Although he had already checked it in the taxi, Lin Guang couldn't help but look again.
Blue Elite-tier potential.
If this were Pokémon, it would be equivalent to a fully evolved starter—its final form.
According to incomplete statistics from the Spirit Tamer Alliance, only about 0.36% of Spirit Tamers possess Elite-tier spirit beasts. And even among that fraction, many only reached that level by evolving a green-tier beast, or by successfully contracting one as their second or even third spirit beast.
Simply by forming a contract with W , Lin Guang had already surpassed the vast majority of his peers.
There was even a popular saying online: if a novice Spirit Tamer contracts a Blue Elite-tier spirit beast, it's basically the same as holding a ticket to the Fenghai Province High School Spirit Tamer League—a chance to step onto a stage filled with true elites.
And W 's strengths didn't stop there.
For most spirit beasts, having one Trait was the norm. Only extremely rare ones—or those that had consumed precious resources—could possess a second.
But W not only had two Traits innately, both were combat-oriented. While the second had a narrower application, traits could change upon evolution.
Lin Guang suspected this wasn't an exception, but rather a racial characteristic of W beings. After all, characters in Arknights also had two talents. For someone with the [Heart of W] talent, this was excellent news.
As for her two starter skills—despite their somewhat cutesy names—they were actually very practical debuff abilities. As the saying goes: damage dealers come and go, but support lasts forever.
…Though the skill descriptions were a bit questionable. Well, it's not like this world had Nintendo's legal department.
Her initial Affinity of 0 was… honestly a bit absurd. Even low-intelligence spirit beasts under a slave contract usually started at around 10. If she used a skill like Retaliation, it would probably reach maximum power instantly.
But considering W was intelligent—fully sentient, in fact—this number was at least understandable. And after being fed, it had already risen by ⑨ points.
With an Equal Contract that unlocked both mind and potential, once Affinity exceeded 80, there was a chance of a "burst" during battle—an all-around stat boost.
For now, the All-Knowing Eye still has many limitations. High-level or concealment-type spirit beasts (and materials) couldn't be fully analyzed yet. But as he invested more in Starlight, it would eventually live up to its name.
After organizing his thoughts, Lin Guang tapped on the Oripathy status entry—something he had expected—but the system's explanation made him pause. It took him a while to recover before picking up his chopsticks again.
At W 's current eating speed, if he delayed any longer, he'd go hungry tonight.
In the end, most of the food went into W 's stomach. Lin Guang managed to eat just enough to be about sixty percent full.
W slumped inelegantly in her chair, clearly satisfied. The two red "antenna-like" tufts on her head stood upright like well-watered plants, while her black-red tail lazily swept across the floor—almost like it was competing with a robot vacuum.
She stayed like that for a long time, staring at the ceiling, eyes unfocused, as if gazing at something far away.
"Hey… do people in your world always eat this well?"
"Not really. This is to celebrate our contract—becoming partners. The meat dishes here contain more life energy than normal animals. They're just a bit below gray-tier spirit beasts. This meal cost a bit over 1,000 Great Xia credits. For reference, the average monthly salary in this city is about 14,000. So… roughly two days' wages."
W didn't move. Only her tail stopped swaying, as if she had sunk into some distant memory.
Lin Guang didn't interrupt her.
After a long while, she finally snapped out of it.
"Hey. You…"
"Lin Guang."
"Your name's annoying to say," she clicked her tongue, then paused before finally remembering to introduce herself. "Just call me W ."
"Your real name?" he asked, even though he already knew.
"Just a codename." She let out a faint, disdainful laugh—though it wasn't clear who it was directed at. "Sarkaz don't have names. Don't need them."
"You seem… highly wary. Hostile, even."
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have survived."
"…How did you get caught, anyway?"
"How should I know?!"
W suddenly became agitated.
"This world is messed up! After I got here, my strength dropped like crazy. My Originium Arts barely work anymore—it feels like I'm back to when I was six!"
"I didn't even get the chance to do anything before those guys locked me up. I didn't even know where I was!"
"…I see."
Lin Guang thought for a moment, then recited something straight out of a textbook:
"Your situation isn't uncommon. It usually happens when a power system conflicts with this world. The world's rules forcibly convert your abilities into a compatible system."
"Say that in a way I can understand."
"…Basically, you traded your current strength for higher future potential."
Taking the opportunity, Lin Guang explained the basics of this world and its rules.
He knew the question she cared about most—could she go back?
So he gave the answer first:
"The probability isn't zero… but no one knows how many zeros come after the decimal point."
Opening spatial rifts depended on luck. Even if one appeared, pinpointing the exact original world was nearly impossible. And for some reason, Earth attracted countless other worlds, creating a kind of gravitational pull. Leaving this planet for another world was far harder than arriving.
In last semester's history class, Teacher Li had mentioned an example:
A being from the Maya Magic Continent (Earth's designation)—a spirit beast capable of transforming into human form.
I was lucky. Much of its original power system was preserved, giving it strength equivalent to a level 50 spirit beast. It quickly integrated into human society and spent its entire life searching for a way back home.
It never succeeded.
"Go back…?" W snorted softly. "Nothing worth going back to."
She fell silent for a moment, then asked:
"What about this 'contract'? What is it, exactly?"
"Feel it yourself."
Lin Guang raised his hand. This time, the white light formed into chains at his fingertips.
W cautiously reached out and touched it.
She closed her eyes.
Information flowed into her mind—mysterious, profound.
The next instant, her amber eyes snapped open, then narrowed again. Her cross-shaped pupils gleamed with a dangerous edge.
"So what you're saying is…"
Her voice dropped.
"I have to work for you for the rest of my life?"