120: Chapter 120 Pale Master, Beast Vanguard, and Poké Ball

Having finished his upgrades, Hu Jinsi was too lazy to brew those rabies treatment potions at home that afternoon. Although he still had nearly five hundred sets of raw materials left, he decided to save such a high-pollution industry for school.

He had originally intended to spend a leisurely afternoon resting at home with the Dire Wolf. However, just past 1:30, a knock at the door rang out. Before Hu Jinsi could even go to open it, he noticed the Dire Wolf already shivering on the sofa.

Seeing the Dire Wolf shivering all over with its tail tucked between its legs, Hu Jinsi already guessed who was knocking.

When he walked over to open the door, unsurprisingly, it was Su Wan and her twin sisters, Su Qing and Su Yu, outside. Seeing this, Hu Jinsi couldn't help but cast a sympathetic look at the innocent Dire Wolf, which had already retreated into the corner of the living room.

But to be safe, he still needed to warn the twins. He bent down and said to Su Qing and Su Yu, "You two must treat Xiao Lang well. You should know that a Dire Wolf's intelligence is no lower than yours. Furthermore, it will take over a year for you two to awaken and take up your professions, while Xiao Lang will be nearing adulthood in just over two months. Be careful that this little guy doesn't hold a grudge and swallow you both up in one bite, little kids."

"After all, wolves are vengeful. In that situation, neither your sister nor your parents could save you. You should know that even now, the two of you combined might not be able to beat Xiao Lang."

"The only reason you've been safe is because your sister Su Wan has always been by your side. This little guy knows it can't beat Su Wan, which is why it lets you bully it. Don't get it wrong, Xiao Lang isn't some stray cat or dog from the neighborhood; it's a medium-sized magical beast, and a Dire Wolf at that, a species with a nasty temperament."

Su Qing and Su Yu exchanged a glance, then both looked simultaneously at the Xiaoquan Yilang huddled in the corner. A certain excitement flashed in the two girls' eyes, a look that made Hu Jinsi feel a trace of unease. Su Wan patted both their heads, signaling them to listen.

Xiao Lang's ears flattened, and a flash of vigilance crossed its amber eyes, but its tail didn't wag; it just stared fixedly at the twins. Hu Jinsi sighed, picked the Dire Wolf up from the corner, and handed it to Su Wan.

He had said what needed to be said; as for whether the Dire Wolf's situation would improve that afternoon, Hu Jinsi had no idea. He just hoped it would be a bit easier for it. At the very least, Hu Jinsi considered himself kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see the Dire Wolf suffer, so he didn't leave with it.

Su Wan left with her two younger sisters and the Dire Wolf. The chattering of the twins and the reluctant whimpering of Xiao Lang could be heard in the hallway. Hu Jinsi closed the door, and the living room returned to quiet.

...

He checked the time; it was just past 2:00 PM. With some time left before dinner, he decided to watch something to pass the time.

He turned on the TV and switched to the live broadcast channel for the University League. This type of league was an important means for major universities to attract new students.

After all, in the current world, school rankings were no longer determined by some third-party institution "upholding fairness," nor were they based on the number of research papers. Only battle records were the real hard currency.

Having unique and excellent professional legacies, and being able to continuously cultivate powerful professionals, was the strongest signboard and reputation for a school. Therefore, major universities actively participated in the University League and actively handled situations like the dungeon out-of-control event in Wei City; after all, these were genuine reputation builders.

Perhaps because the Dire Wolf had now joined Hu Jinsi's life, he had been paying extra attention to professions that could command animal companions in relevant competitions recently. For instance, the match Hu Jinsi was currently watching with full concentration was an arena battle between a Pale Master and a Beast Vanguard.

The Pale Master is an undead-specialized transcendent profession that only spellcasters can advance into. Its strength lies in controlling undead creatures and gradually turning one's own body into an undead state; it is a typical pseudo-lich path.

Although this advancement is not very mainstream, it is a transcendent profession that is quite attractive to physically weak spellcasters.

As the Pale Master profession reaches its peak, the next step, entering the legendary profession after becoming a legend—the Lich—allows one to completely abandon their constitution attribute, which is equivalent to completely discarding one of their weaknesses.

Therefore, the Pale Master is just a transitional profession within the transcendent stage, but its strength is not low.

