Shiyu came out of the iron bamboo breeding base, feeling very satisfied.
Pokedex, page six.
【Skill】: Hardening
【Skill Level】: Low
【Description】: A metal-type skill that can harden the entire body, acting like invisible armor, and can even evolve into an offensive power.
【Status】: No teaching target yet
The process of Shiyu replicating the Hardening skill went quite smoothly. All he did was feed a wild iron-eating beast some food.
Unlike the young iron-eating beasts that haven't awakened their Hardening ability and chew on iron bamboo like bones, adult iron-eating beasts use the Hardening skill to arm their teeth before eating.
Then they proceed to eat the iron bamboo, which is as hard as steel, thus greatly improving their eating efficiency, one bite at a time, crisp and crunchy.
Shiyu fed an iron bamboo, gently stroked it afterward, and the skill was in his hands.
"At least I don't have to come back for a month," Shiyu said as he left the iron bamboo breeding base, now a true beast tamer.
At this moment, he not only took the No. 11 iron-eating beast cub but also carried a backpack full of premium bamboo shoots, which would be No. 11's food for the next day.
Unlike the bamboo on Earth, the mutated plants here are very nutritious, with nutritional value not inferior to some meats. Moreover, the digestive system of the iron-eating beast is completely different from that of a common panda, so as long as the quality of the bamboo is good, the iron-eating beast doesn't necessarily need to eat dozens of pounds a day to get a little nutrition.
However, no matter what, iron bamboo is just the most basic food for the iron-eating beast. There are definitely many more expensive upgrades, but Shiyu might not be able to afford them for now.
Make money!
After becoming a beast tamer, he needs to find a way to make money.
It's fine for himself; as long as he doesn't starve, the iron-eating beast needs to grow quickly and robustly, and just having various skills is not enough; nutrition must also keep up.
Before that, he needs to hurry home and settle himself and No. 11 down.
Eating, drinking, and living are all important.
Before long, Shiyu arrived home.
Pingcheng now has many high-rise buildings, but Shiyu's hometown is a large courtyard with a flat house.
For Shiyu, living in a flat house is actually better than living in a high-rise.
After all, now that he is a beast tamer, living in a high-rise is really inconvenient for training his pet beast.
He would have to rent a venue, which would be both troublesome and a waste of money.
On the contrary, this place, though a bit old, is spacious and is a great training ground.
After getting home, he casually threw his luggage down and noticed that the place was covered in dust, so he decided to do a thorough cleaning.
But how could he do it alone...
Panda No. 11, my partner!
My turn, summon!
A transparent circular array appeared in front of Shiyu, and like ripples in water, the iron-eating beast No. 11 crawled out.
Depending on the level of the beast tamer's space, the color of the space barrier and the summoning array would be different.
For a novice beast tamer like Shiyu, the space barrier and summoning array are transparent and colorless.
At this moment, No. 11, who had just been summoned from the beast tamer's space, looked a bit dazed, as if it had just woken up.
It first shook its body quickly, fluffed its soft black and white fur, and then turned to look at Shiyu, who had summoned it.
No. 11 slightly wiggled its short tail. Now that it had become Shiyu's pet beast, it no longer had the attitude of "never being a slave!" or "fearless!" and had a natural sense of closeness with Shiyu.
This mental connection was even more intimate than a blood connection.
No. 11 subconsciously walked to Shiyu's side, rubbing against his leg, melting Shiyu's heart.
It looks... much more obedient!
Shiyu was pleased and smiled like a proud father.
"Come, let me teach you the Hardening skill!"
Cleaning can be done by myself; the iron-eating beast is so cute, how can I let it get tired, training is already exhausting!
Yes, let's establish my excellent image in the iron-eating beast's mind first.
"Ow?"
The iron-eating beast No. 11 stood up, Hardening?
Speaking of which...
It extended its fist, and in the next second, the black-furred fist immediately became even darker, harder, and had a metallic texture, which was the Hardening skill.
After sleeping in the beast tamer's space, No. 11 finally awakened.
