Chapter 18: Proficiency

Attribute counters are common knowledge, and Chen Tongtong naturally knew this.

However, it was true that he had never fought a Fire-type beast before. In his entire school, there were only two "tough guys" who dared to contract a Fire-type beast as their first one.

Both of them were in their second year of high school; there wasn't a single one in his grade.

Was attribute suppression really this strong? Chen Tongtong felt depressed.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't even realize when the other party had left after he finished paying. It wasn't until Jiang Liu patted him on the shoulder.

"Why didn't you add her contact info before transferring the money? That way, you could have pushed her contact to me too."

Chen Tongtong: "...Get lost!"

...

After Qiao Sang completed her third duel, her mother called.

"Why aren't you home yet?"

Qiao Sang checked the time: 18:17.

Wencheng Junior High dismissed at exactly 17:00. Her home was close to the school; a bus ride would take about ten minutes, and even if she dawdled, she should have been home by 17:30.

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

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line before her mother said, "Come back early. The food is getting cold."

"I know."

After hanging up, Qiao Sang tore off the paper stuck to her backpack.

She was very dissatisfied with today's results. The peak period for school dismissal was quite short; by the time she finished her three battles, most people had already left.

The efficiency was too low.

Qiao Sang felt that this method of waiting around at someone else's school wasn't quite working.

She thought for a moment and sent her consciousness into the Beast Manual.

[Name: Fire-tooth Dog] [Attribute: Fire] [Level: Junior (115/1000)+] [Skills: Bite (Entry 74/100)+, Tackle (Proficient 138/500)+, Fire Fang (Entry 5/100)+, Spark (Entry 5/100)+] [Points: 55]

The values for all the skills were slightly higher, but why wasn't this point total a multiple of three? Could it be that defeating different beasts yielded different amounts of points?

She had fought three times today: a Chubby Pigeon, a Cotton Gentian Bug, and a White Sand Fox. All were Junior-level beasts. The only difference was that while the Cotton Gentian Bug was defeated in a single hit, the others lasted for several rounds.

Was it the Cotton Gentian Bug that lowered the points?

Looking at the data before her, Qiao Sang suddenly had a thought.

"Fire-tooth Dog, use Fire Fang," Qiao Sang said suddenly.

"Yip!"

Although Fire-tooth Dog didn't understand Qiao Sang's intention, it obediently used Fire Fang. Since there was no target to attack, the skill was quickly retracted.

Qiao Sang checked the Beast Manual again.

[Name: Fire-tooth Dog] [Attribute: Fire] [Level: Junior (115/1000)+] [Skills: Bite (Entry 73/100)+, Tackle (Proficient 135/500)+, Fire Fang (Entry 6/100)+, Spark (Entry 3/100)+] [Points: 55]

The value after Fire Fang had increased!

Does that mean she can increase proficiency through self-training without needing an attack target?!

She had been mistaken before; skill proficiency is gained through practice and doesn't necessarily require a target to increase.

But if just releasing a skill once could increase proficiency, wouldn't everyone's beasts reach a divine level of mastery?

Qiao Sang didn't know the proficiency levels of others, but hers indeed seemed to increase with every release.

To verify her theory, Qiao Sang had Fire-tooth Dog use Fire Fang once more.

After the release, as expected, the value for Fire Fang changed from 6 to 7.

Qiao Sang fell silent for a moment. She withdrew her consciousness from the Beast Manual and immediately ordered Fire-tooth Dog to use Fire Fang 100 times on the spot to see.

Fire-tooth Dog nodded, looking as if it had everything under control.

But reality was cruel. After Fire-tooth Dog released Fire Fang for the fourth consecutive time, it became... listless.

The value for Fire Fang stopped at 10.

Skill release required energy and stamina; clearly, the current Fire-tooth Dog could only perform Fire Fang a few times.

Fire-tooth Dog had already fought three consecutive matches, and its stamina and energy were significantly depleted.

Qiao Sang assessed the situation. If it were in peak condition, performing Fire Fang ten times in a row shouldn't be a problem.

Ten times in the morning, ten times in the evening—in five days, wouldn't Fire Fang's proficiency reach Proficient level?!

Can a beast's skill go from Entry to Proficient this quickly?

Qiao Sang reviewed her limited knowledge of beast taming.

No.

Even with low-tier skills, practicing every day would still take nearly a month to go from Entry to Proficient. The stage after Proficient was Mastery, which increased power several times over and would take at least six months.

Fire Fang was a Mid-tier skill; going from Entry to Proficient alone should take at least 5 to 7 months.

But Fire-tooth Dog could do it in five days.

This was clearly the power of a "cheat"!

With this cheat, why would she fear failing to take first place in the special recruitment for Holy Water Middle School? When she trained all her skills to the Proficient level, what could they possibly use to fight her!

When that time comes...

"Yip!"

Fire-tooth Dog's cry pulled Qiao Sang back from her fantasies.

As Qiao Sang snapped out of it, she noticed some people nearby looking at her with strange expressions. She instinctively adjusted her facial expression.

As she lowered the corners of her mouth, her facial muscles actually felt a bit sore.

Only then did Qiao Sang realize she had smiled so much her face was numb...

"Ahem, let's go home," Qiao Sang said, picking up Fire-tooth Dog.

"Yip!"

Fire-tooth Dog used its tiny paw to point at a distant barbecue stall.

Qiao Sang glanced at it and realized she was hungry too; otherwise, how could she have smelled the scent of cumin drifting from so far away?

"No, dinner is already made at home," Qiao Sang said, turning her head to resist the temptation.

"Yip~" Fire-tooth Dog looked up at Qiao Sang with its watery eyes.

This little guy actually knew how to act spoiled...

"Only two skewers," Qiao Sang compromised.

Fire-tooth Dog nodded happily.

They arrived at the barbecue stall.

"Student, you haven't gone home yet?" The auntie running the stall recognized Qiao Sang.

"No," Qiao Sang replied. She sniffed the aroma of the barbecue. "Auntie, give me 20 lamb skewers."

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

On the way back, Qiao Sang said earnestly, "When we eat dinner later, you must pretend you aren't full and finish your meal, okay?"

"Yip."

Fire-tooth Dog responded, then let out a loud burp.

Qiao Sang: "..."

Qiao Sang comforted herself. It would take over half an hour to get home by bus from the bus stop nearest to the 37th Beast Taming High School; by then, the food should be digested...

Beasts can normally eat human food, but to grow properly with good nutrition, they must eat specially prepared energy-rich food.

The food for the beasts at home was prepared separately by her mother, which took a lot of time. If Fire-tooth Dog couldn't eat her mother's food because it was too full from the lamb skewers...

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

Taking the subway from here to home would only take about ten minutes, but for Fire-tooth Dog's sake, Qiao Sang chose to take the bus.

On Bus 66, perhaps because its energy was spent and it was full, Fire-tooth Dog uncharacteristically lay quietly by the window, watching the scenery pass by.