Starting With Contract Pets Chapter 17
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After their run, Su Bai got ready to accompany Purple Jade for training. He wanted to let his pet master its skills, including some of the Vine Whip attacks that he taught it, as soon as possible.
Currently, the cub's use of spiritual power and execution of skills were still too unstable.
"Howl! (〒〈〒)"
Unlike the previous times, his pet showed an adorably miserable look at the mention of training to express its reluctance.
Seeing Purple Jade trying to escape training by acting cute, he squatted and rubbed its head. "Buddy, do you want to eat delicious food? Do you want to play games?"
"Howl! (✪ω✪)"
The cub bobbed its head fast, looking very excited.
"Do you know how to obtain those delicious food and fun games?" He wagged a finger at it.
"Howl?"
Looking doubtful, it grabbed his finger and tried to act cute again as if to say that he was the best for giving it all the good things.
"No, no. All those good things require money. If I don't have money, I can't let you eat delicious food and have fun."
"Howl?"
"You're asking me how to make money? There are many ways to make money, but for us, we can only do so by becoming stronger and selling monsters we successfully hunt down.
"Anyway, if you're strong, we'll have a steady flow of money, resulting in a steady flow of delicious food and fun stuff.
"If we don't have money, the both of us will have to starve for a few days.
"Also, if we don't have money, you might survive, but I'll likely starve to death."
"Howl!"
After being imparted with his thoughts, the cub temporarily bound together training to become stronger then eating and playing. Hence, it became determined to train hard.
Unbeknown to its owner, what made it decide to work hard was not the enticement of eating delicious food or being able to have fun but the fear of him actually starving to death due to lack of money.
During training, Su Bai did not just rely on his voice to command Purple Jade. Instead, he joined the cub in sparring, running, and jumping so that he, too, could adapt to various types of terrain, like the forest, in a fight.
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With his participation, the cub's interest intensified. It felt that it was playing with its owner instead of training.
Today, his training goal comprised not only the various Vine Whip attacks but also the cub's body development. He trained its dodging ability, its sharpening of claws, and its spiritual power usage to temper the body and form a protection spirit.
Of course, he knew that it was impossible to train so many things in one morning, so he let his pet digest everything first and develop a general idea in its heart.
The physiques of pets and people were vastly different. Su Bai's physique made it such that he had to stop and rest from time to time, whereas the considerate Purple Jade could soothe him with spiritual power, warming his whole heart, even after it had just gone through training.
When they returned home at past 10 a.m., he gave the cub a whole wood spirit potion as a reward. He also let it play with his phone for half an hour.
At noon, the two brothers took the cub and their mother's spirit to the Construct Reservoir.
At the side of the river, Su Bai first bribed his mother's jellyfish-like pet with a water spirit crystal, and after it finished eating it, he smiled and said, "Sister Water Ripples, please help me check the situation in the reservoir. This is my mobile phone; you can just record a video."
Since he was not Michael Phelps, his mobile phone was naturally not waterproof, but it would be fine if it was wrapped in spiritual power.
Splash!
The blue jellyfish-like spirit glanced at Su Bai and reached for his phone before it plunged into the reservoir.
"Brother, what do you think is down there?" Su Yue glanced at the water surface.
"I don't know; let's wait and see once mom's spirit comes out."
The Construct Reservoir was not big and was just an earth-rock dam with a water area of several hundred hectares. About an hour later, Water Ripples explored the entire area and jumped out.
Splash, splash!
Su Bai took his phone and handed another spirit crystal to his mother's spirit, which seemed to have made a big discovery.
Su Yue and Purple Jade both leaned over as he turned on the phone. The first thing they saw were pictures of large and small tortoises as well as some fishes.
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"Iron Turtle, Dragon Fish, Bubble Fish… These are all servant-level monsters. Since when were there so many monsters in the reservoir? They shouldn't be here, should they?"
After looking at the pictures of these fish monsters, Su Bai clicked on the video and finally understood why there were so many of them in the reservoir.
