bayedsolid Ch. 54 - Friend of Nature
Ch. 54 - Friend of Nature
Makes sense!Everyone immediately understood. But there was no time for philosophical musings—the surrounding Earth-shaking Bears were already roaring and charging forward like they'd been personally insulted.
The Wind Wing Eagle slashed with its talons, launching another Wind Blade that critically wounded an Earth-shaking Bear.
However, instead of deterring the remaining bears, the attack only sent them into a full berserker rage as they howled and rushed forward.
The Wind Wing Eagle's Wind Blade had a cooldown period, so it couldn't be used again immediately.
In an instant, the other Earth-shaking Bears closed the distance.
"ROAR!"
The giant lizard-like Iron-backed Beast bellowed and charged at one Earth-shaking Bear, its formidable defenses easily handling the threat, while the Flame Bird shrieked and dove at another with red-hot talons, using its aerial advantage to delay the second beast.
The remaining contract spirits unleashed their own abilities, and while they couldn't defeat the bears outright, they successfully stalled the assault until the Wind Wing Eagle's skill recovered.
Chen Shu's slime had taken damage earlier and was currently benched in the beast space, probably sulking.
The Wind Wing Eagle cried sharply, diving toward an Earth-shaking Bear with talons flashing cold light, instantly giving the beast an unwanted back massage—the kind that draws blood. Though it didn't have Wind Blade available, its various stats still dunked on ordinary fierce beasts.
"ROAR!" Seeing the situation going south faster than a compass at the North Pole, the Earth-shaking Bears switched tactics.
Seven Earth-shaking Bears slammed their paws against the ground, instantly activating their talent skill 'Earth Wave'.
The previously stable ground began trembling like it had too much coffee. Though the fluctuations weren't massive, they made everyone's footing as stable as a drunk penguin on ice.
One Earth-shaking Bear seized the opportunity while the Iron-backed Beast was doing the wobble dance, charging directly at the crowd, targeting Zhou Shi!
Clearly, the fierce beasts understood that beast tamers were the most vulnerable targets.
"Death-seeking furball!"
Zhou Shi's expression turned colder than a convenience store hot dog, his body half-crouched, trying to maintain balance on the vibrating ground.
Just as the Earth-shaking Bear's massive paw came down like divine judgment, the black Shadowclaw Wolf instantly teleported in. Despite being injured, it still had that "I'm too cool for this" energy.
Its gleaming claws flashed through the air, sinking deep into the bear's skull and splattering blood across the ground.
"Xiao Yu, watch out!"
Zhou Shi cried out in alarm, suddenly spotting an Earth-shaking Bear that had mastered the ancient art of sneak attacks.
Though the Flame Bird was only a Level 7 contract spirit, its potential rating was A-tier. Combined with the Earth-shaking Bears' irrational fear of fire (probably from a childhood BBQ incident), it naturally became a priority target.
But before that Earth-shaking Bear could execute its master plan, it got absolutely bodied by a suddenly appearing golden 'turd emoji'.
"Guji!"
The golden slime's massive eye opened with all the drama of a season finale. Suddenly its body bounced up—'Violent Sitting Kill' activated!
"Flatten this furry bastard!"
The Earth-shaking Bear wasn't exactly winning any speed records and got firmly pinned under Mount Slime.
But the next moment, the Earth-shaking Bear's eyes blazed with determination. Using its swole bear muscles, it actually started bench-pressing the slime.
"The coffin lid—cough—can't hold down the bear spirit anymore!"
Chen Shu's expression turned decisive. He recalled the slime to his beast space faster than you could say "tactical retreat"—couldn't let his precious poop emoji get injured again.
Though he didn't secure the kill, he had bought precious time.
The Shadowclaw Wolf charged over, performing what could only be described as a speedrun assassination on the Earth-shaking Bear.
Since Zhou Shi had already summoned the Shadowclaw Wolf, he wasn't about to waste the MP. Might as well speedrun this encounter.
With two Black Iron rank contract spirits tag-teaming, they turned the Earth-shaking Bears into past tense faster than bad grammar.
Chen Shu's eyes showed deep envy. Black Iron rank beast tamers were truly on a different level.
Everyone quickly looted the battlefield to avoid attracting the respawn wave.
The attacking Earth-shaking Bears were all common drops, not particularly valuable. Only the bear paws could be sold to local restaurants (probably for some questionable soup), but they were too heavy to carry, so the contract spirits had an impromptu feast.
"Rest up."
Seeing everything was handled, Zhou Shi sent Old Deng and Chen Shu back to their tents like a responsible raid leader.
He and Xu Xiao Yu took the night watch shift.
The night passed more peacefully than a meditation app.
Last night's surprise boss fight had already given Chen Shu a reality check about Alternate Dimension difficulty settings.
"We're heading back today!" Zhou Shi announced with all the authority of someone who'd had enough of this camping trip.
This expedition's harvest was quite substantial, mainly thanks to hunting that mutant-rank Blood Fang Wild Boar.
They were deep in Green Origin Forest, and the return journey would take several days. Naturally, they wouldn't take the exact same route back—there might be other opportunities along the way.
Fortunately, luck was on their side, and they encountered no fierce beasts. Even the Wind Wing Eagle circling overhead seemed bored from the peaceful journey.
Suddenly, Zhou Shi raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop like a crossing guard with trust issues.
Encountered fierce beasts?
