Chapter 18 Proficiency

Elemental advantages and disadvantages are common knowledge, and Chen Tongtong certainly knew that.

However, he had indeed never fought against a fire attribute beast before; there were only two daredevils in the entire school who had chosen a fire attribute beast as their first contracted pet beast.

Both of these daredevils were in their second year of high school, and none were in his grade.

Is elemental suppression really that strong? Chen Tongtong felt dispirited.

He was so preoccupied that he didn't even notice when the other person left after he had paid them, until Jiang Liu patted him on the shoulder.

"Why didn't you add her contact before transferring the money? That way, you could also have given me her contact details."

Chen Tongtong: "... Scram!"

...

After Qiao Sang had her third duel, her mother's phone call came.

"Why aren't you home yet?"

Qiao Sang looked at the time, 18:17.

The dismissal time of Wencheng Middle School was 17:00 p.m., and it was not far from home; a fifteen-minute bus ride would suffice. Even if she dawdled, she would be home by 17:30 p.m. at the latest.

"I went to train with Fire-Toothed Dog," Qiao Sang replied.

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then she said, "Come home early, the food is getting cold."

"I know."

After hanging up the phone, Qiao Sang tore off the paper stuck on her schoolbag.

She was very unsatisfied with the day's results; there was only so much time during the after-school rush, and by the time she finished her three battles, there were barely any students left.

The efficiency was too slow.

Qiao Sang felt that waiting around at someone else's school wasn't a good method either.

She thought for a moment, then accessed the Beast Taming Codex in her mind.

[Name: Fire-Toothed Dog]

[Element: Fire]

[Level: Beginner (115/1000) +]

[Skills: Bite Hold (Beginner 74/100) +, Head Charge (Expert 138/500) +, Flame Tooth (Beginner 5/100) +, Spark (Beginner 5/100) +]

[Points 55]

All the skill values had increased somewhat, but why weren't the points in multiples of three? Could it be that defeating different pet beasts yielded different points?

She had fought three battles today—involving a chubby pigeon, Cotton Caterpillar, and White Sand Fox—all of which were low-level beasts. The only difference was that aside from the Cotton Caterpillar, which was taken out in one hit, the others involved several rounds of combat.

Was it the Cotton Caterpillar that brought down the points?

Qiao Sang stared at the data in front of her and suddenly thought of something.

"Fire-Toothed Dog, use Flame Tooth," Qiao Sang suddenly said.

"Tooth."

Although Fire-Toothed Dog did not understand Qiao Sang's intention, it obediently used Flame Tooth, and because there was no target, the skill quickly retracted.

Qiao Sang checked the Beast Taming Codex again.

[Name: Fire-Toothed Dog]

[Element: Fire]

[Level: Beginner (115/1000) +]

[Skills: Bite Hold (Beginner 73/100) +, Head Charge (Expert 135/500) +, Flame Tooth (Beginner 6/100) +, Spark (Beginner 3/100) +]

[Points 55]

The value after Flame Tooth had increased!

Does that not mean one can train and increase the skill proficiency even without a target?

She had been thinking about it all wrong; skill proficiency is gained through practice and doesn't necessarily require an attack target to increase.

However, if releasing a skill once could increase its proficiency, then wouldn't everyone's pet beast be able to achieve a masterful level of skill?

Qiao Sang didn't know about other people's skill proficiency, but it seemed hers indeed increased with a single release.

To verify her idea, Qiao Sang had Fire-Toothed Dog release Flame Tooth once more.

After Fire-Toothed Dog released it, indeed, the value of Flame Tooth went from 6 to 7.

Qiao Sang fell silent for a moment and then decided to exit the Beast Taming Codex and have the Fire-Toothed Dog release Flame Tooth 100 times on the spot to see what would happen.

The Fire-Toothed Dog nodded, seeming to indicate, "Leave it to me."

But reality is cruel, after the Fire-Toothed Dog continuously released the Flame Tooth for the fourth time, it wilted... it became listless.

The value of the Flame Tooth halted at 10.

Releasing a skill also requires energy and physical strength, and it was obvious that the current Fire-Toothed Dog could only use Flame Tooth a few times.

The Fire-Toothed Dog had already fought in three consecutive battles, consuming a considerable amount of its stamina and energy.

Qiao Sang estimated that if it was in a fully energized state, it should have no problem continuously using Flame Tooth around 10 times.

So, if it released Flame Tooth 10 times in the morning and 10 times in the evening, wouldn't it master the skill in just 5 days?!

Could a Pet Beast's skill really be mastered from beginner to expert that quickly?

Qiao Sang reviewed her limited knowledge of beast taming.

No.

Even a low-level skill requires nearly a month of daily practice to go from beginner to expert. The next stage after expert is minor achievement, which increases the power by several times and takes at least half a year.

Flame Tooth is a mid-level skill. Just to go from beginner to expert would take about 5 to 7 months.

But the Fire-Toothed Dog could do it in 5 days.

This was obviously the power of the Golden Finger!

With this Golden Finger, how could she fear not ranking first in the special recruitment of Shengshui Middle School? By then, she could have all the skills trained to an expert level, what could anyone do to compete against her!

And when that time came...

"Yah!"

The bark of the Fire-Toothed Dog pulled Qiao Sang back from her daydream.

Qiao Sang came back to her senses to find some people around her looking over with strange expressions. She subconsciously adjusted her facial expression.

The corners of her mouth dropped as her muscles twitched slightly, and she felt a bit of soreness.

Qiao Sang then realized that she had actually smiled until her face was numb...

"Cough, let's go home," Qiao Sang said as she picked up the Fire-Toothed Dog.

"Yah!"

The Fire-Toothed Dog pointed its tiny claws toward a barbecue stall in the distance.

Qiao Sang glanced over and felt hungry too. Otherwise, how could she have smelled the cumin scent from so far away?

"No, we already have food ready at home," Qiao Sang turned her head away, resisting the temptation.

"Yah~" The Fire-Toothed Dog looked up at Qiao Sang with its moist eyes.

The little guy actually knew how to act coquettishly...

"You can only have two skewers," Qiao Sang compromised.

The Fire-Toothed Dog nodded happily.

Approaching the barbecue stand.

"You haven't gone home yet, student?" the auntie manning the barbecue stand recognized Qiao Sang.

"Yeah," Qiao Sang replied, taking in the scent of the barbecue, "Auntie, give me 20 lamb skewers."

In the end, Qiao Sang ate 5 skewers, and the Fire-Toothed Dog ate 15.

On the way back, Qiao Sang spoke earnestly, "You must pretend that you're not full during dinner and finish the meal, understand?"

"Yah."

The Fire-Toothed Dog responded affirmatively and then belched.

Qiao Sang: "..."

Qiao Sang consoled herself, thinking that it would take over half an hour to get home by bus from the nearest bus stop to Beast Taming High School number 37, and by then it should be fully digested...

Pet Beasts can eat human food normally, but to develop properly and gain the right nutrition, they must consume specially prepared food containing energy.

The food at home for the Pet Beasts was specially made by her mother and required quite a bit of effort. If the Fire-Toothed Dog ended up too full from the lamb skewers to eat the food her mother made...

Qiao Sang shook her head, not daring to think further.

Taking the subway from here to home would just take about ten minutes, but for the sake of the Fire-Toothed Dog, Qiao Sang chose the bus instead.

On bus number 66, probably because it was completely spent and had eaten its fill, the Fire-Toothed Dog was unusually quiet, lying by the window looking at the scenery outside.