Chapter 5: Clack Clack Clack

When Mu Huiyue woke up again, it had been three days since she escaped from the Undead Castle.

The Secret Realm Affairs Bureau of Changning City had already locked onto the location of the Undead Castle early on, but they couldn’t find the entrance. It wasn’t until Mu Huiyue left the realm from the inside that the bureau finally managed to control the sudden appearance of this secret realm.

The people who saved Mu Huiyue had taken her to the hospital. She didn’t have many external injuries—only some scrapes left by the Lickers and the paralysis toxins. The real problem was her brain domain, which had just been awakened and was still unstable, as well as the impact caused by passing through the secret realm without any protection.

Secret realms during the arrival period were like miniature worlds existing independently from reality. Though the connection points between the two worlds seemed close, they were shrouded in countless stretched and twisted spaces. Even if the body could travel safely, the brain’s cognition and senses would suffer a tremendous shock.

However, Mu Huiyue’s case was special. After receiving treatment, her brain domain stabilized quickly, like a calm and undisturbed sea. It wasn’t disturbed by the impact of crossing the secret realm, which amazed the doctors.

Once her health was confirmed to be stable, the hospital contacted the Beast Master Association and also registered her as an apprentice Beast Master.

Every newly awakened Beast Master needed to register with the association, providing reports on their brain domain development, Beast Space, and Beast Master abilities as determined by the hospital.

Mu Huiyue’s report simply stated her Beast Master ability was “Dark Attribute Enhancement,” with ordinary brain domain development and Beast Space values—nothing special for someone of her age.

Of course, she only found out all of this after waking up.

Mu Huiyue set her medical report aside. By her pillow were several rookie guides from the Beast Master Association. They briefly described how to form a contract with her first pet, as well as some usage precautions for common Beast Master abilities.

After being discharged, she was sent back home. The doctor advised her to rest for another two days before leaving the house.

This home belonged to her father, Mu Tong, a legendary Beast Master who ran a dojo in their hometown of Changning City. The dojo was quite large, capable of housing over a hundred people for training, and it had a formal battle arena for competitions.

When back in Changning City, Mu Tong mostly lived in the dojo, and it became the “home” that Mu Huiyue and her younger sister, Mu Yixia, were most familiar with.

Even though she had been sleeping for several days, Mu Huiyue still felt mentally drained and lethargic, not wanting to get out of bed.

She pondered over the events of the past few days and the memories that belonged to the other Mu Huiyue.

Her parents were both legendary Beast Masters, born with extraordinary talent, but the past seventeen years of her life had not been as blissful as others might think.

Her mother, who had always adored her, disappeared when Mu Huiyue was eight years old. It was said that she had gone missing during an exploration of an S-class danger-rated secret realm. In the end, her mother never returned, and the Beast Master who had been with her brought back a little girl who looked exactly like her—her “sister,” Mu Yixia.

No one knew where Mu Yixia had come from. The Beast Master claimed that Mu Huiyue’s mother had saved her and sent her out of the secret realm, but before Mu Yixia’s arrival, Mu Huiyue had been the center of her parents’ world—how could there suddenly be a “sister” who looked like a twin?

Her father, Mu Tong, accepted Mu Yixia as his daughter, but Mu Huiyue never could. Her life turned upside down after Mu Yixia appeared. The mother she loved so much was gone, replaced by a “sister” who seemed to be trying to take her place in every way.

And her father, Mu Tong, was a man who valued his own strength and reputation over his children’s well-being.

Only by achieving accomplishments worthy of the title “Daughter of a Legend” could Mu Huiyue gain her father’s attention and approval. To avoid being replaced by Mu Yixia, Mu Huiyue gave her all to achieve countless “firsts,” until she could no longer awaken her own Beast Master abilities.

Up until now, everything she had done had been to become a legendary Beast Master. If she couldn’t awaken her abilities, it would mean she would live as an ordinary person for the rest of her life, which would strip her of all worth in her father’s eyes.

Especially after Mu Yixia awakened before her.

That night, the person Mu Huiyue had arranged to meet in the park was, in fact, her sister, Mu Yixia. The fear and anxiety of not awakening overwhelmed the seventeen-year-old girl. She was even willing to lower her pride and ask her already-awakened sister for help. After all, if Mu Yixia could be a Beast Master, it made no sense that she had to live as an ordinary person.

But, unexpectedly, Mu Yixia didn’t show up. Instead, Mu Huiyue encountered a once-in-a-lifetime secret realm arrival, narrowly escaping death.

… No, if it weren’t for her coming through, the original Mu Huiyue might have already died in the Undead Castle.

She had escaped, all thanks to the little skeleton’s efforts. As the daughter of a second-generation legendary Beast Master, Mu Huiyue would never have contracted with such a low-ranking elite species like the little skeleton.

In fact, without the little skeleton’s help, she probably wouldn’t have awakened as a Beast Master at all.

Mu Huiyue felt a sense of melancholy. The memories that belonged to someone else felt like she had just finished watching a long movie.

A knock echoed from outside the door, followed by the sound of the door unlocking. Mu Huiyue looked up and saw her little skeleton, carrying a tray larger than its own body, clacking its way into the room.

The tray held the breakfast—well, now it was more like lunch—that the little skeleton had fetched from the cafeteria. There were no servants to take care of daily tasks in the dojo. For the past couple of days, a familiar coach had brought her meals, but today, her little skeleton had volunteered to help.

