<h4>Chapter 6: The Hope for Upgrade_1</h4>


    The Demon Cat was suppressed just like that, and Lu Ran, looking at the Demon Cat whose neck had already been bitten through, felt it was too magical. Although everything here is called a projection, the bleeding Demon Cat looks like a true living being no matter how you look at it...


    Poor kitty, you died so miserably.


    But it was either you or me.


    Hm?


    Before Lu Ran could dwell on it for too long, suddenly, the Demon Cat that Mr. Husky was holding down was enveloped in white light, and it along with the blood flowing from itpletely shattered and vanished under the embrace of the white light!


    "Woo??"


    Mr. Husky showed a puzzled expression as he discovered the spoils of battle inexplicably disappearing from before his eyes.


    What astonished him even more came next. Thepletely vanished Demon Cat actually left behind a trace, ultimately condensing into a firefly-sized point of light that flew into Mr. Husky''s body.


    At that moment, Mr. Husky felt his body as if it had once again been strengthened.


    "Leveling up from fighting monsters?" As he saw the change after the Demon Cat disappeared, Lu Ran immediately thought of something and gazed at Mr. Husky.


    However, seeing that Mr. Husky''s Growth Level was still at Level 1, he couldn''t help but feel puzzled.


    "That just now wasn''t wrong... By killing the enemy, Mr. Husky''s strength increased a bit, albeit not much, but it certainly got a boost."


    "Is one not enough to level up?"


    "How many do I need to defeat to reach Level 2?"


    "Wait a minute! Perhaps, this is the true meaning of the Trial Secret Realm." Lu Ran suddenly thought of a lot.


    Lu Ran''s original idea was to just normallyplete the beginner''s tasks, avoid conflicts,st for a day, and, when he became more familiar with what was happening to his body, n and attempt some high-difficulty challenges.


    However, after discovering that killing monsters could actually lead to leveling up and that Mr. Husky''sbat power was much stronger than he had imagined, his thoughts wavered.


    Is it possible to appropriately raise Mr. Husky''s level here?


    After all, the ultimate reward seemed to be rted to the performance in the trial, and skulking carefully until the end would definitely result in a different reward than battling all the way to survive until the end.


    Probably, this Novice Trial Secret Realm wasn''t as horrifying as he thought, but rather, a good opportunity for neers to train.


    The person who posted before had such a terrible experience, it''s very likely because they were too weak!


    Of course, it''s also possible that there are indeed stronger enemies in the Secret Realm... But at least, if they run into a Demon Cat like the previous one, Mr. Husky seemspletely capable of dealing with it!


    Lu Ran was torn, wanting to seize every opportunity as much as possible. He had a premonition that this mysterious ck Card would definitely affect the world order, but he was also worried that his greed could lead to danger.


    "Woof!!"


    At this moment, Mr. Husky kept digging the ground with his paws, as if trying to find the vanished Demon Cat...


    "Stop it," Lu Ran said with a vein of frustration, "That guy is thoroughly gone; next, we... Just stay put, you rest a bit, recover your strength."


    "Woof?"


    Lu Ran ignored Mr. Husky''s tilted head and was actually quite unsatisfied with the effects of the Data Eye.


    If he could see through the Data Eye how far Mr. Husky''s Level 1 was from Level 2, at least show a percentage, but unfortunately, whether through the Data Eye or looking at Mr. Husky''s data through the Contract Card, he couldn''t tell how many Demon Cats needed to be defeated to move from Level 1 to Level 2.


    However, Lu Ran did have one unexpected new discovery, which was that he noticed the Data Eye seemed capable of viewing his own information as well.


    Race: Human


    Beast Training Level: Intern


    Beast Training Technique: None


    The information is still very simple, the only thing that caught Lu Ran''s attention was the so-called Beast Training Technique.


    In Mr. Husky''s attribute table, there was also a skills category.


    But whether it''s Mr. Husky or his own skills column, both show no skills... How exactly does one gain skills?


    If they gained skills, perhaps theirbat power could be increased even more.


    "We just had a battle here, made quite amotion..."


    "It might attract new enemies. We just need to wait here like sitting ducks, this ce is fairly spacious and if we encounter an enemy, we can seize some initiative to a certain extent."


    Lu Ran exined to Mr. Husky, staying at this "spawn point" was better than going into thoseplicated thickets.


    This was Lu Ran''s final decision, leaving it to fate.


