Chapter 29 You Must Be S-rank
The Fire-Toothed Dog was caught off guard by the sudden ball and only reacted when the ball was nearly upon it.
Fortunately, the ball thrown at the first-speed setting wasn't fast, and the Fire-Toothed Dog simply lifted its left forelimb and hind limb, allowing the ball to slip smoothly beneath it.
Two automatic pitching machines were launching baseballs simultaneously, their barrels rotating from time to time to change the direction of the throws.
After about a minute of dodging, the Fire-Toothed Dog became increasingly adept at anticipating the trajectory of the balls; its expression grew relaxed, and it started to playfully dodge using minimal movements just as the balls were about to touch it.
Qiao Sang watched and was quite satisfied; dodging like this required a certain level of reaction ability and evasive skills.
However, Qiao Sang's purpose for bringing the Fire-Toothed Dog today wasn't to practice dodging skills. Seeing that the Fire-Toothed Dog had no problem with the first speed setting, she stood up and increased both automatic pitching machines to the second speed level.
The speed of the balls at the first level was about 3m/s, while the second level was 5m/s.
The room was only a short distance of several meters, meaning the Fire-Toothed Dog had to dodge two balls coming from different directions approximately every three seconds.
At the second speed setting, the Fire-Toothed Dog no longer seemed as agile; it barely dodged one ball before another was launched straight at it.
Under such rapid-fire, the Fire-Toothed Dog inevitably got hit by the balls several times.
Baseballs are divided into hardballs and softballs, and these indoor training softballs were made of rubber, hollow, and wouldn't cause pain upon impact.
In about a minute's time, the Fire-Toothed Dog was hit by the balls a total of five times.
At this point, Qiao Sang pressed the red button beside her and the automatic pitching machines came to a halt.
"Tooth?"
The Fire-Toothed Dog tilted its head, puzzled, looking at its Beast Tamer.
Why stop? It was having fun and hadn't had enough.
Qiao Sang squatted down beside the Fire-Toothed Dog and smiled as she unfastened the weighted ring from its right forelimb. "We didn't come here to play; I wanted to see the results of your training over the past few days and find out what your speed limit is."
"Tooth!"
Hearing this, the Fire-Toothed Dog pushed itself up with its hind limbs and patted its chest with the just-freed right forelimb.
It was ready to show its Beast Tamer what it could really do!
Seeing the Fire-Toothed Dog's spirited determination, Qiao Sang couldn't help but pat its head and said, "Keep it up."
The Fire-Toothed Dog felt a surge of enthusiasm. It went over to Qiao Sang's backpack, rummaged through it, and pulled out seven pairs of sunglasses. After a moment of hesitation, it picked out a pair of dark green triangular sunglasses to wear.
"Tooth!"
The Fire-Toothed Dog returned to its original spot and nodded solemnly at Qiao Sang.
Seeing this, Qiao Sang knew that the Fire-Toothed Dog was going to use its real skill.
"Keep it up," Qiao Sang encouraged again and then went over to the automatic pitching machines to start the second speed setting again.
Once the weighted ring was removed, the Fire-Toothed Dog immediately sprang into action, moving at a completely different pace. The balls thrown at the second-speed setting posed no threat, and it easily dodged them all.
Two minutes later, Qiao Sang adjusted the automatic pitching machines to the third speed setting.
The speed of the balls at the third level doubled to 10m/s.
At a speed of 10m/s, the Fire-Toothed Dog impressively didn't let a single ball touch it.
Although Qiao Sang had a good idea of the Fire-Toothed Dog's progress, the pride she felt seeing it with her own eyes was overwhelming.
Two minutes later, Qiao Sang increased the speed of the automatic pitching machines once again.
Fourth level.
The speed went from 10m/s to 20m/s.
Caught off guard, the Fire-Toothed Dog was hit by the first ball released at the fourth level; subsequently, the second and third balls also struck it.
It seemed that the Fire-Toothed Dog's limit for neural reaction speed was around ten-plus meters per second.
Qiao Sang thought for a moment and was about to turn off the automatic pitching machines.
"Tooth!" the Fire-Toothed Dog exclaimed urgently.
