In the front hall of the Spirit Free-Range Center,
"This is a guidebook for raising young wood-type spirits. It's pretty similar to what's in your textbooks, haha. Don't worry too much—spirits are amazing creatures and easy to care for. Their diet is also quite varied, not limited to meat or plants. Of course, that's just the basics of keeping a spirit alive."
The staff member spoke while pulling out a product manual. "Feeding only ordinary food will gradually cause a spirit to lose its potential. If you, as a student, aim to become a Spirit Master, you'll need to provide your spirit with more 'nutrition.'"
He flipped open the manual and pointed to a few featured spirit foods. "Jade powder contains the spiritual energy spirits need to grow. For wood-type spirits, we recommend 'Emerald Fragrance Jade Powder,' 'Green Bamboo Jade Powder,' 'Jadeite Jade Powder'..."
Su Hao's eye twitched.
Even though he already knew about it, seeing the actual price of jade powder still made him wince at how expensive it was.
There were many types of jade powder, but they could roughly be divided into basic jade powder and intermediate jade powder—a distinction Su Hao made based on price.
A small box of 'Emerald Fragrance Jade Powder' was priced at 599 yuan, containing twenty-four tiny packets. Each packet was exactly the amount a spirit could absorb in one meal, and spirits, like humans, ate three meals a day...
Su Hao did a quick calculation: that would be 2,250 yuan a month. How much did an average family earn in a month?
'Emerald Fragrance Jade Powder' was just ordinary jade powder with faint spiritual energy, and it was already this expensive. Higher-grade jade powder was either for those with money to burn or for genuine Spirit Masters who could afford it.
"But after a spirit contract, they grow incredibly fast and need more nutrition. Otherwise, how can they pass the Spirit University entrance exam a year later? Necessary investments can't be skipped..."
So Su Hao bought three small boxes of 'Green Bamboo Jade Powder'—don't get it wrong, these were also basic jade powder at 599 a box. Feeding the silkworm baby the 2,999 intermediate jade powder would be way too extravagant, and there were other expenses for raising the spirit in the early stages.
In the end, Su Hao's dad paid the bill. Su Hao's own allowance wasn't even enough for the change.
The silkworm baby spirit cost a flat 180,000 yuan, and the three small boxes of jade powder were 1,797 yuan—not even a single yuan discount. So stingy!
...
One advantage of being a Spirit Studies student was that on August 1st, regular high school seniors in liberal arts and sciences had already started school, about to face the torment of endless exam questions. But they, as Spirit Studies students, could still take another ten days off.
Time to bond with their spirits.
It also ensured that by the time school started, every student's spirit would have reached the growth stage and could begin training.
Su Hao's parents were both at work, so only he was home. Oh, and now there was also a silkworm baby.
Hungry and waiting to be fed.
"Gu-noh~!"
It crawled up a table leg onto the dining table and bumped into the tea canister sitting there. The canister clattered as it fell over, but the lid stayed tightly sealed.
"Gu-noh~"
"Gu-noh!!"
The silkworm baby couldn't pry open the tea lid and got anxious, chirping at him incessantly.
"I told you, tea leaves aren't meant to be eaten raw."
Su Hao boiled some hot water, first rinsed the tea leaves, then poured the tea onto a plate specifically for the silkworm baby.
The fragrant scent of tea wafted through the air. The silkworm baby, ignoring the risk of burning its mouth, leaned over the edge of the plate and slurped it up.
Su Hao leisurely brewed himself a large cup of tea and took a sip.
"Ah~"
Spirits really were easy to care for. The salesperson wasn't lying.
After drinking the tea, the silkworm baby let out a contented chirp, full of energy. It jumped from the table into his lap, climbed up his clothes, and perched on top of his head.
"Seems a bit heavier and fatter."
It was starting to resemble a cat that was expanding sideways.
Su Hao picked it down, poking it left and right. It was soft and springy, earning him an annoyed chirp from the silkworm baby.
"Gu-noh (??へ??*)."
So Su Hao gave it a good rub. Satisfying.
