Knowledge of attribute clashes is common sense, and Chen Tongtong certainly knew that. However, he had never fought against a fire-type contract beast before. In the whole school, only two people dared to be the first to contract fire-type beasts. Both of them were from the second year, and none from their current class.
Was the attribute suppression really that strong? Chen Tongtong felt depressed. After he finished paying, he didn’t even notice when the other party had left until Jiang Liu patted his shoulder.
“Why didn’t you get her contact information before transferring the money? Then you could give me her contact info as well.”
Chen Tongtong replied, “... Get lost!”
…
After Qiao Sang completed her third battle, her mother’s call came through.
“Why haven’t you come home yet?”
Qiao Sang glanced at the time; it was 6:17 PM. Wencheng Middle School’s dismissal time was 5 PM sharp. Since her home was close to the school, it only took about ten minutes on the bus to get there. She usually took her time and could arrive by 5:30 PM.
“I took the Fire Tooth Dog for training,” Qiao Sang answered.
There was a brief silence on the other end before her mother said, “Come back earlier, the food is getting cold.”
“I know.”
After hanging up, Qiao Sang ripped the paper off her backpack. She was very dissatisfied with today’s results. The peak school dismissal time was so brief, and by the time she finished her three battles, most people had already left.
Her efficiency was too slow. Qiao Sang felt that waiting around at other schools wasn’t a good idea either. She pondered for a moment and focused her mind into the Beastmaster Codex.
[Name: Fire Tooth Dog]
[Attribute: Fire]
[Level: Beginner (115/1000)+]
[Skills: Bite (Entry 74/100)+ , Charge (Proficient 138/500)+, Fire Tooth (Entry 5/100)+, Spark (Entry 5/100)+]
[Points: 55]
All the skill values had increased to some extent, but why were the points not a multiple of 3? Did different contract beasts yield different amounts of points when defeated?
Today, she fought three: a Little Plump Dove, a Cotton Button Worm, and a White Sand Fox—all beginner-level beasts—the only difference being that the Cotton Button Worm was defeated in one hit while the others lasted for a few rounds. Was the Cotton Button Worm lowering the points?
As Qiao Sang stared at the data before her, she suddenly thought of something. “Fire Tooth Dog, use your Fire Tooth.”
“Bark.”
Although the Fire Tooth Dog didn’t understand her intention, it obediently activated Fire Tooth. With no attack target, it quickly retracted the skill. Qiao Sang checked the Beastmaster Codex again.
[Name: Fire Tooth Dog]
[Attribute: Fire]
[Level: Beginner (115/1000)+]
[Skills: Bite (Entry 73/100)+, Charge (Proficient 135/500)+, Fire Tooth (Entry 6/100)+, Spark (Entry 3/100)+]
[Points: 55]
The value for Fire Tooth had increased!
So, this meant that practicing on their own could increase the skill proficiency without needing a target! She had initially missed the point; skill proficiency could be improved through practice and didn’t necessarily require an attack target.
But if releasing a skill increased proficiency, wouldn’t everyone’s beasts reach masterful levels in their skills?
Qiao Sang was uncertain about others' skill proficiency situations, but it seemed that hers did indeed increase with each release. To confirm her assumption, she had the Fire Tooth Dog release Fire Tooth again.
After the Fire Tooth Dog executed the skill, just as she expected, the value changed from 6 to 7.
Qiao Sang fell silent for a moment, then exited the Beastmaster Codex and decided to have the Fire Tooth Dog unleash Fire Tooth a hundred times to see if it could go beyond.
The Fire Tooth Dog nodded, appearing dedicated. However, reality was harsh; after the fourth consecutive release, it became… exhausted.
The value for Fire Tooth had stopped at 10.
Using skills required energy and stamina, and clearly, the current Fire Tooth Dog could only execute Fire Tooth a handful of times in succession. The Fire Tooth Dog had already fought three battles today, draining its stamina and energy considerably.
Qiao Sang assessed the situation, thinking that in a fully energized state, performing Fire Tooth ten times in a row should be manageable. If she practiced ten releases in the morning and another ten in the evening, wouldn’t the proficiency reach mastery in just five days?!
Could a beast’s skill go from entry to mastery this quickly?
Qiao Sang recalled her limited knowledge of beast mastery. No, that wasn’t possible. Even for low-level skills, it would take nearly a month of daily practice to go from entry to mastery. The next stage after proficiency was minor mastery, which increased power several times; at least half a year was needed for that.
Fire Tooth was an intermediate skill; it would typically take about 5 to 7 months to reach mastery.
But the Fire Tooth Dog could achieve it in five days!
This was clearly the power of a cheat! With this cheat, could she still be afraid of not ranking first in the special admissions to Holy Water Middle School? By then, with all her skills at mastery, what could they use to compete against her?
When that time comes…
“Bark!”
The Fire Tooth Dog’s bark pulled Qiao Sang back from her daydream.
Snapping back to reality, she noticed some people were looking at her strangely. Instinctively, she adjusted her expression.
The muscles at the corner of her mouth tugged slightly, and she realized it felt a bit sore. She was surprised to find that she was smiling…
“Ahem, let’s head home,” Qiao Sang said as she picked up the Fire Tooth Dog.
“Bark!”
The Fire Tooth Dog pointed its tiny paw toward a barbecue stall in the distance.
Qiao Sang glanced over, realizing she was also hungry. No wonder the tempting scent of cumin wafted over from afar.
“No, we already have dinner waiting at home,” Qiao Sang turned her head, resisting the temptation.
“Bark~” The Fire Tooth Dog looked up at her with its big, watery eyes.
This little fellow could actually act cute…
“Fine, just two skewers,” Qiao Sang relented.
The Fire Tooth Dog happily nodded.
When they reached the barbecue stall, the lady running the stall recognized Qiao Sang.
“Hey, you still haven’t gone home?”
“Yeah,” Qiao Sang replied, sniffing the aroma of the barbecue, “Auntie, I’ll take 20 lamb skewers.”
In the end, Qiao Sang ate 5 skewers, while the Fire Tooth Dog devoured 15.
On the way back, Qiao Sang earnestly said, “When we have dinner, you must pretend you didn’t get enough and finish your meal, alright?”
“Bark.”
The Fire Tooth Dog responded, then let out a satisfied burp.
Qiao Sang: “…”
She comforted herself that taking the bus back from the nearby stop of the 37th Beastmaster High School would take over half an hour, so by then, she should have digested the food…
Contract beasts could eat human food, but for proper development and nutrition, they needed special energy-rich meals.
The beast food at home was specially prepared by her mother, which required considerable time. If the Fire Tooth Dog got full from the lamb skewers, it might not have an appetite for her mother’s cooking…
Qiao Sang shook her head, not daring to think further.
Taking the subway would only take about ten minutes to get home, but for the sake of the Fire Tooth Dog, Qiao Sang chose to take the bus.
On the 66 bus, the Fire Tooth Dog, probably because it was both tired and full, lay quietly by the window, gazing out at the scenery.
(End of Chapter)