Chapter 25: Tamer Gear, Adrian's Childhood Picture Book

Adrian's eyes lit up. This item…

He had seen it before.

A long time ago.

Leo saw Adrian's shining eyes and immediately said with a smile:

"What are you thinking? This is a Monarch-Upper [Tamer Gear] that my parents finally agreed to take out of the family vault only after I placed second in the whole school on the exams. I'm not giving it to you."

He touched the green gem hanging from a pendant on his hand.

"This is made from the core that a Monarch-Upper wood-type beast, the Soulbound Scholar Willow, produces only once every ten years. It was combined with many precious materials and condensed into essence."

"Without the skill of a Five-Star Artificer, it could not be made."

"If I used this to trade for Exceptional-quality Spirit Dew, my parents would definitely disown me."

"But… heh." Leo built suspense. "Trading is impossible. But 'storing' it with you is possible."

"Want to guess what effect it has?"

Adrian barely needed to think. "Monarch-Upper support-type [Tamer Gear], the Life Spirit Treasure Pendant. Its main effect is to assist a beast's growth and strengthen its traits by at least ten percent. Depending on compatibility, it can increase the proportion even more."

"For this kind of [Tamer Gear], the key lies in the attribute of the essence core inlaid in the pendant. Different attributes produce different effects."

"Yours should be the purest wood attribute. As long as a wood-type beast wears it, it will continuously receive nourishing energy."

"In the entire Kingdom of Draconis, only a few artificers master this technique, and they are all in the same family—the Ashford family of Dragonbright City."

"Is there anything you don't know?" Leo had wanted to tease Adrian and build suspense, to "get back" at him for messing with him earlier. But somehow, he was the one who ended up looking like the fool.

"This? I read it in a book," Adrian said seriously.

This time, it really was from a book. After all, he could not see panels for [Tamer Gear].

The book had always been in his father's study. It was a thick hand-drawn picture book called The Complete Illustrated Guide to Draconis Tamer Gear. The drawings were very cartoonish. As a child, he had treated it as a children's picture book.

When he was little, he only thought it looked nice.

A year ago, when he formally began learning about the concept of [Tamer Gear], he realized…

It was not a simple children's book.

"I don't know how someone so young has so much time to read books." Leo decided not to keep teasing him. "The third contracted beast my family arranged for me is wood attribute."

"I will soon reach Three-Star Beast Tamer. I estimate I can finish it before I officially enroll, in about a month."

"But before that, if I put this treasure on my other two beasts, the attributes do not match, so the effect is poor."

Leo smiled. "Wouldn't it be wonderful to put it on your mutated Violet Rain Orchid that produces Spirit Dew?"

"Of course, I am not letting you store it here for free. Within this month, half of the extra Spirit Dew produced each day because of the Life Spirit Treasure Pendant goes to me."

"With this [Tamer Gear], that orchid should also adapt to its level faster and improve its traits. By then, the daily output will keep increasing."

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"How about it? Is this trade worthwhile?"

"Of course, I have one more request. Today I need to buy ten drops of Spirit Dew from you first, if you have any. After all, today I plan to test whether it can serve as a variable indicator for a cultivation research topic I've been working on. If it works, I might publish a small paper before I even enter university."

"By then, maybe I can even help promote your Spirit Dew. Of course, the research would definitely need your authorization."

At this point, Leo's eyes were especially clear, carrying a thirst for knowledge.

This state and temperament matched his identity as an elite high school top student, second in the whole school on the exams, admitted to one of the top ten universities in the country, and a Two-Star Breeder with an S-rank talent.

"Just as I originally planned, sixty thousand crowns for ten drops. How about it?"

Adrian did not think much and immediately said:

"That works, but there is one condition I won't agree to. For ten drops of Spirit Dew, I can only sell them to you for 9,999 crowns."

"After all, borrowing this Life Spirit Treasure Pendant for a month means I am definitely getting the better end of the deal. Not to mention the extra Spirit Dew each day, just the accelerated growth alone is something I couldn't buy with money."

