The next morning.

Su Zhi and Yu Bao continued to rack their brains over Skills.

Aside from them, almost everyone in Class 10 was discussing the "size comparison" initiated by Class 9—

"They cornered the academic representative on the road and challenged him? Is that story for real?"

"Totally. I walked home with him! It’s all over the confession wall now, too!"

"Damn, Class 9 is way too arrogant!"

"Huh? Wait a sec, why were *you* walking home with the academic representative...?"

This "size comparison," of course, was not the kind you’re probably imagining.

To put it bluntly, it was a challenge for a Pet Beast battle between classes, usually 1v1, best two out of three.

The school administration was aware of such things but didn’t intervene. Beast Taming High School was established for the purpose of raising Pet Beasts, so it tacitly approved of all kinds of "size comparisons," at most reviewing the bets to see if they were compliant with the rules.

Lately, there had been quite a few of these "size comparisons" between the classes.

Everyone had just finished their first quiz and was feeling full of themselves; it was perfectly normal to want to test their skills against others.

But Class 9 had made a huge public spectacle of the challenge, even demanding the duel be held on the athletic field. That changed the nature of the whole thing.

It was like challenging someone to a fight, but also banging gongs and beating drums to get the whole school to come watch.

So, for Class 10, with its relatively weak Pet Beast lineup, should they go or not?

If they went, they would most likely be publicly humiliated and utterly crushed.

But if they didn’t go, wouldn’t that be admitting cowardice in front of the entire grade, maybe even the whole school?

Although the outcome was not yet decided, Class 9 clearly had some confidence to back up their challenge.

The two classes were next to each other, and almost everyone in Class 10 knew that Class 9 had a pair of rich twin brothers who were transfer students that had gotten in through connections.

Even though they were transfer students, in the early stages of the curriculum, a Pet Beast’s combat power was largely determined by its Race.

Moreover, these two rich brothers were no slouches. Combined with their decent Pet Beasts, they had basically already locked down two of the matches.

It was predictable that Class 10’s first inter-class battle would most likely end in defeat.

The students felt wronged and frustrated, but there was nothing they could do.

"Alright now, the competition hasn’t even started. How can we know who’s bigger and who’s smaller yet?"

Just as morale was hitting rock bottom, the girl with white hair and blue eyes clapped her hands.

Shao Ya was Class 10’s president and one of the top fighters in the entire first year. Her clear, bright voice carried the steady composure of a general.

Plus, she’d just dropped a slightly off-color joke, which helped ease the restless and gloomy atmosphere in the classroom considerably.

"If you ask me, what Class 9 is doing is pure robbery!"

Liu Yuhang said, indignant.

"If we lose, we have to give them one Tier Three Wood Resource. If we win, they give us five Tier Two Resources."

"On the surface, it seems like we’re getting the better end of the deal, but we’re only first-years! Where are we supposed to get a Tier Three Resource?"

"The only Tier Three Wood Resource in our entire class is the Wood Magnet Crystal our class president won as a prize in a competition. That’s her own personal honor! Why should we hand it over to that gang of robbers from Class 9?"

"The student council is full of crap, too. How could they approve a bet that’s so obviously just blatant robbery!"

"Relax~ The outcome isn’t set in stone. You and I could be robbers, too."

The white-haired girl’s tone remained light as she crossed her legs.

"Class 9 is guaranteed to lose the first match. I’ll leave the other two to everyone else."

"The class president is awesome!"

"Yaya, fly bravely! Mama will always be with you!"

"No boy-mamas!"

"Who says Class 10 has no Great Emperor!"

With Emperor Shao making her move, Class 10’s morale instantly soared.

"Academic Rep, how about you take the second match?"

"Huh? Me?" Liu Yuhang scratched his head.

The students all subconsciously turned their gazes toward the back of the classroom, by the window.

Sitting in the second-to-last row by the window, Su Zhi looked completely unfazed, like a male version of Emperor Shao.

He was even in the mood to look at his phone, and he was looking at it with Yu Bao.

Look at that doggo, his eyes are glued to the screen. Who knows what they’re watching...

Ever since he stunned everyone at the quiz last Saturday, everyone’s attitude toward Su Zhi’s Envoy’s Pet had changed.

Before, they thought the pair was just a laid-back, go-with-the-flow type. They never expected them to be masters of an unorthodox style!

If you had to name the most impressive person in Class 10 besides Shao Ya, it would have to be Su Zhi.

Including Liu Yuhang, the students of Class 10 had vaguely come to see Su Zhi as the de facto number two of the class.

"I know what you’re all thinking, but Yu Bao’s ranking on the charts isn’t high enough yet. It would be against the rules for Su Zhi to fight in the second match."

