Chapter 10: The Pet Dimension and a Hasty Quest

The pet dimension, a vast, independently created realm, lay at the very heart of the continent of Aethel. Its expanse was easily comparable to Aethel itself. In time, this place was destined to become a sanctuary for every player’s magical pet throughout the game. Regrettably, with the game only just launched, I remained its sole inhabitant.

This realm was said to be at Aethel’s core because its spatial portal was set atop the highest peak, right in the continent’s center. Only magical pets could freely traverse this space; players, however, couldn’t even dream of setting foot inside.

Instead of teleporting directly to Su Yingning’s side, I stepped out of the pet dimension. It took considerable effort, leaving me breathless, to sprint to the nearest novice village.

Aethel was an immense continent, dotted with numerous novice villages, and fortunately, one lay conveniently close to the portal’s exit.

Teleporting straight to Su Yingning would have been tantamount to exposing myself to immediate danger, a far from prudent choice. While I could still effortlessly deal with that rabble, I was disinclined to reveal too much of my true power.

Everything I was doing now was aimed at successfully rescuing Su Yingning without revealing my identity.

I set my sights on a novice village because free teleportation was available between them. This would allow me to easily outflank the enemy, ensuring their demise was both swift and utterly perplexing.

Before teleporting, I decided to fill up my last two experience points, so I sought out the novice village chief.

“Hahahaha! Keep it up, you fledgling adventurers!”

The novice village chief, having just bid farewell to a group of adventurers with exuberant enthusiasm, suddenly froze, staring at me with a bewildered expression.

“Ad—Adventurer… milady?”

Nearby players wore expressions as if they had just witnessed a ghost.

The preferential treatment was far too obvious! Was this beauty a VIP Level 8 player?

I had no time for pleasantries with the old chief. If players realized my true identity, saving Su Yingning would be impossible; I’d be mired in trouble myself.

To be safe, I activated the chat-blocking function, ensuring no one else could overhear my conversation with the NPC.

“Novice quest! Hand it over, quickly!”

Upon hearing my demand, the old chief visibly stiffened for a moment before swiftly recovering.

“Oh, oh, oh, you mean the pet advancement quest… Please wait a moment. Before you accept the quest, I have something to give you.” The old chief scampered back into his house, a flurry of rummaging sounds ensuing before he finally produced two ancient, gold-embossed books. “Here you are. These are the advancement manuals for Ice and Fairy-type pets, compiled by the Main God as cultivation guides. Only the first player on the entire server to possess a transcendent-tier pet can obtain them. I hope you will use them to contribute to Aethel’s pet industry, no… Where is your master? No… Are you a player or a magical pet? No, no… Program error, error code 0x800f091f.”

By the time the old chief regained his senses, the two ancient tomes in his hands had already been stowed into my pet inventory.

“Program error, unable to determine identity, error code 0x800f091f… Program error, unable to determine identity, error code 0x800f091f…”

Leaving the novice village chief behind, his gaze vacant, twitching and drooling as he mumbled to himself as if struck by a sudden stroke, I bolted, fleeing under the stunned gazes of all the players.

I was, at this very moment, a walking, talking bug cluster. It was far better to avoid contact with NPCs if possible, lest Aethel’s linear statistics chart for stroke patients this year shoot straight upwards like a rocket, forming a perfect right angle.

Fortunately, before the old chief completely succumbed to his ‘stroke,’ I successfully acquired the novice quest—

The Pet Advancement Quest, First Stage: Locate the Pet Trainer.

Quest Description: Find the pet trainer who, despite a lifetime of effort, never achieved master status. He currently resides in the northern part of the village.

I quickly located the pet trainer, wasting no words. I submitted the quest, leveled up to two, and then, without even glancing at my upgrade rewards, sprinted towards the teleportation point.

Su Yingning was currently in Verdant Village.

“Departing Novice Village. Destination: Verdant Village.”