August 31.
Quan City, Ai Lang Training Center, Room 037 was hosting a particularly fierce battle.
The combatants were from Lu Wu's house, with Little Skeleton who had undergone a month of very strict training, and from Pang Duddu's family, the lazy, slacking Mini Pig.
Hmm, it's obvious that we're once again at the highly anticipated family violence segment.
This was already the 66th time this month that Lu Wu and Little Skeleton had challenged Dudu and her pig.
And 99% of the battle tension was provided by Lu Wu!
The entire training room was filled with Lu Wu's nervous and excited voice.
"Little Skeleton, use Charge and close the distance for me!"
"Dodge quickly!"
"Use Block!"
"Stand up!"
...
Inside, Little Skeleton from Lu Wu's house was obeying Lu Wu's commands and fighting, giving it his all.
Looking over at Pang Duddu's side.
Hmm, when the camera shifted to Pang Duddu, the frame appeared very narrow, barely fitting her in.
It was obvious that after a month, Dudu had once again turned into Pang Duddu.
Although she hadn't reached the previous near 200-pound level, she was already around 160 to 170 pounds. Lu Wu's excitement to have Little Skeleton pummel Mini Pig was largely due to Dudu's current physique.
When Dudu slimmed down, Lu Wu truly loved her stunning looks.
He even felt like not carrying her but directly paying with his body!
But while he hesitated, Dudu reverted to Pang Duddu.
This alone was enough to exhaust Lu Wu mentally, and even more exhausting was the progress Dudu and her pig made this month.
In one month, Lu Wu had raised Little Skeleton's power to 1 star, trained the basic skills Charge, Dodge, and Block to Skilled, and even almost reached Master level with the most used Charge.
Now, Little Skeleton's combat power had taken shape, and the progress was considerable!
But compared to Dudu's pig, the progress of Little Skeleton was still far too inferior.
This disparity was evident not just from the attribute board but visibly through the current combat.
On Lu Wu's side, the tension and excitement were palpable, with Little Skeleton fighting hard. On Dudu's side, she, being timid and gentle, couldn't command with the same vigor as Lu Wu.
Plus, she gained weight this month, possibly upsetting Lu Wu. Hence, she tried hard to reduce her presence these days and didn't even dare to voice commands, relying solely on Mini Pig's spontaneous play.
And Mini Pig had a personality very similar to Dudu in certain aspects.
Loves to eat, lazy to do anything!
Even in fights, it lacked passion. Lu Wu and Little Skeleton were giving it their all, while Mini Pig half-heartedly participated.
Mini Pig would merely plant a few Earth Thorns, take a few steps back to create distance. Yet still, Lu Wu and Little Skeleton couldn't do anything to it.
The battle situation was always in Mini Pig's control, leaving Lu Wu and Little Skeleton struggling to break through.
"Now, Little Skeleton, use Charge!"
At Lu Wu's command, Little Skeleton fully burst forward, swooshing in front of the pig, swinging a baseball bat, ready to send the pig flying. Mini Pig just yawned, then with its nose enlarging and pushing, the fight ended again.
"Lost again!"
Hmm, this "again" felt really heart-wrenching.
Lu Wu and Little Skeleton had both put in a month of effort, yet they hadn't won a single battle.
Lu Wu was very clear about the situation.
One aspect was Pang Duddu's pig being undeniably strong!
...
Name: Mini Pig
Power: 1 star
Quality: Black Iron (Enhanced) (One Line)
Attribute: Earth
State: Healthy (It's hungry, it wants roasted sweet potatoes)
Bonds Skill: Bonds Growth (A special bond skill, awakens through intimacy, enhances Summoned Beast's quality and power through bonds)
Common Skills: Giant (Skilled) (Can enlarge the body)
Earth Thorns (Skilled) (Earth element basic skill)
Charge (Entry-level)
Weakness: No obvious weaknesses
Description: How does it feel to be crushed by someone with everything enhanced?!
...
This was Mini Pig's attribute after a month of training.
And this was without the bond skill between Dudu and it being triggered, if it triggered again, its power would definitely surge again.
Comparing his own little skeleton with others' pigs, Lu Wu had a strong urge to throw away Little Skeleton.
In the past month, Lu Wu profoundly understood why everyone disliked Little Skeleton.
Because its quality was poor, its growth was poor, and the cost-effectiveness of nurturing it was extremely low.
Both were 1 star, both knew three combat skills, both trained for a month, Little Skeleton even worked harder, both were Black Iron —although Little Skeleton carried a (Pseudo), the gap shouldn't be this big.
But putting the two Summoned Beasts together, Little Skeleton was utterly crushed.
This was a huge blow to Lu Wu!
He couldn't grasp why, despite clearly having hacks, he still got beaten.
This didn't align with his previous scripts!
Wasn't it said he would carry Dudu to victory? Now, why did Lu Wu feel an intense premonition of being carried by Dudu instead?
As a cheat-possessing protagonist, Lu Wu's pride wouldn't tolerate relying on someone else's success, nor would he accept this frustration.
"Looks like I must speed up that research!
I'm staying up all night to get that thing out, hoping to incorporate it into tomorrow's training!
With that, Little Skeleton's combat will surge!"
Despite repeated failures, Lu Wu was still full of energy, ready to pull an all-nighter.
Just then, Dudu softly reminded him.
"Um, Lu Wu, we start school tomorrow!"
"School?"
Lu Wu was stunned.
Honestly, Lu Wu's summer vacation had been so fulfilling that he almost forgot about it if not for Dudu's reminder.
And as he remembered, he also recalled something that came with the start of the school term: class assignment.
Previously, Lu Wu had been particularly focused on this. He spent the entire summer vacation preparing for class assignment, and thinking about it now, his emotions naturally shifted.
"If school starts tomorrow, we need to sleep early tonight, can't stay up late.
Otherwise, if an all-nighter affects class assignment exam performance, and I don't get into the key class, then the problem will…"
At this, Lu Wu paused, feeling something was off. Upon careful consideration, he realized, "Even if not getting into the key class, the problem doesn't seem that significant!"
...
卷尾感言
Hmm, I seem to have not written one of these for a long time. While writing Mountain Bandit, I wrote at the end of each volume, but haven't kept this habit since then, not even dividing volumes. I now pick this habit back up.
Talking about this first volume, hmm, I couldn't help but facepalm after finishing it.
Many issues.
Hmm, the biggest problem is that it's somewhat dragging.
Of course, this problem wouldn't matter if kept up with updates. I, Nu Xiao, update ten to twenty thousand a day; you'd hardly call me short or weak.
But unfortunately, due to the new book period, bursting with updates is temporarily impossible. But we can save them, and burst through once published.
Yes, I, Nu Xiao, say right now, upon publication, no less than 30 chapters!
Hmm, that's it, I won't say more, no much else to say, back to writing!
Oh, and do follow Nu Xiao's channel, surprises await!