Beastmaster King-Chapter 162 - I Have a Dream

Now that Dark Crow had awakened a unique power, Lu Ran couldn’t possibly go back to sleep. Sleeping now would feel disrespectful to his profession as a beastmaster.

He took off his pajamas, put on proper clothing, and decisively headed to the back mountain of Red Leaf Park, where he began deeper research into Dark Crow’s curse abilities.

After multiple experiments, Lu Ran became increasingly certain that the essence of the curse ability lay in its targeted interference with an enemy’s spirit, thereby affecting their actions. Destructive and disruptive curses were relatively easy to achieve.

However, attempting something like a reversal curse, where the afflicted target received a beneficial effect, was absolutely impossible.

Lu Ran speculated that this limitation was not only tied to Dark Crow’s lack of proficiency in the ability but also to the intrinsic nature of the Dark attribute. After all, the defining traits of Dark energy were erosion and debuffs.

Dark energy had an erosion effect on most other attributed energies, making it difficult to defend against. When a target was injured by a Dark-attribute skill, their attack, defense, and speed would all significantly deteriorate.

Realizing this, Lu Ran began to wonder if awakening an additional attribute in Dark Crow could make blessing-type spell effects possible. The first attribute that came to mind was the Light attribute, the direct opposite of Dark.

Although the primary characteristic of Light energy was its unmatched speed, it also had a hidden trait. Light-attribute familiars had extremely high compatibility with buff-type traits.

The fusion of traits depended on compatibility. Not just with the species and the individual familiar, but also with the attribute. Certain buff-type traits weren’t compatible with every attribute. Generally, Light, Water, and Grass attributes were more suitable for buff and healing traits than others.

Thus, Lu Ran began to speculate.

If Dark Crow awakened the Light attribute in the future, could its mouth “light up” and excel in blessing spells?

However, this path seemed risky. Combining opposing attributes within a single familiar wasn’t something every familiar could handle.

The Heavenly Familiar Ranking was already filled with cautionary tales. Many familiars, who should have evolved into King Species, had failed because they attempted to combine opposing attributes, leaving them stuck in the Champion Ranking.

While the Light attribute posed some risks, Lu Ran’s thoughts soon drifted to an even more powerful attribute which was the Time attribute! What kind of sparks would fly if the curse ability was combined with the Time attribute?

Of course, this was merely a fantasy. Resources that could help a familiar awaken the Time attribute were of the Treasure grade or higher. They were ten or even a hundred times more precious than the Ethereal Flower. And the Ethereal Flower alone was already incredibly valuable.

Like curse-type traits and legion-type traits, the Ethereal Flower couldn’t be found in any level of secret realms. Currently, there were only two ways to obtain it. First, through an ascension realm, or second, a rare drop from defeating a powerful Space-attribute boss in public realms.

Thus, for Beastmaster University to provide an Ethereal Flower to Lu Ran was a significant investment. This generosity stemmed from Lu Ran’s impressive achievements.

His overwhelming victory over the Tyrannosaurus Rex Squad had earned Xia substantial international prestige, a reputation that far outweighed the value of an Ethereal Flower.

“Continue.”

Lu Ran refocused on experimenting with Dark Crow, shelving the idea of blessing spells for now. There was no point in overthinking when they hadn’t even fully understood the effects of curses yet.

After further testing, Lu Ran made a new discovery—Dark Crow’s spells only worked within a range of 20 meters.

“What? You’re so short?”

“Ah!” The Dark Crow was stunned.

It’s true. I’m so short!

“A curse range of only 20 meters. What good is that?” Lu Ran muttered in frustration.

I'm not expecting you to curse targets from across an entire city, but at the very least, the range should be 100 meters! Otherwise, in a battle arena, you would have to get up close to curse an opponent, which was far too impractical.

Even Sudden Death King’s discharge ability had a longer range than yours. As for Captain Doofus’ sword qi, it could easily reach over 100 meters!

“What’s the maximum range of your projection skill?” Lu Ran asked.

