Chapter Thirty-Four: The First Magical Pet

Bandis had finally been summoned, and Chu Tian at last had the opportunity to closely observe his very first magical pet.

Apart from her five-meter height, Bandis’s lower half was much like that of an ordinary spider—gleaming black body, a round, swollen abdomen, eight long, slender legs bristling with steel-like spines, and a broad back painted eerily with a blood-red hexagram magic sigil.

But from the chest upwards, Bandis was a stunning beauty. A layer of jet-black scales elegantly wrapped around her ample bosom, above which rose a snowy white neck and a pair of delicate, rosy arms, culminating in a clear and lovely face. The only blemish was the lingering scars left by Damar.

As soon as she was summoned, Bandis gazed in confusion at the people around her, her voice crisp and clear: “Where am I? Who summoned me? Where is Anderson?”

Chu Tian didn’t answer her questions. Instead, he waved the contract in his hand with a triumphant flourish, saying with smug pride, “From today onward, you belong to me!” His expression was much like that of a scoundrel boasting of having seduced a virtuous woman. Realizing the implications of his words as he glanced at Bandis’s beautiful face, he hastily corrected himself, “Ahem... I mean, you are now my magical pet!”

“I’ve become your magical pet?!” Bandis’s almond eyes widened in fury. “What is going on?” For an intelligent creature, it was hard to accept being passed around as a gift, so Bandis was livid, glaring at Chu Tian with a look as if she might devour him.

Anticipating this reaction, Chu Tian secretly smiled and ignored her, turning instead to Damar.

“According to the rules of the duel, you are now Vladino’s spoils of war!” Damar explained for Chu Tian, “Your contract is in Vladino’s hands, so you must obey his commands!” He raised his staff threateningly. “Or do you wish to violate the contract?”

Damar’s cold words, together with his formidable power, instantly subdued Bandis. With a sorrowful nod, she accepted her fate. “In any case, I’m still a magical pet. It hardly matters who my master is.”

“Woo woo!” The little white creature in Chu Tian’s arms protested. Barbossa, standing nearby, explained on its behalf, “How can it be the same? Anderson is just a spoiled brat living off his father’s name, but your new master is the student of the Holy Priest, the pride of the continent’s clergy, Chief Court Priest of Caesar, Vice Dean of the Royal Academy of Magic, and Eighth-Level High Priest—Marquis Vladino!”

Barbossa described his master with pride. Now utterly convinced by Chu Tian, Barbossa remembered his former life as a despised dark mage, a pariah hunted by all. But now, just being ‘steward to Marquis Vladino’ was enough to command respect throughout the Caesar Empire! His greatest pleasure had become donning expensive attire and haughtily dismissing those imperial officials seeking his favor. Watching those lofty officials grovel before him, presenting precious gifts, Barbossa had truly fallen in love with being a steward.

“Is that so?” Bandis was evidently captivated by Chu Tian’s impressive titles. Her bright eyes sparkled with anticipation as she gazed at Chu Tian. “So you’re very rich?”

“Of course I am!” Damar put away his staff, took out a colorless crystal card, and waved it proudly. “Do you know what this is? Vladino gave it to me offhandedly!”

Offhandedly? Chu Tian felt a pang in his heart, but restrained himself for the sake of winning over Bandis. “If you want to know whether I’m wealthy, just look at this estate!” Judging by her reactions, this beautiful spider seemed to love money—how convenient! With one of the grandest estates in the imperial capital, how could he fail to entice a money-loving magical beast?

Bandis gazed around Chu Tian’s manor, the glimmer in her eyes growing ever brighter. At this moment, the little white creature played along perfectly, letting out a soft whine.

Catching Bandis’s attention, the little creature hopped from Chu Tian’s arms, lazily sprawled on the lawn, and nonchalantly tapped the collar around its neck with a paw. A flash of light, and a crystal jar of the finest Foster appeared. This collar was no ordinary accessory—it was a spatial collar adorned with hundreds of diamond and magic crystal fragments. Now that Chu Tian was wealthy, he spared no expense on the little white creature, commissioning this luxurious collar with a limited storage space, solely for holding alcohol for his pet!

A rich man indeed! Bandis stared at the scene as if she’d just stumbled upon a tenth-tier magical beast. Outrageous! Even a dog had a priceless spatial collar, and it was used to store the continent’s best wine! If an utterly useless pet enjoyed such treatment, what of herself—a formidable seventh-tier magical beast? Suddenly, Bandis regarded Chu Tian as grand as the Goddess of Life herself.

