On evolution

[The four main directions of pet beast skill development are energy release, energy flow, energy shaping, and energy compression!]

[The foundation of all four is energy coating!]

[With simple training, any pet beast can coat its body in the energy awakened within it, enhancing its physical strength. This is the most basic way a pet beast uses energy.]

[The effects of coating a pet beast's body in energy vary depending on its attribute.]

[Coating the body in rock energy enhances defense, while coating it in wind energy increases movement speed... every attribute has its own unique effects.]

[However, this simplest application of energy cannot decisively determine victory or defeat in battle.]

[To win, a pet beast must master more advanced applications of energy...]

General Ha can already coat his body in attributeless energy. I wonder if he'll still be able to do it after awakening the wind attribute, Lu Ran muttered inwardly.

Energy coating really was fundamental. After reaching level 3, General Ha had figured it out on his own during battle, and plenty of creatures in the secret realm could do it too.

Naturally, something everyone could do would not be decisive in determining victory or defeat.

[After mastering the basics of "energy coating," four advanced applications become available, depending on the direction chosen...]

[First, energy release. Energy is part of a pet beast's body. Only while that energy remains attached to its body can the pet beast easily control it. Once the energy leaves its body, the pet beast loses control over it. However, with training, some exceptionally gifted pet beasts can not only release energy outside their bodies to form ranged attacks, but also control the trajectories of that released energy, suppressing their enemies!]

[Energy release is an essential subject for every pet beast that wants a means of attacking at range.]

Lu Ran considered this, then nodded.

Whether you had a ranged attack really did matter in battle.

Energy release skills were basically ranged moves, like the [energy blasts] commonly seen in anime and games.

[Second, energy flow. By controlling its energy, a pet beast can make the energy coating its body flow rapidly, like a rushing river or sea. Compared to a stationary energy coating, flowing energy can multiply the various enhancements it provides.]

[Once mastered, it can also enable effects such as rapid-fire skills and instant activation.]

Hmm? As Lu Ran read, he quickly understood.

Comparing someone who had mastered it to someone who had not was probably like comparing an old-fashioned bow to a submachine gun.

One needed to draw back before firing and could only shoot once at a time, while the other... could fire continuously.

In other words, if skills had cooldowns, mastering energy flow could reduce them!

"This direction is important too..."

[Third, energy shaping. Energy has no fixed form, and basic energy is as faint as a current of air. However, altering its shape can give it tangible form.]

[Tangible energy can bring out the properties of that energy to their fullest extent.]

The training manual also gave plenty of examples of energy shaping.

For instance, a pet beast could manipulate the wind energy coating its body into a pair of wind wings, gaining the ability to fly.

Or it could shape the ice energy wrapped around its hand into a hard ice blade, increasing its lethality.

Lu Ran pondered this, feeling that it was another technique he could not overlook.

[Fourth, energy compression. Energy varies in quality. A pet beast can release a vast amount of energy, then compress it to its limit, improving its quality and obtaining greater power.]

[Warning: this technique requires extremely precise control and a powerful physique. Energy compressed several times over is extremely violent, places an enormous strain on the body, and is highly dangerous. Once unleashed, its destructive power is also astonishing, making it easy to inflict heavy damage on the enemy at great cost to oneself.]

[Energy release, energy flow, energy shaping, and energy compression are the four advanced applications of energy. They do not conflict and can be combined in pairs. For example, by combining shaping and release, a pet beast can shape ice energy into an ice spear, then launch it as a ranged attack. This is the foundation of a skill. A Beast Tamer's responsibility is to choose suitable energy application techniques based on their pet beast's aptitude for learning, then help it combine those techniques into skills!]

"So you really do have to develop all the skills yourself." Lu Ran rubbed his chin as he read.

At first, he had thought pet beasts would automatically learn skills as they leveled up.

Thinking about it now, General Ha and the others had only just entered the realm of the supernatural. Their species' bloodlines had no powerful legacies either, so starting from scratch made sense.

This information was undoubtedly a huge help to Lu Ran. For a wind-attribute General Ha, he did not even have to think about it. Energy shaping was a must.

After all, it determined whether General Ha could fly...

As for energy release... that was useful too. They could not go without ranged attacks.

Compared to having General Ha charge in and bite, wouldn't spitting out a wind ball as powerful as a storm be much cooler?

Energy compression... compression was useful too!

The strain on his body could cause injuries? Physical strain was what they feared least. Had they heard of the Divine Deer Pendant?

General Ha had already become quite skilled at fighting through self-inflicted injuries in the Novice Secret Realm...

Energy flow determined sustained combat capability, so that was important too.

"Looking at it this way, every direction of energy application is important. We clearly have to train all of them..."

Still, these four categories were actually fairly basic.

Lu Ran narrowed his eyes. Only after reading further did he discover the core factors that truly determined a pet beast's combat strength!

Put simply, energy application was something any pet beast could practice. It all came down to effort and talent.

But what came next... involved evolution! It was the greatest opportunity any creature could have! A chance to change its fate!

[Every 10 levels, a pet beast can use special resources to awaken a new attribute or acquire a trait.]

[Awakening new attributes allows a pet beast to gain a second, third, fourth attribute...]

[A trait, meanwhile, is similar to a "special ability."]

[For example, the "size doubling" trait allows a pet beast to freely control its body size, turning into a giant beast or a miniature pet.]

[The "sun" trait can turn a fire-attribute pet beast's fire energy into "solar flame," granting it a far more terrifying temperature.]

[The "vibration" trait can add a vibrational effect to a pet beast's attacks, increasing their destructive power.]

[The "divine dragon" trait can give a pet beast the characteristics of a dragon...]

