Upon arriving in Shanghai, we settled in a microdistrict allocated to those affected by the tragedy of Bo City. What can I say, a rather unappealing picture. Firstly, the houses are incredibly close to each other, so a car can only drive in one direction. There is also absolutely no greenery, which is quite depressing to see monotonous concrete boxes without a drop of variety. Secondly, the ceilings in the apartments are made as low as possible. To understand, I am one meter eighty, and I have to be careful not to break the tube lamp, which is maximally pressed to the ceiling!
Fortunately for myself and my head, I didn't stay in our new home for long, or rather, for more than an hour. Saying that I was going to become a hunter and could not be expected for the next month or two, I threw on a sports jacket and was gone. Mo Fan is now going on an adventure with Tang Yue and will sit down to cultivate for a year. I am sure of this; I clarified that he plans to enroll in a year, along with me. On the way to the Mage Association building, the Shanghai Pearl Tower, where the Hunter League headquarters is located, I called Xu Zhao Ting, arranging a meeting nearby. He asked, and I don't mind; it's more fun together, and even better that he has less than two years to live; everything he learns about me will be taken with him to the grave.
"Hi, Jiaxing Yun, thanks for letting me join you. I wouldn't have dared to take this step myself," Zhao Ting waved cheerfully at me when he saw me.
"Where are you staying? Did you get a state apartment?" I asked, walking closer.
"No, I decided to become a hunter, so I rented a room in a cheap hotel for a couple of days," he replied, scratching his head. "It's a shame Wang Ping went to Xi'an to enroll in the local university; there would have been three of us."
"I understand. Let's go. First, we need to register with the league and get a hunter's license," I said, heading towards the association building. "I'll warn you right away, since we're partners now, I've reached the third stage of wind magic and am almost breaking through to the intermediate level. The shake-up during the tragedy helped me a lot."
"I see, so you won't be falling behind me. I've also reached the third stage, although intermediate is still a long way off for me," he replied in a cheerful voice. "Do you know if I can buy a cheap protective artifact here? From my parents, after selling all their property and receiving compensation from the state, I have about two million yuan. I'd like to buy one to protect myself from monsters," he said, his voice suddenly changing. The cheerfulness of a new beginning and light excitement was gone, replaced only by the sadness of loss.
"Most likely, yes. This is Shanghai, the magical capital of China!" I said in a confident and understanding voice. "You pick a good one. We don't have defense mages here."
Ascending to the fifth floor, where the league was located, we approached one of the many registration and information windows. We were attended by a rather pleasant-looking girl, about twenty years old. She gave us forms to fill out, after which she registered us and gave each of us hunter cards. They listed our name, age, and rank in the league. For both of us, it read: "Novice," as well as our cultivation level. We were explained that the ranks, in ascending order, were: Novice, Initial, Intermediate, High, Supreme, Master Hunters, from one to seven stars, and then Hunter Leaders, who are elected every ten years in each country for the same term. Only two leaders can be in one country at a time.
After that, we reviewed the list of quests available to our rank. It turned out that for two people, mages of the initial level, there weren't that many quests. We were faced with a choice: go alone or join a team. Honestly, I didn't want to join a team; who knows who we might run into. Besides, I have the strength to escape from intermediate-level mages, but Zhao Ting doesn't yet. And he must live and die only in two years! After a short argument, we decided to go alone and create our own team, which we named: "Baofongi," meaning storm. Why such a name? I don't know, it sounds cool and reflects the essence; we have a lightning mage and a wind mage, it quite resembles a storm, only lacking water. Maybe I should invite Lin Yu Jiaxing? Nah, then I won't have any chances with Lin Yun Er. And I'm too lazy to deal with it.
We also chose a mission quickly: exterminating giant warty newts in Lake Taihu, not far from Suzhou. Giant warty newts are low-level servant monsters that live near the lake, characterized by rapid, even very rapid, reproduction and not particularly outstanding stats. They are quite fast, about the same as one-eyed wolves, with tough skin, slightly inferior to one-eyed rats. Their main dangers are their tails and teeth. Since there are many of them, they reproduce with incredible speed, and are also very aggressive, there is a constant quest in the league for their extermination; in proof, they bring their eyes, the size of a fist. For a pair, the league pays a thousand yuan, a very good earning for us, and a completed mission will be a plus for us, helping us advance further. Usually, a team of five to six people, mages of the second or third stage, is assembled to exterminate these creatures, as they are quite dangerous and travel in groups. Intermediate-level mages don't take on this job at all, because there's too little money for such trouble, and the eyes must be intact to get paid.
