Chapter 255: Crystal Lynn, Beast Taming

Chapter 255: Chapter 255: Crystal Lynn, Beast Taming

Just as Seraphina Sullivan had thought.

River Sterling nodded affirmatively.

"That’s right!"

"The officials are already in the preliminary stages of drafting a plan. It probably won’t be long before they formally issue a quest, calling on all capable Players to participate in this punitive expedition."

"If we could eliminate this hidden threat ahead of time, that would indeed be a good solution," Seraphina Sullivan agreed.

A proactive offense is always more advantageous than passive defense.

However, River Sterling’s expression was anything but optimistic.

He shook his head, worried. "That may be true, but my heart is still pounding with anxiety."

"Judging from the bits and pieces of information Forrest has sent back, that rabbit monster is incredibly strange. It seems impossible to kill. In fact, the more you fight it, the more of them there are! I’m just afraid... this expedition won’t just fail to solve the problem, but will stir up the hornet’s nest, and even... lead to devastating losses."

Seraphina Sullivan could understand his worry and offered some comfort. "If it’s a monster, it must have Weaknesses. Besides, Players have all sorts of different Talents and bizarre Abilities. Maybe someone has the means to counter this kind of Splitting monster? We have to at least try."

River Sterling forced a smile. "Let’s hope so."

But deep in River Sterling’s eyes, a shadow of gloom remained, impossible to disperse.

Clearly, he didn’t have much faith in the upcoming large-scale expedition.

As Seraphina Sullivan was contemplating the monsters in Kaelen and the possible upcoming expedition, a small commotion erupted at the entrance to the trading area.

A group of Players, clearly just returned from a dungeon, surged into the market. They carried an air of lingering bloodlust and exhaustion as they hurriedly began to trade and restock essential supplies.

Among them, one figure seemed particularly frantic.

It was Crystal Lynn, a girl who looked somewhat frail, but whose eyes were exceptionally bright and clear.

She seemed to have a clear objective. Upon entering the trading area, her gaze swept rapidly over the various stalls as if searching for someone.

When her eyes landed on Sean Chandler’s stall, a look of joyful relief immediately washed over her face.

She walked over quickly, and without even bothering to inspect the quality or haggle over the price, she pointed directly at the eyeballs sealed in special containers on the stall and said crisply:

"These eyeballs, I’ll take them all!"

Her bold move and urgent attitude immediately caught the attention of Seraphina Sullivan and River Sterling, who were standing nearby.

River Sterling watched Crystal Lynn’s retreating back and said in a low voice to Seraphina Sullivan, "That’s Crystal Lynn... Don’t be fooled by her low Level, she’s not a simple one."

"Oh?" Seraphina Sullivan’s interest was piqued.

She had indeed used her Ability to scan Crystal Lynn’s information earlier and knew that the girl was only a Level 1 Player, likely having just recently gained her Player status.

Her Talent was [Beast Taming], a non-direct combat type Talent.

For such a seemingly fragile girl to earn a comment like "not a simple one" from River Sterling, she must have something special about her.

"She also has a younger sister at home."

River Sterling’s voice lowered further, carrying a hint of imperceptible sorrow.

"I heard that right when the cataclysmic rainstorms began and order collapsed, their father abandoned the two sisters, ran off with another woman, and took all the food and valuables he could carry from their home."

Seraphina Sullivan’s brow furrowed immediately, her voice laced with disgust. "Is he even human? He’s worse than an animal!"

River Sterling snorted coldly, as if he was already used to such things. "In a cataclysm, the ugliest side of human nature is magnified endlessly. Their father, at least he only abandoned them. He didn’t sell them or do something worse... Anyway, let’s not talk about such depressing things."

He changed the subject, returning to what truly made Crystal Lynn "not simple."

"Later, we all moved into this safe zone, and it happened that we lived in the same district as them. Someone saw a few thugs, who thought they were tough, figure the two sisters were weak and easy to bully. They tried to take advantage of them or steal their meager rations..."

River Sterling paused, a complex expression on his face—a mixture of admiration and a hint of fear.

"As a result, those thugs were never seen again. No one knows what exactly happened, but someone later smelled a faint scent of blood near the garbage disposal point behind the district... From then on, no one dared to bother the sisters again."

Hearing this, the way Seraphina Sullivan looked at Crystal Lynn changed completely.

She dismissed the slight condescension she had felt due to the other’s Level and Talent, replacing it with a sense of respect.

To not only survive in the early days of the apocalypse while taking care of a younger sister—after being abandoned by their father and having all their supplies stolen—but to also counterattack with such decisive ruthlessness and intimidate potential threats...

That kind of mentality, decisiveness, and hidden capability truly deserved the two words, "not simple."

This was by no means an ordinary Level 1 Player. Beneath her fragile exterior likely hid the tenacity and Sharp Teeth of a lone wolf.

Seraphina Sullivan thought to herself, ’This is a formidable character. Perhaps... I should keep an eye on her.’

Meanwhile, Crystal Lynn was deftly pulling items from a cloth bag she carried, preparing to complete the trade with Sean Chandler.

The last time, she had traded some Energy Ore she found in a dungeon and a [Pet Contract Card] for some of Sean Chandler’s eyeballs.

Crystal Lynn’s obsession with these eyeballs stemmed from an accidental discovery.

Crystal Lynn had taken the eyeballs she’d traded for last time and, on a whim, fed them to her tamed pet.

A white basilisk she had named "Beau."

Unexpectedly, after Beau devoured those eyeballs, its body underwent a subtle change. A faint, grayish-white sheen of Energy began to cover its teeth!

She didn’t think much of it at first, until she faced a life-or-death crisis during her most recent dungeon run.

At a critical moment, Beau bit a lunging monster. Grayish-white stony patches rapidly spread from the monster’s wound, inducing a state of Petrification that left the enemy’s movements stiff and slow!

It was precisely by relying on this sudden [Petrification Tooth] Ability that Crystal Lynn managed to turn the tables and narrowly escape with her life.

Afterward, she thought it over and over, confirming that Beau had never possessed this Ability before.

The only variable was the eyeballs it had devoured!

Crystal Lynn made a bold speculation: feeding her tamed pet the eyeballs of certain specific monsters might grant it a chance to obtain a Petrification Ability.

This discovery thrilled her, making Crystal Lynn absolutely determined to acquire the remaining eyeballs in Sean Chandler’s possession.

She desperately hoped Beau could gain more, and stronger, Abilities.

Only then could she better protect herself in this increasingly dangerous apocalypse.

"These ores might not be enough..." Crystal Lynn looked at the considerable number of eyeballs on the stall, bit her lip, and then carefully took out a card shimmering with a faint purple light from her clothes. She held it out. "Add this! It’s an Item Card I happened to get in the dungeon this time."