Chapter 45 - Sudden Death King’s Attributes

Necromancers.

Lu Ran finally understood. Necromancers were beastmasters that could control familiars’ souls, which were commonly called ghosts in the Xia Empire.

"Damn."

Lu Ran's scalp tingled as his impression of beastmasters began to shift.

"Hahaha, I was also shocked when I first found out." Zhao Chen laughed.

"It's like we’re in a horror movie. I've heard a lot about it, but I have yet to see a ghost familiar with my own eyes. I might have the chance to see one once I solve this case in Golden Hill.

"Alright, we're here."

As the two chatted, they finally reached the foot of the mountain. During that time spent walking down, Zhao Chen had received about four calls.

Zhao Chen turned to Lu Ran and said, "Do you want to return to your master's dojo first, or go to the Beastmaster Tower with me?

"Actually, never mind. I’d like you to come back to the tower with me. Although Little Wang is quite capable, his investigative ability isn’t that great. It will be difficult for him to find a necromancer and a ghost familiar quickly, given his skill level. We may need backup.

"If everything is going according to plan, said backup should already be on the way. You were the first on the scene, so you may need to give a detailed statement when the time comes."

"Okay," Lu Ran said. He didn’t mind going since he was worried about letting a necromancer roam free.

After all, what if he was targeted one day? Golden Hill was also close to Green Sea City; on top of that, he would stay in Golden Hill for a while.

That necromancer must be apprehended and interrogated. I need to uncover the secrets of undead familiars

.

Lu Ran scratched his head. Was this something he could learn? If Captain Doofus died one day, he could become a necromancer and have Captain Doofus reborn in another form!

It could become a ghost-sword dog! Although being a necromancer sounded evil, Lu Ran was a good person and wouldn’t do anything bad. As the saying went, there weren’t good or evil weapons; it all depended on the person using them.

Zhao Chen, who had left to make another phone call, didn’t realize that Lu Ran was only pretending to be afraid, and deep down, was actually curious about necromancy.

His personality was a combination of Sudden Death King and Captain Doofus, both fearful and playful.

"Captain Doofus, return to the card. Sudden Death King, you can ride in my pocket."

Lu Ran looked at his two familiars and was worried that they would die someday.

Suddenly, Lu Ran thought of a question.

If they become ghosts, would they still retain consciousness?

***

Golden Hill Beastmaster Tower was a high-rise building that stood out from the surrounding commercial complex.

Once they arrived, Zhao Chen arranged a reception room for Lu Ran to stay in.

"Lu Ran, I'm going to organize the evidence. Wait here for now. If you get bored, you can take a walk around.

"By the way, there is a testing stone near entrance C. You haven't tested the attribute of the lizard after awakening it yet, right? This might be the perfect time!"

"Okay." Lu Ran nodded.

As soon as they finished talking, Zhao Chen left in a hurry.

I wonder if White Dragon’s old boss was promoted or demoted?

Lu Ran wondered.

He was originally in charge of recruitment in Mystic City, but now, while it seemed he had more responsibilities, he was transferred to Golden Hill.

The testing stone Zhao Chen mentioned caught Lu Ran’s interest since he couldn't bring Sudden Death King into Limitless City. This was the only way for him to test its attributes.

Lu Ran had always wondered if there were testing stones outside of Limitless City, and it turned out there were.

Is it possible to put testing stones into storage spaces? No one steals the testing stones in Limitless City during the night and sells them, right?

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Come on. I'll take you to test your attributes." Lu Ran stood up.

Croak!

Sudden Death King poked its head out to ask what he meant. It had gathered a bit of courage in the last two days of following Lu Ran around. It looks like it just needed exposure therapy!

Unfortunately, Sudden Death King’s personality wasn’t that easy to change.

Attribute?

"It's the hidden potential inside your body. It could be fire, lightning, or some other attribute. It needs to be tested and then awakened."

Fire? Lightning? Inside my body? I’m dying!

Sudden Death King’s eyes rolled back in fear.

In its opinion, having fire or lightning in its body was extremely terrifying. An accident was bound to happen.

"You won't die."

Lu Ran's mouth twitched. He was too lazy to explain any further. He comforted it slightly and then went to find the testing stone.

At entrance C of the Beastmaster Tower, Lu Ran saw a testing stone right outside the door. A lively crowd had gathered around it, and a lady in a black business suit was guiding newcomers on its use.

Lu Ran rubbed his eyes and took a closer look. It was someone he knew.

"Gifted Writer Hua???"

Isn't this the Sister Hua who guided Pig Farmer? Wasn’t her name Gifted Writer?

She was actually here!

"The testing stone is glowing red hot, and there are burn marks. Congratulations, your golden retriever has the Fire attribute!"

Sister Hua smiled next to a boy with a golden retriever and said, "It’s a very good attribute. Its attack power is ranked among the best of any attribute. Powerful nutritionists and blacksmiths also need the assistance of Fire-attribute familiars. It can be considered a jack of all trades."

"A flame hound... This is quite fitting for a dog from the fire station."

It wasn’t afraid of ordinary fire and could easily charge into flames to save people! Even if its owner didn't choose a special profession, they were basically set for life. Nowadays, beastmasters were rapidly pouring into all walks of life.

"Fire!?" The new beastmaster with the golden retriever was very excited and hurriedly thanked Sister Hua.

