The Strongest Beast Tamer With the Strongest System-Chapter 9: See Margaret Again

When Leonardo closed his eyes for a brief blink and opened them again, he finally saw a massive gate shrouded in light.

He stepped through it and received another notification from his Statistic Chip.

(Leonardo Anderson, from City Z, you have entered Layer 17!)

The Monster World—especially Floor 1—was not that vast. It was perhaps only comparable to a small country, certainly not large enough to contain all the Awakeners from around the world.

So its concept was similar to a game with multiple servers—the only difference lay in the terminology.

Usually, one Layer represented one Global Metropolis such as City Z. People from other cities would be considered part of the Metropolis closest to theirs.

However, that only applied to initial entry. One could still move to other Layers, since Monster Bosses often shifted between them.

After passing through the gate, Leonardo found himself inside an ancient colosseum riddled with cracks and holes.

It had four massive gates, large enough to accommodate the movement of crowds.

Leonardo saw even more injured people here, receiving treatment from Healers.

This Class type was even more unique—they received a percentage of the EXP from those they healed.

Leonardo remained in Invisible Mode. He recognized many faces from City Z, and some might recognize him as well.

He exited through one of the gates and looked upon a world filled with small hills roughly ten meters tall.

Even at night, the scenery remained clear—the stars above emitted an unusually bright light.

He didn’t see any monsters nearby, but faint roars echoed in the distance.

There was a road where large carriages the size of small buses floated half a meter above the ground—without wheels.

To board one, a person had to pay three Level 1 Monster Cores, and they would be transported to another outpost.

Leonardo entered one of the carriages after hearing from its owner that it was heading toward the 12th Gate.

Inside were wooden seats. The carriage was fully enclosed, so nothing outside could be seen.

One could practically become wealthy by owning such a carriage. From what Leonardo had heard, monsters would not attack it, as it was considered part of their world.

As a result, there were always passengers, and the operating cost wasn’t high—Monster Cores served as its energy source.

Not long after Leonardo boarded, the carriage was full and soon launched forward, fast enough to rival a car.

Since it floated, there was no vibration at all.

Leonardo observed the other passengers. They all appeared indifferent and kept to themselves, as if no one wanted to speak. Even the slightest movement earned silent stares from the others.

"Stop! Help me!"

Suddenly, a shout came from outside.

The carriage did not slow down. The owner acted as if he hadn’t heard anything.

Curious, Leonardo moved toward the door and looked out. He saw a young man being chased by a dog nearly the size of a cow, its long fangs resembling those of a savage beast.

The young man was forced to run in another direction as the carriage continued on without stopping.

(So vicious!) Ellie whispered, clearly shaken. (This is more savage than the monsters they bring to Earth.)

(How could it be the same? The monsters brought to Earth are already subdued—or under the control of Beast Tamers like me.) Leonardo replied.

He lost interest and turned away.

The others didn’t care either.

Awakeners who sought strength had long been warned by the Awakener Association—the Monster World was cruel.

In other words, death here was neither rare nor surprising.

(Boss, that dog seems to be Level 3. I think I could kill it easily with my song.) Ellie said, sounding eager.

(No. That’s not the kind of monster I want.) Leonardo replied.

(Boss, what exactly are you planning? I’m still confused about this record you mentioned.) Ellie asked.

(You’ll find out later. There’s no need for me to explain now.) Leonardo returned to his seat and waited quietly. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

There was a reason the 12th Gate was visited by so many people.

Not to challenge its Boss—but because the surrounding area was rich with monsters that dropped valuable items.

After what felt like a long time—long enough for some passengers to nearly fall asleep—the carriage finally stopped.

"We’ve arrived!" the owner announced.

Hearing that, all the passengers stood and disembarked quickly.

Leonardo stepped out as well. The actual destination wasn’t the 12th Gate itself, but a human-built safe outpost nearby.

When he looked around, he was slightly surprised.

It was a small village of about twenty houses, surrounded by tall walls—perhaps over ten meters high.

There were quite a lot of people inside. It seemed that once someone left and wished to re-enter, they had to pay the men in black suits guarding the gate.

As for the carriage passengers, they had apparently already paid through the owner.

When Leonardo observed the men in black suits more closely, he noticed the word Harvey embroidered on them.

They were subordinates of the Harvey Family.

And just as he was thinking about the woman who had turned him into a criminal—he saw her.

Margaret stepped out of one of the houses, wearing black pants and a black jacket, her blonde hair tied into a ponytail.

Leonardo hadn’t expected her to be on Floor 1. Her level should already be above 10, since she had awakened earlier.

But what shocked him even more was the group of young people exiting the house behind her.

They wore armor and carried swords or spears.

Leonardo recognized almost all of them.

They were students from his school.

What truly stunned him was a young woman with large glasses and braided brown hair.

Emma.

One of his closest friends—the girl who lived in the same neighborhood as him.

’She must have been the one who gave her my phone number.’ Leonardo thought coldly.

Margaret was known for recruiting awakened students—but she was selective. She usually only accepted those who awakened with innate skills.

Emma had awakened as a Knight—but she hadn’t obtained an innate skill.

Without another reason... there was no way she could have joined.