In the video, a light-blue spatial crack could be seen at a certain location in the depths of the reservoir. This spatial crack was not big and rather looked slender and elongated, in fact. It could probably only fit creatures the size of a rabbit based on the current situation underwater.
Furthermore, a blue light seeped through from the other end of the crack. Through Water Ripples's description, Su Bai guessed that what was seeping through from the other water side was a type of aura.
Such things happened from time to time, and whenever there was a space crack, there would be spiritual power tides. Some people had speculated that the spiritual energy rejuvenation a hundred years ago might have been the cause of these spiritual energy tides.
"This is probably a stable small space crack that has been around for a while. These new monsters and spirits were likely drawn here by the spiritual power trickling in from the other side." Su Yue turned to look at his older brother with shining eyes.
Su Bai understood what his gaze meant. This was an opportunity to make a fortune. This kind of stable and small space crack was not in the least bit harmless. On the contrary, the concentration of aura in the Construct Reservoir would be greatly increased due to the aura penetration, turning this place into a treasure trove.
Such a place was undoubtedly an excellent breeding ground for some of the edible plant spirits and monsters. As such, it had great economic value.
As long as no one found out, they could make lots of money by using this place for breeding, planting, and reselling.
"I understand what you mean. Mom and dad are resting at home today; I'll give them a call."
With a nod, Su Bai picked up his mobile phone and rang his father's number.
On the phone, he did not mention the space crack and only said that they had to rush over for something.
About ten minutes later, their group in the reservoir saw a big blue bird flying down from the sky. Their parents were on its back, enveloped by a blue shield.
"What happened?" asked Father Su after he jumped off the bird's back. He had clearly felt the difference in his older son's tone on the phone earlier.
"Mom, dad, come and see for yourself."
Su Bai handed the phone to them.
Both adults were Pet Tamers, so they would definitely understand the situation at first glance, especially his father, who had actually been a beginner Pet Tamer before. He had a two-star silver contract book and two warlord-level pets.
However, during that great battle in the wilderness, he had suffered significant injuries. Now, only his high-level servant Green Feather Bird was left.
Although he had not gone out to take risks ever since his marriage, he still possessed the relevant knowledge and awareness.
Sure enough, after a single glance, his mother said, "I'll go down to take a look. If it's really a small stable space crack and there's no danger of expansion for the time being, we'll immediately go to the town council and buy the whole reservoir."
"Okay, be careful; I'll look out for you here at the surface."
Father Su nodded, naturally attracted by such an opportunity.
Water Ripples took its owner into the water, while Father Su came over to pat his two sons on their shoulders. "Good boys, you two did an excellent job today. You're both very smart and cautious, much like me." He smiled.
"Dad, you're shameless," retorted his two sons in unison.
"Stinky boys, are you begging for a beating…"
He scolded them jokingly, then brought his Green Feather Bird to look out for his wife.
...
Ten minutes later, they both returned. "Don't tell anyone about this and delete the video on your phone immediately. Your mom will use her spirit to camouflage the situation down there for now; we'll go back and find a way to purchase the whole reservoir."
"Okay, go ahead. We'll return in a while."
Su Bai still wanted to continue training Purple Jade.
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Beast
A threat to the galaxy has come from another, and the Union of intelligent life will go to any length to stop it. Military Quarantine has held for hundreds of thousands of cycles. Traders, merchants, colonists, and Pirates live risky lives along the fringes as the politics from the inner systems fail to see the larger threats beyond their borders. A lone human finds himself far from home with no memories to how he arrived. A failing Trade vessel plays on a desperate gamble, while a malicious parasite searches for a suitable host. ............................................. Author's note: Beast is a story that I wrote a long, long time ago. Some of you might have read it then, back when it was posted on reddit over at r/HFY. It was my first webfiction and made in the spirit of that subreddit's "genre" of humanity being awesome. But, it is also a story that has bothered me a little bit. Just like most new writers tend to do, I made mistakes and errors that feel painful to reread. A Space Opera will be a Space Opera, but I had prose that makes present-me cringe. Still, at the same time, the story is still very much a tale I've never given up on. It was my first adventure into fiction: Beast was a crazy adventure with bodysnatching aliens, galactic war, threats from across the universe... Posting this story here is a way to try and redeem myself a bit. I won't call it a complete rewrite, because it's not, but I have wanted to go through and correct some of the major issues Beast has for a long time and put it somewhere more accessible to read (instead of as posts/comments on reddit) and I figure that now is as good a time as any. Additional corrections you might notice are welcome.
