10: Chapter 10 You are my friend!

[Daily Mission "Basic Training" complete.]

[Rewards obtained: EXP x5, double exp card x1]

When the cold system prompt in his mind dropped its last syllable, Lin Chen also happened to look up from the simple notebook recording the Flame Claw Beast's training data and let out a long sigh.

He looked beside him.

After an hour of high-intensity training involving various exercises, the Flame Claw Beast was only slightly tired.

This was certainly thanks to the Flame Claw Beast's own excellent physical foundation, but Lin Chen knew those expensive energy cubes also played a significant role.

This stuff can continuously replenish consumption and maintain a pet's optimal training state; this expense seems worth it now.

"Alright, let's take a break first." Lin Chen closed the notebook.

"Gagu?"

The Flame Claw Beast blinked, trotted to Lin Chen's leg, and waved its claws.

Its spirit was still good; it could continue!

Lin Chen squatted down, looking into the Flame Claw Beast's excited eyes at eye level, and reached out to rub its warm, smooth head.

"Training is about balancing tension and relaxation, work and rest. Rest and recovery are equally important; they're for the sake of training more effectively next time, understand?"

"Gagu?"

The Flame Claw Beast repeated the unfamiliar phrase, a glimmer of thought flashing in its eyes. It looked at Lin Chen's serious expression, then looked down at its own claws, which were slightly warm from continuously releasing skills, and nodded as if it half-understood.

Oh... so, train for a bit, then play for a bit, eat something delicious, and then train again?

"That's more or less what it means." Lin Chen was amused by its simple summary.

"Gagu~"

The Flame Claw Beast's eyes instantly became sparkling. It leaned in closer, with a suspicious glisten appearing at the corner of its mouth.

It was starting to miss yesterday's delicious grilled skewers.

Lin Chen asked, "Didn't we just eat them yesterday?"

The Flame Claw Beast tilted its head in confusion: "Gagu?"

What does what I ate yesterday have to do with today?

In the wild, if you have this kind of mindset, you will definitely starve to death!

Lin Chen was speechless, but then replied solemnly, "Flame Claw Beast, eating grilled skewers isn't as simple as you think."

"It's not that we won't eat; rather, we'll eat slowly, eat moderately, and eat in a prioritized order. Let the hungry pets eat first, let the affluent pets eat first, so that those who eat first can lead those who eat later."

The Flame Claw Beast's eyes were vacant: "?"

"In short."

Lin Chen spread his hands and gave a final summary, "Our economic situation is not optimistic, and we are far from the level of eating grilled skewers every day."

The Flame Claw Beast nodded thoughtfully, then stared wide-eyed at Lin Chen: "Gagu?"

But last night it clearly saw Lin Chen's parents returning that money to him.

Lin Chen glanced sideways at the Flame Claw Beast, alarm bells ringing in his heart.

Well, you honest-looking Flame Claw Beast, you've actually got your eyes on this money.

But when Lin Chen met the Flame Claw Beast's expectant gaze, he fell silent for a moment.

Seeing Lin Chen's silence, the Flame Claw Beast pressed its advantage: "Gagu!"

Besides, aren't they friends now?

Friends should share delicious food!

Lin Chen looked at the Flame Claw Beast and teased, "You're not worried I'm a bad guy anymore?"

The Flame Claw Beast grinned, its eyes shining: "Gagu!"

You are my friend!

"Alright then."

Lin Chen admitted he had underestimated the Flame Claw Beast's psychological adaptability. He quickly calculated today's expenses and then nodded.

"Then let's go eat grilled skewers after training is over."

"Gagu!!!"

The Flame Claw Beast immediately let out a cheer, its whole body pouncing over. It used its short forelimbs to try and wrap around Lin Chen's calf, looking up with a wide grin that revealed a blindingly bright smile.

Lin Chen silently rubbed the Flame Claw Beast's head, the urge to make money becoming even more pressing.

But before that, he needed to make a brief summary of today's training.

Although this hour of basic training was far from enough to cause a qualitative change in the Flame Claw Beast's strength, it had already achieved Lin Chen's main goal: a preliminary assessment of the Flame Claw Beast's current strength baseline.

The conclusion was encouraging.

First was physical fitness.

The Flame Claw Beast's stamina, strength, and especially its instant explosive power and short-distance sprint speed, all exceeded the average level of an Transcendent 1 pet.

In targeted grip and tearing training, the Flame Claw Beast's claws showed amazing sharpness and hardness.

In actual combat, those Sharp Claws combined with the Flame Claw Beast's agile movements would be enough to cause lethal damage to an unprotected opponent.

In terms of skills, the Flame Claw Beast currently mastered two junior skills: [Flame Breath Bullet] and [Sharp Claws].

So-called junior skills are the skill levels most commonly mastered and used by pets whose species rank is in the Awakening and Extraordinary stages.

