Beast Taming Universe Survival Guide

Chapter 39 Nutritional Supplements and Evolution

People always have this problem: once they start doing something, even if they know it's not time to see results yet, they can't help but stare at their progress every day, as if afraid they'll be able to settle down and focus.

So, after finalizing his plans, Jiang Yong didn't sleep well at all, frequently checking the forum to see how popular his posts were. It was only because his mental and physical stamina far surpassed that of ordinary people that a couple of nights of poor sleep didn't really affect him. Later, he stopped trying to sleep altogether and sat cross-legged to begin practicing the "Vacuum Induction Method" to gain experience.

A few hours later, the sky outside the window began to lighten with the first hint of dawn. Jiang Yong got up, ate something simple, and started to digest the gains he had made in his previous battles with the black market and the military.

"Spiritual Chrysalis, Cortia."

He summoned his two elves and took out some military-grade nutritional supplements he had obtained from the border garrison from his belt space, intending to use them along with the remaining experience to level them up a few times.

Unlike the experience points displayed on the panel, Pokémon typically face various restrictions when using nutritional supplements. The two most common are: first, there are restrictions on the types of supplements available; only a few are universally applicable, and each type of Pokémon has its own suitable diet. For example, most mechanical-type Pokémon cannot consume items that are eaten with their mouths, such as "Nutritional Fruits" or "Spirit Drinks," and can only use items with a similar aesthetic, such as "Refined Parts" or "Energy Blocks"; second, they cannot use too many in a short period, otherwise they will suffer various debuffs, similar to overeating.

However, taking certain high-quality nutritional supplements across different attributes may cause a Pokémon to undergo a branch evolution. The Necromancer Meteorite Shard used before the evolution of the Pokémon is a typical example.

Both Pokémon were trying nutritional supplements for the first time and found it very novel, so they immediately started eating voraciously. At the same time, their level-up progress bars gradually rose, gaining about one or two hundred experience points after one meal.

"It's just so-so."

Jiang Yong shook his head as expected—the nutritional supplements on Carlo Star weren't of high quality. For a normal player, even the cheapest nutritional supplements available in interstellar civilizations provided only thousands of experience points.

In a highly productive interstellar society, raising an elf to the level cap of their current rank is relatively easy. What truly differentiates combat power are the elf's race, the contractor's own rank, traits, skills, equipment, and most importantly, combat awareness.

He then spent his remaining experience points, first throwing out over 10,000 experience points to raise the Spirit Cocoon from level 25 to level 30. At this point, he still had over 20,000 experience points left on the panel, just enough to upgrade it to the F-rank cap of level 36, but the cost-effectiveness was not high.

So he allocated most of the remaining experience to Cortia, allowing it to level up thirteen levels from level 15 to level 28, and learn a new skill called "Water Blade".

"Water Blade": A special water-attribute attack with +1 priority.

"This is exactly what I wanted."

Jiang Yong immediately equipped Kotia with this skill, replacing the original "Saw Blade Cut" - his current lineup is a bit weak in fire, so it would be great to get a water-type skill, and it also has a level 1 priority, which is suitable for both ambushes and finishing blows.

After acquiring the new skill, Cortia's energy circulation changed accordingly. The hot air occasionally escaping from the gaps in its body seemed to carry a hint of water vapor. One of the three processing nozzles on its head automatically melted and recast, eventually forming the shape of a water jet nozzle. The Spirit Breath Cocoon watching nearby circled around it, full of envy.

The evolution mechanism of the Spirit Breath Pupa is quite special. When it has just completed its branch evolution, it becomes a new species and learns all the skills of this stage. If it wants to learn new skills, it has to wait until the next evolution.

"The next evolution of the Spirit Breath Pupa will be its final form. What level is it again? Let me think... Oh right, level 55."

Jiang Yong thought for a moment, then sighed and rubbed his forehead: "That's probably a bit far."

Generally speaking, the higher the species and the greater the potential of a spirit, the higher the level required to evolve to its final stage. In interstellar space, many top-tier spirits don't evolve until level 60 or 70, meaning that evolving at level 55 already represents considerable potential.

However, this also means that the Spirit Cocoon probably won't be able to use the new skills for a while—even if Jiang Yong breaks through the current advancement bottleneck and successfully advances to an E-rank contractor, it won't be enough, as the level cap for an E-rank spirit is 48.

To evolve the Spirit Cocoon, Jiang Yong needs to become a D-rank contractor whose own level exceeds 50, whose spirit's level cap reaches 72, and who is known as a "legendary" on Carlo Star!

Even in interstellar societies, D-class contractors are the backbone of major civilizations and can be considered to have entered the inner circle.

"Luckily, it hasn't merged with the Spirit Breath Cocoon yet. Let's not let it know this cruel reality for now..."

Jiang Yong silently wiped away his sweat, took some money from his belt, and was about to go out to buy something. Suddenly, a rhythmic electronic sound abruptly rang out in the quiet room.

Drop, drop, drop...

Ok?

He instinctively jolted awake, then remembered that he had turned off the alarm function of the interstellar terminal after returning to the city. The communicator that Professor Xu had given him was ringing now, so he answered it.

"Hey, Professor Xu, what can I do for you?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communication line before Professor Xu's cautious tone, which was inexplicably much more respectful than before, came through.

"Mr. Jiang...uh, someone just asked me to deliver a message to you, saying that what I promised you has been prepared."

"That person asked me to ask when would be a convenient time for you, so the items can be delivered to you anytime."

"What you promised me?"

Jiang Yong was taken aback, then realized—the item An Li was supposed to deliver had arrived.

No wonder Professor Xu's tone was different than before. He was probably quite frightened when he received the order, wondering when Jiang Yong had made contact with the highest-ranking administrator of the Yunqi Black Market. This was probably the effect of the "Rising Fame" level faction reputation.

Most people in the black market don't know what An Li really looks like. Professor Xu would never have imagined that the little girl wearing a mask and sunglasses a few days ago was his boss.

"She's pretty efficient. I've only been back in Yunqi City for one night and she's already prepared everything... wait, she drove the car away. I had to run back."

Jiang Yong's eye twitched slightly, and then he suddenly remembered something else.

"Wait a minute, didn't she say she was going to consult with that behind-the-scenes bigwig? How come she agreed so quickly?"

"...Could it be?"