BXBX NOVEL Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Blood-Stained Village
Staring at the gruesome corpse, a middle-aged man was overwhelmed with grief:
"Tell me, who killed Felix?"
"Boss, it was Charlie... no, it was Charles. He escaped from the tomb and somehow gained some strange power. He... he killed the second boss..."
Recalling the terrifying scene in the valley, the few bandits who had managed to escape trembled all over.
"A newly promoted second-level Beast Master killed the second boss?"
Felix was his son; he knew his strength well. His two mystical beasts, the twin tigers, were both at level 16. They could escape from even a third-level Beast Master, so how could they fall to a newly promoted kid?
Tears welled up in the middle-aged man\'s eyes. Though he was crying, his voice was chilling: "No matter what despicable means he used, for daring to kill my son, I, Bradley, swear to the heavens—"
"If I do not tear him limb from limb, I, Bradley, will cease to be human!"
Bradley howled towards the sky, the soundwaves infused with elemental energy, startling flocks of birds from the forest.
A bandit rushed into the tent, drenched in sweat and panting heavily:
"Boss, we used hunting dogs to track from the valley where it happened. We found a camp 50 kilometers away. It looks like it\'s Charles and his group."
Charles!
Hearing the name, a sinister grin spread across Bradley\'s face, and the teacup in his hand crumbled to dust.
...
At that moment, Charles was soaking in a bathtub. After drinking a bottle of [Regenerating Potion], a gentle glow surrounded him, washing away the fatigue from today\'s fierce battle.
He glanced at Max sleeping soundly in the mystical beast space and decided not to disturb him.
The dangers of the ferocious beast mountains were far beyond Charles\'s expectations. This was just the outer layer, and he had already encountered such formidable enemies.
Moreover, he was certain that after killing Felix, the bandits would not let him off easily.
He checked the points ranking on his phone, and the sip of juice he had just taken almost sprayed out of his mouth. He couldn\'t help but curse, "Grace is terrifying! In just over a week, she\'s already scored over 1000 points?"
This meant that the cumulative level of the ferocious beasts killed by Grace exceeded 1000. Just the thought of it sent shivers down Charles\'s spine.
"I heard that the top scorer in the training points gets a chance to enter the treasure vault of the three Imperial Capital academies, and everything in there is a treasure."
Besides these tangible benefits, the three Imperial Capital academies were the top theoretical research centers in Genosha. Studying there would surely allow Charles to understand more about the mysteries of this world.
Aredale Academy, Nova Academy, and Cyber Academy had a long history, with Aredale Academy even having ties to the Genosha royal family.
If he could enter one of these top academies, even if Charles found that he could never return to Earth, having such a background would ensure he lived comfortably in this Beast Mastery World.
"To enter the three Imperial Capital academies, I need to be in the top six in the points ranking. The next month and more will be a hard fight every day."
Already far behind, Charles knew he had to give his all every day from now on.
After his bath, Charles played with Mousie for a while before finally falling into a comfortable sleep.
...
Meanwhile, 100 kilometers away, not everyone was so comfortable.
"Charles killed Felix? How is that possible?" Robert\'s phone buzzed incessantly. The \'Trial Team Group\' chat was updating with dozens of messages every minute, all about Charles.
In Robert\'s mind, Charles was just a follower of Daniel.
Without Daniel as his backer, crushing him would be as easy as crushing an ant. But this sudden and shocking news in the group made him very curious about what had happened.
So, he posted a message in the group.
"I didn\'t have time to check the messages today. Can anyone explain how Charles managed to defeat Felix?"
Robert\'s message quickly garnered many replies.
"I\'m a survivor from the seventh group. We were surrounded by Felix in the valley today and almost wiped out. It was Charles who saved us."
"I\'m also from the seventh group. I can testify that even Teacher Fletcher couldn\'t defeat Felix, but Charles killed him in one move!"
"Are you talking about that traitor Felix from Lsengard? He became a second-level Beast Master three years ago. Are you saying that in less than a week, Charles has also advanced to the second level?"
"From the photos you posted, that explosion crater is nearly 20 meters in diameter. Even a fourth-tier ferocious beast couldn\'t cause that much damage!"
"Judging by your conversation, all I can say is that Charles is truly impressive! It\'s undeniable! We\'re all the same age, and I\'m struggling with level 6 ferocious beasts, while he\'s already dominating level 10 and above first-tier ferocious beasts."
