Xu Ran had never imagined that his seemingly ordinary Pet Beast Foster System's first skill would actually have the effect of obtaining and instructing pet beast skills.
Although, he doesn't have a pet beast yet.
This body possesses the Beast Master Talent, and the contract power has already reached the First Stage, meaning he can contract the first pet beast.
However, suitable beasts for contracts are not so easy to come by in this world.
In the earliest times, Beast Masters relied on the awakening of wild flora and fauna to become Transcendent Beings, which was largely a matter of luck.
Nowadays, as fewer types of newly awakened Transcendent Beings emerge, the concept of Pet Beast Species has surfaced, turning the source of Beast Masters' pets into breeding Pet Beast Species.
The reproduction of Transcendent Beings is more difficult than that of ordinary animals, hence suitable pet beasts are a rare find.
Having gained the memory of this world, Xu Ran initially had the idea of becoming a Beast Master.
Now that he has the skill 'Plucking Fur,' his ambition has become even more urgent.
Suppressing his excitement, Xu Ran once again looked at the text that was changing before his eyes.
[Host: Xu Ran
Contract Power: First Stage
Contracted Pet Beast: None
System Skills:
[Plucking Fur (D-level)] (0/100)
Pleasure Value: 742
System Upgrade Experience: 50/1000]
[Novice Task 2: Try Your Hand (to be completed)
Task Description: Please use the system skill 'Plucking Fur' ten times
Task Reward: System Skill 'Drug Application', System Upgrade Experience +100]
Looking all the way down, Xu Ran's gaze was fixed on the reward for the second task.
Xu Ran originally thought that 'Plucking Fur' was a strong system skill, but its name was a bit informal. Now that he had a comparison, he suddenly felt that the name was quite decent.
What the hell is 'Drug Application'?!
He would like to thoroughly criticize this 'Drug Application'!
Not for anything else, just out of a sense of justice!
Moreover, he was very curious about what kind of ability the second system skill would bring him.
To perform a 'Washing and Protection', he can use 'Plucking Fur' once.
So, by just performing ten 'Washing and Protections', he could complete novice task 2.
With this thought, Xu Ran made up his mind.
His gaze finally fell on the pleasure value.
When he first obtained the system, he was quite puzzled about Pleasure Value.
After a round of 'Washing and Protection', he understood that it can obtain Pleasure Value.
By extension, other services should also be able to gain Pleasure Value.
However, those services have not yet been unlocked in the shop, and only 'Washing and Protection' is currently available.
Knowing how to get Pleasure Value, there's another important question.
What can Pleasure Value actually do?
With the breakthrough of hitting zero Pleasure Value, an exclamation mark icon appeared in the upper right corner of the panel.
This might be the answer.
[Prompt: Pleasure value full 1000 can unlock new features]
New features?
Xu Ran was excited.
The system promised him a reward, but this reward didn't seem too far away.
Washing and protecting a pet beast, he had gotten more than seven hundred Pleasure Value.
One more, and it should be enough.
Mentioning 'reward', he felt a bit hungry.
It was midday, and lunchtime had arrived.
Locking the shop door, Xu Ran walked to the nearby street with his money.
The Pet Beast Foster Shop given to Xu Ran by the system was not built out of thin air.
Its predecessor's parents had both passed away, leaving the only inheritance to the predecessor, which was a shop-front.
To save on rent, the predecessor turned the second floor of the shop into a dwelling, and the first floor was left idle.
From the memory Xu Ran got, it appeared the predecessor's original plan was to rent out the first floor, saving the rent to buy a pet beast for himself.
But before he could register with the agency, he swapped lives with Xu Ran.
After the system binding, to adapt to its functions, it automatically renovated the vacant ground floor space into the current Pet Beast Foster Shop.
So while the shop was new, Xu Ran was not a stranger to the surrounding environment.
Xu Ran named his foster shop "Starfire".
As a cross-world traveler, there's always a bit of romance in wanting to change the world.
A spark of starfire can set a prairie ablaze.
That was probably his grand ambition the moment he acquired the system.
But for now, he could only bathe pet beasts.
And they weren't even his own pet beasts.
Setting the world ablaze could be put on hold for now.
The Starfire Foster Shop was located in a relatively bustling commercial street, with many restaurants.
Choosing a reasonably priced restaurant, Xu Ran started eating.
However, his meal was soon interrupted by an unexpected guest.
"Meow~"
Xu Ran turned his head and saw a stray cat.
It was a long-haired cat, but its slender fur could not hide its thin body.
It just stayed in the corner, at a distance of more than a meter from Xu Ran, its eyes wide open, staring at the food on Xu Ran's table.
Yet, it dared not approach. It arched its body slightly, on guard, ready to run at the slightest sign of being shooed away.
Upon noticing Xu Ran's attention, the stray cat meowed again.
"Meow~"
Perhaps identifying with the cat's situation, Xu Ran's heart softened, and he carried over some food from his table to the stray cat.
The stray cat quickly dashed away from Xu Ran but didn't go far. It just maintained a safe distance from him.
He picked out some meat from his plate and placed it on the ground, then returned to his seat to eat his meal.
Cats are creatures highly wary of strangers.
After feeding it, there was no need to give it constant attention. It was best to avoid staring at it.
As soon as Xu Ran left, the stray cat slowly returned to its original spot.
Even though it was very hungry, it still didn't immediately feast on the meat. Instead, it leaned over to sniff the meat on the ground, apparently determining if it contained harmful substances.
After a while, it sneaked a glance at Xu Ran, who was engrossed in his meal, and then started swallowing the food.
Xu Ran noticed it out of the corner of his eye and turned to look.
The stray cat was clearly starved. It gulped down the food at an astonishing pace, half of the meat on the ground was gone in no time.
But even while eating swiftly, its movement was elegant.
If this cat were cleaned up, it could possibly pass as a feline of high breeding.
As Xu Ran ate his last bite, a thought suddenly popped into his mind.
I'm short of a few hundred points for the pleasure value. Should I try?
It's a regular creature, but it might provide pleasure value, right?
He stared at the stray cat.
The stray cat, having finished its meal, stared back at him, as if asking whether there was more.
As their eyes met, Xu Ran mysteriously smiled.
"There's no more, but how about if you come with me for a bath, I'll buy you some cat canned food?"
Right after he said that, he felt he had said something pointless.
Awakened Transcendent Beings could possibly understand human speech, but how could the stray cat in front of him...
Watching the stray cat approaching him, Xu Ran fell into contemplation.
Did... did the cat actually understand what he said?
"...two cans of cat food?"
Xu Ran rubbed his eyes, feeling that the stray cat seemed to move quicker.
"...Three cans?"
The stray cat leaped next to Xu Ran in a bound, tugged at his trouser leg, as if urging Xu Ran to hurry up and get going.
They say cats understand human nature. Today, he witnessed it firsthand.
"I'll take you for a bath right away!"