Outside the gloomy jungle, the stronghold is stationed.
Gray-white stone walls are built to protect the stronghold. It is like a small town, with necessary facilities and the Beacon Tower.
Because we are at a stronghold, the stratus clouds in the sky here are Beacon Penetration, and a little sunshine shines through the holes.
After the last expedition, Xilu Tia returned to the Thetis Academy with some things, and came here again through the teleportation under the position of Beacon.
The sun was shining slantly, and Penetration's green canopy fell into the pool below. Sylutia walked out of it with his suitcase and walked towards the small town not far away.
The environment here is good. Because of the protection of the stronghold, it has not been eroded by Distortion. She can see the grass spreading at the foot of the stone wall, and the soles of her shoes are soft when she steps on it.
After entering the stronghold, Sylutia came to the Mage Guild in the small town again, sat in front of the counter, and put the suitcase beside him for the time being.
"Welcome, classmate Hedra." The lady at the counter remembered this girl and greeted her.
"Are you here to pick up Shadow-Walking Beast, who was previously fostered?"
"That's right, I went back to the Academy to get some things this time." Sylutia went back to school and borrowed a few books, then bought some Alchemy and Pharmacy materials, and brought some instruments and equipment over, but they were installed in the storage space.
"Okay, please come with me." After saying that, the lady at the counter led her out of the hall and to the animal enclosure not far next door.
There are not many permanent personnel in this stronghold, probably more than 200 people, and nearly half of them are official personnel of the Mage Alliance. Maintaining such a stronghold can be said to be a bit of a loss, because each person has to pay remuneration and resource supplies.
According to the classification of strongholds in the Mage Alliance, this is considered a second-level stronghold, which is better than the first-level stronghold.
Woodland Alliance's side does not have detailed levels, but Sylutia based on the comparison of impressions in her memory, the Golden Radiance Plain where she stayed before is probably equivalent to the five-level strongholds on the Mage Alliance's side, which is the batch of large cities.
The first-level strongholds are often simple camps, without even teleportation facilities, and are just places for supplies and rest. The second-level strongholds are similar to villages and towns, with the most basic facilities and at least a hundred people stationed there.
Walking through the streets in the stronghold, Sylutia came to the animal enclosure, where many war beasts and beasts of burden were raised. Many people would rent one or two beasts of burden to carry heavy luggage and bring back trophies when exploring. Although war beasts cannot be fully relied on for their combat effectiveness, their auxiliary role is very valuable. Whether it is detective, vigilance or hunting, they can well assist the expedition.
"Hey, little girl, do you want to buy a war beast? The bag will come in handy and make your adventure worry-free." After walking into the noisy animal enclosure, a dark-skinned Beast Tamer walked over. He was wearing a cowhide hat, leather armor and trousers, with a whip and some gadgets hanging around his waist.
"Hello, no need at the moment, thank you." Sylutia waved his hand to indicate that he did not need it.
"Hey, don't be nervous. You may have never seen it before. Taking a reliable partner to take an adventure can save you a lot of trouble." As he spoke, a large khaki dog trotted over from behind him, with its tail like a waving cattail leaf fan. It patted its owner's long legs from time to time, and looked at Sylutia and the counter lady curiously.
"Okay, Uncle Muke, this classmate is here to pick up Shadow-Walking Beast, who was fostered before." The receptionist interrupted.
"Oh, it turns out you were the one who caught it. It's really not to be underestimated." He made an exaggerated expression and stopped selling. Instead, he patted the big dog beside him and led the two of them towards the animal enclosure.
Along the way Sylutia saw many animals raised here, including First Order's Brown-Haired Horse, Domesticated Hound, Black Parrot, There were also two "Black Savage Bull" with large curved horns at both ends. As for the third-order ones, I only saw one "Thunder Wolf" with a chain in the corner. When several people passed by, it opened its eyes and looked at it, and then continued to close its eyes and sleep.
"This wolf has been tamed. If you want it, I can transfer it to you for 2,000 gold coins, guaranteed to be worth the money."
"Uh, thank you, no need." Sylutia shook his head again.
"It's okay. If a classmate asks for it in the future, you can also recommend it. I will give you 200 gold coins as an agency fee." The other party made a serious sales pitch.
As he spoke, he got into a fence, and after some operations, unlocked the fence door and opened it.
"Come in, the other end Shadow-Walking Beast is locked in here."
The two passed through a special fence and entered a closed house. After opening two doors again, Sylutia saw Shadow-Walking Beast in a special cage.
