Zhen Sheng City, Zhen Sheng Experimental School, Grade One Class One.
The noisy chatter in the classroom momentarily paused strangely as the figure of a young boy appeared at the doorway.
His short black hair was slightly disheveled, yet it had a youthful energy and a carefree vibe. His nose was high and his facial features distinct, with a hint of fatigue and drowsiness in his eyes behind black-rimmed glasses, making him resemble a melancholic literary youth from an idol drama who had just experienced romantic woes.
After a brief pause, the classroom became lively again, except the topic of discussion shifted from "Which Spirit Beast did you contract?" and "What does your family's Spirit Beast baby look like?" to casual talk about "What's for lunch?" and "Where are we going to play tomorrow on the weekend?"
"Huh?"
A boy sitting on the desk turned his head. He was named Wang Dawei, wearing a blue and white school uniform with his pant legs rolled up high so that anyone could immediately see his pair of sneakers signed by the Federation Country's legendary Spirit Master, Bryant. He saw Lin Guang's empty right hand and exclaimed in surprise:
"Lin Guang, you still haven't contracted a Spirit Beast?"
Great Xia has rules that require public school students to reveal the Spirit Pattern formed after contracting a Spirit Beast on the back of their right hand.
The classroom instantly fell into silence.
For a moment, almost everyone in the class looked at the guy who had hit a sore spot.
Wang Dawei spent the last three months (including winter vacation) relying on his father's connections to contract a Spirit Beast at other states' Beast Breeding Bases, yet Wang Dawei and Lin Guang were good friends, and no one expected he wouldn't know about this.
Before Wang Dawei could react, he addressed Lin Guang with an elder-like demeanor, saying, "The school has organized three trips to the base, right? Have you not found one you like yet? Even if you have a Blue Elite Level Talent along with a Mastery Level Contract Meditation Technique, you're the only one in our grade, but you need to take it step by step. Don't expect your initial Spirit Beast to be above the blue level, average is good enough."
Before Lin Guang could say anything, a little chubby boy pulled Wang Dawei back, whispered something quickly, and Wang Dawei's face visibly flashed with surprise, disbelief, and embarrassment.
"...Sorry."
"Don't worry, I'm not that fragile," Lin Guang replied with a smile and a shrug.
If it were someone else, he might suspect they were being sarcastic, but Lin Guang and Wang Dawei had been friends since middle school, and he knew Wang Dawei was simply a bit slow in the head.
Contracting a Spirit Beast requires a corresponding level of compatibility, and even the Beast Breeding Base couldn't find a Spirit Beast Lin Guang could contract. There's only one possibility: besides enhancing his Talent, it also lowers other compatibility and limits the types of Spirit Beasts Lin Guang can contract.
Though the Beast Breeding Base in Zhen Sheng City is large, it can't meet everyone's needs. For instance, Dragon-type Spirit Beasts and high-potential Spiritual Spirit Beasts have long been reserved by others. While Blue Level Talents are rare, the large population means there are tens of thousands with such Talents just in Zhen Sheng City, making it hard for Lin Guang, with no background, to even get an opportunity to try contracting.
"Are you really okay?"
It was rare to see a hint of guilt on Wang Dawei's usually carefree face. Lin Guang smiled and shook his head, "Of course not."
Wang Dawei, who was normally a bit clueless, still felt something was amiss.
The classmates in the class had only known Lin Guang for a little over a semester, so they probably didn't know him well. But as Wang Dawei's middle school classmate, Lin Guang was always a somewhat quiet and reticent figure in his memory.
Though exceptionally talented, he seemed to never speak in such a cheerful tone.
Lin Guang also realized something, suddenly restraining his smile slightly, lowering his head to reveal a familiar composed and calm expression, "Nothing, just figured out some things."
Wang Dawei finally relaxed, only to sigh, "Speaking of which, your Talent still hasn't fully awakened? It's been half a year."
"Yeah, it is indeed quite strange."
"So your dark circles are also because of..."