"Don\'t be fooled by Charles\'s current low ranking. He\'s just keeping a low profile and hasn\'t started exerting his full strength yet."
"I feel with Charles\'s talent, getting into one of the three Imperial Capital academies this year is a sure thing."
"Can I switch to your seventh group? I want to be in Charles\'s team!"
"Does Charles have a girlfriend?"
"..."
Smack!
Before he could finish reading the messages, Robert angrily threw his phone: "Damn low profile, damn not yet exerting his strength, damn Charles..."
Robert\'s eyes were filled with jealousy.
Back in high school, he had a crush on their homeroom teacher, Lily. If it weren\'t for Charles transferring to their school, Lily might have been his by now.
Last week, before leaving Lsengard, Charles and Daniel had teamed up to trick him into buying a hemostatic powder for 50 silver coins.
Thinking about these new and old grievances, Robert was filled with hatred.
Charles and Daniel were close. If Charles found out that Robert had anything to do with Daniel\'s death, he could be in big trouble.
"Charles, you think you\'re so great?"
"In Lsengard, I\'ll make sure you understand the consequences of crossing me, Robert!"
He picked up his phone from the ground, its screen shattered.
Robert found Bradley\'s phone number and sent him the information he had gathered about the seventh group\'s upcoming route.
...
Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, creating a stifling heat in the forest that made it hard to breathe.
A trial team of just over twenty people carefully navigated through the thick woods.
At the front of the group, Fletcher urged them to pick up the pace: "Five kilometers ahead, there\'s a hunter\'s village. It\'s a crucial supply point in the ferocious beast mountains. If you need any supplies like drinking water or dry food, you can restock there."
It had been a week since they left the bloody pool, and the seventh group had gradually moved into the mid-levels of the ferocious beast mountains, encountering increasingly dangerous beasts, some even above level 10.
During this week, they had to fight and travel during the day and remain vigilant at night to guard against beast attacks.
Hearing there was a village ahead, the trial team members cheered and asked questions eagerly.
"Teacher Fletcher, does the village have guest rooms? Can I sleep on a soft, comfortable bed?"
"Only wooden beds."
"Teacher Fletcher, is there a supermarket? I haven\'t had a drink in half a month. I really want a bottle of chilled juice!"
"Only spring water."
...
Wearing his heavy Divine Scale Armor, Charles walked in the middle of the group, smiling at the surrounding chatter.
Spending a week in that dark tomb made him cherish the time with the main group even more.
Additionally, traveling with the main group had another advantage. The materials from ferocious beasts he didn\'t need and the miracle drugs he made could be exchanged with classmates for other materials or sold for money.
Charles checked his bank balance, and his phone received a text message.
[Dear customer, your account ending in 9527 currently has a balance of: 0 gold coins, 102 silver coins, 800 copper coins.]
For Charles, there was nothing more delightful than watching his bank balance steadily increase.
At this rate of earning, by the end of the training, he could have 1 gold coin!
The view ahead gradually opened up, and as they exited the forest, a few rows of thatched cottages came into view. This must be the hunter\'s village Fletcher mentioned.
The village was small and quite shabby.
However, seeing a human settlement in the beast-infested mountains was still a joy.
Fletcher politely stepped forward and knocked on the door: "Hello, we are the Lsengard training team passing through. Could we exchange some supplies?"
"Lsengard? That\'s a long way. Come inside, it\'s hot out here," a dark-skinned man called out, inviting the team inside.
As Charles was about to enter, he noticed one of the villagers looked very familiar. When he looked closer, a few lines of information appeared before his eyes.
[Name]: Uldir
[Age]: 36
[Height]: 182 cm
[Beast Master Level]: Level 1
Seeing this familiar name, Charles almost exclaimed: "You..."
Before Charles could finish his sentence, Uldir gave him a significant look and pulled him aside to the well: "Our spring water here is sweet and refreshing, and it\'s free. Make sure your classmates fill up before you leave!"
Once everyone else had moved away, Uldir lowered his voice: "Charles, you need to leave immediately. The villagers here have all been killed. The people you see are bandits in disguise!"
Following Uldir\'s gaze into the well, Charles saw it was filled with bodies, the water stained red with blood...