When it saw Beast Tamer, this guy bared his teeth and growled, but when Sylutia appeared in front of it, it quickly put away its fierce expression and lay down with its tail between its legs, not daring to move.
"Oh, it seems that you have left a big psychological shadow on it." Beast Tamer smiled.
"This way training will be very simple. How about you learn from me? The tuition is not high and I only charge you 200 gold coins."
"Ahem, Uncle Muke, didn't you say before that 100 gold coins would be enough?" The upright lady at the counter couldn't help but expose it.
"Hey, why don't you know how to do business? If you had just said a few nice words, I would definitely give you a share of the agency fee later." The uncle had an unteachable expression on his face.
While listening to the conversation between the two, Sylutia came to the cage and squatted down, looking at the Shadow-Walking Beast with curious eyes. Only then did he pay attention to some details that he had not noticed before.
This guy's fur really doesn't reflect any light. If it doesn't open its eyes, you can't see clearly where the eyes are or what their outline is. The white walls around it make it difficult to hide itself.
After complaining to the lady at the counter, Beast Tamer Muke once again turned his attention to the girl in front of him.
"When I first came here, this guy had seventeen broken bones. I spent several days setting his bones and healing his wounds. Fortunately, this guy had good recovery. His bones were basically healed after three days. He then tried to escape from prison, but luckily he was discovered by the war beasts in the animal pen and blocked him back." He said with a little pride.
"Is this guy easy to train?" Sylutia pointed at Shadow-Walking Beast.
"I have never trained this one before, but its temperament is not much different from other wolf dogs, so it is not difficult to train it." The other person replied, rubbing his chin.
"Generally speaking, if you want to tame a war beast, the other party must have a minimum of intelligence. Some things are too stupid and cannot be tamed at all."
"However, sometimes if they are too smart, they will become cunning and even pretend."
"Third-level beasts are basically intelligent, and fourth-level beasts are very smart and can catch up with human children. Fifth Order is not much different from humans." He summarized roughly.
After listening, Sylutia thought about it and decided to ask this uncle for advice on how to train Shadow-Walking Beast. At least the other party would be more obedient and she could try out some secret techniques.
"It's a wise choice. Don't worry, I will definitely teach you everything I can to help you become a master of animal taming." The other party agreed with a laugh.
After discussing the time and arrangements for teaching, Xilu Tia, with the help of the receptionist, rented a small house here as a temporary residence.
In the afternoon, Sylutia took Key to open the small house in the corner of the stronghold. After cleaning it, he put on the new sheets and quilts he brought, and then sat down to rest.
The old wooden table in front of me looks old, and the dark brown wood grain feels slightly rough to the touch. Because it has just been wiped, the water vapor on it has evaporated, making it a little cool to the touch.
Sylutia lay on the table, resting his head on his arms, looking sideways at the open window not far away. A gentle breeze passed through the room from there, slightly blowing the hair on the girl's shoulders, bringing a soft and comfortable feeling.
It feels like summer.
Leaning on the table, Sylutia's eyes gradually closed and he had a short dream.
It was also summer, or summer vacation. Because she didn't go to school, life suddenly became a little quieter from the usual bustle. After staying at home for a long time, she occasionally felt a touch of loneliness. Until one day, a familiar classmate came to her downstairs and asked her to go out to play.
Unfortunately, now she can no longer remember the names and appearances of her former classmates, and those distant memories are as blurry as dreams.
The next day, early morning.
Stepping on the gravel-paved path, Sylutia walked to the place agreed yesterday in a simple sarong. The main body of this sarong was off-white, with emerald green fabric embellishments on the sides, cuffs, and underside of the skirt, making it look quite close to nature and approachable.
Sylutia, dressed like this, looks like the farm girl next door, exuding a certain intimacy and cuteness.
After arriving at the animal enclosure, Sylutia lightly knocked on the door knocker, and soon the big yellow dog that he saw yesterday came running over quickly, wagging its tail, -
It jumped up, pushed the latch with its mouth, opened the door, and then circled happily around Sylutia.
"Did you open the door?" Sylutia bent down and touched its plush head.
Afterwards, guided by the big yellow dog, she walked into the animal enclosure and saw the uncle who was still yawning.
"Oh, it's Hedra. You came really early." He stretched and became more energetic.
"Come with me, it happens to be feeding time in the morning, so you can get familiar with the training techniques."
Afterwards, the uncle led the girl to the house where Shadow-Walking Beast was imprisoned, and began to teach many experiences and techniques along the way.
