King of Beasts

Chapter 27: Version Update

Lu Ran felt as though he had asked a question to an empty room.

But indeed, he had been pondering learning a secondary occupation.

In Infinite City, the three most popular lifestyle occupations were nutritionist, alchemist, and Forgemaster.

For a pet beast to level up, aside from combat training and daily exercises, diet was key.

Eat seven parts, train three.

Choosing different ingredients and reasonably pairing them in a pet beast’s diet could accelerate the growth level of the pet beast.

As for how to pair these ingredients, that was what nutritionists studied.

Alchemists, like nutritionists, were also considered a combat beastmaster’s best support.

In Infinite City, healing-type pet beasts were rare, as were healing-type beastmasters.

If a beastmaster and their pet beast suffered severe injuries or poisoning in a secret realm, they usually relied on an alchemist’s healing potions and antidotes to save their lives.

Typical beastmasters venturing into secret realms would pack plenty of healing potions in their backpacks for emergencies, but of course, these potions’ effects couldn’t compare to the skills of a healing-type pet beast.

Lastly, Forgemasters tended more to serve beastmasters rather than pet beasts, as not many pet beasts required equipment or items.

However, beastmasters themselves were relatively weaker and thus, fully arming themselves was essential.

These three occupations were the mainstream secondary occupations in Infinite City. As for other lifestyle occupations, they were somewhat niche.

Honestly, Lu Ran was quite interested in learning all three, as they all seemed useful.

However, finding a systematic way to learn them did not seem easy. It was probably best to wait for the establishment of Beast Taming University.

At that time, he might choose not to enroll in combat but to learn a secondary occupation instead.

Having purchased two swords, Lu Ran bid farewell to Master Lin.

With these items, he could return to practice swordsmanship with General Ha.

He hoped the practice efficiency with the supernatural weapon would far surpass that with the wooden sword and the iron-slashing sword!

“General Ha, let’s go.”

This time, Lu Ran didn’t recall General Ha, but let it stroll alongside him outside.

A man and his beast, walking down the street.

“Woof.”

“I haven’t forgotten, we’re going to buy you food now.”

Lu Ran shrugged his shoulders; it was currently challenging to tailor a specialized nutrition meal for General Ha.

Following the recommendations from the Basic Beast Taming Handbook, Lu Ran decided to prepare a general wind-type pet beast meal for General Ha.

The pork trotters, canned food, and poultry and beef at home were not bad, but they definitely weren’t suitable for the now supernatural General Ha.

To accelerate General Ha’s leveling up, he would have to do like other beastmasters and use ingredients dropped in secret realms to prepare food.

Some secret realms drop items like “Supernatural Poultry Meat” and “Supernatural Beast Meat,” which have higher nutritional value than ordinary meats.

In addition, the variety of herbs, fruits, and vegetables available was far richer than in the real world.

“Woof woof.”

As Lu Ran walked, he pondered how many days’ worth of food he should buy for General Ha, deciding it would depend on the price.

He had initially thought 10,000 crystal coins was a lot, but now, it felt like it wasn’t going very far.

How were the newcomers who didn’t achieve an S rating supposed to survive?

“Woof woof.”

“What’s up, hmm?” Lu Ran mused as General Ha continuously nudged him, signaling that there was someone familiar ahead.

A familiar person? Who could it be?

The streets of Infinite City were lined with tall trees of unknown varieties, their deep green leaves fluttering in the wind.

Lu Ran looked up to see a youth and a wild boar running side by side, apparently exercising.

“Huff puff…”

“Pant pant…”

It seemed they had been running for a while. As the pair approached, Lu Ran recognized them as the Pig Raiser from yesterday’s attribute testing. General Ha had a good memory.

“It’s you!!!”

At that moment, the Pig Raiser also recognized Lu Ran and stopped along with his pet beast.

He hadn’t expected to run into Lu Ran again just a day later.

Although both had tested their attributes in the same location and their “starting points” were not far from the residential area, this place was clearly at a distance from there.

“I remember you are called… Passerby A, right?” the Pig Raiser said, surprised.

“Uh, are you… exercising?” Lu Ran asked.

“Yeah, just a simple workout to build stamina. Going to the training secret realm costs money, these basic exercises can be done outside,” the Pig Raiser explained.

Hearing this, Lu Ran coughed internally.

Compared to the other’s frugality, he seemed to have been a bit too extravagant.

“Pant, pant…” However, his pet beast seemed quite dissatisfied with its beastmaster’s penny-pinching ways.

It was probably being shortchanged on its meals.

“Hey, would it be possible to add you as a friend?” the Pig Raiser suddenly had a thought, his eyes lighting up as he spoke to Lu Ran.

“We could team up to explore secret realms in the future.”

The Pig Raiser remembered Shenghua mentioning that Lu Ran’s initial rating wouldn’t be low and that, like himself, he had a lot of potentials.

Being a stranger in Infinite City No.3, it was always good to make more friends.

“I can… but I might not challenge any secret realms in the short term,” Lu Ran didn’t refuse the friend request.