The Beast Vanguard, on the other hand, is a transcendent profession mainly advanced into from a Ranger or its variant, the Beastmaster.

The Beast Vanguard in the arena right now was precisely advanced from a Beastmaster. The advantage of this profession is that it can field four animal companions simultaneously.

This is also precisely the advantage brought about by advancing from the Beastmaster profession to the Beast Vanguard, because the Beastmaster profession itself can field two animal companions simultaneously, but can possess up to four animal companions at once.

Therefore, once one advances from Beastmaster to Beast Vanguard, they can maximize their standard combat power in the shortest amount of time, committing all four of their animal companions into the combat state.

Perhaps the main body of such a Beast Vanguard is not very strong, but once you fight a Beast Vanguard, you are not just facing him and his animal companions.

You are facing a united and cooperative pack of beasts, a tactical network formed by a tactical commander directing multiple animal companions.

Just like the battle before him, the spellcaster who had become a Pale Master was no longer affected by bleeding damage, toxins, or diseases, rendering a small half of the beasts' attack methods useless against him.

But even though he was immune to so many effects the pack brought upon him, when so many beasts and magical beasts assaulted you from four directions simultaneously, it was inevitably somewhat chaotic for a spellcaster.

...

At this moment, the Beast Vanguard in the arena was quite interesting; rather than calling him a Beast Vanguard, it would be better to call him a Wolf Pack Vanguard.

The four animal companions he carried were all wolves: a Silver-Maned Dire Wolf, an ice-blue Winter Wolf, a slightly smaller Shadow Wolf, and a Bone Wolf covered in a bony carapace.

Four wolves, four directions, four completely different attack rhythms. Although this combination of his completely abandoned the combinations brought about by various different creatures, and also lacked the mobility provided by flying creatures.

But the benefits were also huge; after all, wolves are inherently pack-hunting animals.

Four different types of wolves, plus the Beast Vanguard in the center—there was absolutely no issue with coordination on the battlefield. You could say that rather than fighting in an arena, these four wolves and one human were enjoying the process of a hunt.

The Pale Master opposite did not wait for them to form an encirclement. He struck his staff, and three stitched corpses crawled out from cracks in the ground to meet the wolf pack. The Dire Wolf engaged first; it didn't slow down or dodge, crashing head-on into the stitched corpse in the middle.

Four hundred pounds of body weight plus the kinetic energy of the charge sent the corpse flying with both feet off the ground, flying three meters backward and smashing heavily against the edge of the arena.

The Dire Wolf did not pursue, immediately turning to pounce on the second stitched corpse. At the same moment, the Winter Wolf exhaled a cone-shaped frost breath. The cold, white mist swept across, freezing the legs of the stitched corpse on the left to the stone floor.

The stitched corpse struggled to step forward, but the flesh below the knees along with the stone slab shattered, causing it to lose its balance and fall to the ground. The Winter Wolf seized the opportunity to pounce, biting down on its cervical spine, teeth snapping shut with a crack.

The Shadow Wolf did not participate in the frontal confrontation; it circled to the side and rear of the Pale Master, suddenly leaping out from the shadows to lunge directly at his lower back.

The Pale Master seemed to have anticipated this, stabbing his staff backward without even turning his head, the butt of the staff accurately hitting the Shadow Wolf's chest.

A ripple of grayish-white energy expanded, and the Shadow Wolf was knocked flying, flipping twice in the air before landing, plowing four furrows in the ground with its limbs before stabilizing its stance.

It crouched low, emitting a threatening growl from its throat, but did not recklessly attack again.

The Bone Wolf had not stopped moving from start to finish; it had circled in a wide arc and cut in from the other side of the arena, now approaching within five steps of the Pale Master.

It did not pounce or bite, but suddenly opened its mouth, a mass of dark red light condensing in its throat.

The Pale Master recognized what that was—Hellfire Breath, a type of negative energy flame capable of burning the soul, which is especially lethal to the undead.

He did not choose to tank it. For the first time, he actively moved his position, using Misty Step to flash behind the Beast Vanguard, attempting to directly eliminate this leading central brain.

But although this Beast Vanguard had not gained much enhancement in the transcendent stage, after all, his foundation was a level 30 Beastmaster.

With a Quick Protector, he quickly dismissed the farthest Dire Wolf, summoning it back to his side.

