Chapter 445: National Championship! Here I Come!
Chapter 445: National Championship! Here I Come!
Actually, apart from Fire-Type Skills, Fangy isn't completely devoid of other destructive Skills, such as the Destructive Beam.
However, Fangy has never practiced Destructive Beam, and it is currently only at the Novice level.
With a Novice-level Destructive Beam, she can't guarantee a one-hit defeat of the Fire Swallowbird.
But this isn't a major issue. Whether by adding points or direct practice, she can improve the proficiency of Destructive Beam to Small Success before the National Championship.
If she uses Destructive Beam as her trump card, the key will be ensuring it hits the Fire Swallowbird accurately. After all, using Destructive Beam leaves her unable to move for a certain period.
If it misses, Fangy will be the one in trouble.
Qiao Sang's thoughts were clear, and she quickly formulated the next training plan.
First, she would have Fangy practice Destructive Beam to the Small Success level, ensuring it can directly defeat the Fire Swallowbird when it hits.
As for how to ensure a 100% hit rate, that would need to be refined through further training.
With a plan in mind, Qiao Sang turned to Fangy, "We'll practice the Destructive Beam Skill release next."
"Ya!"
Hearing her Beastmaster's words, Fangy immediately put down her Gravity Beads and began channeling energy to cast Destructive Beam.
"Wait!" Seeing a terrifying white energy condensing in Fangy's mouth, Qiao Sang was startled and quickly shouted, "Not here!"
Although she had never seen a familiar cast Destructive Beam in real life, she had seen it in movies and shows.
If she practiced it in the hotel, she might end up in the Hollow Plains news tomorrow.
Fortunately, Fangy could control her energy flow and immediately dissipated the unreleased Destructive Beam.
Phew... Qiao Sang sighed in relief and said, "I'll find a suitable place for us to practice."
"Ya!"
Fangy nodded.
...
The sun slowly sank below the horizon, and night had not yet fallen.
At an open-air Training Field.
Fangy, Treasure Seeker, and Lulu each trained separately.
Qiao Sang stood nearby, taking notes: [Proficient-level Destructive Beam, 8 seconds]
With a large supply of Grade B Energy Recovery Serums for recovery, Fangy managed to upgrade her Destructive Beam from Novice to Proficient in just one afternoon.
Qiao Sang keenly observed that a Novice-level Destructive Beam left her immobilized for 9 seconds, while a Proficient-level Destructive Beam reduced this to 8 seconds.
It seemed that as proficiency increased, the time she remained immobile after using Destructive Beam would decrease...
While Qiao Sang was deep in thought, about twenty meters away, a patch of bushes rustled.
"Did you see that?" a man with dark skin asked.
"Lalai", a familiar about 70 centimeters tall, with a yellow body and a tired, salamander-like face, nodded.
"Stay by the beam of destruction and pretend to faint", the man instructed. "If this job succeeds, I'll take you out for a big meal tonight."
"Lalai!" The familiar's mouth watered, and it sucked back its saliva, nodding seriously.
Fangy took another sip of Energy Recovery Serum and continued casting Destructive Beam.
Then, she stood still, unable to move.
"Ah! My Lalaida!" a voice suddenly cried out.
Following the voice, a man rushed over, looking panicked.
Qiao Sang looked up and saw that the previously empty field now had a familiar lying on the ground, eyes closed and motionless.
The spot where he fell was right in the range where Fangy had just used Destructive Beam.
Well, this scene looks suspiciously like a Bait-and-Switch... A bad feeling rose in Qiao Sang's chest.
At that moment, a mechanical voice sounded beside her:
【Lalaida, a Dark-type Intermediate Familiar from the Tuwai Region, is known for its rude demeanor and often taunts opponents by spitting at them. However, once it bonds with a Beastmaster, it becomes exceptionally loyal and values its kin deeply.】
Qiao Sang turned her head, and Treasure Seeker quietly put away the Beast Identifier.
"You've done this to my Lalaida! What are you going to do about it?!" the man shouted at the girl standing a short distance away.
Sure enough, it's the legendary Bait-and-Switch. What luck... Qiao Sang was speechless.
The open familiar training field was large, and not many people came here to train, so they were spread out.
But humans are naturally drawn to commotion, and the man's shout immediately triggered everyone's gossip radar, causing them to gather around.
Seeing that the girl in front of him remained silent, the man felt a sense of satisfaction.
As a professional Bait-and-Switch artist, he had been eyeing this girl from the start.
She was young, but she had three familiars. Although he couldn't identify them, he had a good eye.
The red-and-white familiar and the Blue Familiar were both striking in appearance. Even in the Imperial Capital, where rare familiars were common, he had never seen anything like them. They were clearly expensive.
Especially that red-and-white familiar, which had a Compact Shrinking Bracelet on its paw!
That wasn't something you could just buy anywhere.
Despite her high school student appearance, his years of Bait-and-Switch experience told him that she was likely a college student with a more youthful look. After all, how many high school students could bond with three familiars?
College students were naive and easy to trick. Middle and high school students might call their parents, but college students wouldn't.
A college student with rare familiars must have a high allowance.
She must be panicking inside.
