In the morning, after quickly gathering, we continued the hunt. We were lucky almost immediately to run into five piglets. This time, no one used Intermediate magic; we quickly stunned them with Spirit magic and killed them with simple spells.
The last piglet, which Xu Li Rin was hitting with regular freezing, suddenly squealed loudly. We finished it quickly, but what we didn't expect happened: its mother—a Stone Boar, a Leader monster—came to help. These monsters are not very fast but possess some of the best defense at their level. Their skin is covered in stones in places, they're three meters at the shoulder, and their gaze is full of rage.
The entire clearing froze for a moment. The monster looked at us, and we looked at it, afraid to move. A wild roar served as the signal to attack, and the monster charged. The boar rushed at us, seeing no obstacles, smashing small trees and bushes in its path.
In a critical moment, a person has two reactions to danger: fight or flight. Most people might have fled seeing this "machine," but I've always had a different mindset. To any danger from someone, I always strike first.
Sinking into the shadow, I raced toward the monster. Emerging slightly to the side of its path, I waited until we were level and used a Shadow Spike that pinned it to the spot. The boar froze, unable to move. Its eyes rolled wildly, but it couldn't turn its head. I felt my spell wouldn't hold long. Turning to my comrades, who were looking at the boar in surprise, I shouted:
"What are you standing around for?"
"Thunderbolt!" came from Park Chu Ho.
Lightning struck the boar from the sky, but the monster's stone skin prevented serious damage.
"Fiery Fist!" That was Sun Wei. The flame shattered against the skin, and that's it! The monster was a middle-tier Leader; we'd be picking at it with first-tier magic for a long time.
"Ice Chain!" Xu Li Rin entwined the monster's back legs. This could help, but it's not enough.
Launching another spike into the beast's shadow, I moved to its head. Charging my bone blade to the limit, I plunged it into the beast's skull; Shadow energy dropped another thirty percent.
"Chu Ho, aim for the knife in its forehead! Hit it with thunder!"
Meanwhile, Xu Li Rin was already launching a Storm Wave at the monster, while Dong Pan and Hou Xu created barriers in front of the team.
The Storm Wave only chipped some stone off the monster's sides, but the lightning had an effect. The knife served as a good conductor, and the lightning discharge went straight into the monster's brain. Blood came from its eyes and ears, and the monster was temporarily paralyzed.
The girl created three more bolts before an orb flew from the monster. A very, very bright one. Initially I thought it was a fragment, but listening to my spirit I realized it was a soul. Not believing my luck, I pulled it toward me and confirmed my eyes weren't deceiving me.
Placing the soul in a vessel, I extracted my artifact from the monster and began butchering. We're definitely taking the hide—it's worth half a million. Its blood and pancreas are also valuable. I was gutting the monster until evening. The guys tried to help me but mostly got in the way. They had never butchered monsters and couldn't even tell internal organs apart properly. How can you confuse a pancreas with a gallbladder? They need different containers with their own storage conditions.
After today, we headed back. There was too much loot from the leader, and no one wanted to leave it; there were a couple of million worth of trophies here.
Returning to the city, we handed over most of it to the Union; I kept some for experiments. If we're going to hunt Leaders, the transportation problem needs to be solved. And the solution is in my backpack: the soul vessel. I could have kept it and ordered an artifact from blacksmiths—making armor from the hide—но артефакт энергии земли мне не подойдёт. I need to find a beast related to shadow. Or feed the soul to the talisman, but it filled up well at the source. It can wait for now. Money and spatial storage are always needed.
I went to the Zhao family auction; usually, outsiders aren't allowed, but only for the auctions themselves. Such auction houses usually have a separate entrance for those listing items. Behind the counter stood a short, elderly man in formal glasses.
"Hello, I want to sell a whole soul of a Stone Boar. Middle-tier Leader."
"Excellent! Where did you get it?"
I showed my hunter badge, which indicated I am a Shadow and Spirit magician.
"My team got lucky hunting."
"Splendid, young man. So young and already an Intermediate Magician, plus you have the Spirit element. Would you like to attend the auction itself?"
"That would be good if you have spatial storage units listed."
"Here, young man, the list of all current lots," he gave me a brochure. "But the auction isn't for three days. The list might still be updated."
I quickly scanned the list and said:
"Then could I ask a favor?" The man nodded. "Could you place my lot at any position before number seventy-six?"
That was the lot with a ring that held ten cubic meters of cargo.
"I think the auction house can satisfy such an innocent request. I hope that next time you use our services to realize such goods."
"Thank you."
***
The team and I decided to take a five-day break. I sat for cultivation until the auction started. My talisman achieved a 2.5x acceleration. I had already reached the barrier in Poison and Summoning, and in these two days, I broke through to the second tier of Spirit, called "Spiritual Armor." Essentially, I could apply mind protection to myself and others. This attack also protected against the auras of stronger monsters and, of course, other Spirit magicians.
The auction was pleasing. My soul sold for twenty-eight million; the price was influenced by it being whole and in excellent condition. The auctioneer even said so, mentioning that the soul was preserved by a Spirit magician from the hunters and hadn't lost a drop of power. Good man, he knows his job.
I also managed to snag that spatial ring for eight million and a rainbow vein with poisoned energy for eleven. Usually, collectors buy such things, but my ring can filter the energy, so I can buy such things in bulk for my cultivation. Normally, a good rainbow vein costs about thirty million.
Coming home, I was practically glowing with excitement. Sitting in a meditation pose, I entered the spiritual world. Time to upgrade my firstborn!
The breakthrough in the Poison element took much less time than last time. It's because a magician's soul and body reorganize when crossing to a new level for the first time, which takes time and strength, while a repeat breakthrough only strengthens the magic. So I was as fresh as a daisy.
Intermediate level Poison magic. At this level, a spatial storage parallel to Summoning opens in the magician's soul. In this space, you can store either poisonous insects that will breed rapidly, or you can fill it with poison, which will determine your future strength because this poison will become your base for future poisons. Of course, a Poison magician can synthesize almost any poison, but that only applies to the Basic level. Here an association with elemental seeds can be seen: a Leader's poison is a Soul Seed, a Commander's is a Spiritual Seed, and a Ruler's is a Heavenly Seed. But one must remember that not all poisons are equal. Some Leaders' poisons will be much more dangerous than some Rulers'. But I know a creature that is the progenitor of the Poison element and possesses a huge variety of them—it can even fly in a poison cloud. It's a high Ruler-level creature that Mo Fan carried around like a pet lizard.
I'm talking about the Totem Snake, the guardian of Hangzhou. That's whose poison I intend to absorb, and I know who can introduce us!