The Pale Master stood in place, scanning left and right; his three stitched corpses were all completely destroyed. He was now alone, facing four hungry magical beasts.

No one cheered in the audience stands outside the arena. Everyone held their breath.

He extended his right hand, palm upward, fingers spread, and a slit opened in the center of his palm. There was no blood, only thick grayish-white mist pouring out, winding up his arm. The mist gathered above his head, rotating, gradually outlining a blurred humanoid silhouette.

A Wraith, semi-transparent, emitting a cold, eerie light, with an indistinct face, only two points of ghastly green light shining in the position of its empty eye sockets. It did not pounce on any of the wolves. It floated directly toward the Beast Vanguard himself.

The Wraith's speed was not fast, but its trajectory was erratic, like a wisp of smoke blown away by the wind.

The Beast Vanguard did not dodge; he stood in place as the four wolves pounced back simultaneously from four directions. The Dire Wolf's fangs were the first to bite into the Wraith's arm, but its teeth passed through the semi-transparent body without any substantial sensation. The Winter Wolf's frost breath covered it from the other side, slowing the Wraith's actions for a moment.

It was that exact moment that the Shadow Wolf leaped out from the shadows, biting the Wraith in two. The Wraith let out a silent shriek, its form dissipating like a popped bubble.

The Pale Master's expression changed, and his staff slipped from his hand and fell.

The four wolves had already pounced on him.

...

The battle ended. The referee raised the Beast Vanguard's hand.

The audience stands remained silent for a full three seconds, then erupted into deafening cheers.

Hu Jinsi was also satisfied watching from in front of the TV; of course, he knew that no matter how abnormal his talent was, it was impossible for him to have four animal companions like the Beast Vanguard.

But at least this set of coordination schemes was something Hu Jinsi could refer to. Furthermore, watching that huge Dire Wolf's record of being able to single-handedly take on a stitched corpse in the arena was also somewhat gratifying for Hu Jinsi.

After all, they say you raise a wolf for a thousand days to use it for one moment; in less than three months, it would almost be time for the harvest.

Clearly, he hadn't realized yet that he had only been raising this Dire Wolf for less than two weeks, yet he was already fantasizing about the harvest.

...

For the rest of the afternoon, Hu Jinsi maintained highly efficient meditation.

Qi flowed slowly within his body, rising from the Dantian, sinking into the Sea of Qi, and then dispersing to his limbs.

The sunlight outside slanted in, casting checkered patches of light on the floor.

Hu Jinsi's breathing was steady and long, and every inhalation and exhalation drove the circulation of his True Qi.

He felt the flow of energy within his body, from the Dantian to the Tanzhong, and then sinking into the Sea of Qi.

This cycle had continued for nearly two hours; his state was getting better and better, and his mind was becoming increasingly clear.

When the meditation ended, he opened his eyes, and the sunlight outside had shifted westward.

He stretched, his bones making a faint clicking sound.

When the Dire Wolf was brought back, its condition was beyond Hu Jinsi's expectations.

It didn't have that hollowed-out feeling from last time; instead, it was full of vigor.

Its iron-gray fur was lustrous, and its tail wagged even more cheerfully than usual.

Its amber eyes held a look of satisfaction.

Hu Jinsi stroked its head, and the cub nuzzled his palm affectionately.

The Dire Wolf's tongue licked his fingers, carrying a faint, meaty smell.

Hu Jinsi wrinkled his nose but didn't pull his hand away.

After communicating with Su Wan, Hu Jinsi learned that Mother Su was home in the afternoon.

This Dire Wolf was clearly a master of social etiquette; the moment it arrived at Su Wan's home, it identified Mother Su as the alpha wolf of the household.

It fawned over Mother Su in various ways, causing many of Su Qing and Su Yu's tactics to be ineffective against it.

Mother Su's doting on the Dire Wolf was clearly beyond imagination.

According to Su Wan's later description, as soon as the Dire Wolf arrived at her house, it took the initiative to lie down at Mother Su's feet, tail wagging gently, looking at her with watery eyes.

Mother Su was so delighted by this furry big guy that she cooked something special just for it.

Hu Jinsi was not surprised by this.

He spent every day with the Dire Wolf and was long accustomed to its display of emotional intelligence.

