"Welcome! How can I help you?"
As soon as I pushed open the door, a smiling young woman in a business suit greeted me.
Lin Ze got straight to the point.
"I would like to purchase lower-grade ice element essence and soul jade."
"Okay, this way please."
The woman in business attire led Lin Ze to a transparent glass counter.
It was filled with countless pet-related materials.
Each item has a brief description and price tag.
Lin Ze quickly found what he wanted.
The lower-grade ice element essence looks like a small, non-melting ice cube.
Wisps of visible cold mist emanated from its surface.
Each one costs 3000 credits.
The Soul Jade is about the size of a thumb, completely black, and resembles obsidian.
Each item costs 20,000 credits.
Lin Ze couldn't help but secretly grumble to himself.
These two materials can only be considered low-grade materials at best.
Even so, the price is still quite high.
Ten lower-grade ice elemental essences and one soul jade would cost a total of 50,000 credits.
That's equivalent to almost half a year's salary for an average white-collar worker.
The Beastmaster class truly lives up to its reputation as a "bottomless pit of gold."
Despite my inner complaints, I still had to buy it.
Lin Ze didn't hesitate, quickly picked out his items, and then swiped his card to pay.
While paying at the counter, the girl in business attire couldn't help but steal a few glances at him.
There was a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Having worked in this industry for a long time, her knowledge of pet materials is far richer than that of some apprentice beast tamers.
Lower-grade ice element essence is relatively common, and many beast tamers use it to feed ice-attribute pets.
But the Soul Jade is different.
This thing is mostly used for pet evolution.
But the boy in front of me looked very young; he must be a student from a nearby high school.
These people have generally only recently contracted a pet, so it shouldn't be possible for them to raise their pet to the evolutionary stage so quickly.
"Could he be a top student from some high school?"
The girl in business attire started to get creative.
A beast tamer who is about to undergo pet evolution at such a young age is undoubtedly outstanding.
The future is definitely bright.
"What a pity, she's too young, otherwise I would have made my move."
"I wonder if he minds dating an older woman?"
Lin Ze was completely unaware that in just a short while, the girl opposite him had already gone through a lot of thoughts.
But there was a vague feeling that the way the other person was looking at him made him feel a little uncomfortable.
After paying, he quickly left the pet store amidst the girl's reluctant gaze.
"I have less than 40,000 credits left in my card."
"We need to find a way to make some money, otherwise we won't be able to afford pet food in the future."
Lin Ze muttered to himself.
If you really need money, you can borrow from Mr. and Mrs. Guan Chongshan.
They certainly won't refuse.
When Lin Ze was planning to buy a pet, Guan Chongshan had considered helping him pay for it.
However, Lin Ze's soul strength was too low to support powerful pets, so he could only contract weak pets like Little Snowball.
The required funds are not much, and I can afford it myself, so there is no need for help.
Of course.
Unless absolutely necessary, Lin Ze does not intend to do that.
Back home.
Lin Ze immediately summoned the little snowball.
"Come on, little guy, eat these things and you'll evolve."
Lin Ze took out the lower-grade ice element essence and soul jade and fed them to his pet beast.
The little snowball was a bit confused, but it still obediently opened its mouth and began to eat.
Lin Ze watched quietly, a slight smile appearing on his lips.
After reaching an evolution node, specific materials need to be fed to allow the pet to evolve successfully.
Different evolutionary paths require different types and quantities of materials.
Even the slightest difference could lead to evolutionary failure.
Pets can suffer minor injuries or even a drastic drop in strength, losing everything overnight.
Therefore, when beast tamers evolve their pets, they strictly follow the known evolution formulas and supplementary ingredients.
No one dared to act recklessly.
Those who dared to act recklessly almost all suffered the consequences.
Only a very small number of people are lucky enough to stumble upon a new evolutionary path.
But Lin Ze is different.
With the achievement system at his disposal, he can clearly see the hidden evolution paths of all his pets.
You can freely choose a path with great potential to evolve your pet.
