"I'm getting this Size Alteration!"
Slimes were muddy, shapeless creatures that could grow bigger or smaller, so the Size Alteration skill was commonly seen only among the Slime family.
Very, very few other transcendent creatures possessed Size Alteration, making them extremely difficult to encounter.
So now that Shi Yu had actually encountered a Slime within the country, he had no intention of passing it up.
Even a monkey could learn Heaven and Earth Manifestation, so it was perfectly scientific for an Iron-Eating Beast to learn Size Alteration, right?
In any case, it was a universal skill, suitable for any pet beast to learn. Recording it would be worth it.
"Everyone, listen up!"
After leafing through the catalog for ages, Shi Yu had ultimately decided that, among the skills naturally possessed by the many creatures, Size Alteration was the one he couldn't miss. Just then, Zhou Wanshan, the professional Beast Tamer in charge of the training exercise, suddenly shouted.
"The training exercise will officially begin in half an hour. During that time, you can still stock up on food and medicine at the store beside the training base."
"But once you enter Tianmang Mountain, you won't be allowed to come back out for three days unless there are special circumstances."
In any case, each participant only had one backpack. How much they could fit in it depended on their own arrangements.
Shi Yu had naturally prepared all the basics, though they probably wouldn't last three days. He would have to find more food and such himself after entering Tianmang Mountain. He had also prepared a sleeping bag and a tool worm.
At this thought, Shi Yu felt helpless. If only the Beast Taming Space could hold other things too... Not having any spatial equipment was such a hassle.
Speaking of which, did this world have spatial equipment?
It was a question worth pondering... If it did, he had to get some in the future.
We boys have to get our hands on whatever we want.jpg.
Oh, right. Didn't that Secret Realm ruin in Ping City look like a huge piece of spatial equipment? It could even hold living things.
Shi Yu fell into deep thought...
"Shi Yu."
Just as Shi Yu was fantasizing about whether that Secret Realm ruin could also be privately owned, Chen Kai suddenly came over again.
"Want to team up? Want to team up?" Chen Kai asked twice in a row.
"Our class is planning to form a group and hunt a Berserk Python."
"My Ice Armor Beast can provide crowd control, and someone in the class has a lightning-type pet beast that can blast fish right out of the lake..."
Shi Yu asked, "We can team up this time too? Then how do we split the spoils?"
Chen Kai said, "The examiners didn't say otherwise, so I guess we can. Aren't there rare resources around the Berserk Python's lake too? There should be enough to go around."
Shi Yu shook his head. "No, you guys go ahead. I have another target."
He felt that following this bunch might not be as efficient as going alone, and it would be inconvenient too.
"Uh, well, all right."
Chen Kai would have preferred to team up with Shi Yu, but he had already agreed to go with his classmates. He couldn't help feeling disappointed.
The training base had indeed made no explicit rule about whether participants could team up. But whether they were lone wolves or small teams, they all had their eyes on the same targets: the few rare mini-bosses with growth levels above nine.
Taking down one of them might secure a place in the top twenty.
Next, Shi Yu went to the store and bought an insulated glove. It didn't take him long, and he soon returned.
There was still time before they set off, so Shi Yu simply stayed where he was and continued leafing through the catalog.
He had only looked through the ferocious beast section earlier and hadn't read the resources section yet. Gathering resources counted toward their points too. Overall, the format was much the same as in previous years' training assessments.
Hmm... Besides the ferocious beast and resource sections, the last two pages were titled "A wilderness survival tip a day. Have you learned it?"
Time passed quickly, and half an hour went by in the blink of an eye. The person in charge of the training exercise gathered everyone again.
"It is currently ten o'clock sharp. Everyone, set off immediately. You may enter the mountain through whichever of the four entrances you choose."
There was a cordon around Tianmang Mountain, with only four entrances and exits on this side. The environments they passed through would differ depending on which entrance they chose.
The Beast Tamers present had all studied the map carefully and already had hunting targets in mind, so they had some idea which way they should go.
Thus, as soon as Zhou Wanshan finished speaking, the hundred apprentice Beast Tamers immediately scattered in a crowd.
At the same time, a number of sparrow-sized Mechanical Birds took flight from the training base and the safe zones in the mountain, beginning to circle above Tianmang Mountain.
[Name]: Mechanical Bird [Attribute]: Mechanical [Species level]: Low-Level Transcendent [Species skills]: Image Storage, Acceleration [Description]: An artificial mechanical life-form used for tracking, investigation, and surveillance.
After the Mechanical Birds took flight, clear images of various locations on Tianmang Mountain began appearing on the large screens in the monitoring rooms at the training base and the safe zones.
The ferocious beasts with relatively high growth levels were monitored especially closely.
This was not only to ensure the participants' safety, but also to give the examiners a more direct view of their performance. Watching the process was one of the examiners' few pleasures. Wouldn't simply waiting for the assessment results be too boring?
At the foot of Tianmang Mountain, Shi Yu and around twenty apprentice Beast Tamers chose an entrance that would take them through the Magnetic Mountain Area along the way.
