Chapter 910: Blind Selection
Chapter 910: Blind Selection (Combined)
Outside the spherical arena.
Qiao Sang dismounted from Fangy.
The surroundings were dominated by eye-catching Red Pet Beasts, yet even so, Fangy's landing still drew the attention of most people.
A fire-type lizard familiar, which had just been told to "behave" by its Beastmaster, glared at another familiar the next second and immediately showed a disgruntled expression. Its tail glowed red and lashed out at its own Beastmaster's head.
"Ah!"
A blood-curdling scream echoed in the air.
The temper of fire-type familiars was still so volatile, but at least Fangy was well-behaved... Qiao Sang picked up the now smaller Fangy and queued up at the entrance.
When it was her turn, she showed the ticket inspector the mission confirmation slip sent by the Beastmaster Center after the mission was issued, and smoothly entered.
Following the address provided in the mission details, Qiao Sang arrived at a hall.
Inside, a crowd had gathered, and almost everyone had a fire-type familiar by their side.
Perhaps due to the concentration of fire-type familiars, Qiao Sang felt the temperature inside was higher than outside.
"Chimney."
A familiar with a small chimney on its head looked over, revealing a mocking expression.
Fangy's face fell, and it jumped down from Qiao Sang's arms.
Qiao Sang didn't think much of it.
"Steel Blade."
At that moment, Steel Treasure's voice rang in her mind.
The familiar with the chimney-like head had just mocked Fangy for still being carried by its Beastmaster even though it was so big.
Qiao Sang turned to look at the familiar Steel Treasure mentioned and recalled its relevant information.
Chimney, a fire-type General-Class Beast Companion. The chimney burning with flame indicates concentration, and black smoke will rise when it is unhappy.
Qiao Sang withdrew her gaze and bent down to pick up Fangy again.
Fangy's first reaction was to struggle.
"Let me hold you, you're so soft, it's comfortable." Qiao Sang said softly.
"Fangy."
Fangy stopped moving, showing a resigned expression.
Sigh, even though it had grown up, it couldn't refuse its Beastmaster's request to be held.
"Chimney!"
Seeing this, Chimney's face fell, and it turned to call out to its own Beastmaster, indicating that it also wanted to be held.
The slender young man didn't know what was wrong with his familiar but still bent down to pick it up.
"Chimney?"
Chimney felt comfortable and called out, asking if it was soft.
Are you soft or not, don't you have a clue... The young man didn't answer, conveying his thoughts with a look.
Chimney saw the meaning in its Beastmaster's eyes and immediately emitted black smoke from its head.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" A woman wearing a name badge cleared her throat to attract everyone's attention and spoke loudly, "Everyone, just have your fire-type familiars line up and go up. The selected familiars will stay, and the unselected familiars can be summoned back to the Beastmaster Codex. The match scene outside will be synchronized and broadcast here."
"Of course, if the Beastmasters of the selected familiars want to watch on-site, we have arranged seats outside. Just find me when the time comes."
Everyone listened quietly, seemingly having no issues with the arrangements.
What? There are selected and unselected familiars? Qiao Sang was momentarily confused.
If Fangy isn't selected, will the mission still count as completed?
Qiao Sang glanced to the side and chose a woman who looked friendly to ask:
"Hello, I'd like to ask about the specific rules of this match."
The woman looked over, her gaze landing on Fangy. She paused for a moment before gently asking in return:
"Are you not familiar with the Prop Crafting Competition?"
Qiao Sang said awkwardly:
"I know a little, but not much. I just accepted the mission."
The woman didn't press further and began explaining the match content:
"This Prop Crafting Competition is already the finals. The participating Artificers have gone through several rounds of competition from various towns, counties, and cities. They will blindly select the fire-type familiars arranged by the organizers to assist in the crafting process, which are our fire-type familiars."
"The competition lasts three days, during which they will continuously craft. The selected fire-type familiars will be involved in the process for all three days."
"Once the artifacts are completed, their functions will be demonstrated on-site. The Artifacts Association Judges will select the ten most impressive artifacts for scoring. The top three will be determined by adding the Judges' scores and the votes from the audience."
"Finally, ten lucky audience members will be randomly selected to receive these ten artifacts."
