“What? An Astral Manticore? Where did you find it?”
Just as Murphy was about to set out on his daily territory patrol, he received a bead communication from Tris, but the content left him bewildered.
He was aware that there were such dangerous creatures as Astral Manticores roaming in his city, but he had already killed the mother manticore, and its venomous tail stingers were still lying in his spirit bag. According to Adele, they were suitable for making into throwing daggers, but since the Crimson Citadel currently had no capable blacksmiths, Murphy could only keep them for the ti being.
But where did this little manticore co from now?
Damn!
Could it be that old Finoch’s ominous words had co true, and that mother manticore had actually laid eggs in the city, which have now hatched?
This would be a dire situation.
There were already enough dangerous and troubleso things in this city, no need for more troubles!
“How would I know where your warriors captured this little manticore? Its eyes have just opened.”
Tris’s impatient voice ca from the bead:
“They even unrealistically wanted to ta it, but they ended up finding instead. However, I’m a Spirit Mage, not an animal expert. You’re the Astral Realm creature summoner, dealing with this is your specialty.
I’ve sent them to you.
You handle it, and by the way, I must say, your warriors are not at all respectful to , the new Duchess!”
“But you didn’t seem to mind their disrespect when you accepted the fine wine they offered you,” Murphy retorted, holding the core bead like a phone.
“They’re still constantly sending you wine, so you should be a little more tolerant of their attitude. But if they go too far, you can show them a taste of your wrath.
They’re smart, they’ll know better than to provoke you once you get upset.”
“Exactly!” Tris emphasized indignantly:
“In the past, when I was a nobody, they would send one bottle at a ti. Now I’m the Blood Vulture Duchess, a golden-ranked powerhouse, and yet they still co with only one bottle at a ti? What’s the point of being a Duchess then?”
“Why are you shouting so loudly? You might as well put up a sign at your door saying that each wine offering can’t be less than five bottles,” Murphy said, digging in his ears.
“You didn’t say it yourself, did you? My warriors are not good at reading between the lines.”
“Oh, good idea, I’ll do just that!” Tris replied, cutting off the bead communication.
Murphy shook his head helplessly.
He had already heard the voices of the little players coming from three corridors away, so he straightened his appearance, making sure everything was perfect, before striking a handso NPC pose in his office, awaiting the little players’ visit.
“Knock, knock.”
The door knocked, and ow King pushed it open, followed by Feel You Poor, while the other brothers waited outside.
Earlier, ow King had reminded them at the doorway, so when he perford the Blood Vulture salute to Murphy, Feel You Poor also clumsily mimicked the gesture, then started secretly observing Murphy, who was sitting behind the desk, maintaining a pose with his hands crossed like a certain commander in a famous scene.
The first impression was, “So handso!”
The second impression was, “Is this really a human appearance?”
But then again, he’s a vampire, so maybe he had so kind of “spirit costic surgery” when he beca a vampire?
Yet this deanor, look at his bearing, his expression gentle yet not lacking in dignity, a smile on his face yet exuding an air of grace.
Tsk, tsk, truly impeccable, much more refined than those so-called traditional nobles in reality.
“Lord Murphy, my new squad mber unintentionally found a newly hatched manticore in the Astral Realm shadows of the inner city district. Lady Tris has instructed us to seek your valuable advice on how to handle this rare creature.”
ow King first explained, then gave a gesture, and Feel You Poor imdiately presented the little manticore he had been hiding in his clothes with both hands.
This little thing had clearly erged from its shell less than 24 hours ago.
Its soft wings were still in their newborn state, and its normally formidable scorpion tail had no intimidating power at the mont.
But it seed very perceptive.
When brought before Murphy, it seed to sense the danger of the being in front of it, and made soft, kitten-like sounds while scurrying back into Feel You Poor’s embrace.
It was instinctively seeking a safe place for shelter.
However, as a Summoner specializing in Astral Realm creatures, Murphy obviously had ways to deal with such situations.
With a gentle rub of his fingers, he produced a cluster of light mimicking Astral Realm spirit energy, which attracted the little manticore’s attention. It tilted its head and squatted on the desk, observing the glowing orb.
When Murphy dropped the light ball, it cheered and pounced on it, hugging and biting it. However, since it had just hatched and its mind was still unstable, even with Murphy using Beast Tongue, effective communication with the little creature was difficult.
“A typical newborn, it has yet to pass through the most dangerous stage for its kind. Fortunately, you encountered it, or this little one might have been killed by spawns of despair or Astral Realm beasts. The Astral Realm is a mysterious, barren place teeming with dangers.
Killing the offspring of powerful creatures is the cruel instinct of all life there.”
Murphy tapped the little manticore’s head, then looked up at ow King and Feel You Poor, saying:
“Do you intend to ta it?”
