30: Chapter 30 Breakthrough! Proficient-level Flame Breath Bullet!

Leaving the treatment center and returning to the Beast Control Bureau, it was not yet time to get off work.

Lin Chen saw this and stood up directly: "Then let's go train."

When Lin Chen left his workstation, the old employees remained as steady as Mount Tai, while the new employees poked their heads out, looking conflicted.

"He's going to train again?"

"It's so busy today, how does he still have the energy to train?"

"He's eighteen, do you think he's like you, a twenty-eight-year-old middle-aged man from the last century?"

"Should we go too?"

"Let's go, let's go."

Sunlight streamed through the windows of the training room, casting large, bright patches of light on the floor, with dust motes floating in the air.

Lin Chen stared at the peaceful scene outside the window, but his thoughts were turbulent.

The appearance of the Dark Species and the visit from the Special Defense Bureau had given him a glimpse of the unknown undercurrents beneath their peaceful life.

If he had still harbored any wishful thinking before, today's encounter made it clear that this world was far from the calm and peaceful one depicted in textbooks and news reports.

Danger and anomalies might be lurking beneath every seemingly ordinary shadow, ready to tear off their disguise and bare their fangs at any moment.

And he, with the strength he currently possessed, was still far from enough.

Whether to deal with similar threats in the future or to live the peaceful life he wanted, he had to become stronger, and become stronger faster!

"Er Huo."

Lin Chen stood in the center of the training room, his gaze falling on the spirited Flame Claw Beast in front of him, the corners of his mouth curling up:

"You did a great job today."

"Gagu～"

Flame Claw Beast raised its head, a low purr rumbling in its throat, and it raised its claw to wave.

Lin Chen ignored Flame Claw Beast's hint and changed the subject, his expression serious: "But this is not enough."

"The trouble we encounter might become trickier each time, and our current strength is not enough to deal with all unknown dangers."

"So we cannot slack off, we must continue to work hard!"

Seeing Flame Claw Beast blink its blank eyes, not taking this to heart, he let out a breath and changed his approach:

"You don't want other pet beasts to know that you were once broken up with, right?"

"Gagu！！！"

Hearing this, Flame Claw Beast was like someone who had pressed a mysterious switch; its eyes widened, its whole body trembled slightly, and then it began to wave its claws wildly in excitement.

Lin Chen was very satisfied with Flame Claw Beast's reaction, and then his eyes narrowed: "So we must train harder to wash away the shame."

"Gagu!"

Flame Claw Beast understood, its eyes burning.

Fast!

Training!

Right now!

Lin Chen nodded with a smile: "Then let's start basic training, practice the skill once first."

"Gagu!"

Flame Claw Beast quickly took a stance, its chest rising and falling slightly, and orange-red light began to gather deep in its throat.

It was already extremely familiar with Flame Breath Bullet, and it was about to spit it out almost instinctively.

But just as the energy surged to its throat and was about to turn into a fireball and be spat out, Flame Claw Beast paused slightly.

It seemed a little different.

The speed of condensation seemed to be a fraction faster than usual?

The flow of energy seemed smoother and more obedient?

Subconsciously following this subtle feeling, it slightly adjusted the rhythm and angle of the energy eruption, and a fireball with a slightly darker color than before shot out from its mouth, tearing through the air and slamming hard into the special target in the distance!

Bang！！

The explosion was loud and heavy.

On the target, the charred marks from the hit spread wider and deeper than before.

"Huh?"

Lin Chen keenly captured this subtle difference.

"Er Huo, do it again, pay attention to the feeling you just had!" Lin Chen said immediately, his eyes locked on it tightly.

Flame Claw Beast also noticed the abnormality; it calmed its heart again, recalling the fleeting sense of control it had just felt.

Chest rising and falling, energy gathering.

This time, it grasped that feeling more clearly—it was as if some extremely subtle stagnation and loss that existed when controlling energy before had disappeared.

Chi—！

Another fireball was spat out; this time it was faster, the color was deeper and more condensed, and the trajectory through the air even brought a slight distortion from the scorching heat wave.

Boom!

The target suffered another heavy blow, the muffled sound echoing in the training room, and the charred marks were clearly enlarged.

"Proficient-level Flame Breath Bullet!"

Lin Chen's eyes lit up.

All the signs proved that the proficiency of [Flame Breath Bullet] had broken through to the Proficient level.

To verify his guess, Lin Chen quickly opened the system panel, and after seeing the display in Agumon's skill bar, he smiled: "It really did break through to the Proficient level."

After more than a week of persistent high-intensity training, plus several actual combat sessions, and the help of the "double exp card", Flame Claw Beast's hard work finally paid off at this moment!

"Gagu～"

Flame Claw Beast stared at the hit target incessantly, its eyes getting brighter and brighter until it was jumping on the spot from happiness.

Lin Chen, Lin Chen, can I wash away the shame now?

Meeting Flame Claw Beast's expectant gaze, Lin Chen pondered: "Still a little bit off."

Flame Claw Beast tilted its head, full of confusion: "Gagu?"

How much is a little bit?

Lin Chen closed and opened his thumb and index finger, his smile deepening: "Just this little bit."

Just then, a familiar system sound rang out:

[Ding!]

[Detected that a skill has been upgraded to Proficient level, a side quest has been triggered.]

[Side Quest ①: Master three Proficient-level skills]

[Quest Reward: knowledge badge]

knowledge badge?

Lin Chen was slightly stunned.

He quickly associated it with the badge of light he had obtained in the morning, and infinite anticipation surged in his heart.

The badge of light was obtained by killing Dark Species, and its effect was closely related to Dark Species.

The acquisition of the knowledge badge was related to skill proficiency; didn't that mean its effect would also be related to skills?

Could it be that the effect of the knowledge badge would make the growth speed of skill proficiency faster?

This was the guess Lin Chen felt was most likely.

If the effect of the knowledge badge was as he guessed, then the speed at which Flame Claw Beast and even other pet beasts learned skills or improved skill proficiency would be greatly increased.

In pet beast cultivation and training, any small advantage was precious.

If this was really the case, then the time for Flame Claw Beast to become stronger would be greatly shortened.

While his heart was pounding, Lin Chen couldn't help but think of the unfinished main quest he still had—to evolve Agumon into Greymon, the reward for which was the Badge of Courage.

What would the effect of the Badge of Courage be?

Because the acquisition method was different from the badge of light and the knowledge badge, Lin Chen couldn't guess its effect for a moment.

But one thing he could be sure of—everything comes with courage first, and its effect must be beyond imagination.

"Hoo, hoo."

Lin Chen took a deep breath, his accelerating heartbeat gradually calming down. He collected his thoughts and thought secretly: "No matter what, first strive to obtain the knowledge badge; this thing has a very significant effect on the improvement of pet beasts."

So he turned his head to look at Flame Claw Beast, smiling brightly: "Are you tired?"

"Gagu～"

Flame Claw Beast, which had just made a breakthrough, was in high spirits; it waved its claws, looking full of energy.

Lin Chen nodded with a smile and waved his hand: "Okay, then let's train for another two hours, we'll get off work late today."

"Gagu!"

Flame Claw Beast was full of motivation.

The colleagues on the side widened their eyes, their faces full of disbelief.

Damn it！！！

Translate that for me, what does it mean to get off work late?

Can training be more important than getting off work？？？