It was a team of six, three men and three women, making their way through a dense forest dappled with sunlight.
At the front walked a burly, bald man carrying a shield half a person's height on his back. Every step he took over the dead leaves made a dull rustling sound.
Beside him followed a young woman with a ponytail, holding a short staff. The Weird Crystal set into its tip glimmered faintly in the sunlight.
Behind them were a brother and sister who looked alike. The brother had two short blades hanging at his waist, while the sister was empty-handed, but her eyes kept sweeping the surrounding treetops as though searching for something.
At the rear walked two women side by side. The one on the left wore a loose robe embroidered with several beast patterns. She was the central figure of this expedition into the mountains.
Fang Lin, of the beast spirit summoner sequence.
The woman on the right carried a longbow and served as the team's ranged scout.
"Lin, your requirements for this third-tier summoned beast are way too high."
The bald man pushed aside a branch blocking their way and turned back to complain. "You insist on finding a top third-tier one. There are plenty of third-tier fierce beasts in these mountains, but the top ones aren't easy to come across."
Fang Lin smiled, but before she could speak, the archer beside her answered first. "Obviously. Lin finally managed to break through to the third tier. Wouldn't she be wasting a slot if she just grabbed some ordinary third-tier fierce beast and contracted it?"
"Someone in the beast spirit summoner sequence can only contract a handful of summoned beasts in their lifetime. Every single one has to be carefully selected."
"I know, I know. That's