Chapter 21: Chapter Twenty-One: Beast-Binding [2 in 1]

Chapter Twenty-One: Beast-Binding [2 in 1]

Valen’s boots skidded through the underground tunnel as he came to a halt. Using the last remnants of his strength, he propelled himself upwards, landing safely back on the surface.

He glanced around and immediately sped towards the castle rubble nearby. He squatted and began to look around, making sure the heap of shattered rocks hid his form.

Some time later, a young Evolver who looked to be in his early twenties, clad in a military uniform, passed by the location and stopped, staring at Valen.

"Hey friend, what are you doing here? The ship’s about to depart, you know?"

Valen stared at him, scratching his head. Laughing awkwardly, he asked: "If I told you I’ve been seeking treasures and riches, would you believe me?"

The young man was taken aback for a moment, then burst out in wild laughter. "Good one, friend. We’re all here seeking treasures and riches. It’s all for better days."

Valen forced out a smile, laughing along. Then, glancing at the airship about to take off, he asked in a low tone: "My soldier friend, I wouldn’t be able to go in now, even if I wanted to, right?"

The young man glanced at the armed military personnel surrounding the airship, then casually approached Valen with a wave of his hand. "It’s no mat—"

Before the young man could finish his words, he vanished from the spot. Even with his enhanced processing capabilities, Valen couldn’t make out his figure.

He listened to the flow of the wind and realised it blew from behind him, but it was already too late to react.

A cold, hard metal pressed against the back of his head, causing Valen’s heart to race in his chest.

The young man’s cold voice came from behind: "Reveal your system profile or I’ll blow your head off."

Valen obliged, but also hid some information.

---

[Profile:

Username: Night Star

Rank: 0 (Apprentice)

Level: 1.01% Energy Absorbed

Status: Normal]

---

"Oh, so you are that Night Star everyone’s been talking about? Apologies, I didn’t recognise you. I thought you were one of those Dark Worshippers trying to sneak in. Believe me, it happens in almost all our operations." The young man laughed awkwardly as he retrieved his gun from Valen’s head, not minding that Valen hid some information.

Valen shook his head, trying to calm himself down. "I understand. I just have one question. What level are you?"

The young man smiled as he beckoned for Valen to follow him. "I’m at Level 33. But I can’t triple-kill a Level 40, of course. Your triple kill of Level 10 Centipedes while at Level 1 is truly astounding. Even if it was with the help of a cannon, it still shows your skill."

Valen remained silent. The young man didn’t look much older than he was. Probably just a year or two older. Yet he was so strong. He clenched his fists tightly.

The earlier confrontation had also taught him something. He should never lower his guard around anyone, and he should always prioritise his safety in all matters.

Although his plan to avoid suspicion through reverse psychology was applaudable, one misstep would’ve cost him his life. If the young man wasn’t the ’ask questions first’ type of person, perhaps he would have already gone to meet his Creator by now.

This made him gloomy as he realised he still had a lot to improve on. He also warned himself to never act rashly again. Life was precious. Once gone, it was gone. He had to lie low if he truly wanted to survive until he could conquer the abyss.

Before the Apocalypse, humans had an average lifespan of 850 years if they didn’t fall critically ill or suffer wounds to their vital organs. Some healthy individuals could even reach a thousand years old.

This was why humanity’s technology was so advanced.

After the Apocalypse struck, it had been estimated that the vitality of humans had decreased. The average lifespan became 500 years, with Evolvers having only a minuscule probability of living up to 1,000 years — if they didn’t fall ill or damage their vitality.

All these were merely theoretical, of course, as only a little over a century had passed since the Apocalypse. White Star City was only a new city created after the Apocalypse, so no old monsters lived within.

Only the capital of the Advanced Kleints Country had the highest gathering of people from the generations before the Apocalypse.

While Valen amused himself with his thoughts, the young man — whom he now knew as Ryan Fadil — spoke to the military personnel around the airship, allowing Valen last-minute entry.

Valen had been speechless for a while after learning the young man’s name. That was because who hadn’t heard of Fadil? He was the second-strongest man in the city, second only to the elusive City Lord.

Those thoughts were soon thrown from Valen’s mind when he was handed a high-grade ration within the ship. It was like fire meeting gasoline. In an instant, he had finished the meal.

Although he tried eating as elegantly as possible, when blinded by hunger, even kings would fall.