As the two exchanged their beastmaster IDs, Lu Ran asked, “Are you following that Shenghua and joining the official ranks?”

Pig Raiser shook his head: “No, I just contacted Shenghua in real life to register my identity. I chose to join a guild instead.”

“A guild?” Lu Ran was somewhat surprised.

Scratching his head awkwardly with a laugh, the Pig Raiser said, “I urgently need a large sum of money, and that guild offered better terms.”

“What kind of terms?” Lu Ran asked curiously.

“As soon as you become an official member, you get an immediate 2 million growth fund.”

“That much?” Lu Ran was astonished. Getting 2 million just for joining… To be honest, that would be very tempting for most people.

But then, it made sense, as the Medicine Pavilion Guild had also mentioned they would arrange housing for official members. They were really investing a lot to recruit people.

“There are conditions, though. There’s an assessment, and right now I can only be considered a probationary member. If I don’t pass the assessment in a month, I can’t become an official member,” explained the Pig Raiser.

“It’s said to be quite difficult. That guild is an elite guild of Infinite City No.3, only taking the best of the best. My C-level rating isn’t much, and Shenghua knows my situation. She suggested I try this guild first, and if I can’t make it through, considering joining the official ranks later is not too late.”

“Good luck,” Lu Ran said.

The Pig Raiser must be from the countryside. Lu Ran’s grandparents were also rural folk, and his grandfather made a living by hunting. He understood that, compared to the city, most areas were still very poor, and the desire for a substantial amount of money to improve one’s life was only natural.

For Pig Raiser, Infinite City No.3 might represent the only chance to change his life and leap across social classes.

“Are you heading to Beastmaster Square?” Pig Raiser asked.

“Yeah, I need to buy some food for it,” Lu Ran said, looking toward General Ha, who was showing a fighting spirit against the wild boar.

“Snort, snort,” the wild boar looked at General Ha with disdain.

General Ha: ??

“Hahaha, what a coincidence, I need to buy some food for mine too. Let’s go together,” Pig Raiser suggested.

Before Lu Ran could respond, both Lu Ran and Pig Raiser simultaneously looked up at the sky.

No, it was not just them. In every Infinite City around the world, all beastmasters inside were stunned.

The familiar prompt sounded in their ears without warning.

Detection of beastmasters passing the novice trial has reached 100,000.

Now updating Infinite City facilities…

New Infinite City building added: Divine Beast Leaderboard.

The Divine Beast Leaderboard is located in the center of the Beastmaster Square in each Infinite City, consisting of four leaderboards: Supernatural Species Leaderboard, Commander Species Leaderboard, Sovereign Species Leaderboard, and Overlord Species Leaderboard, each recording the top 10 positions.

The leaderboards are settled monthly, and at settlement time, the beastmasters on the leaderboard will receive a substantial amount of crystal coin rewards according to their ranking.

To be listed, each leaderboard only includes pet beasts of the corresponding species, and there are certain listing restrictions. Pet beasts’ potential will be judged based on their comprehensive performance in secret realms and arenas. All beastmasters are encouraged to actively challenge secret realms and engage in Beast Taming duels.

Next update milestone: When the number of beastmasters reaches 1 million.

The voice came quickly and left just as fast.

After the voice completely disappeared, the previously silent Infinite City instantly became as noisy as a boiling pot.

Both big shots and newbies were attracted by the update.

In the Beastmaster Square of every Infinite City, the nearby beastmasters could see a gigantic four-sided stele suddenly standing tall with an astonishing glow.

On the grey-white stele, the black and gold lettering shone brightly.

Supernatural Leaderboard: First place, none. Second place, none. Third…

Commander Leaderboard: …

Sovereign…

Each side of the stele displayed a leaderboard, but as of now, all the rankings were blank.

“Damn, there are already 100,000 beastmasters worldwide? What happened these past few days?” beastmaster after beastmaster expressed their surprise.

“Heavens, stingy Infinite City is finally willing to shell out crystal coins as rewards! This wretched place finally has a facility for handing out benefits.”

“Divine Beast Leaderboard? Only 10 spots? I’m doomed to be the man who can’t have it.”

“No more talk, I’m heading to challenge the secret realm right now. With no one on the leaderboard yet, I might snag a few minutes of fame and brag for a lifetime with a screenshot.”

On a forest path some distance from Beastmaster Square, two newcomer beastmasters also wore expressions of utter confusion.

“Crystal coins…” Pig Raiser mumbled repeatedly, his expression changing from desire to shaking his head, seemingly doubting his own strength.

Next to him, Lu Ran seemed a bit dazed.

“It’s over, it’s all over, damn.”

The facilities can update too? This update caught him completely off guard, making him feel utterly backstabbed by Infinite City. With the leaderboard now a reality, how could he continue to develop his skills under the radar? It wouldn’t matter if he didn’t make it onto the leaderboard, but if he did, wouldn’t that be like announcing to the whole server: Boss Lu and General Ha are awesome?

Beside him, General Ha nodded thoughtfully, his eyes gleaming with wisdom and sharpness.

Pig Raiser and his pig looked at them: ??

Why did this man and dog seem even more over the top than them?