Chapter Forty-Nine

Mother Cheng frowned. “You can’t just practice skill books at random!” If a skill isn’t unique to a monster or inherited, learning it recklessly can cause interference; at best, it might cripple a limb, at worst, threaten one’s life. For example, if a deep-sea giant whale learned Steel Wings, the skill would directly affect its fins; it could even destroy a pair of fins with a single move. Forget proficiency—just waving them would be impressive.

A pure water-type monster, even if it stumbled upon the divine skill of Phoenix Rebirth, couldn’t practice it; it might burn itself to death before rebirth. And that’s only the effect of a skill on the body—skills can also affect each other. Some monsters love stacking armor. After painstakingly training Golden Scale Armor for ages, just as evolution is within reach, they suddenly learn Thick Skin. Now, there’s another weakness, and because part of their body turns leathery, the skill will never reach max level; defense on both sides remains permanently stagnant.

Cheng Yuan waved his hand. “I know, don’t worry.” With a compatibility of 105%, it truly deserved the name Tiger—it was a perfect match for the little tiger.

Mother Cheng changed her shoes and walked to the kitchen. “After a week of exhaustion, I’ve finally bought lamb. Let’s make soup.” Cheng Yuan seized the opportunity and slapped the skill book onto the little tiger. Immediately its torso expanded a bit; its formerly rounded body began to show distinct angles.

The little tiger looked up and called to Cheng Yuan, who opened the panel and glanced at it, then stroked the tiger’s fur, only just noticing the week’s changes.

Its level had risen by one; most importantly, it had perfectly completed Cheng Yuan’s tasks. Its Thick Fur had reached max level—who knew how many hours the little creature had spent grooming itself, or how many times Father and Mother Cheng had helped brush it. The new skill reached max level in just a week, granting it the new talent Thick Fur, so at least it wouldn’t fear the cold in winter.

As for Golden Armor, it wasn’t maxed out, but had reached level eight—nearly there. Once Golden Armor reached max, the tiger’s last defensive weakness would be covered. With its passive Broad Shoulders, Cheng Yuan felt confident.

After a night, Cheng Yuan took the two creatures to school as usual. But just as he stepped out, he saw something utterly unexpected.

Wang Ningning stood there, carrying a backpack stuffed to the brim, holding a spear, clad in chainmail, with a small shield hanging from her left arm.

Cheng Yuan’s sudden appearance startled Wang Ningning, too. His gaze was full of curiosity—what are you doing? Wang Ningning fumbled inside her armor for a moment, put on her face guard, and declared firmly, “I’m going to the dungeon.” Cheng Yuan nodded. “Then go ahead.” Wang Ningning suddenly said, “I defeated Liu Baitian.” Cheng Yuan froze. “That Fire Giant Dragon, the top of the grade?”

Wang Ningning nodded, her armor making a scraping sound as she moved.

Cheng Yuan was utterly shocked. He grabbed Wang Ningning’s hand. “You actually won! How did you do it? Teach me, sis.” Hearing him call her ‘sis,’ Wang Ningning felt as refreshed as eating ice cream on a hot summer day. Her childhood friend only called her that when she surpassed him, and such moments were few and far between.

Beneath the face guard, her lips couldn’t help but curve upward, nearly bursting into laughter. Wang Ningning kept telling herself to stay calm, taking deep breaths as she recounted the entire process in a lively tone under Cheng Yuan’s curious gaze.

When he finished listening, Cheng Yuan was full of shock. “That damage reduction is terrifying!” He guessed Wang Ningning’s shield array tactics had worn Liu Baitian down through relentless defense, but hadn’t expected it to be so unadorned. Even more unbelievable, Liu Baitian truly couldn’t break through.

“Incredible.” Just then, Cheng Yuan heard a window open. He looked up to see Wang Ningning’s mother watching them from above.

He glanced at her but paid no mind, as Wang Ningning continued with her plans. “If this damage reduction strategy works, I’m going to stack armor. Next, I’ll get a team of defensive monsters, form a system, and eventually create a giant domain, like a tower defense game. I’ll name it Fortress System.”

Cheng Yuan instinctively applauded. The strategy sounded weak—attack power low, a whole group probably couldn’t match the damage of a single offensive monster—but defensively, it could easily wear down a swarm of enemies. Stacking up, once the Fortress System matured at the King level, even Cataclysm monsters would be confused: whose territory was this, anyway? Though he had a rather useless system, facing Wang Ningning’s pure defense setup in the future, unless he had a combat system, it would be hard to brute-force a solution.

He then asked, “So you’re choosing turtles as your first pick?” Wang Ningning nodded reflexively, then remembered her ‘Turtle Girl’ nickname. After thinking for a moment, she said, “General turtle types, armadillos, or thick-skinned creatures like elephants will do.”

At the window, Wang Ningning’s mother watched her daughter’s hands being held by Cheng Yuan, heard the occasional peal of laughter, and was filled with hesitation. She wanted to remind her daughter that you can’t date two people at once, but having not seen Xu Hao in a long while, she worried her daughter had changed partners—though that seemed awfully fast.

Cheng Yuan suddenly pulled out the Barbaric Swamp Giant Lizard from his arms. “It’s already level 13. Maybe after you come back this time, it’ll evolve. Are you scared?” The giant lizard, which had been basking in Cheng Yuan’s warmth, was suddenly dragged out and momentarily stunned. Its five claws splayed, and after a moment, it waved them at Cheng Yuan, conveying, “Cold, I want to sleep.”

He tucked the giant lizard back into his clothes. The weather was indeed chilly, not ideal for cold-blooded lizards. Wang Ningning felt threatened—dealing with the little tiger was hard enough, not to mention the soon-to-evolve giant lizard, at the adult stage, water-type. The training direction was hard to guess: if it was a shield-breaking brute like the little tiger, two would be tough to handle; if it was support, even harder.

Wang Ningning had noticed the little tiger’s recent Golden Armor, signaling its shift from a blood-heavy assassin to a high-burst warrior.

But for pride’s sake, Wang Ningning still held her head high. “Let’s fight again when we both reach adult stage!” Cheng Yuan smiled and nodded. “Sure.”

The little tiger looked at the two, yawned in boredom, and Cheng Yuan glanced at it, then patted Wang Ningning’s helmet. “I’m off to school. Good luck in the dungeon.”

Wang Ningning raised her spear. “No problem! I’m well prepared this time.” She bounced once, and Cheng Yuan waved and turned to leave. After he departed, Wang Ningning patted her armor. “Hmm, it’s a bit heavy.”