Next, Jiang Hao would devote himself to preparing for the Beast Pet Tournament. This expedition had not only earned him a rare beast crystal; more importantly, it had shown him the shortcomings in his beast pet's skills.
The two passive skills were useful, but having Fireball as his only active skill left him stretched thin.
Back in Wuji City, Jiang Hao could hardly wait to enter the simulation game. The moment he activated the Survival Simulator, rows of notifications left him dazzled.
"Ding! Your beast pet devoured an Army Ant and gained 1 attribute point and 1 skill point." "Ding!"
There were a full thirty notifications. Jiang Hao stared at them, utterly bewildered. What was going on?
Eating an Army Ant could earn attribute points and skill points?
Had he known there were benefits like this, he would never have left that valley, not even if someone beat him to death. Was it too late to go back and find that swarm of Army Ants?
At once, Jiang Hao felt as though he had missed out on a hundred million!
Adding the seven attribute points and skill points he had earned from killing the Flower Civet Cat earlier, wouldn't Big Hen's strength nearly break two hundred if he put them all into strength?
Awesome!
Without hesitation, he put every attribute point into strength. That night, Jiang Hao led Big Hen on a killing spree through the Addiction Mist Swamp, thrashing its bosses within an inch of their lives. Big Hen went straight from level 23 to level 26, and his character reached level 26 as well.
Unfortunately, aside from levels and a few pieces of equipment, he had yet to obtain any skills. It seemed he would have to raise the game's difficulty.
The next day, on the way back to Primordial City...
Jiang Hao switched the game to hard mode.
The hard-mode map was called the Whistling Wind Gobi. Even its lowest-level monsters, the Fanged Demons, were level 35-a full nine levels above him. Even the monsters' names were red, because his character's combat power was too low. His five fine-grade equipment pieces only gave him 15 points; even with a Top-Grade Long Saber, his combat power was just 22.
Still, he wasn't afraid. With this full set of equipment, all fine-grade or better, he no longer had to run from monsters like before. He could take a few hits now. Besides, Big Hen's combat power was off the charts. With 261 combat power, the damage she dealt was explosive; a single peck could kill a monster instantly. Of course, that only applied in the game.
As usual, Jiang Hao began searching for boss coordinates. Baro Bone's coordinates were in the upper-right corner, where the monsters were packed extremely densely. Because their names were red, these monsters would attack him as soon as he came anywhere near them. And they swarmed him right from the start, without a shred of martial honor.
Entering a new game map was usually like opening a mystery box, full of anticipation. Finally, when the first Baro Bone boss fell, sharp-eyed Jiang Hao immediately spotted a familiar skill book among the loot.
The moment he picked it up, the Survival Simulator's notification sounded.
"Ding! Congratulations! You obtained the skill book Lure. Would you like your beast pet to learn it?" Lure: triggered skill. Forcibly gathers enemies within a ten-meter diameter together. Maximum level: 5. Cooldown: ten minutes, reduced by one minute per level gained. (The skills here have been modified from those in the actual game, so don't expect them to match!)
This was rather like chicken ribs-little meat to eat, yet a shame to throw away. Jiang Hao couldn't even understand what the skill was supposed to do.
Still, having it was better than nothing. Although it hadn't met his expectations, he let Big Hen learn it anyway. After all, it was a triggered skill. Perhaps it would produce some unexpected results at the Beast Pet Tournament.
Besides obtaining Lure, he and Big Hen each gained a level. There were also two pieces of equipment among the loot, though they were only high-grade.
Jiang Hao was disappointed. This wasn't remotely on the same level as the loot from his first Green Demonling Boss kill. Could it be because Big Hen's attack power was too high?
A single Fireball from Big Hen had blasted away almost a quarter of the Baro Bone boss's health. It had fallen before he could even feel any anticipation.
It seemed fighting bosses required a certain amount of finesse.
With that thought in mind, Jiang Hao began searching for his next target.
As he walked, he suddenly spotted a huge flock of bats. No, wait-they were Fire Dragon Beasts. One of them looked somewhat like Liao Yunxiao's Blazing Flame Dragon King.
He had wanted to beat up that female tyrannosaur for ages. This was pretty much what it meant for enemies to see red when they met.
"Phoenix, beat the crap out of that bastard!" Jiang Hao's face lit up with excitement, and his voice shot so high it cracked.
"Cluck-cluck, cluck-cluck!" Time to lay eggs.
Two eggs bounced toward the flock of Fire Dragon Beasts, one after the other.
Jiang Hao noticed that the egg in front looked different. It was actually transparent. Yes, transparent. The instant it touched the first Fire Dragon Beast, it vanished. Immediately afterward, all the Fire Dragon Beasts, including the big one, gathered together as one.
Then the second egg burst, and two fireballs slammed into the cluster of monsters. A dense cloud of damage numbers floated upward.
"Wow, so that's how Lure works."
Now I've learned something!
The smaller Fire Dragon Beasts were wiped out instantly, but the big one barely suffered a scratch. This was going to be tricky. Big Hen only had one point of stamina and couldn't survive even a touch from it. He had no idea whether he could withstand its attacks himself.
Jiang Hao deliberately let it hit him once, then let out a mocking "heh-heh-heh." The monster looked fierce and imposing, but it was all show. Its attacks didn't hurt at all. This must have been a textbook example of high defense and low attack.
It took several full minutes to wear it down and kill it.
In the end, the big fellow dropped just one item-and it was the very skill book Jiang Hao had been yearning for.
