Experimental Talent

Chen Wei, fast asleep, had no idea that while he slept, the naive Color Spirit had somehow talked herself into liking him, and her affection for him had risen dramatically.

In the bright, cozy room, a petite, adorable little snake lay on the soft, tidy bed, blinking her crystal-clear eyes. Her pitiful gaze seemed to hold a trace of worry and anxiety.

Her slender little tail swayed gently with Chen Wei's breathing, softly wiping the fine beads of sweat from his face.

For the first time, Chen Wei felt that his eyelids were unbearably heavy. He frowned and struggled to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was Color Spirit's sparkling, translucent gaze.

A thought flashed through his mind. Did I pass out from exhaustion?! Chen Wei suddenly came to his senses.

"Eee!" ヾ(●｀●) (You're awake!)

Seeing her Beastmaster wake up, Color Spirit excitedly raised her head high.

Chen Wei felt a warmth in his heart. He couldn't help grinning as he gazed at the excited Color Spirit with relief, not even having a chance to look at the Dragon Crystal clenched in his hand.

As if sensing Chen Wei's gaze, Color Spirit stiffened slightly. Once she realized what was happening, she quickly curled herself into a ball.

"All right, you don't have to hide it. I didn't realize you cared about me so much!"

"Yah!" (▼ヘ▼#) (I don't!)

Panic filled Color Spirit's eyes as she looked at Chen Wei, as if she didn't know how to face him. In the end, she simply fell silent, hid her head under the covers, and turned her back to him like an ostrich.

What an unhonest little girl. She only acts spoiled when I strengthen her. Chen Wei sighed helplessly to himself.

Although he understood what was going on, Chen Wei didn't keep exposing Color Spirit's protestations.

After all, seeing how tired she was, she had probably stayed up all night guarding him. He'd let her get some proper rest.

Gently rubbing his still-aching forehead and feeling the soreness in every muscle, Chen Wei gave a wry smile. Had all his strength really been drained away?

Raising his left hand, Chen Wei stared at the grain-of-rice-sized Beginner Dragon Crystal in his palm, his brow furrowed and his mind full of questions.

"Why did making the Dragon Crystal last night take so much stamina? I'd deliberately saved enough to use strengthening once."

The dull ache in his head made Chen Wei give up on thinking further. He shook his head, slipped the Dragon Crystal into the jade box he kept hidden close to his body, then closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep, unable to resist the wave of exhaustion washing over him.

He slept all the way until late afternoon that day.

If his ravenous stomach hadn't woken him, Chen Wei felt he could have slept another day and night.

Once he'd recovered a little, Chen Wei first filled his own belly, then fed Color Spirit.

After the meal, Chen Wei didn't begin cultivating. He planned to study his second talent first.

Last night's mishap could only happen once. He didn't want to repeat it the next time he made a Dragon Crystal.

This couldn't happen often. One more time would cost him half his life.

"Color Spirit, come here for a moment."

Chen Wei took out his notebook and carefully recorded the process of making the Dragon Crystal the night before. Then he called out to Color Spirit, who was engrossed in watching television.

"Eee." At his words, Color Spirit powered herself forward with her tail and shot over to Chen Wei's side.

As he hastily scribbled in the writing system from his previous life, Chen Wei stroked Color Spirit's curious head when she leaned over. After finishing his notes, he frowned at the data.

When he'd awakened his talent, making his first Dragon Crystal had taken one minute and consumed nearly half his stamina. Strengthening the Dragon Crystal afterward had also taken one minute, using up all the stamina he had left.

Over the past year, strengthening Dragon Crystals day after day had steadily improved Chen Wei's physique. He'd gone from being able to strengthen them twice a day to five times, for a total of five minutes.

Especially after he advanced to the second rank of Source Star, the effects of Dragon Taming Power had increased considerably. But, unfortunately, with his current stamina, he could still only strengthen things for five minutes. It seemed that the extra physical energy he'd gained upon advancing had all gone toward compensating for the increased cost of Dragon Power's enhanced effects.

Chen Wei shook his head. Nothing about the process of making last night's Dragon Crystal had changed. Practice was the only way to find out, so it seemed he could only make another one.

But before condensing a Dragon Crystal, he needed to strengthen Color Spirit once as a reference. That would also let him know exactly how much stamina making a Dragon Crystal currently cost him.

Chen Wei gently stroked Color Spirit's body, then activated his talent with a thought.

Feeling her strength gradually increase, Color Spirit contentedly parted her mouth slightly.

After the strengthening was complete, Chen Wei closed his eyes and carefully checked how much stamina he'd used.

Once he confirmed that he still had enough stamina, he started making a Dragon Crystal again.

One minute later, Chen Wei stared intently at the glossy Beginner Dragon Crystal in his palm, his face filled with puzzlement and surprise.

"Everything's just like usual. Could last night have been a fluke?"

Chen Wei took a deep breath, trying to calm the turmoil inside him. After all, this was only the third Dragon Crystal he'd ever made. It didn't prove anything.

He compared the newly made Dragon Crystal to the one from last night. Both were the size of grains of rice. The only difference was that the latter's color looked slightly duller.

Unconvinced, Chen Wei used his Appraisal talent. He studied the effects of the two Beginner Dragon Crystals, now fully appraised, with a puzzled look. They were almost identical.

If there was any difference between the two Dragon Crystals, perhaps the duller one had been strengthened once more?

Chen Wei scratched his head, still full of questions. He chose to keep making Dragon Crystals. He wouldn't rest until he solved this problem today.

Three minutes later, feeling as if all his stamina had been drained, Chen Wei stared blankly at the four sparkling, translucent Beginner Dragon Crystals before him.

Making Dragon Crystals tonight had gone incredibly smoothly—so smoothly that he could hardly believe it.

At that moment, Chen Wei's brain was so overloaded that he didn't notice Color Spirit staring at him with wide, glistening eyes, astonished as he made one Dragon Crystal after another, as if making them were as easy as drinking water.

"???" ∑(っ°Д°;)っ

Color Spirit was utterly dumbfounded. Without realizing it, she raised her upper body, mouth hanging open. Her tiny head was full of huge questions, and her expression was one of pure amazement.

Last night, the Beastmaster in front of her had exhausted himself and passed out for a whole day just to make one tasty treat. How had he easily made three tasty treats tonight? Was this what humans called getting stronger?

Unable to figure out the reason, Chen Wei let out a helpless sigh. He shook his head, only to spot Color Spirit standing upright.

His pupils suddenly contracted as he remembered that, in order to test his talent tonight, he'd only finished strengthening Color Spirit once.

There was nothing he could do. With no strength left to spare, he could only smile guiltily at Color Spirit.

"I still owe you three rounds of strengthening today. How about I make them up to you later?"

"Eeya!" (-＂-怒) (No!)

Color Spirit immediately fixed Chen Wei with an unfriendly stare, her imagination running wild.

This Beastmaster was something else. Today he could break his promise to strengthen her, and tomorrow he might break their Beastmaster contract!

"Eeya, eee-eeya!" (▼ヘ▼#) (No! Absolutely not!)