Chapter 570: Congratulations on the Bye
Chapter 570: Congratulations on the Bye
No, it’s Air Absorption! This is Air Absorption!
An Advanced Skill, when did you learn it, and you didn’t even know?
Qiao Sang looked at Steel Treasure with a face full of disbelief.
Honestly, Qiao Sang wasn’t surprised that Steel Treasure had learned Air Absorption. After all, Fangy and the others had also learned Advanced Skills at the Junior stage. At most, she would marvel at how quickly Steel Treasure had picked up the Advanced Skill.
But the fact that Steel Treasure had learned an Advanced Skill without even realizing it was something she had never expected.
"Ganggang..."
Seeing that their Beastmaster didn’t seem to be joking, Steel Treasure thought for a moment, then began to perform Air Absorption while channeling energy.
The surrounding air was instantly sucked into Steel Treasure’s nose by a strong suction.
"Ganggang?!"
Feeling the changes within its body, Steel Treasure’s eyes widened in shock.
It had really learned the skill!
Why didn’t it know?
Seeing that Steel Treasure had indeed learned Air Absorption, Qiao Sang immediately forgot about the Points and focused entirely on the skill.
"Try using this skill again", Qiao Sang said.
She had only read about Air Absorption online and had never seen it in action in real life.
"Ganggang..."
Steel Treasure looked at its Beastmaster, paused for a moment, and then called out, indicating that it had already used the skill...
Qiao Sang: "???"
Wait, is Air Absorption so unnoticeable?
She didn’t realize it had learned the skill, and even when it was used, she still didn’t notice!
A heavy silence fell between Qiao Sang and Steel Treasure.
After a few seconds, Qiao Sang said, "Try it one more time."
"Ganggang."
Steel Treasure nodded, put on a serious expression, and took a deep breath, trying to make the effect of Air Absorption more noticeable.
After the skill was cast, it looked at its Beastmaster with expectant eyes.
Qiao Sang remained silent, feeling no change in her breathing.
She was starting to doubt whether this Air Absorption was real...
"I don’t seem to feel anything. Wait a moment, I’ll check what the problem is", Qiao Sang said, picking up her mobile phone from the side.
If she didn’t understand, she would just look it up online; there would surely be a correct answer somewhere.
Steel Treasure flapped its wings and leaned in, looking at the phone with a serious expression.
It also wanted to know what the problem was.
After staring at the screen for a couple of seconds, it suddenly realized it couldn’t read...
Qiao Sang typed "Air Absorption performed but no sensation" into the search bar.
Soon, she found a post explaining the basics of Air Absorption.
[Air Absorption is a skill that becomes more effective as the familiar’s size increases.]
[Air Absorption is a skill that creates a brief vacuum around the user.]
[Air Absorption is a somewhat underwhelming Advanced Skill.]
[The reason Air Absorption is considered an Advanced Skill is because it has a connection to the Epic Skill, Absolute Vacuum.]
[Although it is related, it fundamentally differs from Absolute Vacuum.]
[Absolute Vacuum refers to a state where no gas molecules exist in an area, with zero pressure. In an Absolute Vacuum, no matter exists. Air Absorption, on the other hand, uses the familiar’s suction to draw in the air within a certain range around itself, creating a brief absence of air.]
[Our environment is filled with air, so it slowly replenishes, which is why the effect of Air Absorption is short-lived.]
[As for why this skill is considered underwhelming, one reason is that if the opponent knows about it, they can simply move away, breaking the vacuum. While there’s no air around the familiar, anyone who moves away can breathe normally again.]
[Another reason is that the effect of Air Absorption is extremely short-lived, as the surrounding air will continuously flow back in.]
The Air Absorption skill is different from other Advanced Skills. Even if you understand it, you can't do anything about it if your strength isn't sufficient. However, once you understand Air Absorption, you can counter it even if your level is one rank lower than the familiar using it, especially if you have a Psychic Pet. A single teleport can neutralize this move.
Therefore, it's really not recommended for familiars with small bodies to learn this skill. Even if they do, the air they suck in might not affect an opponent half a meter away.
However, this skill isn't entirely useless. When used by a familiar with a large body, the effect of Air Absorption is quite terrifying.
Provided, of course, that the body is large enough.
No wonder Steel Treasure's Air Absorption didn't affect her at all... After reading through the post, Qiao Sang finally understood the reason.
She turned her head to look at Steel Treasure, whose current size was still smaller than that of a Treasure Seeker.
With its current size, it probably can only affect the air within ten centimeters around itself. Any farther and it's helpless...
"Ganggang?"
Noticing her Beastmaster's gaze, Steel Treasure lifted its head and called out, wondering if she had found the problem.
"I found it", Qiao Sang sighed. "It's because of your small size. I knew that a small size would make this skill less effective, but I didn't realize it would be this bad. We'll have to wait until you grow larger before you can use this skill in matches."
"Ganggang."
Steel Treasure nodded, readily accepting this fact.
Her Beastmaster had mentioned the issue of its small size before it started practicing this skill, and it remembered.
"Don't stop practicing this skill just because it seems useless now", Qiao Sang said earnestly. "The higher your proficiency, the better the effect will be when you evolve and grow larger."
"Ganggang."
Steel Treasure nodded seriously, indicating that it understood.
Then, it seemed to think of something, flapped its wings, flew to the table, picked up a chili from the plate, and brought it to Crystal Producer.
To grow larger, besides evolving, it needs to eat more.
"Chan Chan..."
Crystal Producer looked at the chili hesitantly, then opened its mouth and let Steel Treasure stuff it in.
It was already finding the chili less spicy...
...
On the fourth day of the friendly matches, Qiao Sang spent the entire time reading in the venue, only looking up to see who won when a match ended.
After about an hour, the list of the top five contestants was announced.
"Please have the top five contestants come to the field", the principal of Sahel High School said into the microphone. "We will select one contestant to receive a bye, and the chosen contestant will advance directly to the semifinals."
He clapped his hands, and five Pouchbirds, all looking similar, immediately flew onto the field.
Qiao Sang: "..."
It wouldn't be me again, would it... Qiao Sang tried to keep a calm expression as she made her way to the field.
After yesterday's bye, she suspected she was being manipulated behind the scenes.
After all, everyone said it would be her who got the bye, and it turned out to be her. How could that be a coincidence?
But she couldn't figure out how those nine Pouchbirds managed to do it.
Could it be that Pouchbirds have some trait that allows them to hide a piece of paper in their stomachs and pull it out when she makes her selection?
But she didn't see any Pouchbird make such a move...
Maybe she was overthinking it, and it really was just a coincidence...
As various thoughts raced through Qiao Sang's mind, the principal of Sahel High School smiled and said, "Qiao Sang, as the recipient of the bye in the previous round, you go first."
Try again... Qiao Sang stepped forward with Fangy and asked, "Who do you think I should choose?"
"Ya Ya!"
Fangy, having forgotten that its choices were all rejected yesterday, thought for two seconds and pointed at one of the Pouchbirds, indicating that its intuition was telling it to choose this one!
"I'll go with it", Qiao Sang decided to trust Fangy this time.
The Pouchbird in front of her slowly opened its mouth.
A piece of paper appeared in Qiao Sang's line of sight:
[Congratulations on the Bye]
(End of Chapter)
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