While the outside world was once again stirred by Pluto and Lu Ran’s appearance in the Heavenly Familiar Ranking, Lu Ran continued, listening to Gu Qingyi’s careful guidance.
“Phew. Alright, that’s all I have to say. Is there anything else you want to ask? Otherwise, you’ll end up spending unnecessary money on information brokers again.”
Lu Ran had every reason to suspect she was referring to a certain Demon Cat café manager.
“Well, yes, there is one thing,” Lu Ran said with curiosity.
“Dr. Gu, I heard you’re the only beastmaster in the world who has successfully raised a Dragonkin familiar. Is that true?”
Gu Qingyi paused. “You could say that. However, my situation was rather unique, and it’s difficult for others to replicate. Currently, I’m also exploring how to evolve familiars into Dragonkin more reliably.”
Lu Ran chuckled. “Actually, regarding the matter of a second familiar you mentioned earlier, I already have an idea. It’s the Red-Eyed Crocodile Skink that’s been by my side. That skink—I actually intend to evolve it into a Dragonkin.
“My Super Beast Mimicry skill allows me to harness the power of my contracted familiar. My first familiar, though, was, by chance, a doofus. So, for my second familiar, I want a species with sheer strength to maximize my beastmaster skill.”
“Dragons are the most comprehensive in terms of overall stats, so you also want to raise a Dragonkin?” Gu Qingyi inquired.
Captain Doofus was stunned as they conversed.
What did he mean by being stuck with a doofus as his first familiar? Were dragons really that impressive? You scoundrel, Sudden Death King! I’ll remember this grudge!
“Exactly.” Lu Ran nodded. “So, I wanted to ask you, Dr. Gu, for some insights into Dragonkin.”
“Hmm.” Gu Qingyi rubbed her temples in slight irritation. “Why do all your choices seem to lean toward the hard mode?”
“I know it’s challenging,” Lu Ran said with a wry smile, as, after all, only one Dragonkin familiar existed globally.
Every nation was researching a stable method to produce Dragonkin, and his goal was for Sudden Death King to evolve into a dragon. This challenge was as complex as having Captain Doofus master the Weapon Control Trait. A pure-blooded Dragonkin... even the weakest of them were King Species.
“All I can suggest right now is to avoid fusing any dragon-related traits for the first and second traits,” Gu Qingyi said thoughtfully.
“For the first two traits, select traits that naturally fit your familiar. Meanwhile, provide it with resources from sub-dragon creatures to enhance its affinity with dragon traits.
“Then, on the third trait, incorporate a Draconic trait to maximize the probability of a perfect fusion and awakening of species talent. But while this approach maximizes the probability of awakening species talent, it doesn’t guarantee your familiar evolving into a Dragonkin at level 30.”
“Perhaps, if the familiar also gains Draconic traits for its fourth, fifth, and sixth traits and reaches the second evolution stage, it might become a Dragonkin. But that’s far ahead, as even the highest-level beastmasters haven’t reached level 60, so no one has achieved a second evolution.”
“I understand,” Lu Ran said. “So, until the familiar has a perfect affinity with Draconic traits, I shouldn’t fuse a Draconic trait prematurely.”
“Exactly. Otherwise, an imperfect fusion will disrupt later evolutions,” Gu Qingyi replied.
“Now, let’s discuss your skink’s specifics. I can recommend a few transitional traits.”
“My skink is of the Red-Eyed Crocodile Skink species. It’s timid and fearful of death, so it wants to have robust defense. This desire led to its extraordinary talent in defense after its awakening. It also awakened the lightning attribute.”
“Impressive,” Gu Qingyi remarked with surprise. “Those familiars that awaken talents corresponding to their inner desires are exceptional. With proper cultivation, its future potential is great. And lightning is quite a formidable attribute.
“Let me think... Suitable traits... Considering its talent and attribute, I recommend three transitional traits from which you could choose one or two.”
“One, the Endurance Trait. A familiar with this trait will experience reduced damage, with all enemy attacks halved upon impact. Since it’s already strong in defense, combining it with Endurance would complement its dragon evolution without conflict, actually enhancing its strength.”
Lu Ran’s eyes brightened. This was indeed a fitting trait.
“Two, the Rapid Healing Trait. With this, no matter how severe the injury, your familiar will heal swiftly. Paired with a strong defense, it’s a great match and ideal for specializing in energy compression techniques. Then it will be well-rounded in both offense and defense.
“Three, the Red Lightning Trait. This trait transforms the familiar’s regular lightning into red lightning. Red lightning has an effect similar to lightning tempering, allowing the familiar to strengthen its physique by withstanding lightning.
“After gaining proficiency, it can also help other beings strengthen through lightning tempering. And, of course, its power surpasses regular lightning.
