Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Lorant entrusted all matters concerning the Slime House to Nia, the store manager, to negotiate with Archbishop Frank.

Lorant headed to the Slime Ranch.

There, the live aberrations provided by the Knights of the Thorns and the Church for breeding secondary aberrations were already in place, ready to produce a batch of secondary aberrations in two months' time.

This would restart the currently stalled breeding of slimes.

It was the first time Lorant had undertaken such a large-scale breeding operation for a single type of secondary aberration.

And it was also the first time he had seen such an... eye-watering scene.

That sight was something he never wanted to see again in his life.

After handling the initial batch of aberrations, Lorant agreed with the person in charge of the Slime Ranch to visit every five days to complete the breeding process, then returned to the Animal Pet Shop.

Winter was approaching, and there was much preparation needed at the Animal Pet Shop.

Although equipped with a full set of smart magic facilities, these only applied to a few indoor spaces.

The semi-open terrace on the second floor needed someone to board it up temporarily.

The corridor in the courtyard required similar treatment, but it couldn't just be enclosed with boards; it needed proper doors and windows.

It was quite an undertaking.

There was no need to trouble Peter. Lorant directly contacted Emma, the young girl who had previously helped him with his property, and she enthusiastically arranged a team of carpenters.

Stephanie, who had been absent for a long time, had been visiting the Animal Pet Shop almost daily recently.

She was a member of Lancelot's adventuring party but not a dedicated mage of the Cavendish family.

Except when on missions, she could go wherever she pleased.

After returning from the Black Forest, she hurried back to Sackoren to complete her studies.

Only two days ago did she receive her mentor's permission to leave the mage tower again.

As soon as she stepped out, Stephanie rushed to the Animal Pet Shop, throwing herself onto Little Yi and showering him with affection.

Seeing Little Yi's pleading eyes, Lancelot and Lorant tacitly turned away.

Fortunately, Little Yi was the most composed among the batch of Crystal Ice Flame Dogs.

Perhaps because he was born first, the little one had a natural leadership quality, often stopping the other puppies during playtime.

Only a dog with such a temperament could get along with a master like Stephanie, who occasionally acted childishly.

After all, there is a saying that either the owner or the dog must be a bit crazy.

It was a kind of fate.

Stephanie was a control mage, and control mages have limited control over aberrations when their level is not high enough. They are better suited to dealing with intelligent races.

However, since the appearance of aberrations thousands of years ago, conflicts between intelligent races have become rare.

This led to a rather awkward situation for control mages, making it difficult for them to join reliable adventuring parties before reaching a higher level.

Stephanie managed to join Lancelot's party due to the strong recommendation of her friend Estelle, the elven female assassin.

Plus, Lancelot's party needed a mage for regular tasks without strict specialization requirements, giving her a chance to "intern."

Later, during their expedition to the Lopulo Mountains, Stephanie performed well, so Lancelot decided to keep her in the party after some consideration.

Due to her lack of offensive capabilities, Stephanie valued animal pets more than the knights.

If not for the necessity of completing her studies, she might have rushed to the Animal Pet Shop right after leaving the Black Forest.

During her stay, she even planned to pitch a tent in the backyard of the Animal Pet Shop to spend more time with Little Yi.

Lorant tried to persuade her to find a guest room near Cavendish Castle, where teleporting daily would be convenient, but Stephanie was insistent.

"I can't be away from Little Yi for so long! I'll die!"

Finally, Lancelot made a decision out of exasperation.

"Since you won't go to Cavendish Castle or the Slime Ranch, choose one of the abandoned houses next to the Animal Pet Shop." Lancelot didn't consider offering his guest room: "These are unoccupied lands, and a short stay shouldn't be a problem."

"Great!" Stephanie readily agreed.

While Stephanie could be quite picky and refined under normal circumstances, she wasn't a pampered lady unable to handle hardship.

With the adventuring party, she had stayed in caves and cellars, so a dilapidated wooden house was nothing she couldn't accept.

After settling into the adjacent dilapidated wooden house, Stephanie was always in the backyard each morning, hugging Little Yi's neck and whispering to him.

Lorant once thought Stephanie didn't need sleep at all.

Until...

"Lorant! Lorant!" Stephanie's excited voice came from the backyard: "I succeeded!"

Lorant leaned out of the second-floor window to see the mage waving frantically in the courtyard.

