(PS: This chapter contains illustrations of ferocious beasts.)
Great Xia, Jincheng, Azure Dragon High School, Class 3 of the first year. The bell for the first class in the afternoon woke the boy who had been dozing off at his desk.
Chen Xing, sitting in his seat, looked a bit bewildered. He had just had a dream where he lived in a place called Hua Xia.
In that world, there was no Beast Taming. Instead, they had to study terrifying subjects called "Math," "Physics," "Biology," and "Chemistry." Moreover, the language of the Eagle Alliance was even considered a mandatory language. My god, that foreign language was clearly just an elective in Great Xia. Yet in that place, it had become compulsory.
The dream had felt so real that Chen Xing wiped the sweat from his forehead.
As the bell for class rang, someone in the hallway shouted loudly, "Quick, back to your seats, it's Mr. Lu's class!"
The students horsing around outside hurried back to their seats and sat up straight with their books ready.
The sound of leather shoes outside grew clearer as the class teacher, Lu Junxiang, strode into the classroom. Lu Junxiang was not very tall, just over 1.6 meters, but his eyes were exceptionally sharp. He wore a simple gray Sun Yat-sen suit, holding a book by his right waist and carrying a thermos in his left hand, with thick black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.
"Everyone summon your beasts," said Lu Junxiang, taking a sip of his tea and speaking slowly.
In the classroom, Chen Xing spread his right hand open, summoned a summoning Array, and as the light of the Array faded, a small thirty-centimeter-long yellow and black crocodile appeared, cradled in his palm.
Almost at the same time, sharp cries of "Oh~ Oh~ Oh~" rose and fell throughout the classroom.
All the students in Class 3 of the first year had Salty Bay Crocodiles as their beasts. To be precise, all the first-year students at Azure Dragon High School that year only had Salty Bay Crocodiles, Armored Rhinos, and Iron Feather Fighting Hawks as their beasts.
Including free distribution of beasts, the twelve years of compulsory education provided beasts that had been carefully screened by the state, suitable for beginners to raise, not difficult to cultivate, easy to handle, and mostly mild-tempered, smart, and loyal, fitting for novices.
"Turn to page fourteen, chapter three of your textbooks, 'Countering and Natural Enemies of the Salty Bay Crocodile,'" came Lu Junxiang's unhurried voice from the platform.
The classroom filled with the rustling sound of pages turning.
The little Salty Bay Crocodile on the desk, as if it had found an amusing toy, scurried forward on its short legs and bit into the page.
Chen Xing flicked his fingers, ping—
A pop on the little crocodile's head made it recoil and tuck in its non-existent neck, covering its head with its front paws, "Oh!" For a moment, it thought it was truly about to meet Grand Ancestor.
Up on the podium, Lu Junxiang methodically said, "As you all know, the Salty Bay Crocodile is an amphibious beast. Fully grown, it can reach a length of 8-10 meters and weigh between 2.5 to 5 tons, making it one of the bulkier non-evolved beasts. Before its evolution, the Salty Bay Crocodile can use its size to its advantage in battles.
But it has short legs! All four legs put together are not as tall as a single leg from other pets, which is also its weakness. It's not fast, and the crocodile can only go for bursts.
On land, the weight of the crocodile's body is a burden. They rely on the muscular strength of their whole body to perform several rapid bursts in a short time, but after these bursts, they end up in a situation of insufficient stamina. Facing agile and remote opponents, the Salty Bay Crocodile is heavily restrained. Alright, now you have one minute to think about how you would deal with agile, remote opponents."
A minute later, hands shot up all over the classroom.
"Wang Qiming, go ahead,"
"I wouldn't fight, I'd run when I see them!" Wang Qiming stood up.
The classroom erupted in laughter.
Lu Junxiang smiled at the comment but then said, "Don't laugh, Wang Qiming has a point. It's a good idea to avoid the edge if you encounter an opponent you can't beat. To attempt the impossible takes courage, but to recognize what's impossible is also wise. But what if there's no chance to run and you must fight? Any other thoughts?"
The girl sitting in front of Chen Xing raised her hand.
Lu Junxiang pointed at her, "Li Zhixuan."
