The giant spider stood four meters tall, its entire body a deep blood-red, as if carved from blood jade. Its body was covered in steel-needle-like spikes. Its six eyes were as large as grapefruits, filled with brutal, bloodthirsty ferocity!
It was a Level 2 Magical Beast: Blood Jade Magic Spider!
As a Level 2 magical beast, the Blood Jade Magic Spider was incredibly powerful. In the outer regions of the forest where magical beasts were rare, it was an existence that could roam unchallenged.
But today, this Blood Jade Magic Spider had run into trouble. The four humans besieging it were no weaklings either. The three men had surrounded the spider, relentlessly attacking it from all sides!
Meanwhile, the woman on the periphery held a magic staff. Bolts of lightning gathered above the Blood Jade Magic Spider's head, ready to strike at any moment!
"Roar——"
Sensing the intense danger from the lightning above, the Blood Jade Magic Spider let out a furious roar. Its eight long legs sprang like coils, launching its body straight toward the female mage!
It wanted to interrupt the spell before it could descend!
"Protect Allison!"
A burly man wielding a giant axe shouted. He swung his massive axe at one of the spider's legs. Amid the clash of metal, sparks flew, but the spider's leg remained completely unharmed. This showed just how incredibly hard the Blood Jade Magic Spider's legs were!
Even so, the spider's movement paused for a brief instant. At that moment, the lightning above finally finished gathering, forming an extremely bright and thick electric serpent!
"Dance of the Thunder Serpent!"
The woman shouted sharply and pointed her magic staff downward!
"Crack——"
Accompanied by a crisp explosive sound, the electric serpent descended violently!
"Crackle—— Pop——"
The Blood Jade Magic Spider was struck directly. Its blood-red body convulsed violently, twitching like it was on stimulants, performing a bizarre ghost-like dance!
"Now's our chance!"
The three men wouldn't miss such a golden opportunity. They immediately unleashed their strongest attacks!
"Crack——"
"Boom——"
"Puchi——"
Three attacks struck the Blood Jade Magic Spider's vital points simultaneously. The terrifying Level 2 magical beast let out a shrill, miserable cry and collapsed limply to the ground!
Then, it fell silent.
"So… so powerful!"
Hiding in the shadows, Monte witnessed the entire battle and was deeply shocked. The terrifying Blood Jade Magic Spider, the sharp lightning serpent descending from the sky, and the three men with their ferocious offensive power—all of it stimulated Monte's nerves and made him acutely feel the power of this world and his own insignificance!
"If only I could be this strong too!"
Monte sighed. At that moment, the system's cold voice rang out: "Ding! Drop detected. Would you like to pick it up?"
"Pick it up!"
"Ding! Fusion successful. Host's Constitution +6!"
"Ding! Fusion successful. Host's Constitution +4!"
"Ding! Fusion successful. Host's Spirit +3!"
"Ding! Fusion successful. Host has acquired Meditation Technique!"
As a series of prompts sounded, the familiar warm current and cool sensation appeared once again, strengthening Monte's body and mind. However, Monte was completely drawn to the final reward—the Meditation Technique!
"Meditation Technique? What is this?"
Curious, Monte quickly checked it.
Upon seeing it, he was overjoyed!
A mage's cultivation mainly consisted of two parts:
First, absorbing the magic elements between heaven and earth and refining them into magical power;
Second, increasing spiritual power!
Both steps required "meditation" to complete!
It could be said that meditation was the absolute foundation for mages. Without meditation, one could not obtain magical power. Without meditation, one could not improve spiritual power!
Therefore, to become a mage, one must at least learn how to meditate. However, Monte had not known how to do so before!
"This is like sending charcoal in snowy weather! With the Meditation Technique, I can obtain magical power through meditation!"
Monte was extremely excited. Relying on the system to pick up magic orbs had too many limitations—it could only be done under specific conditions!
The probability was too low and filled with uncertainty!
Learning the Meditation Technique was completely different!
He could actively refine magical power, essentially taking control of how he acquired magic!
Monte glanced at the four people and prepared to slip away. He wanted to find a safe and hidden place to try out the newly acquired Meditation Technique…
"Who's there?"
Unexpectedly, the woman closest to him suddenly turned her head. With a wave of her magic staff, she released a thumb-thick bolt of lightning that struck a small tree right in front of Monte!
"Crack——"
The small tree was split in two, the broken section almost completely carbonized!
"Heavens!!!"
Monte fell flat on his butt, his face full of terror!
"Allison, what's wrong?"
"There's someone over there!"
"Hmm?"
The four of them quickly spotted Monte!
"Who are you? What are you doing sneaking around here?"
The burly man holding the giant axe frowned and glared at Monte, asking in a deep, gruff voice. The other three also stared at him with unfriendly eyes. The Magical Beast Forest was extremely dangerous. While magical beasts were terrifying, humans were often even more dangerous!
They had just been engaged in fierce combat with a magical beast. If someone had launched a sneak attack from behind, they would have been in grave danger!
"I… I'm a villager from nearby!"
Monte trembled "fearfully" and said: "I… I was attracted by the sounds of your fight. I was just curious and came to take a look. I have no ill intentions…"
"A villager?"
"I don't sense any battle qi fluctuations from him."
"Allison, can you sense any magic power fluctuations?"
"None!"
"Looks like he really is just an ordinary villager!"
The four of them immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The burly man with the giant axe barked: "You've got some guts, kid! A little brat who hasn't even grown all his hair yet dares to enter the Magical Beast Forest alone. Are you tired of living?!"
"Get out of here quickly. This is no place for you!"
The female mage Allison kindly reminded him. She had an average appearance with freckles on her face, but she had a tall and slender figure. Even through her mage robe, one could see her graceful curves!
"These four don't seem like bad people."
Monte looked no older than 15, but in his previous life he had been a greasy middle-aged man who had seen countless people. He still had decent skills in reading people and observing their expressions.
He could tell that these four were probably not very old and were likely students from some academy. This could be inferred from the badges they wore on their chests!
"Since they're not bad people, can I follow them? Only by following them can I pick up more drops!"
"Should I… give it a try?"
Thinking this, Monte squeezed out two drops of tears, put on a pitiful face, and said in a mournful voice: "I… I… I got lost! I can't find my way home!"
"Got lost?"
The four of them looked at each other, frowning in unison. In the end, the female mage Allison spoke up: "He looks so pitiful all alone. Why don't we take him with us? The Magical Beast Forest is too dangerous!"
"This… isn't a good idea, is it?"
A skinny young man holding a dagger frowned: "The Magical Beast Forest is very dangerous, and the targets we chose for this training are all magical beasts. Won't bringing him along just make him a burden?"
"I'm not a burden! I'm very strong!"