Rocky continued to sit on the bench while giving pills to his beast. Bobby ate them eagerly, clearly enjoying the taste.
(Indeed, I shouldn’t have doubted it.)
If he possessed piles of these pills, he wouldn’t need to worry about Bobby’s meals anymore. Plus, it was quite convenient when his beast could eat almost anything without any processing.
(I should make an exclusive formula and sell it. If so, money won’t be something I need to bother with anymore.)
Creak!
Two men opened the door and stepped in.
Walter smiled and said,
"This is my master, Grand Plant Scholar Theodore Little."
Theodore slowly approached the petal of a six red-skulled flower, commanding his cat to sniff it.
Just half a second later, the beast licked the petal in enjoyment. It then turned toward the old man, giving a clear sign.
The corner of Theodore’s lips slowly lifted in satisfaction. But then, his face quickly turned cold.
"Walter, after completing the deal with the boy, award him another ten thousand gold coins."
Just like that, he lazily walked toward the door, completely ignoring Rocky.
Walter scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Sorry, my master is that kind of person. He’s always busy."
Rocky suddenly spoke up, making both of them freeze for a moment.
"My master wants to join the Plant Association."
Walter’s face brightened. He quickly nodded and said,
"Really? That’s a good thing. Then we can meet another day when your master comes. Let me check my schedule."
Rocky sighed and added,
"Actually, my master won’t be able to return to the center of the world for at least three years. He’s really busy with his research. Moreover, he’s about to start a second project to discover a new noble plant... you know, he can’t put aside his work just to deal with trivial matters like this."
Walter’s face distorted when Rocky mentioned the second noble plant... a Grand Plant Scholar capable of discovering two of them. Even his master had only discovered a single noble plant so far.
He wanted to accept Rocky’s request right away, even offer him the best contract to sign, but recruiting a plant scholar without a formal meeting went against the rules.
He didn’t have enough authority to handle this matter on his own.
"Master, what do you think?"
Theodore rubbed his goat beard a few times. He pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Tch. It’s troublesome, but there’s still a way to deal with it."
He glanced at Rocky for a while and said,
"To be entitled to special treatment from the Plant Association, your master needs to prove his ability before ten Grand Plant Scholars. That new specimen is enough for that, but it’s still lacking a public performance in front of everyone in the Association... We need verification, and also a way to introduce our product to the world. In short—it’s marketing."
He then added,
"Luckily for you, there’s a contest among geniuses coming up. If you’re his disciple, it won’t be a big problem. Just take first place and leave a huge gap between you and the rest."
Then he gave Rocky a look, his eyes slowly narrowing. At that moment, his voice carried a clear warning.
"But I’ll warn you in advance. This is a global-level marketing campaign. Once you fail to take first place, the entire campaign is ruined. The Plant Association will lose a huge amount of money. You and your master will become our debtors."
Rocky smirked.
"Not a big deal. But I want a condition."
20 minutes later.
Walter handed Rocky a contract.
"You can read all the benefits of a grand plant scholar there. Just remember one thing: every five years, your master must submit five new researches to the Plant Association... though that’s not really a problem for your master. A noble plant in just a few years, if so, even rare plants wouldn’t be much in his eyes."
Rocky nodded and read through the contract, focusing on the benefits. He would receive one thousand gold coins every month. More importantly, he would gain access to knowledge about secret products that could empower beasts.
Of course, all of that would come after he took first place in the contest.
"Here. With this badge, you can go anywhere in the Plant Association without permission."
"A senior plant scholar badge... I’ll give it to you in advance."
Rocky frowned as he took the badge. He never thought he could obtain it so easily; even the professors at the academy hadn’t reached that position yet.
"Is this really okay? I haven’t completed my master’s request yet."
Walter smiled.
"Don’t worry. You’ll complete the contest perfectly. I just have one request... I want your master’s signature."
Rocky frowned in confusion.
"Uh... okay."
He just hoped Walter wouldn’t be too disappointed later—his master didn’t even exist.
1 day passed.
Rocky dressed in a black cloak, his beast the same. Through the hood, Rocky glanced at the stands, where the audience was chattering nonstop. Higher up, he could see ten grand plant scholars sitting on their thrones...a good spot to take in the view.
Then his gaze shifted to the candidates standing in the arena. He didn’t know any of them...yet when his eyes landed on the last two, he scowled.
(Scarlet?...Ah... I see. That explains why she didn’t show up last time in the plant course.)
Then, he glanced at the one beside Scarlet.
(...and that bastard, Travis.)
Nearby, Walter chuckled.
"It seems you know her... but no surprise. You and she both belong to great Clans."
He added in a proud voice, "She is my disciple... her demon tree has great talent in analyzing plants."
Rocky scratched his head in confusion.
(She has a second beast. I thought only when the first beast reaches level 100 can a beast tamer open the slot for the next one?...Damn...which means she’s an anomaly. Sigh, I still underestimated her ability anyway.)
Rocky tried to conceal his face under the hood and stepped forward. His ape did the same on his shoulder. Yet his beast still couldn’t hide the aura leaking from his back...a sign of the black zone, always unique, something that couldn’t be erased by cheap tricks.
The presenter cleared his throat before shouting,
"Ladies and gentlemen... today is a special day, as we introduce two new products to the world. But before that, let us begin today’s special performance."
"A contest among the disciples of senior plant scholars, those destined to lead the Plant Association in the future... Plus, we have a very special candidate— a disciple of a new grand plant scholar, who joined the association just a few days ago."
The presenter screamed and pointed at Rocky, drawing everyone’s attention.
"It’s himmmmm! The super talent, the anonymous plant scholar!"
A/N: I hope you enjoy this novel. Support by adding to your library and giving a power stone or two. Thank you.
I will also appreciate a review to keep me motivated.