“Hmph.
Leon, you actually awakened as a Beast Tamer.
With your lack of resources, you’re completely doomed.” A gruff voice interrupted his thoughts.
Leon looked up and saw a heavily built student walking toward him.
His muscles bulged tightly beneath his high school uniform, clearly marking him as someone who underwent rigorous physical training.
Leon vaguely recalled this guy.
He was from Class 3, named Garrick, and had recently awakened a Purple Rare class: Steel Warrior.
In combat, a Steel Warrior could periodically stack temporary attack power and maximum health.
It felt remarkably similar to the Heart of Steel item effect from a popular video game in Leon’s past life.
If the attribute gains were permanent instead of time-limited, it would have easily qualified as a Legendary class.
Another one of Claire’s suitors looking for trouble?
Leon thought.
Over the years, plenty of people had tried to ambush him because of his proximity to Claire, but he had always managed to beat them back.
Having fought his fair share of street brawls in his previous life, Leon understood the grim realities of school bullying, so he had spent years quietly keeping himself in peak physical shape.
Furthermore, the legal system of this world considered it a serious criminal offense for a registered professional to initiate an unprovoked attack on a non-professional.
Because of this, Leon was exceptionally skilled at handling hot-headed students within the boundaries of the rules.
“I’m advising you to be smart and walk away, or you’re going to find yourself in deep trouble,” Garrick said, crossing his arms and looking down at Leon.
Leon let out a soft sneer.
“You—” “There are 100,000 credits in this card.
Get out of Zachary’s sight.” Garrick abruptly snapped a sleek bank card from his pocket, thrusting it right in front of Leon’s face.
Suddenly, the entire world seemed to fall dead silent.
Leon’s expression froze instantly.
His mouth remained half-open, his intended retort dying right in his throat.
He blinked twice, his eyelashes fluttering in sheer bewilderment as he tried to confirm that he wasn’t experiencing a vivid hallucination.
His gaze dropped to the bank card, shifted back to Garrick’s face, and then fell back to the card.
His face was a picture of absolute disbelief.
He stood paralyzed for several seconds, his mind racing at supersonic speeds.
Zachary?
Not Claire?
Wait, what exactly does Garrick want to do to Zachary?!
Once his brain finally processed the implication, Leon’s eyes sharpened.
His expression transformed into something profoundly solemn, and he spoke with absolute gravity.
“Do you have any idea what you’re asking?
Zachary is my dearest friend.
He is a brother, a literal soulmate whom I could never replace in this lifetime.” Garrick’s arrogant smirk faltered.
His eyes softened, replaced by a deep sense of respect for Leon’s loyalty.
He nodded slowly, lowering his voice out of reverence.
“I see.
I understand your feelings now.
It was my mistake; I shouldn’t have insulted a bond like yours with mere pocket change.” Leon’s face didn’t move an inch, but his eyes grew incredibly deep.
He tilted his head slightly, as if pondering a catastrophic moral dilemma, before delivering his firm counter-offer.
“No.
You just need to pay more.” The two teenagers locked eyes.
The air between them completely froze for a few long seconds.
The veins on Garrick’s forehead began to throb violently.
“150,000 credits,” Garrick growled through gritted teeth.
Leon’s eyebrows twitched upward.
A fleeting look of profound satisfaction crossed his features before he instantly locked his serious mask back into place.
“Make it 200,000 credits.
I’ll severely reduce my contact hours with him, and I’ll even throw in his exact personal schedule and coordinates for the rest of the evening.” “Deal.” Leon swiped the card, his fingertips tracing its crisp, cold edges.
He tried his best to maintain a stoic, unreadable face, but the slight, uncontrollable upturn at the corner of his lips completely betrayed his absolute euphoria.
A short while later.
“Huh?
Where the hell did that guy go?
Didn’t we explicitly agree to walk home together?” Zachary stood alone at the empty school gates, scratching his head in utter confusion.
Right at that moment, a massive, towering silhouette silently materialized directly behind Zachary’s back.
Meanwhile, Leon had already arrived at the sprawling pet market located in the southern district of the city.
The narrow, bustling alleys were packed to the brim with chaotic stalls and crowded storefronts, their iron cages housing an endless variety of exotic creatures.
There were juvenile salamanders coughing up tiny embers, crystal-winged birds radiating a soft ambient shimmer, and shadow cats huddled deep in corner cages, their slitted eyes tracking passersby with intense wariness.
Leon’s eyes swept rapidly across the displays, filtering out everything as he searched specifically for his ideal humanoid pet.
The vast majority of the inventory consisted of standard quadrupedal beasts.
