noffsinger Chapter 87 : Soul Contract
Chapter 87 : Soul Contract
Chapter 87: Soul Contract! Advancement to 【Beast Tamer】
This was truly an unexpected delight.
After such a long time, Leo had finally gained a second class skill capable of increasing his Spirit Attribute.
This 【Alchemy】 skill increased the Spirit Attribute by 0.1 with each level.
Under normal circumstances, once this skill reached max level, it would provide a total of 0.5 Spirit Attribute.
For the current Leo, this was extremely precious.
One had to know that previously, aside from the panel, he had only managed to increase his Spirit Attribute by 0.1 through reading, with no other methods available.
Moreover, just relying on the 0.5 Spirit Attribute gained from 【Mount Control】 had already allowed Leo to deeply feel the power of this attribute.
It wasn’t just memory—reaction speed, mental endurance, and thinking capacity were all affected by Spirit Attribute.
Although it wasn’t as visibly apparent as Strength or Agility on the body, in the long run, Spirit Attribute had a greater impact on a person’s potential.
Furthermore, many of Leo’s skills were directly tied to this attribute.
For example, the effect of Mount Control in enhancing a mount’s potential, and the effectiveness and duration of Hunting Moment—
All of these were related to Leo’s Spirit Attribute.
Even putting all of that aside—
There was one more thing that caught Leo’s full attention. After gaining that additional 0.1 Spirit Attribute, his Spirit Attribute had now reached 1.6.
1.6!
Leo was extremely sensitive to this number.
He quickly brought up his panel.
【Beast Tamer (Not Advanced)
Advancement Requirements:
1. Spirit Attribute reaches 1.6 (Met)
2. Agility reaches 1.1 (Met)】
Finally, he had met the requirements!
Among the two conditions for the 【Beast Tamer】 class, Agility had long been sufficient, but Spirit Attribute had held Leo back for quite some time.
But now, the second requirement was finally fulfilled.
With a thought—
Advance!
As his gaze sharpened, the panel rapidly began to change.
In the class column—
The words 【Stablehand (White)】 disappeared, replaced by a new class entry.
【Beast Tamer】 (Green), this higher-tier class directly replaced the 【Stablehand】 class.
And this time, Leo also obtained a brand-new Green-tier skill.
【Beast Taming (Green) Level 1 1/100, can forcibly establish a Soul Contract with one animal. When forming a new contract, the old one is automatically removed. Cooldown is linked to Spirit Attribute. Experience gained is linked to the animal’s mental strength】
Forcibly establish? Soul Contract?
Just reading this skill description gave Leo a domineering sense of satisfaction.
However, analyzing it literally, Leo instinctively felt that the “animal” mentioned likely did not include Beastkin.
Perhaps after leveling up, the scope could expand to include Beastkin?
He wasn’t certain.
Otherwise, if it only applied to ordinary animals, the skill’s effectiveness might be somewhat limited.
Looking further—
When forming a new contract, the old one is automatically removed.
This meant he could only maintain a contract with one animal at a time.
The cooldown was linked to his Spirit Attribute.
This aligned with the consistent style of his panel—stronger Spirit meant shorter cooldown.
And the most crucial part of the description—
Experience gained is linked to the animal’s mental strength.
That meant he could only establish a contract once per period of time, so he needed to choose animals with strong mental strength to quickly increase the experience and level of 【Beast Taming】.
Leo analyzed the skill thoroughly from beginning to end.
With the analysis complete, it was time for practice.
He planned to find a suitable animal with strong mental strength as soon as possible and use his first Soul Contract.
Leo’s mind raced rapidly.
“Animal… animal…” He mentally reviewed all the animals he had seen in the castle.
After a few seconds, he made his decision.
“First, I’ll go to the dungeon.”
Without hesitation, Leo rushed toward the dungeon at top speed.
He wanted to first confirm what exactly counted as an “animal” in the panel—whether it included what this world typically referred to as Beastkin.