First, after registration and choosing the mission, we went to the magic market in Shanghai to search for a magical artifact for Zhao Tin. We wandered for quite a long time until, towards evening, we found a shield made from the skin of giant red-eyed newts, beasts of the junior leader level. They are also found in the lake, only in smaller numbers and closer to Huzhou. We spent about one and a half million yuan on it. After that, another twenty thousand for a knife made of steel and bone from a giant warty newt, for me. I borrowed money from him for this; such a knife would be enough to cut through the monsters' skin.
Immediately after the market, we took a train to Suzhou, stayed overnight in a cheap hotel, of course, at Zhao Tin's expense, bought food for a couple of days, and headed beyond the safety zone. For all expenses, we agreed to split all earnings forty-sixty, in favor of Zhao Tin. The number of people we met was slightly unexpected; we encountered quite a few novice hunter mages and those who had just broken through to the intermediate level. We decided not to interfere with them and went deeper into the forest around the lake. Finding the newts turned out to be much easier than we thought.
We found the first group an hour after walking along the lake shore; there were only five of them. For me, they were a piece of cake; a couple of lightning whips, second stage, and they were corpses. Even a lightning seal would have been enough. However, I couldn't act at full strength. Well, this will be a training session with special conditions; nothing terrible. The newts were three meters long, including their tails, which were half their body length.
The plan of action was quite simple: Xu Zhao Ting would attack them with a lightning whip and lightning wrath, while I, using wind step, would attack them with my knife. No sooner said than done, Zhao Ting started the fight, sending lightning wrath into the center of one of the newts' bodies, thereby making a deep hole and killing the beast. After that, the remaining four rushed towards him. I, meanwhile, circled behind them and jumped onto one's back. He tried to throw me off, which he would have easily succeeded in if I hadn't pierced his neck. The knife went in easily, as if cutting butter; that's what a good sharpening means.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ting cast another spell, hitting another monster. My monster tried to kill me with its tail, but it picked the wrong opponent. After severing its arteries, I jumped off it and climbed onto another, repeating the situation. Zhao Ting dodged the last one, hitting it in the side with lightning wrath, and almost getting hit by its tail.
"Yes... Even though they are ordinary minor servants, they pose an incredible danger, even to mages at the peak of the initial level," said Xu Zhao Ting, getting up from the ground and catching his breath.
"Ha, and you thought monsters were stronger than ordinary mages. Even to kill one such beast, you need a team of three to six first-stage mages, and it's essential to have an ice and fire or lightning mage, otherwise, you can't deal any damage at all," I said, cutting out the eyes of these newts. "And the two of us took down five of them; consider us quite strong mages."
"Perhaps you're right; if you look at it that way, we killed them easily," Zhao Ting replied to my statement, taking out a bag for the eyes. These eyes don't rot for a couple of days, so if we bring a whole bag of them to the city every three days, we'll more than cover our food expenses.
"The element of surprise; you killed one, plus we bought a decent knife, so I can fight too. It's all quite explainable," I replied, moving on to another newt.
I had many benefits from this collaboration with Zhao Tin. Firstly, all the soul shards of the monsters we kill went directly into my tooth. Secondly, I can legally be outside the safety zone, in the wild, where my cultivation is noticeably better. Thirdly, I gained the opportunity to train as I wished: during the day with limitations, at night to the fullest. And fourthly, I get a little money! Why do I need Zhao Tin, you might ask? Well, who in their right mind would send a third-stage wind mage of the initial level on such a mission? He'll survive, but how will he kill the monsters? Not at all, and the knife trick wouldn't even work for me if I were the only target. Of course, I could reveal my powers, but that would attract too much attention: a middle-level mage in two elements, or even one, and he's not even eighteen! My birthday is in early autumn. And I don't want attention right now; it would only be a hindrance.
On the first day, we killed forty newts, a good haul, right? Only, both Zhao Ting and I, unaccustomed to such loads, were incredibly tired. We decided to sleep outdoors; it's simply cheaper, and we decided to save money for cool artifacts. It's better to be a bum at the beginning than for life, like the original Mo Fan. After eating the food we brought, we started to rest. I was on watch first, until midnight, then Xu Zhao Ting.
While he was cultivating before sleep, I, under the pretext of getting some air and going to the toilet, went to find myself some opponents. The newts didn't interest me, as it's a waste to throw away their eyes, and their rapid increase would raise questions for Zhao Ting. Besides, they are weak opponents for me and dangerous only in their numbers. The group we killed first was the smallest; the largest was a group of eleven newts, and we had to struggle to kill them all. Zhao Ting even used an artifact.
