"Welcome."
On the outskirts of town, at the Gale Pet Beast Shop.
Luo Yu finally arrived at his destination.
The island's three pet beast shops selling Mid-Rank species respectively sold "wind-type mutant beasts, Gale Butterflies," "lightning-type mutant beasts, Thunderbolt Shrimp," and "ice-type mutant beasts, Cold Mist Lizards."
Of those, the Gale Butterfly had an initial form.
Its lower form, the Wind-Entwining Worm... was a Low-Rank Ordinary Species... its species ability was "Wind Gathering," which could gather fierce air currents around its body to deter predators.
It sounded no different from the Ink Fish's "Ink Spray." Both were purely life-saving skills, with no offensive power to speak of.
But once it evolved, it would instantly defy the heavens and change its fate!
When its life level reached level 6, it would evolve into a Wind-Entwining Pupa; at level 11, it would evolve again into a Gale Butterfly, shedding its mortal body and becoming a Mid-Rank Ordinary Species flying pet beast with the "Wind Control" ability.
Thanks to that evolutionary potential, and the fact that its initial form, the Wind-Entwining Worm, was especially cheap at just 998 Alliance Coins apiece, it sold exceptionally well and was affordable to ordinary people.
Compared with other Mid-Rank Ordinary Species that routinely cost tens of thousands, the Wind-Entwining Worm had one of the lowest costs of entry. It was also the only juvenile Mid-Rank species Luo Yu could currently get his hands on...
But the shop owners weren't philanthropists.
Getting a Wind-Entwining Worm to complete its evolution was simply too difficult.
Common Species mutant beasts had a maximum life level of only 40, and Low-Rank Ordinary Species were at the very bottom of the Common Species. Even breaking through the minor bottleneck at level 10 was as hard as ascending to heaven.
So rather than Wind-Entwining Worms, what the Gale Pet Beast Shop sold might better be described as "superior bloodlines" and "cultivation resources."
The shop's founder was a Senior Level Beast Taming Master and the leader of the Gale Merchant Fleet. His Gale Butterfly was the direct bloodline ancestor of every Wind-Entwining Worm in the shop.
The shop promised that as long as a customer bought a Wind-Entwining Worm there and consistently raised it on the food designated by the shop, its eventual evolution was guaranteed...
But if they didn't buy the shop's feed... the shop wouldn't guarantee that the Wind-Entwining Worms it sold would evolve successfully.
It was a textbook case of tied selling. The money spent on the worm was nothing more than a "down payment."
"Are you here to buy a Wind-Entwining Worm?" In the pet beast shop's reception hall, a clerk came up to greet him with a smile.
"Mm." Luo Yu nodded, looking through the glass wall toward the back of the shop.
The entire shop was a simulated garden enclosed by a huge transparent dome. Several giant trees grew in the garden, their branches and leaves lush and green.
In this ocean era, contracting water-type pet beasts was the mainstream choice, but wind-types weren't bad either. Besides, there were plenty of Wind-Entwining Worms here, making it an ideal place for Luo Yu to sift through them for a hidden gem.
If there was a suitable individual with a top-tier talent, he would choose it.
"Not bad."
Luo Yu's heart stirred. Among the enormous tree crowns, as far as the eye could see, there were at least several thousand Wind-Entwining Worms.
They looked like oversized caterpillars, green all over, and wriggled among the branches and leaves with a rustling sound.
There really were a lot of them, and the place was impressive... no wonder this was the most successful pet beast shop on Mirror Moon Island.
Though it wasn't much cheaper in the long run, other shops specializing in Mid-Rank Ordinary Species were doing well to have a few dozen mutant beasts on hand. Here, among thousands of specimens, the odds of finding an exceptional individual were undoubtedly greater.
"Can I go in and choose one myself?" Luo Yu asked.
"Of course. Follow me." The clerk nodded. "You're free to choose any of the Wind-Entwining Worms inside. If you'd like a recommendation, I'd be happy to help."
Luo Yu followed him into the garden.
Immediately afterward, the information panels of one Wind-Entwining Worm after another appeared before his eyes.
He began screening them rapidly, looking for one with a top-tier talent...