"Yeah, it's self-delusion to say I could sleep well in this situation, so I stayed up reading materials to relieve stress," he replied, feigning distress.
Wang Dawei showed a mysterious smile, "Oh, I get it, reading materials at night."
Lin Guang shook his head—he had finally managed to get through it.
Of course, the truth was not that simple.
The dark circles were caused by him staying up all night recording strategies and various Spirit Beast evolution info on paper after his past life memories awoke not long after arrival.
He didn't even dare to record anything electronically for fear of accidentally leaking it.
Thinking of this, Lin Guang couldn't help but sigh.
Yes, he was indeed Lin Guang, the real deal himself. It was just a few days ago, under extreme emotional suppression and burst, he suddenly recalled his life before coming to this world.
As for this world, it was very similar to the world of the last game he played before transmigrating, "Spirit Battle Chronicles", almost to the point where he could confirm he had cross over into a "game."
This is a world where everyone contracts Spirit Beasts.
Public school students participate in an awakening ceremony upon entering high school. Though they can know their Talent Level immediately, the specific effect of their Talent is only known after it fully awakens, which varies depending on the person. The higher the Talent, the longer the awakening takes, and personal qualities also play a role.
The still unawakened mystery within Lin Guang was precisely because he had been unable to fully awaken his Talent for half a year, failed to contract any Spirit Beast, and fell into extreme depression. He learned a method online and used meditation in place of sleep for several days, finally triggering his past memories.
Although in this life he had lost his parents early, it seemed due to crossing and developing again, his mind was unusually adept in academic fields, leading him to be called the model child, a true academic genius, always surpassing his classmates greatly.
Such excellence brought him enormous pressure—half a year of intense self-exhaustion and it was not surprising he wound up like this.
Recalling everything, Lin Guang was somewhat puzzled.
According to the game setting, Blue Elite Level is rare but an acceptable start without using the SL technique, but awakening often takes only around a month. Why would he enjoy such Nezha-level treatment?
More strangely, his Talent has strong exclusivity.
Even though Lin Guang, relying on the information in his mind, is confident he can become a master in spirit beasts even without enjoying the Talent boost, the matter of not being able to contract a Spirit Beast isn't optimistic.
Although Zhen Sheng City's Spirit Beast types are plentiful, Lin Guang even found a dragon type Spirit Beast believed by people to be useless and unevolvable, but still failed to contract it.
This can only mean his Talent is quite niche, for instance, not only limiting the species but also the attribute, such as requiring [Dragon Type] + [Earth Element] Spirit Beast for contracting, or needing divinity etc.
But the problem is... Blue Elite Level Talent is indeed rare, yet in a world where everyone contracts Spirit Beasts, you might not walk for long before meeting one, so it's not supposed to have restrictions this strong.
Even in Hunter, there is the saying "greater restriction, stronger ability!"
Perhaps there's some hidden power as well...
"Ahem..."
Just then, amidst a fit of a cough, the class teacher Ouyang Wei also walked into the classroom. He had a tall and slightly thin figure, dressed in a gray shirt that was almost faded by washing, with a pair of black-rimmed glasses on his nose, rustic and unappealing but with sharp eyes able to suppress all mischievous students under the Five Elements Mountain.
Wang Dawei's expression changed slightly; he wasn't afraid of any other teachers, but Ouyang Wei was not only a Three-Star Spirit Master but also rumored to have served in the military, withdrawing after being injured in a disaster ten years ago.
Under Ouyang Wei's imposing presence, students instantly stopped chatting, returned to their seats, and took out their textbooks and notebooks.
Ouyang Wei was a Level One teacher who not only preached from the textbooks but shared his personal experiences from secret realms and the wild, drawing students' attention as much as possible. But for Lin Guang, a gaming field god who cleared "Spirit Battle Chronicles" countless times, this knowledge was a bit too elementary and didn't require his full attention, leading him to contemplate other matters.
Ding—
Suddenly, a pale blue silhouette popped up before him.
[Strongest Spirit Master Cultivation System (Pending Activation)].
[Activation Condition: Contract a Spirit Beast (0/1)].