Because in this world, the distinction between beasts and animals wasn’t very clear.
What if the panel’s definition of “animal” included Beastkin?
Thunder Lizard… Centaur… and those powerful creatures recorded in books.
If he could make Beastkin obey his commands, wouldn’t that mean he could control beings as powerful as knights?
Leo had already decided.
He would ride the Dragon-Elephant to the dungeon, then conduct an experiment.
Start with the strongest Beastkin—try establishing a Soul Contract directly.
If that failed, try lower-tier Beastkin. If all Beastkin failed, then try taming the Dragon-Elephant.
From strong to weak—this was the most scientific approach.
As the sound of hooves gradually slowed, before the Dragon-Elephant had even fully stopped, Leo jumped down the moment he saw the dungeon entrance.
Tying the Dragon-Elephant at the entrance, Leo pushed open the iron door with a creak.
Descending the stairs quickly, Leo inspected each Beastkin imprisoned in the cells one by one.
Perhaps due to luck, a newly delivered Tier 3 Beastkin had arrived today—a Centaur.
“I heard Zoro took on a Centaur mission.” Leo had obtained this information from his intelligence network. It seemed this one had been brought back by him.
Aside from that, there were quite a few Tier 2 Beastkin as well.
Without further thought, Leo walked straight to the largest cell.
Inside was the largest creature in the entire dungeon.
Leo looked over—basin-sized hooves, thick limbs, powerful muscles, and a humanoid upper body filled with wildness.
It was a massive Beastkin over four meters tall—a Centaur.
Sensing Leo’s presence, the four-legged beast raised its front hooves high.
Boom!
The heavy steel floor trembled with a terrifying impact.
What a violent Beastkin!
This was Leo’s first time seeing a legendary Tier 3 Beastkin like this.
Compared to the Thunder Lizard, this kind of Beastkin—with its partial human features—was even more shocking.
At this moment, its somewhat weathered alien face was filled with uncontrollable rage.
If not for the specially made cage separating them, Leo felt it would have trampled him to death on the spot.
Leo first tried using 【Mount Control】 to read memory fragments, but failed—the Centaur clearly did not belong to the equine category.
Then Leo turned to his 【Beast Taming】 skill.
“If I can establish a Soul Contract with it…” Leo directly selected this target.
The next moment, with a thought, as his gaze locked onto the Centaur—
Leo felt a force in his mind extend outward like a rope.
This force was invisible and intangible, yet he could clearly perceive it.
But in the next instant—
The moment that force touched the Centaur—
Leo shook his head violently.
That force shattered instantly.
The Centaur bared its teeth at him.
“Looks like the contract failed…”
As expected, this half-human, half-horse creature did not fall under the category of “animal” described by the panel.
But Leo didn’t give up and continued his experiment according to plan.
He tried his new skill on a ferocious-looking Tier 2 Gnoll.
Failure.
Although Leo already had a conclusion in mind, he still tested it on a dull-looking Tier 1 Swamp Crocodileman.
Still failed.
Now the conclusion was completely certain—his hopes were shattered.
Through rigorous testing, he confirmed one thing: the “animal” referred to by the panel did not include Beastkin.
At this point, only one test subject remained—
The Dragon-Elephant.
To remain discreet, Leo deliberately led the Dragon-Elephant into the dungeon.
Then he activated Hunting Moment, using his enhanced hearing to scan the surroundings.
No one was outside the dungeon, and it seemed no one was in the potion laboratory either—Lady Manta wasn’t there.
In other words, the entire dungeon now had only him.
Leo and the Dragon-Elephant locked eyes.
With a thought—
A strand of spiritual force shot out instantly.
This invisible force wrapped around the Dragon-Elephant like a rope, binding its entire body.
Leo’s gaze hardened as he clenched his fist.
There was no notification, no signal indicating success—
But in that very instant—
Leo already knew.
It had succeeded.