Not only because he had been working overtime for a whole week, but also because the skill proficiency seemed to have no end in sight.
This skill proficiency, once you got the hang of it, you became proficient after two tries, and an expert after four. Now, after more than ten tries, why wasn't it perfect yet?
Shiyu suspected that the skill compendium was messing with his mind.
He couldn't figure out what the compendium was thinking, even with his mathematical mindset.
Logically speaking, Expert +4 should have been Perfect, as they were different powers of 2.
"Looks like reaching Perfect proficiency isn't as simple as I thought..."
After careful consideration, Shiyu accepted it.
After all, from Novice to Expert, as long as the pet beast trained hard, it could definitely achieve this, regardless of its innate qualities.
But reaching Perfect proficiency was a realm that some pet beasts, even those with a Beastmaster, might never achieve in their lifetime.
It was on a different level.
Let's give it another try!
With a mindset of experimentation, Shiyu gave the Green Silk Worm two more points in Silk.
Then, the surprise came too suddenly.
"Ji..."
In Shiyu's hand, the Green Silk Worm first transformed in a daze, and then its cry reached Shiyu's ears.
As a worm-type pet beast, the Green Silk Worm's rapid growth was normal, and after being taught Silk twice, reaching Level 10 was no surprise to Shiyu.
However, the message the worm conveyed to Shiyu was not simple.
"What, the Silk has finally undergone a qualitative change?"
Shiyu's hand trembled, almost dropping the worm.
After reaching Expert +12, the Silk finally became Perfect.
"Ji, ji!" The Green Silk Worm nodded brightly and then jumped off Shiyu's palm.
Next, it looked at a large decorative rock in the yard.
Whoosh!!
The Green Silk Worm spat out Silk, not just one strand, but several strands intertwined, making it particularly thick, about the size of a thick straw.
Then, the white, thread-like Silk shot at the rock like a bullet, and with a "crack," a crack appeared in the ordinary rock.
Shiyu was about to say, "Is that it?" It wasn't as powerful as the Hardening at the Novice level, but considering it was just a worm, he couldn't help but feel relieved and said, "Not bad."
Today, the Silk finally reached the Perfect realm, and the worm was one step closer to evolution!
【Name】: Green Silk Worm
【Growth Level】: Level 10 Awakened
【Racial Skill】: Silk (Perfect)
This should be the current attributes of the Green Silk Worm.
"Ji, ji!" At this moment, the Green Silk Worm chirped happily, having received Shiyu's praise.
At this point, Shiyu finally noticed something was off.
He looked at the Green Silk Worm and, after a long while, realized that he could now communicate with it more normally.
At the beginning, the Green Silk Worm only had instincts, and Shiyu couldn't communicate with it at all.
Later, as Shiyu raised it for a while and its growth level improved, the two could communicate through mental感应, but it was limited to simple commands. The Green Silk Worm's intelligence was probably on par with a pet cat or dog, or even less.
But now, with the Green Silk Worm reaching Level 10 Awakened and its Silk reaching Perfect, Shiyu could clearly understand its emotions.
And, it began to communicate with Shiyu like a thinking child.
It might still not be as smart as a mammal like the Iron-Eater, but reaching this level made Shiyu quite happy.
The Level 10 Green Silk Worms in the breeding base weren't this smart, so it must be the credit of the Perfect racial skill.
"From this, it seems that on the basis of Expert, it takes 12 more teachings to reach Perfect. Starting from zero, that's a total of 16 teachings to reach the Perfect threshold!"
Shiyu looked towards the training ground in the backyard. So, if the Hardening skill of Eleven is taught three more times, it should also reach Perfect, right?
Maybe just two times, since Eleven trains very hard and will definitely gain some proficiency.
But after some thought, Shiyu concluded that it would still take three times. Perfect proficiency requires many years of hard training, and Eleven has only been training for a month.
