Chapter 25 Forging a Sword for the Dog_1

The next day.

Lu Ran woke up and glanced at the time.

Well... the sun was already shining on his butt.

He had slept for a straight twelve hours.

Finally, his weary body had gotten some rest.

Since entering the Novice Trial Secret Realm, he hadn't had a proper rest.

Plus, this time, he didn't have that weird dream, which allowed Lu Ran to sleep soundly.

"Awesome!"

On the soft big bed, Lu Ran stretched lazily.

After waking up, he still felt a bit surreal.

It just felt like the previous experiences were also part of a dream.

But after summoning Black Card, he understood that it was all real.

After tidying up a bit, Lu Ran realized no one was in the living room and knew Fang Lan had definitely not woken up yet.

He didn't go to wake her up.

Do all girls stay up so late?

Fang Lan went through the Novice Secret Realm too, but it seemed she stayed up late last night chatting in the group.

She'd probably sleep till the afternoon, or even evening.

After leaving a message for Fang Lan, Lu Ran quietly left the place.

Then, taking a taxi, he spent half an hour to get back to his own home.

First, he sent the information that needed to be sent to Little White Dragon; then he quickly prepared some food.

"Awoo!!!"

After getting food ready, Lu Ran summoned Mr. Husky, who had been cooped up inside Black Card for half a day and was nearly bursting with pent-up energy.

If it weren't for Lu Ran's prior warning, the creature would probably have torn the Black Card apart.

The next day there would have been the headline "Extraordinary Husky Shreds Card and Devours Owner."

At this moment, seeing food as soon as he came out, Mr. Husky's eyes brightened, he restrained his impulsive heart, and immediately buried his head in the food bowl.

"Eat up, eat up."

"We're going to Infinite City later."

Lu Ran planned to return to Infinite City once more.

It wasn't that he was ready to enter the Secret Realm so soon.

He wanted to see if the smithy was open for business today.

His Meteorite Mine was still waiting to be forged into a sword.

If Mr. Husky, who already looked formidable with a stick in its mouth, was to brandish a Divine Sword fashioned from Meteorite Mine, wouldn't it be chaos incarnate?

Even against a Tiger of the same Species Level that had awakened an Attribute, it should have a fighting chance, right?

"Woof." Mr. Husky nodded, speeding up his eating.

"Speaking of which, Shaping, Flowing, Compression, Release—the advanced energy application skills—which one do you want to practice first?"

Lu Ran pondered while watching Mr. Husky eat.

Mr. Husky's Species Level was still low, but it had a strong learning ability.

To fight beyond one's Species Level, he needed to use this advantage and hurry in developing skills.

"Wu~" Mr. Husky blissfully indicated, wanting to learn them all.

He believed in his own talents!

"That's right, let's train all of them at the same time! Set a small target first, develop one skill in each of the four categories."

"Wu wu!" Mr. Husky's mouth cracked open in a smile and he nodded like mad, indicating no problem.

"However, I feel like just practicing these four won't bring out all of your potential. I've thought about it, we should add a little bit of cultural lessons to the training content in the future," Lu Ran decided after a moment of thought, clapping his hands.

Upon hearing this, the smile that had just appeared on Mr. Husky's face gradually vanished.

Cultural lessons—was it referring to the dull things Lu Ran did while writing furiously under the lamp every night?

Food fell out of Mr. Husky's mouth as he took a step back in horror, his eyes wide open.

He could bear any kind of training that released energy and made him stronger, but cultural lessons...

Lu Ran sat down.

"I feel it's quite necessary."

Actually, what he was most worried about wasn't Mr. Husky's combat power.

But its intelligence.

Not combat intelligence, but everyday intelligence.

After all, in the year they had been together, the Doggo was indeed not too bright.

Everyday intelligence was also very important.

Just like before in Demon Cat Forest.

The fool actually drooled over a poisonous mushroom.

Does that make any sense? Does it?

If I'm not around, Lu Ran dare assert, this guy wouldn't survive three chapters.

Any college student with a little bit of brains could easily trick this doggo until it's lost.

As a Beast Trainer, Lu Ran was obviously very concerned about the guy's mental state.

Since he himself was the model student who excelled in both arts and athletics, he wanted Mr. Husky to also be "well-rounded" to avoid being tricked in the future, so Lu Ran decided to assign some critical thinking and cultural lessons during Mr. Husky's downtime.

"As long as you learn quickly, there will always be more to learn," Lu Ran said.

"Woof woof~" Mr. Husky looked sad and lowered his head to gaze at his food bowl, suddenly finding his meal less appetizing.

It was one thing to train a dog to use a sword, which it had accepted, but now to have the dog read books?

This grievance, it noted.

...

