Chapter 8: A New Talent
—Youlan Beast Taming Academy—
In a secluded corner of the Youlan Academy market, within a shop rarely visited by students…
“Ding-dong!”
In broad daylight, a golden-haired girl with two large buns and starry eyes walked in.
The Talent Reset service wasn’t useless, but each reset for a single pet beast required double the materials, with the cost increasing exponentially each time. Just three resets could easily drain an ordinary student’s expenses for several months.
Furthermore, given the strict condition that talents could not be changed after choosing an evolution path, few students would reset their new pet beast’s talent before becoming a capable Beast Tamer. They usually decided which evolution path was most suitable based on the initial talent.
But Lian Xing was different. She had already decided on the Golden Leaf’s evolution path, so she had to change the Healing talent before evolving it.
Meanwhile, at the shop counter, a black-haired female clerk in thin pajamas yawned lazily.
“Little sister, please take the reset materials yourself. The cost doubles each time, so please consider your finances beforehand. Don’t take more than you need or steal them, or you’ll be blacklisted~~”
“I understand…” Lian Xing nodded, replying casually.
She walked to the display area, took a light purple crystal granule, and placed it in front of a special printer-like device near the counter. Then, she placed both the Talent Reset Crystal and the motionless Golden Leaf inside.
A few seconds later, the enchanting device emitted a faint glow, and text appeared on the screen.
[Golden Leaf’s Healing talent has been changed to Surface High Temperature]
[Surface High Temperature: Creates intense heat on the skin’s surface, capable of burning things that come into contact with it]
Seeing the new talent, Lian Xing sighed in disappointment. The Surface High Temperature talent was basically only suitable for the Elemental Species evolution path, which wasn’t what she wanted.
“Reset again,” she said without hesitation.
“Two crystals, are you sure?” the black-haired clerk, still half-asleep, asked uncertainly.
“Yes!” Lian Xing nodded firmly.
Then, two more Talent Reset Crystals were placed inside.
[Golden Leaf’s Surface High Temperature talent has been changed to Tear Wound]
[Tear Wound: Prevents wounds inflicted on enemies from healing for a short period]
Four crystals.
[Golden Leaf’s Tear Wound talent has been changed to Basic Haste]
[Basic Haste: Slightly increases attack speed]
Eight crystals.
[Golden Leaf’s Basic Haste talent has been changed to Small Shield]
[Small Shield: Can temporarily deploy a small shield around itself, unable to withstand strong attacks]
“Whew—” Lian Xing took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
Her pretty face was flushed, and her head was starting to feel hot. Her initial goal was simple: a talent suitable for the Weapon Species evolution path. But she kept getting useless talents that couldn’t be used with any of the five evolution categories.
Just as she was about to put in another 16 Talent Crystals, red-faced, the black-haired clerk stopped her and asked suspiciously, “Little sister, do you still have money?”
“Enough for one last try! I’ll definitely get it this time!!!” Lian Xing checked her wallet, patted her flat chest, and declared confidently.
“16 Talent Crystals is enough to buy a Blue Quality combat skill. Shouldn’t you reconsider? Small Shield may not be very useful, but it can be applied to the Beast Tamer themselves. It’s not as bad as everyone thinks…”
“It’s fine, I’ll definitely get it next time!!” Ignoring the clerk’s advice, Lian Xing went all in.
[Golden Leaf’s Small Shield talent has been changed to Healing]
“…”
“…”
“…”
The air in the shop became still, and the two remained silent for almost half a minute.
Lian Xing slowly turned to look at the black-haired clerk, whose expression was now quite interesting. She had been half-asleep, but now she was wide awake.
“Little sister, crying won’t help. I warned you…”
“Can I buy on credit?”
“No!”
“Can I sell myself?”
“No!!!!”
“Senior sister, please lend me money…”
“Enough already!!!!” The black-haired clerk sighed, exasperated.
Then, seeing Lian Xing’s teary-eyed expression, she felt a pang of sympathy.
“Alright, alright, I’ll lend it to you. You’re one of the Supernovas, after all. This little bit of money is nothing as an investment. But if you’re still not satisfied this time, don’t roll around in my shop and disrupt my business. I can’t afford to lend you enough for another 64 Talent Crystals.”
“Thank you, senior sister! I definitely won’t roll around!”
“Hmm, that’s what you said…” The black-haired clerk narrowed her eyes, unconvinced.
A few seconds later, the enchanting machine whirred, and a new line of text appeared.
[Golden Leaf’s Healing talent has been changed to Heavy Metal]
[Heavy Metal: Significantly increases own weight and surface hardness, but causes a negative status effect of hindered movement due to weight]
“…”
“…”
Seeing the displayed talent, Lian Xing froze, rooted to the spot.
Meanwhile, the black-haired clerk’s expression became even more interesting. Healing might not be very useful, but at least it didn’t have negative effects.
Heavy Metal, on the other hand…
The Golden Leaf didn’t have a Viral Species evolution path. Both the Biological Species Gold Star Orchid and the Mechanical Species Yellow Hornet were small and delicate. With Heavy Metal, they wouldn’t even be able to stand. Only the Elemental and Weapon Species paths could barely work with it.
However, the Elemental Species Sand Ant evolution path was known for its agility. Combining it with Heavy Metal would be suicidal!
And the Weapon Species Golden Wheel was already notoriously difficult to control. Increasing its weight several times over would only make things harder for the main battle pet beast responsible for wielding it!
However, unlike the tantrum the black-haired clerk had expected, Lian Xing’s expression was surprisingly calm.
“Thank you, senior sister. I’ll come back and repay you later.”
With that, Lian Xing left the Talent Reset shop, holding the Golden Leaf.
Watching the golden-haired, bun-wearing girl leave, the black-haired clerk nodded appreciatively.
“Hmm, going somewhere else to throw a tantrum. At least she has some principles…”
After leaving the Talent Reset shop, Lian Xing hurried home excitedly. As soon as she got home, she collapsed on the floor and started rolling around, all the way from the entrance to the bedside, then climbed onto the bed like a vengeful spirit clinging to the edge.
Heavy Metal. When she first saw this talent, Lian Xing was stunned. It wasn’t among her top choices.
For the Golden Leaf’s Weapon Species evolution path, her ideal choices were Destruction, Impact, Sharpness, Super Speed, and Rotating Acceleration.
But Lian Xing quickly realized that she had overlooked an important factor. Heavy Metal, this extremely unpopular talent…seemed to be even more suitable for the Giant Moonlight Rabbit than her initial top choices!!!
“Golden Leaf, Weapon evolution!!”
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