Chapter 70: Venturing into Stellar Rift (Part-9)

The buffalo convulsed violently, blood spraying across the swamp. Lin Fang’s stomach sank as the pregnant beast collapsed, lifeless. His mind raced for a solution—he could have used the Jade Spirit Tonic, but 1,000 coins seemed a steep price, and the moment had passed.

“Tempest! You idiotic bird… Why… why did you do that?” Lin Fang’s voice trembled as he approached the prehistoric beast, now cowering slightly with its head crouched and its beak touching the ground.

Lin Fang knelt beside the buffalo, placing a hand gently on its warm, bloodied fur. His chest tightened with regret. “It’s… It’s my fault too,” he whispered. “I should have known. You were too hungry, and I… I didn’t earn your respect. I should have commanded you more firmly.”

Lin Fang, over the past few days, had killed dozens of monsters, many of them he personally killed with his twin daggers, too, but there was a bottom line he had. He couldn’t justify the killing of a pregnant monster that is not even a carnivorous or aggressive type.

Realizing why the system had given him the skill Lord of the Summons because of their inherent nature, he could only blame himself for not having tight control over his monster and exhaled, speaking firmly, but with patience. “Eat… but next time, when I say not to attack, understand? Do not harm monsters—or humans—if I forbid it.”

Tempest didn’t respond verbally. It only gave a low, warning screech before rushing to devour the buffalo carcass. Lin Fang shook his head and muttered under his breath, “I should have let it hunt in that herd instead. It should have been less crue… Hmm?”

He bent down to inspect the fallen buffalo, spotting something strange. From the mother’s rear, a small, trembling figure emerged. Lin Fang’s eyes widened. “A calf?” Standing unsteadily, its tiny legs wobbling as it tried to move forward.

“Wait… monsters don’t give birth like this, right? Aren’t they all hatched from eggs?”

Lin Fang’s mind raced. According to his knowledge, only humans could be born directly from the wombs of their mothers, but monsters… from insects to elephants… always came from eggs since the beginning of time. Yet here was a live-born calf, staring at him with wide eyes.

Then why this abnormality?

Piqued with curiosity, Lin Fang went on activating the inspection skill. The system processed the creature.

Name: Hydro Buffalo Demon

Grade: Rare

Potential: Level-65 (Emperor Tier)

Element: Demonic

Lin Fang’s jaw dropped. A demonic element? What is that? And moreover, this is an Emperor Tier potential beast? A calf born from a commander tier?

Meanwhile, Tempest suddenly shifted its attention and let out a deep, rumbling screech, raising its head to glare at the newborn. The hunger is evident in its eyes as if it couldn’t wait to grab it and eat the tender flesh of this baby.

Meanwhile, the calf shivered at the intimidating aura, its small body collapsing in fear. Lin Fang’s instincts immediately kicked in. He dashed forward, shielding the calf from Tempest’s gaze, and knelt beside it.

“It’s alright… I’m here,” he murmured, wrapping his hands gently around its tiny body and hugging it. “No one will hurt you.”

Almost immediately, a radiant glow enveloped the calf. Light shimmered over its fragile form, and Lin Fang’s eyes widened in shock. The tiny buffalo transformed before him, growing slightly larger, a pair of curved horns sprouting elegantly from its head.

Ding!

[You have formed a bond with a demon.]

[Demon Contract Summons unlocked]

[You receive 10,000 coins as a reward.]

[Demons can now be stored in your pet inventory.]

[Demons can be leveled up using Growth Pills.]

Notifications flooded Lin Fang’s screen, each one heavier than the last. He blinked, incredulous. First monsters, then undead… and now demons?

“This… this is what they mean by the Summoner System,” he muttered, his voice a mix of disbelief and excitement.

He looked at Tempest, who was quietly observing the calf with no longer a predatory glint in its eyes, but instead like a family, as if it welcomed it as its own. Then he looked at the baby demon, now safe in his arms, feeling the warmth and faint pulse of its life.