After entering, he brought a food bowl with a lot of bones and minced meat in it, and then opened the door inside.
After that came the specific training process. He demonstrated it first and then asked Xilu Tia to follow it.
Two hours passed like this. After finishing the morning training, he went to the room and took out an old book and threw it to Sylutia.
"Sit here and read for a while. This book is quite useful. Although I have taught you a lot, there may be some omissions. This book is very complete."
Sylutia stood up on tiptoes, caught the heavy book, and opened it curiously.
<Herding and Walking>(Kreqia")
Sitting under the pavilion made of thatched grass, Sylutia put the book on the stone table in front of him, spread it out, and read page by page.
This book was written hundreds of years ago. The author is Orc, who was born in a tribe. He has lived a nomadic life since he was a child. He not only has to herd various livestock in the family and train war animals, but also has to resist attacks on livestock by various wild beasts, and has accumulated a lot of experience.
He was promoted to the third level after reaching adulthood. Because of his superb beast training skills, he was selected by the local Orc overlord. As a member of his team, he was responsible for training more powerful beasts, including second and third level beasts.
Later, he accumulated more and more experience, and arrived at Fifth Order at the age of fifty, becoming the new Orc overlord, commanding several tribes.
However, his strength is not invincible, because there is a stronger warlord Orc above him. That big shot is interested in his beast-taming skills and asked him to summarize his experience and write it into a book. Although his own writing skills are not good, with the help of scholars sent by warlord Orc, he slowly completed the book.
Read this book to get the following Secret History Knowledge:
Attached is Class: The complete promotion process of third-level Class[Beast Tamer]. Attached abilities are: [Beast-Training Whistle][Exultant Horn][Command of Dominion]
Included knowledge: Transformation Ceremony·Steel-Ferocious War Dog, "Contract Ceremony·Pulse Rhythm Synergy", fighting animal training skills, common knowledge of livestock habits, and food preparation experience. Although the uncle's teachings are average, every word in this book is indeed the essence. Sylutia was fascinated by it, and it was noon before he knew it.
"You're still reading, aren't you hungry?" The uncle who had finished his work came over and was a little surprised to see Sylutia still sitting there reading.
"Is it noon?" The girl put down her book and it seemed that it was time to go to eat.
After leaving the animal pen, Sylutia went to the only tavern in the stronghold to dine. Many of the people dining here were residents of the stronghold. There were not many students who actually came here to explore and perform missions.
Sylutia After sitting down, finishing ordering and waiting, I heard a few people talking there.
"Gloomy Forest It's still too dangerous. I was almost bitten to death by a poisonous snake when I went to the second floor. Fortunately, my teammates brought an antidote serum."
"Later, when we were walking back, we encountered a few bats. A team member who was walking behind was attacked, and we only found out."
"I heard there are even scarier giant spiders, but I haven't encountered them yet."
"The risk level of 4★ is still too high." Several people discussed and prepared to change places.
In addition to these third-level Mage, Sylutia also saw some second-level Mage apprentices. They should not be students of advanced Academy, but came to take risks to collect herbs outside the Secret Realm.
Although Distortion erosion will bring danger, there are also many resources in the depths of the Twilight Sea, and some of them will spill over to the surface and be captured by World of Shadows. The quality of these herbs is mostly at level 1-2, which is not highly regarded by ordinary Mage, but it is different for them.
Because they cannot pass the advanced Academy exams, these wild Mage apprentices either go to small schools to study, or they make their own money, and then find some large schools to receive public teaching of secret techniques.
Large schools will sell some middle- and lower-level secret arts or non-core knowledge to the outside world, which can be learned at the cost of expensive gold coins. On the one hand, it can increase income. On the other hand, if there is a genius who is very suitable for the school, it can also be discovered and recruited.
Mithril Clock"There are not many secret arts taught to the public. Sylutia remembers that there are only three spells: Mithril Blossoms, "Analysis", and Shining Star. If If you really enter the school of study, you will know that "Mithril Blossoms" is a spell model under the series of rune courses "Mercury Rune". The other two are also the practical application of a small part of the knowledge in the series of courses.
Two minutes later, the shortbread barbecue ordered by Sylutia was brought by the waiter, along with a glass of ice-cold pomegranate juice. She picked it up and felt it was slightly hot. She took a bite and the aroma of the shortbread and meat slices filled the air.
The summer breeze was warm, and a little sunlight from the window fell on the hem of her skirt. In the light, a few hairs on the side of the girl's ears became transparent.