Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Most familiars seemed normal enough, but the one that caught Gao Peng’s attention was a nearby familiar that seemed to be made entirely of granite.
When looking at this familiar, the first thing that popped into Gao Peng’s mind was a miniature version of a mountain giant. Compared to the actual mountain giant of legend, this familiar was like a pocket edition. Its body was covered with criss-crossed yellow vines, and on top of its head was a small circle of bright yellow flowers.
[Monster Name]: Vine-Covered Rock Monster
[Monster Level]: 23
[Monster Grade]: Normal
[Monster Attribute]: Rock
[Monster Condition]: Healthy (Shy)
[Monster Weakness]: 1. Shadow-type monsters. 2. It is afraid of having its picture taken.
“Please do not take pictures,” said the owner of the Rock Monster to a few nearby trainers who were taking out their phones. “It doesn’t like having its picture taken.”
The trainers nodded their heads in understanding and put away their phones.
It seemed most people in the world were reasonable after all!
Gao Peng made his way over to the trainer. “Is this your familiar? It looks really cool. I’ve never seen such a familiar before!” he exclaimed.
“Thank you,” said the owner of the Rock Monster, hurriedly nodding his head in reply.
The owner was a shota with a mushroom haircut, large round glasses, and a naturally innocent-looking face. Though he looked young, to have established a Blood Contract and entered the second round of the competition, he must have been at least 18 years old.
“This familiar of yours seems really shy,” said Gao Peng with a laugh. After continually interacting with so many familiars, he had realized that most familiars, and even monsters, possessed a vast range of emotions. They had their own happiness, anger, sadness, and joy, and they could not be described with a simple blanket term.
“Yes, it is rather shy,” said the Rock Monster’s owner. After speaking, he seemed to realize that not introducing himself was rather impolite. Immediately, he stretched out his right hand and said, “Hi, my name is Jiang Ke. I’m from Mo Du.”
“Gao Peng from Chang’an.”
“I’ve been to Chang’an. It was the ancient capital of the Thirteen Dynasties, and it has a lot of historical and cultural value. You even have terracotta soldiers there! The terracotta soldiers are the most famous…” Jiang Ke laughed shyly. His personality seemed similar to that of his familiar.
As the saying goes, if a bride were not meant to marry into a family, fate would not have brought her in the door. Indeed, in one way or another, a monster trainer’s personality would have an effect on the personality of the familiar as well.
Gao Peng suddenly thought of the personalities of his own familiars and then hurriedly abandoned that train of thought.
“Terracotta soldiers, eh? That’s right! There’s plenty of that stuff,” said Gao Peng. “The next time you come over to Chang’an, I’ll sell you a few of them,” Gao Peng boasted loudly.
“They can be sold?!” Jiang Ke was stunned. It was the first time he had heard of terracotta soldiers being for sale. He hesitated for a moment, then carefully asked, “Is this…illegal? I won’t do anything illegal.”
“Well, the terracotta soldiers owned by the country cannot be sold, of course,” Gao Peng said in total seriousness, “but I’m free to sell my own. Selling things that you own isn’t illegal, right? Like if you were to take a precious family heirloom and sell it to someone, would that be breaking the law?”
“I guess not…” Little Jiang Ke wasn’t totally sure.
“Then it should be fine! Back in Chang’an, practically every household keeps two terracotta soldiers to guard their doors. Those things can ward of evil!” Gao Peng said, nodding his head.
Jiang Ke eyed him suspiciously. “Do you really have some in your home?”
Gao Peng laughed out loud and rubbed the little shota on his head. “I was just kidding! How could I have such a thing in my home? I say, you didn’t grow much physically, but I guess you didn’t grow much mentally, either! You’re too easy to fool. You won’t be able to find a girlfriend if your intelligence is so low, you know?”
Jiang Ke’s face flushed with anger. He glared at Gao Peng and left in a huff. He didn’t want to bother himself with such an unpleasant guy anymore.
Afterward, Gao Peng saw that the few people around him were looking at him oddly. He touched his own face. Nope, I don’t have any pimples, do I?
…
The gates were pushed open, and a bald man wearing a black coat walked in. He was well built, with large eyes and thick eyebrows, and he spoke in an incisive manner. “All the candidates have arrived. Tonight, you will all be having dinner together, so please get to know one another. Afterward, we will give out the letters of consent. In order to participate in the second round of the examination, you must sign to acknowledge the possibility of dying!
“The location of this test will be in the wilderness, a far cry from the safety of the city. The wilderness holds unlimited possibilities, so even with your emergency flares, the mortality rate in this examination will be at least 10%.” The bald man gave a deep laugh, caught himself, and then continued, “Do not think that I’m joking. This estimated mortality rate takes into consideration that your familiars are at least Commander tier and that some of you will not be signing the agreement.”
Even with this announcement, the dinner tasted pretty good.
After dinner, all the candidates were taken into a large hall, where military personnel gave out the contracts to everyone to sign. The whole process was carried out without a single word being uttered.
Those that had made it this far had already done their due diligence. They had been told beforehand that they would have to sign the agreement, and many were mentally prepared. Gao Peng scanned through the document. The clauses were clear and easy to understand. Their lives were their own responsibility, but in the event of death a hefty pension would be paid as compensation to the family. They would even be made martyrs.
Gao Peng signed the agreement and handed it in.
“Since everyone has signed, I will now explain the rules of the examination.” After a short pause, the bald man continued, “There were a total of one hundred and ninety-seven candidates for the second round examination, all of you elites from across the nation! In the end, one hundred and fifty of you signed the agreement. I am pleased. This was a higher percentage than I had expected. It seems there aren’t many cowards among you!” The bald man roared in laughter.
“The second round of the examination uses a point system. Within the forest of Dayang Mountain, we have set up a large number of target pillars. These target pillars are made of a special material that strongly attracts monsters to them. Destroying a target pillar will grant you a large amount of points. At the same time, taking down a monster will also reward you with a certain number of points.
“In the end, we will choose the top twelve candidates with the highest number of points to take part in the third round. The third round can be said to exceed the boundaries of the Monster Trainer College Entrance Examinations. It even has its own name: ‘The Alliance’s Strongest Youth Monster Trainer General Assembly!’
“Those who perform well in the competition will be bestowed a title, and even your familiars can be awarded a title as well. Also, the last round of the competition will be broadcast live globally! The battles between your familiars will be shown to everyone around the world!”
Gao Peng couldn’t help but feel like puking. “The Alliance’s Strongest Youth Monster Trainer General Assembly”? Who on earth thought of such a name!?
But the focus of the others was definitely different than Gao Peng’s. They were all wide-eyed with deep desire for a title. In an era filled with the great spirit of youth, to be awarded a universally recognized title would be such a sacred thing. But Gao Peng would never admit to being moved by the idea… It was too Eighth-Grader!
Those that did not sign the agreement were sent back home. After all, with the possibility of death involved, the Allied Government couldn’t possibly force everyone to participate.
That night, Gao Peng received a full-body combat suit, which included a gas-mask helmet and a fast-acting cardiotonic agent. In an emergency situation, the cardiotonic agent could be activated, and its effects would last for one hour!