[When you wake up, remember to tell mom and dad about us becoming Beast Trainers. I'm going to Infinite City for a while and don't know when I'll be back. If there's an emergency, you can find me in Infinite City. You remember my ID, right? Passerby A, 9528, just add me as a friend.]

After Mr. Husky gloomily finished his meal, Lu Ran sent him back into the card to contemplate his dog life.

Glancing at the message he left for Fang Lan one more time, Lu Ran confirmed there were no issues, then he took out his identity card and activated the teleportation function.

[Do you wish to spend 5 crystal coins to teleport to Infinite City?]

Yes.

As soon as Lu Ran's thought landed,

Crystal coins -5.

After ten seconds, he arrived at Infinite City once more after a day, reaching his own private room.

Lu Ran didn't plan to stay long; though he intended to have Mr. Husky learn new skills, it was not the time for that yet.

Before leaving, Lu Ran checked his crystal coin balance, all good, there were still plenty.

Wondering how much it would cost to forge a decent weapon.

Lu Ran pushed open the door and walked straight towards the edge of the residential area. This time, he didn't see Little White Dragon by the door.

Besides registering his identity as a Beast Trainer, he also had business with Little White Dragon, which was to solve his high school attendance issue.

But since he had asked for leave from holiday tutoring and school was still a ways off, it wasn't urgent.

"Let's go."

This time, feeling quite energetic, Lu Ran didn't choose any mode of transport but walked towards his destination instead.

It was a good chance to take in the scenery of Infinite City on this stretch of road.

Along the way, Lu Ran saw many people, most of whom, like him, seemed like country folk coming to the city for the first time, stopping here and there as if touring a scenic spot.

Lu Ran guessed that these were all newcomers who had entered Infinite City not long ago and were extremely curious about everything.

"It's only been a day, but it's much livelier than yesterday."

Moreover, Lu Ran gradually figured out how to tell "veterans" from "newcomers."

The newcomers mostly wore normal clothes, while the veterans, some of whom belonged to official organizations, wore relatively formal uniforms that looked custom-made; as for the unofficial ones, their attire varied widely.

Armor, mage robes, beast hide clothing, Taoist garb... It all left Lu Ran a bit disoriented and aware of the inconsistent styles.

"Ordinary clothes are probably what they wore here from reality, and these distinctive ones might be custom made, like the Divine Deer Pendant, which are equipment with special functions due to added attributes."

On his walk, Lu Ran soon arrived at his destination, the Smithy. Looking up at the sign "Smithy", he sighed in relief, thankfully, it was open today.

Creak.

Lu Ran hadn't gone inside when the door opened from within, and out came a young man dressed as a hunter, wearing a six-pointed star badge on his chest, likely indicating a guild emblem, followed by a middle-aged man with a big belly, wearing only a white sleeveless vest and brown shorts.

The man said to the young hunter, "Good luck with your quest, and remember to bring me back a bottle of good wine."

"Definitely. Elder Lin, you go on with your work; looks like there's a new customer, I'll be off now," said the young hunter, glancing at Lu Ran outside, and then bid farewell.

"Hmm." Elder Lin shifted his gaze to Lu Ran at the doorway and said, "A newcomer, here for forging? Who referred you here?"

"Cat Ear Maid, are you Master Lin?" Lu Ran asked.

"That bunch of Information Dealers. Alright, come on in," Master Lin said, "but just so you know, my forging prices are not cheap, newcomers might not be able to afford it."

"I've brought my own materials," Lu Ran replied as he followed him into the Smithy, which had a simple layout with a counter, a few small round tables, and stools.

The walls, however, were quite a spectacle, adorned with various items, shields, scimitars, bows and arrows, armors, all looking finely made.

Behind the counter, there seemed to be another world entirely, separated by a curtain, another room from which, even from the outside, Lu Ran could feel the intense heat emanating.

"What material have you brought, and what do you want to forge?" Master Lin walked back behind the counter, sat down, and gestured for Lu Ran to take a seat as well.

"I have a piece of meteorite ore, and I want to forge a sword."

"Hmm? A top-grade material among advanced quality materials, not bad," Master Lin was surprised and asked, "For your personal use? But usually, meteorite ore is better suited for forging armor for Pet Beasts."

"It's for my Pet Beast," Lu Ran said.

"For your Pet Beast? A sword?" Master Lin sunk into thought and asked, "What is your Pet Beast, a monkey, an orangutan?"

Even with animal species capable of handling weapons, using a sword wasn't practical.

With such good material, why not forge some armor? At the very least, armguards would do.

"Neither. My Pet Beast is a Husky, so I need to customize the size for it. Can you do that?" Lu Ran said.

Master Lin: ???

Husky?

His expression became puzzled.

A sword for a Husky? What kind of joke was that? He had been in this line of work for so long, and this was the first time he came across such an eccentric client!