Chapter 165 - You’re Telling Me This Is a Mount?

Moss did not want to choose adult Whirlwind Black Panthers because he had tried several times to tame one during his training but failed. Moreover, he felt a gap between his spiritual power and the adult Whirlwind Black Panther’s spiritual power.

Nonetheless, this was Moss’s first attempt at the beast-taming assessments, so he decided to challenge two juvenile Whirlwind Black Panthers.

Moss walked into his exam hall and saw two big golden eyes staring at him. He liked them a lot. ‘These little guys are pretty cute!’

Before anything else, he immediately activated his Beast Communication and spiritual power. Then he crouched and carefully approached the slightly larger panther on the right.

After two minutes, Moss failed to sense any emotions from it, even though it had quieted down. Moss increased his spiritual power and conveyed his friendliness toward the panther.

The little fellow still did not react, but it shook its head and bared its teeth. Meanwhile, the panther’s slightly smaller companion beside its partner’s strange behavior. Although the smaller panther dared not approach Moss, it began to growl lowly as it tried to get closer to its partner.

Moss realized the situation was worsening, so he increased his spiritual power again while sending out another friendly message inwardly.

At that moment, the big screen showed Duke regretfully shaking his head in exam hall 050. Then a broadcast appeared, “A-110 has failed in his first attempt of beast-taming.”

“Ah! A-110 has failed!”

“It seems that training a higher-level Magical Beast is genuinely challenging!”

…

Many students felt sorry for A-110 when a student shouted, “Hey, B-666 seems to be in trouble too!” Then the surrounding students immediately looked toward the screen.

The Whirlwind Black Panther, sitting quietly on the ground, suddenly became irritated. It jumped and growled at its companion.

A moment later, the invigilator announced, “B-666 has failed in his first attempt!”

“B-666 failed too!”

“Will the two strongest students fail?!”

…

“Look, A-066 has entered his exam hall!” A student exclaimed as exam hall 055 appeared on the big screen.

“That’s a Two-headed Magic Eagle! It’s a Magical Beast from the third floor!”

“Excellent! Now, this is what I want to see!”

“A-066 will undoubtedly take first placeif he succeeds!”

Many students and teachers were paying attention to Arthur’s beast-taming test as Moss and Duke reentered their respective exam halls for their second attempt.

However, the two made similar decisions this time as they chose relatively safer Magical Beasts.

Duke chose one Demon Mastiff while Moss chose ten juvenile Bloodthirsty Bighorn Sheep. Their decisions quickly caused a heated discussion.

“It makes sense why A-110 chose a Demon Mastiff. It’s a fierce canine species beast that dares to fight against wolves, tigers, and leopards.”

“B-666 chose ten juvenile Bloodthirsty Bighorn Sheeps instead of an adult. Does he want to tame them and keep them as pets?”

…

“Mr. Hank, what do you think about these three students’ choices?” The sunglasses-wearing teacher asked again.

Hank frowned, adjusted his spectacles, and said, “Duke’s choice in his first attempt was a little harsh, while Moss’s went a more stable route. If both fail on their second attempt, they can only choose the weakest yet most suitable Magical Beast on their third attempt.

“However, it is A-066’s first attempt, so I can’t tell what level he is yet. Still, the Two-headed Magic Eagle from the third floor boasts extreme spiritual power. I have yet to hear of any successful taming cases so far.”

Before Hank could finish explaining his thoughts, the announcement of Arthur’s failure sounded from exam hall 055, quickly causing a wave of sighs from the students.

With the announcement of Arthur’s failure, the students directed their attention toward Moss and Duke’s second attempt.

Moss felt energized as he entered his exam hall for the second time. He had failed in his first attempt because of a significant difference in spiritual power between him and the Whirlwind Black Panthers. He also could not grasp their rhythm well.

Moss would feel even more pressured if he failed a second time, but he was calmer than ever. Before doing anything, he went through the main points of taming in his mind and the things he learned during training.

Then he carefully observed the ten sheep across from him and slowly sensed their spiritual power.

“My choices will be greater than my efforts. I would’ve succeeded in my first attempt if I chose the smaller black panther on the left,” Moss muttered self-deprecatingly.

His eyes lit up when he sensed the spiritual power from the seventh sheep on the left.

‘That sheep’s spiritual power is outstanding, and its temperament is unique! It’s also much taller than the others. It’s about three feet tall! Is that an adult?’

Although Moss was doubtful, he quickly activated Beast Communication and conveyed a sincere message to the sheep. He also gestured “love” to it.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened. The seventh sheep bleated twice, conveying its happiness to Moss.

It excited Moss. His potential and Holy Belief activated while his spiritual power rapidly increased. Moss was not anxious at that time. Instead, he slowly used his spiritual power to test the waters with the seventh sheep.

Not only did the sheep not resist, but it also became ecstatic. It bleated twice and conveyed its happiness again.

Moss was overjoyed. He knew he was not far from successfully taming it, so he increased his spiritual power again. After a moment, the bighorn sheep stood up happily and kicked its two front legs in the air wantonly. Then it cried a few times happily and ran toward Moss.

The Bloodthirsty Bighorn Sheep knelt before Moss and rubbed its horns against Moss’s legs.

Then the invigilator announced, “B-666 has tamed a beast in 10 minutes and 1 second on his second attempt. Please proceed to the intimacy chamber to test your intimacy with your Magical Beast.”

A moment later, the screen outside platform 019 showed Moss had achieved level 99 on his intimacy test. The students were dumbfounded.

“That’s just a pet to him!”

“Congratulations, B-666, you got a pet!”

Then two more announcements sounded, “A-110 failed in his second attempt. A-066 failed in his first attempt.”

The two announcements resembled lightning, quickly spreading throughout the training grounds. It also affected each student’s decisions about their beast-taming assessments. Those who wanted to challenge upper-leveled beasts decided to go for lower-leveled beasts.

Moss was waiting for his results when the system sounded in his mind, “Congratulations, you have unlocked your mount!”

“Mount’s stage: Juvenile.”

“Growth value: 6.”

“Growth condition: Grows alongside its master.”

Moss was thrilled and amazed when he heard the system’s voice.

‘D-Did you call my beast a mount?!’ Moss asked the system inwardly.

Although Moss’s juvenile Bloodthirsty Bighorn Sheep was three feet tall and six feet long, it was smaller than an adult and more prominent than an actual juvenile. Moss could ride it.

‘This sheep is much more powerful than a horse, but it significantly differs from a Whirlwind Black Panther. Whatever the case, I’ll keep it as a pet for now and look at its stats.’

Moss looked at the interface in his mind and clicked on the question mark behind Great Holy Knight. It finally revealed its once hidden content.

“Mount: Unlocked.”

“Intermediate achievement: Unlocked.”

Then Moss clicked on the question mark that had turned red behind the Dark Knight. It showed that Moss had felt a dark power, and its Dark Belief value was insufficient. It also told Moss that he had not met other special conditions, so it could not display them.

However, Death Knight was the same as before. Moss clicked on the question mark behind it, yet it still showed that Moss had not met its requirements and that it would not reveal its details.

When Moss exited the information panel in his mind, he saw that he had scored 19 points in his beast-taming assessment.

Everyone was shocked when they saw Moss’s results.