“Yes, my lord.”
Feel You Poor said cautiously:
“I feel this little creature has a connection with , uh, I an…”
“No need to explain, I have also learned and understood your culture,” Murphy said with a wave of his hand and a smile. Then, he put on a frowning expression that made Feel You Poor worry for a few seconds before this exceptionally graceful lord answered:
“Normally, Astral Realm creatures like the manticore, occupying the upper levels of the Astral Realm food chain and born with the traits of gigantic beasts, are impossible to ta.
Their imnse strength and proud wildness do not allow them to submit to beings of the material world. As far as I know, even the most skilled beast tars among the elves and frost dwarven hunters have no records of taming manticores, let alone the more dangerous and powerful Astral Manticores.
This little one is only being friendly to you now because it has not yet awakened its predatory instincts. Once it completes its first hunt, it will leave you without a second thought.
Furthermore, Astral Manticores grow much faster in the material world than you might imagine. With sufficient food, it will enter its growth phase in no more than half a month.
At that ti, you’ll be facing a ferocious beast with paws larger than your head.”
“Ah?” Feel You Poor was imdiately discouraged.
He didn’t doubt that an NPC would lie to him, but from the gentle gaze he gave the little manticore, Murphy knew the guy was absolutely planning to take a risk and attempt to ta it.
Murphy noticed this keenly.
He chuckled again, holding the little manticore and letting it cling to and bite his fingers, then said to FeelYouPoor:
“But I also said that was just the general case. For Astral Realm creatures, apart from taming, there is another way to gain their allegiance. My warrior, have you heard of the profession called a ‘Summoner’?”
I just entered the ga today! Where would I have heard of it?
Is this NPC joking with ?
Feel You Poor silently protested.
But he still had to feign an attentive look, which amused Murphy.
He loved it when little players were impatient but had to listen.
In this world without phones, computers, or electronic gas, teasing little players was almost Murphy’s only lasting entertainnt for the ti being.
“Swish.”
Murphy snapped his fingers.
Then, amidst scattered starlight, his Astral Direwolf George erged from the shadows with a low whimper, glaring fiercely at ow King and Feel You Poor before obediently lying down at Murphy’s feet like a loyal hound.
The Astral Direwolf’s presence also startled the little manticore, causing it to curl up in a ball in Murphy’s hand.
“As you can see, my warrior, I am a Summoner specializing in Astral Realm creatures. I can teach you the professional knowledge to achieve spirit resonance with this little manticore, so that it can beco your summoned creature.
But you must first send it back to the Astral Realm, its ho, after it has grown. That way, even if it dies in the material world, it can recover and answer your summons again.
However, the problem is…”
Murphy handed the little manticore back to Feel You Poor, who knew sothing was amiss when he heard “but.”
He stared nervously at Lord Murphy.
The latter struck a certain commander’s signature pose, propping his chin with interlocked hands, and said to FeelYouPoor:
“The number of summoned creatures you can link with as a novice Summoner is limited, and a formidable beast like the Astral Manticore will undoubtedly occupy all your summon slots. This ans you will lose various powers as a Summoner. You need to have a clear understanding of your career path and ensure that you can bear being severely weakened during the novice period.
Secondly, to ensure your smooth transition into becoming a Summoner, I need you to prepare so rare materials for the initial bonding contract with the little manticore.
These materials can all be found in Transia.
The only issue is that they are rare, and rarity ans expensive.”
“Money is no problem, my lord!” Feel You Poor exclaid joyfully, seeing the hope of taming the manticore and thumping his chest.
“Please rest assured, I will find these materials as soon as possible.”
“Hmm, such indifference for money suggests you were a rather successful and affluent person in your holand, my warrior. However, you have overlooked the fact that you are now in another world,” Murphy said with a somber reminder.
“I can hear the pitiful jingle of the three copper coins in your pocket as you walk, that mournful sound representing your status as a pauper here. So, let give you so advice: seek help from your companions.
Additionally, you must find these materials promptly.
At the little manticore’s growth rate, it will soon begin its first hunt.”
“I’ll go find them right away!” Feel You Poor was seized by a sense of urgency, taking the list from Murphy’s hand and running off. He had now activated a career quest called the《Summoner’s Trial》.
Murphy doesn’t just hand out quests randomly.
He had already confird that little Feel You Poor had a Intelligence score of 7, along with the character traits of 【Unknown Principle】 and 【Curiosity】, eting the conditions to beco a Summoner.
Watching Feel You Poor run off, he nodded with satisfaction, thinking to himself that he now had materials to craft an Astral Realm beast tar’s hunting whip.
Who needs a trial to beco a Summoner apprentice?
Just give Feel You Poor the manual Tris had previously given him to read for a day or two, and there would be results. But since this is an apprenticeship, shouldn’t he provide so guidance and materials?
