C14 The Divine Power of Authentication!

"Here, take this softening liquid," Corey instructed. "Select a stone egg from the tomb, apply a drop to it, and you'll be able to easily peel away the tough shell with your hands."

"You have a maximum of six hours."

Corey announced.

Symas accepted the small glass bottle from Corey, tucking it into his pocket with a gracious smile. "Rest assured, Mr. Lowe, I'll return victorious."

With those words, he stepped through the relic portal.

Once inside, Symas was greeted by a swirling, distorted space, shrouded in a gray, foggy haze as if he had entered a realm of dense, chaotic mist.

Gradually, his vision cleared.

The Level C pet relic, known as the battle pet tomb, sprawled out before him.

From a bird's-eye view, it was a massive island dotted with towering tropical shrubs and stone eggs of varying sizes.

The eggs were predominantly grayish-black, many with cracked shells. Through some cracks, petrified battle pets could be seen, some shattered into fragments.

Near the beach of this vast island, a three-meter-tall portal flickered, and a young man in casual attire emerged.

Symas surveyed his surroundings.

He glanced back to see the sea obscured by a thick white fog just steps away—marking the boundary of the pet relic space.

On the sandy beach before him lay numerous stone eggs, half-buried in the sand and gravel. Symas approached and touched one; it felt no different from an ordinary rock, cool to the touch, and unyielding to his knocks.

These stone eggs, standing nearly 1.5 meters tall, would challenge even overlord-level beast tamers to see through them.

It seemed luck would have to be on his side!

However, Symas had just acquired a black iron level authentication technique.

According to its description, this technique could discern all aspects of black iron level pets and materials.

"Let's give it a shot," he murmured.

A glint sparked in Symas' eyes as he cast the authentication technique on the towering stone egg before him. A white light, visible only to him, infused the egg.

Moments later, a surge of information about the stone egg flooded his mind.

Stone.

That was all it was.

Using the authentication spell took little mental effort, so Symas proceeded to appraise every stone egg scattered across the beach.

Over 99% turned out to be mere stones.

Now Symas finally grasped why Corey had laughed at the idea of him entering the battle pet tomb.

Corey truly didn't believe Symas could find a worthy pet in there.

Eventually, among the stone eggs near the massive shrub, a black iron level pet emerged.

A mere stone egg, no taller than twenty centimeters.

Black iron three-star quality, the Black Poison Butterfly.

At last, something other than a stone.

Its three-star rating was on par with his Fire Vine.

"Let's look for more."

"I wonder if I can find one with elite level quality."

Surveying the bush-strewn ground, Symas placed a snapped shrub branch where he found the Black Poison Butterfly, marking the spot before swiftly moving on to appraise more stone eggs.

The battle pet tomb was filled with them.

Two hours later, Symas had appraised a quarter of the island, confirming thousands of stone eggs, but finding only twelve black iron level pets.

Mostly three or four stars, comparable to the Black Poison Butterfly.

Unimpressed, Symas was determined to keep searching. He couldn't cover the entire battle pet tomb in six hours, but he could make significant headway.

Then, his attention shifted to a two-meter-tall stone egg before him, and he cast the authentication spell.

Unknown elite level pet.

"Damn!"

"I've hit the jackpot."

A flicker of excitement crossed Symas's eyes.

Even the least impressive elite level pets were valued in the tens of millions, and they were virtually priceless—hard to come by even with ample funds.

While the spell couldn't specify the species, it could confirm an elite level pet.

"Keep going."

Symas marked the spot.

If no other elite pets turned up, he'd focus on this elite stone egg.

With renewed vigor, he continued his appraisal.

Uncovering another elite pet could mean tens of millions of federal coins—a worthy investment for nurturing the gold-devouring beast in his Void Territory.

The more federal coins, the better. Even if he couldn't use the elite pet himself, he could still sell it on Pet's Home's black market.

An hour and a half later, Symas had confirmed the presence of an unknown elite pet in three-quarters of the area, though its star rating remained undisplayed.

The second elite stone egg, standing thirty centimeters tall, was unremarkable in appearance, with even a few small cracks visible at its base. Without the authentication technique's feedback, anyone would have mistaken it for a dead egg.

"It's a shame I can't take both," Symas lamented.

Nonetheless, he planned to return in a few days to claim the other elite pet. The Beast Tamer Association's regulations prohibited re-entry into the battle pet tomb within seven days.

Symas then went back to the two-meter-tall stone egg, intent on revealing the Charmander from this venture. The thirty-centimeter egg wouldn't suffice. If Corey were to inspect the tomb, the discrepancy between the Charmander's size and the egg's would be immediately apparent—a mistake Symas wouldn't make.

A drop of golden softening liquid fell onto the stone egg, seamlessly merging with it as if dissolving snow. Moments later, with a gentle touch from Symas, the softened shell began to flake away with ease, unveiling the slumbering elite pet within—a white, bone-like sphere dotted with black orifices.

"What is this?" Symas gasped in surprise.

The elite pet from the stone egg was beyond his expectations. He racked his brain for a match from the pet compendium but found none.

Once the obstructive stone had fully softened and fallen away, the white bone sphere began to wobble, seemingly on the verge of awakening from the influence of the outside world. Pets freshly awakened within a stone egg are at their most vulnerable, and a single drop of blood could bind them in a contract.

Symas placed his hand on the white bone sphere, and with a thought, he transported it into the Void Territory. He then summoned the Charmander from its small fire-type pet hive to the battle pet tomb.

Typically, an elite pet emerging from deep slumber, even in a weakened state, would possess the strength of one to two stars. This perfectly matched the current state of the Charmander, which could now directly attain a one-star black iron level.

"Huh?"

"What's happening!?"

Startled awake, the Charmander was summoned and landed face-first on the ground, instantly alert. It immediately turned to Symas, a large question mark metaphorically hovering over its head.

Symas shook his head.

He needed to set aside some time to take the Charmander into the wilderness to sharpen its combat awareness.