The power of junior skills is relatively limited and their effects are simple, but they are correspondingly easy to master and have low consumption, making them the most reliable asset during the newbie stage.

Above them are "Mid-level skills" and "Advanced Skills," which are more powerful, have more complex and varied effects, and increase in learning difficulty exponentially.

That is usually the domain of Elite Level or even higher-level pets, which is still quite far off for the current Flame Claw Beast.

But Lin Chen's gaze was already fixed further ahead.

"Simultaneously improving physical fitness and skill proficiency is the foundation; we must take it step by step."

A cultivation roadmap quickly took shape in his mind.

"The proficiency of both the Flame Claw Beast's skills is only at the Entry Level; we must raise them to the Proficient Level as soon as possible."

In this world, the proficiency levels of pet skills from low to high are: Entry, Proficient, Expert, Perfect, and Transcendent.

The higher the skill proficiency, the higher the combat power.

"For Flame Breath Bullet, we'll pursue faster, more accurate, and more flexible attack methods, and even try to control the flame's form, such as concentrating it on a single point or firing in short bursts."

"For Sharp Claws, we need to strengthen its ability to break through defenses, coordinating with the Flame Claw Beast's speed to strive for a one-hit victory."

"In addition, the Flame Claw Beast should try to learn and master new skills, even if they are junior skills of other attributes. A rich skill pool and coverage are key to gaining an advantage in complex battles and even future survival in the wild."

Furthermore, through this hour of training, Lin Chen discovered one more thing—training itself yields growth EXP.

This EXP doesn't come from missions, but from the training itself.

It's like an instant feedback mechanism in a game; one hour of training is roughly equal to one point of EXP, and Lin Chen can also monitor the Flame Claw Beast's training effectiveness in real-time through the acquisition of EXP.

This way, the avenues for obtaining EXP aren't limited to defeating pets and completing missions.

"So, does the double exp card work on training?"

Just as Lin Chen was thinking, Lin Jianjun called.

"Hey, Dad."

"Xiao Chen, come back early once training is over. I have something to tell you."

"Okay, I'm coming back now."

Hanging up the phone, Lin Chen took the Flame Claw Beast home.

Lin Jianjun was already sitting on the living room sofa, with a cup of steaming tea on the coffee table in front of him, along with several documents stamped with red seals.

"Dad."

Lin Jianjun nodded, his gaze sweeping over the spirited Flame Claw Beast, then he pointed to the single sofa next to him for Lin Chen: "Sit."

Lin Chen sat down without speaking first.

Lin Jianjun didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "The summer job has been arranged for you."

Lin Chen's eyes lit up, and he sat up straight.

As an Apprentice Beastmaster who needed to spend money everywhere, although he had long planned to rely on himself to earn cultivation resources, it wasn't easy for a high school graduate to find a suitable job with decent pay.

Lin Jianjun's tone was steady: "As you know, the Bureau has always had an unwritten welfare policy for internal employees."

"Every summer, if an employee's child has just become a Beast Tamer, they can apply to work at the Bureau as a Temporary Patrol Officer for summer social practice, and they also get a stipend."

He picked up his teacup and took a sip, saying slowly, "This policy is first to give the children of us employees who aren't well-off a chance to earn money legitimately and gain some social experience; it's considered organizational care."

"Secondly, you know summer is when there's an explosion of new Beast Tamers. A bunch of teenagers who just got their pets get all hot-headed; they're either brawling in the streets or being too naive and trying to explore the wilderness. They cause several times more trouble than usual, so the public security pressure is high. Letting you new temporary workers help with patrols and handle simple matters can also alleviate the pressure of insufficient manpower at the grassroots level."

Lin Chen listened intently, his mind racing with calculations.

He had known about this welfare policy for a long time; his sister Lin Yue had applied to be a Temporary Patrol Officer for two months after she graduated.

This was much more meaningful than working in an ordinary shop or being a low-level sparring partner at a Battle Club.

Not only could he earn money, but he could also come into contact with more Beast Tamer-related affairs, broaden his horizons, and even encounter various situations to train his and the Flame Claw Beast's combat adaptability.

Moreover, being backed by the Beast Management Bureau provided a certain degree of safety, and he could also access information and resources that ordinary people couldn't.

"I finished processing the paperwork for you this morning."

Lin Jianjun picked up a stamped document from the coffee table and handed it to Lin Chen. "Report for duty at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. The location is in Qingyang Town, which your Uncle Li is in charge of."

After a pause, Lin Jianjun's expression became slightly serious.

"Don't use your relationship with Uncle Li as an excuse to be disobedient. Once you're there, watch more, listen more, learn more, and don't try to be a hero. If you encounter a situation you can't handle, report it immediately; don't try to tough it out yourself. Your mission is to assist with patrols and maintain basic order, not to charge onto the front lines. Do you understand?"

"I understand."