Chapter 80 - A Huge Harvest

Abandoned Laboratory Secret Realm.

Captain Doofus and Lu Ran slowly descended to the ground. As soon as they landed, Lu Ran began checking the rewards from their trip.

[Name: Shadow Ore]

[Grade: Advanced]

[Description: Has excellent Dark-attribute energy conduction and amplification effects, suitable for crafting weapons and equipment.]

After a glance, Lu Ran shook his head. While the value of Shadow Ore might exceed that of the Ice Crystal Ore from the Blizzard Mountain Secret Realm, it still wasn’t comparable to Meteorite Iron Ore, meaning Lu Ran wouldn’t be getting rich from this.

Next, Lu Ran took out a card. It looked very similar to a contract card or ID card, but it was entirely golden and engraved with a variety of beast patterns.

[Name: Upgrade Card]

[Description: Used to upgrade a contract card.]

“An upgrade card dropped... my luck really is outstanding this time.”

Lu Ran shot a smile at Captain Doofus, who was nearby, still baring its teeth at the Minotaur Boss.

Back when Lu Ran first received the black card, he had received a certain reminder: Tip 4: The capture success rate of a contract card depends on the user’s spiritual will and the quality of the card. Do not attempt to capture creatures beyond your ability, as it may damage the contract card or cause contract backlash.

Contract cards came in different quality levels! The contract cards issued to beginner beastmasters were the lowest quality. To obtain higher-quality contract cards, one couldn’t rely on Limitless City to provide them—they had to be upgraded using resources.

Hell-difficulty secret realms had two unique drop items: upgrade cards and Trait Crystals. Compared to Trait Crystals, upgrade cards had a higher drop rate, though not by much.

Lu Ran could only admit that his drop rate this time was absurdly lucky. If he remembered correctly, according to the information he’d seen, the first upgrade of a contract card required only one upgrade card.

After the upgrade, not only would the contract card allow the capture of more powerful creatures, but its internal space would also gain a special effect. For instance, after the first upgrade, a familiar resting within the contract card would recover stamina at an increased rate.

This feature might seem trivial, but it would be highly valuable if Lu Ran had multiple familiars. He could rotate them in and out of battle, allowing one to rest while another fought, significantly reducing the resources needed for stamina recovery.

As for how many times a contract card could be upgraded, Lu Ran wasn’t sure. He only knew that the first upgrade required one upgrade card, the second needed ten, the third a hundred, and the fourth a thousand, and so on.

This was based on information shared on the beastmaster forum. The number of upgrade cards required for later stages was astronomical, so no one knew the upper limit.

The effects granted with each upgrade varied as well. Rumors suggested that at extremely high levels, a contract card could even have a “time suspension” feature, allowing a dying familiar to enter and temporarily halt the progression of its life.

Holding the upgrade card, Lu Ran took out his contract card and pressed the two together without hesitation. In the next moment, a flash of light appeared, and the two cards fused.

The original black-edged contract card now had a fine silver border, signifying its successful upgrade.

“Next.”

Lu Ran used the upgrade card on the spot, then turned his gaze to the final reward that made his heart race—the Trait Crystal.

[Name: Trait Crystal (Weapon Control)]

[Description: After fusion, it allows a familiar to master any weapon as if it were a part of its body.]

This is it!

Lu Ran laughed, thinking about his unlucky senior who had spent two months farming to get this item, while Lu Ran got it on his first try. It was almost absurdly lucky.

He had even prepared himself for the possibility of spending ten days to half a month here, but he had obtained it in record time.

Feeling great, Lu Ran decided not to let Captain Doofus fuse with it just yet. Captain Doofus was in poor shape, so it would be best to wait until it’d fully recovered. After reviewing his three reward resources, Lu Ran fell into thought.

He had used the upgrade card himself, and the Trait Crystal was definitely for his own use and wouldn’t be sold, while the Shadow Ore likely wouldn’t fetch much.

In that case, the 50,000 crystal coins he owed for forging the Frosty Sky Greatsword weren’t much closer to being paid off from this secret realm trip. It looked like he wouldn’t be reclaiming Sudden Death King’s Dragon Blood Crystal anytime soon.

No problem. Once Captain Doofus has fused with the new trait, soloing Hell-difficulty secret realms will be as easy as chopping vegetables.

It won’t be long before I’ve paid off not only the debt on the Frosty Sky Greatsword but also what I owe Dr. Gu. Looking at it this way, the future is bright!

Lu Ran consoled himself.

Then, he turned his gaze to the ruined laboratory and said to Captain Doofus, “Captain Doofus, even though this place is already wrecked, could you give it another pass? See if you can dig up anything valuable?”

“

Woof?

”

The thought of tearing things apart reignited Captain Doofus’s enthusiasm. Its eyes brightened, but then it looked at the already demolished lab and paused in thought.

This feels like a delicate job.

***

Outside, news of Lu Ran’s achievement in topping Limitless City #5’s rankings continued to spread. Currently, the hot topic both within and outside Limitless City remained the revival of spiritual energy.

For example, an African nation had deployed its army to hunt down a mutated lion king, while news of a famous beastmaster live-streaming in a forbidden zone only to vanish without a trace after encountering a ferocious beast was making waves.

Within Xia, the news that beastmasters typically paid attention to was of this nature. Updates to the Transcendent rankings, like the current one, usually didn’t attract much attention.

