Chapter 5: Beast Taming Canon

A minute passed.

Mother’s voice was a few decibels louder than usual, though her facial expression remained calm: "I'm going to the restroom."

The staff member said, "Turn left at the front, go to the end, and then turn right; you'll see it."

Mother nodded and set off toward the right.

"Ma'am, it's to the left," the staff member reminded her.

Mother’s back stiffened for a moment, then she turned to the left as if nothing had happened.

This left Qiao Sang feeling a mix of amusement and helplessness; she controlled the corners of her mouth to keep from curling upward.

Mom, your persona as a strong, independent woman is crumbling.

She turned her head to look at the Fire Fang Dogs, her focus returning to them.

Qiao Sang noticed that the Fire Fang Dogs were active and energetic; not a single one was sitting quietly.

It really wasn't without reason that novice Beast Tamers chose Little Fat Pigeons and the like as their first pets...

Qiao Sang couldn't help but ask, "Are there any Fire Fang Dogs with a quieter temperament?"

The staff member replied tactfully, "Actually, we have many other types of pets at our base."

Qiao Sang understood immediately.

After all, her soul was that of an adult. Even without experience in beast taming, she didn't think she would be as helpless as a 15-year-old when faced with a pet that wasn't docile.

Since that was the case, never mind the temperament; she would just choose the Fire Fang Dog she felt a connection with.

"Can I take a look at that one?"

Qiao Sang noticed that one Fire Fang Dog had been repeatedly ramming into a tree. It wasn't a reckless, aimless charge, but a purposeful strike with built-up momentum.

Qiao Sang felt its target wasn't the tree—it was itself.

After all, who would be silly enough to ram into a tree without a purpose?

"Of course," the staff member replied.

"Doo-doo!" She picked up the iron whistle hanging around her neck and blew a shrill sound.

All the Fire Fang Dogs stopped what they were doing, their gazes focusing on her, no longer causing trouble.

A few Fire Fang Dogs tilted their heads.

"Fang?"

Is it time to eat?

With the flames no longer an obstacle, the staff member walked into the Fire Fang Dog enclosure and picked up the chosen one.

"Fang?"

The Fire Fang Dog blinked its confused eyes, its flame-like ears twitching.

The Fire Fang Dog was placed in front of Qiao Sang.

The Fire Fang Dog is a small canine pet, with flame-red fur accompanied by a few black stripes, and a tuft of orange-colored short hair on the top of its head.

The Fire Fang Dog before her stood about 60 centimeters tall, noticeably smaller than the others. There was a bruise on its forehead from the recent ramming, and its black pupils looked at her with a wet, glistening sheen that made one feel an urge to pet it.

It didn't look as fiery as the other Fire Fang Dogs; instead, it looked a bit pitiful.

In Qiao Sang's mind, she had already automatically imagined a sad history of a weak Fire Fang Dog being ostracized, having its food stolen, suffering from malnutrition, and then training desperately.

The ramming into the tree earlier must have been to practice some ultimate move.

Like a Flame Charge, for instance.

The staff member introduced, "This Fire Fang Dog is the youngest one currently at our base; it was born less than a month ago."

So it wasn't weak, just young...

But being young is good. Many Beast Tamers choose to raise pets when they are still eggs, as this often makes it easy to build affection and rapport.

Qiao Sang had previously considered buying a young beast egg, but she quickly dismissed the idea.

After all, she still had to go to school, and she couldn't bring an egg with her; it would be both attention-grabbing and unsafe.

If she left it at home, her mother would be out working, and she wouldn't feel at ease leaving it unattended.

Qiao Sang squatted down and reached out to stroke the Fire Fang Dog's head.

The Fire Fang Dog squinted comfortably, its red tail wagging involuntarily.

It looked quite well-behaved.

Qiao Sang felt the soft fur in her hand for a moment, becoming increasingly satisfied.

She stared into the Fire Fang Dog's eyes and smiled: "Are you willing to come with me?"

The staff member’s expression was a bit strange. This Fire Fang Dog had a bad temper; it relied on its youth to act recklessly and was always picking fights with other Fire Fang Dogs for no reason.

The older Fire Fang Dogs saw that it had just been born, couldn't even use the Spark skill, and its claws weren't sharp yet, so the fights were painless and itchy—they just let it be.

Sometimes they would even play along, pretending to be defeated, which only made it think others couldn't beat it, making it more and more arrogant.

As a professional receptionist, she had the eye to see what kind of pet a customer wanted and what their needs were.

This girl clearly wanted a quieter Fire Fang Dog.

Should she warn her...

There were no Fire Fang Dogs with good tempers at this base.

She thought about the commission for a Fire Fang Dog, then thought about the school district housing for her son, and ultimately, she said nothing.

Go?

The Fire Fang Dog naturally understood what that meant.

Should it go?

Of course it should go. It had no more opponents here, and this human's hand felt very comfortable to be petted by...

It seemed it was time to go out and find new opponents!

"Fang!"

The Fire Fang Dog nodded solemnly and extended a chubby paw.

Qiao Sang was slightly stunned, then reached out and shook it.

This went much smoother than she had imagined...

One human and one dog had reached an agreement just like that.

...

The contract between humans and extraordinary creatures is established through the power of the Beast Taming Canon.

The Beast Taming Canon acts as a medium, tightly connecting the relationship between the two. Generally, for a contract to be successful, it must be voluntary on both sides.

However, it is also possible to form a contract after completely defeating an extraordinary creature while it is off guard.

The latter carries many hidden dangers; without sufficient intimacy, the pet can easily become disobedient, and only high-level Beast Tamers don't worry about this.

As long as the Beast Tamer's brain domain is sufficiently developed and the Beast Taming Canon is powerful enough, the pet cannot break the contract even if it suffers a backlash.

Qiao Sang was currently connecting her consciousness to her brain domain.

The Beast Taming Canon in her brain domain was sitting quietly, motionless. Although it was called a "Canon," it was ultra-thin, like an envelope, with only one blank page inside.

Qiao Sang had read in books that when the Beast Taming Canon first awakens, it is white, and it only contains one contract space to bond with a pet.

When the brain domain develops to 10%, the Beast Taming Canon awakens into a gray color, and the contract space inside can become two.

Following the gesture for opening the Beast Taming Canon from her memory, Qiao Sang formed a seal in front of her.

Soon, the Beast Taming Canon in her brain domain activated, slowly flipping to its only page.

A faint white light slowly gathered from all directions onto the top of the Fire Fang Dog's head, gradually forming a small, circular star array.

In fact, there is a very simple way to distinguish a Beast Tamer's level: whether it's forming a contract or summoning, you can tell just by looking at the light that appears on the pet.

Just like the Beast Taming Canon, whatever color it is, the star array summoned by the pet will be that same color.

However, this can only serve as a reference, because even if an average person's Beast Taming Canon awakens again, without a pet of corresponding strength, they still wouldn't pass the Beast Taming League's level assessment.

The light of the star array covered the Fire Fang Dog's head. It looked up at the star array with curiosity and did not resist.

(End of chapter)