The ration hadn’t been much, but it had the appropriate nutrients to strengthen one’s body. Even so, Valen’s hunger hadn’t been satiated in the slightest. On the contrary, it had only intensified his insatiable hunger.

He also deactivated the suit’s full form, the liquid metal receding to form black armour. After that, he left the cafeteria while repositioning his mask. He had to find his teammates so they could give their consent and let the system divide the loot.

"Friend Night Star."

A voice called from behind, drawing his attention. Forgotten Maple approached, with Abandoned Protocol and the rest of the team following closely behind. Their expressions carried a mix of joy and respect. They had long removed their masks, and seeing their youthful faces made Valen let out an inward sigh.

Twenty years old... yet he felt like he had nothing to show for it. They respected him for his strength, but a part of him couldn’t help wondering: if they were the same age, would things have been different?

’There’s no point thinking like that.’ He dismissed the thought before it could fully form.

Strength was what mattered. He was stronger than them now, and until they surpassed him, that was all that counted.

And those he had already surpassed... shouldn’t even dream of catching up, for he swore never to let them.

Valen’s breathing calmed as his thoughts settled.

Forgotten Maple and the others reached him, staring at him curiously.

"I’m alright, no need to look at me like that," he laughed, scanning the crowd. He saw Red Diploma, Willow Star, and Tristan, causing him to frown as he asked: "Where’s Edgar?"

Forgotten Maple looked confusedly at Valen. "Wasn’t he with you? We noticed your disappearance at almost exactly the same time."

Valen’s pupils shrank as a thought surfaced in his mind, but he still needed to clarify. Turning to Nova Drifter and Neon Phantom, he asked: "Even with your enhanced hearing as Sound Path Evolvers, you hadn’t noticed when he left your side?"

Nova Drifter and Neon Phantom exchanged nervous glances and both nodded simultaneously. "We had been distracted and hadn’t paid close attention."

Valen fell into deep thought. With this clue, he had above a ninety percent certainty that the other Evolver who had entered the underground tunnel network alongside him was Edgar.

"This is weird. If he wasn’t with you, then why’d he leave? He didn’t enter the airship, I’m certain." Noticing his silence, Void Striker — a Strength Path Evolver — muttered while stroking his chin.

Valen shook his head to break his train of thought and said: "It doesn’t matter. I bet he’s OK."

Then, he turned his attention to Red Diploma, Willow Star, and Tristan, saying: "I appreciate your help back in the Beast Haven. Sadly, this is where we part ways. Still, I’d like us to remain friends, if you don’t mind."

"It’s alright, actually. Being able to witness the breathtaking scene of your triple kill made our journey worth it." Red Diploma chuckled as he sent Valen a friend request.

Willow Star shook his chubby face, saying: "Not only that. His sniping accuracy is also pretty monstrous."

Tristan nodded at Valen, the corner of his mouth rising slightly. However, it quickly vanished as he returned to his cold persona.

He accepted Valen’s friend request and left. Following the departure of the three, Valen and his original party members gave their consent, and the system divided the rewards based on the contract agreement.

Unlike when major guilds went on raids, where the weapons all had to be shared equally or belonged entirely to the guild’s warehouse, the contract agreement they signed was quite different.

Any treasures found within the Beast Haven would be shared based on the biggest contributor to obtaining the item.

Then rewards from killing monsters would be given to the person who slew them.

There were 16 common items and 38 black coins in the party’s loot menu, and when the system gave each person the rewards from their kills, Valen couldn’t help but chuckle at his low drop rate.

Out of the 16 common items, he only got 3, while he received a whole 18 black coins.

Valen suspected that those three items came from the three Amberfiends he had instantaneously slain in the Normal Sector. All the other Amberfiends had only netted him black coins or no loot at all.

Of the remaining 13 items and 20 coins, Crimson Pulse — the only Blood Path Evolver — had surprisingly gotten 3 items with no black coins.

Nova Drifter got 1 item and also no black coins.

Apex Nomad — a Strength Path Evolver — received 1 item and 2 black coins.

Abandoned Protocol received 1 item and 2 black coins.

Frost Byte also received 1 item and 2 black coins.

Night Vanguard got the same as well.

...

Forgotten Maple got 4 black coins with no items.

Once the rewards were evenly distributed, everyone left after adding each other as friends. They also thanked Valen, for they had received from EXP and Points as his party members, when he slew the Level 10 Centipedes.