However, today, for some strange reason, news of the Heavenly Familiar Rankings update broke into the top ten of Xia’s trending topics, coming in at number ten—a highly unusual occurrence.

Headline: “A Shameful Day for Limitless City #5.”

Although cross-city ranking challenges weren’t unheard of, it was rare for two challengers to simultaneously claim the first and second positions. Passionate discussions erupted across various comment sections:

[Must Raise a Catgirl:] Pluto’s familiar from the Galaxy Guild has already fused a trait, so it’s understandable that he performed well. But what’s the deal with this Pedestrian A? An Intermediate-Transcendent Husky severely injuring an Intermediate-Champion Species with a slash? A slash!?

[Mortal Beastmaster Chronicle:] A lot of you aren’t familiar with Limitless City #3, so let me give you an intro. Pedestrian A’s familiar is a sword-wielding husky, and about a week ago, he was already capable of one-shotting a Low-Champion Species in a public secret realm.

[Mortal Beastmaster Chronicle:] Now, this? It’s just standard for a big-shot. We ordinary folks won’t get it! Although it is a bit odd for both of them to go together.

[Mortal Beastmaster Chronicle:] Do you think Pluto went over to rank up in a weaker city and just happened to run into Pedestrian A on other business? Pfft, better stop guessing before we get assassinated (snickers).

[Source of Chaos:] I’m a beastmaster from Limitless City #5, and honestly, I’m crushed. I hope White Tiger Sis can knock them off the top.

White Tiger Sis, known by her ID

Bai Ling

, is a fourth-generation beastmaster from the Four Saints Guild. She is contracted to an albino Bengal tiger and was formerly ranked #1 in Limitless City #5.

But now, she had not only been pushed to second place by a Lightning Eagle but then overtaken by a dog. This wasn’t just a case of a tiger being bullied by a dog...

Many beastmasters from Limitless City #5 hoped that White Tiger Sis would restore the dignity of beast kings by defeating these two outsiders.

As for Bai Ling herself, she sat in a private room, watching the news with clenched fists, wondering what she or her guild could have done to provoke these two from Limitless City #3.

Factions across the board, as well as countless newcomers, were watching the spectacle. Soon, the news reached some of Lu Ran’s acquaintances.

Fang Lan, who was gathering poison in Green Sea City, paused in surprise upon seeing Lu Ran’s sudden rise to trending status.

“He severely injured the boss, but did he actually kill it?”

“If he killed it, did the Trait Crystal drop...?”

“Ah, this news isn’t detailed enough! I’ll just wait for Lu Ran to report back.”

She returned to her work as the "little girl collecting poison."

“Has it started?”

In Mystic City, Gu Qingyi, who was exploring the East Sea, also saw the news. Upon noticing the trending topic, she realized that Lu Ran had begun challenging Hell-difficulty secret realms. After a moment’s thought, she entered Limitless City and messaged him.

[Gu Qingyi:] When you fuse with the Trait Crystal, let me know. I’d like to watch.

[Pedestrian A:] Already got it. I’m planning to fuse it today. Do you want to join me, Dr. Gu?

[Gu Qingyi:] What? Did you clear the secret realm? How many attempts? What was your score?

[Pedestrian A:] First try. My score was only S, barely meeting the drop threshold for the Trait Crystal, but I guess I got really lucky. Along with the Trait Crystal, an upgrade card dropped too.

In her private room, Gu Qingyi was momentarily stunned into silence. She muttered under her breath, “Lucky dog, what kind of luck is that?”

She recalled how it had taken her half a month to farm a single Trait Crystal in the Hell-difficulty secret realms. And Lu Ran had gotten one on his first attempt? And with an S rating?

The disappointment was palpable, like a player scraping by for guaranteed loot only to see someone else pull a top-tier drop on their first try.

[Gu Qingyi:] Where are you now?

[Pedestrian A:] I’m planning to return to Limitless City #3 soon.

[Gu Qingyi:] When you’re ready to fuse, let me know. I’ll take you to a public realm for it. That way, you can immediately test your new power against suitable opponents.

[Pedestrian A:] Sounds good.

In addition to Gu Qingyi, Lu Ran received other private messages. One, in particular, left him confused:

[Pluto:] ?

“What’s with the question mark?” Lu Ran wondered.

Deciding to keep things friendly with Pluto, he replied with a smiley face.

Not lingering in Limitless City #5, Lu Ran teleported back to Limitless City #3. Once there, he prepared a full day’s supply of food and a large cup of ice honey tea as an offering to Captain Doofus. His enthusiastic smile seemed to make Captain Doofus a bit nervous.

“Captain Doofus, recover quickly. Once you’re ready, we’ll fuse the trait! This so-called ‘mini-evolution’ could be the first and most crucial step in defying destiny and surpassing divine beasts!”

At Level 30, familiars undergo a full evolution. However, trait fusion or attribute awakening every ten levels is also considered a “mini-evolution,” with the potential to raise their Species Rank.

With a steady gaze, Captain Doofus patted Lu Ran with its paw, signaling its confidence.

Failure doesn’t exist in my world.

“Oh, trying to act cool now, huh?” Lu Ran teased, taking the ice honey tea for himself.

“Even if you’re calm, I’m nervous. Let me sip some of this ‘82 vintage honey tea to settle my nerves.”