Beast Taming: My System is Bugged-Chapter 118 - 117: Fleecing

Thanks to their well-chosen route, Gu Ming and his partner were a step ahead of everyone else. They finished gathering all the necessary herbs in just two hours.

The students trailing behind them were already struggling to find suitable substitute herbs for their concoctions.

It was still early, nowhere near the end of the exam. In fact, not even half the allotted time had passed.

Gu Ming decided to first take the prepared herbs down the mountain to turn them in. Afterward, he would head back up to find Lu You and collaborate with her on the combat portion.

Mouse Treasure might seem suited for the Cultivation Element path.

But after its Evolution and learning the Earth Shifting Technique, its combat power was on a whole new level.

When the homeroom teacher saw the two of them come down the mountain with the herbs they had prepared, he inspected them one by one.

Another teacher stood by, taking notes. He praised them, "Not bad, not bad at all. You not only concocted the proper remedy for the Jade Water Turtle but also gathered the herbs needed for the Purple Marrow Vine. You two will each receive 200 points."

With a base of two hundred points, plus the victories racked up by their two Pet Beasts, Gu Ming now only needed to earn another one hundred and ninety points to get a perfect score of 400.

The maximum score for today’s comprehensive exam was 400. It didn’t matter how well you did in the combat or Cultivation sections; that was the cap.

However, when it came to the college entrance exams, no one ever complained about having too many points.

Only by distinguishing himself with a more brilliant performance could he hope to secure a better ’genius contract’ or improve his future prospects.

After turning in the herbs, Gu Ming headed up the mountain again.

At this point, Gu Ming parted ways with Wang Teng, who understood the decision.

This monthly exam wasn’t just a half-day affair; it actually lasted until four in the afternoon, which was plenty of time.

He knew the scale of this monthly exam couldn’t compare to the midterms; it was merely a warm-up.

When the midterms actually arrived, the scoring conditions and other factors would change completely.

Wang Teng also needed to see how many points he could farm on his own in the back mountains, relying solely on his Dumb Flower.

As Gu Ming headed up the mountain, he wasn’t just looking for Lu You. He had also glanced at his system and discovered that it was misidentifying some of the local herbs as certain herbs from the future, and their medicinal properties appeared to be quite potent.

He had been in a rush to complete the exam tasks earlier, so he hadn’t stopped to collect those herbs.

Besides, Gu Ming was afraid the herbs might change while in his possession, so he had entrusted Wang Teng with storing them.

Gu Ming had only participated in a small part of the gathering and preparation process.

Now that he was here, with Wang Teng no longer around to handle storage, Gu Ming’s mind started to buzz with ideas.

Gu Ming had originally planned on just earning more points, but now that seemed like a secondary goal. Why not grab some Spirit Medicine for Cyan Treasure to eat?

It wouldn’t matter even if a proctor saw him.

These Spirit Medicines were placed on the back mountain for students to pick and use in the first place.

Most of the herbs were expected to be used up during the preparation process.

’So, it’s perfectly reasonable for Cyan Treasure to sneak a few bites, right?’

The school authorities must understand this principle as well. That’s why the herbs they placed on the back mountain almost never exceeded the needs of a One-star Pet Beast. Nearly ninety-nine percent of them were meant for Zero-star Pet Beasts.

As a result, the herbs on the back mountain weren’t particularly valuable; the entire area was filled with herbs transplanted by the school.

And so, Gu Ming led the Little Cyan Snake along, identifying herbs one by one.

You have discovered a stalk of Water Element Clear Heart Grass.

You have discovered a Zero-star Scattered Food Beetle, a classic food source for a Juvenile Kunpeng.

You have discovered...

Gu Ming stared at the little, fiery-looking blade of grass, the plump little worm covered in Earth Spiritual Qi, and all sorts of other things that in no way matched the system’s descriptions.

Gu Ming’s choice was simple.

"Cyan Treasure, go!"

’Collect them. Eat them all!’

’Whatever you can’t eat, I’ll stuff in my pockets and find a way to bring back.’

Burying them in the ground wasn’t a safe option, as the school had transplanted a massive number of Spirit Plants for the monthly exam.