"Ding! Congratulations! You obtained the area-attack skill book Wind Orb. Would you like your beast pet to learn this skill?"
Of course.
Wind Orb: area-attack skill. Explosive damage. Effective targets: 10. Current level: 1. Maximum level: 3. Cooldown: 10 seconds, reduced by 2 seconds per level gained.
At level 3, that would mean casting it once every four seconds. Although it wasn't an instant-cast skill, Jiang Hao was already wild with joy. This was an area-attack skill!
Lure combined with Fireball could also deal area damage, but Lure's cooldown was a full ten minutes. Even at its maximum level of 5, it would still be five minutes. Compared with Wind Orb, the difference was heaven and earth!
Exploring a fresh map really was different. With two new skills obtained in succession, Jiang Hao figured he would laugh himself awake even in his dreams.
With Wind Orb, farming monsters became much faster. He kept pushing onward, but his luck seemed to have run out. He killed several bosses in a row without getting another skill book. Apart from levels and a few pieces of fine-grade equipment he couldn't wear yet, he got nothing.
Before leaving the game, Jiang Hao opened his beast pet's information screen and allocated the attribute points he had earned.
Beast pet owner: Jiang Hao Beast pet: Ice Crystal Phoenix (hen) Realm: Fusion (level 30) Rapport: 90 Combat power: 301 Attribute points: 0 Skill points: 0 Strength: 217 Stamina: 8 Defense: 8 Agility: 25 Critical rate: 0 Critical strike: 0 Skills: Hen and Eggs in Ruin (passive), Shadowless Clone (passive), Fireball (level 2.52), Lure (level 1), Wind Orb (level 1.20) Hen and Eggs in Ruin: passive skill. When threatened, the beast pet triggers this skill to counterattack, randomly launching skills that accurately hit the enemy. Shadowless Clone: passive skill. Uses a false-death body to block one fatal attack. Cooldown: 3 hours. Lure: triggered skill. Forcibly gathers enemies within a ten-meter diameter together. Maximum level: 5. Cooldown: ten minutes, reduced by one minute per level gained. Wind Orb: area-attack skill. Explosive damage. Effective targets: 10. Current level: 1. Maximum level: 3. Cooldown: 10 seconds, reduced by 2 seconds per level gained.
Big Hen was far too fragile and had died at least three times in the game, losing one point of strength with each death. Pained by the losses, Jiang Hao had no choice but to put more of his twenty newly earned attribute points into stamina and defense.
That evening, after parting with his friends, he returned to Dragonkeep. At the dinner table, everyone looked at Jiang Hao's triumphant expression, then exchanged knowing glances with Liao Yunxiao.
"Family, take a look at this!"
Before he had even set down his backpack, Jiang Hao pulled out the rare beast crystal and began showing it off.
He also gave a vivid, boastful account of his trip to Wu Ji Mountain, just waiting for everyone to praise him.
But then...
Unable to keep a secret, Luo Su curled her lip and blurted out, "Oh, keep bragging. If Second Sister hadn't helped you guys-"
Before she could finish, Liao Yunxiao cut her off. "Susu, shut up."
It was like being drenched from head to toe with a basin of cold water. A bad feeling came over Jiang Hao, and even his voice sounded strange as he looked at Liao Yunxiao.
He ventured, "Don't tell me you were the one who put this beast crystal inside the Elf Deer's skeleton?"
Luo Su said, "Looks like you're not stupid either, Third Brother!"
He should have guessed long ago. He had found it strange at the time. Given the way Army Ants operated, how could they possibly leave behind a bloodstained beast crystal?
Dejected, Jiang Hao stood up. He couldn't even stomach dinner anymore and went straight back to his room.
Only then did Luo Su realize she had said the wrong thing.
Watching his retreating back, she muttered, "What a petty man. We helped him, and he can't even say thank you."
Luo En said, "Shut up. Is this about being petty? This is about a man's dignity. Second Sister told us not to expose it, but you just can't keep your mouth shut."
Luo Su puffed up indignantly, ready to argue, but Liao Yunxiao couldn't stand watching any longer.
"Both of you shut your mouths and eat."
She didn't forget to give them another scolding afterward. "Compared with Jiang Hao, you two disappoint me even more. He managed to train a pet that doesn't even qualify as a working pet into a battle pet that can cast skills. That alone makes him an extraordinary genius among geniuses. And you? Your battle pets are still acting cute and begging for affection, aren't they? Don't bother entering this Beast Pet Tournament. Spare Dragonkeep the humiliation."
Luo Su immediately lowered her head in shame. Her Elf Leopard really did nothing but act cute and beg for affection. Battle pet or not, never mind fighting-she had been raising it like a pet kitty all this time.
Luo En wasn't much better. He had practically turned his Earth Bear King cub into a body pillow, holding it in his arms as he slept every day.
When they had first heard from Liao Yunxiao that Jiang Hao's Big Hen could actually cast fireballs, both of them had been dumbfounded.
Back in his room, Jiang Hao dropped his backpack and lay limply on his bed, staring into space. The truth was often cruel.
Some people would rather remain immersed in their own fantasies, spouting nonsense about refusing to believe or spread rumors, than face the facts.
Still, in the days that followed, Jiang Hao devoted himself entirely to preparing for the Beast Pet Tournament. Even when his classmates mocked him from time to time, he swallowed it without lashing out.
At last, the Beast Pet Tournament arrived.
Before you continue