Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Chapter 280: Where's the Opponent?!

"What kind of pet beast is that? I’ve never seen anything like it." Asked a boy standing nearby.

He was about 1.77 meters tall, but his spiked hairstyle made him appear over 1.8 meters.

"Me neither."

To his left, a boy wearing a white jacket over his summer uniform studied the pale blue beast on the training field and speculated, "It doesn’t look like a pet beast from our Yuhua region."

“Hiss…” The only girl in the high school senior team took a sharp breath.

Aside from He Dazhao, who was about to enter the battle in the center, the other members of the senior team looked over at her.

The girl was holding a beast identifier pointed at the pale blue pet beast, her expression one of complete shock as she looked at the information displayed on the virtual screen.

There were many different models of pet beast identifiers available on the market, with variations in appearance and functionality depending on the region and the user’s needs.

The device in her hand was currently one of the most popular models in Yuhua, particularly in the past two years.

“What’s wrong? What’s this pet beast called?” Xu Yixuan, sensing something unusual about Chen Jia’s expression, moved closer and asked curiously.

“Ice Qiya, from the ancient Guwu region…” The boy in the white jacket also leaned over, reading the information displayed on the screen, but quickly looked baffled and stopped speaking.

What…? An endangered pet beast? Could Chen Jia’s identifier be malfunctioning?

He wasn’t the only one wondering. The first thought that popped into everyone’s mind as they looked at the screen was that the device must be giving inaccurate information.

Including Chen Jia.

What did it mean for a beast to be endangered? Those creatures were practically impossible to find, treated like treasures by the country and the alliance, with even a single fallen hair warranting an S-level researcher to investigate!

How could a high school freshman possibly have bonded with a pet beast of such rarity?

Chen Jia hesitated.

“Maybe I forgot to update the version; this older version must have a glitch.”

“No worries. If the identifier’s acting up, we’ll just use a phone search.” Xu Yixuan snapped a photo of the pale blue pet beast in the field and started an image search on her phone.

Then she froze.

[Ice Qiya, a water-ice type intermediate pet beast from the endangered species list of the ancient Guwu region…]

The information was exactly the same!

“Damn!” Xu Yixuan’s head shot up, staring at Ice Qiya in the field, and uttered a word totally out of character for her.

“What’s wrong?” The people around her jumped; Xu Yixuan was known for being chatty but never for using such language.

“The info online is the same.”

Xu Yixuan swallowed, took a deep breath, and added, “This really might be an endangered pet beast…”

Everyone: !!!

For a moment, all eyes were locked on Ice Qiya.

The match had already started.

Almost the moment Sun Boyi gave his command, both Lubao and Blaze Gorilla launched their attacks.

This wasn’t Lubao’s first time teaming up with Qiao Sang.

Previously, to master the Healing Light skill quickly, Qiao Sang had often taken Lubao to the beast battle club as a sparring partner.

On top of that, Lubao had originally been a wild pet beast, so she didn’t need much training to develop her own rhythm and judgment in battles.

She wouldn’t just stand around waiting for Qiao Sang’s commands.

Water Gun collided with Flaming Burst.

The scarlet flame was nearly three times the size of the blue Water Gun.

The two attacks clashed midair, with the flames overpowering the water stream and advancing toward Lubao.

Lubao remained calm, quickly moving to the side to avoid the incoming flames.

After training with the Scattering Stones technique, Lubao’s speed had significantly increased, making it easy for her to dodge straightforward attacks with limited speed and range.

Boom!!

The flames missed their target, striking the ground and instantly cracking the surface of the training field.

“Water may counter fire types, but if the skill proficiency is so different, even a type advantage won’t help.” Chen Jia commented.

“Ice Qiya doesn’t have a big build, and it doesn’t look like a high-defense type. If Blaze Gorilla lands a couple of hits, the match will likely end right there.” Analyzed the tall boy.

Suddenly, Xu Yixuan asked with concern, “Isn’t it illegal to harm endangered pet beasts? Is it really okay for them to be fighting like this?”

Everyone: …

In the field.

He Dazhao looked at the situation unfolding and felt confident in his victory.

He had expected Qiao Sang to summon the Flame Hound, but instead, she’d called out a water-type pet he didn’t recognize.

With water’s natural advantage over fire, he’d initially felt worried; after all, he’d witnessed Qiao Sang’s feat of defeating over 200 opponents at the opening ceremony.

But this water-type pet beast seemed normal, lacking the overpowered traits of the Flame Hound or Treasure-Seeking Ghost from that ceremony.

They say pet beasts’ power rankings generally follow their summoning order. The experts weren’t wrong!

“Keep up the pressure with Flaming Burst!” He Dazhao ordered, his chubby hand sweeping downward.

“Roar!”

The Blaze Gorilla thumped its chest twice with excitement, opened its mouth, and prepared to launch another flame burst forward.

But in the next instant, it froze, mouth open.

Where was the opponent?!

He Dazhao’s pupils shrank.

The pale blue pet beast had been right there a moment ago when he issued his command! But just now, it had jumped to the ground and disappeared!

What kind of skill was that?!

“Stay alert to your surroundings!” He Dazhao called out.

He was tense, his emotions in constant flux.

Although water-types countered Blaze Gorilla, the current terrain wasn’t favorable to water, and the pet beast couldn’t reach its full potential.

The recent Water Gun had reinforced his confidence in winning.

Typically, intermediate pet beasts don’t have many skills, and their training often focuses on enhancing proficiency with existing moves.

Water Gun, one of the most common skills for water-types, was at least practiced to a moderate level among other schools’ team members.

Yet this pet beast’s Water Gun didn’t even reach that standard.

But this burrowing vanish skill completely threw him off.

The worst opponents are those with unknown skills, where you have no idea how to respond.

Is there such a skill for water-type pet beasts? He Dazhao’s mind raced through his water-type knowledge.

Qiao Sang’s eyes were on a small puddle on the ground, and once the water trickled around to a blind spot behind Blaze Gorilla, she gave the command, “Now.”

“Lu.”

Lubao’s head shot out from the puddle, letting out a cry.

The field instantly filled with a dense mist.

“Shoot Flaming Burst at the ground behind you!” Though he hadn’t figured out the burrowing vanish skill, He Dazhao’s instincts drove him to respond.

“Roar!”

The Blaze Gorilla wildly shot flames at the ground, blindly firing through the mist.

Suddenly, a stream of water rose from the ground behind Blaze Gorilla, shot into the air, and then dove down, heading into the mist.

Upon closer inspection, Lubao was encased in the water stream.

Bang!!

A loud collision erupted, shaking the mist due to the energy impact.

“Roar!”

The Blaze Gorilla’s pained cries echoed through the field.

Qiao Sang estimated the beast’s endurance and gave the command, “Continue.”

The moment she finished, the water stream shot back into the air and dropped down once more.

This repeated, with Lubao diving again and again.

“Roar!”

The Blaze Gorilla’s screams grew more desperate.

“Fire upward!” He Dazhao called out in panic.

But the flames didn’t ignite.

He Dazhao sensed something through his bond with the beast and froze.

As the mist cleared, they saw the Blaze Gorilla collapsed on the ground, eyes closed.

Standing on top of it was the coolly composed Ice Qiya.

“Lu.”