Chapter 28: Trouble, Becoming Someone Else's Child

Lu Mei obtained a magic artifact called the "Light Wheel Ring." It usually looks like a golden bracelet worn on her wrist.

It contains the skill "Light Wheel Slash." Once activated, it transforms into a light wheel about ten feet in diameter, slashing through the air. It's the strongest single-target attack, capable of killing an advanced-level servant-tier monster in one blow. Its value is six million.

This magic artifact compensates for her lack of decisive offensive means. When it comes to evasion, control, defense, and group attacks, her Wind and Earth dual elements are a top-tier combination.

As for Lu Jun, he selected a magic artifact called "Azure Cloud Boots." Wearing these boots grants protection and cost four million. The boots' "Wind Step" skill offers two modes.

The first mode is an "explosive burst" of energy, launching the wearer over ten meters into the air instantly. It allows for short glides in midair and even a second jump for another burst.

The second mode is a "sprint" feature, providing continuous energy output similar to Wind Track for prolonged mobility.

These boots are perfectly suited to Lu Jun's circumstances. While his sister's support makes things easier, he would otherwise become a stationary target, drastically weakening his Metal Element's power.

Furthermore, the decision to purchase intermediate-level magic artifacts considered his nearing advancement to the intermediate stage, ensuring the items would remain useful for the long term—like buying slightly larger clothes for a growing child.

Besides, he would soon attend a magic academy, where independent combat would become more common.

Overall, the ten million was well spent. Their combat strength improved, ensuring safer monster hunts. Gains outweigh the expenses.

For instance, Lu Jun approached the wolf pack's remains, where glowing orbs gathered from all directions. Among them was a thumb-sized one from the head wolf—a servant-tier soul essence!

During this holiday, the siblings had cleared out two monster dens and were lucky enough to obtain soul essences from both, with a combined value of ten million. Including materials, their total earnings reached 15 million.

It seemed their luck from the previous semester had accumulated and exploded now, though the odds of such drops were still only around 1%.

However, Lu Jun planned to save for high-quality spirit seeds. His goal was to amass at least 25 million. For reference, Mo Fan's Thunder Element spirit seed, "Thousand Strikes," with its special effects, cost 28 million.

It might take another six months, and even if he managed to save enough, he wouldn't buy a Water Element spirit seed right away. Instead, he'd first prioritize equipping his sister with a Wind Element spirit seed.

On the one hand, she contributed the most during battles as an intermediate mage. On the other hand, Lu Jun was still far from advancing his Water Element to the intermediate stage.

"Lu Jun, we should retreat for now," Lu Mei suggested after collecting materials, her expression serious.

"I have a bad feeling. The recent activity of the demon wolves seems too energetic and frenzied. I'm worried something might go wrong.

"Previously, that advanced-level demon wolf we encountered was on the verge of evolving into a warrior-tier. Fortunately, we killed it early; otherwise, we'd have been in real trouble."

Warrior-tier monsters belong to an entirely different realm. It typically takes seven or eight intermediate mages to take one down.

Lu Mei's dual intermediate-level abilities barely equaled the combat strength of two intermediate mages. The siblings' two ordinary intermediate-level magic artifacts wouldn't pose much of a threat to a warrior-tier monster. Only high-grade artifacts valued in the tens of millions could effectively counter such foes.

If they encountered a warrior-tier monster, even a newly evolved one, they would stand no chance.

"Yeah, no more risks. Let's wait until my Metal Element advances to the intermediate stage. Together, we should be able to handle a warrior-tier monster," Lu Jun agreed, his gaze deep.

Crouching by the demon wolf's den pool, he dipped his fingers into the murky water. His Water Element star dust reacted faintly, and he thought to himself, "This is a Frenzy Spring. The Black Vatican has made their move."

Perhaps their back-to-back soul essence drops weren't mere luck. These advanced-level demon wolves might have been stimulated, significantly enhancing their soul quality.

Despite hunters' relentless efforts to clear out monsters, encounters with them had only become more frequent. This indicated a serious problem: monsters were reproducing at a higher rate, and migrating groups from outside were increasing.

Over the past six months, Lu Jun had largely mapped out Bo City's underground tunnels, but he couldn't monitor the Black Vatican's activities in real time. He was also wary of exposing himself to their notice.

"We'll take it one step at a time."

Shaking his head, he hoisted a large bundle of materials on his back. Stepping onto Wind Track, he and his sister headed back.

Not long after, the siblings spotted the Snow Peak Mountain Outpost from afar. They noticed a dense crowd gathered and were intrigued.

"Huh, strange. Why are there so many people today?"

Amid the crowd at Snow Peak Mountain, Mo Fan stood tall, listening to the commanding officer's praise. He puffed out his chest, exuding pride.

Mu Bai, Zhao Kunsan, and others wore sour expressions. Around them, all the other students looked at Mo Fan with envy and admiration, making him the center of attention.

"Ahem, very impressive. To fight a monster at such a young age, the rest of you should learn from him," the commanding officer, Zhan Kong, coughed lightly while inwardly lamenting the abundance of freakishly talented youngsters. Yet another high schooler had managed to kill a servant-tier monster on their own.

At the same time, he couldn't help but feel regretful. Initially, he hadn't taken the magic artifact reward seriously, as there were no actual bounty tasks. But now, he had no choice but to deliver it. The kid wouldn't accept anything less as compensation.

While he sighed, the crowd erupted into exclamations of surprise.

Looking over, Zhan Kong spotted Lu Jun returning from hunting.

The siblings exuded a striking presence, commanding attention.

Lu Mei had her jet-black hair neatly tied up, showcasing her fair, slightly sweaty face and neck. She wore an off-white blouse outlining her curvaceous figure, with a conservatively cut neckline unable to hide a hint of alluring cleavage. Draped in a windbreaker, she radiated the charm of a capable, wild elder sister.

Lu Jun was even more striking. Covered in dried bloodstains with a massive pack of blood-soaked materials on his back, he seemed to have emerged from a mountain of corpses.

Their imposing appearances, blending elegance and savagery, left the sheltered students stunned and speechless, their gazes averting instinctively.

"Wait, is that the exempted student, Lu Jun? He actually went monster hunting!"

"And who's that woman? She's stunning but way too intimidating!"

Some boys couldn't resist Lu Mei's fierce charm but found her aura too overwhelming to look directly at her.

Zhan Kong greeted the siblings before turning to the students with a sly smile.

"You lot, don't think a little experience with monsters during training makes you invincible. There's always someone better out there. Look at them—now you know why Lu Jun got an exemption. At your age, would you dare hunt monsters in the wild?"

Mu Bai, Zhao Kunsan, and others swallowed hard, a sense of inadequacy washing over them.

Even Mo Fan, despite his cocky personality, was deeply shaken. The gap was undeniable. Suddenly, his recent servant-tier kill didn't seem so impressive.

Meanwhile, Tang Yue frowned thoughtfully, connecting this scene to her own investigations.

Lu Jun nodded in acknowledgment to Zhan Kong and greeted Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou before remembering the school's wilderness training session.

Without lingering, he and his sister quickly left to process their soul essences and materials.

[For additional chapters....

Versatile mage {40 chapters}

Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}

Patreon. Com/ALLISWELL123]