King of Beasts

The demon cat was thus subdued. Lu Ran looked at the demon cat with its neck bitten through, finding the sight incredibly surreal. Although everything here was referred to as a projection, the bleeding demon cat appeared to be a real living being…

Poor kitty, you met such a tragic end.

But it was either you or me.

Hmm?

Before Lu Ran could dwell on this for too long, suddenly, the demon cat that General Ha was pressing down was enveloped in a white light. The cat itself, along with the blood flowing from its body, completely shattered and disappeared under the wrap of the white light!

“Wha??”

Discovering the spoils of battle mysteriously vanishing before his eyes, General Ha revealed a look of astonishment.

What surprised him even more came afterward. The completely vanished demon cat, in fact, left behind a trace. It ultimately condensed into a firefly-sized point of light and flew into General Ha’s body.

At that moment, General Ha felt his physique as if it had been further strengthened.

“Leveling up by defeating monsters?” Lu Ran, observing the change after the demon cat’s disappearance, immediately recalled something, his gaze fixed on General Ha.

However, seeing that General Ha’s growth level was still at level 1, he couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

“That should have been right… By killing the enemy, General Ha’s strength has increased a bit. It’s not much, but it’s definitely an improvement.”

“One isn’t enough to level up?”

“How many are needed to advance to level 2?”

“Wait! Perhaps, this is the very purpose of the Trial Secret Realm.” Lu Ran suddenly pondered a great deal.

Lu Ran’s original plan was simply to complete the novice mission normally, avoid some conflicts, survive the day, and after becoming more familiar with the situation he found himself in, then plan and attempt some higher-difficulty challenges.

But the discovery that defeating monsters could actually lead to leveling up, and that General Ha’s combat strength was far stronger than he had imagined, his thoughts began to waver.

Is it possible to appropriately increase General Ha’s level here?

After all, the final reward seems to be related to the performance in the trial. Being overly cautious and surviving to the end versus fighting one’s way through to the end, the rewards are bound to be different.

Probably, this Novice Trial Secret Realm isn’t as terrifying as I thought. Instead, it seems to be a great opportunity for newcomers to train.

The poster’s situation was so dire, likely because they were too weak!

Of course, there might indeed be more formidable enemies within the secret realm… But at least, if faced with a demon cat like before, General Ha seemed more than capable of handling it!

Lu Ran was torn, wanting to seize every possible opportunity. He had a hunch that this mysterious black card would definitely impact the world order, but he also worried that his own greed could lead to danger.

“Woof!!”

At that moment, General Ha was busily pawing at the ground, as if searching for the now-missing demon cat…

“Stop that,” Lu Ran said with a sigh. “That guy is completely gone. For now, let’s just stay put, you rest up and regain your strength.”

“Woof?”

Lu Ran ignored General Ha’s cocked head, dissatisfied with the effects of the Eye of Data.

If the Eye of Data could show the experience bar from level 1 to level 2 for General Ha, even just a percentage would be helpful. Unfortunately, whether using the Eye of Data or checking General Ha’s information through the contract card, there was no way to know exactly how many demon cats needed to be defeated to reach level 2.

However, Lu Ran did make an unexpected new discovery: he noticed that the Eye of Data seemed to also provide information about himself.

Species: Human

Beast Taming Level: Apprentice

Beast Taming Skill: None

The information was still very simple. The only thing that caught Lu Ran’s attention was the so-called beast taming skill.

In the attribute table for General Ha, there was also a skill bar.

But whether for General Ha or for himself, the skill bar showed no skills… How exactly does one acquire skills?

If they gained skills, perhaps their combat strength could be further enhanced.

“We just had a fight here, causing quite a commotion…”

“It might attract new enemies. We just need to wait for them here, like sitting ducks. This area is relatively open, and if enemies come, we can take the initiative to some extent.”

Lu Ran explained his reasoning to General Ha, concluding that staying at this “spawn point” was better than venturing into the complex underbrush.

This was Lu Ran’s final decision, leaving it to fate.

“Uh oh!” General Ha nodded, indicating compliance.

In its understanding, Lu Ran was in charge of strategizing, and its job was simply to fight.

“Stay alert.”

While waiting for prey to come, Lu Ran kept busy, continuously using the Eye of Data to observe.

