The Struggle for Pets, the Beginning of a Brawl

"Forget about taming a vampire, we haven't even seen a single vampire bone. But let's get this straight—"

"The Wandering Arrow" then turned to the quest giver, "Utterly Empty."

"Boss, although we accepted this quest, we won't give it to anyone else if there aren't enough tamable monsters, even if it means giving up the quest rewards."

"Utterly Empty" is well-off, so buying an ordinary pet wouldn't be difficult for them.

But he refused to settle and was determined to find a special partner who caught his eye, which is why he issued the mission and personally joined the team to explore.

Vampires, as monsters in the game, are incredibly famous.

"I understand," "Utterly Empty" nodded. "Summoned Beast are rare in the God's Domain now, but they're not impossible to buy."

"I just want to look around more and find one I really like."

"Actually, if you're looking for a place to settle down, why don't you consider our options?"

"The Wandering Shadow" extended an olive branch to him, after all, "Utterly Empty" was still considered outstanding among Priest, even if he wasn't at the top of the rankings.

Today's Priest have shed their former vulnerable position.

Since they were able to use healing skills in the real world, their value has skyrocketed.

These days, which Fixed Team doesn't have one or two Priest on hand?

Everyone is preparing for potential crises in reality.

In real life, there are no second chances; everything depends on the support of the Priest in the team—so the importance of Priest today is vastly different from what it used to be.

"I still prefer to be alone." "Utterly Empty" smiled and politely declined, "Someone in my family has already joined the guild, they don't need me."

"I'm used to being free; as for joining, I'll leave it to fate."

It seems that someone in his family has also formed a guild, perhaps in District 1, or perhaps he doesn't want to join his faction.

In short, the other party still wants to maintain their lone wolf status.

"The Wandering Shadow" would naturally not force the issue.

The deal may have fallen through, but the friendship remains.

"Utterly Empty" is a straightforward person who doesn't care much about wealth and status, which suits his temperament very well.

The group had been traveling through the underground passages for an hour without encountering a single vampire monster.

Even the person who discovered it, "Art Bro," began to hesitate, his gaze shifting uncertainly.

"Could it be that only those trash skeletons from before are buried here?"

"Am I that big of a vampire?"

"How is that possible? The map is so vast; it might require a specific trigger."

Someone pressed, "Art Bro, what did you guys do when you came in last time?"

He tried hard to recall, but finally shook his head and said, "No, we encountered the enemy just a few steps after we came in."

Someone continued, "Think again carefully, have you used any skills or potions?"

While the Art Bro was still pondering, the fat guy next to him interjected, "He said there were too few of us, so just to be on the safe side, he then followed behind invisibly—and then a swarm of bats appeared. After the bats were dealt with, the vampire appeared."

The group exchanged glances and immediately had "Art Bro" re-enter stealth mode to test the waters.

Sure enough, the pattern was found.

The instant his figure vanished, the hazy outlines of bats and skeletons gradually appeared around him!

At a glance, they were densely packed together, completely surrounding them!

It's unclear whether the size of the group attracted them, or whether these bat skeletons had been lurking nearby unnoticed until now.

This sight made many players' hearts tighten.

"Their level isn't high! Act quickly, don't let them get any closer!"

The Wandering Arrow immediately gave the order, and a rain of arrows poured down on the swarm of bats—a rare area-of-effect attack by archers.

The team's average level was around 25, and these bats were at a similar level.

However, today's players are no longer the unarmed newcomers they were when they first entered the game. With the support of their equipment, a group of more than ten people did not seem to be at a disadvantage when facing swarms of vampire bats.

Equipment level is secondary; the key lies in the Priest's outstanding performance.

Perhaps because they are undead, vampire bats are particularly vulnerable to Priest's skills.

The Priest can deal burst damage almost like a mage, which injects considerable combat power into the entire team.

"Look, I have one here that can be tamed!"

Exclamations of surprise followed Mumu.

[Bone Bat (25) (Tamerable)]

[Strength 243]

[Physical Defense 673]

[Magic Defense 685]

[Fusion: An exclusive skill for undead creatures, allowing them to merge into one and transcend to a higher life form!]

"What does this 'fusion' mean? I don't quite understand. Isn't it supposed to be about vampires? Why are there a bunch of bone bats?"