Compared to the massive experience bar of a Perfect skill, its hard training is more about converting the points Shiyu added into its own, rather than relying entirely on external forces.
"Originally, I was already tired of staying at home and planned to challenge the ruins tomorrow. Now, it seems I should wait until the Hardening skill also reaches Perfect before going."
After considering, Shiyu decided and then looked at the little worm on the ground.
He playfully teased the little worm, wondering if it could now understand more of what he said.
"Little worm, come here."
Shiyu called the worm, and it immediately crawled over.
"There are several chickens and rabbits in a cage. They all have one head. Chickens have two legs, and rabbits have four. Counting from above, there are 35 heads. Counting from below, there are 94 legs. How many chickens and rabbits are there?"
The Green Silk Worm: ???
The Green Silk Worm looked at Shiyu in confusion.
"Never mind, Eleven wouldn't know either. It's a bit difficult for you."
"Okay, next question. Which do you like to eat: Dragon Beard Grass, bamboo leaves, persimmon leaves, or Chinese cabbage leaves?"
"Ji!"
This question, the Green Silk Worm wasn't confused.
It indicated that it liked all of them.
If forced to choose, it would pick the one given in larger quantities.
If given in equal amounts, it would choose Dragon Beard Grass.
Shiyu nodded. This level of intelligence was acceptable for now, and with future cultivation, it would surely become a great asset.
"Next question, who treats you better, me or Eleven?"
The Green Silk Worm fell into deep thought.
It recalled that the Iron-Eater disturbed its sleep every day, pulling it along for training, which was too tiring for the worm.
In comparison, Shiyu not only built a house for it but also prepared food every day. The difference was clear!
"Ji!"
You treat me better.
The Green Silk Worm confirmed.
"You can be taught."
"Last question, why do you like sleeping so much?"
Shiyu was actually quite puzzled. He had studied the Green Silk Worm quite deeply, having dealt with it almost every day during his three months as an intern.
Normal Green Silk Worms weren't this sleepy.
Sleeping...?
The Green Silk Worm crawled in a circle, as if pondering how to explain.
But it didn't need to explain too clearly, as Shiyu could roughly deduce it through mental感应.
"Because... you can enter another world... no need to worry about food... no need to worry about predators... freedom... in various places... in your favorite posture...?"
Repeating it, Shiyu was taken aback and said, "Do you mean dreaming?"
"It must be dreaming..." Shiyu was puzzled why this worm was so fond of sleeping, but it turned out it wasn't fond of sleeping, but of daydreaming.
But can a worm-type pet beast dream?
In his previous life, Shiyu knew that some animals could dream, but most couldn't. In this world, with the advanced evolution of life, it wasn't strange for a worm to dream.
Shiyu extended his hand, and the Green Silk Worm slowly climbed up.
"Do you want a name?"
"Never mind, I'm bad at naming. Calling it 'Worm' is fine."
From letting Eleven use the name "Eleven," it was clear how bad Shiyu was at naming. He was afraid of coming up with weird names like "Shi Two," "Little Green," or "Little Blue" for the Green Silk Worm.
"Worm" was fine, a cute叠词.
"Ji..." The Green Silk Worm was speechless.
"Never mind, the most important thing isn't this."
Now that the Green Silk Worm could communicate normally, Shiyu felt relieved because the evolution path of the Green Silk Worm no longer needed to be a source of his own frustration.
Currently, it had reached Level 10 Awakened, and the next stage of the skill was Mastery. It needed to pupate and evolve quickly before its short lifespan ended.
To ensure sufficient potential, he decided to give the Green Silk Worm some autonomy in choosing its options.
The types of evolution would be decided by the Green Silk Worm, and he would find a way to make it happen, so they wouldn't be like a headless chicken, wanting everything.
Shiyu took out his phone and placed the Green Silk Worm on his shoulder. With a puzzled expression, he opened a page.
"Let me introduce the various attributes to you... fill in your first, second, and third choices, and we'll see how it goes."