Shao Ya had already watched the replay of Saturday’s quiz.

"However, if no one objects, Su Zhi can take the third match! Think of it as an extra layer of insurance."

"Of course we don’t object!"

"Xiaoshu, fly bravely! Mama will always—"

"No boy-mamas!! Brother Shu can only fence with me!"

Facing everyone’s eager expectations, Su Zhi nodded with a solemn expression. "If you need me, I’ll do my part!"

’He and Yu Bao were currently stressing over what Skill to work on next, and they were short on real-world combat data...’

’And now a chance for a fight just falls into their laps? Could things get any better?’

"Alright, then Brother Shu takes the third match, and I’ll take the second!"

Liu Yuhang clenched his fists.

"Let’s show Class 9 that there are consequences for provoking Class 10!"

·

「Lunchtime, in the cafeteria.」

At a table by the window, Su Zhi shoveled rice into his mouth while continuing to discuss new Skills with Yu Bao.

Just as their conversation was getting animated, a flash of white suddenly entered his peripheral vision.

The girl with white hair and blue eyes sat down beside him, crossing her legs. With a CLACK, she lined up her tray with his.

"Whatcha lookin’ at? Let me see, too."

Shao Ya craned her neck to get a closer look.

Then she pulled back, blinking at Su Zhi in surprise.

"You’re really going for it? You’re actually going to forge a path of unique Skills for Yu Bao?"

"Yep."

"Woof."

Su Zhi and Yu Bao nodded in unison, their faces the very picture of honesty.

’Honest my ass... A hundred pounds of body weight and two hundred pounds of rebelliousness...’

But Shao Ya didn’t laugh. Instead, her eyes showed a look of admiration.

"That’s the spirit! All the famous Trainers in history were known for being unconventional!"

The white-haired girl gave him a thumbs-up. "Brother Shu! When you get rich and famous, don’t forget about me, ’kay!"

"Sigh, don’t even mention it. We’ve been discussing this since yesterday afternoon and still haven’t found a suitable Skill."

Su Zhi shoveled another mouthful of rice, looking troubled. "I feel like my brain is completely blocked right now. We’re making no progress."

"Pfft, it’s not that easy," Shao Ya said, covering her mouth with a laugh.

"The skillsets in the syllabus are universally applicable strategies, summarized and optimized by countless Trainers. They’re theoretically the strongest Skill combinations for any given Pet Beast. How could you possibly overturn them so easily?"

"True dat." Su Zhi shoveled in another spoonful of rice.

"But, I was thinking! Learning Skills should match a Pet Beast’s inclinations! Take Earth Force Field, for example. It’s not that only large Pet Beasts can learn it, but that larger Pet Beasts generally have higher Elemental Perception Power."

Shao Ya also took a mouthful of rice, looking thoughtful.

"Yu Bao learned Earth Force Field so smoothly, maybe it’s because his Perception is more outstanding compared to other Yu Dian Dogs."

Su Zhi’s eyes shot wide open.

Skills, inclinations, affinity.

His brain, which had been clogged for days, suddenly felt as if it had been forcefully plunged by a toilet plunger. Everything was instantly clear!!

Before he had officially added any points, what was Yu Bao’s most prominent Attribute?

It wasn’t Intelligence or Agility, but Perception!

And that was precisely the Attribute with a high requirement for learning Earth Force Field!

And during their recent discussions, Yu Bao had shown a clear interest in some Skills that were highly correlated with Agility.

It all made sense!

"Huh? Brother Shu, you’re leaving already?"

Shao Ya hadn’t been eating for long when she saw Su Zhi start to clear his tray.

"Yeah!"

Su Zhi’s eyes were burning with intensity. "Thanks to your reminder, I have a direction now! I’m going back with Yu Bao to hash out the details!"

"Okay, bye-bye then! Good luck this afternoon!"

"By the way, that Wood Element Level Three Resource, it’s pretty valuable, right?"

Su Zhi remembered it was a Wood Magnet Crystal. It had the texture of amber but was sharply angled, its surface covered in exquisite patterns formed in a special magnetic field.

After the Wood Energy it contained was completely absorbed, the Wood Magnet Crystal would become exceptionally clear and translucent, making it a beautiful collector’s item on its own.

"It’s valuable, sure, but it’s just one resource. It’s no big deal if we lose it."

Shao Ya winked her right eye.

"It’s just a pissant little challenge, don’t feel too much pressure. Just fight casually, it’ll be fine."

"Okay, then we’ll just fight casually."

"Wha—? I’m gonna smack you!"

·

·