Someone else went up to take the test next. This person brought a red fox. No one even knew foxes could be found nowadays, but it actually awakened the Earth attribute.

Earth attribute wasn’t like the Rock attribute. It was actually relatively rare. It wasn’t that the Earth attribute was very powerful, but it was very unique! It was very similar to the Rock attribute in nature, but Earth-attribute familiars had a trait that Rock-attribute familiar didn’t: The ability to tunnel underground!

It was just like with Water-attribute familiars: Even if the animal wasn’t originally a fish, it could easily swim into deep waters. The same was true for Earth-attribute familiars, which could easily burrow underground and were harder to catch than flying familiars.

This attribute often appeared in animals that lived underground, such as earthworms and moles.

"With this attribute, isn’t it perfect for tomb-robbing?" The crowd chatted amongst themselves.

After Sister Hua finished praising another individual, she continued, "Is there anyone else who wants to test their familiar’s attribute?"

It seemed that no matter what attribute the newcomers awakened, she had something nice to say to lift their moods.

"Let me give it a try. Sister Hua, long time no see," Lu Ran said as he stepped forward.

Sister Hua looked at Lu Ran in surprise before smiling. "It's you. Little Lu, you want to test your familiar’s attribute?"

Sister Hua was a seasoned professional. She didn't reveal Lu Ran's ID in Limitless City. This was a common practice among beastmasters. Without explicit permission from the beastmaster, IDs should not be revealed publicly.

"Yeah.” Lu Ran nodded.

Sister Hua was puzzled. Didn't Lu Ran already test it a while back? She was stunned until she saw Lu Ran take out a mini red-eyed black dragon from his pocket.

Seeing Sudden Death King, she connected the dots—a second familiar. Lu Ran was pre-cultivating his second familiar!

There were various options for preselecting a second familiar ahead of time. Thinking back to what White Dragon said, Lu Ran was related to a big wig at the peak of the Alliance.

"Is that a lizard?"

"It’s so small. Does it have any combat power?”

“What species is it? It looks so cool."

"I think it’s dead. It’s been limp in his hand this whole time.”

Around them, the new beastmasters who had just tested their attributes looked at Sudden Death King that Lu Ran took out and murmured.

Lu Ran placed Sudden Death King on the ground.

"Go and scratch the stone as hard as you can."

I’m dying.

Sudden Death King lost its desire to live as its eyes filled with despair.

A body full of fire and lightning... So scary.

However, under Lu Ran's repeated urging, it nervously crawled toward the testing stone, raised its claws, and scratched it. Then, it stared at the stone.

Everyone abruptly stopped chatting to watch the changes in the testing stone.

One second... two seconds...

Zizizizizi.

Sudden Death King’s worst fears became reality. As the sound rang out, several bolts of electricity flashed on the testing stone, and multiple burn marks appeared.

"It turns out to be a Lightning-attribute beast!" Sister Hua exclaimed in surprise.

Lightning and Fire-attribute beasts didn’t appear too often. After all, most animals feared fire and lightning, so it was difficult to have an affinity for such attributes. However, there was no doubt that once such an attribute was awakened, it would have a major advantage over other creatures!

"Eh? Your familiar!" Sister Hua was about to fire off some facts about lightning-type skills but noticed Sudden Death King rolling its eyes and fainting in front of the testing stone.

"Is.. is it dead???"

"Eh, dead? No way?" A little girl watching nearby covered her mouth.

The crowd suddenly became noisy as they stared at the seemingly dead lizard with wide eyes, not knowing what happened.

"Ahem."

Lu Ran was relieved to see that Sudden Death King actually had the Lightning attribute. The numbness that Captain Doofus felt really was a sign! Was it something similar to static electricity? In that case, the Lightning attribute was a perfect fit.

"It's not dead. This lizard is a Red-eyed Crocodile Skink. It's a very special species. It likes to play dead and is pretty rare in this county."

Lu Ran walked up and put Sudden Death King back into his pocket while explaining.

"I see."

Hearing Lu Ran's explanation, the crowd understood. After all, if the lizard died, Lu Ran wouldn’t have no reaction. He definitely would’ve thrown a fit.

"Thanks, Sister Hua. I’m heading out. Take care!"

After testing his familiar’s attribute, Lu Ran didn't plan to stay long in case Zhao Chen couldn't find him later. Figuring out Sudden Death King’s attribute was already enough.

Lightning-attribute beasts were known for their destructive power. How could Sudden Death King, who specialized in defense, awaken such an attribute? If it were a Rock-attribute or a Metal-attribute beast, Lu Ran would’ve understood.

"Okay, see you around," Sister Hua said with a smile.

After saying goodbye to Sister Hua, Lu Ran returned to his waiting room. During this time, he suddenly thought that the Lightning attribute was also a good fit. Every attribute has its own characteristics, such as the freezing effect of Ice-attribute attacks and the burning effect of Fire-attribute attacks.

Lightning-attribute attacks could deal internal damage more easily than most other attributes. This was because Lightning-attribute attacks had a shock effect and could make electricity course through the entire body with a single touch.

So, was it possible for Sudden Death King to shape its electricity into armor that covered its whole body? That way, when others touched it, they would be electrocuted to death?

A strong defense was also a great offense. This was one of the few attributes that could deal damage with physical contact without its user actively attacking!