Of course, these are just the three usual options.
But roads are made by people walking on them, so naturally, there are other ways.
For example, after awakening as an Apprentice Beastmaster, if your talent is exceptionally strong but you lack high-quality Summoned Beast contracts, you can choose to throw in with the Great Xia Empire's government or military, or accept support from local forces.
Solutions are always thought up by people, but as for the consequences, those you'll have to bear yourself.
However, Mo Qingchen did not want to align with any forces, especially not those outside the government and military.
In the four years he's been an orphan, he has seen too many changes in this world.
On the surface, the Empire's government still seems to be running the entire Empire, but in reality, it has split into several factions internally. If it weren't for a few key figures trying hard to suppress them, coupled with external threats, the Empire might have already fractured internally.
The Empire Military is extremely powerful, yet it needs to suppress the emerging Abyssal Rifts, Abyssal Dungeons, Secret Realm Worlds, and urban areas.
Every year, the deaths of soldiers number in the tens of thousands.
Therefore, joining the military during the Beast Taming Era is a high-risk profession.
As for the other forces, many require you to sign a slave contract, working for others for at least ten years.
"Squeak squeak squeak..."
The sound of mice came from outside the window, making Mo Qingchen, still in terror from a nightmare, rise swiftly from his bed and pull out a sharpened steel rod from the gap by the bedside.
He skillfully tiptoed to the window, hiding in the shadows to look outside.
Mo Qingchen's residence is next to the largest landfill in the South City Suburban Slums. Late at night, various rat-type Exotic Beasts or monsters often emerge from the sewers to search for food.
They might be mutated rats from Blue Star, or rat monsters from an Abyssal Dungeon.
There are at least four or five kinds, but there's one kind that Mo Qingchen knows very well.
Perhaps it's more accurate to say familiar from a previous life, reminiscent of a childhood favorite anime elf - Rattata!
A small mouse with light purple fur, a pair of protruding sharp front teeth, looking somewhat cute.
Mo Qingchen gazed at the mouse with dark purple, messy fur outside, eyes gleaming with disgust and hatred.
[Exotic Beast Name: Rattata]
[Attribute: Beast Type]
[Level: Level 1 (Non-Tier)]
[Talent: Deterioration (Gray)]
[PS: Adult stage rat monster, malnourished from a young age, no hope for evolution, Talent degraded from Ordinary (White), irreparable.]
Mo Qingchen had long gotten used to seeing some data and intelligence about Rattata.
This is the Transmigrator's Cheat. Ever since he recovered in the hospital four years ago, his eyes could see information and data about Exotic Beasts.
He could even see more detailed information, like the evolution paths of Exotic Beasts and the auxiliary items needed for evolution!
A very twisted kind of Cheat, yet it scares him to expose it at all, more so to use it to earn exorbitant profits and escape poverty.
Without reaching the age of 18, one can't awaken as a Beastmaster in the already chaotic Divine Xia Empire, where the social order has been severely challenged.
Cults, illegal organizations, and even mafia gangs have started to emerge, not to mention those powerful corporate conglomerates forming armed forces.
In the Beast Taming Era, making someone disappear is all too easy.
Before gaining self-preservation capabilities, Mo Qingchen could only tightly guard this Cheat.
As for the loathing and hatred towards the Rattata outside the window, it must be said, these rats are formidable.
Don't be fooled by its trash Talent, or its mere Level 1, into thinking the mouse is weak.
In reality, even a Level 1 Rattata is slightly faster than a normal person, not to mention those two sharp front teeth that can easily bite through a 1CM thick iron plate!
The reason Mo Qingchen despises and hates these mice is that four years ago, when he just moved here, he was almost killed by an attack from three mice one night.
If it weren't for the patrolling police he encountered back then, he might have been back in the hospital just days after being discharged, perhaps even sent to the morgue.
Hidden in the dark, watching the mice rummaging for food in the landfill, confirming they didn't approach his house, Mo Qingchen quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Living here for four years, he's killed a few rat monsters, but only by using the protective steel bars outside the windows, stabbing them in the mouth with a sharpened steel rod while they were biting, to kill them.
Using a kitchen knife or a machete wouldn't even break the skin of these rat monsters!
That's how ridiculous it is. Even a Level 1 rat monster is extremely difficult for a normal person to hunt without Beastmaster equipment.
However, the blood and meat of Exotic Beasts are valuable. Even a trash-talented Level 1 Rattata can fetch two hundred Dragon Coins per pound of meat.
Bear in mind, non-mutated ordinary poultry, even the most expensive beef, costs only ten Dragon Coins per pound.
For Mo Qingchen, who was struggling economically, the unexpected fortune from rat monster meat was a slight improvement in his quality of life.
As for hunting specifically, there's no need for that.
The memory of being besieged by three Rattata and nearly bitten to death left a psychological shadow regarding these rat monsters.
Before becoming a Beastmaster, he wasn't willing to actively hunt these things.
Surviving near-death experiences makes one more fearful of dying, which is only human nature.
As time passed, the moon set and the sun rose, a breeze of eastern purple qi blessed the world.
The rat monsters had long sneaked into the sewers to hide.
Only at this moment did Mo Qingchen truly breathe a sigh of relief. He washed up quickly and hurried out, heading towards the South City's Fourteenth High School.
Today, June 1st, with bright sun and eastern purple qi, is a nationally good day.
Mo Qingchen had longed for this day to come, waiting eagerly.
The pace on his way was unconsciously three times faster than usual.
Boarding the school bus that arrived on time, he saw many schoolmates, each with a nervous expression, and Mo Qingchen somehow felt relieved.
Between people, there are differences, just like between Mo Qingchen and these fellow students on the bus.
Others are anxious about whether they can awaken a good talent, summon a high talent Summoned Beast, and therefore become a real Beastmaster.
But Mo Qingchen?
He never worries about awakening good talent, or summoning a high talent Summoned Beast, nor about becoming a real Beastmaster.
Because he has the Cheat!
It can discern the talent of Exotic Beasts and monsters and also reveal the evolution paths and required materials.
Bear in mind, the Beast Taming Era's advent was only ten years ago, and research on Exotic Beasts and monsters has only been going on for ten years, with many things yet to be explored.