Chapter 12: Reaching Perfection

“So, it’s because of this?”

Nuobai shook her body, sending small droplets of water flying everywhere.

Bai Luxin sat on her heels in front of her, one hand clutching a bath towel and the other shielding her face.

“Making money is very hard, Nuobai.”

Her voice was low. She had originally intended to bear the burden alone, but Nuobai had managed to coax the truth out of her.

However, seeing Nuobai’s panicked state after falling into the water was a bit funny.

‘She’s so afraid of taking a bath.’

“Simple.”

“We go to the Underground Arena. I’ll fight in the ring, and you place the bets.”

“The money will just come pouring in.”

“How about it, Beast Master? I have a way to contact—”

Suddenly sensing that the atmosphere was not right, Nuobai looked up to see Bai Luxin’s unfriendly gaze.

The girl lunged forward and pinned her down, firmly restraining her claws.

“Underground matches?”

“Do you think you can just do whatever you want?”

“You’ve definitely been influenced by the wrong people, Nuobai. I need to teach you a good lesson on how to be a good cat.”

“Beast Master, your towel fell off!”

“Don’t try to change the subject.”

……

After a round of “friendly” and “scenic” instruction, the ordeal finally ended, but only after Nuobai repeatedly promised never to do anything dangerous again.

Nuobai felt she had lost all dignity. Bai Luxin actually dared to pin her across her lap and spank her, demanding she admit her mistake.

How was she wrong? Within Tier 1, there were very few who could defeat her. Going to a duel would mean at least a 10-match winning streak to start.

Combined with the gimmick of being a Snow Joy Cat, they would surely make a fortune.

She had researched it for a long time; there would definitely be no problems.

‘So, Beast Master, what should we do? Wanting me to grow quickly is very expensive.’

‘You might as well just listen to me.’

Meeting Bai Luxin’s eyes and fearing another “education” session, Nuobai pulled out a slip of paper and curled it up with her tail.

“Otherwise, you can explain this to me!”

Seeing the paper, Bai Luxin gave a bitter smile. She pulled Nuobai into her arms and buried her face under the cat’s neck.

The texture was soft and cool, and she could faintly smell the fragrance of dancing snowflakes.

“So you found it after all.”

Her voice held a mix of helplessness and calm, with a faint hint of a sob.

“My parents were archaeologists. They went missing when I was a 7-year-old.”

“After they disappeared, everything related to them vanished, leaving only a single group photo.”

“Beyond that, there was nothing left.”

“Do you know? As a 7-year-old, I held a photo frame and was brought here by their colleagues—people I didn’t even know.”

“When I asked them where my mom and dad went, they only told me to live well from now on.”

“Live for what?”

“At first, I didn’t understand what ‘missing’ meant. I thought they would be back soon. Every time there was a knock at the door, I thought my parents had returned.”

“But I waited for 11 years, and I never saw them.”

“But Nuobai, I found you.”

Nuobai hugged her. Seeing the faint red marks on the back of the girl’s hand, a trace of unease arose in her heart for no reason.

‘Beast Master, believe me. Everything will be fine.’

……

The next day, Bai Luxin held Nuobai, stroking along her body.

The soft, elastic sensation against her side made Nuobai not dare to move at all.

How long had it been? She was already being held like this. In the past, forget about Long Qianwu, even Aunt Qin wouldn’t have dreamed of holding her this way.

Being able to hold her in one’s hands was already a blessing she bestowed!

This debt of gratitude for saving her life was a bit large… no, it was a bit white…

‘When I turn into a human, I’m going to hold Bai Luxin in my arms and stroke her hair too!’

“Beast Master, just drop me off here.”

In front of the Training Room, Nuobai couldn’t wait to leave the “gentle trap.” She needed to start grinding her proficiency.

“I’ll bring the things you need later. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“I know, I know. When you get here, just call me through the contract.”

Watching Bai Luxin leave, Nuobai licked her paw. ‘It’s you who shouldn’t overwork yourself.’

The girl had stayed up late into the night making plans for her; Nuobai had seen it all.

The entire day was packed: taking commissions, studying beast-taming knowledge, making food for her…

Since her Beast Master was working so hard, if Nuobai couldn’t carry her to the top, she would be a disgrace to the name of a transmigrator.

‘If I don’t max out my proficiency today, I’m a dog.’

……

“There’s something dirty!”

Nuobai plunged her head into the snow, burying herself.

The good news was that her skills had entered a new realm—one she would tentatively call the Perfect level.

The skill consumption had decreased significantly, while the bonuses had undergone a qualitative change.

The bad news was that her proficiency wasn’t maxed out yet. Above the Perfect level, there was still room for improvement.

She was obsessed with these two skills now. She refused to believe this — was there really no end to it?

“Nuobai, it’s time to eat.”

A gentle ripple came through the contract. Nuobai crawled out of the snow pile and shook off the snowflakes.

“Beast Master, long time no see.”

“What do you mean ‘long time no see’? We see each other every day.”

Opening the lunch box, pieces of Snowflake Piece were stacked together. It was clear that Bai Luxin had tried her best to roll them into perfect rounds.

“Sorry, it’s my first time making Snowflake Piece. They turned out like this.”

Nuobai picked one up and said muffledly, “As long as it tastes good, don’t worry about the appearance.”

“I really want something sweet…”

Seeing that the girl had made delicious food for her, Nuobai proactively jumped onto her lap.

Bai Luxin scratched the top of her head, enjoying a moment of warmth.

Every day after that, Bai Luxin would come on time. While feeding Nuobai, she took the opportunity to share some affection.

The Snowflake Piece balls were rolled rounder and rounder, but the fatigue on the girl’s face also increased visibly.

“Beast Master, let’s go home tonight.”

Ever since discovering that in the Snow Joy state, the three newly learned skills could gain proficiency even while sleeping, Nuobai had firmly decided to stay in the Training Room for the entire week.

No matter what Bai Luxin said, she wouldn’t go home.

Hard work paid off. All three skills had reached the Expert level, and through their synergy, she had developed two new techniques: [Light Arrow] and [Shadow Bolt].

By aggregating light through [Light Condensation] and then manipulating it with [Polyform], she created the [Light Arrow].

[Shadow Bolt], on the other hand, was formed by using [Shadow Split] to control shadows into an attack, making it more concealed and harder to detect.

[Sharp Claw] and [Silent Step] had finally reached the highest realm, which she called Divine Mastery.

These two skills seemed to have merged into her instincts, becoming two permanent states.

[Sharp Claw] added a certain degree of penetration to her claw attacks.

[Silent Step] permanently increased her movement speed.

Although the bonuses weren’t high, Nuobai had tested them and found that these two states could stack with the Snow Joy state.

In other words, in the future, she could turn herself into a stat monster through even more skills.

“I thought you were going to live here until the Academy Tournament started.”

Hearing the resentment in her tone, Nuobai hesitated slightly before letting go of her instinctive suppression. She rubbed her head against the girl’s hand.

‘I should reward her just a little.’

“Meow~”

Nuobai’s sudden act of acting cute stunned Bai Luxin. Then, with a look of surprise, she picked the cat up.

“Quick, quick, quick! Nuobai, meow again!”

The tiny, soft meow made her heart melt, and the fatigue of the past few days was swept away.

“Nuobai, you’re so cute!”

“Come, let Mommy give you a kiss!”

“Mwah, mwah…”

Nuobai looked speechless. ‘Help! What do I do if my Beast Master has gone crazy?’

‘Someone save me!’