Chapter 3 - Contract

Lu Ran stood still on the street as his heart began to race. Looking down at the black card in his hand, his body began to go numb and heat up.

How could this be... No, it was possible.

Lu Ran remembered the supernatural phenomena that had happened to him—this world was certainly far from ordinary.

Beastmaster? It sounded similar to the insect fighter profession. Hence, it piqued his interest. Thanks to his parents, he had developed an interest in anything animal-related, from insect fighting to studying paleontology.

“Could my ability and this black card be connected? Judging from that post, it seemed like more than one person got the black card, so it’s not like I’m the ‘chosen one.’”

Lu Ran froze as he thought about his strange dream again. If there really were supernatural occurrences in this world, did that mean his dreams were a premonition? If they were to turn into a reality, wouldn’t the world be destroyed?!

Though heroes could carry the skies on their shoulders if they were to fall, they couldn’t possibly save everyone. Lu Ran thought back to how he had died in his dreams, souring his mood. Maybe he wasn't so indifferent to this world after all. “I should test this out.”

Unsure of how it all worked, Lu Ran continued to study the black card.

Tip 8: [If the contract card is not used within 24 hours, it will automatically disappear, and the holder will lose the qualification to become a beastmaster.]

Through the prompts, Lu Ran quickly realized that he could choose not to use the so-called contract card if he did not want to carry out the beginner trial. Lu Ran fell into silence for a moment as he digested this fact.

“Giving up is not an option.”

Lu Ran put away the black card and took another look at the forum. He had already memorized all the tips by now, and though they were crucial, they were far from enough. He wanted to add the OP as a friend to ask some more questions. He needed to know more!

Lu Ran clicked on the link again with great anticipation only to find himself stunned.

“

Where’s the post???

”

Even after refreshing the page, the post still didn’t load. He kept tapping the screen, but nothing happened.

Who made that post again? I can’t believe the admins have deleted it... What kind of bastard would remove something so important? Did Fang Lan report it?

As he stood there, Lu Ran suddenly felt a chill.

“I can’t waste time on this,” he said and began to adjust his plan.

He was only given twenty-four hours, which put him on a tight schedule. He would have to keep checking the forum while working on the mission to avoid missing out on any important information.

All he knew was that after contracting a familiar, they would both be teleported to a danger zone. Fortunately, though, it seemed there would still be a chance to return.

Having some prior gaming experience, Lu Ran quickly associated the idea of beginner missions with game tutorials.

“I need to get a familiar with strong combat abilities! Otherwise, I’d end up just like the OP.”

Although Lu Ran wished to contract a ferocious beast, it was unrealistic for him to find one with high combat ability in such a small city within the next twenty-four hours.

Even though he could communicate with animals, it didn’t mean that he could get along with all of them. He’d been chased by stray dogs on more than one occasion after trying to chat them up.

After analyzing the situation, Lu Ran reached a decision.

“To be safe, I should choose him...”

With that idea in mind, he immediately headed back home. Fortunately, he lived in a nearby upscale neighborhood, which was only ten minutes away by bike.

After much deliberation, Lu Ran decided to make a contract with the animal he was closest to.

That guy obeys orders a hundred percent of the time, so my familiar at least won’t go rogue while we’re in the danger zone.

Lu Ran picked up the pace. Soon, he arrived in front of his house. He pressed the fingerprint sensor on the lock and opened the door.

“

Woof!

”

Seemingly sensing the movement outside the door, a wolf-like figure jumped out from the house and pounced on Lu Ran.

“Woo...”

The creature then stuck out its tongue and began whimpering in anticipation. The creature had a graceful body, thick fur, upright ears, a brush-like tail, and blue eyes. On its forehead were three white marks that looked like three burning flames.

The beast was Lu Ran’s pet husky, a breed traditionally meant to be sled dogs but was now commonly nicknamed “doofus” for its cute and foolish appearance and propensity for mayhem.