"Add Oil Little Round" wasn't interested in these skeletal bats, finding them utterly unattractive.

"You idiot, don't you know that? Bats can synthesize vampires!" the Art Bro exclaimed excitedly.

"Never mind that, let's subdue them first."

"This time I've brought a pet lure; it can't escape!"

As he spoke, the Art Bro used a potion to tame the Bone Bat.

System notification: "Taming successful! Obtained Bone Skeleton Bat (1/999)!"

"If 999 of these bats are collected, they can be fused together to create a vampire."

"Good grief, it's Pinduoduo again, isn't it?" someone said speechlessly.

"Damn it, so the vampire we saw before was just a cash withdrawal screen. If we actually want to withdraw, we have to pay 999 dollars!" the fat man said speechlessly.

"Hmph, what did I tell you! I am the chosen one! You all have to step aside!" Art Bro vented his pent-up frustration.

"If you're so capable, then don't use any drugs!" the fat man scoffed from the side.

"Stop fooling around, you two! We haven't finished clearing the monsters yet. Focus on fighting them!" "Wandering Arrow" reminded them.

"Wait, I understand what 'fusion' means now! These undead skeletons are really something else!"

The Art Bro stared at the pet menu's description. "You can fuse two tamed skeletons, with a certain chance of evolving them into a higher-level skeleton, such as Skeleton Warhorse (level 35)."

The Skeleton Warhorse is an upgraded form of the skeletal undead, which may be what the system refers to as "fusion upgrade".

When everyone heard the news, a collective gasp filled the air.

"Take them all! Don't let a single one of these skeleton bats escape."

"We'll try them one by one, and we'll eventually tame enough of them!"

"Yes, even if we can't tame a vampire, taming Skeleton Horse would be good too."

"The Skeleton Horse is much more powerful than a regular skeleton; riding it would be so cool!"

"That's right, if someone rode Skeleton Horse into the city, they'd attract the attention of countless young women and wives."

"The Skeleton Horse has not only changed its appearance, but its level is also much higher. It's probably the best Warcraft we can get right now."

"That's right. Nowadays, apart from Dragon Map and his group who have high-level flying Warcraft, most other players are using level 20 or so, and they're still fighting tooth and nail for them—our chance has come!"

"Ha! Another one! I've found another one that can be tamed!"

Soon everyone began the search.

Soon, they discovered a large number of skeletons in the cave.

"Haha, finally found it!"

"So these skeletons were all hidden underground!"

"The Wandering Shadow" also found a tamable one among the pile of skeletons.

There's usually no fixed order in the group; whoever finds it first is qualified to try taming it.

"Brother, give me the pet attractant!" "Wandering Shadow" completely ignored her brother's darkening face and reached out for it.

"Didn't I give you several bottles last time? You don't even have a pet, how come you've used them all up? You spendthrift, I'm going to tell Dad!"

"I'm innocent, brother! I tried it, but it failed every time. What could I do?"

"The Wandering Shadow" himself was puzzled. How come others succeeded almost every time with the pet attractant, but when it came to him, he had to rely on luck?

Am I really just incredibly unlucky?

No, I can't think like that! He must be a born European Emperor!

"Your luck is so bad, stop wasting potions and Warcraft, give them to me."

"I think your guild is pretty good, and I'm thinking of joining."

Utterly Empty also set its sights on the group of skeletons.

He didn't necessarily need the skeleton soldiers; rather, he was interested in the synthesized Skeleton Horse —which could be used as both a mount and a battle pet, and its high level perfectly met his requirements.

This trip was definitely the right one!

"Good grief, now you want to join? Too late! Our guild needs people like me. You can stay out of here."

After "Wandering Shadow" used the pet attractant, three seconds later, the words "Taming Failed" popped up on the screen again.

"... Can you please stop? You're just wasting resources. Please leave the opportunity to those who can seize it—like me!"

"Utterly Empty" muttered to itself as it continued scanning the surrounding skeletons, searching for its next target.

"The Wandering Shadow" has completely lost confidence in himself.

No doubt about it, he really is unlucky...

"Haha, here I am again! This is truly a treasure trove! My Skeleton Horse, here I come!"

Even with Utterly Empty, they found one, deftly used a pet attractant, and successfully tamed the skeleton.

He ignored the dejected expression on the "Wandering Shadow's " face beside him, turned around and continued grinding monsters, intending to gather enough materials to combine into the next one.

