Start With Contracting Sprites

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Soon, the group’s messages reached 99+.

Su Hao then logged off.

Why did he need online groups? Were sprites not fun enough to play or novels not good enough to read?

Suddenly, his phone vibrated again. He saw that Liu Ren had invited him to join a group, named First High Newbie Sprite Trainers Mutual Help Group.

Apart from Chen Qi and his classmates, there were others in the group. They were all An City First High students who had contracted sprites.

After showing off their respective sprites for a while, they finally moved to more serious topics.

“My Vine Snake is a bit lazy. It wraps itself around my anti-theft window to bask in the sun, ignoring me on a daily basis. Is there anything I can do?”

“The Wood-Element Sprites seem okay basking in the sun. That should help the sprites grow, right?”

“Sprites can start training after they enter their growth phase, but how do we train? Let the sprites do 100 push-ups? My fluffy ball has no hands or feet.”

“When it comes to training sprites, the training method itself is important. It’s best to train under the guidance of our teachers after school starts. Training on our own might create problems.”

Su Hao silently read the messages without commenting.

At that moment, Liu Ren started to participate. “Speaking of the start of the school term, I have confidential news. It is said that there will be an entrance exam for the Sprite stream at the beginning of the term.”

“Exam? I haven’t even finished my summer homework!”

“Will our sprites battle? I’m so excited!”

“Don’t overthink, how can sprites fight without any training?”

“@Newbie Liu Ren who dreams of becoming a Sprite Master. Big Boss Liu, how are you going to train your sprite?”

Liu Ren: “Ah? I don’t need to train. I feed Little Charcoal Tortoise with Scorched Jade Powder three times a day and a Fire Spirit Fruit for supper. From time to time, I also give him some nutritional supplements. When the school starts, whether it is a battle or something else, I believe Little Charcoal Tortoise can handle it.”

Chen Qi: “…”

Ma Ruomei: “…”

Su Hao: “…”

Su Hao did some calculations with his fingers. The price of Scorched Jade Powder was more than ten times that of Silkworm Baby’s main meal. The Fire Spirit Fruit was even more precious. It was a type of energy fruit and was usually not available in stores.

What Liu Ren fed was not nutritional supplements, but money. He had so much money, and Little Charcoal Tortoise was one of the five-elemental sprites for beginners. How could it not be strong?

The group was quiet for a moment, and Liu Ren was mercilessly awarded the title of “King of Awkward Silence”.

…

In his bedroom, Su Hao opened a hard leather notebook he had just bought, which recorded the development details of Silkworm Baby.

From his records, it seemed that Silkworm Baby underwent a different transformation daily.

“Roughly by tomorrow, Silkworm Baby will be able to enter its growth phase and start training.”

Suddenly, Silkworm Baby, which was watching TV in the living room, felt a chill. It looked left and right and finally pulled a blanket over its body using its mouth before continuing to watch TV intently.

The translucent panel unfolded in front of Su Hao. No longer hesitating, he spent 15 Intelligence Points to unlock Basic Cultivation under Cultivation Plan.

A three-dimensional model of the Silkworm Baby appeared on the interface. At the same time, a massive amount of information poured into his mind.

[After the sprite has consumed the jade powder, it can speed up digestion by expending its physical strength and spiritual force within the hour (The specific method is as followed:…)]

[The current training limits of Silkworm Baby are: physical strength XXX, spiritual force XXX, resistance XXX…]

[Nutrition needed for the premium plan…]

[What the mid-tier plan needs…]

[Ordinary plan…]

After a while, Su Hao let out a long breath.

“So that’s it…”

Basic cultivation referred to all-round training and cultivation of sprites, in order to develop their potential.

A large part of the third year syllabus was related to the cultivation of sprites.

Different sprites required different cultivation plans. Their predecessors had also collated a lot of sprite cultivation plans. However, there were differences between individual sprites.

Conventional cultivation methods were popular and universally adopted. However, a formidable Sprite Trainer could formulate a cultivation plan that was more specific to a certain sprite, although it was still far from perfect.

Based on the sprite’s power, physical strength, spiritual force, etc., and with the correct nutrition and training plan, Basic Cultivation that was unlocked by Intelligence Points, could perfectly bring out the full potential of the sprite.

This was like a physical training class and showed the value of having the precise guidance of an expert personal trainer.

Practicing alone without guidance may cause problems. Most of the new sprite trainers dare not to train their sprites carelessly. They only did so under the guidance of their teachers after school started.

