34: Chapter 34 The Flameclaw Beast's New Skill

The residential community's training ground was bathed in the morning sun; it was not as quiet as on a workday, with a few Beast Tamers already there for morning exercises with their respective pets.

Lin Chen led the Flame Claw Beast and the Songsong Dog to a relatively secluded corner.

Without needing to be told, the Flame Claw Beast had already consciously begun its daily routine of basic physical training—weighted sprints, clawing wooden stakes, and dodging obstacles; its orange figure leaped about in the morning light.

Lin Chen's attention, however, was on the Songsong Dog, which was following closely by his side.

The little one was curiously observing the training ground and other pets in the distance.

"Songsong Dog."

Lin Chen squatted down to be at eye level with it, his tone gentle, "Your body is still in the recovery phase, so don't rush into high-intensity training. I want to understand the skills you currently possess, is that okay?"

The Songsong Dog looked up at him, nodded earnestly, then stepped back two paces to create some distance, assuming a stance ready to demonstrate.

Seeing that the Songsong Dog was ready, Lin Chen said, "Alright, begin."

The Songsong Dog took a deep breath, its previously somewhat relaxed body suddenly tensed, its limbs slightly bent, and its hind legs pushed off with a sudden burst of power.

Its small body instantly turned into a blurry white afterimage, and with an explosive force far exceeding its usual walking speed, it dashed seven or eight meters forward before coming to a steady stop.

The movement was clean and efficient, leaving only a few shallow claw marks on the grass.

Lin Chen's eyes flickered, and he nodded slightly, "A Normal-type Junior skill, Swift Shadow Flash."

This is a rapid assault skill; its effect is to attack the opponent at extreme speed, often catching them off guard.

"Not bad!" Lin Chen praised, "Try another one."

Hearing the praise, a faint, imperceptible glimmer flashed in the Songsong Dog's eyes.

Afterwards, it turned to face Lin Chen, tilted its head slightly, and stared at him with its round eyes without blinking, while a faint, extremely soft sound with a peculiar rhythm emanated from its throat.

"Ying wu~"

Looking at the Songsong Dog in front of him, Lin Chen immediately felt a sense of comfort; his body began to relax from the inside out, and his mind began to loosen, feeling only that the little one before him was becoming increasingly adorable, and he had an urgent desire to pick it up and pet it vigorously.

This thought persisted until the sound stopped.

Lin Chen shook his head, recalling the feeling just now, and realized with a start, "A Psychic-type Junior skill, Bewitching Whisper."

This is a relatively rare Psychic-type skill with a special effect: it can influence the target's emotions through mental power, such as amplifying anger, sadness, pain, and so on.

Wait.

After my emotions were influenced, why did I think the Songsong Dog was so adorable?

Could it be?

Lin Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and looked down at the Songsong Dog, which hurriedly averted its gaze and lowered its head.

Lin Chen withdrew his gaze and evaluated earnestly, "Both skills are quite good."

The Songsong Dog finally raised its ears, and its tail subconsciously wagged from side to side.

Lin Chen, however, had a whirlwind of thoughts in his heart.

Evaluating purely from the perspective of combat power, the current Songsong Dog and the Flame Claw Beast are not at the same level at all.

After all, actual combat proves everything: the Songsong Dog was heavily injured by a Gale Weasel, while the Flame Claw Beast could defeat the Gale Weasel with relative ease.

As for the two skills the Songsong Dog has mastered, Swift Shadow Flash is a standard offensive skill, and Bewitching Whisper might have miraculous effects in certain situations.

But neither of these skills can provide much help in a battle.

Fortunately, he still has the [Puppy Roar] move tutor from the mission reward.

This skill will undoubtedly enhance the Songsong Dog's immediate combat power.

But Lin Chen does not intend to use it right now.

The little one's constitution is still weak, and mastering a skill consumes mental and physical energy; it would be better to use it when it has fully recovered and is in its best state.

Moreover, he is not yet a Primary Beastmaster and does not have a second contract slot, so there is no rush to improve the Songsong Dog's strength for now.

Lin Chen's thoughts returned to the Flame Claw Beast.

The condition for obtaining a knowledge badge is to master three proficient-level skills.

Currently, the Flame Claw Beast only has Flame Breath Bullet at the proficient level, while Sharp Claws and Small Explosion still need some time.

No, Small Explosion is a Mid-level skill; the difficulty and time required to break through to the proficient level will inevitably far exceed that of a Junior skill.

"No, the priority for improving the proficiency of Small Explosion must be placed after Sharp Claws."