No wonder so many people are here... Qiao Sang suddenly understood.
The woman, seeing Qiao Sang's expression, smiled and said, "You got a good mission. There's an unwritten rule: generally, Beastmasters who are chosen to partner with fire-type familiars have a higher chance of being selected as lucky audience members."
"In the previous few Prop Crafting Competitions, at least two or three out of the ten lucky audience members were from our group."
Qiao Sang wasn't particularly interested in artifacts and asked, "How do the Artificers blind-pick the fire-type familiars?"
"They cover the familiars with cloth and select them based on their silhouette", the woman patiently explained. "This adds a bit of fun to the match."
Blind-picking based on silhouette... Qiao Sang looked down at Fangy, her confidence suddenly increasing.
Without considering anything else, just by silhouette, Fangy was so handsome that he should have been chosen.
"Ya!"
Fangy looked up at his Beastmaster, called out, and his eyes were filled with confidence.
About ten minutes later, a woman wearing a name badge announced, "Please have your fire-type familiars follow me!"
Fangy jumped down from Qiao Sang's arms.
"Go ahead", Qiao Sang nodded at Fangy.
"Ya!"
Fangy held his head high, walked confidently, and followed the other fire-type familiars.
At the same time, a giant virtual screen appeared above the hall, broadcasting the live scene.
"Now it's time for the exciting partner selection phase!" the host, dressed in a black suit and holding a microphone, announced. "Please welcome the first group of fire-type familiars!"
The crowd cheered.
Soon, the silhouettes of ten fire-type familiars were illuminated.
The camera panned around.
Qiao Sang took a quick glance and knew Fangy wasn't among them.
The fifty Artificers sitting in the contestant area began selecting familiars.
Five fire-type familiars were chosen.
The Artificers hardly hesitated.
Although it was a blind pick, most Beastmasters who were familiar with fire-type familiars could guess which one it was by the silhouette.
However, to increase the difficulty, the organizers sometimes had similar-looking fire-type familiars appear together and then adjusted their positions to confuse the silhouettes.
Qiao Sang watched with interest.
By the third group, she saw Fangy.
"The third group of fire-type partners has appeared. Please start your selection!" the host announced.
Each Artificer had a holographic screen in front of them, displaying the numbers of the familiars on stage.
If a familiar was chosen, the light in front of it would show the Artificer's contestant number.
If not, the light would instantly dim.
If more than one Artificer chose the same familiar, the one with the higher ranking from the previous match would get the priority.
Fangy was number 31.
With his massive wings, fluffy long tail, strong and slender body, and an aura of dominance, even just the silhouette made him stand out as the most impressive familiar among the ten.
Qiao Sang was very satisfied.
The Artificers paused their actions.
"Alright, let's see which familiars have been chosen!" the host announced.
The camera focused on the silhouettes of the ten familiars.
As the suspenseful background music played, the light in front of number 31 dimmed.
Qiao Sang: "!!"
Like a bolt from the blue!
Fangy wasn't chosen!
Qiao Sang was stunned, bewildered, and confused.
Why!
Why wasn't Fangy chosen!
He clearly had the most dominant silhouette among the familiars on stage!
If Fangy wasn't chosen, would this mission still be considered complete?
All sorts of thoughts raced through her mind.
"Xunxun..."
Treasure Seeker appeared with a look of disbelief.
Steel Treasure showed a stunned expression.
"Ice Emperor."
Even Lulu, who had only shown half her head, was taken aback.
At that moment, the kind-looking woman beside her reminded, "You should recall your familiar now."
Fangy's unique form was recognizable even to someone who had only seen it a few times.
Qiao Sang gathered her thoughts, took a deep breath, and formed the hand seals.
Suddenly, a large Crimson Star Array lit up in the hall.
Damn... The crowd, who had been discussing, narrowed their eyes and fell silent.
They never expected a B-Class Master to participate in this selection!
Are B-Class Masters all into playing young these days? The woman's expression changed, and she took a step back, stiffly.
Fangy appeared in the Star Array, looking as if he was questioning life.
Not chosen...
It wasn't chosen...
How could this be...
Wasn't it cool enough...
"Fangy"
Fangy looked at its Beastmaster with a confused gaze, wanting to know why.
