Chapter 10 - White Dragon
Lu Ran finally left the room after contemplating a little further. Since Beast Mimicry was the only skill he had right now, it would be a waste not to learn it. He already thought about how to properly utilize it, too.
Captain Doofus was barely one year old and still very impressionable. While he would rather die than get into pup play, he could teach Captain Doofus to behave less like a dog with the right tools!
He would have to wait to return to Green Sea City before he could put his plan into motion, though. For now, while he was in Limitless City, he had to gather information. The sooner he could get that done, the sooner he could go home.
"I should keep the Divine Deer Pendant hidden. Good thing I can just put it in my storage."
Lu Ran made sure he was properly prepared before heading out.
He had to ensure that no one would find out about the pendant, his biggest secret, since it could attract the wrong kind of attention. Although he didn’t know how many ranks it was above Common, an Epic resource was undoubtedly a treasure. Most importantly, it was a memento from his mother.
Lu Ran stepped out into a residential area with rows of gray and white buildings. Quiet and unassuming, it seemed the opposite of the bustling scene that he had expected when he heard the name “Limitless City.”
He took in his surroundings as he headed out from the residential area. Eventually, he arrived at a gate where he found a serious-looking man in a crisp white suit and thick-framed glasses sitting on a bench. The man had a book in one hand and stuffed potato chips in his mouth with the other, completely destroying his serious appearance.
Seeing Lu Ran approach, the man turned to him and welcomingly said, "A newcomer? Congratulations on passing the beginner trial, Newbie."
"Who are you?" Lu Ran asked.
"Don't be nervous, let me introduce myself. I am also a 'resident' of this neighborhood. Since I passed the Beginner’s Trial and became a beastmaster about half a month ago, you can consider me your senior.”
The man stood up and smiled. "We are both citizens of the Xia Empire. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions. You can treat me as your guide in Limitless City."
Many others seemed to have become beastmasters before Lu Ran.
Since the man seemed to be waiting for newcomers, Lu Ran decided to indulge him. He already had an idea of who the person could be anyway.
"What's your name?" Lu Ran asked.
"I go by Surfing White Dragon here."
What???
"What about you? No need to tell me your real name. Beastmasters in Limitless City often just use a username instead of using their actual names on their ID cards."
"Pedestrian A," Lu Ran replied.
Fortunately, he changed his name earlier. Lu Ran had initially wanted to call himself "Beastmaster King,” but he decided to pick something low-key out of fear of getting beaten up for being obnoxious.
Huh?
The man was stunned. It was so… generic. He assumed that young people would choose a cooler or edgier name.
Nevertheless, Surfing White Dragon shrugged. "I’m sure you have a lot of questions. How about I answer them for you?"
"Thanks," Lu Ran said. "Can you start by telling me what happened to me?"
White Dragon thought about it for a moment. "That’s quite the question. About three years ago, a bunch of black contract cards suddenly appeared all over the world. A conservative estimate would be hundreds of them in the Xia Empire alone.
"Since then, many countries have learned about this supernatural phenomenon."
Surprised, Lu Ran repeated, "Three years ago?"
"Yes."
The black contract cards and beastmasters first surfaced in the Xia Empire three years ago? What about the Divine Deer Pendant? That heirloom should have supposedly existed for hundreds of years.
"And then what?" Lu Ran asked.
"When the cards appeared, a few hundred people in the Xia Empire were chosen to become beastmasters, but only a few were able to pass the trial and reach Limitless City."
Lu Ran remained silent.
"The black cards have appeared once every year since. Hundreds of the empire’s citizens were chosen each time."
"What about abroad?"
"It could be related to population size, but while we had a larger representation, only a few were chosen from most countries. This led to the Xia Empire having many more beastmasters than other countries. Relative to our population of over a billion people, though, the number of people chosen only constituted a very small minority. Because of that and the government’s efforts to cover this up, the whole situation didn’t become public knowledge.
“The outside world was just a facade, and things only appeared to be calm on the surface. However, a month ago, some new changes began to crop up. For one, far more black cards are being given away in this year’s beastmaster selection. Its period is also longer. Even now, black cards are frequently appearing around the world, choosing people to become beastmasters.
"Did you see the ID number on your ID card? It indicates when you have passed the trial. Official channels forecasted this event to be so large that it would be very difficult to cover up completely, which means society would soon fall into unrest. The officials are now debating how to systematically manage beastmasters and publicly reveal all this information without causing widespread turmoil.
"Obviously, you and I are among the lucky and decently capable ones in this batch. Most people can’t even pass the Beginner’s Trial but not because people in our empire don’t have access to combat-capable animals. Rather, ordinary people are simply incapable of adapting to change.
"In actuality, Limitless City has its own consciousness and will do its best to individually arrange suitable Beginner secret realms for newcomers. Of course, familiars with an initially high species rank will still have a huge advantage. Rich foreigners have all kinds of familiars and are way too overpowered."
Lu Ran remained silent.
Is that so?
"I assume you’re a government official?" Lu Ran asked.
"Beastmaster Administration Bureau of the Xia Empire Beastmaster Alliance. Surfing White Dragon of the Newcomer Recruitment Department Team Two at your service.
“The Beastmaster Alliance is the official beastmaster organization of our empire. Since its establishment three years ago, it has been kept hidden from the public. There are also other newly established beastmaster organizations out there that maintain balance on a larger, international scale."
White Dragon smiled. "Obviously, I don’t just sit here all day and recruit people for fun."
At least he’s honest.
"I joined the Beastmaster Alliance right after passing the beginner trial, and they assigned me to guide and explain the situation to newcomers. Do you understand now?"
"Are you asking me to join your alliance?" Lu Ran asked.
"Technically, yes.”
That's right. The government definitely won’t allow people with supernatural powers to simply do whatever they want.
Lu Ran was a bit reluctant, though. He didn't want to get too close to other people and form a team to challenge the secret realms. That would make it too inconvenient for him to use the Divine Deer Pendant.
"But it’s entirely up to you," White Dragon replied. "So far, not everyone has been willing to join the alliance.
“For as long as you promise not to use your beastmaster powers for evil in the outside world, it won’t be an issue if you reject the invitation. Regardless of whether you join or not, though, you still have to register just like every other beastmaster."
Lu Ran was surprised; he didn't expect that answer at all. Multiple scenarios immediately played in his mind. For instance, the government could have initially forced the allegiance of beastmasters, but they were met with fierce resistance and suffered heavy losses. Hence, they gradually loosened their management of beastmasters.
Alternatively, in the last three years, beastmasters could have become so powerful that the secular world could no longer control them. This scenario wasn’t very probable. After all, this would have thrown the outside world into chaos.
Generally speaking, the more powerful someone was in the outside world, the more easily they could obtain familiars of high-ranking species. Still, early-stage beastmasters couldn’t compare to advanced weaponry.
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