Lin Chen's eyes flickered, and he mused:

"It would be better to have the Flame Claw Beast master a new Junior skill and improve it to the proficient level as soon as possible. This way, I can obtain the knowledge badge at the fastest speed, expand the Flame Claw Beast's skill pool, and increase tactical options.

"And after obtaining the knowledge badge, I can go back to tackling the proficiency of Small Explosion and learning other skills; in the long run, the efficiency will be higher."

Thinking of this, he made a decision.

He let the Flame Claw Beast continue its consolidation training on its own, while he walked over to a bench on the side of the field to sit down and took out his phone.

The Songsong Dog slowly followed, but kept a one-meter distance.

"Come here a bit." Lin Chen beckoned.

The Songsong Dog lowered its head and slowly approached Lin Chen.

Lin Chen suddenly reached out, scooped it up, and placed it on his lap.

The little one's body suddenly stiffened, and its ear tips flushed with a familiar pale pink, but this time it did not struggle to leave, just kept the hugging posture somewhat stiffly before slowly relaxing.

Until those familiar, warm, large hands began to stroke the soft, smooth fur on its back, the Songsong Dog's body was no longer stiff; instead, it became soft, like a meadow gently brushed by a breeze.

Lin Chen did not know the Songsong Dog's psychological activities at this very moment; while petting the Songsong Dog, he was quickly scrolling on his phone screen, starting to search for Junior skills suitable for the Flame Claw Beast to learn.

What he was looking for was a Junior skill that could compensate for the Flame Claw Beast's current shortcomings, had high cost-effectiveness, and was relatively easy to get started with and improve in proficiency.

The Flame Claw Beast has strong strength and sufficient burst, but when facing opponents with high mobility or those skilled in kiting, it lacks effective means for rapid close-quarters combat and pursuit.

Soon, a skill entered his view: [Fiery Charge].

The effect of this skill is clear and straightforward: cover the whole body with flame energy, perform a short-distance explosive dash, and create a small-range combustion at the point of impact.

"This is the one!" Lin Chen's eyes lit up.

This skill perfectly fits his requirements and can effectively enhance the Flame Claw Beast's rushing and pursuit capabilities.

Furthermore, as a Junior skill, the learning difficulty will not be too high, which is just right for quickly improving proficiency and obtaining the knowledge badge.

He immediately clicked into the skill detail page to check the most important information—the price.

"Official standard version [Fiery Charge] video course price: 3000 yuan."

Three thousand...

Lin Chen's finger, which had been sliding on the screen, paused, and he silently closed the page.

He thought of his current financial situation.

The fifteen thousand yuan remaining from when he bought the Flame Claw Beast was his entire startup capital.

Working at the Beast Control Bureau, with meals provided and getting free energy liquid, he had indeed saved a lot.

But the energy cube had been exhausted and must be replenished, which is a not-insignificant fixed expense.

These past two days, giving the Songsong Dog nutrient liquid had also spent some more.

Now he has to raise two pets simultaneously, with daily food, training wear and tear... the expenses have directly doubled.

This three-thousand-yuan video course is like a precise scalpel, cutting another real slice off his already rapidly shrinking savings figure.

It hurts, it pains.

This is only the price of the video course; if he were to find other pets to teach and guide in person, the price would only be higher.

But Lin Chen knows this skill must be bought!

This is a necessary investment to enhance the pets' strength and allow Lin Chen to grow rapidly into a powerful Beast Tamer.

This money cannot be saved.

He no longer hesitated, clicked to purchase, and entered his payment password.

Looking at the "Payment Successful" prompt on the screen and the changing account balance, Lin Chen took several deep breaths.

"Alright, next I need to calculate things properly."

He opened the calculator, his brows slightly furrowed.

Open source, throttle.

In terms of cutting expenditure, he had already reached the limit.

Getting meals and energy liquid from the unit's cafeteria, using public facilities for training as much as possible, and calculating daily expenses carefully.

But the basic hard expenses of raising two pets cannot be avoided.

Then, increasing revenue has become the top priority.

The temporary worker's salary plus attendance allowance from the Beast Control Bureau is a stable source of income, enough to cover daily expenses and basic breeding, but it is stretched thin if he wants to save money or purchase slightly more expensive breeding resources.

"Need to find some other ways to make money..."

Lin Chen muttered to himself, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the Songsong Dog's head, and the little one didn't move.

Just as Lin Chen was lost in thought, the Flame Claw Beast had just finished training and was panting to rest on the spot.

But when it looked up, it saw the Songsong Dog lying comfortably in Lin Chen's arms, and the latter was gently stroking the Songsong Dog's body: "Gagu..."

At this moment, the Flame Claw Beast clearly felt violent fire-type energy surging within its body.