Chapter 113: The Pet System

The Valkyrie waved her hand, and the Shadow Warrior transformed into a beam of blue light before drifting into her body.

"Brave one, you have passed the trial and proven the strength of the human world. It is time for me to return to the world to which I belong." The Valkyrie waved her hand again, and a blue flash swept across the altar, revealing two items.

One was an old, tattered booklet, and the other was a piece of technological energy similar to what had dropped from the Great White Shark he had killed earlier. Both items shimmered with blue light.

"Before I depart from this world," the Valkyrie said, "I will leave one of these items for you as a memento. Choose one for yourself."

Wu Hua limped over and pondered. The tattered booklet was likely a skill manual, while the metal rod was undoubtedly a high-quality material. Skill manuals could be acquired in the future, but technological energy was rare and hard to come by, so he said, "I choose the one on the right."

The Valkyrie nodded. "This is a power of revival. It can awaken dormant potential and allow for constant regeneration. I grant this power to you now; you will become stronger in the days to come." With a flick of her spear, the metal rod morphed into a stream of blue energy, which circled the air a few times before diving into Wu Hua’s backpack and vanishing without a trace.

Wu Hua stood stunned, checking his attribute and status panels, but nothing had changed. His body felt no different at all.

"Damn it!" Feeling as though he had been swindled by the Valkyrie, he quickly shouted, "Wait, Lady Valkyrie..."

Before he could finish, his vision blurred. When he opened his eyes, he found himself teleported back to the small sand dune in the desert.

In the distance, a violent tremor shook the earth. The castle broke through the soil and slowly rose into the air. Colorful rays of light—resembling the power of spatial magic—stretched and twisted the castle’s shape.

Wu Hua’s jaw dropped. The sight was as spectacular as it was eerie. Above the castle, the Valkyrie’s figure morphed into a massive shadow. Much like the female ghost sovereign before her, she seemed torn apart by some mysterious force, letting out a roar. Her elongated face appeared furious and grotesque. Finally, a black hole opened in the night sky, swallowing every luminous object in its path.

"Is this a system reset?" Wu Hua felt the ground vibrating again. It seemed as if something else was about to emerge from beneath the castle.

Unfortunately, through his binoculars, he only caught a glimpse of a dark, blurry shape—presumably the super boss breaking through the earth. His vision blurred once more, and he found himself teleported back to the Federal General Affairs Hall in Star Dream City. This was, to say the least, a huge disappointment.

System message:
"Esteemed player 'Explosive Madness,' congratulations on completing the 'Guardian of the Era' quest series: Path of Survival, Moulin Grasslands, East Sea Shark Voyage, Ayat Dungeon, Master’s Wish, and The Divine Valkyrie. The hidden plot quest has been triggered. Experience +250,000, Merit +1, Charisma +3!"

Wu Hua froze. "What the hell? Is that all?"

Global system announcement:
"To all esteemed Star Wars players, a hidden plot quest has been triggered. All global servers will shut down in 30 minutes for the first system update in the history of the Star Wars world. Please move to a safe area to log off. The servers will reopen in 12 hours. For more information, please check the official website."

Wu Hua felt depressed. He felt he had been played by the main system, especially with the Valkyrie’s so-called "power of revival." It was useless; it hadn't even added a single point to his HP. What kind of revival was that?

But then again, as the old saying goes, who’s to say what is a blessing and what is a curse? Looking at the starry sky, he had no choice but to log off.

The first thing he did after logging off was open his computer and check the official website. The site had been updated: this system upgrade would add new maps and introduce a brand-new pet system.

Wu Hua carefully recalled the system's voice and was certain that he had triggered this hidden plot, leading to the update. Like any game, being the "first" usually yielded some benefits, but he felt he hadn't gained a thing, which didn't seem right.

Reading the official site, the pet system description inherited the typical style of *Star Wars*—never revealing too much. It only stated that every city would have pet shops where players could register for ownership and purchase various pets and equipment.

Players could also capture monsters in the wild if they had the skill, and after identification, those monsters would become their loyal companions. The official description suited Wu Hua’s tastes: "There is nothing you cannot do, only things you haven't imagined yet. For more excitement, step into *Star Wars*."

Checking the player forums, things were in an uproar. With everyone logged out, they were all debating the new pet system and making their own guesses.

Wu Hua had plenty of experience with online games, and almost every one of them eventually introduced pets. In reality, a pet was like a second pair of hands for a player, assisting in offense and defense.

However, many fell into the misconception that obtaining a dragon egg, a tiger, or a hawk would make them invincible. Wu Hua thought this was childish. With thousands of pets released by developers, there was no way they would allow for such imbalance. While fierce pets like tigers and lions might offer a slight advantage in the early game, the essence of a pet was the same as a player—it required effort to truly "rise." If the owner knew how to train them, it wouldn't be strange for a sparrow to take down an elephant.

Still, Wu Hua hoped his luck would be good enough to snag a dragon; using one as an attack helicopter would be exhilarating.

With that prayer, Wu Hua tucked himself in early and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, 12 hours later, the first thing Wu Hua did upon logging in was hail a taxi to the Star Dream Shopping Center.

The pet shop had indeed been added. Located next to the shopping center, it looked like an imperial palace. The "palace" itself was small, but it was surrounded by a lawn of nearly 100,000 square meters, filled with flowers, trees, lakes, and mountains—a veritable paradise.

The official holographic pet samples were all on display: cats, dogs, tigers, lions, fish, and birds. Every pet Wu Hua could imagine was there, and a few small dragons even flew overhead.

The shop was packed, crowded with people. A large portion were female players, undoubtedly cooing over the cats and dogs with phrases like "so cute" and "how fun."

Wu Hua couldn't be bothered with the charms of the crowd. He just wanted to pick out and buy his own pet as quickly as possible and start training it. Regardless of the type, being a step ahead of everyone else was the ultimate path to victory.

There is a saying: one of the hallmarks of a master is knowing how to race against time in a game.