Chapter: The Hunt Begins
The next morning, Cheng Yu and Joyce left the Northern Fortress and headed into the forest of the Snow-Capped Mountains to hunt Black Armored Pigs.
Joyce was about the same age as Cheng Yu and had a fierce, sinister face.
Any normal person would be wary of Joyce.
The Snow-Capped Mountains were majestic and towering. The Northern Fortress fortifications sat on the ridge.
Below the ridge stretched large tracts of pine forests—some covered with snow. The air was filled with intense chill.
Perhaps because of his high defense, Cheng Yu wore only a single layer of clothing and didn't feel cold.
On the other hand, Joyce—standing next to him—wore a thick jacket, snow boots, and a white fur magic cloak, but was still shivering from the cold.
"Aren't you the eldest son of the Oranto family? Barney asked you to come out and hunt monsters—you could refuse. He can't do anything to you."
Cheng Yu looked at Joyce, whose face was red from the cold.
"No. The general said young people should work more and take fewer merit points, so they can temper a steel-like will."
Joyce's eyes were firm. He believed in the general's teachings.
"You're truly worthy of the Innate Holy Body of Oxen and Horses. Your awareness is really high."
They walked along the mountain path into the depths of the forest.
After walking for about an hour, they arrived at an empty clearing in the forest—surrounded everywhere by tall trees. Occasionally a small amount of snow could be seen.
Joyce pulled out a round compass, injected magic into it, and the needle on the compass began rotating.
Cheng Yu looked at the compass in Joyce's hand curiously. "What's this?"
"A magic tool—Hunting Compass. It can detect surrounding monsters based on the level of magic in the environment."
The needle on the compass rotated rapidly, pointing toward the southeast section of the woods.
"The magic power is higher over there. Let's go take a look."
Following the compass's guidance, the two walked toward the southeast of the woods.
Not far ahead, a massive black pig over ten meters long lay on the snow, sleeping.
The Black Armored Pig's skin was black and rough—like pine bark. Hard bristles stood up on its body, each as long as a human arm, like steel needles.
The entry for Black Armored Pig in The Encyclopedia of Plants and Animals of the Celsis Continent described it as having thick skin and flesh, high defense, strong offensiveness, and a natural skill: Violent Collision.
"Can you really beat such a big wild boar?"
Cheng Yu expressed doubts about Joyce's strength.
"It's difficult for mages of the same tier to defeat magic beasts of the same tier. I can only try."
Joyce's hand flashed with white light. A magic staff made of crystal material appeared in his hand—clearly worth a fortune.
Gripping the staff with both hands, using it to condense magic power, a circular magic array appeared at its tip.
While constructing the magic array, Joyce held his breath and chanted magic incantations.
One sentence after another of obscure magic incantations seemed able to communicate with the energy of heaven and earth. The magic array at the staff's tip suddenly shone brightly. The array pattern suddenly expanded several times.
Third-tier magic: Fire Serpent!
A massive fire serpent—seven or eight meters in diameter and forty or fifty meters long—emerged from the magic array, winding its way toward the Black Armored Pig ahead.
The sleeping Black Armored Pig was caught off guard and entangled by the huge fire serpent. The high temperature made it scream sharply—as if asking, Which dog attacked this pig?
"Explode!"
Joyce clenched his fists. The fire serpent wrapped around the Black Armored Pig exploded.
The powerful explosion shattered all trees within a radius of dozens of meters.
The heat wave generated by the explosion formed a shockwave that spread outward. The forest was buffeted by the blast.
Joyce hid behind a tree, using the trunk to resist the impact of the heat wave.
Cheng Yu didn't dodge. Facing the rolling heat wave, he didn't feel much heat.
"Cheng Yu, is the Black Armored Pig dead?" Joyce asked.
Cheng Yu looked ahead calmly. "Do you want to hear the good news or the bad news?"
"Good news," Joyce said.
"Your fire magic is very powerful. The Black Armored Pig was injured."
"What about the bad news?"
"It only has some skin injuries, and it's rushing toward us now."
Joyce looked out from behind the tree trunk. All the bristles on the Black Armored Pig had been blown off. A half-inch-long wound had been blasted on the pig's back—bloody.
The Black Armored Pig was like a mountain of meat, charging toward them.
"Run!"
If hit by such a huge wild boar, they'd definitely be crushed into meat paste.
Joyce got up and ran.
Cheng Yu and Joyce ran in front. The Black Armored Pig chased behind.
Joyce was pale and screamed in fear. "It's over, Cheng Yu! It runs faster than us!"
"Does it matter if it runs faster than us? I just need to run faster than you."
The key point was: better you die than me.
Joyce: "(ｰ̀дｰ́)"
Mages' physical fitness was average. Joyce's running speed was completely inferior to Cheng Yu's.
Under Joyce's shocked gaze, Cheng Yu ran hundreds of meters in just a few seconds, leaving him far behind.
How did Cheng Yu do that? Run so fast?
Joyce was bewildered.
It seemed he was about to be caught by the Black Armored Pig.
First-tier magic: Fireball!
In an emergency, Joyce abandoned chanting and quickly released first-tier magic—fireball. The fist-sized scorching flame struck the Black Armored Pig's head.
The Black Armored Pig's vision was blocked. It paused for a moment. Joyce took this opportunity to scramble and run for his life.
However, the Black Armored Pig was much faster than Joyce and soon caught up again.
Joyce was so scared his face turned pale. He kept praying. "Goddess of Light, bless me! May the Goddess of Light bless me! May the Goddess of Light bless me!"
The Black Armored Pig chased Joyce to within a meter, opened its bloody mouth—over two meters long—and bit down.
Joyce could even smell the intense stench from the pig's mouth.
Just then, an invisible force fell on the Black Armored Pig's head. A massive slap struck the Black Armored Pig—huge as a hill—sending it flying over ten meters.
The massive slap was too powerful. A half-meter-long crack was slapped onto the pig's head. Blood flowed.
The Black Armored Pig was slapped senseless, unable to tell directions, and spun in place.
Joyce stood there in a daze. Did the Goddess of Light appear?
But the next moment, he saw Cheng Yu emerge from behind a tree nearby.
"Young man, do you crave power?"
Cheng Yu held a black round cake in his hand.
"Of course I crave it!"
Joyce was always craving power.
A black round cake was handed to Joyce. "Eat this cake. You'll gain stronger power."
According to the recipe, this thing could slightly increase the eater's magic strength for five minutes.
"Really?"
Though Joyce was a bit skeptical, he ate the black flatbread without hesitation.
The black flatbread tasted bitter and astringent. Joyce's sinister snake face turned into a mask of pain.
However, the moment after eating the black flatbread, Joyce felt the magic power in his body significantly enhanced.
"My magic power has gotten stronger?!"
Joyce was shocked.
"It's already injured. Hit it with another powerful spell," Cheng Yu said to Joyce.
"Right!"
Joyce gripped the magic staff with both hands. While concentrating magic power to construct a magic array, he chanted the magic incantation.
He released third-tier magic: Fire Serpent. A fire serpent rushed out of the magic array.
Because Joyce's magic power had been enhanced, this fire serpent was larger than the previous one.
The previous fire serpent had been over forty meters long. This one was over fifty meters.
The fire serpent rushed toward the Black Armored Pig.
Joyce abandoned chanting and directly released second-tier magic: Flame Cone Spikes—dealing some additional damage.
The Flame Cone Spikes fell on the Black Armored Pig, causing a small amount of damage.
The fire serpent entangled the Black Armored Pig and exploded again. The explosion was more powerful than last time.