[Traits come in all kinds of strange forms. Anything is possible. There is a vast difference in combat strength between a pet beast without a trait and one that possesses a trait.]

[Most importantly, "attributes" and "traits" determine a pet beast's evolutionary direction. Whenever a pet beast acquires a new trait or awakens a new attribute, its species rank increases.]

[Once the total number of additional attributes and traits reaches three, the pet beast will undergo "evolution." Its form will change dramatically, and its species rank will increase significantly, granting it stronger stats.]

[In other words, pet beasts have two opportunities to evolve: at level 30 and level 60.]

[However, the resources needed to awaken new attributes and the Trait Crystals that grant traits are extremely rare. They only have a small chance of dropping in exceptionally difficult Abyss-Level Instances. These are the ultimate goal Beast Tamers pursue.]

"Evolution..."

"Traits, new attributes... holy crap." By this point, Lu Ran could barely contain his urge to enter an instance. Of everything he had read, evolving General Ha was what appealed to him most. Still, all that seemed far too distant.

Even an easy novice secret realm was hard to clear. How was he supposed to tackle an abyss instance?

He had better train General Ha in the four directions of energy application first.

Lu Ran spent half an hour poring over every bit of information in the Basic Training Manual. Besides basic knowledge about Beast Tamers and pet beasts, it also contained general information about secret realms, forming parties, and lifestyle Beast Tamers.

Only after reading all this did Lu Ran feel he had gained a preliminary understanding of Infinite City and Beast Tamers.

"Awoooo!!!!"

Lu Ran had been about to read through the manual again, but a familiar sound suddenly reached his ears.

His expression froze. He took out the Black Card and confirmed that the sound had come from it.

Had General Ha woken up?

"Awoo!!!"

With a casual wave from Lu Ran, the well-rested General Ha was summoned and began circling him excitedly.

"Wait, you fought all day, and you're fine after just over an hour of sleep?"

"Woof!"

General Ha gazed at Lu Ran pleadingly with his blue eyes.

A tuft of fur on top of his head kept bobbing.

The main reason was that he was hungry. Hungry again.

Lu Ran: "..."

"Hang on. Forget food for now. You woke up at just the right time!" Lu Ran's eyes lit up.

Holding a "Super Beast Mimicry" skill card, Lu Ran considered it briefly.

At each rank, a Beast Tamer could only learn one beast-taming skill.

Thinking it through, Super Beast Mimicry seemed pretty good. General Ha was already a capable fighter, and Lu Ran could heal him if he got injured. By contrast, improving Lu Ran's own combat strength was crucial.

So Lu Ran did not feel that learning Super Beast Mimicry at the apprentice stage would put him at any disadvantage.

On the contrary, he thought it was an excellent skill, perfectly suited to a beginner like him. After all, having the Beast Tamer beheaded was the most frustrating outcome. It was a completely unfair way to play.

It would be like battling bugs with an old man in the park: just as Lu Ran's bug was about to win, the old man reached out and slapped him so hard he fell unconscious. Who was he supposed to complain to then?

As for whether learning it would make him more and more like General Ha... Lu Ran already had an idea!

[Name]: John Doe (Lu Ran)

[Species]: Human

[Rank]: Apprentice

[Beast-taming skill]: Super Beast Mimicry

Learning a beast-taming skill was simple. Once activated, the skill card disappeared, and information about Super Beast Mimicry surfaced in Lu Ran's mind.

Then General Ha, standing before him, had an ominous feeling.

Sure enough, the next moment, under General Ha's bewildered gaze, Lu Ran took out two swords: a wooden sword and the custom-made Iron-Slashing Sword.

"Awoo?"

General Ha looked at Lu Ran.

"Here. Hold it in your mouth."

"Do you remember the swordsmanship I taught you before?"

Lu Ran put the wooden sword into General Ha's mouth, making him hold it between his teeth. Lu Ran took the Iron-Slashing Sword himself, and the man and dog continued staring at each other.

Lu Ran had previously said that General Ha's personality was rather like Yazi's.

On top of that, Lu Ran and General Ha could communicate in depth.

So Lu Ran often liked to put General Ha through special training that was not exactly suited to a dog.

For example, learning swordsmanship from him.

After all, ancient historical texts recorded that Yazi always held a treasured sword in his mouth and glared fiercely, his image adorning sword guards to enhance their power.

Put simply, Lu Ran had previously wanted General Ha to cosplay as Yazi.

General Ha had long since become proficient in moves such as slashing. But a dog knowing how to do that was not particularly useful. It had little practical value in combat and could easily lead to him injuring himself.

But things were different now. This was the age of energy manipulation!

"I originally planned to forge the meteoric iron ore into a sword for my own protection."

"Now I've changed my mind. Once that sword is forged, you'll use it."

"A meteoric iron sword conducts and enhances energy well. It would be wasted on me, but it's perfect for you."

"You work toward becoming a Swordsman Dog, and I'll imitate your swordsmanship to gain the abilities of a beast swordsman. Perfect."

Lu Ran felt he was a genius.

"Urr..." General Ha looked incredulous with the sword in his mouth. He had not understood everything, but he got the picture. Was he going back to his old line of work? Still, he had always felt that making a dog practice swordsmanship was not something a decent human would do. He would remember this grudge.

"Anything is possible," Lu Ran declared with righteous conviction. "We're both 'evolving' now. We have to try breaking conventions. Those who stick to the rules always end up the most mediocre! Think about it. If you combine your wind energy release with the sword in your mouth, wouldn't what you fire out be sword aura? Who says dogs can't use swords!"

General Ha was filled with awe. Sword aura? What was that? It sounded really powerful.