Chapter 5: Beastmaster Codex
Chapter 5: Beastmaster Codex
A minute passed.
Mother's voice was a few decibels louder than usual, but her facial expression remained calm. "I'm going to the restroom."
The staff member said, "Turn left ahead, then right at the end."
Mother nodded and started walking to the right.
"Lady, it's to the left", the staff member reminded her.
Mother's back stiffened for a moment, then she turned left as if nothing had happened.
This made Jiao Sang a bit amused, and she suppressed a smile.
Mom, your strong and independent woman persona just crumbled.
She turned her attention back to the Fangflares, her mind returning to them.
Jiao Sang noticed that the Fangflares were energetic and restless, not a single one was sitting still.
It made sense why new Beastmasters often chose Puffbirds as their first familiars...
Jiao Sang couldn't help but ask, "Are there any Fangflares with a calmer temperament?"
The staff member replied tactfully, "Actually, our base has many other types of familiars."
Jiao Sang understood immediately.
After all, her soul was that of an adult. Even without experience in taming beasts, she didn't think she would be as helpless as a 15-year-old with a temperamental familiar.
Since that was the case, she decided to choose a Fangflare based on a connection rather than temperament.
"Can I take a look at that one?"
Jiao Sang noticed a Fangflare that kept ramming into a tree. It wasn't a random, reckless collision but a purposeful one.
Jiao Sang felt its target wasn't the tree, but itself.
After all, who would mindlessly ram into a tree for no reason?
"Of course", the staff member replied.
"Beep beep!" She picked up the iron whistle hanging from her neck and blew it, producing a shrill sound.
All the Fangflares stopped their actions and focused their attention, ceasing their destructive behavior.
A few Fangflares tilted their heads.
"Tooth?"
Is it feeding time?
With the flames no longer obstructing, the staff member entered the Fangflare enclosure and picked up the chosen Fangflare.
"Tooth?"
The Fangflare blinked its confused eyes, its flame-like ears twitching.
The Fangflare was placed in front of Jiao Sang.
Fangflares are small canine familiars with fiery red fur and black stripes, with a tuft of orange and yellow hair on their heads.
The Fangflare in front of her was about 60 centimeters tall, noticeably smaller than the others, with a bruise on its forehead from the recent collision. Its black, wet eyes looked at her, making her want to pet it.
It didn't seem as fiery as the other Fangflares, but rather a bit pitiful.
Jiao Sang's mind automatically filled with a tragic backstory of a weak Fangflare being bullied, having its food stolen, and then becoming malnourished, only to work hard and train.
The tree collision must have been part of practicing some special move.
Like a Flame Impact.
The staff member introduced, "This is the youngest Fangflare in our base, not even a month old."
So it's not weak, just young...
But young is good. Many Beastmasters choose to raise their familiars from the egg stage, which often helps build a strong bond and rapport.
Jiao Sang had considered buying a young beast egg, but quickly dismissed the idea.
After all, she still had to go to school and couldn't bring an egg with her, which would be both conspicuous and unsafe.
If she left it at home, her mother would be out working, and she wouldn't feel comfortable leaving it unattended.
Jiao Sang squatted down and reached out to pet the Fangflare's head.
The Fangflare closed its eyes contentedly, its red tail wagging involuntarily.
It seemed quite well-behaved.
Jiao Sang felt the soft fur in her hand and became increasingly satisfied.
She looked into the Fangflare's eyes and smiled, "Would you like to come with me?"
The staff member's expression was a bit odd. This Fangflare had a bad temper and often picked fights with other Fangflares, taking advantage of its young age.
The older Fangflare, seeing that it had just been born and couldn’t even use a Spark skill, with its claws not fully sharpened, found the fight to be more of a tickle than a threat, so it let the young one play around.
Sometimes, it would even play along, pretending to be defeated. The young one, thinking it had won, grew increasingly arrogant.
As a professional receptionist, she had a good eye for what customers wanted in a familiar and could tell that this girl was clearly looking for a calmer Fangflare.
Should she warn her…?
This base doesn’t have any well-tempered Fangflares.
She thought about the commission from a Fangflare sale and then thought about the school district house for her son. In the end, she kept quiet.
Go?
Fangflare naturally understood what she meant.
Go or stay?
Of course, it would go. It had no more opponents here, and this human’s touch was quite comforting…
It was time to find new opponents!
“Fang!”
Fangflare solemnly nodded and extended its pudgy paw.
Qiao Sang was slightly taken aback but then shook it.
This was smoother than she had expected…
Thus, the human and the dog reached an agreement.
...
The bond between a human and a Supernatural Creature is established under the influence of the Beastmaster Codex.
The Beastmaster Codex acts as a medium, closely connecting the two. Generally, a bond can only be successful if both parties are willing.
However, it can also be formed after thoroughly defeating a Supernatural Creature and then binding it while it is defenseless.
The latter method has many risks; without enough intimacy, the familiar can easily become disobedient. Only high-ranking Beastmasters needn’t worry about this.
As long as a Beastmaster’s Brain Domain Development is sufficient, the Beastmaster Codex becomes more powerful, and even if the familiar tries to rebel, the bond cannot be broken.
Qiao Sang was currently connecting her consciousness to her brain domain.
In her brain domain, the Beastmaster Codex lay quietly, though it looked more like a thin envelope with a blank page inside.
Qiao Sang had read in books that the Beastmaster Codex is initially white, with only one Bonding Space available for bonding a familiar.
When Brain Domain Development reaches 10%, the Beastmaster Codex awakens to a gray color, and the Bonding Space increases to two.
Following the gesture she remembered for activating the Beastmaster Codex, Qiao Sang formed a Seal in front of her.
Soon, the Beastmaster Codex in her brain domain activated and slowly flipped to the single page.
A white light began to gather from all around, gradually forming a small circular Star Array above Fangflare’s head.
Actually, there’s a simple way to determine a Beastmaster’s rank: the color of the light that appears when bonding or summoning a familiar.
Just like the Beastmaster Codex, the color of the Star Array that appears when summoning a familiar matches the Codex’s color.
However, this is only a reference. Even if the Beastmaster Codex awakens again, without a corresponding level of strength, one cannot pass the Beastmaster League’s Beastmaster rank examination.
The light from the Star Array covered Fangflare’s head, and it looked up curiously at the array without resisting.
(End of Chapter)
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