Chapter 448: Wu Bao's Stat Allocation... Huh, Wait??

Chapter 448: Chapter 289: Wu Bao’s Stat Allocation… Huh, Wait??

As for Intelligence… while not high, it was at least above average. And amusingly, it happened to be just a hair higher than Shan Bao’s.

Shan Bao was now the proud owner of the team’s lowest Intelligence stat.

What Wu Bao lacked was Agility. A 0.99 couldn’t be called low compared to the average, but when set against his other strengths, it was a definite weak point.

However, Wu Bao often moved very fast on the battlefield. The charged impact of his Lance Charge was impossible for many opponents to defend against.

In reality, “speed” and “agility” are two different concepts. The former refers to absolute movement speed, which is actually more linked to Power, while the latter refers to flexibility, the ability to adjust in complex terrain, and so on. For a massive creature like Wu Bao, agility was definitely his shortcoming.

Of course, Wu Bao was a tough guy who had been tempered in the jungle, after all. He compensated for his innate weaknesses to a certain extent through masterful combat techniques!

This proved that a late contract didn’t necessarily mean a low starting point; Wu Bao’s base Attribute Panel was still quite exceptional.

When Su Zhi formed contracts with Yu Bao and Shan Bao, they were both just a couple of rookies, so their starting points were naturally lower. Wu Bao, on the other hand, had started training on his own even before being contracted and had even roamed the jungle for a while.

“Ooo~” Knowing Su Zhi was very pleased with him, Wu Bao smugly planted his front paws on his hips, wearing an expression that just screamed, ‘Damn, I’m good.’

“Woof.” Yu Bao licked his lips disdainfully, a glint of mischief in his eyes.

Tempered in the jungle (✗)

Hiding out in the jungle (✓)

“…” Wu Bao glared defiantly at Yu Bao.

‘Who the hell are you to talk? Su Zhi himself praised me!’

“Woof woof woof.” Yu Bao nodded again and again, as if to say, ‘Oh, you’re so right, you’re so right.’

‘Su Zhi praised you, did he~? Then your Real-time Energy Value must be *sooo* high, right~?’

“…”

“…”

And so, Yu Bao and Wu Bao both turned their gazes to the Real-time Energy Value—

[Real-time Energy Value: 4500]

“Woof! Woof!” Yu Bao pointed a paw at Wu Bao and mocked him relentlessly.

‘That’s it? Only three hundred more than Shan Bao! You’re so lame, Wu Bao!’

Wu Bao was so angry he stomped his feet, but the Attribute Panel was right there, the numbers laid bare for all to see. He had no way to argue.

Being without a contract was a major handicap, after all. Wild Exotic Beasts often had self-imposed limits; once their Energy Value reached a certain point, their growth would stagnate. They might not improve as much in the next few decades as they did in a single year of their youth.

Pet Beasts contracted by humans were less affected by these self-imposed limits and thus had a higher potential.

Of course, the most important factor was that Su Zhi could add points, which put Yu Bao and Shan Bao on the express train to greater power.

They could get stronger just by trying, and could even choose *how* they wanted to get stronger!

With such a ridiculous cheat on their side, there was no way in hell he, Wu Bao, could ever out-compete Yu Bao and Shan Bao!

“There, there. You can add Points now, too,” Su Zhi said, patting Wu Bao’s head.

“Ooo!” Wu Bao cheered up, feeling like he was back on top of the world.

“Woof.” Yu Bao reminded him. ‘The Initial Points are a pittance. It’ll barely make a difference. You can try to fool your brothers, but don’t go fooling yourself.’

Wu Bao shot Yu Bao another glare.

‘As if I needed you to remind me!’

However, Yu Bao’s words, while harsh, were true. He shouldn’t expect to become a god overnight.

Wu Bao looked dejectedly toward the Initial Points, while Yu Bao, his interest piqued, also glanced at the last line.

[Assignable Attribute Points (Wu Bao): 1.51]

“???” Yu Bao froze solid.

“!!!” Wu Bao was ecstatic.

‘Wu Bao has never had Points added before. Maybe to Yu Bao this isn’t a lot? But it’s enough to give my power a huge boost!’

Yu Bao was so anxious he was practically scratching his fur out.

‘Not a lot, my ass! What a stinking rich dude!’

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

Yu Bao ran to Su Zhi to complain, convinced there must be some shady, under-the-table dealing for Wu Bao to have so many Initial Points.

‘That’s right! The trash author must think I’m getting too strong and is deliberately buffing Wu Bao’s Attributes just to mess with me!’

Su Zhi scratched his head. “It’s actually pretty normal…”

“Wu Bao was just contracted late. The guy trained just as hard, if not harder, than you. Over time, that effort was bound to accumulate a ton of Points.”

Sometimes, a lack of visible progress isn’t stagnation; it’s the process of taking root. And now, Wu Bao’s roots were finally bearing fruit.

“Ooo~” Wu Bao smugly bumped Yu Bao with his backside.

