20: Chapter 20: The Function of Double Experience Cards

[Mission Complete]

[Mission Reward: EXP x 15, double exp card x 2]

[Defeated a Rank 1 pet beast, gained 3 EXP]

As the familiar system voice rang in his mind, Lin Chen took a deep breath and looked forward—the Stone Armor Lizard had already fallen, and the Flame Claw Beast was standing to the side, poking that seemingly indestructible thick shell with its claws.

His first battle against a Beast Tamer had finally ended in victory.

After the match ended, the clamor brought by the battle receded like a tide, the hot air in the training room gradually cooled down, and the onlookers quickly dispersed.

For these grassroots staff members, an exciting but brief rookie battle was merely a small interlude worth reminiscing about for a moment in their busy workday.

Once the surprise passed, work had to continue.

In the center of the field, only Lin Chen and Li Heng remained.

Li Heng knelt beside the Stone Armor Lizard, pulled a bottle of healing spray from his waist pouch, and carefully sprayed it on the injured areas between its chest and abdomen.

The spray touched the wounds, making a slight sizzling sound and bringing waves of coolness.

The Stone Armor Lizard's body trembled slightly but soon relaxed; the charred marks on the wounds faded at a speed visible to the naked eye, and a faint new luster began to emerge at the edges of the tiny cracks.

Although it would take some time to fully heal, the pain was clearly much relieved.

"How is it? Feeling better?" Li Heng gently stroked the Stone Armor Lizard's rough rock armor.

"Wu..."

The Stone Armor Lizard let out a low whimper, rubbed its head against Li Heng's arm, and then lowered its head in shame.

It had lost.

"It's fine!"

Li Heng rubbed its cold, hard head vigorously and grinned. "It's just one battle. We'll win it back next time!"

He stood up, patted the dust off his hands, and walked over to Lin Chen:

"To think you'd encounter such a talented Flame Claw Beast."

"Brother Chen, you lucky bastard!!!"

Lin Chen's lips curled up as a smile blossomed on his face. "It's all fate."

Li Heng let out a heavy sigh.

His Stone Armor Lizard was among the best of the rookie pet beasts; his father had used connections and spent a lot of money to get it.

But looking at this Flame Claw Beast that could master Mid-level skills at Rank 1, he suddenly felt that his Stone Armor Lizard wasn't as great anymore.

But Li Heng suddenly remembered something, his eyes lighting up:

"Hey, Brother Chen, you know about the Young Eagle Cup, right?"

"I know," Lin Chen nodded.

"What do you say? Let's join together and just sweep the championship and runner-up spots."

Hearing this, Lin Chen pointed at the building beneath their feet and spread his hands. "If I go to the competition, will you work my shift for me?"

Li Heng froze, only then remembering that Lin Chen was now a temporary assistant at the Beast Control Bureau, unlike a pre-college student like himself who was just wandering around waiting for school to start.

He showed a look of regret, but his eyes lit up again. "Then be my sparring partner these few days. I'll come find you every day for training and battles. We can also rank up in the game while we're at it; you haven't logged into the game for a damn week."

Lin Chen hesitated slightly. "Fine then."

Defeating the Stone Armor Lizard once a day would bring in a stable income of 3 EXP; it would be a waste not to take it.

The two walked with their arms around each other's shoulders, laughing continuously:

"Brother Chen, if I become the champion, I'll definitely thank you on stage."

"Thank me for what?"

"Thank you for the grace of being my sparring partner."

The two chatted for a while until the lunch break ended and Li Heng left the Beast Control Bureau.

The heavy doors closed again, shutting out the last trace of noise.

The training room became completely quiet. The afternoon sunlight filtered through the high windows, casting several bright patches of light on the polished floor, with dust motes dancing slowly in the beams of light.

Having already completed his daily patrol mission in the morning, Lin Chen, as a temporary worker, had no other arrangements for the afternoon and could thus focus on training.

"Come on, let's start training."

"Gagu!"

Lin Chen's thoughts sank into the depths of his consciousness, summoning his personal panel:

[Player: Lin Chen]

[Rank: Apprentice Beastmaster]

[Skill: Telepathy]

[Pet Beast: Agumon]

[Items: double exp card x 5]

[Allocatable EXP: 35]

After several missions, Lin Chen now possessed five double exp cards and 35 points of allocatable EXP.

He was in no hurry to allocate the EXP, instead focusing his attention on the double exp card.

The effective duration of a double exp card was 24 hours. He had to work every day now, so opportunities for pet beast battles were rare, but he had plenty of training time.

In that case, let's see if the double exp card works for training.

"Use [double exp card]," Lin Chen muttered in his heart.

[Ding.]

[Detected player using double exp card (24 hours)]

[Please select target:]

[1. Agumon]

[2. Player]

Lin Chen was stunned.

This double exp card could even be used on himself?

But he wasn't a pet beast and didn't have a level bar; the intuitive quantitative concept of EXP didn't apply to him at all. What use would using it on him have?

But his pupils soon constricted as he remembered something—Beast Tamers could temper their mental strength through meditation to increase their Beast Tamer rank.

The higher the Beast Tamer rank, the more Beast Tamer skills they mastered, the faster their pet beasts improved while in the pet space, and the more pet beasts they could contract.

Could the double exp card be used for meditation?

Once the thought arose, Lin Chen no longer hesitated and directly tried using it on himself.

[double exp card (24 hours) is now in effect on the player.]

[Effect: Within the duration, the player's implicit EXP gains from any effective growth behavior that meets the system's criteria will be increased by 100%.]

implicit EXP gains?

Lin Chen looked delighted and walked quickly toward the small room with "Meditation Room" marked on the door.

This was a place for staff to perform brief meditations, recover mental strength, or handle matters requiring high concentration. It was soundproofed very well, and the interior was simple, with only a few prayer mats and a control panel for adjusting the lighting and ventilation system.

He locked the door behind him and chose a prayer mat to sit cross-legged.

The soft mat supported his body, the lighting in the room was adjusted to a soft dimness most suitable for meditation, and the ventilation system brought a calming white noise.

Lin Chen closed his eyes, took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and little by little eliminated the stray thoughts in his mind caused by the new system discovery.

He began to operate the essentials of the basic meditation method, sinking his consciousness into his mental world and guiding the invisible spiritual energy from the outside world to flow into his mind bit by bit, tempering his mental strength.

This was a daily compulsory task for every Beast Tamer.

At first, the process was no different from usual.

But soon, Lin Chen noticed a difference.

When he successfully guided a wisp of stray energy into his mind, an unprecedented feeling appeared.

The flow of mental strength was more harmonious and natural, and the efficiency of capturing and refining energy had significantly improved.

Lin Chen's spirits lifted, and he threw himself into meditation with even greater focus.

He cast aside all stray thoughts and devoted his entire mind to perceiving every minute change in his mental world.

A long time later,

Lin Chen opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of turbid air. "It really works."

Compared to before, his meditation efficiency and speed just now had been significantly improved, even fast enough to give one a vague illusion: it wouldn't be long before he could become a Primary Beastmaster.

The situation has changed; it seems I've become a genius too.