“It seems to be less than 50 meters. But past the halfway point, the power diminishes significantly,” Dark Crow admitted, ashamed.

Currently, Dark Crow had mastered three of the four major energy techniques—Acceleration, Formation, and Projection. Considering it hadn’t undergone specialized training, its learning talent was already exceptional.

Even in terms of comprehension, Dark Crow probably surpassed Sudden Death King. However, its proficiency in energy projection was only average. Most likely because it had learned too many things at once.

“In that case, your curse range probably matches your effective projection range,” Lu Ran speculated.

That wouldn’t do. It needed training.

Ideally, Dark Crow would eventually be able to curse enemies across cities or even countries. Only then could its curse truly reach its full potential!

Since that’s the case, the first step is to train Dark Crow’s energy projection technique, focusing primarily on range. Additionally, during the projection process, energy consumption must be minimized.

“Dark Crow, I’ve had two dreams since I was young. The first was to become an unparalleled swordsman. The second was to become an incredible marksman, the King of Snipers.

“Now, my first dream has already been achieved by Captain Doofus. You’ve seen the sword it holds in its mouth, right? Its strength comes from inheriting my dream. Our hearts and minds are one.”

“Ah!”

“Now, are you interested in inheriting my second dream and becoming an extraordinary marksman? To start, all you need to do is snipe an enemy’s head from 2,000 meters away with a single crow feather...”

Lu Ran looked expectantly at the Dark Crow.

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“You should know, that even Lightning Dragon General didn’t get the chance to inherit this dream.”

“Really!?” The Dark Crow was suspicious, sensing it was being tricked.

“Train well. Once your projection range surpasses 800 meters, I’ll contract you and take you to battle beyond Green Sea City.”

Dark Crow’s eyes lit up.

“Your Majesty is wise!!! I will train diligently to fulfill Your Majesty’s ambitions!”

Spreading its wings, it mimicked a shooting pose. A black crow feather condensed at the tip of its wing and shot out with a whoosh, directly shattering a nearby tree.

Satisfied, Lu Ran nodded. Curses were powerful, but a solid foundation was just as important. Training Dark Crow as a sniper focused on maximizing effective range would undoubtedly enhance its overall strength.

Nice.

From now on, Captain Doofus would specialize in energy compression, Sudden Death King would focus on energy formation, and Dark Crow would master energy projection. Each familiar had a bright future ahead.

At this moment, Lu Ran was genuinely considering forming a contract with Dark Crow. In the future, he could take Dark Crow into secret realms, sniping mutated beasts from 800 meters away, or cursing bosses from 2,000 meters out.

The boss would explode before it even saw them. What a delightful scenario that would be. They’d gather materials along the way. It’d be immensely satisfying.

...

That same day, Lu Ran and Dark Crow spent half the day interacting. Both man and bird were thoroughly exhausted. Despite being physically tired, Lu Ran felt more mentally invigorated.

He decided to use the six resources he had to awaken additional attributes and test the remaining Six Beast Generals to see if any of them had potential as remarkable as Dark Crow.

In the back mountain of Red Leaf Park, the sky darkened as clouds gathered. A massive flock of crows flew together, forming a dark cloud.

Atop the cloud, One Ear, Mystic Turtle, and Fire Snake from Emerald Mountain were carried over and dropped onto the back mountain of Red Leaf Park.

Insect King, Ice Bird—the guardian of the tea leaves—and Bee Queen, who provided transcendent honey, could all fly and arrive under their own power.

Soon enough, the Seven Beast Generals of Green Sea had assembled. Lu Ran observed them carefully.

One Ear was level 19. Mystic Turtle, Ice Bird, Fire Snake, and Bee Queen were all at level 18, while Insect King was at level 17. Their levels were no longer low.

However, none of them had surpassed Dark Crow, which had already reached level 20. Lu Ran understood why—Dark Crow frequently interacted with the Beastmaster Association, naturally receiving more resources.

