Lin Ke returned to his quiet apartment, the cheers of the crowd and the grandeur of the Guild Hall feeling like a distant dream.
The moment he closed the door, the carefully maintained composure on his face finally dissolved, replaced by a deep, heartfelt smile.
"We did it, little guy," he said, gently placing the champion's medal around the neck of his Rock Vole, which was perched proudly on his shoulder.
"Ji! Ji!" The Rock Vole squeaked triumphantly, nudging its head against Lin Ke's cheek. It knew they had won. It knew they had proven everyone wrong.
For their celebration, Lin Ke spared no expense. He spent a good portion of his prize money on the highest-grade mineral-rich pet food, a feast the Rock Vole had never even dreamed of. As his partner happily crunched on its well-deserved meal, Lin Ke carefully placed the mottled grey egg on his desk.
The excitement of victory was fading, replaced by the focused curiosity of a researcher. Now, it was time to truly assess his prize.
"Editor, perform a deep-level scan on the specimen. Analyze the fractured A-01 gene and formulate a repair protocol," he commanded in his mind.
The familiar blue light glowed in his vision, and a far more complex interface than ever before materialized around the egg. Data streams scrolled past at an incredible speed. After a full ten minutes, the analysis was complete.
The result made Lin Ke's breath catch in his throat.
[Subject: Unknown Ancient Egg (Mythical Rank Bloodline)] [Primary Defect: A-01 'Astral Energy Absorption' gene is fractured.] [Repair Protocol Formulation: Success.] [Required Materials for Gene Repair:]
Living Soulstone (Grade A): Provides the base life energy to reactivate the dormant core matrix. (Est. Market Price: ~1,000,000 credits)
Stardust Core (Grade A): A crystallized meteorite fragment containing pure astral energy, necessary to bridge the fractured gene sequence. (Est. Market Price: Extremely Rare, Auction Only)
Nebula Sap (Grade B): Acts as the biological catalyst for the synthesis. (Est. Market Price: ~500,000 credits)
High-Purity Nutrient Solution (1000ml): To sustain the embryo during the repair process. (Est. Market Price: ~200,000 credits)
Lin Ke stared at the list, a bitter smile forming on his lips. His prize money from the championship, which seemed like a fortune just hours ago, was not even enough to buy a tenth of a single required material.
He had known it would be difficult, but the reality was far more brutal than he had imagined. Choosing this egg was not just a gamble; it was choosing to play the game on the highest possible difficulty setting from the very beginning.
Any other person would have been crushed by despair. But Lin Ke's eyes, after the initial shock, began to burn with a fierce, unyielding light.
Difficult? Of course it was difficult. A Mythical-rank pet, a creature of legend, couldn't possibly be nurtured with ordinary resources. The greater the challenge, the greater the reward.
This list of materials didn't discourage him. It gave him a clear, tangible goal.
He looked at his Guild account balance. He looked at the list of materials that cost millions. He looked at his newly acquired Junior Beast Tamer license.
The path forward was obvious.
"The qualification exam was just the entry ticket," he whispered to himself. "The real journey starts now."
His objective was no longer just about passing tests or earning small sums of money. He needed to get stronger, raise his Tamer rank, and gain access to high-level missions and unexplored territories—the only places where he might find these rare materials.
He logged into the Beast Tamer Guild's internal network, his fingers flying across the keyboard. His destination: the mission board for official, registered Beast Tamers. The time for practice was over. It was time to enter the wilderness. It was time to start hunting.