Chapter 69: 69

Upon noticing the academy’s emblem on Locke’s uniform, the guard immediately went forward and asked, “Respected Beastmaster, may I ask whether you’re entering the training grounds?”

Locke nodded while handing 10 thousand Federal Coins to the guard. “Yes, this is the fee…”

The guard did not accept the money immediately. Instead, he politely responded, “It seems that you’re unfamiliar with the fees here. The Holy City’s training grounds are three-star training grounds, and as such, the fee is 100 thousand Federal Coins…”

“Oh, there’s such a distinction, huh?” Locke was struck by just how little he knew of the world. He realized that he had much to learn.

However, 100 thousand Federal Coins was a painful amount to part with.

Back when he advanced Infinite Fire Element, he was only left with a million Federal Coins or so.

Then, once his parents moved over, he had to spend 700 thousand or so Federal Coins to purchase a house for them. However, he had deemed it a necessary expense, and he did not regret it.

As such, he was willing to part with the 100 thousand Federal Coins. After all, once the White Family began their assault, Locke would be too busy fending them off to spend a single penny.

Looking at his remaining savings, Locke knew that once he rode out the upcoming storm, he would need to start making money again. Otherwise, he would not be able to afford any upgrade materials.

After receiving the money, the guard gestured for Locke to proceed. Knowing the limits of his strength, he followed the instruction board and walked towards the silver-tier training ground.

Even after walking around the silver-tier training ground for nearly half an hour, Locke did not encounter any Daemons.

‘Did the owner of the training center forget to stock up?’

Just as Locke was puzzling over the situation, he suddenly heard a weird animal cry.

He followed the direction of the sound and encountered a huge rock garden.

Scattered around the garden was several Daemons/

Upon closer inspection, the colorful creatures had a peculiar look to them.

Their bodies were covered in scales, and their wide wings were large enough to envelope a small bus.

‘Dragons?’ However, Locke dismissed the idea as quickly as it came to him.

Forget Beastmasters, even normal citizens knew that Dragons were the strongest Daemons, and their numbers were few and far between.

Each of their body parts were precious treasures that could be used to advance Battle Beasts.

As such, those who encountered Dragons had to count their blessings.

Despite that, even if Locke were to encounter a dragon, he doubted that he could defeat them. Their strength was leagues apart, after all!

Nevertheless, Locke was certain that the beasts before him were related to dragons, but they were definitely not the real deal!

As expected, after looking around, Locke discovered a board in the training ground:

Daemon: [ Earthen Drakes ]

Description: [ A lesser dragon that is born from dragons and other lesser creatures found in the wild! Although they are violent by nature, there are instances where Beastmasters successfully tame them as pets. ]

Level: [ Blue Elite Rank ]

“Whoa, as expected of the genes of dragons, they’re all elite rank!” Locke exclaimed, while looking at the dragon-like beasts in the distance.

Locke estimated that they were around Stage 3 in strength, and as such, he was confident he could take them on!

Just as they walked into the muddy area of the rockery, the ears of the dragon-like creatures began to twitch!

‘They’re vigilant!’

“Roar… Roar… !”

Suddenly, the entire rockery was filled with the angry roars of the dragon-like creatures!

It was a warning to their companions that an enemy had invaded!

At this moment, the System’s notification chimed.

[ Quest Issued : Kill all the Stage 3 drakes in the area! ]

[ Reward: 200 Function Points ]

Locke was not surprised by the System’s notification. He was already used to the System’s sudden appearances.

“200 points, that’s good…” Locke had a satisfied expression on his face.

There were five drakes in Locke’s vicinity.

After giving a roar, they charged towards the intruder!

‘So they can’t fly, huh. Are the wings only for decoration?’ Locke realized that his enemies only looked like dragons. However, in terms of abilities, they could not be any more different.

In a blink of an eye, three of the drakes had already surrounded Locke.

After receiving the order, Locke’s Twin-headed White Jade Snake activated Freezing Arrival.

The dense icicles had instantly put the drakes on guard!

Although their wings did not allow them to fly, they were still able to play defensively!

They used their sturdy wings to block the icicles!

However, their flawed defense had given a chance for Locke to strike.

Suddenly, Locke was wielding two fire swords in hand, and he struck a drake at its greatest weak spot, its abdomen.

With a dragon-like whimper, one of the drakes collapsed onto the ground.

Surprisingly, a Beast Egg had dropped from the drake’s corpse.

It reminded Locke of his first battle with the Poison Wasps.

“They’re dropping Beast Eggs again? Is Taylor blessing me?” Locke was ecstatic. He shouted at Lil’ White, “Lil’ White! I’ll deal with these guys. You’re in charge of collecting the Beast Eggs!”

“Hiss…” Lil’ White’s eyes flashed red. Then, it immediately rushed forward to collect its master’s loot!

Locke was right on the money. At this moment, Taylor, who was far away in Atlanta City, was thinking about him in church.

“Almighty God, please send Brother Locke your blessings. I hope that he will become the greatest Beastmaster…”

Taylor knelt in front of the holy statue and prayed sincerely.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a devout person…” The old priest at the side was rather moved by Taylor’s display. He took off his cross and hung it around Taylor’s neck.

“Thank you… Thank you, Father Allen!” Taylor’s eyes lit up with innocent joy.

“Looks like you’re praying for someone who’s dear to you. I’m willing to help with your request to the Heavenly Father. What’s the name of that lucky young man?”

“Locke!”

“Alright!” After saying that, the priest and Taylor knelt before the holy statue and began to pray together.

The two of them closed their eyes and said in unison, “Almighty God, please bless Locke with great fortune…”

At this moment, in the training grounds, Locke had dispatched the remaining four Earthen Drakes with the same tactic as before.

Locke felt no pressure dealing with the drakes.

The firepower of stage 2 divine rank Beasts was terrifying.

He was looking forward to the future of his three Battle Beasts even more!

The other drakes were also rushing towards Locke in groups of three or five.

Their numbers were increasing, and it had stirred up quite a commotion.

The scene had also attracted the attention of the staff in the monitoring room of the Comprehensive Training Center.

“My God! Just who Is this guy?”

“Am I seeing things? He’s actually facing this many drakes head-on?”

After killing more than a dozen of them, Locke was completely in the zone.

Aside from the agility provided by the Wings of the Sky, Infinite Fire Element was also constantly changing weapon forms under Locke’s command.

Locke was thrilled by how fast the transition between each weapon was!

At the same time, he had become more familiar with using the fire and wind elements.

Meanwhile, Lil’ White was also happy and relaxed. It was picking up all the Beast Egg that the drakes dropped.

“Why are they dropping Beast Eggs?” The staff member exclaimed.

“Hurry up and inform the boss!!” After saying that, they picked up their phone.