Anyone holding a Contract Card could form a special connection with it. In simpler terms, the cardholder gained the ability to channel their mental intent into the black card.
This was the key to capturing a pet beast!
Forming a contract with a pet beast involved three steps.
First, hold the Contract Card.
Second, choose the target, strengthen your mental impression of it, and channel your intense desire to contract it into the card.
Third, bring the Contract Card close to the target creature.
Once the Contract Card approached the target creature, the card carrying the beastmaster's mental power would attempt to capture it.
A successful capture meant the contract was complete.
"Arwoo-"
Lu Ran smoothly completed all three steps. Enveloped in a white halo, General Ha seemed to sense Lu Ran's distinctive presence within the light and offered no resistance.
With a bewildered whine, General Ha vanished from the spot, wrapped in the white halo, as though he had turned into a ray of light and been absorbed by the black card.
At that very moment, Lu Ran's mind suddenly roared. A wonderfully comfortable warmth spread through his body, and the mental fatigue from channeling his intent vanished instantly!
More remarkably, he could feel a much closer connection with the Contract Card and General Ha!
"Amazing." A glimmer flashed across Lu Ran's eyes. With a thought, the fallen Contract Card disappeared and reappeared in his hand as if it had teleported.
He hadn't possessed that ability a moment ago.
Only after completing the contract had he become fully bound to the Contract Card!
The black Contract Card had also undergone some changes.
An image of a husky appeared across the upper half of one side, replacing the plain black surface.
That was obviously General Ha...
Beneath the image was a collection of descriptions in white text.
[Species]: Snowfield Dog [Attribute]: Unawakened [Species rank]: Mid-tier extraordinary [Growth level]: Level 1 [Skills]: None
"It's just like a game card." Looking at the image and information that had appeared on the black card, Lu Ran grew even more puzzled about its origins.
Just who had created something like this, and for what purpose?
But what concerned Lu Ran more was that the series of prompts he had seen upon first receiving the black card had all disappeared. In their place, a mysterious countdown appeared before his eyes.
[Countdown to Newbie Trial Secret Realm teleportation: 59:59]
Lu Ran fell silent, unsurprised by the appearance of the 59:59 countdown.
This must have been the stage where that person who posted had bitten the dust, right?
So the newbie quest really was followed by a newbie trial. Pretty much what I expected.
"General Ha, come out."
"Arwoo-" Holding the black card, Lu Ran summoned General Ha out again with a thought.
A huge circular summoning formation first appeared on the floor. Then, as its light erupted and faded, General Ha appeared on top of it, a full size larger than before.
General Ha had remained utterly dumbstruck throughout the entire process. The moment he emerged, he spun in circles, inspecting his enlarged body, unable to make sense of the changes that had happened to him.
He could clearly feel that he had become sturdier. His strength, eyesight, sense of smell, and other abilities had all improved. Most importantly, his appetite had probably increased too.
He was starving. After two circles, his stomach began to growl... so he turned another pitiful look on Lu Ran.
"Eat first. We still have plenty of time," Lu Ran said.
They would soon be entering a dangerous place, so he really did need to make sure General Ha was well fed and watered first.
Lu Ran immediately went to prepare General Ha's food.
Pig's trotters, minced meat, chopped vegetables, meat and vegetable soup...
Today's menu was relatively simple, mostly because there was no time to make anything complicated.
"Awoo!" General Ha gave an excited howl before diving headfirst into his food bowl.
As General Ha wolfed down his meal, Lu Ran studied him. Previously, General Ha had only counted as a medium-sized dog, but now he rivaled a large dog in size.
No wonder that pet cat I saw earlier was so big. Once strengthened, pet beasts clearly became much more powerfully built!
Great!
"My strength has increased too."
"But I don't seem to have gotten any taller."
While General Ha ate, Lu Ran first weighed himself, then measured his height. Finally, he went to his room, took out a one-handed sword, and gave it a few swings. It felt considerably easier to handle.
Lu Ran's family was actually quite well-off.
His parents had both been renowned zoologists.
His privileged upbringing had not only fostered his interest in all kinds of animals, but also allowed him to develop plenty of other hobbies.
For instance, like most teenagers, Lu Ran was interested in swords and firearms. His parents had been very supportive of his varied interests, so they had sent him to a well-known swordsmanship dojo when he was young. During one vacation, he had even gone to Hawaii with his dad and learned to shoot there.
Those previously impractical hobbies now had some use. He was about to be teleported into a "trial secret realm," and perhaps he could bring a weapon to defend himself.
In the past, fierce as General Ha was, Lu Ran had been confident that he could easily subdue him with a weapon in hand.
Now, however, he could vaguely sense that the contract's enhancement had pushed General Ha's combat abilities beyond those of an "ordinary dog." His fighting strength should rival fierce beasts like lions and tigers. He was already an extraordinary breed of dog.
By comparison, although Lu Ran had also received some enhancement, it was nowhere near as substantial as his pet beast's. The main new ability he had gained was simply greater control over General Ha.
Under those circumstances, having a suitable weapon to defend himself... seemed extremely important. After all, he couldn't rely entirely on his pet beast. He just didn't know whether a weapon could be teleported along with him.
"And this... I'll bring it too." Lu Ran put down the Iron-Slashing Sword he had paid to have custom-made, opened a drawer, and took out an accessory.
It was a pendant: a small white horn shaped like a broken deer antler, threaded onto a cord. It looked quite old.
Supposedly, it was a protective family heirloom from his mother's side, passed down through generation after generation. As something his mother had left behind, it clearly offered Lu Ran emotional comfort at that moment.
Thinking of his parents brought another wave of sadness. They had been killed in an attack while investigating an undiscovered rare beast overseas. Their bodies had never been found; all that remained was a recording of their screams as they were torn apart...
Lu Ran had never believed that his parents were simply gone. He had always wanted to travel to that rainforest himself and search for them. When Fang Lan had heard him say he was interested in hunting, she had assumed he was once again considering a trip into the wilderness. But as Lu Ran had said, if he really went somewhere that dangerous, how could he rely on a dog like General Ha as his only hunting companion? Wouldn't that be marching to his death? Why not use his financial superpower to hire a professional team instead?
But now...
Putting on the antler pendant and taking up the Iron-Slashing Sword, Lu Ran returned to the living room. General Ha had already finished a bowl of food and was lounging lazily on the floor...
Seeing Lu Ran come out, he glanced over, then stood up, panting with a grin.
"Woof!!"
Lu Ran's face darkened.
Because the fellow was saying that the feeling earlier had been pretty nice, and asking whether Lu Ran could do it again!
Apparently... he wanted to become even stronger.
"You really are greedy. There's no more of that, but you'll have plenty of fights ahead."
"If we can beat our opponents and make it back safely, you might become stronger."
"Arwoo?" General Ha froze, then adopted a fierce expression. He took a few steps, put on the sunglasses from beneath the coffee table, and began radiating swagger.
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