Summoner System in the World of Monster Tamers and Hunters

She looked down at the vial again, then at her companion, and felt a shiver run down her spine. In all the time Betty had been sick, she had never once responded to any medicine so actively. Not the guild-approved injections. Not the spiritual ointments. Nothing.

But now, her paw trembled with eagerness. "You think this'll work?" Li Xue asked.

"Meow," the cat said again, curling her tail around her body as she leaned closer.

Li Xue's lips parted slightly. She looked once more at the guild's doorway and narrowed her eyes just slightly.

She gently uncorked the vial and held it near the cat's mouth. A flick of her wrist and the liquid tipped gently between the feline's lips.

Almost instantly, a faint shimmer coursed along the cat's fur. Pale golden streaks of energy danced across its body before disappearing.

Betty let out a deep sigh, and then, to Li Xue's shock, stretched out fully for the first time in weeks.

*Meow*

An excited meow escaped Betty's lips as its eyes shimmered with a glow. As it died down, Li Xue's eyes widened. "Betty… you… Just got your strength back?"

Li Xue hurriedly scrambled the drawers of the desk, one after another, finally taking out a bio scanner and running it over the creature.

Species: Frost Veil Cat

Element: Ice

Potential: Overlord Tier

Current Level: 49

"It worked," Li Xue whispered, her fingers gripping the empty vial. "It really worked…" She almost had tears well up in her eyes. She couldn't help but pick up the cat and spin it around, then rub her cheeks with it. "Haha, it truly worked, Betty."

She turned slowly, eyes drifting to the door, where Lin Fang's silhouette had already disappeared into sunlight.

"Interesting," she murmured. A smile tugged at the edge of her lips. "Lin Fang, who are you, really?"

*

Meanwhile, Lin Fang and Zhi Yan pulled up to the gates of the Monster Tamer Association, Huaxi City Branch.

The twin buildings of the Tamer and Hunter Associations towered beside each other like stoic sentinels, both built of smooth white stone and blue glass, the crest of the World Council etched high above.

Lin Fang spared the Hunter Association only a passing glance. Despite the grand facade, it had nothing to do with him.

He walked forward with quiet determination. Zhi Yan followed beside him, more worried than him.

Inside, the lobby was modern and minimal, marble floors, wide digital notice boards, and a reception counter manned by a young staff member engrossed in reading something on a sleek tablet.

He didn't even look up when Lin Fang and Zhi Yan approached.

Without breaking eye contact with his screen, he pushed a holographic form forward. "Name, email, phone number, address, and citizenship number," he droned. "Scan the QR code on the back of the sheet, upload any valid national ID, and bind your phone number with an OTP. Then pay a 300-credit fee online. After that, you'll get a confirmation email. Your examination pass will arrive within 24 to 48 hours with the date and venue."

"That's it?" Lin Fang asked.

"Yep," the man muttered.

Lin Fang turned to Zhi Yan. "I didn't expect it to be this… smooth. I thought we would have to wait in lines, like you told me."

Zhi Yan averted her gaze. "I guess today is a lucky day."

Lin Fang didn't say anything to that and simply nodded, taking the application sheet. Stepping aside with Zhi Yan, he quickly filled in the details and paid the fee through his bank app. In less than five minutes, a soft ding signaled the confirmation email.

"Well," he said, glancing at the screen, "it's done."

Handing over the application form to the receptionist, he turned around and walked away.

Behind them, the front desk attendant looked up briefly from his tablet, eyes trailing the plain-dressed young man and the beautiful woman beside him.

He sighed, shaking his head away. "A plainfolk wants to become a monster tamer? Does he not have internet, or was he just plainly stupid? Anyway, not my problem." He shrugged, getting back to his work.

After they left the association building, Zhi Yan and Lin Fang visited various pet stores, basically the ones that sell food to avian-type creatures.

Or in layman's terms, bird food.

After roaming for an hour, Lin Fang came to the conclusion that the Zools brand is the best one for avian creatures, regarding affordability, but it still retains decent quality. He also bought a premium version of dry food for a baby avian creature of the same brand.

The store bags rustled as Lin Fang settled them carefully into the back seat of Zhi Yan's sleek car, forty small pouches stacked neatly in two compact boxes. He double-checked the straps to make sure they wouldn't spill mid-ride. As he closed the trunk, Zhi Yan couldn't help but complain. "Okay, now you will tell me why you bought those. You have a baby panda, and you bought bird food instead. And why did you buy 40 bags of 0.6kg ones instead of a 20kg one? You could have saved money."

Lin Fang blinked. He was about to say that he had a baby eagle too, but then Zhi Yan narrowed her eyes slightly and went on saying. "Unless… you're planning to resell them or something? You don't get much profit from that. Whatever profits you might get will vanish in the form of shipping."

"Resell them?" Lin Fang echoed slowly, the thought tumbling through his brain like a coin bouncing off a countertop. "Hmm… resell? Wait a second…Visibility… ranking… Sales count…"

The idea clicked in his mind like a door being unlocked. He turned toward her, eyes suddenly bright. "That's actually brilliant!"

Zhi Yan blinked, clearly caught off guard. "Huh?"

"If I list smaller, cheaper items in bulk with a discount," he continued, excitement rising in his voice, "and if I manage a few dozen sales quickly, then it'll spike the algorithm. More people will see the store. Which means more exposure for the monster eggs!"

"Huh?"

Lin Fang chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Every time I'm with you, one way or another, somehow, I'm receiving help in the end."

Zhi Yan stared at him, lips slightly parted, but in the end, she simply smiled. "Well, then, I guess you owe me one."

Lin Fang smiled softly, thinking. "Oh, I owe you more than one, dear old classmate."

An hour later, they returned home.

The elevator ride had been mostly quiet, save for the soft hum of distant city noise and the occasional floor chime.

Zhi Yan tapped her card. The door slid open with a mechanical click.

The moment they stepped into the apartment, they were greeted by the sight of Li Liu sprawled across the living room sofa, a half-eaten bag of chips in one hand and the TV remote in the other.

Her vest clung to her shoulder like it barely wanted to stay on, and her shorts rode high enough that Lin Fang instantly averted his gaze.

Li Liu blinked, surprised mid-bite. "Oh… uh… you're back already?"

Her cheeks tinged red as she scrambled to sit upright, clearly flustered.

Before either of them could respond, she stood up in a hurry. "I didn't think you two would return this early from your date…"

Zhi Yan's brows furrowed, and a blush crept up her neck. "We weren't on a date. We just went to the Association, that's all."

But Li Liu was already halfway into her room, waving without looking back. "Yup, got it. Sorry. Excuse me…"

The door clicked shut behind her.

Lin Fang stood there for a moment in silence. Zhi Yan let out a helpless smile, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Just give her a bit of time. Li Liu… she takes a while to open up."

Lin Fang gave a nod. "Not a problem."

With that, he returned to his room.

Locking the door behind him, he finally let out a slow breath and leaned against it for a moment. The room was dim and quiet. All he could hear was the faint ticking of the wall clock and the gentle hum of his air purifier.

Lin Fang walked over to his bed and sat down cross-legged.

His fingers trembled slightly from anticipation as he opened his inventory and scrolled down to the gleaming token: Nemesis Egg Token.

"Time to meet you," he murmured.