The Furnace Assessment (Please Follow, Favorite, Recommend!)

Chapter Two

First and foremost, the most important thing was to seize the strongest Earth Rhino Beast with the greatest potential in the Beast Field.

No matter what the evaluation criteria would be in ten days, securing the best Earth Rhino Beast was clearly the key to survival.

Lynn and the others had not been in The Furnace for long. They did not even count as true First-Level Apprentices. After only a few days of training, each of them had been issued a copy of the Basic Meditation Method and driven straight into the Beast Field.

At this moment, without the support of any sorcery, all they could rely on were their own fists, feet, and physiques.

Lynn subconsciously squeezed his arm. It was loose and scrawny, utterly lacking in strength.

His family had not been well-off. During his growing years, he had often gone hungry, leaving him thin and shriveled, a stark contrast to those robust youths his age.

He swept his gaze around and found that most people were much like him—undernourished, sallow-faced, and painfully thin.

But some clearly came from privileged backgrounds. They were tall, broad-built, and strong, naturally holding an advantage in this brutal competition.

At that moment, the Earth Rhino Beasts lay lazily in the Beast Field. Every one of them was still juvenile, no bigger than a kitten, and seemingly posed no threat.

Taming them was not difficult, but the real question was whether one could keep them afterward.

The moment someone set their sights on an Earth Rhino Beast, another person might very well snatch it away by force. Being able to hold on to it was the real issue.

Lynn took a deep breath. After sorting through the situation, he did not feel entirely without an advantage. During the previous days of training, with Heaven Rewards Diligence aiding him, he had become intimately familiar with everything related to Earth Rhino Beasts.

At this moment, no one in this Beast Field understood Earth Rhino Beasts better than he did!

"Choose an Earth Rhino Beast with the best foundation to raise..."

Lynn recalled the criteria for judging the quality of an Earth Rhino Beast.

Suddenly, a shrill scream ripped through the air.

Lynn instinctively turned his head. Not far away, a gaunt youth was clutching an Earth Rhino Beast in decent condition, a hint of pride on his face.

But the next moment, a sturdy youth a full head taller than him lashed out with a kick, brutally sending the gaunt youth flying.

The Earth Rhino Beast slipped from his grasp. The sturdy youth bent down without hesitation and picked it up in one swift motion.

The robbed youth gritted his teeth and tried to rise in retaliation, but the other boy slapped him unconscious. He collapsed to the ground and did not move again.

Lynn frowned, his gaze falling on the youth lying on the ground.

If he woke up after all the better Earth Rhino Beasts had already been claimed, his chances of survival would plummet.

At this rate, ten days from now, this youth was almost certain to become the first person eliminated...

Four words: a dead end!

Lynn took a deep breath and tightened his robe around himself. At the same time, he heightened his vigilance, guarding against everyone around him to the utmost degree.

He moved silently, beginning to search through the Beast Pen for his target.

The Beast Pen was not particularly large. There were only a few dozen Earth Rhino Beasts inside, and the strongest, most powerfully built ones had already been taken by the tall, sturdy youths.

Lynn and the other frail youths could only choose from the Earth Rhino Beasts that had been discarded.

"Earth Rhino Beasts are magical beasts. These people are choosing magical beasts based only on their size. Truly all brawn and no brains..."

Lynn crouched down and inspected the remaining Earth Rhino Beasts one by one.

"This one is not large, but the color deep within its pupils is darker. Its bloodline concentration should be quite good. Keep it as a candidate."

"This one has actually grown scales on its belly. It is nearly past its juvenile stage. It is definitely one of the most talented here, and no one noticed it at all!"

"This one is not bad either..."

After examining several in succession, Lynn indeed found many magical beasts with high bloodline concentrations despite their smaller builds.

According to the knowledge he had mastered, this was not unusual. For magical beasts, body size was only temporary. Bloodline concentration was what determined their eventual potential.

Suddenly, Lynn's eyes lit up, and his gaze settled on an Earth Rhino Beast the size of a kitten.

This Earth Rhino Beast was exceptionally lively, continually yowling at him with wary eyes.

From the color of its pupils, the shape of its scales, and the extent of their growth, Lynn judged that it was the best one he had found so far.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lynn chose this Earth Rhino Beast!

Though he was thin, dealing with a juvenile Earth Rhino Beast was not particularly difficult.

He swiftly curled himself up within his robe, carefully keeping his exposed skin from being scratched by its claws. Then he gently pressed the Earth Rhino Beast down with his soft abdomen, firmly restraining it.

The Earth Rhino Beast struggled fiercely, but Lynn was extremely patient. Whenever it calmed down, he loosened his hold by a tiny amount, repeating the process over and over.

Gradually, the Earth Rhino Beast's resistance grew weaker and weaker, until it finally submitted completely beneath Lynn's control.

Lynn let out a breath of relief. He carefully picked up the Earth Rhino Beast and gently stroked the rough scales on its body.

No matter what, during the coming days of the assessment, he and this Earth Rhino Beast would have to depend on each other for survival. Their fates were now tightly intertwined.

"I mean no harm to the tiger, but the tiger may still mean me harm."

Lynn silently cautioned himself.

He no longer regarded the people around him as "companions." Instead, he saw them as potential enemies.

After all, aside from making one's own Earth Rhino Beast stronger, finding ways to make other people's Earth Rhino Beasts weaker—or even killing them outright—was also an extremely effective competitive tactic.

Especially now, when these Earth Rhino Beasts were all juvenile, their bodies as delicate as kittens.

Anyone with ill intent needed only make the slightest move to silently take the lives of these young beasts.

"The Beast Pen is fairly large. During these ten days of assessment, I should avoid everyone as much as possible..."

Lynn hugged the Earth Rhino Beast tightly and deliberately kept his distance from the others as he cautiously headed deeper into the Beast Pen.

The Beast Pen truly covered a considerable area. After all, it was the place within The Furnace specifically used to raise magical beasts.

But even so, danger was still everywhere.

Lynn constantly reminded himself:

"Do not go too far, lest I accidentally enter the territory of some powerful magical beast. Stay within the safe area, find some fruit to stave off hunger, and study the Basic Meditation Method..."

He carefully passed through a patch of dense forest and found a concealed corner that sheltered him from wind and rain. He gently set down the Earth Rhino Beast, treating it as a temporary "home."

"Ten days. During that time, I need to make sure the Earth Rhino Beast eats well, drinks well, sleeps well, and stays protected..."

Lynn pinched the bridge of his nose and narrowed his eyes as a stream of information surfaced in his mind.

Name: Lynn Cole

Realm: None

Talent: Heaven Rewards Diligence [As long as you work hard, you will surely gain something!]

Progress:

Earth Rhino Beast Rearing Knowledge [100%]

Basic Meditation Method [35%]

With Heaven Rewards Diligence, Lynn had already mastered Earth Rhino Beast Rearing Knowledge by heart. He was confident that if things proceeded normally, he would be the one laughing in the end.

But the problem was that unfair competition was highly likely to occur in the Beast Pen. Those brawny fellows would very likely rely on their fists.

"Fortunately, they distributed a meditation method. As long as I work harder and raise my proficiency! Together with the Earth Rhino Beast, I will have some means of self-protection..."

Lynn's thoughts were clear. He took a book from the pocket of his robe. Its title was Basic Meditation Method.