It was really comfortable there; No. 11 felt that its stomach wasn't hungry, and it slept better, feeling warm and clear-headed.
The Hardening skill, which it couldn't awaken before, was mastered after a good sleep.
Shiyu: ???
Shiyu: ???
Shiyu rubbed his eyes and looked at No. 11's fist.
What!
You awakened it yourself?
I just said I would teach you, and you already know it?
Shiyu was silent. Was Lin Xiuzhu reliable? Didn't he say it would take about a week for No. 11 to awaken the Hardening skill?
How could it be so fast?
Shiyu was happy but also felt a bit disappointed, as he had been looking forward to the iron-eating beast's admiring expression after teaching it the Hardening skill.
"Let's clean the courtyard."
No. 11: o((⊙﹏⊙))o.?
Clean...?
"Forget it, forget it." Seeing No. 11's puzzled expression, Shiyu decided to give up.
Cleaning can wait. He suddenly remembered that the skill pokedex can teach learned skills, and teaching the same skill can increase skill proficiency!
Skill proficiency is also very important. The same skill, when just mastered by one pet beast and used for ten years by another, will have different effects.
A low-level skill with high proficiency can even outperform a high-level skill with low proficiency.
Shiyu found the iron-eating beast basic breeding manual given to him by Lin Xiuzhu.
The Hardening skill mastered by the iron-eating beast, or rather, all skills, can generally be divided into five stages of proficiency.
Representing beginner, familiar, proficient, perfect, and transcendent.
Like the Hardening skill mastered by No. 11, its proficiency is at the beginner stage, just initially learned, and can only harden a part of the body locally.
According to the manual, at the familiar stage, it can harden the entire body.
Generally, it takes at least a month of serious training for a low-level skill to go from the beginner stage to the familiar stage.
Shiyu was very curious about how many days of proficiency one teaching session with the skill pokedex would be equivalent to.
He looked at No. 11, who was observing the surroundings, and fell into deep thought.
Speaking of which, using the skill pokedex to teach seems to consume physical energy.
How much physical energy would it take to teach the low-level Hardening skill once?
Shiyu, who had no experience, was really unsure. He had been a bit hasty just now. What if teaching a low-level skill would exhaust him?
"Maybe I should first use the lowest-level skill, Silk, from the skill pokedex to test the consumption?"
After all, the lower the skill level, the less energy it consumes.
It seems worth a try...
However, unfortunately, Shiyu had to find another test subject because the iron-eating beast and the Silk skill had no compatibility and could not be taught.
Making the iron-eating beast spin silk would be too much to ask.
"Since you've already learned the skill, how about... we have our first battle?"
Shiyu suddenly looked at two persimmon trees in his courtyard.
To be precise, he looked at a green figure on one of the persimmon trees.
A green caterpillar was resting on a branch, leisurely, with a lot of courage, not even afraid of being eaten by passing birds.
As a disgrace in the extraordinary world, the green caterpillar's combat ability is pitiful. Even a common sparrow, not an extraordinary being and not evolved, has a chance to defeat it.
At the same time, it is everywhere. When Shiyu saw it, he immediately thought it would be the perfect test subject.
This green caterpillar looked malnourished, much thinner than those in the pet beast base.
Such a green caterpillar would never evolve... most would end up as bird food... but encountering Shiyu, this green caterpillar was lucky.
I'll give you a chance to get the proficiency of the Silk skill for free!
"Iron-eating beast, grab it, gently."
Shiyu gave the order, and No. 11 looked at the green caterpillar, slightly stunned.
The first battle opponent is this little guy?
However, the beast tamer's command must be followed. It immediately climbed the tree and broke the branch where the green caterpillar was resting, without using any skills. The green caterpillar fell with the branch.
This fall instantly confused the green caterpillar.
"Ow."
We won, the iron-eating beast No. 11 on the tree shouted happily.
The first battle, just having hands is enough.
"Great job!" After all, the iron-eating beast is still a child, so Shiyu praised it a bit.
Raising a pet beast is like raising a child; you need to praise more and not always criticize.