Raindrops trickled down the dilapidated eaves, one by one, hitting the crooked wooden sign at the door.
The sign had long lost its color, with the paint peeling off, leaving only a few indistinct characters:
"Old Whi** Magical be**ts Hous*."
When the wind blew, the sign swayed gently, letting out a faint creaking sound.
Pushing open the door that was nearly falling off its hinges, one found the interior even more desolate than outside.
The room was almost completely bare. A few listless Magical beasts lay lazily inside their cages. On the only counter sat the shop's income for the month—air.
"Shopkeeper, how much is this… uh… dog?" Karn crouched in front of a cage, teasing the dog-like Magical beast inside. The creature, however, showed no interest in him. It stood up unsteadily, turned around, and ignored him.
Samuel sighed from behind the counter.
"Uncle Karn, stop teasing me."
"Besides you, nobody comes here anyway."
There was a hint of resignation in Samuel's voice. He had transmigrated into this world sixteen years ago, yet it was only a month ago that the memories of his previous life had finally awakened.
"If you really can't run the shop anymore, you can always join my adventure team," Karn squatting on the floor and looking up at him. "How much of the money Old White left you is still enough to last a few months?"
"I haven't spent any of that money. You must've heard the news by now,I'm planning to sell the house here this month and move to District 8."
Old White was Samuel's grandfather, the only family he had. The two had relied on each other for years, but Old White passed away when Samuel was fifteen. The Magica Beast Shop had originally been born from Old White's dream.
"District 8?!" Karn's messy hair did nothing to hide the shock on his face.
"You're selling a house in District 3 just to move to that godforsaken District 8! "He waved his arms in agitation. "That place is the very front line of the border! magical beasts charge in almost every day! I've heard they don't even have proper houses there,anything that gets built is smashed to pieces by magical beasts before long.
""I don't really have a choice. People in District 3 don't think much of artificially bred magical beasts, and there's no future for me here. You may have seen the Awakeners' Alliance's latest announcement. It says District 8 is currently supporting Awakeners, so I'm thinking of going there and giving it a try.
Samuel closed the brand-new ledger on the counter and tapped the cover lightly with his fingers. For a moment, the room fell silent.
"The danger in District 8 isn't just because of magical beasts attacks. It… forget it… I don't really know how to explain it." Karn scratched his head and frowned at Samuel. "Kid, you're not joking, are you?"
Samuel shook his head and replied calmly, "This is the result of careful consideration."
After speaking, he turned to look at the cages.
Inside one of them, the dog-shaped Magical beast lay there yawning lazily. It was an incompletely bred creature, still in a transitional stage. Aside from guarding doors and eating food, its only real value was serving as a decorative pet for nobles.
Samuel knew one thing very clearly: people in District 3 would only ever treat creatures like this as pets.
In this world, Knowledge of magical beast breeding was still at a very primitive stage. People simply allowed first-generation Magical beasts to reproduce. The result was nothing more than mass-produced Magical beast with no intelligence. When people failed to see meaningful results from these second-generation creatures, those who had rushed into the industry began leaving one after another.
In the end, the profession of Magical beast breeder had become something of a joke.
The new policies in District 8 have given him a glimmer of hope. He's begun to wonder whether this might be the only chance he'll ever have in his life.
"Oh right, Karn. This is a parting gift for you." Samuel turned and walked into the breeding room. From a homemade incubator, he took out an magical beast egg. "Take it. I'm certain it will make you famous in the mercenary world."
The eggshell was blackish-gray, streaked with several flowing blue-violet patterns that shimmered faintly.
"What kind of little guy is this? If it's as sickly as the ones in your cages, I don't want it," Karn said. Yet despite his words, his hands very honestly picked up the egg and scan from left to right.
Samuel watched the scene and raised his eyebrows with a smug smile.
At the same time, he silently called out in his mind:
"System."
A pale blue interface immediately appeared before his eyes.
[Magical beast Breeding System]
Current Species Unlock Progress: Soul-Locking Doll (100%)
Remaining Incubation Time: 7 Days
Species Available for Research: 5
Species Already Simulated: Soul-Locking Doll
(Abilities: Resentment, Thousand Needles and Threads, Ghost Thread Binding, Wraith Burst）
"This one isn't on the same level as the previous ones. In another seven days, it will hatch." Samuel narrowed his eyes slightly, wearing a mysterious and somewhat smug expression. "When that happens, I guarantee you'll be in for a big surprise."