    "Eh woof!" Mr. Husky nodded, showing that he wouldply.


    In its understanding, it was Lu Ran''s job to think, and its job to fight.


    "Be on the lookout."


    While waiting for prey toe seeking them, Lu Ran continued to use the Data Eye to observe.


    After all, ording to the prompt, the Data Eye could not only view information about living beings but also about resources.


    What are resources?


    After some exploration, Lu Ran indeed made some significant discoveries.


    Themon weeds and trees showed nothing special through Data Eye, but there were indeed some unique nts nearby that Lu Ran found useful.


    For example, he found a red mushroom under a tree.


    Name: Hemostatic Mushroom


    Level: Common


    Introduction: A fungal species that, when crushed and applied, can slowly heal wounds. Do not ingest as it may cause hallucinations of little people dancing.


    Also, he found several green fruits on a tree that was distinctly thinner than the other giant trees.


    Name: Wooden Scale Fruit


    Level: Common


    Introduction: A tree fruit with juicy flesh and a very strong feeling of fullness. It can restore a certain amount of stamina when eaten. The Wooden Scale Fruit is a favorite of fruit bugs and there is a high chance of gaining additional protein nutrition after consuming it.


    "It''s a good thing I didn''t leave immediately. I can''t believe there were such resources hidden nearby, but these resources are just outrageous..." Lu Ran''s stomach ached with regret. If they had fled this ce at the beginning, it would have been a problem whether they could find such resources elsewhere.


    Without considering the quirky introductions, relying solely on these two resources, staying put would bepletely feasible, as long as they didn''t encounter creatures that were too strong, for remaining a day seemed no problem at all.


    "These things should be usable, right?" Given that the Demon Cat had vanished earlier, Lu Ran couldn''t help worrying whether the Hemostatic Mushroom and Wooden Scale Fruits would disappear if he picked them.


    But as it turned out, Lu Ran was overthinking. After he tentatively harvested a Hemostatic Mushroom, it didn''t disappear—evidently, they just couldn''t be taken out of the Secret Realm.


    "Not bad," Lu Ran''s eyes lit up. With these items, he felt even more confident about leveling up Mr. Husky.


    Hm?


    "Woof..." As Lu Ran was in a good mood, he felt a warm breath approach. Mr. Husky had run over at some point and was panting hot air on the Hemostatic Mushroom, drooling profusely, seemingly asking if he could eat it.


    "Didn''t you just eat before we came here???"


    "Woof!"


    "Just fighting one battle can''t have used up all that food. This is for external application only, not for eating. And you''re not allowed to eat anything else here without my permission."


    "Woof."


    "No means no."


    After some back-and-forth with Mr. Husky and facing Lu Ran''s scornful gaze, Mr. Husky finally gave up on the idea of eating the Hemostatic Mushroom. In fact,pared to eating meat, Lu Ran''s Husky preferred to eat vegetables and fruits, hence he also had a nickname—Veggie Dog.


    Up next, Lu Ran started the challenging task of picking Wooden Scale Fruits. Although he and Mr. Husky had indeed eaten on their way here, it would only sustain them for half a day at most, and once they were hungry again, their abilities would surely decrease.


    At this time, the Wooden Scale Fruit, which could restore some stamina and provide satiety and hydration, seemed especially important.


    Some time passed.


    Lu Ran had collected all the Wooden Scale Fruits and Hemostatic Mushrooms in the vicinity.


    Half an hour had gone by since they entered.


    What left Lu Ran speechless was that staying put didn''t seem to bring any new enemies their way.


    "Could it be that we have to take the initiative?" Lu Ran frowned, but in the next moment, his expression dramatically changed.


    Rustle, rustle, rustle———


    Mr. Husky, who had been napping on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes, on alert.


    Because a familiar sound was ringing out again.


    "The experience baby ising!"


    "Woof, woof!"


    However, Lu Ran didn''t have long to be pleased, because the rustling sound wasing from all directions.


    Lu Ran''s heart tightened. There were many creatures approaching this time... not just one!


    A momentter.


    A drop of sweat trickled down Lu Ran''s face.


    The ck thicket was once again torn open, and five figures emerged from within.


    Mr. Husky: ...


    Lu Ran: ...


    Ha, is this what they call a beginner''s Novice Secret Realm? Lu Ran was baffled.


    He suspected the creator of the Secret Realm was targeting him. He wasn''t cheating, after all!


    Listen to me... thank you...