He occasionally spotted a few centaur cubs or low-intelligence goblins, but none of them fulfilled his precise mechanical criteria.
“Boss, do you have any humanoid monster pets that can wield swords?” Leon stopped in front of a substantial, well-stocked storefront.
The shopkeeper, a bald, middle-aged man, was preoccupied with scrubbing the shell of a crystal turtle.
He glanced up at Leon, taking in his school uniform.
“A humanoid swordsman?
You’re looking for something like a Sword Servant or a Blade Slave.
Those are minimum Blue Elite or Purple Rare tier, kid.
That’s not a price tag an ordinary family can afford.” “What about something in the White Common tier?” Leon asked, refusing to give up.
The shopkeeper shook his head.
“White-quality humanoid pets are already incredibly rare, and finding one that can actually swing a sword?
Practically non-existent.” The man gestured toward a far corner.
“I’ve got some White-quality Miniature Stone Golems over there.
They’re technically humanoid, but their coordination is so garbage they struggle to hold a basic tree branch, let alone a sword.” Leon’s heart sank slightly, but he kept his face entirely expressionless.
He merely nodded politely.
“Alright, thanks.
I’ll keep looking.” Over the next two hours, Leon walked through almost every single lane in the market, receiving the exact same answer at every turn.
Humanoid, sword-wielding combat pets were structurally gated behind the Blue Elite tier and typically cost upwards of 500,000 credits—a figure that blew right past his current budget.
The sun was already dipping below the western horizon.
Leon stood near the main exit of the market, his face grim.
The 200,000 credits burning a hole in his pocket suddenly felt incredibly small.
The sum he thought would solve his entire crisis turned out to be nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
Is my only real option to go take out a high-interest student loan?
Just as Leon was spiraling into hesitation, a tiny, dilapidated stall tucked away in a neglected corner caught his attention.
The vendor was an old man draped in a heavily frayed robe.
There were only three cages set up in front of him, creating a stark, depressing contrast against the flashing neon signs of the neighboring shops.
Two of the cages were completely empty.
The rightmost cage, however, contained a lone Skeleton Soldier.
Leon’s footsteps stopped instantly.
His gaze locked onto the undead creature.
It had two perfectly functional hand bones.
More importantly, its jaw structure possessed a full set of interlocking teeth, perfect for clamping down hard on a third hilt.
Pure joy flashed across Leon’s face.
He quickly crossed over to the dilapidated stall.
“Old boss, how much for this one?” The old man raised his head, evaluating Leon with a slow, calculating squint.
“Skeleton Soldier.
White Common, Low Grade.
If you actually want it, I can let it go for 150,000 credits.” “Way too expensive!” Leon countered immediately, his voice dripping with calculated disdain.
“Boss, look at this Skeleton Soldier’s stat panel; it’s a complete disaster, and its base physical strength is below average.
It’s basically a glorified manual labor assistant.
In a real fight, a standard wild goblin would tear this thing to splinters in five seconds flat.” Leon pointed aggressively at the lifeless, rattling bones inside the cage.
The old man squinted back at him, his brow furrowing.
“If it’s such trash, why are you even trying to buy it?” “I’ve been drafting a business plan to open a horror-themed haunted house in the city center lately,” Leon lied smoothly without blinking.
“This rattling guy is the perfect prop to scare customers.” The vendor glanced over at the Skeleton Soldier.
The creature looked sufficiently creepy, but it truly was all show and no substance; its actual combat effectiveness was abysmal.
It had been sitting in his inventory for weeks without a single inquiry.
The old man stroked his chin.
“Fine.
Give me 140,000 credits.” “100,000.” “You’re slashing my throat here, kid!” The two haggled fiercely back and forth.
After a rapid, aggressive exchange of counter-offers, Leon finally secured the Skeleton Soldier for a final price of 120,000 credits.
The vendor pulled a blank sealing crystal from beneath his counter, channeling a beam of capturing light that completely enveloped the cage.
Within the blink of an eye, the pale Skeleton Soldier vanished into the light, leaving the surface of the crystal pulsing with a faint, steady luminescence.
“Here you go.” The old man tossed the pet crystal over.
Catching the crystal, Leon didn’t waste a single second.
He sprinted out of the market and headed straight toward a nearby professional guild facility.
He burst through the main lobby doors, where a receptionist in a sharp uniform immediately greeted him with a polished corporate smile.
“Welcome, sir.
What services do you require today?” “I need to rent a contract chamber,” Leon said, breathing heavily.
“Even the cheapest, lowest-tier room will do.”