In a sense, the Dire Wolf was the member of the team with the highest EQ.

It was better at reading the room than most people, knowing who was in charge and who was easy to talk to.

Hu Jinsi took a fresh lamb chop from his backpack and put it into the electric griddle.

The fat sizzled, and the aroma soon filled the entire living room.

The Dire Wolf's nose twitched, and its ears perked up, but its eyes remained fixed on the TV screen, seemingly hesitating between continuing to watch or going to eat.

After returning, the Dire Wolf habitually climbed onto the sofa.

It tapped the remote control on the coffee table with its paw, starting to slowly change channels, looking for the programs it liked to watch.

The light from the TV screen reflected in its amber eyes, flickering on and off.

Hu Jinsi watched its practiced movements, his facial muscles twitching slightly.

The Dire Wolf finally stopped on a variety show channel.

On the screen, several well-dressed people were playing a game, and the Dire Wolf watched with great interest, its tail swaying gently to the rhythm of the program.

Hu Jinsi cut the lamb chop into small pieces and placed them in the food bowl in front of the Dire Wolf.

Seeing the Dire Wolf watching TV over there, Hu Jinsi, for some reason, was suddenly struck by a whim.

He opened his terminal and searched for the keyword "Spirit Ball" in the professional mall.

Input, search, wait.

The results popped up on the screen, and his eyes suddenly lit up—it actually existed.

But he had never heard of the existence of any relevant dungeon.

Hu Jinsi's fingers slid across the screen, browsing through various related products.

Spirit Balls, Great Balls, Ultra Balls, Master Balls—all kinds of models were available.

Prices ranged from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands, and the functions varied.

He compared the pros and cons in his mind as he looked.

It was just that he didn't know which element of its native world was missing after the dungeon merged with Water Blue Star, but the properties of this "Spirit Ball" were different from what Hu Jinsi had expected.

He clicked on the details page and read the instructions line by line.

The more he read, the tighter his brows furrowed; it was too different from the thing in his memory.

"Spirit Ball"

[Type: Wonder Item]

[Containment: Can only contain one willing creature of Tiny or Small size; cannot contain humanoid creatures, magical beasts, dragons, constructs, or undead creatures. One Spirit Ball can only hold 1 creature at a time.]

[Release: Press the button and throw the ball onto an empty space within 1.5 meters in front of you. The contained creature will reappear at the location where the ball lands, possessing the full health and status from the moment it was contained.]

[Maintenance and Limitations: The contained creature can safely stay inside the ball for up to 8 hours. Exceeding this time will cause force field damage, and it will be forcibly ejected.]

[Item Description: A smooth, red and white spherical object, approximately 8 centimeters in diameter, with a push-button in the center. The surface of the sphere is cold, and it has a hollow echo when tapped.]

Hu Jinsi stared at this item description several times.

Compared to the thing in his past life's memory, this version clearly lacked the most critical functions.

There was no capture mechanism, no taming effect; the creature was completely static inside, not to mention being able to enter or exit on its own.

This cheapest "Spirit Ball" could only hold some small creatures, like kittens or puppies.

It couldn't even hold a magical beast, yet the selling price was 5000 credits.

5000 credits could only buy a high-end cage; it was a bit too extravagant.

It was purely a containment vessel, and it also limited the containment time.

It could be said to be a lower-tier substitute for a Beast Taming Bag.

Hu Jinsi shook his head; the price and utility were not proportional.

Although Beast Taming Bags were expensive, they at least allowed the creatures inside to live, rest, and even grow normally.

This Spirit Ball, on the other hand, stopped time completely; the creature would be in the same state after staying inside for eight hours.

It was of no help to the growth of a cub, nor was it beneficial for the rest of an adult creature.

He searched again for a Spirit Ball that could hold an adult Dire Wolf, based on its size.

After some searching, he indeed found a type of "Great Ball".

It could fit the size of an adult Dire Wolf and also allowed for the containment of magical beasts.

However, the other attributes remained unchanged; it could still only stay inside for a maximum of 8 hours.

Just this one "Great Ball" required 40,000 credits.

Hu Jinsi clicked his tongue; this thing wasn't worth that much money.

Hu Jinsi leaned back on the sofa, the Dire Wolf's head resting on his lap.

While stroking the Dire Wolf's ears, he continued to browse the professional mall.