Ordinary talent, pass!
Senior Level talent... skip that for now too.
Were there any talents of an even higher level?
"Have you found one you like?" After a while, the clerk accompanying Luo Yu suddenly asked.
"I'm still looking."
"Our shop also has a special promotion. Would you like to hear about it?"
"Go ahead." As he ruled out more and more individuals, Luo Yu's heart gradually sank...
"The take-a-Wind-Entwining-Worm-home-for-free promotion."
Luo Yu said, "It's free here too?"
The clerk chuckled. "Yes..."
"But the buyer needs to sign a special contract with the Gale Pet Beast Shop..."
"The contract stipulates that after contracting a Wind-Entwining Worm, you must sell a specified quantity of 'worm silk' to the Wind Feather Garment Factory each month."
"See, it's quite a good deal. Not only do you get a pet beast for free, you can also use the Wind-Entwining Worm to earn some money..."
Luo Yu thought it over... Who are you trying to fool?!
Selling worm silk might seem profitable, but producing it consumed a great deal of the Wind-Entwining Worm's nutrients, slowing its growth and leaving it underdeveloped.
With its growth slowed, the owner would need to buy lots of nutritional supplements from the Gale Pet Beast Shop to build it back up.
And the Wind Feather Garment Factory sounded as though it belonged to the same people as the Gale Pet Beast Shop...
It was a case of spending every penny where you earned it, with no hope of taking a cent home.
How was the Beast Taming Master raising a pet beast? He was clearly using his own time, effort, and money to work for the boss behind the Gale Pet Beast Shop and the Wind Feather Garment Factory.
After all, the Beast-Taming Space could accelerate a mutant beast's growth, greatly reducing what it would cost the Gale Pet Beast Shop to raise Wind-Entwining Worms for silk itself.
Sure enough, what was free was the most expensive.
Merchants really had black hearts...
Then again, in this era, powerful Beast Taming Masters all seemed to be major merchants. After all, raising pet beasts was an extremely expensive affair.
The ships that sailed the seas most frequently were merchant vessels trading between the various islands.
Biologists who specialized in genetics and could breed pet beasts with top-tier aptitude would also turn their research results into money, collaborating with major powers to provide pet beasts suitable for their novice Beast Taming Masters to contract. People called them "divine pet suppliers."
"No need. I'm not short of money." Luo Yu politely declined the black-hearted promotion.
"All right..." The clerk stopped pitching it, though he doubted whether Luo Yu really wasn't short of money. Was that true...
Luo Yu continued screening.
But after going through thousands of Wind-Entwining Worms from beginning to end, he found not a single one with a talent above Senior Level.
Damn.
Luo Yu felt dejected and checked them again from the beginning, afraid he had missed one.
But in the end, he had to admit that the best talent here was only Senior Level.
"Ah..." He sighed, looking at the little worm staring back at him. Of all the individuals he had found in this pet beast shop, this one had the best overall aptitude.
[Species]: Wind-Entwining Worm [Attribute]: wind [Species rank]: Low-Rank Ordinary Species [Life level]: level 1 [Species ability]: Wind Gathering [Individual talents]: 1. Longevity Gene (Senior Level talent. Its lifespan is several times that of an ordinary individual.) 2. Water Element Affinity (Senior Level talent. It has the aptitude to comprehend and master water-type abilities.)
An individual with two Senior Level talents!
Although mutation had greatly increased the Gale Butterfly's lifespan, it was still far from enough compared with a human's.
From the standpoint of companionship, the "Longevity Gene" talent was quite good.
With this talent, even if it took its time, it could probably live long enough to reach its final evolution. That would save a lot of money.
It might even be passed down through three generations: the people would be gone, but the worm would still be there.
On top of that, it had the aptitude to comprehend and master a second attribute, the water attribute. That made it quite good.
But good as it was, Luo Yu still wanted to look first and see if there were any individuals with top-tier talents...
If it only had Senior Level talents, probably only an individual with three of them would tempt Luo Yu.
But unfortunately, let alone an individual with three Senior Level talents, he hadn't even seen one with three ordinary talents.
"You're still choosing?!"
Beside him, the clerk had gone numb.