8 182From My Enemy to My Love (bxb)
* I thought it might be time for me to pull away now that he was calm, but Vincent surprised me. His long arms, slowly wrapped around me. I hadn't expected this. I hadn't expected to get warmth for warmth. I couldn't pull away now. I held him tighter. "I can't believe you," he said quietly next to my ear. "But I want to believe you. Maybe you are different." He lifted his head off my shoulder, but instead of pulling back his face got closer to mine. "Maybe you and you alone are different." He kissed me.* Vincent has always had a desire to protect his best friend from those who would take advantage of his wealth. So when his best friend starts dating someone that Vincent is convinced is only out for his money, Vincent is determined to do all he can to break them up. Chet has never seen his best friend date anyone, so when he starts dating someone and is genuinely happy, Chet wants to support him anyway he can. Especially when he finds out someone is trying to break them up. This book is intended for a mature audience. The main characters are adults. This is a male/male romance story. There will be sexual content. Names, characters, events and incidents are a product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental. Copyright 2019: All Rights Reserved
8 199Death Regulator
Humans have lived on earth unopposed and alone for thousands upon thousands of years. Finding mundane existence boring, they have created stories of magic and monsters to sooth their lucrative imagination for as long as history can remember. Arik was one of these very same humans. It wasn’t until tragedy struck his mortality that he learned just how wrong everyone truly is. Not only did he awaken from death, but he awoke with what he could only describe as super powers. The stuff of comic books. He was a deathless. Normally it would be all sunshine and rainbows, but Arik is inevitably brought face to face with others like him. Only they aren’t half as kind, and are intent on “eating” his super powers. The battle for his unlife is on. Can he make this second chance worth it?
8 309Leave Bad Enough Alone
Something has been amiss in the city’s theaters as of late. The local bards have long done a respectable job of keeping the audiences entertained, weaving high concepts with skillful performances. But lately, a new set of bards, and their illusionist cohorts, have captured the crowd’s attention. Compared to the theater’s usual fare, their work is hackneyed and poorly plotted, with unskilled acting, bad special effects, and unsatisfying resolutions. Worst of all, the audiences like their work more, and these upstarts are far more profitable than the city’s decent bards! Clearly, there must be some dark secret behind the success of these newcomers, and it’s up to the city’s true artists to find out what it is and expose the conspiracy! Or maybe the city’s bards have just become too hopelessly pretentious and derivative. It’s hard to tell. But investigate it they must! Failure is not an option! Victory, or...well, they’ll have to get day jobs or something. Original cover image generated by NightCafé.Master story list here.
8 126An Average American in A High-school Academy Anime
An American versed in narrative tropes and more than mildly acquainted with anime wakes up in a completely different bed than the one he went to bed in. Now he has to scramble to understand where he is, what's going on, and hope to God he isn't in a relationship drama. I don't expect this to be good or well-received, but I have plenty of time this quarantine, so I'll try to get a chapter of 4000-10000 words out every one or two weeks. (haha) Please let me know how it can be improved. I'm an avid reader of fiction, but I've never really fallen down a rabbit hole so hard that I can name all tropes and settings and such by heart. I'm not sure if this will be effective satire, so I preemptively apologize. Inspired by: "My Life is Not a Manga, or maybe..." by EO Tenkey and "The Simulacrum" by Eganthale. Check them out if you want probably better stories than this one.
8 146Building An Army In Another World With My Smartphone
I woke up in a strange new place and learnt that I had sacrificed my memories for a powerful gift during my transmigration to another world. I guess all I can do is to build up my army...using my smartphone.
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