Chapter 99: Spirit Pattern
Chapter 99: Spirit Pattern
Back in the room, Fangflare, as usual, watched the Hanggang tournament channel.
Qiao Sang, meanwhile, watched online classes about familiar Soul Engraving while using a Soul Engraver's specialized brush to draw on Treasure Seeker's cheek.
She wasn't just killing time or trying to pick up a new skill during the holiday. She wanted to contribute to Fangflare's efforts in condensing the Energy Orb.
After this period of training, she had noticed some issues with Fangflare's practice of Mars Rain.
Mars Rain is an Advanced Skill. Even if she added points, Fangflare's current energy levels were insufficient to sustain its release.
While the first step of condensing the Energy Orb was progressing rapidly, if the internal structure of the Energy Orb wasn't stable, the resulting explosion in the sky might turn out to be a light drizzle instead of Mars Rain.
And not even a heavy drizzle, just a few drops.
There were three possible solutions.
The first was Evolution.
Practicing Mars Rain was more of an experiment rather than an urgent task. Even if Fangflare evolved into Blazefang in over a month, it wouldn't be a problem.
The concern was that even after evolving into Blazefang, the energy might still be insufficient. After all, Intermediate Beasts learning Advanced Skills is a topic covered in textbooks.
The second was Artifacts.
The reason for dismissing this option was simple: lack of funds, at least for now.
The third was engraving the Energy Pattern.
This was primarily a technical skill. While some materials were expensive, they were nothing compared to the cost of Artifacts.
The simple patterns and their required materials and proportions could be purchased online, and Qiao Sang's current financial situation could manage it.
Engraving patterns mainly tested one's technique, requiring a smooth and uninterrupted stroke.
Besides, each stroke had to be infused with the same amount of mental energy.
Uneven mental energy would cause the energy structure of the pattern to become unbalanced, leading to failure.
In simple terms, using mental energy meant making the Beastmaster Codex in the brain domain function.
While using the Beastmaster Codex to summon a familiar didn't feel strenuous, continuously using it to engrave patterns with mental energy would definitely be tiring.
Qiao Sang had been learning to engrave Energy Patterns for three days and hadn't encountered this issue yet.
Familiars mainly relied on their own internal energy to release skills, while the Energy Patterns she was learning were designed to absorb external energy when releasing skills.
Qiao Sang had specifically bought a month's worth of online classes on these patterns, with Treasure Seeker as her experimental subject.
She didn't want to experiment directly on Fangflare, who disliked water and always dragged her feet during baths.
Given Fangflare's aversion to water, it would take ages to successfully experiment on her.
Treasure Seeker, on the other hand, had no such qualms. In fact, he had been quite enthusiastic about the process over the past three days, even proactively bringing out the materials each time.
"Done, give it a try", Qiao Sang said, putting down the brush.
"Seek~"
Treasure Seeker extended his short claws, indicating he wasn't in a rush.
He picked up a small mirror that was already prepared and held it up to his face, making all sorts of silly faces.
Qiao Sang watched helplessly from the side.
If someone unfamiliar with the situation saw this, they might think she had drawn a spooky face rather than a Spirit Pattern.
"Seek~"
Treasure Seeker put down the mirror and called out happily, seemingly very satisfied with the masterpiece on his face.
The next moment, a faint purple light appeared around him but quickly dissipated.
"Seek."
Treasure Seeker spread his hands and shook his head, indicating it didn't work.
Another failure.
Qiao Sang had braced herself, but she couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed.
Knock knock.
Just as she was preparing to wash off the patterns on Treasure Seeker's face, there came a knock at the door.
"Seek~"
Treasure Seeker eagerly floated over to open it.
"Ah Sang, why did you draw a ghost face on Treasure Seeker?" Ye Ranran paused, looking at Treasure Seeker in confusion.
"Seek~"
Treasure Seeker burst into laughter at the comment, floating to the table and picking up a small mirror to admire the patterns again.
Qiao Sang: "……!"
These were Spirit Patterns!
Qiao Sang opened her mouth, wanting to explain.
But being accused of drawing a ghost face on Treasure Seeker when she hadn't actually done so made her feel a bit embarrassed to defend herself.
"Is this Frost Coral Powder?" Qiao Sang looked at the bowl in Ye Ranran's hand, choosing to ignore the previous question.
"Right, I just prepared some and brought you a bowl", Ye Ranran said as she entered the room and placed the bowl on the table.
Qiao Sang picked it up and took a sip, noting a slight sweetness.
"What's the deal with Third Uncle? How come he can't even find two people to form a team for the competition?" Qiao Sang asked.
She had wanted to ask this for a while but had been hesitant to bring it up at the dinner table in front of Third Uncle, fearing it might hurt his feelings.
"How can he not find anyone? Aren't you and I people?" Ye Ranran teased.
Qiao Sang: "……"
"Alright, I won't mess with you. The main reason is that the people Third Uncle originally wanted to invite had overlapping prize requests, and their familiars' track positions also overlapped."
"This Marathon Relay is divided into three segments: sea, land, and air, with two familiars assigned to each segment. The problem is, Third Uncle doesn't have any friends with Flying Type familiars to cover the air segment, but your Treasure Seeker can barely qualify as one for that part", Ye Ranran explained.
So it wasn't that Third Uncle had bad social connections or was being ostracized...
"By the way, you should practice with Fangflare these next few days. The land segment is the first track, and Fangflare will likely be the second runner. Third Uncle is mainly counting on the Bellowing Swamp Crocodile to secure the top individual score."
"But the water segment is the second track, and I'm worried that if you fall too far behind, it might put psychological pressure on the Bellowing Swamp Crocodile. It's been acting skittish lately, and its mental resilience seems a bit weak", Ye Ranran added.
The pressure was on Fangflare.
Qiao Sang turned to look at Fangflare, who was intently watching the race channel, and felt that it shouldn't be a problem.
"Is Treasure Seeker the last runner?" Qiao Sang asked.
Ye Ranran nodded. "Yes, it's the last runner. Don't worry, we're not really counting on winning the team competition. Even if Treasure Seeker doesn't run, it won't be a big deal."
Qiao Sang glanced at Treasure Seeker, who was still holding the mirror and making faces.
Hmm, if it doesn't matter whether Treasure Seeker runs or not, she could relax a bit...
...
Over the next few days, Fangflare's schedule became even busier.
In the morning, it practiced skill releases, then drank half a bottle of F-Class Energy Recovery Liquid and practiced condensing Energy Orbs.
In the afternoon, it repeated the morning's training.
After drinking the F-Class Energy Recovery Liquid, it wouldn't practice Energy Orbs until it was exhausted but would instead spend some time running a few laps around Liu Gan Stream.
In the evening, after drinking milk and recovering on its own, it would practice condensing Energy Orbs again.
It was even more intense than when Qiao Sang was preparing to get into Holy Water High School.
Seeing her familiar work so hard, Qiao Sang was also influenced.
Even during her vacation, she was reading to expand her knowledge and practicing Spirit Patterns on Treasure Seeker's face.
...
July 24th.
Sunny.
The Qi Tang Town Marathon Relay was today.
(End of Chapter)
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