Dr. Gu, the Unrivaled Beastmaster (1) |
The sun was setting over a quiet and scenic beach. Waves rose from the horizon and broke upon the sand one after another. A little girl was leaving a trail of footprints as she ran along.
"Qingyi, we are leaving!” A distant voice called out.
The little girl immediately turned around at the sound of the voice.
"Wait for me!" she shouted as she went to chase after the adults. Just as she was about to leave, she saw a beautiful blue stone that washed ashore. The stone’s brilliance caught her eye, and as such, it spent the next decade by her side.
***
In a Magic City University biology lab, a woman in a lab coat tugged at a blue stone pendant that hung on a silver necklace around her neck.
"What on earth is this stone? Ever since I picked it up, animals, no matter how ferocious they are at first, would immediately turn obedient in front of me. I’ve also constantly dreamed about dragons. It's as if it contains some sort of extraordinary power."
She rubbed the stone with her slender fingers. Reports and analysis results piled up on the table in front of her. They were filled with technical language pertaining to mutation and evolution. Upon careful inspection, the data looked like it was produced by advanced experimentation, but anyone who read it would laugh. That was because it was all on a single subject: the evolution of dragons.
It wasn’t about the development of large reptiles like dinosaurs. Rather, it was on full-fledged dragons like those out of fairy tales. Such an abstract field of research wouldn’t be conducted by any scientist of renown. It went against any existing scientific beliefs and common sense.
Looking down, Gu Qingyi saw a text message pop up on her phone.
Grandma: Qingyi, please give up on your research. Maybe that stone you found really does have some supernatural powers, but it’s not something that people like us could ever hope to uncover. Without the support of a national government, it would be too difficult to get any results.
Grandma: I’ve told you about the other two biologists I knew who were researching clues about transcendent creatures, but…
Gu Qingyi: Yes, you’ve mentioned them many times.
She was well aware of the incident where a large number of biologists died two years ago. Amongst the casualties, Xia lost two biologists named Lu Qiancheng and Lu Yunxiu. They were a scientist couple that many idolized. Although her grandma was worried that she would follow in their footsteps, Gu Qingyi refused to give up.
Grandma: You damn kid…
Dr. Gu’s grandmother, who constantly nagged her, was also a biologist. Gu Qingyi smiled, but that smile quickly faded into a solemn expression when a mysterious black card appeared and floated in the air before her.
"What is this…?"
She had no idea what was going on and presumed that she had begun to hallucinate.
[Potential detected. You have the qualifications to be a beastmaster.]
[The contract card has been materialized...]
[Beginner’s Mission: Use the contract card to capture an animal as a familiar and become a beastmaster!]
[Tip 1: Beastmaster is a profession that contracts, trains, and controls familiars to work and fight!]
[Tip 2: A contract card is a tool that strengthens the user’s mental power and captures familiars. It also contains a pocket dimension where familiars can rest.]
[Tip 3: Contract cards cannot be used on humans.]
…
[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.]
[Tip 9:...]
Beastmaster?
Gu Qingyi remained silent as she tuned out the world around her. Two minutes later, she finally snapped out of it. She was very intelligent and had a variety of hobbies, including reading novels and watching anime. She wasn’t just a bookworm.
She pinched herself to make sure that it was all real. Seeing the red mark on her arm, she realized that she seemed to have fallen into some sort of light novel. She slowly grabbed the black card in a daze before her eyes finally filled with intense curiosity.
Contract, training, beastmaster...
"If I become a so-called beastmaster, then can I create and cultivate dragons?"
Filled with anticipation, Gu Qingyi quickly left the lab and went straight to her home.
It said to use the contract card to capture an animal as a familiar...
As a biology researcher, Gu Qingyi obviously had multiple pets. The only thing was that they weren’t what most people considered conventional household animals.
Ding!
Gu Qingyi opened the smart lock on her door and entered her house. Because of the mysterious stone, she had a particular interest in dragons. This led her to keep many “dragon-related” animals, such as carps, snakes, etc. Most of these were short-lived, but she recently acquired something that had a strong resemblance to dragons—a crocodile lizard.
"I choose you!"
Since her time was limited, the baby crocodile lizard that she had been raising for the last two years was her first choice for a familiar.
When she saw it lounging in its tank, Gu Qingyi smiled a little. Although she didn't know what being a beastmaster entailed, it was clear that the world wasn’t as simple as she originally thought.
After a few moments, Gu Qingyi followed the instructions that came with the contract card and contracted the crocodile lizard. Once that step was complete, Gu Qingyi was surprised by the changes on the contract card. On it, a picture of the crocodile lizard appeared along with some text.
