Big Bear, Second Bear, Third Bear

Big Bear, Second Bear, Third Bear

The three little bears lay in their cradle, eyes closed as they snuggled together, seemingly trying to find the warmest spot to sleep.

But only after the sturdier Big Bear forcibly squeezed into the most comfortable, warmest position closest to the middle did Second Bear and Third Bear, unable to beat him, resign themselves to it and slowly drift off to sleep with snores.

William had just fed them goat's milk, his palm smoothing the fur of the three little cubs. These three little treasures were anything but ordinary.

According to his earlier assessment,

Big Bear possessed High-Rank Magical Beast Bloodline, while Second Bear and Third Bear both possessed Mid-Rank Magical Beast Bloodline.

In the early stages of the game, let alone obtaining a High-Level Monster, any player who had the aid of even a Mid-Level Monster that could gradually grow would become the prized favorite of a guild. They could even hold their own before minor nobles of a duchy.

In short, the sense of superiority was ridiculously strong.

Although the stronger the bloodline rank, the slower the growth, as long as food was plentiful, magical beasts grew far faster than intelligent races.

William picked up a fluffy blanket and covered the three cubs, leaving only their little heads exposed to breathe, then quietly left the room.

"Take good care of them. I don't want to hear about any accidents!" William told the servant standing by the door.

"Yes, my lord. I swear I'll watch over these adorable little ones at all times!" The maid secretly glanced at the three cubs inside. She had never expected them to grow into terrifying Frenzied Giant Bears, but they were truly adorable when they were little...

"Mm. Starting from now, you'll receive an extra silver coin every month as a reward." As a lord, William Blackleaf could hardly avoid having servants. Besides, plenty of commoners could not even feed themselves and were desperate to become his servants.

Siya, with her ample chest and long legs, stood prettily to one side, lowering her head in thought. She seemed thoroughly puzzled. How had this guy changed so much?

He had gained quite a lot from that trip.

After destroying an Orc tribe, he had also seized an Iron Ore Vein and three magical beast cubs.

As long as they opened their eyes in three or four days and saw him first, making them recognize him as their master would be effortless.

Of course.

Bear cubs were also highly sensitive to scents.

The servants only needed to make sure nothing happened to the cubs and clean up their droppings. At other times, whether feeding them milk or grooming their fur, William basically had to do it himself.

"Siya, do you like those bear cubs?" William walked over and asked.

"I do. They're such adorable little things..." Siya answered without thinking.

"Then how about I give you one?"

"Really? No, no, forget it. I can't afford to raise a Frenzied Giant Bear..." Siya hurriedly shook her head. Her meager income was practically all spent on magical materials. How could she possibly afford to raise a magical beast?

William Blackleaf smiled. "Even if you can't afford one, you can come visit them more often. Bear-type magical beasts won't easily attack familiar scents, and besides, I can command them."

"Can I come every day? What if they accidentally open their eyes and see me?" Siya asked, her eyes widening.

"It's fine. At worst, I'll help you raise it then!" William said generously.

"Then... thank you, my lord!" Siya did not know what else to say and hurried away.

Watching Siya run off, William rubbed his hands together. "An Epic-Class bloodline Mage—she's bound to become an Archmage. My dear mother, you really did leave me quite a few talents, all of them equipped with all sorts of gear..."

Name: Siya

Race: Black Leaf Elf

Class: Intermediate Water Mage

Level: 41

Bloodline Potential: Epic-Class (Base Attributes +28%)

Talent: Intermediate Life. 1 point of Stamina equals 40 Health.

Talent: Water Elemental Light. Casting any water-element spell increases its effect by 30%. Every 100 Intelligence reduces water-element skill cooldowns by 20%.

Talent: Mid-Class Magic. 1 point of Intelligence = 1.2 Magic Attack

Health: 8800

Stamina: ...

Mana: ...

It was worth mentioning that Battle Aura and Mana were things one only acquired after changing classes at level 10.

At that point, both players and NPCs could learn battle aura manuals or meditation manuals.

Their ranks were low, intermediate, high, Grandmaster, Epic, Legendary, and so on.

In short, the higher the rank of a manual, the more Mana or Battle Aura it granted, while also possessing certain special effects.

For example, increasing skill power or activating some kind of Battle Aura Shield.

When players sought out class-change NPCs, they could generally only learn low-rank or intermediate-rank manuals.

High-rank manuals required completing relatively difficult quests, but players could obtain them as long as they were patient.

However, Grandmaster manuals and those above them required fortuitous encounters, auction houses, special NPCs, black-market shops, mysterious merchants, or even the private collections of certain class instructors.

And the price of manuals was terrifyingly expensive.

A low-rank manual only cost 10 silver coins. Players who could leave the Novice Village could afford all the manuals and skills they needed upon changing classes, as long as they spent carefully.

But an intermediate-rank manual cost 1 gold coin...

One gold coin might not seem expensive, but for independent players who had just entered the game, it was practically a fatal blow. Without a lucky encounter and without wanting to spend real money, they could only honestly save up.

But even spending real money in this game could not exchange for gold coins...

Other than outfits, the shop only sold outfits. Otherwise, under the guise of selling monthly cards, it would be selling attributes. In this day and age, what game company would dare do that?

How did NetEase go bankrupt?

It was because its monthly-card game sold attributes, and twenty-third-century players flamed it all the way into bankruptcy, boycotting every game under its banner!

And outfits, obviously, did not add any attributes. Their only feature was that they looked good and could be worn over equipment.

But even the cheapest outfit cost 100 yuan. Of course, outfits could also be sold to certain noble NPCs.

However, that required raising the NPC's favorability high enough and depended on whether the NPC was interested.

If an NPC really wanted to buy one, players could earn quite a few gold coins.

The shop did not sell resurrection coins, and this game had no resurrection class either. After level 30, players only had six resurrections per day. Every death cost a certain amount of experience, could even cause a level loss, and randomly dropped equipment. After more than six deaths, they would be barred from logging in for 10 hours.

Of course, this restriction was only implemented after players had become Intermediate-Class Professionals on a large scale.

This was also meant to make battles between players more balanced and to create greater balance between players and NPCs.

But this was still a game, after all.

The company behind the game existed to make money—and to make money through healthy development. It could not possibly operate at a loss, so it still enabled a trading system.

That was, using RMB to buy equipment and gold coins.

The only ones with room to maneuver were the clubs, because every club had a guild under its banner. Players gathered in those guilds for the sake of their idols.

They were often willing to contribute a small portion of their equipment or gold coins to help professional players grow stronger quickly.

The prerequisite was that professional players had to win Glory!

Getting flamed like a dog after losing was no empty threat.

A new week—ah!!! So it was another week of begging for recommendation votes.