Passing through a long corridor and then climbing the moss-covered stone steps, Charles finally reached the end of the stone staircase. There, a young girl in a purple dress was already waiting for him at the edge of the cliff.


    A gentle breeze blew, lifting the girl''s waist-length hair, and her skirt swayed lightly in the wind.


    "Aria, you were right. If we could escape from the man-faced spider, there''s no way a mere tomb could trap us," Charles said as he reached the cliff''s edge. Following Aria''s gaze, he saw the bloody pool at the foot of the mountain.


    At that moment, many people had gathered near the tomb entrance again, presumably all tomb robbers associated with Felix.


    "I''m just d you made it out. Are you hurt?" Aria turned around, looking Charles over with some concern.


    "No worries, it was just a man-faced spider!" Charles waved his hand dismissively.


    Gazing down the mountain, Charles could vaguely see Felix''s figure. He raised his fist angrily, "These tomb robbers are truly despicable, disguising themselves as hunters. And that Felix, he doesn''t even spare his own men! If I get my hands on him, I''ll make him taste the man-faced spider''s bite!"


    Of course, for now, Charles could only make threats.


    Felix was a Level 2 Beast Master, with two pets over level 10. Given Charles''s current strength, seeking revenge on Felix was tantamount to courting death.


    But this was only temporary. Charles had also advanced to a Level 2 Beast Master. Once Max broke through to level 10 and the golden egg he carried hatched, a future encounter with Felix would be a different story.


    Retracting his gaze from the mountain, Charles turned his head to look at Aria beside him. "So, where are you headed next?"


    After spending a week together in the tomb, the once aloof image of Aria in Charles''s mind had softened. Now, facing parting, he felt a slight reluctance, but it was just a fleeting thought.


    He had training tasks toplete, a score to settle with Grace in two months, and... he still needed to find out about his parents'' whereabouts.


    They had met by chance, and now it was time to say goodbye.


    "I''m nning to head east back to Atacama. How about you?" Aria''s soft voice came through.


    "Me? I''ll be staying in these ferocious beast mountains for another month! I won''t leave until I''ve fed that scoundrel Felix to the man-faced spider." Charles chuckled, but there was a serious look in his eyes.


    "That Felix is a Level 2 Beast Master and quite powerful. Be careful," Aria kindly reminded.


    "Don''t worry! I have a clear understanding of my abilities..." Charles suddenly chuckled. "If I really can''t beat him, I can always use some tricks. Dealing with scoundrels, there''s no need to be honorable!"


    The two chatted as they walked down the mountain from the remarkable rock summit.


    Along the way, Charles couldn''t help but feel that the young girl had changed quite a bit since the morning. He nced at the status screen.


    [Name]: Aria


    [Age]: 17


    [Height]: 172 cm


    [Measurements]: 82/49/77


    [Level]: Lv13


    "In such a short time, this girl has leveled up four times. She must have found some treasure behind another stone door," Charles thought, surprised.


    However, he didn''t intend to ask more questions. Before entering the tomb, they had agreed that any treasures found would be split 60/40, and he wasn''t one to go back on his word.


    ...


    The two figures moved swiftly through the forest, and after an hour, they finally reached the foot of the mountain.


    "East from here leads to Atacama. Let''s part ways here." Standing at a fork in the beast trail, Charles waved to Aria and handed her a photo. "If you reach Atacama, please help me inquire about the person in this photo. We''ll meet again if fate allows."


    "Alright." The girl raised her white arm and gently waved, watching Charles disappear from sight.


    After Charles had gone far, a ck venomous snake slithered through the bushes and came to Aria''s side.


    It transformed into a man with a snake tail. The man was three meters tall, with a long ck snake tail behind him.


    "Miss, this man is rted to Alex. Should I eliminate him?" The man made a throat-slitting gesture.


    "Joshua, unless I give the order, you are not to harm him." Aria''s voice changed from its earlier gentleness to one of authority and indisputablemand.


    Joshua was a bit surprised. What was happening with the youngdy? She was actually defending a human man.


    He nced at the photo in Aria''s hand, then reluctantly lowered his head. "Yes!"


    "Roar——!!!"


