Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Shadow Control, an advanced skill.

It allows the user to control an opponent's movements by manipulating their shadow.

As skill proficiency increases, the shadow can break free from surface limitations and transform into a solid form, shifting from two-dimensional to three-dimensional.

This makes it a powerful skill with both control and offensive capabilities.

Qiao Sang fell silent.

It felt like this: She knew this was a tempting game, and though she had resisted it through sheer willpower, someone suddenly told her that if she played, there was a chance to win a million-dollar prize.

Yes, Shadow Control was that million-dollar prize.

This was a high-level skill! In the real world, finding a professional beast-training institute to teach this skill would cost nothing less than seven figures.

Moreover, Yabao likely learned Meteor Rain to exceed the energy limits of his level during the initial stages.

What were the odds, really? Wasn't there a chance that some beasts could learn skills through virtual helmets? So, why couldn't that beast be Little Treasure?

“Xun?”

Little Treasure tilted his head, sensing something off about his master.

“It’s nothing. I was just thinking about the skill you're going to learn next.” Qiao Sang said.

“Xun?” Little Treasure tilted his head again.

What skill?

"Shadow Control. Once you learn it, you'll practically be invincible at your level." Qiao Sang replied.

Before Little Treasure could react, Yabao's eyes lit up. He eagerly bounced up to his master, trying to make his presence known.

"Yap!"

"Yap yap!"

He wanted to learn too!

Qiao Sang mercilessly replied, "That's a ghost-type beast skill. You can’t learn it."

"Yap…"

Yabao's ears drooped instantly.

Qiao Sang consoled him, "Haven't you noticed that you're already unbeatable among beasts at your level? The Meteor Rain you mastered is an exclusive fire-type advanced skill, which Little Treasure can’t learn."

"Yap!"

Yabao thought for a moment, realizing his master was right. His ears perked up again, and he patted Little Treasure on the head with his paw, encouraging him to learn well.

“Xun…”

Little Treasure nodded helplessly.

In reality, he was only interested in evolving.

What good was being invincible at his level if he couldn’t evolve?

Qiao Sang didn’t know what was going on inside his head. Assuming that Little Treasure had agreed, she added, “You can train for a maximum of two hours a day, no more.”

“Xun…”

Little Treasure pouted.

Isn’t two hours a bit too much?

Qiao Sang paused, then smiled.

“Try it first. If you think two hours is too much, you can rest earlier.”

“Xun!”

Hearing this, Little Treasure immediately perked up.

Yabao shook his head as he watched from the side.

His little brother was hopeless, clearly, he would still have to rely on himself in future battles.

Qiao Sang inserted the disk Little Treasure had been holding into the drive slot of the virtual helmet.

The virtual helmet didn’t need to be connected to a power source to function. As long as it was charged, it could be used on the go like a phone.

Seeing the green light flash as it powered on, it was clear that the helmet had enough charge.

Qiao Sang placed the virtual helmet on Little Treasure’s head and instructed, "Don’t panic when you're inside. Just watch, and it will give you prompts when you need to do something."

Little Treasure was still confused, wondering why he needed a helmet to learn skills. But as the cool metal touched his head, sending a slight tingle down his spine, his consciousness quickly faded.

Boom!

"Dear player, welcome to the training world of Shadow Control."

---

“Yap?”

Yabao curiously circled Little Treasure, who was wearing the virtual helmet, occasionally tapping on the helmet with his paw.

How could he learn a skill just by sitting still like that?

Qiao Sang crouched down to examine the remaining four disks and explained, “When they wear this helmet, someone inside teaches them.”

Yabao blinked, then wagged his tail, eyes sparkling as he stared at his master.

"Yap!"

"Yap yap!"

He wanted to wear the helmet to learn too!

Qiao Sang: …

Look at the size of your head compared to the virtual helmet… Of course, she wouldn’t say this out loud.

She looked at Yabao seriously and said, “Nine out of ten beasts who wear this helmet don’t learn any skills, and the helmet is mostly used by lazy beasts. You’re smart and diligent, so you don’t need it.”

Yabao paused, recalling how Little Treasure often lay on his master’s head, barely moving.

Indeed, his little brother was too lazy.

“Yap!”

Yabao nodded, deeply agreeing with his master.

Having successfully convinced Yabao, Qiao Sang turned her attention back to the remaining disks.

Hypnosis, Shadow Ball, Substitute, Taunt.

All were skills suitable for ghost-type beasts.

This mission had been worth it… Qiao Sang couldn’t help but feel satisfied.

Aside from Hypnosis, the other three were skills that Little Treasure’s didn’t yet know but could learn.

Shadow Ball, an offensive skill, was a common attack method among ghost-type beasts.

Substitute required using a quarter of the beast’s maximum energy to create a decoy, capable of blocking some moves and effects.

In some ways, Substitute was similar to Shadow Clone, but it was much more deceptive.

A Shadow Clone could trip and disappear with a little damage.

But a Substitute wouldn’t.

After all, this skill required using a quarter of the beast’s total energy to make, so it was far more resilient.

As for Taunt...

Qiao Sang fell silent as she stared at the Taunt disk.

The first thing that came to her mind was Little Treasure flipping off the Doppelganger Puppet in the sewer's hidden room.

If not for the fact that the Beast Codex didn’t list Taunt as one of Little Treasure’s abilities, she would’ve suspected he had already learned the skill on its own.

Qiao Sang quietly placed the Taunt disk at the bottom of the stack.

It’s a zero-damage, aggro-pulling skill. No need to learn it...

---

Two hours later, Little Treasure removed the virtual helmet, looking satisfied.

“How do you feel?” Qiao Sang asked immediately.

“Xun!”

Little Treasure gave a thumbs-up, clearly impressed.

It felt amazing!

“Good to hear.”

Qiao Sang warned again, “Remember, only two hours a day.”

“Xun~”

Little Treasure patted his chest with his paw, making a promise.

That night.

Qiao Sang and Yabao went to bed on schedule.

Little Treasure floated to Qiao Sang, watching her for five seconds. Not satisfied, he lifted one of her eyelids to check. Only when she didn’t react did he feel reassured.

Next, he floated over to Yabao and circled around him.

After confirming both his master and Yabao were asleep, Little Treasure floated to the virtual helmet, quietly placed it on his head, and mimicked his master’s actions by pressing the helmet twice.

Boom!

"Dear player, welcome back to the training world of Shadow Control."

Little Treasure gazed excitedly at the virtual world before him.

Amidst the excitement, he comforted himself.

This wasn’t for fun, it was all for the sake of learning skills and becoming invincible at his level!