Not only did Charles feel more muscular strength, but his body also felt lighter. Taking a deep breath, he lightly jumped and landed atop a two-meter-high wall nearby.
This would have been impossible before!
"It seems that after Max levels up, not only does he grow stronger, but I also gain some enhancements."
Knowing this, Charles was increasingly eager to venture out of the city for training.
Now that Max was at Level 6, none of the ferocious beasts nearby Lsengard could match him, and gaining experience was becoming slower. To achieve greater improvement, they would have to enter the ferocious beast mountain range.
"Young man, was it you who just eliminated the invading ferocious beasts?" An elderly voice came from a damaged house.
Charles turned around to see an old man with white hair, hunching his body, approaching him.
"I was about to go to the Herbal Shop to buy some herbs when two giant ants burst from the ground. Don't worry, I took care of them." Charles glanced around at the mess with concern and advised the old man, "Sir, there are ferocious beasts around here; you should find a safe place to take refuge!"
Hearing that the ferocious beasts had been dealt with, the residents who had been hiding began to come out one by one. Seeing Charles, they looked at him with admiration.
"Young man, we owe you a lot. You're a hero for all of Lsengard!"
"I heard there were ferocious beasts nearby; I've been hiding in the basement for several days, nearly suffocating!"
"These ferocious beasts are getting craftier, noticing the weak defenses and starting to burrow from beneath. We need to inform the defense squad quickly!"
"Eh... I think I recognize this young man. Isn't he the one accused online of stealing miracle drugs to sell?"
The once quiet street quickly bustled again.
Cement trucks arrived to fill the holes dug by the alloy ants, and the defense team set up caution tape and intensified patrols in the area.
Meanwhile, a swarm of journalists and social media influencers with microphones thronged to the scene.
Not wanting to waste time, Charles briefly entertained one interview before shaking off the reporters to head to the Herbal Shop to buy herbs.
However, to his surprise, the owner of the Herbal Shop turned out to be the old woman he had just saved.
She insisted on giving Charles the herbs for free.
Charles felt awkward about it: "Madam, I can't accept this! Your herbs are quite valuable; how can I take them for free?"
The old woman sighed, "Lsengard has been unstable lately, and I plan to sell these herbs at a low price and move to my daughter's place. If you don't mind, give me 100 copper coins, and you can take whatever you need from the storeroom."
Charles was not one to fuss over formalities.
Lsengard is a small frontier city in Genosha, situated near the ferocious beast mountain range, making it indeed unsafe. Since the shop owner said to take whatever he needed, Charles did not hold back, helping the old woman clear out her stock.
[Obtained 3 tons of Ice Crystals! ]
[Obtained 999 Hemostatic Orchids! ]
[Obtained 999 Red Peak Pomegranates! ]
[Obtained 999 Numbing Grass! ]
As Charles was emptying the Herbal Shop, news of another ferocious beast sighting quickly exploded on Lsengard's local forums.
"Heard there was trouble again up north, a Level 5 ferocious beast, an alloy ant queen, came up from underground. Sounds like someone even died!"
"Level 5 ferocious beast?! I just awakened yesterday and am only Level 1. If I ran into that alloy ant queen, I'd probably last less than a second!"
"The appearance of the alloy ant queen indicates there might be an ant nest nearby. Do you think the ground under Lsengard could be hollowed out by ferocious beasts?"
"Hey, don't scare me like that, I'm already a scaredy-cat! That's just too terrifying!"
Over the last 100 years since the catastrophe, humans have continually studied Beast Mastery skills, and ferocious beasts with relatively mild temperaments have long been domesticated.
Conversely, the ferocious beasts in the wild are becoming increasingly fierce.
The city itself is becoming restless, a chill hanging over everyone.
"Hmph, at a time , we should be uniting. But some people are taking advantage of the situation to gain benefits, even daring to steal an alchemist's miracle drug!"
"You're talking about Charles, right? As a Beast Master, I'm really embarrassed. If I get the chance, I'll definitely teach him a lesson!"
