Chapter 11 - God's Game

"Realistically, for average people like us, joining the alliance is our best option. Most of the surviving beastmasters from the last three years currently work there, giving them access to things that are hard to come by for newbies like intelligence reports, mentorship, resources, and equipment. Thanks to the alliance’s resources, their beastmaster ranks are now significantly higher."

"I would have to assume certain responsibilities in exchange, wouldn’t I?” Lu Ran asked. He refused to believe in anything too good to be true.

"That’s right. For instance, if some evil beastmasters crop up in the populace, the alliance’s beastmasters will be responsible for maintaining public order and security. From what I can remember, there are only a few mandatory missions, and you can also choose to take a bureaucratic position.

“I chose to only become a recruiter, yet I still get a pretty decent paycheck.” White Dragon laughed. "What do you think? Tempted?"

"I have to think about it," Lu Ran politely replied.

"Uh, no problem. We can gradually get to know each other better.” White Dragon subtly shook his head.

He could tell at a glance that Lu Ran was just a student who hadn't been exposed to the harsh face of reality yet. Otherwise, Lu Ran would have understood how rare it was to have a stable job.

Nevertheless, instead of pushing him to join the alliance, White Dragon agreed to let Lu Ran make his own decision. This gave Lu Ran a good impression of him.

“Did you have any other questions?"

"Yes. So many questions in fact that I don't even know where to begin. Can you start by giving me a basic rundown?" Lu Ran asked.

"Okay," White Dragon answered. "Just like how you got here, if you choose to enter Limitless City after passing the beginner trial, you get teleported to the city’s residential area. The house you were teleported to is now your home here. Only you can enter it, which means outsiders can’t break in either.

“There are many other facilities outside the residential area, but Limitless City is pretty big. You’ll have to gradually explore and get familiar with it yourself. There are also other Limitless Cities around the world. We have one for each of the seven administrative regions here in the Xia Empire alone.

“You can use teleportation arrays to visit other Limitless Cities. Every city has one, but you’ll have to pay a fee with crystal coins. Fortunately, the facilities of the Limitless Cities are all pretty similar except for some secret realms, so you don’t have to rush through things.

"Anyway, you will meet many other beastmasters here, some of whom have opened shops that you can visit to trade, sell resources you find, and buy resources you need for raising familiars. I suggest you only conduct business with government-backed stores to avoid being scammed.

“Also, fighting is prohibited in Limitless City. If you break this rule, the beast patrols will detain you. Go to the arena if you want to duke it out with someone.”

"Alright. What about the secret realms?"

"The beginner secret realm you just passed was obviously the easiest among them. It didn’t even have any monsters above level 5. This won’t be the case in other secret realms, though.

“The fastest way for beastmasters to improve is by honing themselves in secret realms. The super rich and powerful can just buy various resources that other beastmasters have gathered, though.

“It’s also best that you learn about this now, but you can’t grind mobs in secret realms to level up. Although killing monsters gave you EXP in the beginner secret realm, that was really just a bonus reward from the beginner trial. Other secret realms won’t be as lenient."

"What?" Lu Ran was shocked.

I can’t get EXP from killing monsters? Doesn’t that make it a lot more difficult to level up?

"That’s just how it is," White Dragon confirmed with a smile, "Generally speaking, all the secret realms we have access to are just projections even though we can bring home the resources they offer. Properly utilizing those resources could also help strengthen familiars, which can sometimes be just as efficient as leveling up by killing monsters.

“So, except for a very small group of beastmasters who raid secret realms for the sake of clearing them, most just go in to collect resources. Regardless of whether they pass the trial, they leave once they have gathered enough resources. Rarer resources are, of course, harder to obtain. They are either guarded or dropped by powerful monsters.

"On a more positive note, you can team up with other beastmasters of the same rank when entering secret realms. This is where we circle back a little bit to the benefits of joining the alliance. Since our beastmasters have different specialties, they can help you make the most out of your time in secret realms."

Teaming up...

Lu Ran mused.

That was actually why he didn't want to join in the first place. He only worked with people he trusted, and he didn’t trust strangers.

Although he believed that people were generally good, he also believed that there were bad people out there in the world. He wasn’t ready to reveal the existence of the Divine Deer Pendant yet.

White Dragon continued, "The alliance’s Secret Realm Raid Team has cleared the most secret realms compared to any other team in the empire. It’s filled to the brim with powerful beastmasters.

“This only applies to normal secret realms, though. The most important secret realms are the ascension ones. When your familiar reaches level 10, an ascension realm will show up on the list of secret realms you can enter. In there, you and your familiar can continue to evolve. Once you’ve broken through the bottleneck, you will get a new contract card and a chance to contract a second familiar.

“Clearing the ascension realm is the only way to increase the number of familiars you can contract with, and contract cards are also one of the few untradeable resources. Those should be enough to tell you just how important ascension realms are.

You’ll also find public realms in the list around the same time, but you shouldn’t worry about those right now since only the big guilds fight for ownership of public realms. That aside, do you have any other questions?"

"Yes," Lu Ran replied while digesting the information he just received. "You said these secret realms are all just projections. If so, what are they projecting? Are there really other worlds? Are we in a game?"

White Dragon mulled over it for a moment. "Well, your question is a bit advanced. Honestly, I don't know either. The more powerful beastmasters might have come into contact with another world already. However, what I do know for sure is that you will never find civilization in ordinary secret realms.

“The beginner secret realm and normal secret realms are basically projections of other worlds’ wilderness, which no human had ever explored. Only in ascension realms do we get to meet people and their projections from another world. Right now, ascension realms are the key to finding out more about Limitless City and this Beastmaster System."

He shrugged. "To sum it up, we currently know very little about Limitless City. It’s so far beyond our comprehension that all we can do right now is play according to its rules. You can think of it as a game played by God or the resurgence of a lost advanced civilization. If nothing unexpected happens, a new era of beastmasters will definitely dawn on the Blue Planet, and the world as we know will drastically change.

"Young man, I suggest you prioritize improving quickly and seizing the fruits of this new era. After all, you’ll profit far more from this endeavor than going to school and getting a job. I have even managed to pay over half of my million-dollar mortgage just by selling resources that I didn’t need. I keep anything useful as an investment in myself.

“By the way, what was your beginner secret realm score? Considering you look haggard, you probably had a hard time in there. I’m guessing you scored an E?"

"It definitely wasn’t easy," Lu Ran replied. "That aside, I also want to know how to figure out my familiar’s attribute."

"Oh? You seem to know quite a bit already, and your questions are all very astute," White Dragon said with a smile. "There is something known as a testing stone all around Limitless City. Have your familiar attack one of them, and its reaction will tell you what your familiar’s attribute is.”

“However, if you want to awaken the attribute of your familiar, you’re going to need some outside assistance, one of which is an Attribute-Awakening Fruit. Unfortunately, Attribute-Awakening Fruits are considered a high-level resource, not an easy thing for a newcomer to obtain."