Brittney (Part 1)

At 3:23 PM.

After the Fire Dog's weight training, it approached Riley.

In these past few days, the Fire Dog had adapted to the training, and its stamina had significantly improved. It could even stand steadily after the training.

Riley handed over a bottle of Silph Milk that he always carried with him.

The current training regime required the Fire Dog to drink 8 or 9 bottles of Silph Milk every day.

Watching the Fire Dog down three bottles of Silph Milk in a row, Riley began to feel some financial anxiety.

This was becoming too expensive. In less than a week, he had only around 30,000 League coins left, and His assets were likely to start with a '2' after today's expenses.

He needed to find a way to make money.

Riley had considered asking His mother directly for money, but seeing His mother leave early in the morning and return late, having to cook and prepare energy meals for his own Spirit Beast, he couldn't bring himself to ask.

For now, he needed to focus on the upcoming entrance exam. Making money could wait.

After the Fire Dog finished the Silph Milk, Riley and his Fire Dog boarded the bus.

...

Spirit Beast Tales Bookstore.

As it was a weekend, the bookstore was quite crowded, mostly with students.

Riley stood in the middle school section on the second floor, choosing the materials he wanted to buy. He was planning to purchase a set of high school entrance exam practice papers.

Just as Riley finished his selection and was about to head downstairs, a voice called out to him.

"Hey, Handsome guy!"

"Male God!"

"Hero!"

"The cute boy with Fire Dog!"

Riley turned around at the sound of someone who seems to be calling him.

In the entire bookstore, it was only him that had a Fire Dog by his side.

A girl with double buns and wispy bangs approached quickly.

"Why didn't you respond to me?" the girl complained.

Riley looked at her and somewhat felt little familiar...

He couldn't recall where he had seen her before, but he was certain that they had met.

"Bark," the Fire Dog barked, apparently recognizing the girl.

The Fire Dog knew her?

"It's you, I just didn't notice earlier," Riley replied calmly.

"I recognized you at a glance, especially with your Fire Dog, quite conspicuous," the girl said with a smile.

Riley blinked, signaling for her to continue.

"I wanted to thank you for what happened on the bus the other day. I sent you a message, but you never replied," the girl continued.

Riley remembered now.

It was the person who sat next to him on the bus when he received the 50,000 League coins, she seems to be called Brittney.

"I haven't been checking my messages much lately," Riley explained.

These days, he had been busy training his Fire Dog and studying, and his phone had indeed gone unchecked.

"Heroes are different; you can resist checking your phone. I can't do that," Brittney admired.

She then noticed the study materials in Riley's hand and asked curiously, "Why are you buying High School entrance exam papers?"

"Aren't the High School entrance exams coming up in a few days?" Riley replied.

"High School entrance exams and you buying... Oh my goodness!" Brittney suddenly realized.

Her voice, unlike the subdued tone she had used to call Riley earlier, now rang out loudly in the quiet bookstore, drawing frowns from those around them.

Brittney quickly covered her mouth and, in a lower tone, asked, "You're still in middle school?"

"I don't look like it?" Riley felt a bit annoyed. Did he look more mature than his age?

"It's not that, I just didn't expect it," Brittney hurriedly shook her head.

When she looked at the boy in front of her more closely, he did look more younger than herself. It was just that she hadn't initially associated him with being a middle school student.

Who could have guessed that the person who had exposed the Annemosea and caught the thief, and had formed a contract with a Fire Dog, was just a middle school student?

What did it say when a middle school student who hadn't even graduated had formed a contract with a Spirit Beast? It meant that he was an independent awakener genius!