Hunt

In a dark underground drainage area from where the waste of the whole town passes through, a person was passing by the walkable side with a little fireball in his hand.

With bright red eyes shining in the small light of the flames, the figure walked through with a confident look.

—KHWAAAAAAAAA!

Hearing a weird sound coming from the distance, he stopped and looked forward to where the sound come from.

A large figure was running towards him hastily.

Its shadow was large at first but it was getting smaller with his every step.

At last, after a few seconds, it was visible.

With its blood-red eyes and sharp teeth, it glared at me... with fear.

"I knew I would find some here!"

I shouted happily and glared back at it.

<Appraisal>

I used my skill on the creature to confirm it again.

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Race: Dark Poison Rat

Str: 32

Dexterity: 30

Stamina: 25

Magic Power: 15

Intelligence: 3

{ Skills: Poison Splash, Poison bite, Smash}

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"Ok. So it does have poison. Hay dude... bye-bye."

I snapped my fingers and waved my hand; a gust of wind cut through its stomach.

The large rat was cut in half.

"KHEEE!"

With a pained cry, it dropped dead on the watery floor.

I sat down and moved its dead body.

Extracting the poison from these creatures was a troublesome task without a <skill>.

But I finished it quickly as I was experienced in these things.

Filling a small vial, I started walking forward.

'I must collect as much of the ingredients as possible. If Eon wants to do this, then I have to help him as much as I can.'

[enchanting] was a difficult task for the beginners. It is more of experimentation than learning.

He has to find the balance through trial and error. So, he will need many materials of good quality for the 'starting process'.

Rather than buying them, personally collecting them is way better.

'And what better place to find poisonous creatures than in the sewers.'

Sometimes, the creatures in the underground sewers get corrupted by dark energy.

Although the exits are sealed, entering is quite easy for someone like me.

There is also a possibility that some dangerous creature might appear here so a regular checkup is needed.

'I can possibly find some good ingredients if I am lucky today...'

I thought with a greedy smile on my face.

There were many things to hunt here but they were mostly weak monsters that can't handle a mage.

Walking forward, I found my second prey which was the same as the last one.

There were many of these small flies running around down here.

'I want something more fun... It's been a long time since I last got out for hunting.

After getting out of here, I should go to the nearby forest to find something more fun. Oh! I have to gather some herbs anyway.'

I walked forward and it was then, that I heard something different.

―KLANK! ―KLANK!

A Sound of metal clashing with the floor was heard from the distance. This was something different. Something more fun than those puny rats.

(Aqua Curtain)

A (tier-3) spell to blend the body with the environment erasing the sent and presence completely.

'It's more fun to play with the target than to outright kill it when you know that it's as easy as eating.'

Licking my lips and quietly waited for it to approach.

After some time, a large figure was visible in the distance. With a long body and large metal-like claws, it somewhat seemed more intelligent than the other useless flies.

'It's a good finding. It looks to be an (Orange) rank. Hmmm... let's see.'

Licking my lips I activated my <Skill>.

<Appraisal>

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Race: Giant Mana Lizard

Strength: 54

Dexterity: 44

Stamina: 33

Magic Power: 51

Intelligence: 21

{Skills: Mana claw, Poison Bite, Heavy Slam}

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"Haha... it really is an (Orange) rank. It seems I'm a bit lucky today."

I laughed silently so that it couldn't perceive my presence.

The ranks are decided by the amount of M.P. possessed by the monster.

It starts with (Red) at 25 M.P. and increases at every 25 M.P. intervals.

So the (Purple) rank beasts Mostly have 175 M.P. and as for the other ones with (Black) rank, they are [demons] and the (White) rank [Energy Beasts] are called <Divine Beasts>.

Being the eternal enemies of other races, [Demonic] race is one of the largest and most powerful foes. And of them, the {Entitled Demons} are the most powerful ones.

<Divine Beasts> are LEGENDARY creatures that have appeared in many historical legends and myths. They are definitely real as there is clear proof of their existence.

They are noble beings of nature with immense knowledge and great power.