Li Zhixuan said, "You can use the Water Attribute skill 'Chasing the Waves' to quickly approach, and if there's a chance to get close, use 'Hidden Current Assault' to ambush the opponent. If there's still no chance, use 'Chasing the Waves' to escape and hide in the nearby deep water area."
Lu Junxiang nodded approvingly, "Not bad, it seems like you've previewed the content that comes later."
"As everyone knows, aside from their innate physical abilities, the biggest difference between beast tamers and wild beasts is that they can master skills!"
"Based on the energy level detection inside the beast tamers, we currently categorize them from 1 to 100 energy levels. Every five energy levels, they can imprint and learn a skill internally, which can either be an active skill or a passive skill. But how to match skills is a big knowledge. The proficiency of mastering skills, the combination of different skills, and the timing of skill release all have a significant impact on combat."
"So, if you want to deal with an opponent that has an attribute advantage over you, you need to break the convention and use skills, as that is the key to turning the tide of the battle!"
Afterward, Lu Junxiang talked eloquently about the problems Salty Bay Crocodile might commonly face in real battles and how to deal with them, continuing until the class bell rang.
"There's half a month left until the first monthly test. Right now, all of your resources are the same, but a month later, your resources will differ based on your rankings. The higher your rank, the more abundant your resources. Sometimes, the gap is widened bit by bit like this. If you want more resources, you need to show your attitude! Fight for it! Hope you don't become the worst batch I've ever taught."
Chen Xing rubbed his eyes. Since waking up from his nap, he had been experiencing intermittent blurry visions. After confirming that no one around him was paying attention, he refocused.
Suddenly, a semi-transparent grey stone slab gradually materialized in the air in front of him—Chen Xing was startled but noticed none of his classmates seemed aware of it. It appeared that no one else but him could see it. Soon, he confirmed this guess because half of the slab had phased through the head of a classmate in the front row.
As Chen Xing concentrated, the stone slab slowly floated in front of him.
The next moment, the stone slab suddenly flipped to the left, revealing a complex tree-like network diagram on the first stone page. At the top of this diagram was a line of text—'Pet Trainer.'
This was not any kind of text he recognized, but he understood the meaning the moment he saw those words.
Pet Trainer?
That sounds familiar.
Before Chen Xing could ponder further, the stone book flipped open consecutively to the next two pages, each displaying similarly complex tree diagrams labeled: Pet Caretaker, Pet Nutritionist.
This seemed oddly familiar...
Chen Xing racked his brain and finally pinpointed the familiar feeling—it was from a dream where he had gone to university, and the major was Veterinary Studies.
These professions—Pet Trainer, Pet Caretaker, and Pet Nutritionist—are they not the professional certificates one could obtain in that world from my dream?
Damn! This sounds kind of weak!
What is a Pet Trainer? It's a person who trains pets to develop good habits and complete designated actions and tasks. Similarly, a Pet Caretaker and a Pet Nutritionist are more or less the same.
I admit a professional Pet Trainer must definitely have some technical expertise, but let's not forget that my world is specifically focused on breeding and taming beasts! How can a modern profession that has only risen recently compete with a mature civilization system with hundreds of years of history?
Chen Xing was pessimistic about this but thought that perhaps certain techniques could serve as an inspiration...
But soon, Chen Xing had to admit he had been a bit loud earlier.
These three professions seemed to have a "billion" tiny differences from what he understood.
Each of these three professional skill trees has a prerequisite skill.
At the topmost branch of the Pet Trainer skill tree is the basic skill 'Beast Taming Linguistics.' Once learned, you can understand pet languages, which facilitates communication with pets for subsequent training. (0/1)
Pet Caretaker's prerequisite basic skill: 'Affinity Knowledge.' Once learned, it enhances the host's affinity, giving a refreshing feeling and makes it easier to establish friendly relations with beasts. (0/1)
Pet Nutritionist's prerequisite basic skill: 'Health Scouting.' Once learned, you can monitor the current state of your beast, giving you a more direct understanding of your beast. (0/1)
Subsequent skills need this prerequisite skill to be unlocked, and unlocking them requires skill points. After trying for a while, Chen Xing, unable to find a way to obtain skill points, suppressed his desires, as it was almost time for class, and it was best not to act too out of the ordinary.