“All right, then! As long as you guarantee me a daily food allowance of one gold coin, I’m yours from now on!” Bandis named her price, licking her lips as if envisioning a blissful future. “What? You don’t agree? Why aren’t you saying anything? How about... fifty silver coins, then?”

Seeing the others still staring blankly, Bandis grew anxious and pleaded, “Or... just like with Anderson, ten silver coins a day! No less, or I’ll starve!” In truth, ten silver coins a day was already a lot; the average family on the continent only spent a handful of gold coins in a whole year! But that was for ordinary folk. As for Chu Tian, the infamous kingpin...

Poor Bandis—Anderson must have treated her poorly. Chu Tian eyed her massive abdomen and thought, with such a large belly, ten silver coins a day would barely keep her from starving. Even the little white creature abandoned its Foster, trotted over, and patted one of Bandis’s long legs in sympathy. A pet that drank up hundreds of gold coins’ worth of wine daily had never imagined there could be a magical beast in such straits!

“So just how much will you give me for food? Tell me!” Bandis gazed at Chu Tian with tearful eyes, pitifully desperate. Not wanting to further dampen her spirits, Chu Tian pointed at Barbossa. “Tell her how I treat my servants!”

Barbossa, feeling a little embarrassed, called out, “Page, come here and tell Bandis your daily income!”

Hearing Barbossa’s summons, Page, who had been patrolling in the distance, hurried over. Having left the Imperial Guard, Page now served as Chu Tian’s chief personal bodyguard, and his salary came directly from Chu Tian.

“Reporting, Miss Bandis!” After much thought, Page settled on the proper form of address—after all, Bandis was not only formidable but, as the marquis’s magical pet, her status had soared. So Page chose a respectful title. “According to the marquis’s rules, as a Bronze Knight and captain of the guards, excluding the marquis’s additional rewards, my daily income is ten gold coins.”

“And how much will I get?” Bandis asked anxiously, eager to know just how happy her future life would be.

“Well...” Page hesitated, mentally comparing his own strength to Bandis’s, then recalling the treatment of the marquis’s other pet—the little white creature. He concluded, “It should be no less than one hundred gold coins!”

“Yay!” Bandis leaped up in excitement, oblivious to the havoc her massive form wrought on the lawn. “All right, now that my compensation is settled, I’ll let you tend to my wounds!” Chu Tian produced a collection of bottles, jars, and instruments from his spatial ring—each crafted in imitation of earthly models, but enhanced with magical properties. Having worked as a veterinarian for years, Chu Tian found it hard to give up his skills, even after coming to the Beast Continent. Since the local species were so similar to those on earth, he often whiled away his time making veterinary supplies. But these were no ordinary materials; each was imbued with magic and ritual techniques, thanks to Chu Tian’s many skilled subordinates. Half the empire’s high-ranking mages and priests had nearly worked themselves to exhaustion to put together his kit!

“All done!” Chu Tian clapped his hands and stood up.

“So quickly?!” Damar and Barbossa exclaimed in unison, their gazes turning to Chu Tian full of respect.

In the Beast Continent, the difficulty of healing injuries was oddly determined not by the severity of the wound but by the strength of the battle energy or magic involved. If someone was dying from a first-level magic wound, any priest could heal them, but if it was an eighth-level magic injury, even a scratch would require a top-tier priest. Bandis had been wounded by Damar’s eighth-level magic. Normally, healing such an injury would take a true high priest half a day, but Chu Tian’s speed was astounding—and he hadn’t even used magic!

“To follow a priest as powerful as this is truly my good fortune!” Barbossa exclaimed.

“Vladino, you need to have your professional level assessed at the priest headquarters in Elson!” Damar said in disbelief. “Your speed in treating Bandis is equal to that of a ninth-level Holy Priest!”

“Hee hee!” Bandis laughed as well, marveling, “Heavens! My new master is one of the continent’s top experts! Incredible!”

“Praise be to the Goddess of Life!” Chu Tian struck the classic pose of a priestly zealot. “Rank doesn’t matter—I still have much to learn!” If he really became a Holy Priest, all the continent’s priests would be too ashamed to show their faces.

“Oh, right, Master,” said Bandis, her attitude transformed by generous treatment and Chu Tian’s skillful healing. “According to the contract, to distinguish me from Anderson’s service, you must give me a new name!”

A new name? Chu Tian narrowed his eyes, recalling the scene of spider silk sniping in the duel, and then announced, “From now on, you’ll be called AK47...”