There were other types of spheres, but their functions were much the same.

Some could increase the stay time to twelve hours, but the price doubled directly.

But this was the cheapest solution they had retrieved so far.

He sent the link to the team group chat, adding his opinion: "Not recommended for purchase, for reference only."

After sending the message, he put the terminal aside and got up to get some water for the Dire Wolf.

After drinking water, the Dire Wolf climbed back onto the sofa to continue watching TV.

Its attention was completely drawn by the variety show on the screen, and it was completely indifferent to Hu Jinsi's search behavior just now.

Hu Jinsi looked at its back, thinking that this guy really needed a better carrying solution.

Not long after, Lin Rui sent Hu Jinsi another link.

Upon clicking it, he saw that there were places providing rental services for these Spirit Balls or Great Balls.

For one Great Ball, the daily rent was 50 credits per day, but it required a deposit of 4000 credits.

At the same time, one had to leave various information such as an ID card and bank card, and register online.

Regardless, at least the price of this solution was acceptable to the three of them.

Hu Jinsi finally had a plan to carry the Dire Wolf to other cities during the May Day holiday.

Hu Jinsi did the math.

Including the round trip, the May Day holiday would require renting for about five to six days.

The deposit was refundable, and the total rent would only be at most 300 credits.

This amount of money was not much and was completely within their affordable range.

Originally, he had planned that if he couldn't take it with him, he would foster the Dire Wolf at Su Wan's or Lin Rui's house first.

But now it seemed that the Dire Wolf wouldn't have to suffer that kind of unknown life.

Hu Jinsi stroked the Dire Wolf's head, and the cub tilted its head to look at him, its tail wagging gently.

Taking advantage of Lin Rui and Su Wan being online, Hu Jinsi also shared the information Zhen Jin had sent to the group.

At the same time, he pointed out some of the content Zhen Jin had warned him about, especially noting the experience bonus for the Soldier class in the "Unparalleled Hulao Pass" dungeon.

Lin Rui saw the content Hu Jinsi sent and was indeed very interested.

The three agreed to go to the Wei City branch of the shop that rented "Great Balls" to take a look at noon tomorrow.

They would eat out while they were at it and discuss their respective May Day plans.

After chatting, the three went offline, and there was nothing to report for the night.

...

On Thursday morning, when Hu Jinsi got up, he found the Dire Wolf already lying on the sofa in the living room, watching the news broadcast by itself.

The host's standard broadcasting tone echoed in the living room; the Dire Wolf's ears were perked up, and its gaze was focused intently on the screen, as if it really understood something.

Hu Jinsi had to exclaim that the intelligence of this magical beast was truly exaggerated.

In such a short time, it could already understand things like the news broadcast.

Would it be able to help him write some homework in another month or two?

Hu Jinsi finished washing up and took milk and bread from the refrigerator.

He hastily ate a few bites himself and then prepared the Dire Wolf's breakfast.

The Dire Wolf's breakfast was a half-cooked lamb chop, plus a bowl of clear water.

The Dire Wolf lowered its head and ate with relish, making satisfied chewing sounds.

When Hu Jinsi finished preparing breakfast for the Dire Wolf, he found that the Dire Wolf was already playing a game on the TV.

Hu Jinsi was a bit confused; he didn't remember installing any interactive games on the TV.

Fortunately, the Dire Wolf hadn't learned the skill of making in-game purchases yet.

Otherwise, he would really have to consider installing an anti-addiction system for the Dire Wolf.

In the morning, Hu Jinsi received messages from four or five classmates here and there.

They wanted to find Hu Jinsi to buy or trade for some special medicine to treat rabies.

Hu Jinsi replied one by one, noting the quantity and the agreed time.

Some of these classmates had bought it before, felt the effect was good, and wanted another batch.

Others had heard from others that it was useful and were asking for the first time.

Hu Jinsi replied to the messages while calculating his inventory in his mind.

There was still plenty of raw material left, but refining it required time and ventilation conditions.

This time, Hu Jinsi also felt it was quite a coincidence.

With his acquisition of the new skill "Inoculation Therapy", the consumption of potions on Lin Rui's side would also decrease, which would just happen to help him, Hu, clear his inventory.

Those raw materials were piled up in the corner, taking up a lot of space, and it would be best if they could be exchanged for credits.