“What kind of pet is that? I’ve never seen one before,” asked a boy who was about 1.77 meters tall, though his sky-high hairstyle made him look over 1.8 meters.
“I haven’t seen it either.” To his left, a boy wearing a white jacket over his summer school uniform carefully observed the pale blue pet on the training field several times before guessing, “I feel like it’s not a pet from our Yuhua region.”
“Hiss...” At that moment, the only girl in the Grade 12 group battle team gasped.
Aside from He Datao, who was currently in the center of the field preparing for battle, the rest of the Grade 12 school team members looked toward her.
The girl was holding an identifier pointed at the pale blue pet, her face filled with shock as she stared at the information displayed on the virtual screen.
There are many styles of pet identifiers on the market; their appearance and functions vary depending on the region and the user. The one this girl was holding was one of the most popular portable identifier models in the Yuhua region over the last two years.
“What’s wrong? What is this pet called?” Seeing Chen Jia’s strange expression, Xu Yixuan leaned in curiously.
“Ice Lugia, Ancient Mist Region...” The boy in the white jacket also leaned over and read the information on the virtual screen, but he soon became bewildered and stopped reading.
What on earth?
An endangered pet?
Was Chen Jia’s identifier malfunctioning?
He wasn't the only one who suspected a glitch. Almost everyone who saw the information on the virtual screen immediately thought the device was malfunctioning.
Including Chen Jia.
What did "endangered pet" even mean? Those were pets that were virtually nowhere to be found, treated like precious treasures by the state and the Alliance. If one shed a single hair, at least an S-rank breeder would be brought in to research why the hair fell out!
How could a pet of such rarity be contracted by a student who had just entered Grade 10!
Chen Jia hesitated. “Maybe I forgot to update the version, and the old version has a bug.”
“It’s fine. If the identifier isn't working, we'll just check with a phone first,” Xu Yixuan said as she took a photo of the pale blue pet in the center of the field and used an image scan to search.
Then, she froze.
【Ice Lugia, Ancient Mist Region, endangered Water/Ice dual-attribute intermediate pet...】
The information was identical!
“Damn!” Xu Yixuan suddenly looked up at the Ice Lugia in the field and uttered a word that completely contradicted her usual image.
“What happened?” The people beside her were startled. Although Xu Yixuan was a bit talkative, she almost never used such uncouth language.
“The... the information online is the same.” Xu Yixuan swallowed hard and took a deep breath before continuing
“This might actually be an endangered pet...”
Everyone: “!!!”
For a moment, everyone's gaze was locked onto Ice Lugia.
By now, the battle had begun.
Almost the instant Sun Boyi gave the command, Lubao and the Magma Ape attacked simultaneously.
This wasn't the first time Lubao had coordinated with Qiao Sang. Previously, to quickly increase the proficiency of the "Healing Light" skill to the Great Mastery level, Qiao Sang had spent some time as a sparring partner at a beast battle club, and she had almost exclusively deployed Lubao.
Furthermore, since Lubao was originally a wild pet, it didn't need much instruction to maintain its own rhythm and judgment during battle; it wouldn't just stand stiffly in place waiting for Qiao Sang's orders.
Water Gun and Flamethrower clashed.
The crimson flames were clearly three times thicker than the blue Water Gun.
The two collided in mid-air, and the flames overwhelmed the Water Gun in a crushing manner, surging toward Lubao.
Lubao calmly and quickly dashed to the side, dodging the frontal assault of the flames.
After mastering the Rubble Smash method, Lubao's speed had increased significantly. It could easily evade frontal attacks like this, which weren't particularly fast or wide in range.
*Boom!!!*
The flames hit nothing and slammed into the ground, causing the surface of the training field to crack instantly.
“Even though Water is strong against Fire, the gap in skill proficiency is too large. Even with the elemental advantage, it's useless,” Chen Jia shared his opinion.
“Ice Lugia is small and doesn't look like the type of pet with high defense. If it gets hit a couple of times by the Magma Ape, the battle will probably be over,” analyzed the boy who looked over 1.8 meters thanks to his hair.
