Town, he stopped and just scratched the back of his head.
‘Not sure what I should do.’
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