'Some of them appear around the world in certain cases. We were lucky... to see one at that time.'

I remembered with longing in my eyes for a moment and then looked at the competitively weak creature before me.

Slowly gathering water type Mana in one hand, I raised my hand and pointed it towards the lizard.

A transparent, two-fold magic circle appeared in my hands.

Containing two circles and a water-like pattern with nine lines.

(Aqua Blade)

A (tier-3) attack type spell that contains compressed water in the shape of a crescent blade.

"Kheee..."

The creature noticed it and screamed. Raising its large tail it slammed it to the ground.

As soon as the spell was released from my hands, the lizard bounced backward.

Frantically looking around it somewhat guessed the location of the caster.

'Not bad for a fat lizard like you.'

I praised it and changed my location stealthily.

Looking back at it, I just stood there to observe it.

Jumping with the support of its back legs and tail, a blue glow appeared on its sharp claws.

It was the skill <Mana Claws>.

Crashing on the wall where it thought out the caster was, a small shockwave passed through the area.

"Woh! Good one!"

I shouted to provoke it. I knew that it was a bit smart than those rats but, in the end, it was just a fat lizard.

Hearing a sound for the first time, It turned towards the source of the voice.

Showing its teeth with a green fluid flowing out, it ran towered it. It was going to use its poison this time.

But before it could reach its destination, a large spick of ice suddenly rose from the ground piercing a large hole in it.

(Ice-Lance)

A (tier-4) spell of ice attribute. A branch attribute of water.

Blood spilled on the ground. Green blood which looked like thin, swamp water gushed out of the large hole in its stomach.

Ignoring the blood, I reached the lizard. There was a chance to find a {Mana Core} or {Skill Stone} in the ranked beasts.

Cutting through its whole body with (Mana Blade) a (tier-1) spell, I searched its inside.

This squishy feeling was disgusting every time, without a doubt.

"Hmmm... nothing. Well, better luck next time."

It was very difficult to find either one of them without a stroke of good luck. The LUCK stat was one of the most difficult ones to increase because it just increases on its own.

There wasn't much known about luck as it was an innate stat. There were some rare artifacts that could increase it for a little while, but to increase it permanently, is impossible by external means.

'Luck is innate and I have a good 63, even though it is not that good when it comes to finding a core or skill stone.'

Storing the corpse of the lizard in <Item Box> I started going back.

This was good enough for quite a while.

Extracting the venom of the lizard will fetch a good amount. Now, it was my turn to find some good herbs.

I walked out and killed the small rats which appeared along the way.

***

While dad was out to get the things I asked for, I was standing outside in the backyard with a bow in my hand.

Taking out an arrow, I wrapped black cloth around my eyes. Taking a few steps back, I released a long breath.

"Huuu..."

Feeling the subtle air current, surroundings, and the small environmental changes, I was able to feel the small moments in the surrounding.

"Ready?"

Mom asked from quite a distance away. There was a green button in her hand.

I gave her the signal with a small nod.

Pressing on the button, a green light appeared on the box-shaped object and three targets started rotating in different directions without a sound after that.

Feeling the subtle air change, I figured out a rough location of them.

All the sensory training I did was not in vain. I was able to improve my physical senses to a good high level.

After training for the last few days, I was now confident that I can do it this time.

Arranging an arrow in the bow, I starched the bowstring.

Taking the stance, I heightened my senses to the maximum.

―Ruuu...

The world seemed to disappear slowly; only the small sound of a target cutting the air was visible.

The outline of the target was roughly appearing in my mind.

Releasing the arrow, anticipating a positive result, I removed the black cloth and looked at the target.

But... the arrow was not visible on any of them.

"Eon..."

Mom looked at me with an apologetic expression on her face.

'I can't do everything perfectly. Well, I just have to try until I can.'

"Mom! Let's try it again!"

I shouted with a bright smile on my face.

She understood it and happily nodded.

"Yes!"

'This is how he is. My little baby who doesn't give up.'

Thinking that we started training again.