The silkworm baby rolled its eyes, jumped onto the sofa, and stepped on the remote control, watching the screen flip through channels. It didn't understand what was happening, but it seemed fun.
In the first few days after the contract, the spirit grew the fastest. Once it entered the growth stage, simple training could begin.
[Spirit: Silkworm Baby] [Basic Info: Wood-type, Infant Stage 96%] [Contract Holder: Su Hao] [Detailed Info: Height: 0.11m; Weight: 2.3kg; Physique: 2; Spiritual Power: 3; Traits: Revitalization (click to view); Learned Moves: None; Description: ...300 words omitted... Notes: ...50 words omitted...] [Evolution Form: ...omitted...] [Training Plans: ① Basic Training (unlock with 15 intel points); ② Speed Enhancement Training (unlock with 30 intel points); ③ Strength Enhancement Training (unlock with 30 intel points); ④ Physique Enhancement Training (unlock with 30 intel points); ⑤ Spiritual Power Enhancement Training (unlock with 60 intel points); ⑥ (Unlock conditions not met).]
After unlocking the spirit's detailed info, the conditions for unlocking training plans were met. But Su Hao didn't know what the unlock conditions for the later plans were.
"I only have 26 intel points."
A few days had passed since contracting the silkworm baby, but the rate of gaining intel points had slowed compared to the beginning—a book could only provide so much intel. At first, a quick skim gave him a lot of new knowledge and plenty of intel points. Now, even reading a book carefully yielded fewer points.
Because there was less new knowledge!
If he kept digging, even memorizing every point wouldn't earn him a single extra intel point.
"But some exam points just have to be memorized!"
Su Hao looked up at the vast... ceiling, speechless.
He pulled out his phone. The class group chat was buzzing.
More precisely, a few classmates were showing off their spirits, making the others who hadn't contracted one jealous.
Su Hao had been busy bonding with the silkworm baby these past few days and had forgotten to chat in the group. He felt a bit guilty.
Chen Qi: "Look at my little stone elephant. Besides eating jade powder, it loves chewing on anything stone. My stone table's been gnawed into this mess. [Picture], [Picture], [Picture]."
Zhao Jiajia: "Ahhh, the little stone elephant is so cute! Even the way it chews the table is adorable!!"
Tang Xueba: "Shallow people only focus on looks. The little stone elephant is a popular beginner spirit not because of its appearance, but because it's gentle-tempered. In early spirit battles, its weight gives it a big advantage. Plus, as a defense-type spirit, its Stone Armor trait reduces many negative effects."
Gu Yuanyuan: "Heretic. Spirits just need to be cute."
Su Hao scrolled up, browsing through earlier chat logs. A few classmates from Class 8 who signed up for Spirit Studies—Zhou Yuze contracted a Bubble Octopus, Ma Ruomei contracted a Green Bamboo Leaf, Liu Ren... Liu Ren...
Suddenly, Su Hao noticed someone @ing him.
Liu Ren: "@Su Hao, where have you been these days? Did you contract a spirit? Hurry up and post some pictures... Oh, check out my newly acquired Charcoal Turtle."
Liu Ren: "[Picture], [Picture], @everyone."
Chen Qi: "A fire-type Charcoal Turtle, one of the five elemental spirits. Didn't expect you to actually get your hands on it. Envy.jpg."
Zhou Yuze: "Envy.jpg."
Ma Ruomei: "Envy.jpg."
Su Hao: "Breaking the copy-paste chain. Don't think I'm jealous, but... I really am jealous!"
He also sent a few pictures of the silkworm baby drinking tea.
The class group chat went silent for a moment, then messages exploded.
"Kawaii! I want to squish it!"
"Ahhh, my maiden heart!"
"Got the sack ready. Anyone want to team up to *steal* a spirit?"
"Team up to steal a spirit +1."
"Team up to steal a spirit +10086."
Su Hao felt gratified.
As long as you love the silkworm baby, we're siblings from different parents!
Wait...
Suddenly, he felt something was off. He looked closely at the names of the classmates who were chatting the most enthusiastically—they were all guys.
Guys, what are you "kyah kyah"ing for? (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻!