Chapter 16: It's an Intuition
Chapter 16: It's an Intuition
5:30 PM.
Beastmaster High School, Class 37, dismissed.
At 5:33 PM, a large group of students, in pairs or threes, walked out of the school gates.
"Are we going to do this here?" a slightly deep voice asked.
Qiao Sang, who had been reading for nearly an hour, finally had her first inquirer.
She looked up and saw a tall, burly figure standing in front of her. A snake familiar, as thick as a fist and colored earthy yellow, coiled around his waist up to his neck, revealing its triangular head.
It was a Longtail Serpent, the evolved form of a Shorttail Snake.
Qiao Sang glanced at it twice, then took out a pen from her backpack and added a few words to the paper.
[Beginner Beasts Only]
The tall guy clicked his tongue and didn't say much more before turning to leave.
With the first, the second soon followed, and another person approached.
This time, it was a sunny-looking boy. He scratched his head as he stood in front of Qiao Sang, a bit embarrassed, and said, "If I win, can I have your contact information instead of the money?"
Qiao Sang replied cheerfully, "Sure."
Not having to pay was even better. She only had 532 Alliance Coins to her name, enough for only a few rounds, and she needed to save some for the trip back.
Beside the boy stood a Spiky, with an expression that clearly indicated he was just there for the show. He was obviously the boy's friend.
"Let's go over there", Spiky suggested, pointing to a Poplar Tree in South River Park.
They were currently at the entrance of South River Park, where people were constantly coming and going after school. It wasn't a suitable place for a battle.
Qiao Sang followed his gaze and nodded.
The three of them walked to the Poplar Tree, where the area was secluded, and there was no one within about 20 meters.
"I'll be the referee", Spiky volunteered.
Qiao Sang had no objections.
The boy performed a summoning seal, and a Star Array appeared, from which a round, brown Puffbird, about 80 centimeters tall, emerged.
Ordinary Puffbirds are usually around 60 centimeters tall, but this one was clearly well-trained.
"Jiang Liu, no objections to letting the girl go first, right?" Spiky asked.
Different matches have different rules. Some decide who attacks first before the match, while others don't care who makes the first move.
"Of course not", Jiang Liu shrugged, responding.
With Spiky as the referee, he chose Qiao Sang to go first. She didn't hesitate and said, "Fangflare, use Spark."
"Snap!"
Fangflare jumped out of Qiao Sang's arms, its eyes sharp as it opened its mouth to release a small, orange-red flame about the size of a baby's fist.
Faced with this sudden attack, Jiang Liu didn't give any commands. The Puffbird remained calm, and just as the Spark was about to hit it, it jumped to the left twice, easily avoiding the attack.
Puffbirds are known for their slow speed, and this one was no exception. However, it had good reflexes, using minimal movements to dodge the attack, indicating targeted training.
Qiao Sang analyzed the situation but didn't stop giving commands. "Ram."
Fangflare charged forward with all its might.
"Fly up and use Screech", Jiang Liu issued his first command.
The Puffbird flapped its short wings and took to the air.
Fangflare, lacking training, moved slowly. By the time it reached halfway, the Puffbird was already in the air.
"Koo!"
Screech is a relatively common skill that doesn't directly cause damage in battle but can momentarily affect the opponent.
To Qiao Sang, the sound was just a bit harsh, but Fangflare's movements hesitated, and its speed slowed slightly.
"Air Strike", Jiang Liu commanded immediately.
Air Strike is a skill exclusive to flying familiars, similar to a ground-based Ram. The difference is that while Ram relies solely on the familiar's physical strength, Air Strike can also use the air currents to generate a much stronger impact.
Puffbird pulled its wings back, and the air rushed around it with a whistling sound as it charged straight toward Fangflare.
Fangflare instinctively wanted to dodge as Puffbird approached.
“Don’t move!” Qiao Sang commanded at that moment.
Being hit by Air Strike would definitely cause some serious injuries, but Fangflare, hearing Qiao Sang’s order, forced himself to stay still and obey.
This was ridiculous!
Spiky watched the scene, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Both Qiao Sang’s command and Fangflare’s reaction seemed utterly absurd to him.
Leaving aside the command, how could Fangflare be so obedient?!
If it were the second or third bonded familiar, it would be one thing, but this was clearly a new Beastmaster’s first familiar.
Out of a thousand new Beastmasters, it was rare to find one who bonded with a fire-type familiar as their first. In their school of over 3,000 students, only two had dared to bond with a fire-type familiar as their first.
Fire-type familiars were known for their volatile and disobedient nature.
How did she manage to make a fire-type familiar stand still and take a hit without flinching?
If it weren’t for the ongoing battle, Spiky would have run over to ask this formidable girl for advice.
“Now, jump!”
Qiao Sang calmly monitored the situation and issued the command just as Puffbird was about to collide with Fangflare.
Fangflare didn’t hesitate. The moment Qiao Sang gave the order, it leaped into the air.
Jiang Liu stared, dumbfounded.
How did Fangflare...
How did it end up on Puffbird’s back?!
“Flame Fang, attack its wings!” Qiao Sang issued the next command while Puffbird was still disoriented.
Fangflare bared its fangs, and flames immediately enveloped them. It bit down ruthlessly on Puffbird’s right wing.
“Goo!!!”
Puffbird let out a agonizing scream, and after a moment, its body crashed heavily to the ground.
“Ah Pang!” Jiang Liu exclaimed.
Fangflare jumped off Puffbird, turning to look at Qiao Sang with excitement in its eyes.
“Finally, Spark,” Qiao Sang said calmly.
Fangflare quickly turned back around.
Under the impact of the Spark attack, which was about the size of a baby’s fist, Puffbird let out a weak whimper and fainted.
Silence fell over the area.
After about five seconds,
“Hey... classmate, what’s your name?” Spiky asked awkwardly.
“My name is Qiao Sang,” Qiao Sang replied.
“Qiao Sang wins,” Spiky announced the final result.
Jiang Liu silently recalled Puffbird into the Beastmaster Codex.
“How did you time it so perfectly for Fangflare to jump onto Puffbird’s back?” Jiang Liu asked, approaching with a complex expression.
The girl in front of him looked younger than he was, yet her battle awareness was incredibly strong.
At the speed of Air Strike, the timing for the jump wasn’t easy to calculate.
If Puffbird had been too close when Fangflare jumped, it would have been too late. It required precise calculation of Puffbird’s approach speed.
And Fangflare, even a half-second of hesitation would have made it impossible for it to land on Puffbird’s back.
All of this was based on trust and command between the Beastmaster and the familiar.
Qiao Sang answered seriously, “It was intuition.”
Jiang Liu: “...”
(End of Chapter)
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