"Besides, yesterday you said you would sell it to me for a friendly price of 9,999. Today I must sell it to you at the same friendly price."

Adrian put special emphasis on the words "friendly price."

Leo understood what he meant.

From the first time they met the day before yesterday, when Adrian gave him a few pointers, to Leo's "fate theory," to today, which looked like a trade but was actually Leo giving Adrian a kind of support.

Although the time had been short, Adrian had accepted Leo as a friend.

Leo smiled. "Heh, have you been charmed by my charisma? Look, look, making friends with me, Leo Marsh, is just that simple. It's all thanks to the good genes my parents gave me."

Hearing Leo start joking again, Adrian felt a little helpless.

Fine. He had money. Everything he said was right.

Adrian smiled and did not reply.

Instead, he turned to get those ten drops of spirit liquid.

The plant room was not far from the hall, but Leo waited quietly.

Although he was a little curious about what Adrian's mutated Violet Rain Orchid looked like, without an invitation, he could not pry into someone else's secret.

Whether it was a friend he had known for two days or a friend he had known for twenty years, that was what his parents had taught him since childhood.

As a breeder, one had to maintain curiosity at all times, but also know how to restrain it.

Adrian handed Leo the glass bottle containing twelve drops of Spirit Dew.

At the same time, he received a transfer of 9,999.9 crowns, plus the Life Spirit Treasure Pendant.

The moment the pendant touched his hand, it was a little cold, but soon it made Adrian feel a wave of warmth.

It really was a good item…

"I transferred an extra 0.9 crowns, as thanks to the shop owner for his warm hospitality."

Leo took the glass bottle and did not notice that Adrian had actually slipped two extra drops of Spirit Dew inside.

"By the way, I won't come bother you every day. And I remember you start school in a few days, right?" Leo said. "Then I'll come here every Saturday afternoon. If you have any study questions then, you can ask me."

"If you run into any problems with your research, you can ask me too, Senior Leo!" Adrian mimicked his tone.

Leo rolled his eyes at him.

"By the way, there is one thing I really do need your help with. Didn't you say you could ask someone in your family who is skilled in business to talk with me?"

"I really do have some questions. Mainly, I want to understand the specific structure of shops, their main industries, and so on."

"While school hasn't started yet, I also plan to negotiate the trading cooperation with the shops."

"Mm, no problem. I'll arrange it for you. Is tomorrow okay?" Leo asked.

"Sure!" Adrian nodded.

Holding the Life Spirit Treasure Pendant, Adrian walked into the plant room again.

As if sensing the treasure in Adrian's hand, Violet immediately perked up. The pagoda phantom behind her became even more solid.

This kind of high-quality, same-source support [Tamer Gear] was indeed far too precious for Violet, who had just evolved and was still Exceptional quality.

Adrian did not put it on her immediately. Instead, he sat down comfortably.

"Violet, this is a good thing." Adrian reminisced. "Remember when I was little, I liked sitting next to you looking at picture books?"

"I remember clearly. Back then, I thought this thing would look really good next to you."

"I even cried and begged Mom to buy it as a gift for you, because you supported our whole family."

"I remember Mother said back then that this thing was just something Dad drew randomly, that it didn't exist."

"I was sad about that for a long time. I even made a birthday wish to get a real green pendant."

"See, sometimes childhood wishes do come true, right?"

To be honest, Violet did not remember what Adrian was talking about.

She only remembered that when Adrian was little, he loved to read and draw beside her. Back then, she would secretly give him Violet Dew, and then Adrian would secretly eat it.

The memory of the two of them being scolded badly by the old master together—that she remembered very clearly.

But she could feel Adrian's current emotions, and she calmed down a little.

After a while, Adrian slowly stood up and gently hung the pendant on Violet's main flower.

Green light burst out, but quickly dissipated, as if absorbed into Violet's body.

Visibly, Violet's condition rose by a tier.

The pagoda behind her seemed to be dyed with a faint life-green glow.

The effect…

Seemed even better than described in the picture book!

He immediately looked at the latest information on Violet's panel…