The group fought fiercely in the underground world for days until their mana potions ran out, forcing them to temporarily retreat.

When they left, each person had successfully tamed at least one skeleton.

After failing once, Utterly Empty successfully combined two skeletons into Skeleton Horse, becoming the first player in the Server Three to own Skeleton Horse.

Vampires, on the other hand, are something that can only be admired from afar and never be attained.

999 vampire bats are needed.

Bats are already scarce.

After consuming six bottles of pet attractant and tormenting six skeletons, the Wandering Shadow finally tamed a horse!

The entire team unanimously opposed his attempt to tame a second one.

Since the newly synthesized Skeleton Horse was still in its infancy, "Utterly Empty" began buying up large quantities of Warcraft Experience Pill in the world chat.

By this time, some players had already learned of the existence of the new synthesized pet, the "Skeleton Horse," and everyone was discussing its attributes.

After all, who wouldn't yearn to own a Skeleton Warhorse imbued with the aura of the undead?

There are no flying ones, but there are running ones; riding one around would be quite impressive.

[Skeleton Horse (Mature) (Domesticated)]

[Strength 537]

[Physical Defense 632]

[Magic Defense 527]

[Undying: Theoretically possesses immortality; each time health reaches zero, a death mark is accumulated, allowing for immediate resurrection, but all attributes are halved.]

[Death Mark can accumulate up to ten stacks, and is reset to zero upon leaving combat.]

When "Utterly Empty" posted screenshots of the mature Skeleton Horse's attributes on the forum, the entire God's Domain was abuzz with excitement.

While the attribute data isn't particularly outstanding, the "immortality" skill is truly astonishing.

Imagine a battle pet that's essentially got ten lives—it's no exaggeration to say that it might still be alive even if its owner dies!

"This 'immortality' skill is outrageous! Anyone who didn't know better would think it was the player! This kind of pet seriously disrupts the balance; I suggest nerfing it!" Someone immediately commented sourly on the forum.

"While its skills are overpowered, other aspects are rather average, making it more suitable as a support-type pet."

"I'm optimistic about it; I'm already assembling a team to go to the underworld and catch a horse."

"The person upstairs is oversimplifying things. You need to catch skeletons first, and there's a probability involved in combining them."

"In short, to get the Skeleton Horse, you need to have a bit of luck."

The forum is buzzing with activity right now.

Another comment stood out. "They even used a pet attractant, and it took them six tries to get it to work. I don't think this guy with such terrible luck can expect to get a mount."

No need to guess, it must be people from the "Brotherhood" stirring up trouble there.

"Stop with the sarcastic remarks! Once I've trained the Skeleton Horse, I'll make it kick you all in the face!"

"The Wandering Shadow" displayed his fiery temper to the fullest today, a remark that drew Critical Strike smiles from many onlookers.

"Just yell at whoever answers."

"But seriously, the Skeleton Horse's immortality makes it the most useful companion right now, whether as a meat shield or a mount. Brothers, we have to charge!"

Discussions about the Skeleton Horse have been almost unanimously positive.

Among the Warcraft that can be tamed currently, its high level and long endurance make it a rare choice.

What's even more appealing is that skeletons in the underworld are far more likely to be tamed than the elusive Warcraft on the surface.

As soon as the news spread, players from all regions began flocking to the underground world.

Near the Desolate Village in the 33rd war zone.

The brothers Zheng Yingjie and Zheng Yingcai, Zhang Mingzhen's neighbors, were leading their guild members to clear out wild monsters.

They also witnessed the forum's enthusiastic response.

"Bro, the forum says the underground entrance is right below our map!"

"Hurry up and go, or you won't even have a place to stay. Luckily, we live nearby!" Zheng Yingcai said urgently.

"Don't rush, let me find some information," Zheng Yingjie said patiently.

The status of the Priest profession is different today than it used to be.

In the past, when teams went out together, Priest mostly stayed in the rear, but now major guilds are focusing on cultivating core Priest.

Zheng Yingjie is a case in point. He is both a guild manager and Priest is being given special attention and is part of the first tier of those Resource Tilt treatment.

Their main purpose in coming to the Desolate Village today is to help him level up quickly and break through level 30 as soon as possible—that way he can use his healing skills in reality.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yingcai felt a little uneasy.