Chapter 8: The First Contract with a Spiritual Beast!

"I really owe you one this time," Qin Chuan said with a joyous smile on his face as he looked at the Water Leaf Dog beside him, having fully recovered after consuming the second fruit.

He had almost had to reset his account.

Fortunately, the Water Leaf Dog had found fruits and herbs that could heal wounds, though how it did so was beyond him.

Qin Chuan casually sat cross-legged on the ground, hugging the approaching Water Leaf Dog, and his smile deepened as he observed how affectionate it was.

Originally, because of the Water Leaf Dog's departure, he was struggling to decide what kind of Spiritual Beast to contract.

But now, it seemed that decision was no longer a concern.

"I don't know why you were so friendly with me the moment we met," Qin Chuan said softly. "I guess that's a form of fate, too."

"Woof!"

The Water Leaf Dog barked, poking its head out of Qin Chuan's embrace and excitedly licked his cheek—a feeling akin to the comfort of wiping one's face with a wet towel.

"Do you want to make a contract with me?"

"Woof!"

The Water Leaf Dog nodded vigorously, and Qin Chuan smiled.

The contracting process was not complicated.

He simply had to open the contract sub-panel on his interface, align the empty Contract Slot with the Water Leaf Dog in front of him, and a prompt would appear to confirm the "Try to Contract."

Without hesitation, Qin Chuan confirmed the action and, with lights flickering, the image of the Water Leaf Dog appeared in the first Contract Slot.

At the same time, lines of text emerged below the Contract Slot.

[Spiritual Beast Species: Water Leaf Dog]

[Spiritual Beast Attribute: Water Attribute]

[Spiritual Beast Level: Juvenile Stage Lv4](56/100)

[Spiritual Beast Traits: Grass and Wood Recognition]

[Spiritual Beast Species Value: 320]

[Spiritual Beast Skills: Water Master (Passive), Dark Current Binding (Active), Rapid Stream Break (Active)]

[Spiritual Beast Introduction: The Water Attribute Spiritual Beast, the Water Leaf Dog, has keen senses, a curious nature, exploratory instincts, and a friendly disposition.]

The brand-new introduction eliminated the previous Spiritual Beast State category and added traits, species value, and a description of skills. There was also an experience bar added to the Spiritual Beast Level. None of this surprised Qin Chuan since he had already learned about it from the Special Affairs Group's educational talks.

His eyes quickly fell on the Water Leaf Dog's traits.

Grass and Wood Recognition...

Was this why the Water Leaf Dog could help him find healing herbs?

No doubt, although the trait lacked combat ability, its usefulness to him at that moment was immense.

Qin Chuan's gaze continued down to the skills of the Water Leaf Dog.

The Water Leaf Dog had a total of three skills, each with a corresponding icon above it and the skill name below.

After pondering for a moment, Qin Chuan reached out and touched the first skill.

The next second, more detailed information popped up before him.

[Water Master: A passive skill that grants the Spiritual Beast the ability to breathe underwater and to condense and control water.]

Having found the correct way to display skill details, Qin Chuan's eyes brightened, and he quickly clicked on the next two skills.

[Dark Current Binding: An active skill that hides a powerful force in water, producing bondage or other control effects.]

[Rapid Stream Break: An active skill that releases a powerful jet of water, inflicting damage on opponents.]

"So, the skill that tripped the Shadow Leopard was Dark Current Binding? And the attack it showcased earlier was Rapid Stream Break?" Qin Chuan stroked his chin, drawing a conclusion in his mind.

The passive skill Water Master essentially provided the Water Leaf Dog with a foundation for executing Water Attribute skills. Its two active skills, one for control and the other for attack, might be few in number, but they were comprehensive, allowing for responses to many complex combat situations.

Qin Chuan's eyes shifted slightly, falling to the right side of the Rapid Stream Break skill icon.

There seemed to be a trace of another icon beyond Rapid Stream Break.

Experimenting, he slid the skill bar to the left and indeed saw a new skill.

However, this skill was currently in a dim state with a lock on it.

Beneath the lock was written "Unlock at Growth Rank."

Did this mean that after the Spiritual Beast advanced, it could gain new skills?

Qin Chuan shifted his gaze away from the introduction of the Water Leaf Dog, and reflexively looked to the right side of the filled Contract Slot.

Although only a small edge was revealed, it seemed there was another new Contract Slot behind the current one.

After performing a similar swiping action, he saw another grey Contract Slot locked in place.

[Player Level reaches Official Level to unlock]

"Official Level must be the next Player Level after Apprentice Level," Qin Chuan said with a hint of helplessness, "but so far, no one has discovered how to raise the Player Level."

"We can only explore slowly or wait for the Special Affairs Group to release information," he muttered softly, his gaze returning to the Water Leaf Dog in his arms.

Upon completing the contract, he could feel his connection with the Water Leaf Dog growing closer; not only could they understand each other's intentions, but they could also communicate across distances without hindrance.

"Shall I give you a name?"

"Woof!" (Yes!)

The Water Leaf Dog licked Qin Chuan's cheek again, its large eyes full of anticipation, as if having a name of its own was of great importance.

"How about the name Water Flower?" Qin Chuan suggested tentatively, "If you don't like it, I can think of something else."

"Woof! Woof!" (That's the one! I love it!)

"That's settled then," Qin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief. He really wasn't good at naming things.

He glanced at the time displayed below the main panel. The healing had taken an hour and a half, and there wasn't much time left in his visit to the Dream World.

Last time, too much time was wasted due to unconsciousness.

He couldn't afford to waste time again.

"Water Flower, we're going to find a safe place to serve as a survival spot for some time," Qin Chuan said, standing up and looking at Water Flower in his arms, "Do you know where there's a water source nearby?"

Water Flower's large eyes rolled.

"Woof~" (I heard the sound of running water while I was looking for herbs.)

"Running water?" Qin Chuan's eyes lit up, "Lead the way, let's go have a look."

Guided by Water Flower, they quickly followed the route Water Flower had originally taken, and after a few minutes, they arrived at a moist, low-lying valley.

Water Flower jumped out of Qin Chuan's embrace, sniffed carefully at the ground, and then eagerly dashed in a specific direction, running around an area overgrown with herbs.

"Woof~" (It's right here.)

Qin Chuan walked up quickly and nodded in satisfaction after recognizing the familiar herbs.

Not far from the herbs, he also spotted the type of fruit that could heal injuries.

Both of these were incredibly valuable to him at the present.