Forming a contract with the little black bear Anton

So today, Lucas did not give the black bear cub any raw meat before roasting his meat. Instead, once the meat was cooked, he tossed the cub a piece.

For some time afterward, Lucas kept using this approach, building familiarity between himself and the black bear, much as he had when keeping pets before.

One day, after Lucas fed it meat again, it did something unprecedented once it finished eating. It lay down at his feet and let him scratch it. Lucas tried touching its belly and found that it did not resist.

Lucas knew then that he had succeeded. If any wild beast let you touch its most vulnerable belly, it meant it trusted you. Over the next few days, besides roasting meat for it, Lucas also scratched it and played with it.

One day, Lucas felt the time was about right and decided to try leaving. After all, back then, Bebe had only formed an Equal Contract with Linley when Linley was about to leave.

Sure enough, when Lucas did not roast any meat that day and prepared to leave, the little bear looked at him with an adorably puzzled expression. As far as it knew, it was time for Lucas to make that delicious food for it. Yet, for some reason, he still had not started today, so it ran over to his feet and began rubbing against him.

It hoped to remind Lucas to prepare its food this way, but unfortunately, the method that usually worked so well failed today. Lucas simply packed his bag and walked out of the cave without looking back.

Watching Lucas leave, the black bear cub hurried after him. Lucas knew that whether he could successfully form a contract with a magical beast depended on this attempt, so he ignored its unusually affectionate behavior!

Sure enough, when the little black bear saw Lucas walking farther away, it sped up and caught up with him. Then it rubbed against him again, but still received no response. Anxiously, it bit Lucas on the thigh, spat out its own blood, and began setting up a contract magic circle. Lucas was delighted to see this.

He knew this was the Equal Contract that magical beasts instinctively knew how to form. Sure enough, once the contract mark reached his soul, he heard a simple, childish voice say, "Eat meat, eat meat."

Ignoring his injured thigh, Lucas stroked the little fellow's head. He asked within his soul, "What's your name?"

The little fellow's answer was still to ask for meat. After Lucas briefly bandaged his thigh and calmed it down, he went off to kill a magical beast and roasted meat for them both.

After eating, the little black bear that had formed an Equal Contract with Lucas was clearly even fonder of him. Only then did Lucas ask, "What's your name?"

It thought for a moment, then told Lucas it had no name. Hearing its answer, Lucas sighed. It seemed his black bear was not as clever as Bebe. After all, Bebe was a Divine Beast cub. Lucas did not have Linley's luck; he was unlikely to pick up a Divine Beast brother without even leaving home.

Later, as Lucas gradually spent more time with it, he learned that its mother was a darkness-attribute Level Nine Magical Beast. So Lucas gave it the name Anton!

After acquiring this magical beast he had named Anton, Lucas found himself even busier than before. The little fellow now had an astonishing appetite and was also a picky, greedy eater. From the look of it, its greed for food must have come from its mother. After all, its mother had already taken it out to steal honey when it was little.

Still, things were much more interesting now than when Lucas had trained alone. Today, while taking the black bear Anton along, Lucas encountered a seventh-level Velocidragon. Since becoming a Sixth-Rank Warrior, he had yet to fight a Seventh-Level Magical Beast.

He did not intend to let this Velocidragon go today, either. Naturally, he would challenge it. After a year of growth, the black bear had become a Fourth-Rank Magical Beast.

But today, when the little fellow saw Lucas about to challenge the Velocidragon, it actually charged straight in without first knowing how to assess its strength against the Velocidragon's. Lucas had been raising this fellow like a pet all this time, and he heard its simple voice ring out. "Boss, I'll go first."

With that, it dropped onto all fours. Its chubby flesh jiggled as it charged. Lucas also understood that the black bear Anton, currently only at the fourth level, was clearly no match for the seventh-level Velocidragon. It charged forward, only to be whipped back even faster by a sweep of the Velocidragon's tail.

Lucas shook his head and charged in himself. He was no longer the man he had once been. He immediately used the Thousand Layers, Myriad Shadows Spear Technique he had comprehended in the rain and engaged the Velocidragon.

This spear technique he had comprehended from the rain increased his attack speed but did little to strengthen any individual strike. However, Lucas would often land his second thrust in the exact same spot as his first. With these overlapping attacks, although a single strike was unlikely to pierce the Velocidragon's defenses, the second could.

So, after some time, most of the Velocidragon's body had been wounded by Lucas's attacks. After one strike, Lucas heard Anton, who had just been sent flying by the Velocidragon. It spoke within his soul. "Boss, it hurts so much."

Lucas offered it a word of comfort, then said, "That's what you get for charging in so hastily without considering what level of magical beast you are."

Anton also spoke to Lucas within his soul. "Boss, hit it for me."

Lucas scolded it. He had just tested his understanding of speed-based attacks, which he had grown familiar with and strengthened during this time, on the Velocidragon. He looked at the wounded Velocidragon, which was now planning to retreat rather than attack recklessly.

Lucas swung his spear and said to it, "Sorry, it was your bad luck to run into me. Now you're no longer useful for testing my spear technique. My next thrust will take your life."

For this strike, Lucas used the Wielding Something Light as Though It Were Heavy technique he had comprehended. After Lucas killed the Velocidragon, the black bear Anton trotted eagerly over to its head and dug out its Magic Beast Core. Then Lucas heard the fellow say with a hint of regret, "What a shame. It's not a Magic Beast Core I can eat."

Lucas gave its head a light pat and said, "All right, even if it doesn't have the darkness attribute you can eat, it's still the core of a Seventh-Level Magical Beast."

After putting away the Magic Beast Core, Lucas took it away from the place where he had just killed the Velocidragon. After they left, magical beasts gathered, drawn by the smell of blood, and began devouring the Velocidragon's flesh!