The King of Beast Trainers

"Forget it, let's just see what the situation is here first."

Fang Lan looked around and soon spotted a figure emerging from another private room not far from her own.

Seeing this figure, she quickly approached.

"Um... hello!"

"New here?"

The figure wore a black T-shirt and brown shorts, covered with a white lab coat, that did not diminish the beauty of a pair of long, slender legs wrapped in black stockings. The chilly demeanor immediately made Fang Lan stop in her tracks.

"Um..." Fang Lan gazed at the woman in awe, so beautiful... but so icy.

Hmm? Fang Lan took a closer look at the woman and suddenly remembered something.

"You, you are Doctor Gu!" Fang Lan exclaimed.

"You know me?" the woman in the lab coat said, surprised.

"My name is Fang Lan, I'm a new student this year in the Veterinary Medicine program at Devil University. I've seen your interview, Doctor Gu."

The woman seemed even more surprised that a random newcomer she met turned out to be a junior.

Her icy expression melted, and with a faint smile, she said, "I see. Hello, I am indeed Gu Qingyi. Since you're a junior, just call me Senior Sister Gu."

"By the look on your face, you must have many questions right now. Luckily, I have some time. Let me answer them for you."

"Great! Thank you, Senior Sister Gu!" Fang Lan instantly became an adoring fan, because she knew how incredible the person before her was in academia.

So young, yet a double Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science!

Was she... also chosen to be a Beast Trainer?

.....

Green Sea City, Starlight District.

While waiting for Fang Lan to keep an appointment, Lu Ran had intended to summon Mr. Husky to awaken its attribute, but he felt that Mr. Husky seemed to have fallen asleep in the Black Card Space.

"Hah, Doggo, you get tired too, huh?"

He abandoned the idea of calling Mr. Husky out for an awakening immediately. It made sense; not only was he tired from the day, but Mr. Husky was even more exhausted after a day of fighting. Injuries could heal, but the fatigue of body, mind, and spirit could not be so easily restored.

He had drunk Bright God Tea himself, while Mr. Husky had only eaten some fruit... let it sleep for a while longer.

Lu Ran also planned to use this time to look at the Beast Training Manual he bought from the cat-eared Information Dealer, so that he could play the part of a big shot once Fang Lan came out.

The manual wasn't very expensive; it cost only 100 crystal coins, likely something widely available. After all, according to Little White Dragon, such basic information is provided for free by joining official organizations or guilds.

But Xiao Ling had repeatedly stressed that their basic information contained tips and tricks not recorded by others, and Lu Ran wouldn't lose out by buying it.

Lu Ran materialized the pamphlet he'd purchased and flipped to the first page.

The first page held a simple introduction to Beast Trainers.

[Beast Trainers, who contract, nurture, and command Pet Beasts as a profession!]

[Among them, the strength of a combat-oriented Beast Trainer is roughly comprised of two parts.]

[The first is the combat strength of the Pet Beast, and the second comes from the Beast Trainer's own Beast Training Techniques!]

[And the base combat power of a Pet Beast is jointly determined by the Growth Level of the Pet Beast and the Species Level...]

Lu Ran carefully sought out important information.

"The Level of the Pet Beast, that's the numerical level seen by Data Eye, with Level 1 being the lowest and the highest level currently unknown, right? But every 10 levels, the Pet Beast reaches a bottleneck and can no longer level up, just like Little White Dragon said."

"Similarly, it is the same for Beast Trainers, divided into Intern, Level One, Level Two... corresponding to the Pet Beast levels 1~10, 11~20, 21~30 for each level stage. To advance their own level, Beast Trainers must help their Pet Beasts break through these bottlenecks, and the method to do so is through the Breakthrough Secret Realm of the corresponding Level."

"Passing the corresponding Level's Breakthrough Secret Realm just once benefits all Pet Beasts..."

"It seems that Breakthrough Secret Realms are crucial milestones not to be overlooked..." Lu Ran mused.

He continued to capture key information.

"A Beast Trainer without Beast Training Techniques can't be considered a qualified Beast Trainer."

"There are many types of Beast Training Techniques, which can be roughly divided into those that consume the Beast Trainer's strength to bolster the Pet Beast and those that utilize the Pet Beast's strength to enhance the Beast Trainer himself. Consequently, two schools of thought have emerged for Beast Trainers..."

"And the sources of Beast Training Techniques are from Secret Realm rewards. Each Secret Realm's drops vary, with some special Secret Realms offering a 1% chance to award a Beast Training Skill Card for an S rating... thus, obtaining a Beast Training Skill Card is extremely difficult."

Damn, reading up to this point, Lu Ran was startled and felt fortunate that, although he only obtained an S rating in the Novice Secret Realm, he was apparently lucky enough to have received a Beast Training Skill Card.

Comfortable.

Of course, it might also be related to the Novice Secret Realm's generous reward mechanism. According to Little White Dragon, the rewards from the Novice Secret Realm are far better than those of a Common Secret Realm of the same level. It is a boon for newcomers, including the experience gained from killing monsters.

Super Beast Mimicry... This skill should belong to the latter category, that is, using the Pet Beast's strength to fortify the Beast Trainer!

"A Beast Trainer can only learn one Beast Training Technique per level stage, so, if given a choice, it's best to match your techniques well with your Pet Beast."

"That means... I can only learn the next technique once I reach Level One Beast Trainer."

Lu Ran kept reading.

"Theoretically, Beast Training Techniques are not classified by rarity levels; the effectiveness they display depends entirely on the trainer's own development of these techniques. There are no garbage Beast Training Techniques, only garbage Beast Trainers... That phrase looks so familiar."

This point was emphasized in bold in the manual, making Lu Ran take serious note that Beast Training Techniques are not just about their apparent effects... Beast Trainers can develop them themselves!

Lu Ran's thoughts stirred, closely aligning with what he had imagined. Soon after gaining Super Beast Mimicry, he had indeed considered modifying this Beast Training Technique... He continued scanning for some imperative information.

For instance, the Species Level of the Pet Beasts, which is divided into extraordinary race, Dominator Species, Monarch Species... each category further divided into Low, Medium, High...

Or say, the basic effects of different Attributes and their counters.

Of course, these are relatively straightforward; what Lu Ran valued most was the cultivation theory outlined on a page dedicated in the training manual!

This was also the most vital page in the Beast Training Manual!

[The skills of a Pet Beast need to be developed under the guidance of a Beast Trainer. Depending on the method of cultivation, every Pet Beast can be unique.]

[However, due to the limited energy and learning capacity of Pet Beasts, their skill development direction can roughly be divided into four major categories!]

PS: Thanks to 'Late-night Drunken High-speed Mobile Suit', 'Gu Guiren', and 'Sanniu Music Domain' Alliance Hierarchs for their support! Thank you!