I was looking for a very specific beast, whose tracks I noticed in the morning, namely a one-eyed alligator. It belongs to the high servant level, five to seven meters long, with a powerful tail and jaws. I had to walk quite a bit to find it, but I managed. It was resting on the bank in the rays of the setting sun. These beasts are solitary by nature, so I wasn't afraid of stumbling upon a group; yes, even if I had, I would have just left.
Taking advantage of its relaxed state, I sent lightning wrath into its side, closer to its front paw, to deprive it of mobility and, at the same time, wound a vital point. From my spell, part of the skin on its paw and side flew to shreds, the muscles were fried, and the entire paw suffered a muscle spasm. However, this is not a middle servant, like a one-eyed wolf; even a quarter of the middle level wouldn't kill it, only inflict a moderately severe wound.
As soon as the thunderclap of my lightning sounded, the alligator turned towards me and charged, opening its mouth as it went. It was fast, slightly faster than a one-eyed wolf; there were only fifty meters between us initially, so this distance was not a problem for it at all. But I didn't use wind step to dodge; instead, I used wind blade, third stage, which I directed at the same paw I had previously fried. This blade severed the paw from the body, tearing off its skin, but it couldn't damage it significantly.
Due to the loss of its paw, the alligator tilted to its side, scraped the ground, and slowed down. I, meanwhile, rejoicing in my accuracy, rushed in the other direction, simultaneously composing a star path of lightning, third stage. As a result, the alligator slid past me, unable to change direction properly, poor thing. I attacked its second paw in the same way as the first, with the same result.
This time, I had to jump back sharply, so I fell on my backside, dodging the tail it swung at me as it rushed past. Its tail flew right over my head, literally brushing my hair! The next second, I had already composed a star path of wind and was rushing towards the nearest tree, preparing lightning wrath. It was difficult to prepare a new spell and control the action of an old one, but with the transition to the intermediate level, I started to get better at it.
The alligator didn't stand still but ran after me, gradually falling behind due to the loss of one paw and the poor functioning of the other. Reaching the tree, I unleashed lightning wrath into the top of its head, creating a hole between its eyes, so the skull was visible, and its eyes filled with blood and received a hefty discharge. I think it lost its sight for a while.
However, it continued to run straight at me, so I had to urgently jump up and climb. Fortunately, my physical abilities at the intermediate level were sufficient for this, as I am quite frail. I climbed about five meters above the ground, almost to the very top of the tree; I did it quite quickly, although the alligator almost bit off my leg, but it was fine.
At such a height, it couldn't reach me, but it could soon knock down the tree with its body, uprooting it! So I had little time. First, I severed its second injured paw with wind blade, after which the creature was only left to hit the tree with its massive tail. And I must say, it hit well; the tree creaked and shuddered with every blow! Immediately after the wind blade, another lightning wrath flew into the hole already made in its forehead, which tore off more skin and scorched a larger piece of flesh, and also left a noticeable crack on its skull! How durable its bones are!
The alligator roared from the wound and began to hit the tree even more actively with its tail, and the tree began to creak and fall, so I had no time left. Using wind step, I jumped to a neighboring tree, making quite a bit of noise in the process. Apparently, the alligator understood that I had left that tree and, somehow using its hind legs and shifting its body, began to crawl towards the new tree. But alas, its song was sung; without two paws, it simply couldn't keep up with me.
Lightning wrath hit the alligator's neck; I can't always hit the target, can I? Leaving a deep, but not fatal, wound there. After that, another wind blade struck between the two wounds on its head, creating a groove of torn flesh between them, but again, it wasn't fatal for it. At this moment, it crawled to my tree and began to beat it with its tail. But it exposed its head to me, where lightning wrath flew. From the impact, its skull cracked, breaking into several pieces at the point of impact. The blow itself went deep, touching the brain, but the skull absorbed the damage, and the alligator remained alive.
A heart-rending roar of the alligator echoed throughout the area, causing many weaker creatures to scatter. The poor thing began to thrash hysterically, beating the tree with its tail and head, and during this time, fragments of bone and fried brain flew out of the hole in its head. It didn't have long to live, poor thing; its skull deprived it of a quick and easy death. I, meanwhile, jumped off and moved away from it using wind step, after which I finished it off with a lightning whip strike to the hole, causing it to fall silent and die.
Approaching its corpse, I took out the knife we bought, opened its mouth, and began to pull out its four large fangs. They can be sold for about twenty to thirty thousand each. A small income for such a laborious kill, but the artifacts made from them are not very popular daggers, worth at most two hundred thousand. Moreover, these fangs do not absorb any magic, so the resulting weapons are quite mediocre, used for killing lower or middle servant beasts by few.