Monster Pet Evolution

Some of the Arctic locals still found it hard to believe that the Icefall Bear had actually lost. It's not someone in a bear suit, is it?

Some eventually dismissed the thought. Who could possibly be desperate enough to play such a demanding role? Then again, there was no way a wild monster would abide by a human being's orders so obediently.

A couple of trainers, still unable to accept the Icefall Bear's loss, sent out their familiars to test the Six-Horned Dreadwolf. Naturally, Huang Ya accepted all their challenges.

A total of three trainers had stepped forth to challenge the Six-Horned Dreadwolf. Two of them had earned a bit of reputation for themselves in the region. However, the Six-Horned Dreadwolf defeated all three of them rather easily.

After the opening ceremony, the store was officially opened to the Arctic public. The threshold was nearly stomped to pieces as the people stormed in. Some were just checking the place out of curiosity, while there were others who were genuinely interested in buying a familiar.

"Fanny, tomorrow's your eighteenth birthday. What kind of familiar do you want to buy?" said a huge Arctic man, stroking his stubbled chin.

"Dad, I want that one! It looks really cool!" said a blonde-haired girl, her eyes twinkling as she pointed at a huge blue-grayish centipede in a cage.

"Oh... oh my. Wouldn't you rather have something else?" said her father, his eye twitching slightly. He was, in every sense of the word, a manly man who thought that lions, tigers, and bears looked adorable. Before the Cataclysm, his family had even had a brown bear as a pet.

However, creepy-crawlies were the one thing he couldn't stand. He was fine with just looking at these multi-legged freaks of nature from a distance, but if his daughter was going to bring one home… Living under the same roof with a centipede that size would definitely be a challenge.

"My dear daughter, why don't you find another one? How does that sound?" asked Wolfgang with a strained smile.

"No, didn't you say I can pick whatever familiar I want? Do you think all centipedes look ugly? Do you hate them that much?" Fanny was looking at her father intensely.

"Er... Of course not, my dear."

Wait... am I seeing things? Wolfgang rubbed his eyes. He could have sworn that a huge purple centipede was glaring at him contemptuously from a wall.

Is that hatred in its eyes? he thought, his heart racing in his chest.

Hmph, how dare you call all centipedes ugly. Da Zi narrowed its eyes at the ugly blonde-haired man.

As these meaty Arctic locals were more used to raising furry warm-blooded monsters as their familiars, monsters like the blue-grayish centipede weren't advertised as the store's main merchandise.

On the other hand, people from the Huaxia and Southeast regions loved scorpions, centipedes, and the like. They simply couldn't get enough of these twitchy little critters.

The blue-grayish centipede was a Glacial Bone Centipede, a type of Commander-tier monster. However, it was still a newborn. As soon as it entered adulthood, it would naturally reach Commander-tier.

Trainers all around the world now had a much higher expectation for familiars. This new generation of trainers wouldn't give Normal-tier familiars the time of day unless they happened to have extraordinarily high grades. As a result, Excellent-tier familiars had become the hottest products on the market.

As soon as these young people thought they had the slightest qualification to become monster trainers, they would automatically choose Commander-tier monster newborns as their first familiars.

However, Lord-tier monster newborns were still beyond the reach of most people.

"All right then, if you insist. Let's buy this centipede." Wolfgang finally gave in to his daughter's demands. He just couldn't say no to his little princess.

"Dad, when I grow up, I want to buy a Glacial Bone Centipede just like big sis!" said nine-year-old Tommie excitedly.

Wolfgang ruffled his son's hair lovingly.

"Son, if you do, I'll have to break your centipede's legs."

Tommie pouted. Why didn't you say that to big sis just now?

When Wolfgang returned home with his son and daughter, Wolfgang's wife came out to embrace him.

"Is this the familiar you bought for our daughter?" asked his wife, looking curiously at the 10-foot-long blue-grayish centipede.

"She insisted on buying it. I couldn't change her mind," said Wolfgang, shaking his head.

"Yes, Mama. Look at how cute it is," said Fanny. She then produced a small, polished gray stone from her pocket and set it on the ground.

Smelling the gray stone, the Glacial Bone Centipede crawled over to it, then devoured the stone without leaving a crumb on the floor.

"All right, I'm not going to say anything about your decision... But I must know, what use does a centipede have? It's your first familiar. You really should think carefully about this sort of thing before making such an important decision, you know."

"It has a high defense. See for yourself." Fanny rushed to her father's storage room. When she came back, she was holding a rubber band gun in her hand. She took aim at the Glacial Bone Centipede and shot at it.

Sparks flew as the gun's pellet struck the centipede's sturdy exoskeleton, letting out a hollow clang.

There wasn't a dent on the centipede's blue-grayish body. It still looked brand new.

"It just reached Excellent-grade. When it grows into a Commander-tier familiar, its defenses will become even better," boasted Fanny to her parents.

The familiars that these people had bought from Gao Peng's store would naturally pique the interest of their friends and family. Once word of his familiar store got out, the store would be guaranteed to receive a steady flow of customers for the next few days.

The day finally ended. Huang Ya did an inventory of the store's stock. They had sold a total of 78 monsters, 18 of them being adult monsters and the remaining 60 being monster newborns.

That day's income alone was enough to cover their travel expenses and the expenditure required to raise their monster stock. The rest of their monsters would bring them a considerable profit in the next few days.

However...

"Young Master Gao, the monsters' freight expenses are just too expensive," said Huang Ya with a bitter smile.

The freight expenses that incurred during the transportation of all these Commander-tier monsters had reached an astronomical figure. Huang Ya feared that they might not be earning enough to pay it off.

"Don't worry. Have headquarters send over 300 more monsters. We'll just pay out of the company's pocket for now. We could also hunt for monsters with potential in the Arctic wilderness and raise them in a specially built monster training facility here. I'll need someone I can trust to oversee our operations here, someone who can really command everyone's attention," muttered Gao Peng. He glanced at Huang Ya. "Do you have anyone in mind?"

Huang Ya fell silent as he raked his mind for someone that fit such a description. Finally, he said, "If Young Master Gao thinks I'm trustworthy enough, then allow me to shoulder such a burden! I promise I won't disappoint..."

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to remain in the Southern Sky headquarters. If you leave, I won't have anyone trustworthy enough looking after the place for me," said Gao Peng patiently. "I'm not looking for someone high-ranking. For now, I only want someone who is loyal, not afraid of taking risks, and of course, intelligent enough to carry out this task."

With Gao Peng's incredible talent for raising familiars in mind, Huang Ya suddenly thought of the perfect candidate for the job. "Ji Changming. He's one of the up-and-coming newbies in the reconnaissance division. He has a decisive way of doing things and great judgment to boot. He's also an intelligent man who knows his place in the company."

"I see," said Gao Peng, nodding. "Could you have this Ji Changming come to my place later? You can go now."

"Thank you."