Lin Fang exhaled slowly, a faint smile appearing on his face. “Alright… looks like our adventure just got a lot more interesting.”

After naming it as Hydra, Lin Fang gently placed the newborn Hydro Buffalo Demon into his pet inventory. The little creature cooed softly as if sensing safety.

But the main reason he placed it in his inventory is because of the fact that Tempest is slowly devouring its mother’s carcass. For Lin Fang, protecting the newborn’s trust became more important than immediate convenience.

While Tempest is busy with the meal, Lin Fang extracted its spirit core through his own efforts, using the daggers to cut down its body. Soon, a blood colored crystal landed in his hands.

*Ding!

[You found a Demonic spirit core]

[Demonic spirit cores aren’t suitable for the host’s ingestion.]

[Would you like to feed it to a demonic monster companion or exchange it for 1200 coins?]

“Hmm… this is new.” Lin Fang was taken aback by the new notification. He never got such a notification before. He also didn’t know that he could feed these cores to his monster companions, too. But then something clicked in his head, and his eyes lit up in realization. “Yup, that’s it. The ones I got from the system can’t ingest these spirit cores. Their only way of leveling up is through the nursery pen and those pills.”

“Use it. I have no use for the coins at the moment. There are enough, already.”

The pet inventory opened up on its own, showing three monsters inside. However, two of them are grayed out, and only Hydra is available. He clicked on it.

*Ding!

[Hydra is selected.]

As the spirit core in his hands dissipated into the specks of light, the image of the water buffalo calf lit up.

It wasn’t even summoned, unlike the growth pills at all. A few seconds later, the image returned to normal, and the familiar system chime with notification followed up.

*Ding!

[Hydra has been merged with the demonic spirit pill.]

[Would you like to raise its level to 32, or trigger evolution with a 30% chance?]

“Again with these weird choices?” He couldn’t help but blink in surprise. “First, Tempest’s disobedience and now, this… Today is going quite weird. Anyways, evolution is always a better option than simple level-ups, but it is only a 30% chance. If evolution isn’t triggered, it will go to waste. But, still…”

After thinking a bit, he clicked on an option as his face hardened with the choice. “Let’s gamble.”

*Ding!

[You picked evolution]

[Would you like to increase the chances of evolution to 80% with 100,000 coins?]

“Eh? 100,000 coins for an 80% chance? No way. Even if it evolves, I only get an epic grade one. Not worth at all…” Lin Fang didn’t even hesitate to make the choice. Letting out a scoff of disdain, he selected the No.

However, as the system is relentless in draining money from him, it sent another offer right away.

[Would you like to trigger a guaranteed evolution and a 30% chance of double evolution for 500,000 coins?]

“500,000?” Lin Fang almost screamed at that offer. Tempest paused its meal in the middle and stared at its monster, as if wondering what was wrong with him.

“No. Not interested. That’s 50 million you are talking about. I might not be able to exchange these for credits to live a great life but I definitely don’t want to waste such a huge amount for a 30% chance of legendary grade demon either.”

[You picked No]

“Okay, let’s begin with the evolu….”

*Ding!

[Would you like to trigger a guaranteed double evolution and a 30% chance of triple evolution for 1,000,000 coins?]

“Eh?”

Just how many evolutions does this demon buffalo have?

Lin Fang’s strong will wavered at the sight of the last offer. While 1 million coins, equivalent to 100 million credits in real life, is an exorbitant number, the chance of acquiring a mythical grade monster tempted him.

Without intending to, he started to think about the pros and cons already. With more than 600,000 coins, he could buy anything he wanted in the summoner’s shop. He could even buy Nemesis eggs and sell them through Shang Wei without a problem. On the other hand, if taken this offer, there is no guarantee that he can have a mythic grade demon, and only legendary grade is guaranteed and moreover, he will be riddled with more debt.

No matter how it seem, not taking this offer is a better option but…

Lin Fang hesitated.

He shut his eyes as he spoke aloud, “I…”

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