Yu Bao’s face fell into a pout. As unhappy as he was, he had no choice but to accept the truth.

‘Even a great mind like the Wise One,’ he thought, ‘has to admit that Wu Bao’s strength is not to be underestimated. Otherwise, how would he have the guts to constantly challenge me?’

“Alright, Wu Bao, it’s time to customize yourself!” Su Zhi said with a light laugh, looking at Wu Bao.

Just as he had with Yu Bao and Shan Bao, Su Zhi asked for the Pet Beast’s opinion as a matter of course.

To be honest, there were plenty of options. The Black Fighting Emperor template was excellent, after all.

He could go on the offensive and add Points to Power, achieving overwhelming strength that would make his Lance Thrust even more potent and drive his opponents to despair.

Or he could go defensive and add Points to Constitution, following a tank build like Shan Bao. The Black Fighting Emperor already had impressive damage resistance; with the help of extra Points, he’d be an unstoppable force. Even Shan Bao would have to shake his head in awe.

Or maybe add Points to Perception and go for a Control Flow playstyle like Yu Bao? It didn’t seem as suitable as the first two options, but Su Zhi remembered that Wu Bao had also practiced Vine Entanglement. He’d nearly caused an upset against Yu Bao with it during a past spar.

Control Field plus high attack… that might actually work. It would be a perfect way to compensate for his lack of agility.

Of course, if Wu Bao decided to add Points to Intelligence, Su Zhi wouldn’t mind having a “Second Wise One” on the team. After all, Intelligence was a versatile Attribute that improved the learning efficiency of Skills; almost any Pet Beast could benefit from a few Points in it…

Wu Bao also seemed lost in thought.

Then he suddenly slapped one foot against the other, as if struck by a great realization. “Ooo.”

Su Zhi was dumbfounded. “You want to add to agility?”

Even Yu Bao gave him a look of utter confusion.

‘With a body like Wu Bao’s, what’s the point of agility? He could dump all his Points into it and it still wouldn’t do a damn bit of good.’

“Whoa, Bao, let’s calm down a second… Just ignore this guy Yu Bao.”

Su Zhi nudged Yu Bao away with his foot and spoke to Wu Bao earnestly, patting his shoulder.

“I know there’s a lot of freedom when it comes to allocating Points, but you have to be realistic. You can’t just put them into anything and expect it to work. Your Constitution and Power are both excellent; you could totally keep developing those strengths.”

But Wu Bao shook his head.

‘Your vision is too narrow. A Constitution build cannot save the Beast Tamer.’

Su Zhi: “…?”

‘Is that how you’re supposed to use that phrase?’

“But what would you even do with more agility? It would only make you faster and more nimble…”

As Su Zhi spoke, he suddenly understood what Wu Bao was getting at.

For Wu Bao, his biggest weakness was undoubtedly his lack of flexibility. He had suffered for it in his past spars with Yu Bao. He was clearly powerful, but he was often rendered helpless, toyed with by Yu Bao’s intricate Control Skills.

Wu Bao was a Fighting Pet Beast, and his primary combat style was visceral, up-close-and-personal melee. His lack of agility restricted his ability to disengage and control the tempo of a fight.

But if he shored up his agility, Control Type skills like Earth Force Field and Yellow Earth Wall would have a much harder time posing a threat to him.

The result would be something like a tank possessed by an assassin.

Su Zhi could already picture it: an opponent, rushed by a lightning-fast Wu Bao, having their attack repelled by a Perfect Block and getting staggered into a world of pain…

“You’re sure? You really want to add to agility?”

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Su Zhi asked one last time.

This would determine his future build, and he didn’t want Wu Bao to make a rash decision. However, if Wu Bao insisted, he would respect his Pet Beast’s wishes.

“Ooo!” Wu Bao nodded without the slightest hesitation.

“Okay, here I go then!”

It’s just that the sight of Su Zhi hugging Wu Bao and giving him a good tousling didn’t quite match the epic atmosphere…

[Pet Beast: Wu Bao (Black Fighting Emperor)

Power: 1.37

agility: 0.99 → 2.50

Intelligence: 1.05

Constitution: 1.56

Perception: 1.23]

[Real-time Energy Value: 4500 → 6239]

“Ooo~!” Wu Bao started running circles around Yu Bao, just like Yu Bao had chased his own tail after getting his first point allocation.

‘Two and a half times the agility! Can you even imagine?’

Yu Bao tried to glare at Wu Bao, but Wu Bao was spinning so fast that the glare didn’t even land.

‘You little suck-up, Xiaohanzi! Your Su Zhi is really something else!’

Although he’d sneered at Wu Bao’s bizarre build choice, seeing that Energy Value instantly shoot up to nearly match his own, Yu Bao couldn’t help but feel a sense of crisis.

‘If this keeps up,’ he thought, ‘my position as Su Zhi’s number one Pet Beast will be in jeopardy.’

‘Damn it! The moment I get back, the real grind begins!’