Qiao Sang noticed the people around them quietly distancing themselves, sensing something was off. He sighed, "Shrink down first."
Fangy slowly shrank.
Man and beast stared at each other.
"It's those people who lack taste", Qiao Sang finally said.
"Fangy"
Fangy felt the same way. It sighed, showing a worried expression and called out.
If it wasn't chosen, would the mission still be considered complete?
Qiao Sang thought to himself that he was worried about the same thing...
At that moment, the friendly-looking woman nearby spoke up:
"Perhaps your Familiar Artificers aren't familiar enough to recognize what kind of familiar it is, so they didn't dare to choose it."
Her demeanor was more reserved than before.
So that's why... Qiao Sang sighed for no particular reason.
He had assumed that with Fangy's imposing appearance, it would be a simple matter to be chosen, but he had forgotten that this was an Artifacts crafting match, and everyone would only choose familiars they were familiar with and confident in.
The woman continued:
"You can wait a bit longer. Sometimes, even after the first round of familiars are all displayed, some Artificers still haven't chosen. They will have a second round, and your familiar can participate again."
Hearing this, Qiao Sang's eyes lit up. "Thank you. If you hadn't mentioned it, I might have left already."
If I hadn't seen Red's Star Array just now, I would have thought you were younger than me... Indeed, one shouldn't judge a person's age by their appearance... The woman smiled. "You're welcome. I've been through the selection process before, so I'm a bit more experienced."
"Yah!"
Fangy had regained its confidence.
So it wasn't because it wasn't cool enough!
Fangy's outline was quite imposing and easy to recognize. Since it wasn't chosen in the first round, it would be difficult to be chosen in the second round as well... Qiao Sang stared at Fangy for a moment, then suddenly said:
"Try removing your Flame Wings and see how it looks."
Without a word, Fangy removed its Flame Wings.
Good, now it's not as imposing. If you cover it up and just look at the outline, it looks quite similar to a Flamefox from the Hollow Plains, except the Flamefox's legs are a bit shorter... Qiao Sang observed for a moment and said:
"When you go up again, lie down and try not to expose your limbs."
"Yah!"
Fangy understood its Beastmaster's intention and called out seriously, indicating that it understood.
Ten minutes later, as expected, three Artificers still hadn't chosen their familiars.
Fangy entered the second round of selection.
"Remember what I told you", Qiao Sang reminded.
"Yah!"
Fangy called out and walked to the stage with a determined stride, as if on a mission.
"The familiars that were not chosen will now be called back on stage", the host said into the microphone. "There are three Contestants who have not yet chosen their familiar partners. Please make your selections now."
This time, 53 familiars, all of which had not been chosen in the first round, appeared on stage.
Qiao Sang, backstage, watched the holographic screen, his expression tense as he saw the outline of a long, lying-down familiar with no visible limbs.
This was the last chance...
If it wasn't chosen this time, the mission...
"Xunxun..."
"Steel Blade..."
"Ice Emperor..."
Treasure Seeker, Steel Treasure, and Lulu stared at the holographic screen, their expressions also growing tense.
A sudden gust of wind blew through the area.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd and the familiars, almost all the lights went out, leaving only three familiar outlines on the stage.
"Number 31, Number 69, and Number 98, let's see which familiars have been chosen!" the host announced. "Let's start with Number 31!"
As the host spoke, the covering cloth disappeared.
A nearly all-red, imposing familiar was revealed.
"Yah!"
Fangy stood up excitedly, raising its head and calling out loudly.
At the same time, its Flame Wings suddenly condensed and spread out.
The atmosphere was electrifying.
The entire venue fell silent for a moment, then erupted into chatter, everyone discussing the mysterious familiar they had never seen before.
In the Contestant area.
A young man with a short haircut, his expression shifting from confidence to shock, muttered to himself:
"How could this be? How could it not be a Flamefox..."
The Contestants around him sympathetically patted his shoulder.
Number 31's familiar looked incredibly powerful, but for an Artificer crafting Artifacts, the strength of a fire-type familiar was irrelevant. What mattered most was coordination and control.
Trying to coordinate with a familiar they weren't familiar with, and didn't even know the species of, he knew, was a losing battle for the guy next to him.
(End of Chapter)
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