Only two people remained after everyone dispersed: Abandoned Protocol and Forgotten Maple.

Valen wasn’t surprised. He simply gave his consent and another set of rewards was projected before them.

These were the ones obtained after slaying the Level 1 Amberfiends in the Elite Sector using Abandoned Protocol’s M27 Precision Sniper Rifle.

There were 28 black coins and 4 items. The four items were all Level 1 common equipment. Since the system wasn’t the one automatically sharing them and he had to choose 2 items himself, Valen decided to view the information of the rewards.

---

Lv. 1 Antidote Capsule

Grade: Common

Details: A medical capsule that temporarily suppresses weak toxins and venom.

Lv. 1 Combat Gloves

Grade: Common

Details: Reinforced gloves that improve grip and reduce impact strain during combat.

Basic Skill Manual

Grade: Common

Details: Contains the battle video and step-by-step guide on how to learn/master the Archer skill: {Double Shot}.

Lv. 1 Equipment Blueprint

Grade: Common

Details: A digital schematic containing the materials and instructions needed to forge the Freezing Ray Shield.

---

Initially, reading through the information of the Common-Rank items hadn’t excited Valen. He had only slain Level 1 Amberfiends, so all they would give were common equipment items, which could be purchased with credits at the Underground Town or the Black Market.

However, his eyes shone when he saw the Equipment Blueprint. He had just begun studying forging, and this came at the right time.

Unlike mech blueprints, which were highly confidential, blueprints for equipment, weapons, and items could be bought and rewarded to Evolvers by the system.

Of course, some top-secret blueprints might not be for sale. Even so, it didn’t change the fact that such blueprints were in circulation, and possessing them wouldn’t warrant investigation.

Aside from the Equipment Blueprint, nothing else caught Valen’s attention in the reward list. The skill manual was useless to him. Back in the day, the first Silver King could easily carry out a triple shot, killing enemies from over 2 km away.

While that could be attributed to certain factors, it was still a fact that all he needed to do was train and he would naturally be able to do the same.

Valen understood this very well, which was why he wasn’t interested in the Skill Manual. The other two items were an Antidote Capsule and Combat Gloves.

In the midst of considering, a sharp twist rippled through his stomach, jolting him back to his senses.

He couldn’t help but grimace behind the mask. In the end, he chose the Antidote Capsule. His Beast Gene was far too unstable. Who knew if his next Evolution might poison him?

It went without saying that the antidote capsule wouldn’t be too effective since it was only Level 1, but safety came first. That was the rule.

After dividing the spoils between themselves, Valen got 14 black coins and 2 common equipment items. Coupled with his previous gains, he now had 32 black coins, 5 purple coins, 6 common equipment items, 1 Medical Nanokit, and 3 wormhole-stabilising rocks.

He had also received quite the bountiful harvest from the underground tunnels, which consisted of trophicans, 3 additional wormhole-stabilising rocks, the mysterious object, and that metallic collar. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Looking back at it now, the trip to the Black Ruin Castle Beast Haven hadn’t been entirely unfruitful. Only that, he had gained an enemy in the form of a strange Dark Worshipper.

However, Valen didn’t truly believe he was a Dark Worshipper, as he felt something strange about the cloaked man and his sister. It was as though they weren’t human. But if they weren’t Dark Worshippers, then how could they control the Amberfiends?

’It doesn’t matter. So long as I grow stronger, even if the man returns, I’ll be able to defeat him easily.’

Valen chose to calm his fluctuating emotions. He also realised that the airship was beginning to descend. It seemed they had finally been taken out of the Grey Lands to another checkpoint from which they could return to the city.

Although the airship was quite impressive, a Day Walker would be capable of slapping it out of the sky at any time, so returning to the city via the surface while they still attacked the city was completely illogical.

At this moment, his System Relay buzzed as a system notification came in.

---

System: [Decoding Successful.]

[Item: Beast-Binding Collar (Partially Damaged)]

[Details: An ancient tool crafted by an extinct civilisation, containing the languages of a myriad of beasts. When worn by monsters, it releases frequencies to calm them, allowing humans to communicate with them.

Note: Due to the damage sustained, the languages are no longer complete, and much of the data has been lost.]

[Do you wish to sell the item to the System for 100,000 system points and a 100-Slot Inventory Ring?]