A Beast Tamer's Duty

The purple mass of energy struck the Flame Wall right in front of it in an instant, then exploded violently into streaks of dazzling purple lightning.

The lightning held tremendous power. As it clashed with the flames, wave after wave of fierce wind swept across the arena.

With a deafening roar, both powerful forces vanished at once, kicking up an immense cloud of dust.

"Purple Cloud, use Electric Arc and prepare Claw Edge!"

At Xu Ran's command, Purple Cloud sprang into motion, trailing afterimages through the air as the little cat charged fearlessly into the dust. Energy flickered faintly around both front paws, as though charging up for a finishing blow.

One-star skill, Stardust Level: Claw Edge!

"Meow!!!"

Purple Cloud's mismatched pupils widened, eyes blazing with fierce light, like a born hunter about to tear its prey apart!

"Little Flame, Flame Eyes! Prepare Flame Dance!"

Almost at the same moment Xu Ran gave his command and Purple Cloud responded, Su Xiaoxiao saw the billowing dust from the other side. Rather than alarm, delight filled her, and she shouted.

"Yip-"

The Blazing Fox's unhurried reply came from within the dust. A moment later, two dazzling flames suddenly appeared amid the haze that obscured everyone's vision.

No, those were not flames, but eyes!

One-star skill, Stardust Level: Flame Eyes!

Effect: enhanced vision!

Seeing Purple Cloud's movements clearly, the Blazing Fox's eyes flashed with an almost human mockery. Countless streams of flame swirled around the fox, and with a light tap of a front paw against the ground, a towering pillar of fire erupted beneath Purple Cloud, engulfing the little cat!

Two-star skill, Stardust Level: Flame Dance!

"Meow-"

Purple Cloud gave another low cry, but unlike the earlier voice full of fighting spirit, this one was tinged with pain.

The dust quickly dispersed in the surging heat, revealing Purple Cloud sprawled on the ground, looking bedraggled with patches of scorched fur.

On the other side, the Blazing Fox held its head high like a victorious general, eyes with their natural golden outlines brimming with pride.

"Purple Cloud!" Xu Ran hurried forward and carefully gathered Purple Cloud into his arms. Only after realizing the little one had not suffered much physical damage did he relax slightly.

"Boss, let me cover the medical bill!" Su Xiaoxiao picked up the Blazing Fox, speaking with an apologetic look.

Since it was a battle, she had not held back. But her own Contract Beast had initiated the spar, and seeing Xu Ran's Contract Beast injured now made her feel guilty.

"It's fine. I can afford a small medical bill." Xu Ran waved a hand, declining Su Xiaoxiao's offer, then turned to the approaching referee. "Excuse me, where's the Medical Room?"

"Over there." The referee smiled. Noticing the worry on Xu Ran's face, he offered reassurance. "Treatment for an injury like this won't cost much, and it'll only take a few minutes to heal. Don't worry."

As a battle training venue rented out to Beast Tamers, Tianhong Arena naturally provided medical services as well.

These services were performed by Contract Beasts skilled in healing. Never mind injuries like Purple Cloud's—as long as a patient still had a breath left, they could quickly get them back on their feet.

"All right."

Following the referee's directions, Xu Ran hurried to the Medical Room with Purple Cloud in his arms. Still worried, Su Xiaoxiao and Lin Yue followed him.

As the referee had said, the treatment did not take long.

About five minutes later, after treatment from a Contract Beast that looked like a giant mushroom, Purple Cloud was back to normal. Even the scorched fur had grown back.

The treatment cost only a thousand yuan, less than Xu Ran's grooming service.

"Boss, Yueyue and I are heading back!" Seeing Xu Ran's Contract Beast recover, Su Xiaoxiao sighed in relief. Perhaps feeling awkward about staying any longer, she took Lin Yue's hand and said goodbye.

Before leaving, however, she waved at Xu Ran. "I'll recommend your grooming service to my other classmates!"

"Great!"

Xu Ran nodded, watched the two girls leave, then left the arena himself.

Battles had winners and losers. Naturally, he would not blame Su Xiaoxiao for Purple Cloud's injury, but...

He glanced down at Purple Cloud, whose injuries had fully healed but who still seemed rather downcast. Xu Ran knew the little one's emotional wounds would not heal so easily.

Perhaps helping a Contract Beast work through its feelings was also part of a Beast Tamer's duty?

With that thought, Xu Ran rubbed Purple Cloud's head and spoke in a lighthearted tone. "You did even better today than I expected!"

"Meow?" (Really?)

Purple Cloud raised its head and looked at its Beast Tamer in surprise.

Part of the reason for Purple Cloud's low spirits was losing to the Blazing Fox, but the greater reason was the fear that Xu Ran would be disappointed.

Xu Ran's apparent indifference to the defeat surprised Purple Cloud, while also making the little cat feel much better.

"Of course." Xu Ran smiled. "You only became a supernatural creature today, and you're not proficient with your skills yet. Although you learned another new skill, Claw Edge is only a one-star skill, so it didn't improve your strength much."

"More importantly, compared to Su Xiaoxiao, both you and I lack experience." At this point, Xu Ran's expression grew a little rueful.

A Beast Tamer like Su Xiaoxiao, who attended Beast Taming High School, received systematic instruction in beast taming. Although she was only in her first year and still a novice among Beast Tamers, it was only natural that she could beat someone as inexperienced as him.

"When the Blazing Fox used Flame Wall, you didn't react immediately. You hesitated for a bit." Xu Ran began seriously reviewing the battle. "And I didn't expect the collision to kick up so much dust. Then I even had you charge recklessly into it."

"So we both made mistakes in this battle."

Xu Ran looked at Purple Cloud in his arms. Purple Cloud tilted its head up as well, mismatched eyes reflecting the streetlights and Xu Ran's face.

"Let's work hard together and do better next time, okay?"

"Meow!" (Okay!)

After Xu Ran's encouragement, Purple Cloud immediately felt better. The little cat was already considering how to train hard, grow stronger, and fight the Blazing Fox again.

Purple Cloud could not help looking up at its Beast Tamer.

He seemed to be thinking about something. Was he also thinking about how to work hard and grow stronger together?

Xu Ran looked at the personal panel that appeared before him.

[Host: Xu Ran

Contract Power: Tier 1

Contracted Contract Beast: Purple Cloud [View details]

System skills:

[Fur Plucking (Grade D)] (2/10)

Contract Beast skills: None

Happiness Points: 974

System upgrade experience: 50/1000]

Fur Plucking had not activated while he groomed Lin Yue's Azure Wind Eagle. Although the Azure Wind Eagle had provided more Happiness Points, he was still just short, so he would have to wait until after the next grooming session to draw a prize.

He was wondering whether his next draw might yield something like combat experience to make up for his shortcomings.

As for working hard...

Who needed hard work when they had cheats!