“Thank you, little skeleton,” Mu Huiyue smiled, signaling the little skeleton to place the tray on the bedside table before patting her knee.

The little skeleton happily bounced onto the bed, settling comfortably in Mu Huiyue’s lap, purring with satisfaction as she gently patted its head.

The lingering aftereffects of traveling through the secret realm without protection still left Mu Huiyue exhausted. She decided to follow the doctor’s advice and rest, lying in bed with her little skeleton, scrolling through her phone, catching up on the news.

But as she thought about it, the original Mu Huiyue’s social life seemed pretty bleak. After all that had happened, no one had come to visit her except for the dojo coach who had dropped by. Her father, Mu Tong, was away at some conference, and Mu Yixia, her sister, was nowhere to be seen. Even at school, there were only a few people she could talk to, and as for close friends her age—well, that was out of the question.

Though, in a way, this lack of visitors made things easier for Mu Huiyue. Even though she had inherited the memories of the original Mu Huiyue, she couldn’t act the same as before.

As she was lost in these thoughts, a particular news headline on her phone caught her attention.

“Little Skeleton, look at this,” Mu Huiyue tapped the small creature in her lap, “the investigation results of the secret realm are out.”

“Clack, clack?” the little skeleton tilted its head, curious.

The article reported on the preliminary findings of the Undead Castle secret realm. Mu Huiyue had named it herself, but officially it was called “Count Star Dragon’s Mansion,” a rare historical relic-type secret realm.

The public news didn’t reveal much detail, only stating that this was likely the former residence of the famous “Count Star Dragon,” Eren Mittedra, a notable figure from history. More information would need to wait for further investigation by the Bureau of Secret Realms.

The rest of the article delved into Eren Mittedra’s life and the rumors surrounding him. This wasn’t unfamiliar to Mu Huiyue. Eren was an ancient noble from the Hela region, known to every student of the Great Yan Empire. Open any high school history book and you’d find his portrait on the third page of Modern Beast Master History.

Eren Mittedra was one of the first humans to awaken as a Beast Master 780 years ago. At that time, secret realms had already been appearing for over two centuries, and the merging of secret realms had transformed the landscape, bringing with it powerful and dangerous extraordinary creatures.

Back then, the Hela region was under occupation by an alliance of seven powerful imperial races of extraordinary creatures. Humans were driven to the brink of extinction. It was only with the help of Eren and his contract partner, the Dark Night Dragon, that they were able to defeat these giants one by one and restore peace to Hela.

Their journey even attracted the appearance of the “Primordial Elf,” a mythical race regarded as the origin of all extraordinary creatures. This being, the first to descend on the planet, recognized the bond between humans and their kind, bestowing blessings upon them. This marked the beginning of the “contract” between humans and extraordinary creatures.

The article then discussed the beginning of Modern Beast Master History, focusing on the development of Beast Space, Beast Master abilities, and contracts—key components that made up the foundation of the Beast Master system. Count Star Dragon and his contract partner became legends, admired by Beast Masters to this day.

The news concluded with a portrait of the Count. Not the middle-aged man in the textbooks, but a much younger version of him before he set out on his legendary journey.

The youth in the painting had golden hair and sparkling blue eyes. His face was adorned with a gentle, open smile, his gaze full of energy and hope for the future, as if he were a hero preparing to embark on a dragon-slaying adventure to save the world.

Of course, in this story, the dragon was his contract partner.

Mu Huiyue read through the article with interest, surprised by the depth of history behind the Undead Castle. She still wasn’t sure if the transformed secret realm mansion was a true historical site or if it was a special space that had been altered by the power of the secret realm.

But the fact that a historical site from the Hela region had appeared so far away in the Great Yan territory made her even more acutely aware of the “randomness” of secret realm phenomena.

As she stared at her phone, the little skeleton, seeing her engrossed in the article, lifted its tiny head and nudged her arm.

“Clack clack!” (Don’t forget to eat, Beast Master!)

“You can just call me by my name,” Mu Huiyue chuckled, patting it. Its bony body was a bit uncomfortable to hold, but it had a nice weight to it.

“…Clack?” (…So, Huiyue?)

“Mm.” Mu Huiyue smiled and nodded, feeling that the little skeleton’s clacking sound had become much more pleasant.

“Speaking of which, I guess I should give you a name, little skeleton?” Mu Huiyue tapped her chin thoughtfully.

Thinking back to the not-so-bright skeleton soldiers they had encountered in the secret realm, Mu Huiyue was determined that her clever, little skeleton deserved a unique name—something to set it apart from its kind.

She looked down at the little creature in her lap. “Do you have a name you like, little skeleton?”

A small wisp of black mist escaped from the empty sockets of its skull, swirling above to form a tiny exclamation mark. It then reached for Mu Huiyue’s phone, where the young portrait of Count Star Dragon, Eren Mittedra, was displayed.

“Clack clack!” (I want this one!)

The little skeleton stood up, straightened its nonexistent collar, then pretended to fasten an invisible sword to its waist, striking the same pose as the figure in the portrait.

Mu Huiyue couldn’t help but laugh. It was such a perfect imitation, as though the Count Star Dragon himself had been shrunk and turned into a skeleton.

“Well then, let’s call you Eren,” Mu Huiyue agreed with a grin. “I hope we can form a bond as strong as Count Star Dragon and his Dark Night Dragon, Eren.”

“Clack!” (Yes!)