Once the exam was over, they wouldn’t let these herbs go to waste. They would surely be collected at night and refined into Elixirs.

Whenever Gu Ming found an herb that triggered a system notification, he had Cyan Treasure pluck it.

The moment an herb showed signs of transforming into its future version, he would immediately shove it into Cyan Treasure’s mouth.

The pair moved slowly through the back mountains, starting and stopping as they went, their pockets gradually growing fuller.

Occasionally, other students would notice Gu Ming’s odd behavior, but no one got too close.

After all, during a monthly exam, everyone was a competitor. It was best not to get too close to others.

Besides, Gu Ming dared to act alone for a simple reason: the Little Cyan Snake’s mobility was incredible.

After its Evolution, the Little Cyan Snake’s movement speed was extremely fast. If it managed to bite an opponent, they would easily lose their advantage on the battlefield.

At this stage of the exam, where most students’ Pet Beasts had yet to evolve, venom-based attacks were one of the most effective forms of offense.

It was difficult for anyone to defend against such an attack. Even if they knew the antidote, their Pet Beast still had to endure the poison long enough for it to work.

Cyan Treasure could not only inject venom into other Pet Beasts, but it also had a Mastery of Head Hammer.

It takes time to find an antidote, right? It takes time to prepare it, right? And that’s not even mentioning the time it takes to administer it and for it to take effect.

In that amount of time, Cyan Treasure could have used its Headbutt Skills dozens of times.

An un-evolved Pet Beast, even if it wasn’t knocked unconscious, would be battered into submission, completely helpless against Cyan Treasure.

And so, Gu Ming continued his search.

Finally, after hearing a commotion up ahead, Gu Ming spotted Lu You’s Pet Beast.

...

「A few minutes earlier」

Lu You and Mouse Treasure were making their way through the mountain forest.

The teachers had said that vials of Heart Like Still Water Ice Lotus Dew were buried throughout the back mountains, one hundred in total.

Mouse Treasure was an Earth-attribute mouse Pet Beast. The Earth Shifting Technique was originally a Cultivation Technique it used to channel Earth Mana for its Cultivation. But after the technique improved and Mouse Treasure advanced to the One-star Realm, the Earth Shifting Technique had become increasingly powerful.

Now, whenever Mouse Treasure touched the ground, it could not only shift the soil beneath its feet but also sense vibrations traveling through the earth.

These faint vibrations might not seem like much.

But vibrations create seismic waves, and by sensing those waves, it could perceive the shapes of objects underground.

And the vials of Heart Like Still Water Ice Lotus Dew were exactly the sort of thing the teachers had buried. Finding just one and taking it down the mountain was worth a hundred points.

Who wouldn’t be tempted by that?

Lu You was certainly tempted.

Furthermore, another of Mouse Treasure’s skills, one that complemented its Earth Escape Technique, had also improved significantly.

Because of this, Mouse Treasure simply had to place a paw on the ground, and a ring of invisible ripples would spread out across the earth’s surface.

When the ripples struck an object underground, they would echo back, and Mouse Treasure would sense them through its paws using the Earth Shifting Technique.

It quickly completed a search of the area. Within a radius of about thirty meters, Mouse Treasure could clearly perceive every single root from the surrounding grasses and trees.

This was a common ability for Cultivation Element Pet Beasts, but it was by no means a skill that a Zero-star Pet Beast could master, nor was it something a basic Pet Beast could accomplish in its Juvenile Stage. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Yet, not only had Mouse Treasure managed it, but its perception was also incredibly detailed.

Lu You’s heart pounded in her chest. She had a feeling she could get a very high score on this month’s exam.

Thanks to the power of her Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster, she had also managed to collect a large number of medicinal herbs along the way.

By a rough estimate, she could probably secure over a hundred points in the Cultivation section.

That was right—Lu You had planned to try her hand at both the Combat and Cultivation sections of the monthly exam.

But now, seeing Mouse Treasure’s incredible Talent for finding herbs, her thinking had begun to shift slightly.

’Maybe I should just focus on finding herbs. Fighting and all that is risky, anyway.’

But, of course, speak of the devil...

Mouse Treasure suddenly froze, and Lu You instinctively glanced in that direction.

’Someone’s behind that tree!’