His little players were truly useful.
The vampire lord inwardly marveled again, then turned to look at ow King and said:
“My warrior ow King, the warehouse and business overseer of my city are preparing to travel to the border town of Bataxin in Transia to complete a transaction crucial to our territory’s food security. My overseer needs so warriors as escorts.
If you have the ti, you can report to Lady Palen at the survivor’s camp.
Of course, I suggest you visit Adele first, as she has so covert tasks to assign to true warriors.”
“Yes, my lord,” ow King readily accepted this quest triggered by Murphy.
Since he had confird the difficulty of the Black Iron Trial was quite high, ow King was not in a hurry. He planned to first obtain so equipnt and practice his skills before challenging the elite enemies.
Although there were two paths to complete the trial, ow King had no intention of grinding regular Black Iron-tier monsters from the start. He was ambitious and aid to rise in this ga! Completing the challenging quests would naturally greatly proclaim his strength.
——
Lumina had just finished an experintal report and was about to go online happily to play the ga. But after putting on her headset and browsing the daily hot posts as usual, she was astonished to find a highly popular thread on the forum.
Its na was quite strange:
《Buying the Following Items at High Prices! Brothers and Sisters, Don’t Hoard If You Have The Goods! Help a Brother Out, and You’ll Be Rewarded in the Future!》
Just from the title, she could tell this thread was shady.
Seeing that the poster was “Feel You Poor,” Lumina was even more convinced of the thread’s dubiousness.
As the “sister-friend” of Sister Pogranate in the ga, she had previously learned of this young boss’s heartrending experience in the process of starting his business, firmly establishing her impression of him as an adorably naive youngster.
However, out of curiosity, she still clicked into the thread to take a look.
Feel You Poor detailed the trouble he had encountered and the material requirents for transitioning to the “hidden profession” of Summoner. Looking at the long list of various material nas, even the veteran player Lumina shook her head.
While these materials could indeed be found around Kadman City, they were extrely scarce due to being spirit materials.
She had only encountered so of them by chance while running tasks at the survivor’s camp.
And now the quantity Feel You Poor needed was quite substantial, making Lumina seriously doubt whether this newbie had been “scamd” by a cunning NPC?
In other gas, she wouldn’t believe it, but such occurrences were commonplace in this real ga. For example, Lumina had previously spent ten gold coins on a secondhand pistol that cost less than one gold coin to produce.
Ah, the feeling of being ripped off really made one’s blood boil just thinking about it.
With this in mind, Lumina gritted her teeth and replied in the thread:
LuminaYanghen: 【@Feel You Poor, I have seven of the items on your list in my bag. Let’s et sowhere, I’ll go online and give them to you right away.】
FeelYouPoor: 【Hehe, great, you’re so kind, sister! Leave your card number, I’ll transfer the money to you now.】
LuminaYanghen: 【??? I don’t need money, don’t do these offline transactions, or there could be big trouble if caught. Those items are useless to anyway, just taking up bag space, so consider them a gift from .
Hehe, I heard about your recent situation from Sister Pogranate, so think of it as cheering you up.】
FeelYouPoor: 【Wuwu, there are still good people in this world, sister. I’ll wait for you at the entrance of the Midnight Chamber in the Blood Vulture Halls, just missing these few materials to get it done.】
LuminaYanghen: 【??? You’ve already got all those materials on your list? So quickly? You didn’t just buy them all with money, did you? How much did you spend?】
FeelYouPoor: 【Not too much, just a few als’ worth. Life is about being happy, sister. Co quickly, I’m waiting for you, woo.】
Lumina shook her head, marveling at how different this Feel You Poor was.
But she had indeed encountered so “affluent” people in reality, like that Little Ashina, who behaved just like this Feel You Poor. Before going on a dungeon run, she had transferred ow King’s gang thousands of yuan to buy equipnt for Orchid without batting an eye.
Alas, their life pursuit was happiness, while her fate was so miserable!
She sighed as she prepared to go online, and a few seconds later, her phone buzzed with notifications. She picked it up and saw it was a red envelope from Sister Pogranate.
The four-digit amount made her eyes go wide.
There was also a ssage from Sister Pogranate saying that the young boss had transferred her so money to give to Lumina as material costs, and that Lumina should feel free to take it.
She also said the young boss was just a rich, foolish person who wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Ah, you people are so damn rich!
As for the ga, Murphy had just finished patrolling his territory and returned to his office when he saw Feel You Poor waiting outside his door with a large bag of items.
“Lord Murphy! I’ve gathered all the materials!” he excitedly ran up to report, leaving Murphy with a strange look.
So quickly?
You must have mobilized all the little players to help you with this quest, right?
You utilized your Power of Money, didn’t you?
Tsk, Feel You Poor is incredible.
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