Chapter Fifty-Seven: Taming the Little Wild Wolf

To help Wind and Fire Cannon keep an eye on the Little Wild Wolf, Zhang Shan couldn’t venture too far to hunt monsters. Fortunately, the wild wolves respawn quickly, so it didn’t waste much of his time.

After Wind and Fire Cannon set out, he pulled Zhang Shan into the party. Along with Wind and Fire Under Heaven, he also brought Wind Chime and the Little Secretary. Perhaps having heard Zhang Shan mention the abundance of monsters along the way, he deliberately brought more people for safety. In particular, Wind Chime was included; if someone fell, she could resurrect them. All this effort just to tame a pet—what dedication.

Through the party interface, Zhang Shan checked their progress. They were moving at a decent pace, though a bit slower than him. It should take them a little over half an hour to get here, provided nothing went wrong.

“Damn, where did all these monsters come from?”

“They’re not only numerous, but tough to deal with. Ugh.”

“Don’t get tangled up—try to detour whenever you see monsters.”

They were only around level sixteen or seventeen, while the monsters along the way were over level twenty, posing a level suppression that made fighting difficult for them. Still, their safety wasn’t really an issue; it just cost them some time.

Zhang Shan decided to focus calmly on hunting monsters and wait for them to arrive; he couldn’t go to meet them anyway. If he left, and a careless thief came by and killed the Little Wild Wolf, all their effort would have been wasted.

Hmm, another piece of gear dropped—a worthless blue item. Still, though no player would want a level thirty blue item, it could fetch a bit of money at the shop. The wild wolves weren’t just astonishingly good at critical hits; their drops were decent too, with several pieces of trash gear already accumulated.

Zhang Shan estimated that a day’s hunting would net him nearly two hundred gold coins just from copper. With the junk equipment drops, he could probably earn three hundred gold coins a day, which, given the current exchange rate, was about six hundred yuan. Thirty days in a month—monthly income over ten thousand, even without any windfalls. Far better than a regular job.

Having an artifact was truly delightful. With the attack speed boost from Midas’ Hand, his monster-killing speed surpassed five or six regular players, so his earnings were naturally higher.

Zhang Shan felt glad about his choices. Life was like this—faced with decisions, be happy when you choose right, and accept your fate if you choose wrong.

As Zhang Shan mused over life, Wind and Fire Cannon’s party finally neared.

“Artifact master, we’re almost there.”

“Alright, I’m watching over the Little Wild Wolf for you. No worries—no one usually comes to a level thirty map, so it won’t get killed.”

“That may be true, but there’s always a chance. I’ve invested so much effort for this pet, and now that hope is in sight, how can I not worry?”

“Don’t fret, I’m staying right here. Thieves can’t get close—I’ve got level ten Eagle Eye.”

“Damn, having so many skill points really is awesome.”

“Haha, finally reached Wild Wolf Slope! Little Wild Wolf, here I come—hope its stats are strong.”

“Oh no, the whole place is crawling with wild wolves. How are we supposed to get through?”

“Little Secretary, lure the monsters away and we’ll charge in.”

“What about me? The monsters I pull will just keep piling up—I’m bound to die eventually.”

Little Secretary was a bit disheartened—the woes of a tank, always stuck with the grunt work, and always at greatest risk.

“Don’t worry, just lie down if you die. Once Artifact Bro clears the nearby monsters, I’ll revive you.”

“Great, so I’m doomed?”

No one paid him any more mind. Seizing the moment when the wild wolves were drawn away, the other three hurried toward Zhang Shan.

“Wow, this Little Wild Wolf is quite adorable. If only I’d played a Hunter. Tuanzi was summoned away by Artifact Bro, and now this Little Wild Wolf is going to Fire Cannon. All I can summon is an ugly Heavenly General.”

Wind Chime, seeing the Hunter’s tamed pet, compared it to the Taoist’s summoned creature and felt rather disgruntled—a little beauty with a penchant for appearances.

“Oh, come on! The Heavenly General is so mighty and imposing—how can you complain?”

“Whatever, I’m going to tame the Little Wild Wolf first.”

The game had been open for several days now, and everyone had learned how to tame pets: repeatedly cast the taming skill on the target until successful. Some managed it in one try—like Zhang Shan did—while others had to slog through half an hour of repeated failed attempts.

Thankfully, taming carried no risks; as soon as the skill cooled down, you could try again.

While Zhang Shan cleared the newly spawned wild wolves nearby, he watched Wind and Fire Cannon try to tame the Little Wild Wolf.

Taming: 1%, 2%… failed.

“Damn, failed at just two percent? Is it even possible to succeed?”

“Impatient. Take it slow,” Wind Chime commented dismissively.

The taming skill’s cooldown wasn’t long; half a minute and it could be cast again. Wind and Fire Cannon’s skill cooled down, and he tried again: 1%… failed.

“What’s going on—is it really this hard?”

Zhang Shan was puzzled too. He’d succeeded in one go; why was Wind and Fire Cannon having such bad luck?

“Maybe it’s related to luck. You only have four points—pitifully low.”

Wind and Fire Cannon was resigned—four points of luck was truly miserable.

“I’ll keep trying. I refuse to believe it can’t be tamed.”

“Right, as long as there’s no prompt saying it can’t be tamed, you can try as many times as you like.”

Taming: 1%, 2%, 3%, 60%… failed.

Looks like this was going to be a drawn-out battle.

“I’ll go fetch Little Secretary now. You two help clear the wild wolves nearby, and keep an eye on your health—these wolves are almost always critting.”

“Alright, hurry up. Our clearing speed can’t keep up with their respawn rate.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be gone long—just a few minutes.”

Zhang Shan spent a few minutes bringing Little Secretary out, and the four of them hunted monsters near the Little Wild Wolf.

As for Wind and Fire Cannon, it was up to his pitiful luck to finally pull off a miracle.

“Level thirty monsters—such high experience! Almost double the Demon Militia.”

“High experience doesn’t help much. We can barely damage them; the time it takes to kill one wild wolf could kill five or six Demon Militia.”

“The level suppression is too severe—our damage is halved at least.”

“Don’t just talk about us—even Six-Barrel’s damage is suppressed. Otherwise, he’d kill one with two shots, not three.”

“Artifact Bro’s output is so explosive, a little suppression doesn’t matter.”

They chatted idly, killing monsters and whiling away nearly an hour, but Wind and Fire Cannon still hadn’t succeeded in taming.

What a luckless soul.

“Damn, you still haven’t succeeded?”

“No. Once I got up to ninety-nine percent and it still failed.” Wind and Fire Cannon was frustrated. Was it really this hard to get a pet?