    A beast''s roar suddenly came from another mountain peak a hundred miles away, the sound was piercing. The ferocious beasts around the remarkable rock summit were startled by this cry and fled towards the valley.


    Looking in the direction of the roar, Joshua bowed slightly towards the girl. "The devouring serpent is about toplete its advancement. It is currently at its weakest. This is a rare opportunity, don''t let anyone else get ahead of us."


    Aria nodded. "There''s no time to lose. Let''s set off now."


    Beneath her long dress, the girl''s legs transformed into a purple snake tail, and the middle-aged man also transformed into a ck snake.


    Two snake shadows quickly disappeared into the forest.


    ...


    In the dense forest, it was quiet and peaceful. A figure quietly parted the bushes and looked towards a camp by the bloody pool.


    One of the men was leisurely eating roasted meat, asionally scolding his subordinates.


    "Felix, enjoy your happiness while you can. You wanted to trap me in a tomb to feed the spiders. Now I''ll let you experience the feeling of being torn apart by them." Charles clenched his fists, his voice cold, and quietly retreated into the bushes.


    Although Charles wanted to kill that bastard Felix, he knew that with his current strength, he was no match for him. To get his revenge, he needed to be stronger as soon as possible.


    The number of tomb raiders near the bloody pool was increasing. To avoid being discovered, Charles ran through the forest for thirty kilometers. As night fell, he finally found a t ce to set up camp.


    After setting up his tent, he took a barbecue grill from his storage space, ate a few pieces of roasted meat, and drank a bottle of regenerating potion, sweeping away a week''s worth of fatigue umted in the tomb.


    Charles''s attention then turned to the mystical beast egg in his hiking bag, which was gleaming gold.


    ording to the system''s instructions, the egg only needed to stay with him for 24 hours to hatch and form a contract.


    Cradling the mystical beast egg gently in his arms, Charles felt like a mother hen incubating her egg...


    [mystical beast egg]


    [Name]: None


    [Attribute]: ???


    [Level]: ???


    [Quality]: Gold


    [Skills]: ???


    [Loyalty]: ???


    [Evolution]: ???


    [Description]: This is a gold-quality mystical beast egg, currently in a dormant state. Keep it with you for 24 hours to form a contract (100% sess rate). Countdown: 03:12:07.


    "Master, you''re not going to abandon Max now that you have a new spirit beast, are you..."


    Charles was staring at the golden egg in a daze when he heard a series of ''sigh, sigh, sigh'' sounds, followed by a voice in his mind.


    "Who...who''s talking?" Charles was a bit surprised.


    "It''s Max, who else! Master, you''ve been holding that broken egg all day and haven''t even patted Max''s head once!" Another series of ''sigh, sigh, sigh'' sounds followed.


    "Oh, right, I canmunicate with spirit beasts now!" Charles suddenly realized the source of the voice. He remembered that after Max swallowed the [Heaven''s First Drop], he unlocked two abilities simultaneously—Mind Communication and Pet Vision!


    Charles opened the system panel to check.


    [Mind Communication]: You have gained the ability tomunicate with your contracted spirit beast. You can understand what your contracted spirit beast says and also convey battlemands using Mind Communication.


    [Pet Vision]: You can see through the eyes of any spirit beast.


    Charles hadn''t found any use for the [Pet Vision] ability yet, but [Mind Communication] was extremely important!


    The higher the level of the ferocious beast, the more intelligent it bes, even understanding human speech.


    If all battlemands had to be roared out, it would expose his intentions to the ferocious beasts, which could be fatal inbat.


    These two abilities would make things much easier in the future!


    Seeing that Charles was ignoring it, Max immediately pounced into Charles''s arms, exposing its fluffy white belly and acting coquettishly, while licking Charles''s face with its cool little tongue.


    "Haha, stop! Max, stop!"


    Charles was too excited to sleep that night. He held Max, roasting meat while waiting for the new spirit beast to hatch.


    Crack—


    In the darkness, a clear and crisp sound.


    "What was that noise?" Pushing away Max''s fluffy big tail, Charles rubbed his sleepy eyes, surrounded by a sh of golden light.


    A deep, awe-inspiring voice came from in front of Charles:


    "Ie from the dark abyss. I have existed since the beginning of time. Who has awakened me?"