Chapter 57: Will you be paying cash or credit?

Sophie only saw a long line of text which only provided a basic synopsis for the five beast pets that met her requirements.

There was no accompanying picture or explanation of their abilities, but it seemed that she could tap each option individually for more information.

She decided to follow the order generated and started off by clicking the Frostwing Bat.

Frostwing bats are a rare mutated form of the Earth species ‘Desmodus rotundus’ or better known as the vampire bat.

This species came into existence from exposure to a rare Icetite Ore which granted them fearsome abilities and permanent mutation.

But only one in every million bats would mutate which made their breeding rate extremely low.

Frostwing bats fell under the control and surveillance categories as their agility in the air made them virtually indetectable especially at night.

They were capable of producing sound waves from an organ in their throat to detect foreign objects up to ten kilometers away.

Their chest also contained an extra organ which was capable of temporarily boosting the vibrations produced by the throat to create a sound shockwave in a forward direction.

This ability could stun and rupture the eardrums of any creature directly hit.

Surprisingly, their popularity was not particularly high due to their other special ability which was frozen domain.

This ability would not distinguish between ally or foe when utilised and often led to dangerous situations for both the bat and its master.

This ability allowed the bats to rapidly lower the temperature to below the freezing point in the surrounding environment.

[Special note: baby Frostwing Bats are very vulnerable and should not be brought into dangerous environments until maturity]

Sophie looked at the image displayed on the screen and her heart skipped a beat when she saw how fluffy and cute the little bats were.

Frostwing bats were adorable lumps of fur with a gorgeous pattern of icy blue running down the sides of their backs.

The next creature was the Eye Demon, but Sophie took one glance at the image on the screen….

….and immediately moved on to the next option.

That was the most disgusting creature she had ever seen!

Eye Demons were exactly as the name suggested and resembled a gigantic eye roughly the size of a basketball. Four dark wings sprouted out from behind the creature and its open mouth was constantly drooling a greenish liquid.

Its special ability Temporal Foresight may seem impressive, but it only allowed the beast to see five seconds into the future and it activated randomly.

There was absolutely no guarantee that it would work in a combat situation.

The third option was a Sephyre which truthfully Sophie had no idea what type of creature it was. She had never heard of such a species, so it was most likely of alien origin.

Sephyre were traded to the Federation by merchants from a neighbouring galactic civilisation called the Ehrur but their exact origin remained a mystery.

These beasts were classified under the surveillance and fighter class which made them the most popular one on the list.

Sephyre resembled angels of old Earth mythologies but there were a few distinct differences.

Sephyre had a pair of graceful white wings which gave them the ability to fly limited distances, but the rest of the creature was in no way pleasant to view.

This abomination had a humanoid like figure, but their faces were void of any orifices or features.

The body of this species was a terrifying nightmare as it was sickly thin with limbs that were gnarled and twisted.

Sephyre did not require food or nutrition and would gain energy by feeding on the soul of the cultivator that bonded to them.

Their popularity was still extremely high as their special ability Hellfire was perhaps one of the most powerful among the legendary beasts.

The Sephyre could gesture towards a location and a pillar of fire would erupt from the ground which incinerated all unfortunate enough to be inside the radius.

[Special note: Not recommended for those with weak willpower. Sephyre are known to turn on their masters if sufficient soul essence is not offered]

Sophie carefully considered before striking this option off the list also. While hellfire was a powerful ability, the price of her own soul essence was too heavy to pay.

Soul essence could not be measured by scientific instruments, but it was generally assumed that the strength of a person’s soul would increase drastically the further one went up the path of cultivation.

The fourth creature on this list was the elusive Void Jellyfish which was genetically altered by introducing the Void genes into a species of ‘Chironex fleckeri’ or their more common name of box jellyfish.

This species was of the control class and could hover off the ground at a maximum height of about six feet.

Void jellyfish were purplish red in colour with short tendrils that swayed in the air lazily.

Creatures with the void gene could access abilities that dealt with spatial manipulation and the Void Jellyfish was no exception.

Its ability may not deal direct damage to opponents but that did not negate its deadly effect.

Spatial disruption would lock down the space around a specified zone and prevent any teleportation out of the area.

This beast was a special favourite among bounty hunters who often used its special ability when dealing with tricky foes with escape or movement skills.

The main problem was that it was by far the most expensive pet to maintain as it required regular injections of void genes to keep its mutated state.

One injection would cost upwards of roughly thirty million Enas.

[Special note: Failure to inject void genes into this beast at least once every week will cause total organ shutdown and immediate death]

This actually wasn’t that bad of an option, but Sophie was not thrilled over how expensive the upkeep of this beast was.

If she every found herself in a situation where void gene injections were not available, then her pet would be in trouble.

The last option on the list was also the only healer that was present. Healing combat pets were generally rare in the first place, so it was no surprise that only one appeared on the list.

Elder forest pixies belonged to the healer and control classes, but the name was just a human translation as the actual species name was ‘Ulqid Dhailteahcrozeats’.

This species was not produced in the Earth Federation but illegally smuggled from the black market of the Unova Syndicate.

Elder forest pixies resembled small tree-like humanoids that generally had a peaceful temper and were the easiest to control.

Their height was merely palm sized and they weighed less than two kilograms.

One downside to their pacifist demeanor was that they got frightened very easily so they were not suited for the battlefield.

Their diet consisted of sunlight and a special nutrient stock with trace amounts of Phosphorus and Sulphur elements.

Flora manipulation meant that the pixies could temporarily increase the speed of growth of the surrounding plant life and also produce limited movement in certain directions.

Their life aura ability was the main reason that they were classified under the legendary status.

Elder forest pixies could sacrifice their own life span to transfer the life energy to the person of their choice. It was said that this life energy could bring back someone on the brink of death.

[Special note: This combat beast is extremely well suited for medical work but virtually useless in battle scenarios]

This was yet another beast that could potentially be a good choice, but Sophie did not want her future pet to give up its own lifespan for her benefit.

She decided to review the list one more time to see if any one aspect stood out to her.

But yet as she went over the list…there was one beast that just seemed to appeal the most to her.

“I think I’ll pick you” Sophie whispered to herself.

Sophie knew this was the combat beast that she wanted to be her future partner. She decided to pick the Frostwing bat.

“Dad…I want to get the Frostwing bat as my first ally!” Sophie turned to her father and said with determination.

Rokan gave an indulgent smile at the cheerful expression on his daughter’s face and felt a surge of happiness.

An excited salesgirl who overheard the conversation, felt extremely eager to close out this potential sale and hurriedly spoke up,

“Sir the Frostwing Bat will cost three billion Enas!”

“Will you be paying cash or credit?”

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The duke no longer felt a surge of happiness.