Qiao Sang gazed at the introduction of the Eight-tube Coral, a water-type contract beast, an evolved form of the Hidden Coral Worm. Its ability to become invisible wasn’t merely a skill but rather a unique trait. As long as it touched an object, it could adjust the nano-crystals on its skin's surface to change its color accordingly, achieving the effect of invisibility.
Qiao Sang found herself speechless as she read about the Eight-tube Coral. Wasn’t this just like a chameleon? But in the world of Beast Masters, the effects certainly were more exaggerated than that of a chameleon from her past life. On the bus, the Eight-tube Coral clung to the upper body of a man with a square face, while its other eight tentacles floated in the air. With so many people close by, no one seemed to notice it at all.
With this thought, Qiao Sang searched for more information about the Eight-tube Coral. After browsing for five minutes, confusion flashed in her eyes. There was nothing.
The information didn’t explain why the presence of the Eight-tube Coral vanished so suddenly. When she was on the bus, for a fleeting moment, she had thought that the man with the square face had put his beast back into the Beastmaster Codex. However, when a contract beast was put away, a faint light appeared around it.
If that had happened, everyone on the bus would have seen it, meaning the Eight-tube Coral had clearly not been put away.
So, when the man with the square face wanted to get off the bus, she had paid extra attention. If its presence hadn’t truly vanished, then how come the Fire Tooth Dog could suddenly smell it at one moment, and the next moment, it couldn't? The man stood in the middle of the bus, just two people away from her, so the Fire Tooth Dog surely should have noticed its scent. Yet, the Fire Tooth Dog claimed that the scent had suddenly appeared and then vanished just as suddenly.
The Eight-tube Coral had always maintained its position on the man’s body; its presence remained. How could it be said to have suddenly appeared? Was it possible that the Fire Tooth Dog's sense of smell wasn’t sharp enough? Perhaps it had only noticed it when they got closer and sniffed more carefully.
“Yah... qiu!” The Fire Tooth Dog suddenly sneezed.
After a long moment of pondering, Qiao Sang decided to post a question on the forum. This was when the value of forums became apparent. Not long after, someone replied with answers.
"Isn't it just hiding its presence?"
"Impossible! How can it suddenly reappear? There must be at least a minute interval!"
"Could it be that its hiding skill is just weak?"
"I think what you said makes sense."
"When my Extreme Iron Bull was first training, its scent also disappeared for about two seconds."
“Teaching the hiding method here is a steal, not 9998, just 998! Only 998!”
“Don’t fall for it! The one above is a scammer!”
A light bulb went off in Qiao Sang's mind. It clicked; these strange occurrences must be due to a skill. The hiding skill was typically used only in specific situations, so it wasn’t surprising she hadn’t thought of it before. If the Fire Tooth Dog could use skills that concealed the area, like a sandstorm, along with hiding its presence, it would undoubtedly be a powerful combo. Sadly, it didn’t know such a skill.
As far as she saw it, there was no need for the Fire Tooth Dog to learn it right now. Qiao Sang closed her computer and turned to the Fire Tooth Dog. She hadn’t forgotten what she needed to do that evening.
“Fire Tooth Dog, use Fire Tooth. Use as many times as you can!”
“Yah.”
Although the Fire Tooth Dog didn’t quite understand Qiao Sang's intentions, it nodded obediently. Three minutes later, the Fire Tooth Dog lay on the ground, panting heavily. Qiao Sang counted, and it had used the skill a total of thirteen times. More than she had expected. But that could also be due to it just having eaten an energy meal.
Just as she was about to check the Beastmaster Codex, the Fire Tooth Dog weakly called out, “Yah~”
Qiao Sang understood instantly. She got up and headed to the kitchen to take two red fruit from the fridge, turning them into juice and pouring it into a bowl. After using six red fruits last time, her mother had bought another six. However, this time, Qiao Sang was careful with the portions, only letting the Fire Tooth Dog have one every two days. One red fruit cost 700 Alliance Coins, daily consumption was unrealistic.
Today, since the Fire Tooth Dog had worked hard, she couldn’t resist taking out two. With 50,000 Alliance Coins in her possession now, a bit of indulgence wasn’t unreasonable.
The Fire Tooth Dog held the bowl with its front paws and gulped down the juice, and after finishing, it let out a satisfied call. Seeing the Fire Tooth Dog looking so cheerful again, Qiao Sang couldn’t help but pat its head. Though the Fire Tooth Dog seemed happy, its body was already fatigued, and it soon lay down on the ground, falling fast asleep.
Qiao Sang picked it up onto the bed, tucked it in, then returned to her desk. She knew that training without a plan would be inefficient, so she decided to create a structured training plan.
First, she wrote down that they would get up at 6 AM for morning running to enhance stamina and speed. The Fire Tooth Dog was lacking in speed, so this needed special attention; otherwise, if someone hit it, it would take the blow without being able to retaliate effectively.
Aside from speed training, the rest of the time would focus on releasing skills. The Fire Tooth Dog currently knew four skills: Bite, Ram, Fire Tooth, and Spark. Except for Ram, the others were still in their beginner stages. As for the Bite skill, Qiao Sang decided to stop practicing it. Now that they had the more powerful mid-tier Fire Tooth, the Bite skill had become somewhat redundant.
Ram was at an expert level, but it was still over 300 points away from advancing to the next stage. If she wanted to reach that level before the special recruitment at Holy Water Middle School, they would need to practice it about forty times a day.
Training speed, releasing Fire Tooth and Spark, along with doing Ram forty times each day would definitely be too much for the young Fire Tooth Dog, who was still less than a month old. After some contemplation, Qiao Sang changed forty to ten next to Ram.
For the next nine days, apart from speed training, they would work on mastering Fire Tooth and Spark. Enduring hardship makes one stronger.
Holding her training plan and gazing at it with satisfaction, Qiao Sang felt a smile spread across her face.
The next morning…
“Why are you still home? Don’t you have school?” her mother asked sternly.
Qiao Sang glanced at the time, 7:54 AM. She had overslept… The morning run plan had been obliterated.
“Mom, why aren’t you out yet?” Qiao Sang countered. She still had not figured out how to tell her mother that she wanted to take a leave from school; if she were a top student, it would be easy to say she wanted to study and train the Fire Tooth Dog at home in the last few days.
But since her mother thought of her as a slacker, who could expect a slacker to study well after leaving school?
Qiao Sang never intended to keep it from her mother for long; she only wanted to wait until the special recruitment at Holy Water Middle School was over. Usually, her mother left for work before her, but today was an unexpected situation. She had miscalculated…
“Today, a guest has booked for the whole day. We leave in the afternoon. It’s still early, and you? Why are you up so late with only a few days left? Class starts at 8:10, and you’re still not ready!” Her mother looked displeased.
“I’ll be out in a moment!” Qiao Sang raised her hand in assurance.
She grabbed the bread on the table and bit into it, slipping on her shoes, picking up the Fire Tooth Dog, and swiftly opening and closing the door in one smooth motion.
Outside the door, Qiao Sang let out a sigh. Normally, after finishing her morning training, she would return home to rest a bit. Now, it seemed she would have to spend the day out.
(End of Chapter)