Meanwhile, One Ear and its stray cat team often cooperated with the police, helping to handle small mutated beasts in the city. It had even earned the title of “White Cat Sheriff.” With such recognition, it was no surprise that it received ample resources, explaining its relatively high level.

As for Insect King, Lu Ran didn’t even need to think twice—its progress was undoubtedly hindered by its excessively large harem and numerous offspring, causing its resources to be severely divided.

“See? Women only slow you down from getting stronger,” Lu Ran muttered, shaking his head.

He smiled as he addressed the Beast Generals, saying, “You’ve all worked hard during this time. I’ve brought you rare resources that can help you awaken a second attribute.

“After using them, your strength will grow even greater.”

“Meow!!!”

Hearing this, the six beast generals immediately started chirping and chattering with excitement. Soon, Lu Ran distributed the resources.

Unfortunately, the Beast Generals only managed to awaken additional attributes. None of them displayed the potential to combine their attributes into a unique power like Dark Crow.

In the end, Lu Ran dismissed all the Beast Generals except for Mystic Turtle.

[You’ve brought such rare resources. I just know this wouldn’t be for nothing...]

Mystic Turtle, who was quite familiar with Lu Ran, spoke up. After all, the first time Lu Ran had approached it, he had brought food and chatted with it—just to ask for help fishing his phone out of the lake.

Ordinary resources were one thing, but these attribute-awakening resources were clearly more precious. Mystic Turtle didn’t believe Lu Ran had no ulterior motive.

“These resources are truly a gift. I do have a favor to ask, but I’ll provide separate compensation when the time comes.”

[What is it? You know I just want to retire as soon as possible. I agreed to maintain peace at Qingwu Lake because I didn’t want the chaos there to attract unwanted attention.]

“Exactly!” Lu Ran replied.

“I recently heard that a group of troublemakers in the nearby sea might threaten Green Sea City. Could you help guard the coastal areas in addition to Qingwu Lake?”

Mystic Turtle was speechless.

[What nonsense are you talking about? I’m a freshwater turtle, not a sea turtle. Besides, didn’t you say the sea was full of strong creatures we couldn’t provoke? Why is it suddenly manageable now?]

Lu Ran coughed awkwardly.

“You’re already a Transcendent creature, so what’s the big deal between freshwater and saltwater? Relax. We’ve known each other for two years now—I know you, and you know me.

“You just want peace, right? But the truth is, the sea creatures really are getting restless. For the tranquility of Green Sea City, just hold on for another two years. Two more years, that’s all.

“Soon, I’ll bring you a serving of Dragon-attribute cuisine to help you evolve into a dragon-blooded creature and become a Dragon Turtle. I’m sure you’ll be strong enough to suppress and lead the near-sea territories.

“Oh, by the way, didn’t I just awaken your Rock attribute? Do you know the legendary Baxia, one of the nine dragon’s descendants? It’s depicted as a Dragon Turtle carrying a stone tablet on its back. I think you could cosplay as Baxia for a bit.

“Look at Captain Doofus. It’s powerful because it cosplayed as Yazi, another descendant of the nine dragons. You could play the role of Baxia and be just as strong.

“Yeah, and to support your work, I’ll even bring you a tablet-like weapon to carry and guard the sea. Once you become the King of the Coast, you can finally retire in peace! This is all for the greater good...

“You wouldn’t want Qingwu Lake, where you’ve lived for decades, to be overtaken by sea creatures, forcing you to leave your home, right?”

Mystic Turtle became enraged. That was unacceptable. It had grown deeply attached to Qingwu Lake over the decades.

“Caw?”

Perched on a tree, Dark Crow, who hadn’t left yet, fell into contemplation.

Why is His Majesty bringing up Captain Doofus again? Isn’t he just trying to persuade General Mystic Turtle?

However, the idea of conquering the coastal seas was indeed an important strategic goal. Dark Crow’s crimson eyes glinted with ambition. Perhaps the steadfast general, Mystic Turtle, truly was suited for this task!