Sylas was facing a dilemma.
While the evolution of the Bone-Tailed Lizard was important to him, and the potential of Spine Coil Poison was exceptionally high as well, he already had three Bronze Beasts under his care. Would one more make such a large difference, especially if he couldn't level it up easily in the short term?
"Is there any way to make these prices cheaper?" Sylas asked.
Voxena's eyes blazed as though she had been waiting for this opportunity. But her words were caught in her throat when Sylas' gaze landed on Tongue'Head, who had been silent all the while.
The Familiar was caught off guard for a moment before eagerly nodding its large head.
"Yes, young elite! There are many ways, but the easiest methods are tailored to the Beast Master Tower itself. The trial young elite just underwent is only the entrance exam. If you make it onto the under-50 Beast Master rankings, there are discounts available, but only starting at the top 100.
"You can get all the way up to a full 80% discount on items for being in the top three."
Sylas raised an eyebrow. He was expecting something , but 80% felt… exaggerated. What reason did they have to give such benefits?
"And is that the only way?"
"No, there are other methods. For example, you can be sponsored. By joining a Beast Master Guild, they often give subsidies to their joiners that work very similarly to how a discount might, though technically speaking, the full amount is being paid."
Sylas nodded slowly and gave Voxena a glance. She seemed quite calm on the surface, but she was already cursing inwardly.
"What does it take to make it onto the Beast Master list? How does it compare to the Rune Master list?"
"To enter the Rune Master list, young elite had to participate in a Secret Realm challenge. For the Beast Master list, the challenge is much the same."
"And what of those that have certain specializations?"
"If young elite means those that focus on certain kinds of beasts, such as Wolf Masters or Turtle Masters, this is very common. The Beast Master Secret Realms have some elements that require more general Beast Master comprehension and knowledge, but on the whole, it will tailor itself to your strengths."
"And if you know nothing about general Beast Master practices?"
"Um…" Tongue'Head blinked its large, pill-shaped slit eyes. It didn't seem to have an immediate answer to this, as though it was calculating something. "… That would depend on how good young elite's other methods are. You would need to have at least a Silver Profession to make it into the top 100 without any other general knowledge outside of your own specializations."
"Is that so? Okay. Bring me to where I can enter the Secret Realm or buy one to enter."
"No need, no need. Here, entering the Secret Realms is always free for those who've gained entry."
Sylas had decided to take another risk. He could feel an uncomfortable number of gazes on him, and not all of them were friendly or just filled with shock and awe.
He could feel that they recognized him. He could feel that they knew that he was prey for them to take advantage of.
The name Sylas Grimblade had been circulating for a long while, only for him to suddenly appear here…
It was bound to cause a stir.
A small-framed woman in a thick hooded robe turned toward where Sylas disappeared, her eyes narrowing beneath the shadows. She had felt Sylas' gaze sweep over her just now, and the feeling left her…
Most had overlooked her easily from the moment she stepped in. Even the person at the counter she stood before seemed to forget that she was there from time to time. The only reason she wasn't entirely forgotten was because of the Skullhead by her side.
Unlike Tongue'Head, her Skullhead had bright blue skin and a blackened bone mask over its face to contrast its wild, pockmarked, violet tongue.
It was hard to miss it.
But Sylas definitely wasn't looking at her familiar.
Her gaze landed atop Sylas' head as though she was looking past him.
[Sylas Grimblade (???)]
Her heart skipped a beat, not just because of Sylas' Level, but because…
'I can't see his Grade? Is it because he's also from a Summoned World? No, I should have successfully translated my system already.'
She couldn't remember the last time someone's Mental had been able to obscure her from seeing something.
However, she calmed down later.
'… In the end, this is good for me. The more high profile he is… the more I can fly beneath the radar…'
After thinking this, minutes later, she silently left. The receptionist blinked as though confused by something before someone else came up and distracted them from their thoughts. Soon, they had forgotten that they had even been confused in the first place and began to help this person out.
In the end, the young woman disappeared having never bought anything from the Beast Master Tower. Clearly, her goal was very different from the others here.
Very soon, she would pose maybe the greatest challenge Sylas had ever faced in his life.
Sylas looked around the Secret Realm. It was about as he expected, an expansive land of white cloud just like the Rune Master Secret Realms had been.
According to Tongue'Head, the separations between Beast Masters were based on the current system rankings, from F- to FFF+…
The problem was how that rating system was decided. Apparently, an F- Beast Master had at least three F- Contracts, so on and so forth.
But Sylas… he had three Bronze Contracts.
This was supposedly the F- Secret Realm for Beast Masters and it would test his ability to adapt to, contract, and deal with F- beasts.
Much like with the Rune Master leaderboards, though, Sylas needed to reach the top 100 in the FF- Beast Master Secret Realm.
The question was… how different was this Grading system from Earth's?