Chapter Two: Strive to Become an Elf (Maiden) Trainer

After reading through all the information, Tang Yi felt a surge of excitement. As someone online once said: "This past century is the best era for humanity." Tang Yi wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment.

Becoming a Master Trainer of Elf Companions had been his greatest wish in his previous life; now, in this era, it seemed that his dream was finally within reach.

A trainer who specializes in cultivating beautiful young maidens? Tang Yi’s expression turned a little odd—it sounded somewhat strange, no matter how he thought about it. Yet, what was this inexplicable sense of anticipation?

Although he didn’t yet have an Elf Companion of his own, thanks to the omnipotent internet age, Tang Lin quickly found countless familiar videos and photos of humanoid elf girls online.

To be honest...

They were stunning! Absolutely dazzling!

All right, decision made! My goal is to become the world’s finest trainer, to raise the most beautiful young maidens—no, ahem, to cultivate the strongest Elf Companions.

In his modest study, Tang Yi made this silent vow to himself.

But becoming an Elf Companion Trainer was not so simple.

Due to the destructive power of Elf Companions, every country had strict vetting processes. In the Xia Kingdom, to become a trainer, one must first be at least eighteen years old, have no criminal record, and either the applicant or their guardian must have stable employment and a history of long-term tax payments.

Only those meeting these requirements were qualified to purchase their first Elf Companion.

By law, once an Elf Companion was registered to a trainer, it could not be traded or sold at will, except under special circumstances. Therefore, to obtain one’s first Elf Companion, one would either adopt an abandoned girl from an orphanage or select an Elf Companion Egg from an officially registered breeding center.

Usually, people chose to buy an egg and raise their companion from birth.

Yes, that's right.

Although they were humanoid, Elf Companions were still oviparous creatures—a fact biologists cited as definitive proof of their distinction from humans.

Tang Yi checked each criterion and found he was only missing one: being eighteen years old.

But, in fact, it wasn’t far off—his birthday was just ten days away.

He recalled his mother mentioning earlier that she’d give him an Elf Companion for his birthday, and Tang Lin could hardly contain his excitement.

At dinner, Tang Yi took the opportunity to probe again. Purchasing required a guardian’s accompaniment, so there was no way around his parents.

Tang Yi’s parents were the epitome of ordinary people—they both worked nine-to-five jobs, earning modest wages that just managed to support the family. Their home was not wealthy, but it was warm and full of love.

His father declared with conviction, “Son, don’t worry. Your mother and I both suffered from not becoming trainers and not having Elf Companions, so we couldn’t get good jobs and are stuck with dead-end wages. We agreed long ago: no matter what, you must become a trainer first.”

His mother chimed in, “We’re planning to get you a Growlithe Girl or a Happiny Girl. Which do you prefer?”

Did he really need his parents to decide for him?

Tang Yi shook his head repeatedly. “No, I want to choose for myself.”

His mother frowned. “We’re doing this for your own good. If you train a Growlithe Girl well, you could become a police officer. Happiny Girls are popular in hospitals—those are all secure jobs.”

Tang Yi sighed. “Mom, I don’t want to be a policeman or a nurse. I want to be a true Elf Companion Trainer and compete in the World Cup someday.”

His father was surprised. “So you want to go to university?”

Tang Yi nodded.

This world’s education system worked a bit differently. Buying an Elf Companion didn’t make you an official trainer—at best, you were a novice. One had to complete high school and obtain a Junior Trainer License to be considered a real trainer.

Education from elementary to high school was called the basic education stage. After high school graduation and meeting certain requirements, one could apply to become a Junior Elf Companion Trainer.

With that license, you could work—a choice most people made: find a stable job, earn a modest wage, get married, have children, and let life drift by.

Only a small number of elite trainers had the ability to attend university.

To obtain the Intermediate Trainer License, one had to graduate from university. For the Advanced License, a postgraduate degree was required. The Master License—the highest—demanded a doctorate.

The level of one’s trainer license determined not only job prospects and state benefits, but most importantly for trainers, it set how many Elf Companions one could own.

Except for designated state agencies, the number of Elf Companions a private citizen could own was limited: one for the junior license, three for intermediate, six for advanced, and an unlimited number for masters.

If Tang Yi wanted to compete in the Elf Companion World Cup, he couldn’t rely on just one; he’d need to at least finish university.

Tang Yi’s parents exchanged glances. Wanting to go to university was good, but as his parents, they knew all too well the state of their son's grades. For Tang Yi to get into college… well, it was a stretch.

And the entrance exams were only one semester away.

Tang Yi wasn’t sure just how poor his grades had been in this world, but when he glanced through the high school textbooks in his study earlier, he found that apart from the basic language course, all the other subjects were about elves—how many evolutions Eevee Girls had, type advantages and weaknesses, move timing, and so on.

Tang Yi had played every game in the Pocket Monster Yellow series—if college entrance exams were based on this knowledge and he still couldn’t pass, he might as well find a block of tofu and end it all. He was confident in this, at least.

After much persuasion, Tang Yi finally managed to convince his parents.

They remained half-convinced, sensing something different about their son today, though they couldn’t say what. Still, seeing him show some ambition was a good thing, so they agreed to let Tang Yi choose his own Elf Companion.

With his parents’ approval, the next question was: which Elf Companion should he pick as his starter?

Since it was still winter break, Tang Yi had plenty of free time and devoted himself to making this important decision.

With his birthday just days away, he needed to make up his mind soon.

At first, his thinking was straightforward. Since he was aiming for the World Cup, he should select a strong and powerful Elf Companion. Despite their humanoid forms, the stats of Elf Companions hadn't changed from those in his memories.

He considered buying a pseudo-legendary Elf Companion to raise, like a Dratini Girl or a Bagon Girl.

Later, he thought it wiser to build a specialized competitive team and considered starting with a Seed Ball Girl.

But in the end, after browsing countless pictures of Elf Companions online—

“Damn! This Butterfree Girl is just too adorable!”

“So cute!”

“Sentret Girl’s ears look so fluffy, I just want to squeeze them.”

...

Fine, it was clear—looks were justice.

In the end, people are visual creatures.

Having realized this, Tang Yi glanced at his original configuration plan on his laptop and couldn’t help but sneer, “Ha! Men!”