[Species: Crocodile Lizard]
[Attribute: Water]
[Species Rank: Low Commander]
[Level: 1]
[Skills: None]
Next, more text appeared before her eyes that added to her shock.
[Novice Trial Secret Realm Teleportation Countdown: 59:59]
"What is this?" Gu Qingyi was puzzled, but she didn't care much. After shaking her head, she summoned the crocodile she had just contracted.
"Its attribute is water, its race level is low-level commander. Low-level... It doesn't seem very powerful."
Gu Qingyi was originally looking quite aggrieved, but after summoning the little crocodile lizard again, her expression turned dumbfounded.
Because at this moment, the crocodile lizard, which was originally only about one meter long, actually became six or seven meters long. It was very domineering, and its color also changed a little, turning to dark blue.
The dragon-like crocodile knelt on all four of its legs, raised its ferocious head, and looked at Gu Qingyi curiously.
Although the crocodile lizard had become much larger, Gu Qingyi could feel that it was not dangerous. After squatting down slightly, Gu Qingyi touched its head.
"Although I don't know what happened... You should be able to fight, right?"
"I neglected it." Gu Qingyi smiled bitterly.
Beastmaster: A profession that contracts, trains, and controls pets to work and fight!
[Beginner Trial Secret Realm Teleportation Countdown: 59 minutes and 59 seconds]
Crap, I wasn’t paying attention.
Gu Qingyi thought about it for a moment and quickly figured out what was about to happen next.
Help!
Roar——
As if picking up on her anxiety, the crocodile comforted her with a confident roar. In the blink of an eye, it was cloaked in blue energy. The sight came as a shock to Gu Qingyi, but the dragon lizard looked as if it were ready to hunt.
The huge tail slammed towards the ground when Gu Qingyi rushed to stop it.
"I'll take you to the laboratory where we have a bunch of lab rats that we can use as experimental subjects!"
***
An hour later, they were really teleported away to a strange place. Although she initially panicked, Gu Qingyi calmed herself as she combed through the information that was popping up.
[Teleportation completed.]
[Current location: Demon Cat Forest (Beginner Trial Secret Realm)]
[Difficulty: Easy]
[Mission: Survive for one day.]
…
[Tip 1: This secret realm is a projection of the Black Shoal. Its resources and creatures cannot be taken away or contracted.]
[Tip 2: Upon completing the mission, the trial taker will be rewarded based on their performance.]
[Tip 3: Falling into a near-death state will result in mission failure and ejection.]
[Tip 4: The trial taker will temporarily obtain the Eye of Detection, which can inspect the information of resources and creatures inside the secret realm.]
[The trial has begun! Have a great adventure!]
…
After a quick analysis of the current situation, Gu Qingyi had a good grasp of this test of survival. She quickly summoned the crocodile lizard to protect herself while observing the environment with the Eye of Detection. She even took the opportunity to take a look at herself.
The information the skill revealed was quite surprising. The general layout of it was pretty similar to the crocodile lizard’s information, but something in particular was a bit confusing.
[Species: Human]
[Beastmaster Level: Apprentice]
[Beastmaster Skill: None]
[Skills: Dragon Aura (You have the aura of a dragon. It carries a natural deterrence against weaker creatures.)]
Huh?
She quickly looked at the stone around her neck.
[Name: Dragon Pearl Fragment]
[Grade: Rare]
[Description: A fragment of a Dragon Pearl that can gradually bestow the aura of a dragon onto another living being.]
"This..."
The stone’s origins were truly astounding, but Gu Qingyi had more important things at hand. A black snake had suddenly attacked them while she was distracted. The crocodile lizard used the opportunity to demonstrate its combat abilities. It had amazing capabilities in both speed and power, and a single swipe of its tail could crush a boulder!
Naturally, a small black snake could not pose any threat. On command, the lizard ripped the serpent in half. Gu Qingyi took a deep breath and turned her attention back to the stone. She finally knew what it really was.
"It’s a Dragon Pearl Fragment. No wonder… What is going on with the world?"
She knew that she had a long journey of discovery ahead of her. With that in mind, the duo went on to fight their way through the secret realm. After a while, Gu Qingyi realized that her crocodile was pretty powerful. It was most likely due to the influence of the Dragon Pearl Fragment. There wasn’t a single creature in the secret realm that was a match for it.
It didn’t disgrace itself in the slightest. And just like that, they scored an SS in the Beginner Trial Secret Realm.