Chapter 4: 4. Chapter 4: Taking a Leave of Absence

Chapter 4: Taking Leave

Mother paused. "Isn't the Fire-Tooth Dog a bit too temperamental?"

When choosing a pet beast, Beast Tamers undoubtedly look at three things: attributes, talent, and potential.

However, for a novice Beast Tamer, the most important thing is the pet's temperament.

The reason why the Chubby Dove, White Sand Fox, Short-tailed Snake, Sand-burrowing Rat, and Deepwater Turtle are the top choices for novice Beast Tamers is largely due to their personalities.

Not all pet beasts raised in pet bases are docile and non-aggressive toward humans.

If an inexperienced Beast Tamer contracts a violent pet as their first, let alone commanding it in battle, they wouldn't even be able to get it to train.

Last year, a teenager in Kainan City who had just finished his middle school exams contracted a Flame Sparrow. Two days later, the Flame Sparrow would rather suffer the backlash of breaking the contract than stay.

The boy suffered severe damage to his brain region. By the time he returned to high school, it was half a year later, and the gap between him and his peers had widened significantly.

Later, during an interview, it was revealed that the whole incident started because the boy just wanted the Flame Sparrow to pose for some photos for his social media...

That news trended for a few minutes.

Fire-type pets are mostly crude and willful, and the Fire-Tooth Dog is no exception.

But Qiao Sang didn't think so. It’s impossible for every single Fire-Tooth Dog in the species to be temperamental; there are always a few with different personalities.

Otherwise, if every member of a species had the same personality, how boring would that be?

"Mom, didn't you say I have the talent for beast taming? I think the Fire-Tooth Dog suits me quite well," Qiao Sang said.

The Fire-Tooth Dog is a Fire-type pet with strong attack power. After one evolution, it would definitely be enough for her to pass the E-level Beast Tamer qualification exam.

It’s just that while the Fire-Tooth Dog isn't as expensive as psychic pets like the Bubble Bell, it still costs significantly more than the Chubby Dove and the others.

A pet like the Chubby Dove, a first choice for novices, costs around 30,000, while a Fire-Tooth Dog costs around 100,000.

Qiao Sang understood the family's financial situation; they could afford it.

"Alright then, I'll take you to the pet base tomorrow morning." Mother agreed without saying anything more.

……

……

The next day, just as the sky was brightening, Qiao Sang was woken up by her mother.

Urged by her mother, she finished getting ready and ate breakfast in just 10 minutes. By the time they left, it was only 7:06 AM.

Qiao Sang kept her eyelids drooping the whole time, looking like she hadn't woken up yet.

That was until she took to the sky.

The Hanggang Pet Base was not in the city center, but in the suburbs, more than 40 kilometers away.

When the Fat-Home Dove brought them to the Hanggang Pet Base, it was already 8:31 AM.

They arrived just in time for the pet base to open for business.

Because it was early, they were the only two people there to buy a pet.

There was no need for an appointment or to wait in line.

They were greeted by a female staff member who looked to be in her thirties.

"How can I help you?" she asked, wearing a professional smile.

"We want to buy a Fire-Tooth Dog," Mother stated their purpose directly.

"Very well, please follow me." The staff member led the way.

She was clearly experienced, chatting continuously along the way to keep the atmosphere from becoming awkward.

"We currently have 27 Fire-Tooth Dogs in the base. They are all developing very well. Two are even on the verge of evolution, and 19 of the other 25 have already learned Ember."

"Seven of them have even learned Fireball. They are a few centimeters taller than Fire-Tooth Dogs of the same age, and there are 5 more..."

During the introduction, they arrived at the area specifically for raising Fire-Tooth Dogs.

Before Qiao Sang could get close

"Boom!"

An explosion rang out, and a flame struck the ground about five meters away from her.

Qiao Sang was startled.

She looked in the direction the flame came from.

Two Fire-Tooth Dogs, noticeably larger than the others, were baring teeth covered in flames as they confronted each other.

Their fangs were coated in burning flames—this was "Fire Fang," a skill that Fire-Tooth Dogs almost always inherit.

The staff member remained calm, explaining from the side, "These two are the ones about to evolve. They are always fighting to prove who is the strongest, but it's always a draw."

As she spoke, flames flew wildly, and another blast hit about 4 meters from Qiao Sang.

Qiao Sang felt her scalp tingle.

The staff member pointed to a bush not far to the left. "The Ember from just now was released by that Fire-Tooth Dog. Its power is quite good."

Qiao Sang looked over and saw another Fire-Tooth Dog standing in front of that one. The atmosphere looked tense.

Sure enough, the next second, the two began to bite at each other.

The staff member provided live commentary: "They are rivals in love. They're fighting to win the heart of a female Fire-Tooth Dog, though it won't lead to anything because that female Fire-Tooth Dog likes a different one."

Qiao Sang: "..."

She pondered for a moment and asked, "Where is that female Fire-Tooth Dog?"

A female Fire-Tooth Dog must have a better temperament than the males.

The staff member laughed, "It's the one cheering on the side while they fight."

Qiao Sang was stunned. She looked again, and sure enough, by the bushes, there was a Fire-Tooth Dog with cleaner, smoother fur than the other two, barking excitedly.

"Ya!"

"Ya!"

The staff member translated, "It's probably shouting for them to fight. Even though it doesn't like them, it likes that they are fighting over it."

Qiao Sang: "..."

While Qiao Sang was left in a state of confusion, the staff member noticed the mother hadn't spoken and asked, "Do you have a preferred Fire-Tooth Dog? I can bring it over for you to see up close."

Mother shook her head. "I'm just accompanying my daughter. She's the one who wants to contract a Fire-Tooth Dog."

The staff member had a sudden realization. "No wonder. Your daughter is a self-awakened one, right?"

Mother looked very pleased. "How did you know?"

The staff member explained, "Today is Friday, and your daughter is still wearing her Wencheng Middle School uniform. She should be in her third year of middle school."

"The time for the annual unified brain-region awakening by the Beast Taming Alliance hasn't arrived yet. If she hadn't self-awakened, there's no way she'd be here to contract a pet."

"Besides, it's not easy to get leave from school at such a critical time."

All of the above was just her making things up.

She only guessed that because a girl from Wencheng Middle School had come in three days ago—also self-awakened—and her parents brought her to contract a pet. She just happened to be the one who served them.

Still, what kind of feng shui does Wencheng Middle School have? To have two self-awakened children in the same grade!

She definitely had to discuss buying a school-district house there with her husband when she got home; her son was already in the fourth grade of elementary school.

The smile on Mother's face gradually stiffened.

Qiao Sang came back to her senses and asked quietly, "Mom, did you call my homeroom teacher today to ask for leave?"

Mother gave a forced laugh. "Haha, how could I have forgotten?"

"I remember you asked for yesterday, but today..." Qiao Sang questioned.

"I asked for two days for you yesterday!" Mother's voice rose involuntarily.

Qiao Sang said, "That's good then."

She sighed inwardly.

She didn't know if her mother had noticed, but her voice always got louder when she lied.

(End of chapter)