Chen Kai and his group, meanwhile, entered from another direction, preparing to hunt the Berserk Python together.
"Eleven, come out."
The outermost reaches of Tianmang Mountain had certainly been cleared, with practically no ferocious beasts roaming around. Thus, the vast majority of Beast Tamers chose to summon their pet beasts here and keep them close for protection.
Shi Yu did the same. He had checked: there were plenty of rare spirit plants on the mountain, so he didn't need to worry about Eleven using up his stamina. Eleven could eat as he walked, which should be enough to maintain his basic stamina expenditure.
"Ying?"
After emerging from the Beast Taming Space, Eleven looked around in confusion. Was this the place?
Where's the opponent? Where's the opponent? Where's the opponent?
"I'll take you to find one." Shi Yu was quite confident in the little Iron-Eating Beast's strength.
The ferocious beasts here were all wild creatures that had received no training. Most of them were probably somewhat weaker in battle than pet beasts carefully raised by Beast Tamers.
His little Iron-Eating Beast was only level six, but with Proficient Level Super Vision and High-Speed Healing, plus Expert Level Hardening, there should be no problem with his combat strength being at the top of the food chain...
As long as they didn't run into a whole group of ferocious beasts, they were invincible.
"Awoo woo woo~~"
Eleven waved his arms and followed beside Shi Yu.
Shi Yu added, "Oh, right. Keep an eye on our surroundings."
Unlike their eyesight, Iron-Eating Beasts had a keen sense of smell. Eleven, who had mastered Super Vision, had both strong vision and a strong sense of smell.
With that safeguard, they could mostly rest assured that they wouldn't encounter any sudden danger.
Next, it was time for Eleven's training. Their final destination was the Magnetic Mountain Area, and the Electric Slime!
Summoning Eleven had delayed him for a little while. Afterward, Shi Yu headed straight for the Magnetic Mountain Area with a clear goal in mind.
He glanced at the map in the catalog. To reach the Magnetic Mountain Area, he first had to cross the Wild Boar Forest...
The Wild Boar Forest was home to a ferocious beast called the Long-Spined Wild Boar. It possessed boundless strength and a fierce appearance, with sharp tusks and thick hide and flesh. Its body was covered in sharp spines like a hedgehog's that could defend against attacks. Its meat was delicious and juicy. It was a mid-level transcendent creature that would frighten any child to tears at the sight of it.
Shi Yu was still young too, and tears involuntarily flowed from the corners of his mouth.
According to the catalog, the Long-Spined Wild Boars in the Wild Boar Forest had an average growth level of Awakening Level Six. They were among the mainstay ferocious beasts in this training exercise.
Long-Spined Wild Boars probably weren't easy creatures to provoke, and they weren't weak in battle, so they were worth a fair number of points. But the more that was the case, the happier Shi Yu was.
"Eleven, I'm taking you boar hunting!"
"Awoo woo woo~~"
Wild Boar Forest.
Long-Spined Wild Boars were social transcendent creatures, but most of the time, they foraged separately within a fixed area. That gave Beast Tamers an opportunity to exploit.
Dealing with a whole group of wild boars would certainly be a headache, but most of the Beast Tamers taking part in the assessment should have some confidence in dealing with one alone.
Shi Yu and Eleven traveled along a forest path and reached the vicinity of the Wild Boar Forest. They encountered some other creatures along the way, but they were all like the Earth-Burrowing Rat, worth only a few dozen points. Shi Yu wasn't interested in them at all.
Carrying a pile of burdens along for a few dozen points was too much trouble. There were even creatures that awarded no points, like the Green Silkworm, which Shi Yu was even less willing to spare a second glance.
"Found one."
Shi Yu had only just reached the vicinity of the Wild Boar Forest when he spotted a Long-Spined Wild Boar foraging at its edge.
[Name]: Long-Spined Wild Boar [Attribute]: Earth [Species level]: Mid-Level Transcendent [Species skill]: Petrifying Fangs [Description]: Mutated and evolved from a wild boar. Skilled at charging headlong, it possesses great strength. A hit from its tusks can inflict a petrification effect on an enemy.
"Snort! Snort!! Snort, snort!!" Shi Yu and Eleven weren't the only ones who had spotted the Long-Spined Wild Boar. The boar had spotted them too.
The Long-Spined Wild Boar's natural enemies included ferocious beasts such as wolves, bears, leopards, and birds of prey. It therefore had to be wary of any sudden attack and was extremely alert, fierce, and vigilant.
Sensing danger, it raised its head. The long spines on its body suddenly bristled, and it let out warning snorts.
Accustomed to living in the wild, the Long-Spined Wild Boar knew it might have been targeted by a hunter.
It searched cautiously, but when it saw the scrawny Shi Yu and Eleven, the even smaller Iron-Eating Beast cub, it froze.
That's it?
Startled tears involuntarily flowed from the corners of the Long-Spined Wild Boar's mouth. Wild boars were omnivores that ate both plants and meat. As far as this Long-Spined Wild Boar was concerned, the tables had suddenly turned!
The hunter was me all along!
Food came right to my door!