Suddenly, Xu Yixuan said worriedly, “Attacking an endangered pet should be illegal, right? Is it really okay to fight like this?”
Everyone: “...”
In the center of the field.
He Datao felt a surge of joy looking at the situation, feeling that this match was a sure win.
He had thought Qiao Sang would deploy the Flame-Listening Hound, but he hadn't expected her to send out a Water-type pet he didn't recognize.
Water beats Fire, so he had been a bit nervous at first—after all, he had witnessed Qiao Sang's feat of challenging over 200 people at the opening ceremony.
Unexpectedly, this Water-type pet seemed quite normal, not at all as freakish as the Flame-Listening Hound or the Treasure-Hunting Ghost from the ceremony.
They say that in a beast tamer's team, the strength of the pets is generally ranked by the order of their contracts. The experts didn't lie!
“Use consecutive Flamethrowers to suppress it!”
He Datao waved his chubby hand and gave the command.
“Bao bao!”
The Magma Ape, in high spirits, beat its chest twice and opened its mouth, preparing to blast flames forward.
However, in the next second, it froze with its mouth still open.
Where was the opponent?!
He Datao's pupils suddenly contracted.
When he gave the order, the pale blue pet was clearly still on the field!
But just now, it had jumped toward the ground and simply vanished!
What kind of skill was this?!
“Watch the surroundings!” He Datao shouted.
His whole body was tense, his emotions swinging wildly.
Although Water-type pets countered Magma Ape, the current field was not a Water field, so a Water-type pet's strength could not be fully unleashed.
Moreover, that ordinary Water Gun from earlier had convinced him that he could win this.
After all, intermediate pets don't actually know that many skills; during training, they mostly focus on developing existing skills and increasing proficiency.
As one of the most common skills for Water-type pets, members of other schools' teams in Grade 12 had at least reached the "Minor Success" level with Water Gun.
The Water Gun released by this nameless pet was clearly lacking in power; its proficiency hadn't even reached Minor Success.
But this "tunneling disappearance" move completely bewildered him.
The scariest thing in a battle is encountering an opponent using a skill you aren't familiar with, leaving you without any idea of how to respond.
*Do Water-type pets have this kind of skill?* He Datao frantically searched his knowledge of Water-type pets.
Qiao Sang had been keeping an eye on a small puddle of water on the ground. Once the puddle slowly flowed into a blind spot behind the Magma Ape, she spoke: “Now.”
“Lu.”
Lubao's head suddenly popped out of the puddle with a cry.
The center of the field was instantly shrouded in a layer of thick white mist.
“Sweep Flamethrower across the ground behind you!” Although He Datao still didn't know what this "tunneling disappearance" move was called, his rich combat experience allowed him to make a subconscious judgment.
“Bao bao!”
The Magma Ape turned around and frantically blasted flames at the ground. Because of the mist, it couldn't see its surroundings and could only fire blindly.
At that moment, a stream of water shot up from the ground behind the Magma Ape, rising into the air and breaking through the coverage of the mist.
Then, the stream of water dove sharply, its speed accelerating as it plummeted back into the mist.
If one looked closely, they would see that Lubao was encased within the stream of water.
*Boom!!!*
A violent impact sounded, and the mist shook violently due to the energy fluctuation.
“Bao bao!”
Immediately after, the Magma Ape's scream rang out.
Qiao Sang estimated the Magma Ape's physique and said, “Continue.”
As soon as she spoke, the stream of water shot up into the sky again and then accelerated downward.
That wasn't enough; the stream quickly shot up and fell again.
“Bao bao!”
The Magma Ape's cries were exceptionally miserable.
“Sweep Flamethrower upward!” He Datao shouted in panic.
The flames did not shoot upward.
He Datao seemed to sense something through the beast-link and froze in place.
By the time the mist cleared.
The Magma Ape was lying on the ground with its eyes closed.
And standing atop its body was an Ice Lugia with a cold, aloof expression.
“Lu.”
(End of Chapter)