"Let's start with two laps to warm up," Qiao Sang said.
Firefang Dog adapted quickly to the weighted rings. Walking seemed fine, but just walking with weights wouldn't produce significant training effects.
"Ya."
It nodded, showing no objection to Qiao Sang's plan.
This time, Qiao Sang decided to run alongside Firefang Dog.
After two grueling laps, Firefang Dog looked at her with an expression of utter despair.
You call this a warm-up?
Qiao Sang was panting herself; even she was feeling exhausted after just two laps. Clearly, she needed to exercise more herself.
Once she caught her breath, she checked the times recorded on her phone.
During the morning jog, Firefang Dog had averaged around 18 minutes per lap.
Now, with the weighted rings: the first lap was 29:03, the second lap 38:42.
Qiao Sang noted it down in her phone for comparison later.
"Warm-up's done. Next, ten charges against this tree," she said, leading Firefang Dog to the sycamore where she had been reading earlier.
"Ya~"
Firefang Dog flopped to the ground, weakly whining.
"Don't you want to get stronger?" Qiao Sang asked.
From the past few days, she knew Firefang Dog had a strong personality and impressive willpower. Even after only four battles, it had always rushed to the front without fear of injury.
Get stronger?
Slowly, Firefang Dog got to its feet, its eyes hardening with determination.
Its contract wasn't just for companionship—it was to grow stronger and find more opponents.
Qiao Sang smiled at the change in its gaze, recalling the first time she had met Firefang Dog.
Back then, it had been smashing tree trunks with its tiny body, eyes full of that same stubborn determination.
Thinking back now, it felt like ages had passed.
"Maybe today you can finally master the skill you wanted to practice last time," Qiao Sang said.
"Ya?"
Firefang Dog looked at her, puzzled.
"The skill you wanted to learn the first time I met you at the Beast Tamer base," she explained.
"Ya?"
It tilted its head, even more confused. When had it ever thought about learning a skill?
"Then why were you smashing trees back then? Were you practicing Charge?" Qiao Sang mused aloud.
But that didn't make sense. Charge needed a running start of at least five meters, and last time it had been hitting the tree from barely a meter away.
Firefang Dog remembered its first encounter with Qiao Sang. What had it been doing?
It had been trying to knock down the fruit from the tree.
"Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya."
"Ya, ya."
Firefang Dog tried to explain with gestures.
Qiao Sang: "…"
After a moment of silence, she let it slide. "Alright, let's start training."
Motivated by the thought of becoming stronger, Firefang Dog threw itself into the training.
Charge required its limbs to store energy and release a sudden burst of force.
With the weighted rings, its speed was slower, and the impact wasn't enough to qualify as a full Charge.
After six attempts, the seventh attempt finally counted as Firefang Dog's first real Charge of the day.
"Ya!"
It looked excitedly at Qiao Sang—only to find her lost in thought.
She was thinking about how silly it had been, smashing a tree just to get fruit.
Did the Beast Tamer base not feed it enough?
With that little body, how could it knock the fruit down?
It would've been better to just practice Charge…
After all, it hit the tree for a while, didn't get the fruit, and ended up with a sore head…
Why didn't it just climb the tree?
"Ya!"
"Ya!"
The cries brought Qiao Sang back to reality.
"I'm fine," she said softly.
"Ya."
Firefang Dog nodded and, forgetting its original grievance, continued the training.
17:53
Training ended.
Firefang Dog collapsed onto the ground. Qiao Sang gently scooped it up. "You're the best Firefang Dog I've ever seen."
Although she hadn't seen many Firefang Dogs, it didn't stop her from praising it.
Despite being exhausted, it had pushed through to complete the tenth Charge, relying purely on willpower.
One afternoon, hundreds of impacts—mission accomplished.
"Ya~"
Nestled in Qiao Sang's arms, Firefang Dog showed a rare shy side.
"I'll take you out for a good meal," Qiao Sang said with a smile.
…
Nian Guo Restaurant.
Firefang Dog stared in awe at the table.
Fruit platters, fruit salads, fruit noodles, fruit ice cream, fruit cakes, jellies, pies, juices…
Every dish made from fruit, covering the table completely.
"Gurgle…"
Its stomach growled.
"Go ahead, eat," Qiao Sang said gently.
Firefang Dog didn't hesitate. It grabbed a piece of fruit cake with its paw and devoured it.
Qiao Sang couldn't help but feel the scene was warm and heartwarming.
But beauty has its price…
The cost? One-fifth of Qiao Sang's assets and a scolding from her mother.
…
Three days later.
"Bang!"
A fireball, about the size of an adult fist, exploded against a distant rock, leaving a sizable crater.
[Name: Firefang Dog]
[Attribute: Fire]
[Level: Beginner (127/1000)+]
[Skills: Bite (Entry 74/100)+, Charge (Proficient 168/500)+, Fire Fang (Proficient 116/500)+, Fire Spark (Proficient 135/500)+]
[Points: 55]
In just four days, Firefang Dog's Fire Fang and Fire Spark reached Proficient level.
If others knew, it would cause a huge stir.
Fire Spark aside—any pet with extraordinary talent could improve a basic skill quickly.
But Fire Fang was different—it's a true Intermediate skill. Normally, it would take half a year to reach Proficient, and Firefang Dog did it in just four days!
Wearing its newly arrived dark green triangular sunglasses, Firefang Dog focused on skill release.
With red flames and green glasses, it drew attention wherever it went. Children in the park stopped to stare, yet dared not get too close due to its flames.
After these days of training, Firefang Dog no longer needed guidance from Qiao Sang to know what to do.
Under the sycamore tree, Qiao Sang read her book.
With Fire Spark and Fire Fang at Proficient level, she didn't worry at all about the upcoming special exam battles at Shengshui High.
Everyone else would be using newly contracted pets, none capable of reaching intermediate skill proficiency like Firefang Dog.
Over the past few days, its speed steadily improved. Yesterday, running a lap with weighted rings took 22:07, nearly seven minutes faster than the first day.
The upcoming pet battles five days from now? No worries.
The midterm exams in twelve days? Qiao Sang still didn't have absolute confidence.