See, she can't even speak.
No matter how high her Beastmaster Talent, she would still be at his mercy.
As the man gloated, he saw the girl smile and say, "Fangy, Destructive Beam."
His expression froze.
Destructive Beam?
Was she really going to use Destructive Beam on him?!
Eight seconds passed, and Fangy, now fully recovered, opened its mouth, and a powerful white energy began to condense.
Damn! She was actually serious! The man realized he had met his match and shouted:
"Wait!"
Qiao Sang was just trying to scare him and had no intention of actually using the attack. However, she found it amusing that Lalaida was still pretending to be unconscious and wanted to see how long it would continue to "sleep." So she didn't say anything.
The man watched as the Destructive Beam in the red-and-white familiar's mouth grew larger, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He picked up Lalaida and ran off as fast as he could.
The crowd, disappointed that the show was over so quickly, let out a collective "huh" and dispersed.
"Fangy, stop", Qiao Sang said.
Fangy dissipated the energy it was condensing.
As the man ran, Lalaida remained in his arms, still pretending to be unconscious. Qiao Sang couldn't resist her curiosity and said:
"Make them stop."
"Yah!"
Fangy's eyes glowed blue, and an invisible force instantly immobilized the running man.
Oh no, I can't run... The man's face was filled with despair.
Some of the onlookers, who were still paying attention, perked up and gathered around again.
Qiao Sang approached.
"Pretty girl, I'm sorry!" the man's face was pale.
He couldn't understand why, among all the naive college students, he had to run into someone who wasn't to be messed with!
Even now, it's still pretending... Qiao Sang examined Lalaida closely and grew more curious. She realized that the familiar seemed to be genuinely unconscious.
"It..."
"It's fine!" the man looked at the girl, feeling intimidated, and quickly explained: "It's just using a Deception Skill!"
Qiao Sang looked at the man. "Deception?"
Even a college student should know what Deception is... The man inwardly rolled his eyes but meekly replied, "Deception is a Dark-attribute skill that can make the user enter a state where even they believe their own deception."
Qiao Sang thought to herself, "So that's how it is. It's a real shame this guy didn't become an actor with those skills."
She didn't notice, but Treasure Seeker was now showing a keen interest from the side.
"Great! He actually trained his familiar to use the Deception Skill for a bait-and-switch. This guy has definitely done this before!" One of the onlookers couldn't hold back and shouted.
"That's right. He must have chosen this place because there are no security cameras, thinking a little girl would be easy to fool!"
"Thankfully, this girl is pretty capable. If she had been more timid, she would have been completely deceived!"
"From his accent, he's not from Hollow Plains. He should go back where he came from!"
The crowd murmured, one after another, condemning him.
"Maybe we should take him to the police station!" someone suggested.
The others heard this and thought it made sense.
A group of people stepped forward and grabbed the man.
"You have no right to arrest me! I haven't done anything!" the man struggled and roared.
Seeing this, Qiao Sang turned to leave, but her clothes were pulled back.
She turned around and saw a fashionable middle-aged woman.
The woman smiled, "Don't go, little girl. You're the victim, so you need to come and give a statement."
Qiao Sang: "……"
……
That night, after reviewing the profiles of her opponents in the National Championship again, Qiao Sang suddenly noticed Treasure Seeker lying on the bed, eyes closed and motionless, as if asleep.
"What's wrong?" Qiao Sang poked Treasure Seeker's belly.
"Xunxun", Treasure Seeker called out, still with its eyes closed, indicating it was practicing Deception.
Qiao Sang paused and said, "…Didn't you say you wanted to become the second-in-command?"
"Xunxun!"
Treasure Seeker suddenly opened its eyes and sat up abruptly.
Right! It hadn't become the second-in-command yet!
Qiao Sang: "……"
"Icechill." At that moment, Lulu, who had been lying with its eyes closed, suddenly opened them and walked toward the bathroom.
"Rushing water." The sound of water from the faucet followed.
Soon, Qiao Sang saw Lulu transform into water and flow out of the bathroom, slipping through the door crack.
"Where are you going?" Qiao Sang asked, puzzled.
"Icechill." Lulu called out as water.
It was going to train to become the leader.
Qiao Sang: "……"
Treasure Seeker: "……"
"Fangy."
Fangy, who had already fallen asleep, mumbled something in its sleep, drooling, seemingly dreaming about something.
……
Days passed, and the Imperial Capital finally welcomed the National Campus Beastmaster League Finals.
At Moting Hotel.
"Are you ready?" Qiao Sang asked with a fierce determination.
"Yah!"
"Xunxun!"
"Icechill!"
Fangy, Treasure Seeker, and Lulu all called out in unison, their expressions serious.
Qiao Sang smiled in satisfaction, waved her hand, and Fangy jumped to the side, Treasure Seeker floated to the edge, and only Lulu remained still, quietly being stored in the Beastmaster Codex.
"Knock, knock!"
"Qiao Sang, it's time to go", Sun Boyi's voice called from outside the door.
"Got it!" Qiao Sang took a deep breath, picked up Fangy, and opened the door.
National Championship! Here I come!
(End of Chapter)
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