Chen Shu looked carefully—plot twist! It was actually another player party approaching.
The Wind Wing Eagle in the sky watched the other party's contract spirits with the suspicion of an airport security guard, radiating Black Iron rank thoughts of "don't even think about it"
.
The opposing team's leader was a refined-looking dude, around thirty, with the kind of smile that said "I definitely didn't loot your kills."
He subtly checked out the Wind Wing Eagle like someone pretending not to notice a celebrity, then smiled and nodded at Zhou Shi.
The two beast tamer teams didn't interact, maintaining the kind of awkward distance you keep from your ex at a party.
The atmosphere was thicker than peanut butter. Only after the other party was way out of aggro range did everyone exhale like they'd been holding their breath underwater.
"If you encounter other beast tamer teams in Alternate Dimensions, best practice is to pretend they're NPCs. Don't make enemies, but don't try to make friends either."
Zhou Shi explained to Chen Shu and the other riding the Flame Bird.
On the third day, Zhou Shi swapped the Wind Wing Eagle back to his beast space and summoned the Shadowclaw Wolf.
The Shadowclaw Wolf was his first contract spirit and had been with him the longest, resulting in higher obedience.
Though obedience might seem unimportant, it could affect battle outcomes significantly. If a contract spirit's obedience is low, it might hesitate for a second or two before following orders.
Don't underestimate those seconds—they could determine victory or defeat. It's like in the game 'Beast Glory' when your connection is poor and others execute their moves smoothly while you lag behind.
The Black Crow provided aerial reconnaissance while the Shadowclaw Wolf handled the ground DPS. No major crisis events triggered along the way.
"Is the Green Origin Forest questline really ending?"
Chen Shu couldn't help wondering. Though it was only about ten days, he'd farmed decent EXP.
Unfortunately, his contract spirit was still under-leveled, at most matching a Level 7 mob, unable to main tank. This made him feel like a support player in a DPS world.
At nightfall, everyone set up camp following the standard procedure.
Based on their travel calculations, they'd reach the Spirit Suppression Army checkpoint in three days max.
"Chen Shu, Old Deng, you're on watch duty."
Team leader Zhou Shi announced before retreating to his tent with the others.
Chen Shu lay by the campfire, bored enough to count stars like a broke astronomer.
"Little Chen, seriously..."
"Stop right there, Old Deng." Chen Shu rubbed his temples. Why did this feel like a sketchy matchmaking attempt?
Sure, I'm a once-in-a-generation prodigy with excellent breeding—I mean, background—but you don't need to kiss up this hard!
"Hey, Old Deng, has your beast tamer team ever hunted Lord creatures?"
Chen Shu suddenly remembered his accepted quest: Hunt the Ice Field Rabbit Lord.
"You must be pulling my leg..."
Old Deng's mouth twitched like he'd bitten a lemon.
"Even the weakest Lord-level creatures are Black Iron rank minimum. Standard raid composition requires at least three Black Iron beast tamers—that's six Black Iron rank contract spirits—to maybe take one down."
In Team 666, only Zhou Shi had reached Black Iron. The next strongest were at Level 9 like a progress bar stuck at 99%.
"They're that OP?" Chen Shu asked skeptically.
"Remember that rat tide the other day?" Old Deng said. "If we'd actually tried to fight that head-on, the only surprise would've been how fast we died."
"Over a hundred Steel Fanged Rats popping their 'Sharp Teeth' skill would turn even a Shadowclaw Wolf into dog food. Black Iron rank might be strong, but they can't handle a Zerg rush."
Chen Shu nodded thoughtfully. "So three Black Iron beast tamers can hunt Lords?"
"Hell no."
Old Deng shook his head harder. "With three Black Iron tamers, they'd be farming Dangerous-level Alternate Dimensions. Why slum it here?"
"But why though?"
Lord-level fierce beasts dropped million-gold loot. Were Black Iron rank beast tamers too good for money?
"Think about it—Lord spawn rates are garbage tier. With that time investment, you could run multiple Dangerous-level Alternate Dimension raids and probably make bank."
"..."
Chen Shu was speechless. No wonder the Lord hunting quests had no level requirements—they were mathematically impossible!
Beast tamer teams capable of hunting Black Iron Lords wouldn't waste time in Green Origin Forest. Teams that came here couldn't handle Lords anyway. It was the perfect Catch-22!
"All this talk made me need to take a leak. BRB."
Chen Shu yawned and headed into the woods for a bathroom break.
Just as he was about to relieve himself, options appeared before his eyes.
[Option One: Finish peeing next to the bushes.]
Completion Reward: Obtain title 'Friend of Nature'
Wearing Effect: Stronger urge to urinate when near bushes.
[Option Two: Stand on a tree to pee.]
Completion Reward: Contract Spirit 'Overlord Body' skill +1
Seriously? The system was giving rewards for bathroom choices now?
Without much hesitation, Chen Shu climbed the nearest tree. Skill points were skill points, no matter how they were earned.
[System: Congratulations! Contract Spirit 'Overlord Body' skill +1]
[Current Overlord Body Level: 3]
When he returned to camp, Old Deng asked, "Everything alright?"
"Perfectly fine," Chen Shu replied.
Old Deng chuckled knowingly. "You know, my daughter loves a man who can handle himself in the wilderness."
"Old Deng, please stop."
"Never! Not until I have grandchildren!"