"Such a scoundrel doesn't deserve to be called a Beast Master! I request that his privileges at the Beast Master Guild be revoked! @the Beast Master Guild Lsengard branch"
"Everyone, check out the trending videos, the alloy ant and the alloy ant queen seem to have been eliminated!"
"Really? Who's that capable?"
At this moment, within an ancient-looking mansion in Lsengard.
Robert was lounging with his legs crossed, scrolling through his phone, while his pet, the four-winged tiger, was indulging in a hearty meal of ferocious beast meat.
"Let's see what the online sentiment is like now. If I can't deal with the miracle drug, can I not deal with you?" Robert smirked coldly.
A gray miracle drug hemostatic powder, originally worth just 10 silver coins, had cost his father 50 silver coins to acquire. He was still fuming, and now Charles dared to mock him?
He had uploaded a video overnight and hired some online trolls to smear Charles.
Although he had no evidence, that didn't matter.
That's how the internet works; people only believe what they want to believe. As long as you deliver the emotion, who cares if it's black or white.
"Is that... Charles? Why is a reporter from Lsengard TV interviewing him?" Robert was baffled as soon as he clicked into the forum.
In the interview video, Charles was confidently talking to the camera, recounting his battle against the alloy ant queen.
"This must be boasting, right? That's a Level 5 ferocious beast; could he really have killed it?" Robert's hand trembled slightly holding the phone.
Everyone had awakened just yesterday. He was struggling against a Level 1 ferocious beast, and Charles supposedly killed a Level 5?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Robert refused to believe it! Either the news was fake, or Charles had unbelievably good luck, finding the ferocious beast already severely wounded and taking the opportunity.
Equally explosive were the comments under the news video.
"Oh my god! I can't believe it, a newly awakened Level 1 Beast Master defeated the alloy ant queen!"
"Such an outstanding Beast Master, and yet you all framed him as a thief, that's just too much!"
"That hemostatic powder must have been traded for with ferocious beast materials. Can the rumor-mongers just stop already!"
"Exactly! They must be jealous!"
"Wow! Charles is so cool. Does anyone have his contact info?"
"Do you think Charles also took down the spectral wolf yesterday?"
"Everyone, head to the Beast Master Guild! Someone just submitted materials dropped by the alloy ant and they're selling them at a low price!"
"Really? Let's line up quickly!"
Less than half an hour after the news interview was released, the views had already surpassed 500,000.
Although there were still a few skeptics, the comment section was overwhelmingly filled with praise!
Especially since Charles was not a member of the defense squad, but merely a student who had just completed the Beast Master awakening ceremony. While others were nervously preparing to venture out of the city for training, Charles was already capable of easily defeating a Level 5 ferocious beast.
This was truly astonishing!
Those who knew Charles, including teachers and classmates, were baffled when they saw the video.
Was Charles always this powerful, and they just hadn't noticed before?
In an old neighborhood.
In a drafty room filled with various herbs, the air was thick with the scent of medicine.
"There isn't much time left; I need to hurry."
Charles was following a formula chart next to him, adding materials from around him into the alchemy lab. Soon, the air was filled with the essences of medicines in various colors.
Recipes are the lifeblood of an alchemist, not easily shared with others. However, some non-graded medicines were easily found online, like painkillers, fire-controlling elixirs, and spirit-replenishing pills...
These medicines, in addition to alleviating pain, also have beneficial effects for Beast Masters. For example, the [fire-controlling elixir] can enhance the ability of Beast Masters and their pets to wield fire elemental powers, lasting for half an hour.
Each type of medicine requires almost unique recipes. However, after his 'raid' at the Herbal Shop, Charles's system storage space was brimming with alchemy materials.
As long as he wasn't crafting high-grade miracle drugs, he would never run out.
Although Max couldn't understand what Charles was doing, he stayed by Charles's side throughout the alchemy process. Sometimes, when he noticed Charles sweating, he'd use his ice elements to cool him down.
From night to day, and back to night again...
After five days, Charles stretched and exhaled deeply:
"Finally finished! Let's see what the results are like!"