After my successful contract with Fang, I quickly gained information about her skills. I found out that other than [Shdow Movement], [Nightmare], [Claw Attack], and [Bite Attack] there are practically no other skills that are battle ready.
Fang had trained with [Howl], [Shadow Clone], and [Megamorph] but each of them wasn't up to par with a 2nd stage beast's skill. At most, they could be used as a distraction or surprise attack, but the skill-casting delay was so long it can't be used in a frontal battle.
"With this, you now have two tamed beasts. Congratulations."
Wan Li said while smiling gently. Still, it is evident in her eyes that she was having mixed feelings regarding Fang, who used [Nightmare] on Xia Huo, Wan Er's Yellow Phoenix.
"Now that I am connected with Fang through the special link, I am sure that she's just loyal to her tamer. It's closer to fanaticism where she executes all commands despite her own misgivings or opinions."
Saying so, Wan Li slowly shook her head.
"No, it's fine. Xiao Huo is fine already, and Aster was even severely punished. This beast only did as she was told. Rather, I should pity her for being owned by such a bad tamer."
After signing some papers with the caretaker, I officially became Fang's owner. A smile crept up to my face as I couldn't suppress the surging joy from inside.
"Oh, by the way. The Madam asked for you to come to our town. If you've got nothing to do, then we could head out now."
Wan Li belatedly remembered. The smile on my face turned stiff in an instant. Although I can guess Madam Luo's intentions for inviting me, I still have some unfinished business to do.
"Unfortunately, I still need to return to my town. Maybe I'll head there after that."
"As expected. Then please take this."
Saying so, she took out a small medal from her breast pocket. It was a simple bronze medal with some sort of inscription on it.
"This is the Luo Family's medallion. You can use it like a pass or an identity token when you reached our town."
Wan Li then quickly said her goodbyes before running out of the enclosure.
As for me and my two tamed beasts, we headed for the guest house. Since this is the last day of the tournament, it also means that I can no longer stay in their rooms.
After picking up what little belongings I had and stuffing them inside the storage ring, I greeted the now-familiar-looking staff and went out.
"Now, let's go home!"
Hearing my words, Ember jiggled excitedly while Fang howled. Both of them are looking forward to returning to my previous town, but for different reasons.
"Of course, we'll be training while traveling as usual! Ember, you do your usual thing. You decide what combos to practice but our priority is speed this time. We should reach the next town before sundown!"
Ember was as energetic as usual and felt excited after hearing my challenge.
Right now, it was just a little after noon. Although it was early, reaching the next town at our usual traveling speed would be impossible. However, I now have the [Shadow Movement] skill! With this skill, I can dive inside Ember's shadow and travel around without moving!
"For you, Fang, right now we should increase your basic stamina. So this time, you'll only need to keep up with Ember's speed by just running along."
Fang, after hearing what I said, obediently nodded her head. It seems that there's no problem with her training menu for now.
After setting up our targets, we headed out of the city. Although the guards at the gate were much stricter with their inspection for both incoming and outgoing individuals. After the attempted escape of the prisoners, I heard that God Zeshion quickly enclosed them in a special space.
Although God Zeshion managed to block their escape, the method he used to restrict them also prevented anyone else from interfering with those who were stuck inside. As long as God Zeshion keeps the barrier up, then the escapees wouldn't be able to take even one step outside the gates.
After a few hours of lining up for inspection, we finally managed to get out. As soon as we reached an open space, I quickly tried out the [Shadow Movement] skill. Unlike Ember's skills which were more physical than magical, Fang's [Shadow Movement] is a completely different experience.
After activating the skill, in my senses, all shadows around despite their size felt like a large door that is urging me to go inside. Without wasting time, I quickly dived into Ember's shadow.
Inside the shadow world, there was... Nothing. Everything was black, and not even gravity seemed to exist. I can move freely and almost unhindered. However, for now, I tried not to move anywhere else.
However, within that complete darkness, I could feel the presence of several "doors" in certain locations of the shadow world. Compared to the almost countless number of entrances, there are only a handful of exit locations available.
After finally relaxing inside the new environment, I quickly sent a telepathic message to the two of my tamed beasts to begin.
Ember, hearing the command, quickly used a multitude of combinations to pull away from Fang. However, probably due to the difference in stats for 1st and 2nd stages, Fang was still easily able to catch up.
The whole travel was mainly the two competing with each other, trying to be faster than the other. Fang was slowly losing though, given that her task was to improve her stamina, she wasn't allowed to use her skills. If she could use [Shadow Movement] then she would probably be about thrice as fast.
After just an hour, we reached the next town.
Ember and Fang both wanted to continue to the next town but I stopped them. It was something I learned too late, and that is [Shadow Movement] uses too much of my mental strength and stamina. Right now, I just want to rest.
After finding a relatively expensive inn, we took a well-deserved rest.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