Holding a Wind-Entwining Worm, he recommended it. "Why not consider this one... this one produces a lot of silk..."
Luo Yu cut him off. "Are these few thousand all you have?"
The clerk: ???
A few thousand weren't fucking enough for him to choose from?!
Was he here to cause trouble?!
Luo Yu said in disappointment, "Sorry, the pet beast I want isn't here. Sorry for the trouble."
Immediately afterward, Luo Yu left the Gale Pet Beast Shop.
The clerk clenched his fists, his eyes red as he watched him leave.
"We look forward to your next visit..."
"From his tone, he didn't sound all that eager... but if I can't find one I like better, I'll come back."
After leaving, Luo Yu muttered to himself and headed for the next pet beast shop.
Before long, Luo Yu looked up at a shop decorated in cool colors and took a deep breath outside.
This was a pet beast shop specializing in "Cold Mist Lizards."
Cold Mist Lizard: Mid-Rank Ordinary Species, ice-type.
Its ability was to spray an icy mist capable of causing frostbite.
Once its ability was fully developed, it could even freeze the surface of the sea.
In terms of combat power, it could instantly kill an Ink Fish.
But it wasn't cheap...
Even one in the worst condition would probably cost ten thousand Alliance Coins...
Although he couldn't afford one, it was on his way, so he couldn't resist going in for a look.
If there happened to be an exceptional individual, even if he couldn't afford it now, he could make a note of it and come back to buy it for the institute when he had the money.
"What are they doing?"
Inside the pet beast shop, which was as cold as a morgue, Luo Yu noticed that none of the Cold Mist Lizards seemed to be idle.
Like a production line, they used "Cold Mist" to make ice, which employees carried away by the bucketful through an underground passage.
"Oh, they're practicing their Cold Mist ability. That way, you won't have to train them yourself after buying them," the clerk beside Luo Yu said with a perfectly straight face.
"???"
Like hell I believe you.
Luo Yu remembered that in this era, the ocean's chaotic magnetic fields often caused precision instruments to malfunction. There was basically no technology, at least not on Mirror Moon Island.
As a result, there were no refrigerators or air conditioners either.
In the height of summer, it was hot enough to kill.
The leader of the Extreme Ice Fleet, the boss behind the Ice Pet Beast Shop, apparently also owned a huge ice-processing plant in addition to the pet beast shop.
He was the biggest supplier of cooling ice, edible ice, and cold-chain preservation ice on Mirror Moon Island.
From the looks of it, the employees at the processing plant were these Cold Mist Lizards...
Good grief, they were both merchandise and employees. These Cold Mist Lizards could sit at the same table as the Wind-Entwining Worms. Sure enough, these merchants knew how to squeeze value out of pet beasts.
A moment later, he made a circuit of the shop and left.
Among dozens of Cold Mist Lizards, there wasn't even one with a Senior Level talent!
He just didn't know whether there was something wrong with the breeding done by the breeder here, or whether the breeder had a good eye and had taken all the individuals with high-level talents, deliberately leaving only some with ordinary talents for sale.
"It's just as well there weren't any good ones. It saves me the trouble of agonizing over it..."
"The Thunderbolt Pet Beast Shop seems to be on the way too..."
"Compared with Cold Mist Lizards, Thunderbolt Shrimp are much cooler, though I still can't afford one."
Luo Yu admitted that he was a sucker for good looks.
Cold Mist Lizards looked like deep-blue Komodo dragons, which really didn't suit his tastes.
A pet beast's talent and potential were important, but Luo Yu also wanted to take its looks into account.
Otherwise, being together day and night would really affect his mood.
By comparison, Thunderbolt Shrimp looked like golden lobsters, and with the electricity flowing over their bodies, they were a great deal cooler.
"Welcome!"
After entering the Thunderbolt Pet Beast Shop, Luo Yu fell silent once again.
The merchandise here, the "Thunderbolt Shrimp," wasn't idle either. Each one was bound tightly with wire, with a piece of "blue ore" tied to its body to absorb the electricity it discharged from time to time.
Were these pet beast shops selling pets or Black slaves? Was this a hallmark of the Age of Exploration?!