After all, according to the prompt, the Eye of Data could not only view information on living creatures but also on resources.

What kind of resources?

After some exploration, Lu Ran made quite a discovery.

Ordinary grass and trees showed no particular information when viewed with the Eye of Data, but there were indeed some unique plants nearby that proved to be useful.

For instance, he found a red mushroom under a tree.

Name: Hemostatic Mushroom

Level: Ordinary Level

Introduction: A fungal species that, when crushed and applied, can slowly heal wounds. Do not ingest, or hallucinations of tiny dancing figures may occur.

Also, on a slimmer tree, distinct from other large trees, he discovered several green fruits.

Name: Wood Scale Fruit

Level: Ordinary Level

Introduction: A tree fruit with juicy flesh that provides a strong sense of satiety. Eating it can restore some energy. Wood Scale Fruits are favorites of fruit insects, and consuming them has a high chance of providing additional protein nutrition.

“It’s good that we didn’t leave immediately; to think that such resources were hidden nearby, but these resources are just outrageous…” Lu Ran felt a pang in his stomach. If they had fled from here at the beginning, whether they could find such resources elsewhere was another question.

Ignoring the tricky introduction and relying on these two resources alone, staying put didn’t seem like an issue as long as they didn’t encounter any overly powerful creatures.

“Should be able to use these, right?” Since the demon cat had vanished instantly, Lu Ran also worried that the Hemostatic Mushroom and Wood Scale Fruit would disappear once picked.

But as it turned out, Lu Ran’s concerns were unfounded. After tentatively digging up a Hemostatic Mushroom, it did not disappear, indicating that they could only not be taken out of the secret realm.

“Not bad.” Lu Ran’s eyes lit up. With these items, he felt more confident about helping General Ha level up efficiently.

Hmm?

“Ugh…” While in a good mood, Lu Ran felt a wave of warm breath and saw General Ha had somehow come over, panting hotly at the hemostatic mushroom, drooling as if asking if it was edible.

“Haven’t you just eaten before coming here?”

“Woof!”

“It’s just a fight; how could all the energy be used up? This is a topical medicine, not for eating. You’re also not allowed to eat anything else here without my permission.”

“Woof.”

“No means no.”

After some back and forth, under Lu Ran’s disapproving gaze, General Ha finally gave up on the idea of eating the hemostatic mushroom. In fact, compared to meat, Lu Ran’s Erha preferred to eat vegetables and fruits, so it had another nickname: noob dog

1

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Next, Lu Ran began the arduous task of picking the wood scale fruits. Although he and General Ha had indeed eaten before arriving, that would last at most half a day. When hunger set in again, their abilities would undoubtedly decline.

At this time, the wood scale fruit, which could restore energy and relieve both hunger and thirst, became very important.

Some time passed.

Lu Ran had collected all the wood scale fruits and hemostatic mushrooms nearby.

Half an hour had gone by since they entered.

To Lu Ran’s dismay, staying put did not seem to attract any new enemies.

“Do we need to take the initiative?” Lu Ran frowned, but his expression changed in the next moment.

Rustle, rustle, rustle…

Lying on the ground with squinted eyes, General Ha also suddenly opened its eyes, alert.

Because a familiar sound was heard again.

“The experience baby is here!”

“Woof, woof!”

But Lu Ran’s excitement did not last long because the rustling… was coming from all directions.

Lu Ran’s heart tightened; there were many creatures approaching… definitely not just one!

Moments later.

A drop of sweat trickled down Lu Ran’s face.

The black bushes were torn apart again, and five figures emerged.

General Ha: …

Lu Ran: …

Is this really a simple-level novice secret realm? Lu Ran was stunned.

He suspected the creator of the secret realm was targeting him! He wasn’t cheating, after all!

Hear me out… thank you…

Footnote:

1. Noob dog(菜狗):

    

    

   The phrase “noob dog” here is a play on words. In Chinese, “菜狗” (cài gǒu) combines “菜” (vegetable) and “狗” (dog), suggesting someone as fragile as a vegetable that falls over at the slightest touch, and is a humorous way to refer to someone with low skill. In this context, because “Erha” likes to eat vegetables, it is referred to as “菜狗” (noob dog).