Before long, the door to the Grooming Room opened.
Hearing the sound, the four stopped what they were doing and came out of the lounge together. Liu Xue, who was in front, hurried over to Xu Ran. "My Telepathic Mouse..."
"Its grooming is finished." Cupping a curled-up, docile-looking ball of white fur in both hands, Xu Ran passed it to Liu Xue.
"Oh my goodness!"
Liu Xue gasped. As she looked at the Telepathic Mouse in her palm, every strand of its fur seemed to gleam beneath the lights. Shock spread across her face.
"This is my Telepathic Mouse?!"
Her astonishment was understandable. The difference between the Telepathic Mouse before and after grooming was simply too great.
Before grooming, it had been a grubby ball of fur. Afterward, its coat had become even fluffier, but rather than sticking out in every direction, the fur followed its natural grain, outlining the Telepathic Mouse's body.
That transformation had turned an utterly ordinary Telepathic Mouse into an adorable little creature anyone would want to pet.
"I'm glad you're satisfied." Xu Ran chuckled. "Our grooming services may be expensive, but they're worth every penny."
"They certainly are." Liu Xue nodded earnestly.
Right now, her Telepathic Mouse was clamoring through their beast taming contract for another session!
If the Contract Beast enjoyed it this much, the improvement to its condition must have been considerable.
"Give my Three-Armed Demon Ape a wash!" Yan Fan could no longer sit still. Eager to try it out, he patted the ape behind him, which stood as tall as a person, had blood-red fur, and sported an extra arm on its back.
After seeing the Telepathic Mouse's grooming results, he fully believed what Liu Gu had said.
"Hold on!" Coming back to her senses, Liu Xue glared at Yan Fan. "Now that my Telepathic Mouse is done, naturally my Sky Soaring Falcon goes next for Grooming."
She patted the silvery-white falcon following her on foot like a chicken, though its wings spanned a full five meters when spread. Smiling at Xu Ran, she said, "Young shopkeeper, sorry for the trouble!"
"No problem."
"The Coldscale Python's grooming is finished."
Xu Ran called out as he emerged from the Grooming Room. Behind him, an enormous snake followed contentedly, its body as thick as a thigh and its head raised to a person's height. Ice-blue scales patterned with gorgeous markings covered its body.
"Haha, I've never seen my Coldscale Python looking so impressive." Zhang Yun laughed and hurried forward, wrapping his arms around his Contract Beast. "How does it feel, old friend?"
"Hiss~"
The Coldscale Python flicked its tongue and swayed, rubbing its large head against Zhang Yun in evident excitement.
Clearly, Xu Ran's grooming had felt wonderful.
"Thanks for all your hard work today, young shopkeeper." Zhang Yun readily paid for the Grooming of his two medium-sized Contract Beasts, then chuckled. "Grooming so many Contract Beasts in one go is no easy task."
"It's part of my job." Xu Ran looked a little tired, but his eyes were bright.
[Host: Xu Ran Contract Power: first tier Contract Beast: Purple Cloud [View Details] System Skills: [Fur Plucking (C-rank)] (1/100) Contract Beast Skills: [★Blood Rage] (Teachable) [★★Ice Storm] (No eligible teaching target) Happiness Points: 9743 System Upgrade Experience: 50/1000] [Novice Mission 2: A Small Test of Skill (Completed) Mission Description: Host must use the system skill [Fur Plucking] ten times (10/10) Mission Rewards: System skill [Drugging], system upgrade experience +100] [Click to Claim Mission Rewards] [Draw]
All four members of the Fierce Tiger Hunting Squad were Elite Beast Tamers, and each had two contracted Contract Beasts.
Aside from the Sea Wave Flower, which had already received Grooming yesterday and had only provided healing during today's battle without getting dirty, Xu Ran had groomed all seven of their other Contract Beasts.
Including the Rainbow Cloud Parrot he had groomed earlier, Xu Ran had groomed eight pet beasts in one day. He was practically a model worker.
Previously, Fur Plucking had only yielded one-star skills. Now that it had advanced to C-rank, he had obtained a two-star skill through it for the first time!
Although differences in attribute and compatibility meant there was no eligible target to teach this two-star skill for now, it still filled Xu Ran with anticipation for the future.
If Fur Plucking kept leveling up, might he be able to obtain three-star, four-star, or even five-star skills through it?
His future looked bright indeed!
Xu Ran's gaze moved farther down, settling on the system missions.
Novice Mission 2, which he had been unable to complete until now, was finally finished.
Claim!
At Xu Ran's mental command, Novice Mission 2 quickly dimmed and disappeared.
As his system upgrade experience increased by 100 points, two new lines of small text appeared before his eyes.
[Congratulations, host. You have obtained the system skill [Drugging]] [[Drugging] is a fostering-linked skill. Using it while feeding fostered Contract Beasts allows the host to continuously obtain Constitution Points. The host may use these Constitution Points to enhance his own contracted Contract Beasts]
As he had expected, Drugging was not linked to grooming, but to fostering.
Fostering meant caring for Contract Beasts that other Beast Tamers temporarily left at the shop. In practice, it involved just two things: providing comfortable accommodation and suitable food.
According to the skill description, using this skill while feeding Contract Beasts would earn him Constitution Points, which he could use to enhance his own contracted Contract Beast—Purple Cloud.
As for what Constitution Points could improve...
Unless he was mistaken, it should be the progress bar beside Growth Rank?
At that thought, Xu Ran's heart began to race.
Once the progress bar was full, Purple Cloud would be able to advance.
Previously, he could only improve physique slowly through training. Now, he clearly had a more effective method.
I have to try this as soon as possible!
No time to waste. I'll find a fostered Contract Beast to try it on right now...
Xu Ran's smile vanished.
The Starfire Foster Shop had no fostering service.
He had almost forgotten that enormous problem!
As his thoughts raced, new missions appeared following the disappearance of Novice Mission 2.
[Novice Mission 3: Self-Reliance Mission Description: Host must personally travel to the designated area outside Qingzhou City and gather one hundred jin of [Azure Jade Fruit], an essential resource for Contract Beast feed. Mission Rewards: Boarding Feature module, system upgrade experience +150] [Novice Mission 4: Bigger and Better Mission Description: Host must upgrade the system skill [Drugging] to C-rank Mission Rewards: System skill [Make a Scene], system upgrade experience +300]
The smile returned to Xu Ran's face.
Two missions at once. More importantly, he finally knew how to unlock the Boarding Feature.
"Uh... young shopkeeper?" Watching Xu Ran's expression change repeatedly, Zhang Yun could not help speaking up. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Xu Ran took a deep breath and shook his head.
"Glad to hear it. We'll be off, then. Sorry for all the trouble today, young shopkeeper." Zhang Yun smiled and turned to leave with the other three.
"Captain Zhang, please wait!" Xu Ran hurriedly called him back. "There may be something I need your help with. Or rather..."
"I need the Fierce Tiger Hunting Squad's help."
Before you continue