In the hall of the battle arena, Shi Yu, holding his card number, sat on a public bench, his eyes fixed on the large screen on the wall.
There seemed to be quite a few people here. The hall was full of people, and since the battle arena had four halls, the matching process shouldn't take too long, right?
Indeed, Shi Yu didn't have to wait long. He had only been sitting for less than a minute, and the machine started calling numbers.
"ID: 4399, Beastmaster Shi Yu, please proceed to Battle Arena 11."
As his name and the name of another Beastmaster appeared on the screen, Shi Yu immediately stood up and headed to Arena 11.
Arena 11... what a lucky number.
It seems this time it's a "home game."
However, his pet is named Eleven, and the first arena he rented was also number 11. Could it be that he will remain single for the rest of his life?
...
Arena 11.
A young man in a referee's uniform, having just sent off the previous contestants, was now waiting for the next set of players. He had already received the information about the next contestants and knew they were two low-rank apprentice Beastmasters.
"Both have pets below level 6, and the Beastmasters are quite young, still in their most innocent and carefree period. It looks like another match of novices clashing." the referee thought.
Before long, under the referee's wait, Shi Yu and Chen Kai arrived. They met right at the entrance of the arena.
They exchanged a glance but didn't communicate, and continued walking into the arena.
This was an outdoor battle arena, similar in layout to a tennis court. Outside the large rectangular arena, there was a grid-like energy isolation net.
There were also indoor arenas, but they were fewer in number and required advance booking. The main difference between indoor and outdoor arenas was the level of privacy.
Indoor battles were more private, with no spectators other than the referee, while in outdoor arenas, people outside could see the battle details through the isolation net.
"Hello."
Seeing someone enter Arena 11, the young referee walked up to greet Shi Yu and Chen Kai.
"Are you the next users of the arena, Shi Yu and Chen Kai?"
"I'm Chen Kai." Chen Kai, wearing a blue and white school uniform, spoke first.
Shi Yu followed, "I'm Shi Yu."
As he spoke, Chen Kai felt extremely conflicted.
Why did he get matched with someone his own age... This luck is just too bad. He wanted to experience the harshness of the real world.
If the opponent was his age, there would be no suspense. After all, he was a top student at the best school in Pingcheng, and he didn't think many of his peers could match him.
Unless, Shi Yu was his senior, but if that were the case, a pet at level 6 would be too low, so that possibility was ruled out.
"I am the administrator and referee of Arena 11, Bai Shi. You will have temporary usage rights to Arena 11 for one hour."
"Once you are ready, you can start the battle, and I will serve as your referee." Bai Shi said.
Although the usage time is one hour, battles at this level usually don't last more than a few minutes.
The extra time is for preparation and post-battle communication.
"I have no questions, we can start the battle anytime." Chen Kai said.
"Same here." Shi Yu nodded.
"Alright, let's start then." Referee Bai Shi confirmed.
Shortly after, Shi Yu and Chen Kai walked to opposite sides of the arena. Since they were strangers and didn't plan to exchange pleasantries, starting the battle directly was the most efficient.
The referee also liked Beastmasters who didn't talk much. Standing at the referee's stand, he saw that both were ready, signaled to them, and blew the whistle.
"Both sides are ready..."
"Battle begins!"
In a battle between Beastmasters, there is no time given for summoning pets beforehand. After all, how the pet appears is also a part of the Beastmaster's skill.
Some skilled Beastmasters can summon their pets so discreetly that the opponent can't even see it, and the enemy Beastmaster might be decapitated before they realize what happened.
Of course, battles where the Beastmaster can directly attack the opponent are very rare in the Donghuang Ancient Kingdom, and certainly not in apprentice Beastmaster matches like this one.
Shi Yu and Chen Kai were both new, not yet at that level. So, upon hearing the start of the battle, they both performed a basic summoning.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
As they opened their Beast Spaces, countless light points appeared in front of the two Beastmasters.
The light points quickly connected, forming a large circular array in the air, resembling a star map.
Then, the arrays on both sides produced transparent ripples like water, and their pets emerged from the summoning arrays.
On Chen Kai's side, a creature with a slender body nearly a meter long, covered in ice-blue scales, short and thick limbs, and a long tail walked out of the array.
It raised its conical head, and its small eyes glinted with sharpness.
[Name]: Ice Armor Beast
[Attribute]: Ice
[Race Level]: Medium Extraordinary
[Race Skills]: Ice Claw, Ice Armor
Shi Yu immediately recalled the information about this pet, which resembled a pangolin.
In Ice City, ice-type pets were quite common, while his Iron Eater was quite out of place.
On Shi Yu's side, the summoned pet was naturally the young Iron Eater. Since it hadn't fully grown, its size was still relatively close to that of the Ice Armor Beast.
"Ao"
Upon being summoned, Eleven immediately became curious upon seeing its opponent, a creature it had never seen before...
"The opponent's abilities are similar to yours. They can cover their body with ice armor. Be careful of their claws and avoid direct attacks when not hardened."
Shi Yu immediately reminded Eleven through telepathy.
At the same time, Chen Kai didn't need to remind his Ice Armor Beast, as they were very familiar with Iron Eaters. After all, Iron Eaters were a specialty of Pingcheng, and they had battled them before.
In terms of race level, both were evenly matched.
However, in terms of skill advantages, the Ice Armor Beast had the upper hand.
The Iron Eater's hardening skill was mainly for defense and had no special effects. In contrast, the Ice Armor Beast's Ice Armor and Ice Claw, as defensive and offensive skills, not only had basic uses but also the added frost power that could freeze the enemy!
Therefore, Chen Kai suddenly felt that he had come for nothing.
He didn't know how he would lose.
"Eleven, the opponent is not weak. Take it seriously and don't mess up. After all, it's 200 yuan... If you mess up, it will be deducted from your meal expenses." Shi Yu telepathed.
Eleven: (ˇεˇ) What, reduce... reduce meals???
The young Iron Eater looked fiercely at the Ice Armor Beast. Iron Eaters were generally friendly, unless it was a matter of food!