All the way, there weren’t any particularly troublesome enemies; the most difficult situation encountered was fighting against multiple foes at once, facing a group of social demon cats.

In such cases, getting injured was inevitable. For a normal beastmaster team, even if they could win, their injuries would probably prevent them from continuing.

However, for Ryan Clark and his group, with the divine deer’s broken antler, injuries were actually the easiest problem to solve.

“Level 4!”

“This is just too hard.”

As time ticked by, Ryan Clark, who could see the mission countdown, kept his eyes on the “one-day limit.”

At this moment, they had been on the move for nearly 24 hours straight, either searching for monsters or fighting. If it weren’t for the stamina-restoring fruits, both he and Mr. Harris would have been completely exhausted by now.

Even a sled dog couldn’t withstand this kind of ordeal.

For the first three levels, Mr. Harris leveled up fairly quickly, but from level 3 to 4, both Ryan Clark and Mr. Harris spent nearly a whole day and still hadn’t completed it.

There was no progress bar for growth levels, so Ryan Clark and his group could only keep fighting as much as possible—after all, it was the only way they knew to level up.

Fortunately, hard work pays off. With just one minute left on the mission countdown, Mr. Harris finally defeated the last demon cat and reached level 4.

And right after that, something even more delightful happened for Ryan Clark!

【Congratulations on completing the novice trial.】

【Rating: S!】

【Note: Trial ratings are divided into nine levels: SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, D, E, F.】

【Congratulations, you have received an identity card.】

【Congratulations, you have received 10,000 crystal coins.】

【Congratulations, you have received a high-level resource: Meteorite Iron Ore.】

【Congratulations, you have received a high-level resource: Attribute Awakening Fruit (Grass).】

【Congratulations, you have received the beastmaster skill: Ultra Beast Mimicry.】

【Congratulations, you have received Data Eye (Beginner).】

【Please choose your return location: 1. Initial teleportation point, 2. Infinite City!】

【Note: Infinite City is a large safe zone where beastmasters who have passed the novice trial are active, and it contains various special facilities for beastmasters.】

“It’s over…” As a string of notifications appeared, Ryan Clark felt a huge sense of relief. Then, he was surprised by the prompt about the return location.

Chapter 9 Infinite City

“I choose Infinite City!”

……

Infinite City.

Sacred and majestic.

It seemed to be wedged within a rift in the world, isolated from everything.

In the deep blue, silk-like sky, diamond-like stars sparkled brilliantly.

The wild starlight poured down everywhere.

Across vast areas, those grayish-white rooftops quietly displayed their ancient and mysterious charm under the scattered starlight.

At this moment, in a room standing in the southern part of Infinite City, as white light flickered, a figure slowly appeared.

This person was none other than Ryan Clark, who had just completed the novice trial.

Ryan Clark cautiously observed his surroundings, not expecting to be given two options for returning.

Seeing the options, he didn’t hesitate to choose Infinite City, where beastmasters gathered.

Through this place, he should be able to solve many mysteries.

However, right now, what Ryan Clark cared about most were the rewards he had just received.

After all, this was the payoff for a whole day’s hard work with Mr. Harris.

With nine rating levels from SSS to F, he had received an S rating.

Ryan Clark was quite satisfied with this rating.

Although it wasn’t the highest, S was definitely not something ordinary people could achieve.

Only Ryan Clark and Mr. Harris knew what they had actually done in the secret realm that day.

Describing it as a weasel raiding a chicken coop wouldn’t be an exaggeration…

Most people, just by avoiding danger and surviving a day, would probably only get an E or F rating.

By comparison, he was really lucky to have the pendant. Without the divine deer pendant, he and Mr. Harris wouldn’t have gotten far.

Unfortunately, although he had a powerful healing item, Mr. Harris’s species level was still too low. Before evolving, he was just a husky, so his combat efficiency wasn’t high.

If someone had contracted a tiger or a polar bear, and ignored the injury factor, they’d probably be even more brutal at monster hunting.

But it didn’t matter—Mr. Harris should be able to keep evolving indefinitely. As long as they worked hard together, they could definitely break through the species limit. In the future, matching or even surpassing fantasy creatures like dragons wasn’t impossible.

The wonders of the secret realm made Ryan Clark believe in this.

In short, thanks to the divine deer amulet, they got some pretty good rewards right from the start.

Ryan Clark took out the identity card, one of the rewards he’d received in the secret realm. Its appearance and material were similar to the contract black card, except it was white, and the resources seemed to be stored in this card.

The identity card displayed:

【Name】: Ryan Clark (can be renamed)

【Beastmaster Number】: 9528

Besides these two basic pieces of information, there were four options below: 【Communication】【Team】【Backpack】【Teleport】.

Among them, the 10,000 crystal coins and three resources obtained in the secret realm were all in the backpack.

Of these three resources, the beastmaster skill was also in card form, so it could be called a skill card for now.