“It was worthwhile to spend that 15 Intelligence Points. However, there are not many Intelligence Points left, and there is no stable way of generating Intelligence Points.”

The amount of Intelligence Points that a sprite textbook could provide to Su Hao was about 3 to 6 points. Books like History of the Sprites(1) provided less while Recognizing Commonly Seen Sprites and Important Points On Sprite Cultivation provided more Intelligence Points.

However, Su Hao had already read through the sprite textbooks of his first and second year of study thoroughly, giving him a total of 51 Intelligence Points.

There were also two additional points from the Sprite Free-Ranging Center.

“When the term starts, the new textbooks could provide some Intelligence Points. I can also find them through online channels… But one can only obtain shallow knowledge there…

“No matter what, the most urgent thing is to develop a training plan based on the cultivation plan and find a way to make money.”

The cultivation plan unlocked by Intelligence Points was not one singular plan. Instead, it was subdivided into countless sub-types according to the Nutrition Mix, training conditions, and so on.

This required Su Hao to weigh and consider his options, according to his situation.

However, he helplessly discovered that he did not have a choice. He could only afford the cheapest plan. Even so, apart from the Green Bamboo Jade Powder he already owned, he still needed to purchase other auxiliary items.

It was difficult to estimate the monthly cost of cultivation.

“Moreover, there are still two issues—the training venue and Silkworm Baby’s level of diligence.”

Training must not be done at home. Even sprites which had just entered the growth stage may not be able to defeat a husky.

The level of diligence was even more important.

After all, a plan was just a plan. A year ago, a friend of Su Hao, who was a novelist, had made a plan to write 10,000 characters. One year later, he was still swaying between a good-for-nothing and an ambitionless person.

Su Hao beckoned to Silkworm Baby. “You have put on weight after being at home for so many days. Today I will take you out for a stroll.”

“Gurgle!”

Silkworm Baby glanced at him. Was he fat? Obviously, he had grown up, okay!

It then turned its sparkling eyes on the TV screen again.

“Hmm.” Su Hao’s expression was stern.

He activated the skill, Sprite Trainer’s stare, and stared.

“Gurgle…”

Silkworm Baby crawled over reluctantly. It looked back at the children’s program on the TV screen three times for every step it took until Su Hao stepped forward and turned off the TV in front of its pitiful eyes. He then picked it up and placed it on his shoulder.

Good, it’s not that heavy.

After leaving his neighborhood, Su Hao grabbed a shared bicycle along the street. It was said that Dragon City, Binhai City, and other first-tier cities were already experimenting with shared sprites.

Su Hao was in a good mood while riding the shared bicycle and enjoying the breeze.

Silkworm Baby had long stopped throwing its tiny tantrums and was now looking around with big curious eyes. It did not want to stay in the basket. Instead, it lay on Su Hao’s head. Despite Su Hao swerving around on his bicycle, it was pretty stable, but it messed up Su Hao’s hair a little.

Su Hao was not roaming around aimlessly, his destination was the Sprite Square.

The Sprite Square was a multi-purpose area, with a focus on sprites. It included buildings such as the Sprite Medical Center, battle halls, and training facilitates. Many goods related to sprites could only be bought in the Sprite Square.

Su Hao parked his bicycle at a parking spot near the square and looked around curiously, just like Silkworm Baby.

In An City, sprites were rarely seen on the streets and in alleys, but closer to this Sprite Square, there were Sprite Trainers with sprites everywhere.

In the center of the square, there was a statue of a beast-shaped sprite with white fur, four hoofs, and blue markings. The sprite’s forehead had a horn that looked like lightning.

“It’s the Thunder Beast, an ultra-rare sprite. The power of thunder that it controls could change the weather.”

Su Hao remembered that not long after he had come to this world, he had seen a piece of news: «XX Heavenly King Thunder Beast Defeating A Strong Typhoon»

Presently, Su Hao was unable to imagine the power of a high-level sprite. Compared to it, Silkworm Baby was still a weak fighter.

What could Silkworm Baby do? It was helpless.

In the meantime, a man and his sprite arrived at the sprite battle area.

The vast indoor space was divided into basketball court-sized battlefields, with spectator seats on both sides.

Many spectators had occupied the front row. Among them were ordinary people, and also many newcomers like himself. However, there should not be any official Sprite Trainers.

Don’t ask him how he knew. Whoever asked that was a weakling.