Lu Ran had raised Doofus since it was a puppy, so the two of them got along quite well. Thanks to the training Lu Ran had given Doofus, it learned to perform a variety of tricks and behaved even better than some police dogs.

“Go to the corner, Captain Doofus. You’re on time out.”

“

Woof???

”

Doofus was shocked. Although it didn’t know why it was being punished, the husky still obeyed Lu Ran’s command. It turned its head away in resentment and made a note to remember this grudge.

As Doofus stood solemnly in the corner, Lu Ran sat down in front of it and looked at it with a serious expression.

Lu Ran had just gained his ability when he adopted Doofus. He wasn’t even sure if it had been abandoned or ran away from home. Lu Ran decided to adopt the puppy since, at the time, he still couldn’t fully communicate with it despite already being proficient with his ability.

Theoretically, considering his mastery over his skill back then, it shouldn’t have been difficult for him to communicate with animals of higher intelligence like cats and dogs. However, this guy seemed like its mental elevator didn’t reach the top floor.

Since he wanted to further train his abilities and was worried that such a young puppy would not be able to survive on its own—possibly ending up in a dog meat restaurant—Lu Ran took it home.

The day he adopted that husky was the day his personal hell on earth began. The dog turned out to be so chaotic and extreme that even with his telepathy, it took forever to train him. It used to be extremely ferocious and aggressive, only becoming more well-mannered afterward.

Doofus was undeniably unique. It was as if it had perfectly inherited the foolishness of huskies but also the ferocity of its wolf ancestry.

Lu Ran found its personality quite similar to the Yazi, the second of the mythical nine sons of the dragon [2].

According to ancient records, the Yazi was bloodthirsty, aggressive and stubborn. It had a striking glare and would seek vengeance over the smallest transgressions. Moreover, it held a sword in its mouth, on the hilt and guard of which it would carve patterns to increase its power.

Like the Yazi, Doofus enjoyed fighting and held grudges. However, unlike the Yazi, it would forget those grudges after a nap, and it mostly maintained a good attitude.

Doofus’ strong point was its gratitude. Luckily, it wasn’t an ingrate. Upon realizing that Lu Ran was its savior, it began to obey his every command.

Lu Ran sat on the sofa and looked directly at the captain of the timeout corner, unsure of where to begin. "Captain Doofus..."

Lu Ran had picked the nickname Captain Doofus because it was way too domineering when it was young, making it seem like the captain of all other domineering dogs. Likewise, Captain Doofus also called Lu Ran "Captain Lu.”

"

Things have become quite complicated

."

According to the black card, both the beastmaster and their familiar would experience different types of transformation upon establishing a contract. The beastmaster would gain superhuman abilities, while the familiar, no matter how small and weak it had been before, would gain the strength of a beast. Apparently, this black card gave its holder a path to an extraordinary evolution!

Lu Ran wasn’t sure if the decision he made for himself and Captain Doofus was the right one or not.

Puzzled by Lu Ran’s odd behavior, Captain Doofus tilted its head and stared at him with its big blue eyes

Lu Ran laughed. "Forget it, I won’t discuss it with you. You’re not smart enough to understand it anyway."

However, he quickly turned serious. While it was just a dog, Lu Ran believed in Captain Doofus’s strength. After all, the dog had been trained by someone with a superpower. Moreover, it was the animal he was closest to; he wouldn’t feel comfortable entrusting his life to another.

Most importantly, though, Captain Doofus was a battle junky. Hence, he wouldn't have to worry about whether it was suitable for combat. That made it the best candidate he had right now.

Having made up his mind, Lu Ran took out the black card and threw it in the air. In response, the card emitted a halo of light and flew toward Captain Doofus. Its light then expanded toward the dog.

Bewildered and afraid, the husky turned around and fled, but the dazzling light quickly enveloped it.

1. In Chinese mythology, the dragon has nine descendants, and Yazi is one of them.

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