“Each of these three traits has its pros and cons. However, the Endurance and Rapid Healing Traits only appear in Advanced-level Hell secret realms, so if you want them early on, you’ll need to buy them. The Red Lightning Trait, though, can be acquired through personal effort.
“Similarly, rather than fusing a trait, you could opt for awakening a second attribute. If chosen wisely, it won’t necessarily be weaker than a trait.”
As Gu Qingyi explained, Lu Ran’s mind was racing. He first ruled out the Rapid Healing Trait. After all, he had the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer. That Epic item was one of only a few in the entire nation.
Ordinary, Advanced, Rare, Treasure, Epic, Legendary...
‘Treasure’ implies rarity even on a global scale, while ‘Epic’ denotes a rarity in history itself. So, the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer would serve him well for a long time, making it better to fuse with other abilities first.
Secondly, awakening a new attribute was off the table unless it was something powerful like space or time. He preferred to have his familiar specialize in one type and then reinforce that type. For additional attributes, he would contract new familiars with matching abilities.
Lu Ran struggled between the Endurance and Red Lightning Traits. Considering he could acquire Red Lightning on his own and even use it to let Sudden Death King strengthen Captain Doofus and himself,
Lu Ran concluded, “I’ll go with the Red Lightning Trait next! That’s similar to the ‘Golden Lightning Trait’ fused by Pluto’s familiar in the Galaxy Guild, right?”
“Exactly. Besides its strength, Golden Lightning allows familiars to feed on lightning for rapid growth. It’s a trait designed to help familiars level up quickly, enabling later beastmasters to catch up with their predecessors. That’s also an option.
“In any case, perfectly fusing these traits is manageable. As long as the familiar’s attributes align, the fusion is typically smooth and much easier than with Weapon Control,” Gu Qingyi clarified.
“Alright. Dr. Gu, do you need any resources I could help gather?” Lu Ran offered. “I owe you a lot...”
“Not for now!” Gu Qingyi smiled faintly. “You can owe me a bit longer. I’m in no rush.”
But I am! Lu Ran thought to himself.
For now, he’d focus on figuring out how to pay back the debt he owed Old Lin first.
At the Transport Square.
Disguised with a mask and using a presence suppression tool, Lu Ran and Gu Qingyi left Tranquil Island together. Gu Qingyi didn’t stay long, as she still had other matters to handle. Satisfied after witnessing Captain Doofus perfectly fuse with the Weapon Control Trait, she departed.
“You’ve reached the point of being a true pioneer. In the future, if you meet another beastmaster training their familiar in weapon usage, you could guide them.
“If they, too, can perfect their fusion with Weapon Control, this evolution chain might make you a legend—perhaps even the founder of a school. A few decades from now, textbooks could prominently feature your name!”
Before leaving, Gu Qingyi left him with those words.
Walking through the streets, Lu Ran pondered. Establishing a familiar evolution school was akin to starting a sect in martial arts novels. Come to think of it, if sword familiars truly became widespread, Old Master Jiang Dou would be delighted. His lifelong wish was to see a flourishing era of swordsmanship.
“If a student at Rainbow Dojo ever becomes a beastmaster and develops a similar approach to Senior Brother Condor Hero or me, I could give them a few pointers, sparing them from unnecessary detours,” Lu Ran mused.
While Lu Ran thought there wouldn’t be many with similar ideas, his and Captain Doofus’s fame in Limitless City might inspire copycats. Better not! He and Captain Doofus had unique circumstances that were hard to replicate.
As a “semi-public figure,” Lu Ran felt it necessary to post on the beastmaster forum about the difficulties of this evolution route. He didn’t want to mislead others. Though he hadn’t intended for others to train their familiars in swordsmanship, he’d still feel guilty if it led to beastmasters dying in secret realms.
As Lu Ran walked back, someone in the distance stammered. Normally, few people would recognize him, especially now that he wore a mask. The chances were slim. But the group ahead of him happened to have seen him in this disguise before.
“Is it you, brothers?” Lu Ran’s face lit up at the sight of four familiar faces.
He approached them. “Last time, I left in a rush and forgot to add you as friends.”
Lu Yi, Lu Bing, Lu Dingding, and Lu Xiaowu exchanged wry smiles.
“Brother Lu Ran, we’ve been looking everywhere for you! As soon as the Heavenly Familiar Ranking updated, we came to the Transport Square to find you,” Lu Bing said, patting his chest.
“We never expected you to be the famous Pedestrian A!!!” Lu Dingding whispered in excitement, covering his mouth. “So cool, so strong!”
Lu Yi still wore a wry smile. “I asked my grandpa, who said Village Chief Lu Hai was super brave in his youth. A tiger breeds no dogs, after all.”
Was that really how the phrase went? Besides, his familiar was a dog!
Lu Xiaowu added, “Brother from our hometown! You were curious about our village’s history, right? We looked into it for you and, from the old folks, we made quite the major discovery!”