"Lorant muttered to himself as he walked down the stairs.

Stephanie had talked with Lorant for a long time. She was currently the only pure mage who had received an animal pet, and many of the methods Lancelot and Silem used to train their Ice-Flame Dogs didn't apply to her.

Lorant encouraged Stephanie to try training Little Yi herself.

He offered numerous suggestions, including different training directions and potential useful methods.

With that, Stephanie began her training journey and hadn't disturbed anyone since.

Now, no one knew what she had actually succeeded in doing.

Stephanie's voice clearly startled not just Lorant.

When Lorant went downstairs, Lancelot and Silem, who were training their Ice-Flame Dogs in the Ice-Fire Land, had already curiously gathered around.

Stephanie patted Little Yi's head proudly.

"Baby, show everyone!"

Little Yi stepped forward, its tail swaying gently. Its fluffy fur exploded into a cloud in the air, making it look irresistible to pet.

At the same time, a ball of ice flame was launched.

However, unlike ordinary ice flame balls, this one looked like a burning icy-blue rope when it left Little Yi's tail.

And this rope did not completely detach from its tail.

"Little Yi! Help me tie my hair up!" Stephanie commanded excitedly.

The rope floated behind her head, gently lifting her hair and tying it in a knot.

"An Arcane Rope?" Lancelot looked at the section of the flame that remained on Stephanie's head after tying her hair, while the rest retracted back into Little Yi's tail.

"Yes!" Stephanie was thrilled, though she felt a bit disappointed that neither Lorant nor Silem understood the significance. However, Lancelot recognized it, achieving her goal of showing off.

"Under my training, Little Yi learned the 'Arcane Rope'! It's just a basic magic trick without a level, but do you know what this means?"

Lancelot approached Little Yi to examine it closely. He certainly knew what it meant.

Ice-Flame Dogs could learn magic!

Or rather, they could change their skill characteristics through learning!

This was something no other exotic beast could achieve!

After listening for a while, Lorant finally understood: "So, Little Yi really learned magic? Or can it simulate magic using ice flames?"

"Both," Lancelot said after having Little Yi demonstrate further. "Although it looks like an Arcane Rope, it's essentially a variation of ice flame usage."

"But that's still quite impressive!" Stephanie hugged Little Yi's neck and kissed it affectionately. "My baby is so smart!"

Little Yi tilted its furry head back, looking somewhat annoyed yet unable to avoid the gesture.

Still, it didn't move, allowing Stephanie to lean her full weight on it.

Lorant couldn't help but want to rub its cheeks.

"Indeed, this proves that Ice-Flame Dogs are not limited by their innate skills. With proper training and dedication from their owners, they can accomplish many unexpected things," Lancelot agreed.

Lorant sighed in relief, his tone light. "Isn't that how it should be?"

"I've mentioned before that Ice-Flame Dogs have remarkable learning abilities. Their ultimate potential depends on their owners' training. The five skills they possess are just their innate abilities when untrained."

Stephanie and Lancelot exchanged a glance, both seeing the frustration in each other's eyes.

Such an important and astonishing ability had been casually mentioned, causing them to overlook it entirely.

Fortunately, Stephanie had some quirky ideas and bravely implemented them with Lorant's support.

Otherwise, it might have taken much longer for the unique qualities of Ice-Flame Dogs to be discovered.

Lorant wasn't as surprised as Lancelot and Stephanie.

He had anticipated this situation.

It was merely about controlling ice flames.

In Lorant's subconscious, this was perfectly normal.

The five skills Ice-Flame Dogs possessed were just innate; this didn't mean they couldn't learn new ones.

Even Pokémon could freely learn and combine skills. Why would his animal pets be any different?

While Ice-Flame Dogs might not learn strange abilities like flying or burrowing, learning skills compatible with their attributes was relatively simple.

Lorant guessed that Ice-Flame Dogs could learn ice, fire, and general skills.

Today, Little Yi demonstrated a 'general' part of mage skills.

These were abilities all mages could master.

Besides this, the general knight skills like 'slash' or 'charge' were also within Lorant's expectations for what Ice-Flame Dogs could learn.

As for ice and fire magic, Lorant wasn't sure. This would require someone to teach them to determine.

Lorant left this task to his customers to experiment with.

The Animal Pet Shop wouldn't be responsible for teaching animal pet skills."

For any customers in need, please take care of it yourselves!