Mission Hall wasn't as big as Martial Hall or as grand as Cultivation Hall. It was located near the sect gate. Kael walked in and went to the counter." Hello, I want to look at the missions available." Kael said to the disciple behind the counter. The disciple behind the counter reached for the list and handed it to Kael.
The list was divided into four grades: A grade, B grade, C grade and D grade. Each grade signified the level of danger, with an A grade having the highest fatality rate. Kael browsed through the list looking for one he could handle. Picking herbs in the Ashborne forest, escorting a merchant caravan, delivering supplies for Elder Constantine, Kael read through the whole list, thinking about which one he could do. 'Picking herbs in Ashborne forest. It says I need to look for a hundred-year-old spirit grass. Each bundle is worth fifteen credits.' He thought about it for a while and decided to take the herb picking mission.
"I'll take the herb collecting mission." He said as he handed back the list. The disciple at the other end of the counter looked at him for a second before taking the list and giving him a map and a bag to put the grass in. With his old sword around his waist, he left for Ashborne forest.
Ashborne Forest was about half a day's travel away. Feral and awakened beasts roamed the outer areas, with spirit beasts and core beasts residing in the deep parts, rarely seen. 'Spirit grass is usually found around the edge of the forest, so I think I'll be safe. Even if I ran into late-stage awakened beasts, I should be fine with shadow step.' Kael thought as he sprinted through the terrain.
After cultivating to the second stage, his top speed was somewhat close to that of a cheetah. With his insane endurance, which only increased after his breakthrough, he reached Ashborne forest after just four hours. He was barely out of breath so he just went in and started to look for the spirit grass.
The forest floor was filled with wild grasses and shrubs, but after searching for one hour he still hadn't found the spirit grass. He sat under a tree, reached into his bag, took out some food he had packed before leaving and began to eat.
As he was eating, he heard a commotion coming from a distance. He quickly put the food back into his bag and headed in that direction. As he got closer, he activated shadow step and descended into the shadows. In this dark forest, he moved without any obstacles. Soon, he reached the source of the commotion and found two beasts fighting. One was a Stone Ape and the other one was a Gold-horned Lizard.
The stone Ape's body was covered by stone-like armor, and it stood three meters tall. The Gold-horned lizard had a length of five meters and a height of one and a half meters. The Gold-horned lizard charged at the Ape intending to impale it with its Horn. The Ape didn't retreat and instead met it with a fist of its own. They were both sent back, but the gold-horned lizard was in worse shape than the Stone ape. The stone ape's armor was still intact, if not for the dents from the previous clashes.
The gold-horned lizard charged at the stone ape again but this time, once it was close enough, it turned back and swung its tail at the stone ape. The stone ape unleashed a raging roar and grabbed the tail. It then swung it away, sending the gold-horned lizard once again flying and crashing towards the trees. The stone ape didn't stop and followed the gold-horned lizard, picking up a tree and using it to beat the lizard. Under the barrage of hits, the lizard tried to run away but the stone ape was relentless. It followed the lizard, clobbering it with the tree until it was broken in half. Then it started to use its fists, each hit sending shock waves across the ground.
'The gold-horned lizard won't last much longer, but that stone ape's armor is something else,' Kael thought as he watched from the shadows. And just like he predicted, the gold-horned lizard couldn't take it any longer and collapsed on the ground, its eyes lifeless. The stone ape released another roar announcing its victory, then it began to eat the dead gold-horned lizard.
Kael watched all of this from the shadows. The idea of facing the stone ape had crossed his mind, but then he remembered the stone apes armor and its shattering strength. He didn't have anything that could withstand such strength, or anything that could pierce its armor. Trying it was suicide, plain and simple.
'I should find that spirit grass quickly and leave this place. It's more dangerous than I thought.' With that, he resumed his search for the spirit grass. He searched but found no spirit grass. He was about to give it up and head back when a scream reached his ears.' That sounds like a human. Could they have encountered a beast, or another cultivator?' Kael thought "Aahhhhh…" He heard the scream again, and this time it sounded like it was getting closer. Without much thought, he climbed up a tree and pushed his sight to its limit.
Only then did he see the silhouette of a boy running through the forest at top speed. Behind him was another gold-horned lizard chasing after him, but this one was smaller than the one he saw earlier. 'Wait a minute. Isn't that Draven? What is he doing this deep in the forest?' As he was thinking, the gold-horned lizard was gaining on Draven and would soon catch up to him. 'It's not as big as the first one, and it doesn't have the defence of the stone ape. I should be able to at least buy some time for him to get away, then I can use shadow step and get away too,' He thought as he took out his sword and jumped down.
"Someone help me!" Draven screamed at the top of his lungs. Kael activated the flame orb skill, and a sphere of fire started to manifest." Get down," he yelled at Draven, who saw the fiery orb heading his way and quickly rolled out of the way. The gold-horned lizard reacted more slowly and was hit by the orb. It was sent back by the explosion.
It slowly got up, being disoriented by the sudden blast. Kael didn't give it time to get its bearings and attacked it. He went for its eyes, stabbing the left eye then retreating.' It's definitely hurt after taking that blast. Now is my chance.' He went to stab the other eye, but the gold horned lizard was enraged and in pain. It went to slash him with its claws, but Kael reacted quickly and moved back. 'That was close. If that hit me, I would be dead,' He thought as sweat trickled down his forehead. He went on to attack it from the sides, using the trees as platforms to step on.
The gold-horned lizard could not react fast enough and suffered slash after slash. 'It should be on its last legs,' Kael thought as he looked at the bloodied beast below. He activated flame tempest, and a vortex of flames surrounded the gold-horned lizard. It tried to escape, but the suction force was stronger, and it was sucked in. Cries that sent shivers down one's spine were heard across the forest. The gold-horned lizard was engulfed by flames, burned alive. Draven, who had retreated a few meters away, looked at the twisting inferno mouth agape. The flame tempest finally subsided and the charred body of the gold-horned lizard fell. Despite all that, the beast was not yet dead, a testament to their tenacious vitality.
Kael, who was watching this on top of a tree branch, held his sword and leapt down. Delivering the killing blow to the gold-horned lizard's head, piercing it all the way. The beast finally stopped struggling as its body went limp.
He pulled his sword out of its head and put it back in its scabbard." Kael, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?" Draven asked as he came running. "I'm fine. What about you? You were the one being chased." "I saw it before it was too close and ran, but the beast wouldn't let me be and started chasing me. You just took it down like it was nothing." Draven said as he looked at the beast's corpse." What were you doing that deep in the forest?" "I was looking for spirit grass when I came across a cave full of them, but I didn't know that the gold-horned lizard was also sleeping inside." Kael heard spirit grass, and his eyes brightened. "You found spirit grass?" He asked again. "Yeah, that cave is practically full of it." "Can you take me there?" "Are you joking? You just saved my life. Taking you there is the least I can do."Draven laughed as he said. "Follow me, it's not far from here."Draven said as he started walking back in the direction he came from. Kael silently followed behind.