Chapter 48: Newcomer Competition
Chapter 48: Newcomer Competition
"Yah!"
Fangflare’s cry pulled Qiao Sang out of her thoughts.
Looking down, she realized that the entire bottle of Miracle Milk had been drained.
Fangflare looked at its Beastmaster with a hopeful expression, clearly wanting another bottle.
Qiao Sang handed over a bottle of water that she had prepared earlier.
With her finances now reduced to a few hundred, she had to mix water with milk to make it last, or else her assets might be depleted before the Newcomer Competition even started.
Fangflare didn’t mind this arrangement.
It gulped down the water, took a couple of bites of the Super Spicy Wings, and then turned back to its training.
Qiao Sang watched with a mix of emotions.
Fangflare seemed genuinely determined to learn Mars Rain.
She watched as Fangflare continuously spewed flames and then pulled out her phone to search for Training Academies in Hanggang City that offered Mars Rain lessons.
Several institutions that provided skill training soon appeared on her phone screen.
One of them was just three blocks away from her current location.
- [One-on-one personalized tutoring]
- [One of the most well-known Fire Familiar Signature Move Training Academies in the country]
- [Nearly 500 trainers, including 1 A-Class Beastmaster, 12 B-Class Beastmasters, and 122 C-Class Beastmasters]
- [Successfully trains over 20,000 Signature Moves annually]
The introduction seemed overly exaggerated. If it were truly one of the most well-known Training Academies in the country, the number of successful Signature Move trainings would likely be much higher, perhaps even with an extra zero.
However, if the academy truly had an A-Class Beastmaster as a trainer, its strength couldn’t be underestimated.
Qiao Sang clicked into the website and inquired about the cost of training Mars Rain.
The price was quickly sent to her.
Qiao Sang felt a bit dizzy.
So many zeros...
One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand...
Qiao Sang couldn’t bear to look any further and quickly closed the page, putting her phone away.
It was better to let Fangflare continue practicing on its own. Training with an academy was out of the question...
...
...
June 30.
Qiao Sang took the 63 bus early in the morning to the familiar arena located in Shouke Park.
The entrance was already packed with people, most of whom looked to be around Qiao Sang’s age.
A few journalists were scattered around, holding microphones and randomly interviewing people.
Qiao Sang, carrying Fangflare, deliberately took a longer route to the second entrance to avoid being noticed by any sharp-eyed reporters.
After all, with Fangflare wearing sunglasses, it stood out among the other novice Beastmasters.
Fangflare wasn’t wearing the sunglasses on its own initiative this time; Qiao Sang had put them on it.
The Mars Rain training had made no progress in the past few days, and Fangflare seemed to have lost some confidence, speaking less. Qiao Sang decided to give it the sunglasses to boost its spirits.
While Fangflare still spoke little, its energy level had noticeably improved.
After waiting in line for about twenty minutes, Qiao Sang confirmed her name and received her participant badge. She then made her way to seat 11D in the D section of the arena.
"Qiao Sang!"
The person in seat 5 of row 11 waved and called out.
Qiao Sang sat down next to Fang Sisi and asked, "Who else from our class is here?"
Fang Sisi had contacted Qiao Sang on her phone the previous night, and they discovered they both had signed up for the Newcomer Competition on June 30. This led to their meeting today.
"Not many, maybe four or five. The Newcomer Competition happens to coincide with several matches of the Interstellar Cup, and no one wants to miss the live broadcasts", Fang Sisi replied, her eyes gleaming as she stared at Fangflare.
This was the first time she had seen Fangflare wearing sunglasses.
How cool!
Fang Sisi thought to herself, and she couldn't help but say it out loud.
If someone praised him like that in normal circumstances, Fangflare would have puffed out his chest and gloated with a loud call.
But now, he just puffed out his chest without making a sound.
Fangflare wanted to make a sound and gloat too.
But he couldn't, as he had eaten too many Super Spicy Wings these past few days.
His throat was sore...
"Your Cotton Worm has been doing great. It looks much bigger than the last time", Qiao Sang complimented.
Actually, she meant to say "fatter"...
In just five short days, Cotton Worm had grown much rounder.
However, insect-type familiars like Cotton Worm have short evolution cycles. As long as they eat and sleep well, they develop much faster than other familiars.
This kind of change is visible to the naked eye.
"Cotton~"
Hearing someone praise it, Cotton Worm shyly turned around, facing away from Qiao Sang.
"Has it grown bigger? I haven't noticed", Fang Sisi said, reaching out to pick up Cotton Worm and weigh it in her hands. "It seems much heavier, though."
Cotton Worm: "..."
It was the same meaning, but it felt strange hearing it from its Beastmaster...
After chatting for about twenty minutes, the seats around them gradually filled up.
With a loud bang from the fireworks, the Newcomer Competition officially began.
"What's your number?" Fang Sisi asked.
"123. What about you?" Qiao Sang replied.
"11", Fang Sisi answered.
Qiao Sang: "..."
"Shouldn't you go to the waiting room and get in line? I think it'll be your turn soon", Qiao Sang couldn't help but remind her.
The preliminary matches of the Newcomer Competition weren't randomly assigned but were directly paired as 1 vs. 2, 3 vs. 4, and so on.
"That can't be. There are still five more pairs before me. I'll go backstage when the fifth pair starts. I want to watch more of the matches", Fang Sisi said.
Although Qiao Sang thought it was a bit risky, she didn't say anything more.
Fang Sisi had a point. After the host's introduction and a few more matches, it would take quite a bit of time.
16 minutes later.
"Damn! How could it be so fast! Qiao Sang, I have to go now!" Fang Sisi grabbed Cotton Worm and rushed out of her seat.
She sprinted down the corridor toward the backstage area.
The 16 minutes were mostly taken up by the host's introduction, which lasted about 10 minutes.
The remaining time saw almost one match per minute.
The F-Class Beastmasters who had taken the stage only had Beginner Beasts, and their methods were limited. It usually took just three rounds, and the match would end as soon as one side landed the first hit.
Qiao Sang had thought it would be her turn in the afternoon or even the next day.
Now it looked like it would definitely be her turn in the morning...
"Contestant 11, Fang Sisi."
"Contestant 11, Fang Sisi."
The host at the Familiar Arena called Fang Sisi's name twice, but she never appeared.
"Let's congratulate..." The host was about to declare the 12th contestant the winner when a voice came through his earpiece.
"Let's congratulate Contestant 11, Fang Sisi, for her grand entrance!"
Since the start of the Newcomer Competition, the host had always announced the contestants' numbers and names in a matter-of-fact manner. This was the first time "grand" was added to the announcement.
The audience in the stands couldn't help but feel a bit more excited.
Three seconds later.
Fang Sisi, panting, appeared on the field, with the pudgy Cotton Worm struggling to move beside her...
(End of Chapter)
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