And money was something Ash was severely lacking.
She did know of a technique on Earth called raising Gu, a method of cultivating venomous insects.
It was said to involve placing many venomous creatures in a sealed container and letting them fight to the death until only the strongest survived.
This surviving creature would then be infused with the venom of all the others, creating something unimaginably deadly.
Ash wondered if a similar principle could be adapted for her current situation.
The Spirit Beasts of Gaia leave no physical remains upon death.
Consuming the crystal cores they leave behind to strengthen oneself is essentially a method akin to nurturing venomous creatures for growth...
Headache.
There was no solution in sight!
Ash lay slumped over her desk, flipping through the protective skills she had sketched from inspiration drawn from anime and novels.
She glanced at them for a moment before tossing them aside.
As long as she couldn't solve the problem of Sunny's poisonous capabilities, these skills—even if realized from theory into practice—could only be used two or three times in a match at best.
But what good was that?
With insufficient damage, they couldn't possibly outlast an opponent!
"Ugh…!" Ash sighed again, not even noticing that the strategy notes for her stalling tactic had been brushed off the desk onto the floor.
At that moment, an old man entered the room while holding a cup of water.
He noticed the paper that had drifted to his feet, thought for a moment, then bent down to pick it up.
A quick glance at the notes brought a flicker of surprise to his cloudy eyes, and his expression turned curious.
However, he said nothing, simply setting the water and the retrieved notes on the desk before sitting across from Ash.
"Take a break and have some water," he said, placing the glass where it wouldn't be accidentally knocked over. "You've been looking troubled for a while now—something you can't figure out?"
He smiled gently and added, "If you can't find the answer in books, why not tell me about it? Maybe I can help." With that, he handed the papers back to Ash. "Don't underestimate me because of my age. Back in my prime, I was quite the accomplished professional Beast Master."
The man chuckled, his eyes crinkling as he looked at Ash. "I noticed this on the floor and took a glance while picking it up. I hope you don't mind?"
"It's fine." Ash shook her head. "It's nothing confidential…"
Ash had always suspected the old man might be a Beast Master; the spirit beast mark on the back of his hand was a clear indicator.
Even though she had never seen a Spirit Beast by his side, she assumed it was his private affair and refrained from prying.
Now that he had confirmed it himself, Ash was somewhat surprised!
She had initially thought of him as just an ordinary Beast Master but hadn't expected him to reveal that he was once a professional Beast Master.
The distinction between an ordinary Beast Master and a professional Beast Master on Gaia was enormous, despite the seemingly minor difference in terminology.
While anyone who contracted a Spirit Beast could call themselves a Beast Master, professional Beast Master represented not only a profession but also a prestigious identity.
It was comparable to the hunters Ash remembered from an anime called Hunter x Hunter, complete with a formal license system.
Only those who passed the nation's specialized professional exam could obtain the license and be recognized as professional Beast Master.
These Beast Master were further categorized into S, A, B, C, and D ranks based on stringent standards and evaluations.
Regardless of rank, professional Beast Master were state employees, entitled to pursue careers or missions inaccessible to ordinary people or ordinary Beast Master.
They enjoyed free access to public facilities related to Spirit Beasts, managed by the Beast Master Association.
Moreover, they could participate in a contribution system, akin to academic credit systems, to earn exclusive resources not available to the public.
Although professional Beast Master bore greater responsibilities, including defending their nation, countless aspirants still pursued this path every year.
Yet, only a select few succeeded.
In a place like Solvale Town, Ash knew that even when including the patrol officers from local the Spirit Beast Reserve, the number of professional Beast Master didn't exceed twenty.
Ash shook her head, feeling as though she had triggered some major hidden storyline.
She pushed those chaotic thoughts aside, refocused, and turned her attention back to the paper the old man had handed her, which outlined tactics for defending against poison.
"Please don't mind me being a bit clever," Ash said with an embarrassed smile at the old man.
She didn't believe that her "underhand" tactic she make could impress a professional Beast Master.
In the end, her tactic merely indirect tactics that worked around the lack of ability to fight head-on.
They were desperate methods for achieving victory when direct confrontation was not an option.
Ash wasn't bothered by such "underhanded" methods—she thought they had their uses—but she imagined that professional Beast Master in this world probably wouldn't think much of these lowly tricks.
It was just like those written in some martial arts novels, where "underhanded" techniques were always vilified.
However, Ash's thoughts were soon dispelled by the old man's words.
The old man picked up the discarded paper, read it carefully again, and nodded approvingly before smiling.
"Actually, this idea of yours is quite good."
"When your side is weaker than the opponent's, using the continuous damage from negative status effects to wear down the enemy is a solid strategy for victory… this is a valid tactic."
"But in a real match, while it might look like a back-and-forth exchange between Spirit Beasts, it isn't actually a turn-based system where you hit me, and then I hit you back. So this… tactic would be quite difficult to implement in reality, because there are too many unexpected situations to account for."