This alone makes his future potential far exceed that of other beast tamers.
Lin Ze was confident that he would reach the pinnacle of strength in this world in the future!
A moment later.
The little snowball devoured all the ingredients.
Its body suddenly shone with a dazzling azure light.
His body size expanded rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, it swelled from the size of a basketball to half a meter tall.
The whole process lasted only four or five seconds.
When the light faded, a figure appeared in the center of the living room, resembling a seven or eight-year-old girl, but with a translucent, deep blue body.
[Name]:Ice Crystal Soul
[Genus]: Ice
[Level]: Tier 2, Stage 2
Growth Rate: 0%
[Skills]: Ice Spike, Frost Breath
[Empress Route, Next Evolution Form [Snow Woman], Requirements: 100% Growth Rate, 20 Intermediate Ice Element Essences, 1 Heart of Ice]
"They actually advanced by an entire major realm!"
A look of ecstatic joy appeared on Lin Ze's face.
The increase in strength brought about by evolution was even greater than he had anticipated.
It jumped directly from the first-order second stage to the second-order second stage!
It should be noted that the pet strength levels of the senior students at Pinghai No.1 High School are generally between the third and fifth stages of the first tier.
Elite students' pets can reach the seventh or eighth level of the first tier.
Even a top student like Guan Ning only has a pet beast at the first rank, ninth level.
Lin Ze's current strength far surpasses theirs.
Just then, a mechanical, monotonous prompt suddenly rang in my mind.
"[Initial Evolution]Achievement completed, 100 achievement points and 1 Body Strengthening Crystal."
Lin Ze was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.
I never expected to achieve something so suddenly.
This is truly an unexpected delight.
"It seems that in addition to the achievements on the list, there are many other hidden achievements that will only be revealed after the conditions are met."
Lin Ze pondered silently.
There are still many areas in this achievement system that need to be explored.
Coming to his senses, Lin Ze looked at the body-strengthening crystal in his palm.
[Strengthening Crystal: A unique crystal containing the power of life. When fused, it can comprehensively enhance physical attributes. The extent of the enhancement depends on the user's inherent physical strength.]
Without hesitation, Lin Ze used it immediately.
As the body-strengthening crystal fused into his body, he clearly felt a surge of vitality erupt in his abdomen, instantly spreading throughout his limbs and bones.
Muscles, bones, and skin are becoming denser and stronger.
A few seconds later.
The feeling dissipated.
Lin Ze gestured for a while and was pleasantly surprised to find that his strength, speed and reaction ability had all improved significantly.
"It works great!"
Seeing that his constitution attribute had increased by 1 point on the panel, Lin Ze smiled with delight.
Although beast tamers do not need to participate in battles, it is always a good thing to be physically strong.
In case of danger, their survival ability is greatly improved.
"Awoo."
Ice Crystal Soul drifted to Lin Ze's side at some point and affectionately nuzzled his shoulder.
Its expression clearly showed its affection and fondness for its master.
The evolved Ice Crystal Soul looks somewhat like the legendary Ice Sprite.
She has a petite and delicate figure.
Aside from the fact that her body is a deep blue and semi-transparent, she doesn't look much different from a cute human girl.
"Well done."
Lin Ze patted Ice Crystal Soul's head, then looked at the panel.
Previously, increasing the growth rate of the little snowball consumed 77 achievement points.
He currently has 123 achievement points left.
After trying to increase the growth rate, Lin Ze was surprised to find that the cost of increasing the Ice Crystal Soul's growth rate by 1% had increased from 1 achievement point to 5 achievement points.
"Will the resources required for further improvement also increase as strength increases?"
Lin Ze grinned and decided to invest all his achievement points into it.
In the blink of an eye.
Ice Crystal Soul's growth rate skyrocketed to 24%.
His level was also raised to Tier 2, Stage 4.
Their strength has increased dramatically once again!
"Next, I'll go to the Beast Tamer Association tomorrow to participate in the apprentice qualification assessment."
Lin Ze looked out the window, his eyes deep and unfathomable.