Don't stop! It could still keep going!
Qiao Sang was taken aback; she hadn't expected the Fire-Toothed Dog to still be aware of her actions despite the continuous barrage of balls.
Since the Fire-Toothed Dog chose to continue, Qiao Sang naturally did not stop it. She knew that if she didn't let it try again now, it might not even enjoy its meal and would likely get sulky with her.
The Fire-Toothed Dog's attention refocused on the balls—the issue was just that the speed of the balls had suddenly increased too much, and it wasn't prepared for it!
After so many days of training, how could it be defeated by these balls so quickly!
Qiao Sang was surprised to discover that the Fire-Toothed Dog, initially hit by the balls continuously, quickly got better.
From being hit by every single ball at the beginning to being hit by 3 balls out of many, and then finally only 1 out of 10 balls hit it.
Such rapid progress!
Qiao Sang couldn't help but sigh; not only was her Fire-Toothed Dog hardworking, its potential was also extraordinary.
After 30 minutes, the Fire-Toothed Dog had trained to the point of only being hit by 1 out of an average of 45 balls.
As the Fire-Toothed Dog didn't show signs of fatigue, Qiao Sang didn't stop the baseball pitching machine.
According to her original plan for the day, she was simply testing its speed; she didn't want to overexert the Fire-Toothed Dog's body.
After all, if it trained as usual, its body would definitely be sore tomorrow, which wouldn't result in the best mental state.
Tomorrow is June 10th, the day of the special recruitment exam at Shengshui Middle School, and Qiao Sang wanted the Fire-Toothed Dog to rest well today, intending the test to be brief.
But now, the Fire-Toothed Dog wasn't just testing its speed; it was training.
Continuing like this, its condition definitely wouldn't be at its best tomorrow.
Qiao Sang hesitated whether to call a stop right away.
Just at that moment, another Fire-Toothed Dog identical to the one on the left appeared out of thin air!
Qiao Sang stood frozen on the spot, raising her hand to rub her eyes, making sure it wasn't an illusion.
What else could explain such an unnatural phenomenon if not a skill!
She immediately accessed the Beast Taming Codex.
[Name: Fire-Toothed Dog]
[Attribute: Fire]
[Level: Beginner (133/1000)+]
[Skills: Bite Hold (Beginner 74/100)+, Hefty Collision (Expert 198/500)+, Flame Tooth (Expert 188/500)+, Spark (Expert 232/500)+, Shadow Clone (Beginner 2/100)+]
[Points: 55]
Aside from Bite Hold, the training over the past few days seemed to have resulted in progress in all areas, to varying extents.
Qiao Sang checked it every night before bed.
And now, there it was on the data, a skill not present the night before—Shadow Clone.
Qiao Sang was shocked; Shadow Clone was an intermediate-level skill, on the same level as Flame Tooth.
It had been only about ten days since the Fire-Toothed Dog learned Spark, and it had already grasped another skill, and an intermediate one at that!
Normally, learning a skill was a lengthy process, requiring the right guidance and training.
Many beginner Beast Tamers who didn't know how to train for a specific ultimate move would send their Pet Beasts to training institutions where they could learn skills.
Such training institutions were extremely popular in today's society; often, teaching just one skill could ensure the institution's standing for a long time.
Of course, that was provided the skill was intermediate-level or higher.
Qiao Sang hit the stop button, her gaze intensely focused on the Fire-Toothed Dog.
"Tooth?" the Fire-Toothed Dog, seeing that the balls had stopped, looked at its Beast Tamer in confusion.
Why had it stopped?
Qiao Sang exclaimed in admiration, "Fire-Toothed Dog, if talent could be displayed and ranked, you would definitely be a sure S-rank."
"Tooth~"
The Fire-Toothed Dog emitted a shy call, somewhat embarrassed.
Why such high praise all of a sudden, it felt odd.
The next moment, the Fire-Toothed Dog realized something and turned its head to the left.
"Tooth!!!"
The Fire-Toothed Dog let out a cry of panic and raced towards Qiao Sang faster than it had been dodging the balls, leaping into her arms.