Chapter 12: The Start of School

Seeing no other dangers, Lu Jun and the others left the alley. The demon corpses would be handled by someone else; their hides and eyes were quite valuable.

Some materials, like blood and bones from unique creatures, could be used for crafting magical equipment. These were similar in concept to residual souls, with the distinction being one focused on the spiritual aspect and the other on the physical. However, their value was far less than stardust-level magical artifacts.

This operation was officially sponsored by the city government, yielding about 100,000 yuan in rewards. Since Lu Jun handled everything on his own, the other three took a symbolic share as courier fees, totaling 30,000 yuan.

The remaining amount belonged to the siblings, netting them 70,000 yuan not including the value of residual souls. This reward demonstrated how lucrative demon hunting could be, though it came with immense risks.

Lu Mei smiled and said, "Come on, I'll take you to the Hunter Alliance to register. This operation can be added to your record, granting you the title of a junior hunter. It'll make future field operations much more convenient."

The group split up, and the siblings headed to the Hunter Hall. It felt like a cross between a large trading floor and a bustling job fair, with people constantly coming and going.

A massive LCD screen hung on the wall, displaying the latest bounties, each with listed rewards. The lowest bounties started at 100,000 yuan, while the highest reached millions.

Numerous teams were also recruiting mages.

"Iron Soul Squad heading out to hunt demons, urgently seeking an experienced wind mage. Join now!"

"Assist the military mages at the Snow Mountain Station in clearing a Cyclops Demon Wolf nest. Over fifty adult servant-level demons. Strong firepower needed!"

"Any white magic [healing] mages available? Someone's dying!"

Lu Jun felt a strong sense of déjà vu, reminiscent of the internet café era when players called for teammates in Dungeon Fighter Online and World of Warcraft raids.

Before long, Lu Jun successfully registered as a hunter mage at the counter. Meanwhile, several hunters had gathered around his sister Lu Mei.

They were all trying to recruit her for their field teams, as mid-tier mages were in short supply in Bo City.

"Join us, and you can take a 30% share of the profits. How about that?"

"No need, I don't plan on going into the field for now."

Lu Mei shook her head, rejecting them. The middle-aged captains of the demon-hunting teams left regretfully.

Seeing this, Lu Jun realized the dilemma his sister faced. Bo City couldn't support mid-tier mages. To take care of him, Lu Mei's advancement would stagnate—a situation unacceptable for a 21-year-old prodigy.

Should he tell her not to worry about him and join a field demon-hunting team?

Lu Mei would never agree to that, and even Lu Jun found the idea unreliable. He knew how treacherous those teams could be. In the wilderness, one was truly at the mercy of fate. Darkness lurked everywhere, especially in this magical world.

Even in the bustling metropolis of the Magic City, production jobs barely offered a better income than urban demon-hunting teams. Without access to million-level resources like renting Nebula Artifacts to combat warrior-level demons, it wouldn't make much of a difference for Lu Mei.

Now, Lu Jun deeply understood how hard life was for a commoner in a magical world.

Unfortunately, the White Tiger Pendant was soul-linked and couldn't be lent to his sister.

"Sis, why don't I go with you to the field?"

When Lu Mei came closer, Lu Jun said thoughtfully, "You handle mobility and control as a wind and earth mage, and I'll focus on defense and killing as a water and Metal mage. The two of us together could rival an entire team. We could even bring along a few trustworthy people."

"Little brother! You're just a kid! You're only at elementary level one, and you want the two of us to go into the field?"

Lu Mei found the suggestion amusing and said, "The wilderness is completely different from the city. In the city, demons are like rats—everyone hunts them down, and seeing a couple together is already unusual."

"But in the wilderness, humans are the rats! We survive in the gaps between demon tribes. Encountering seven or eight servant-level demons at once is normal, and with bad luck, there could be more than a dozen or even an entire nest of fifty."

"If you're truly unfortunate, you might run into a tribe—a demon army with over fifty nests. Just counting the adult servant-level demons alone, their numbers range from 2,500 to 10,000, with plenty of warriors and commanders."

She spoke earnestly, "I understand your intentions, but wait until you reach level two in your water magic and can block three or four Crimson Rays before bringing this up again."

Hearing this, Lu Jun felt a heavy weight on his heart. He couldn't let his sister waste her youth. During these peaceful times, she needed to accumulate as much power as possible; otherwise, they wouldn't survive the calamities to come.

On the way home, Lu Mei noticed her younger brother deep in thought, frowning. She reached out her jade-like hand, pinched his slightly chubby cheeks, and said affectionately, "Alright, you don't need to worry about me."

"Your job is to focus on studying and aim for admission to a top-tier university. That way, you won't struggle like I do."

Lu Jun pushed away his sister's hand, displeased. "Ugh, I'm not a kid anymore."

Internally, he made a firm resolution. Lu Mei's wind magic was at mid-tier level one, and her earth magic was at elementary level one. By the end of the next semester, he needed to reach level two in both of his elemental systems. By then, Lu Mei's second system would likely be at elementary level three.

He couldn't delay any longer. He had to start gathering funds to rent a Nebula Artifact and help her second system advance to mid-tier as soon as possible.

Lu Jun was well aware that with her talent, Lu Mei could have graduated at eighteen and entered a top-tier university. But to take care of him, she stayed behind. Even if she had gone, the lack of resources would have quickly caused her to fall behind others.

"Oh, right." Lu Jun suddenly remembered something. "Take the 70,000 yuan for yourself. No need to rent a Stardust Artifact for me."

"Fair enough," Lu Mei said. "At your current progress, the school will lend you a Stardust Artifact by the second year. Not bad—it's just like when I was the top student."

Lu Jun hesitated, then decided to let her misunderstanding slide.

He had the White Tiger Pendant, a top-tier Nebula Artifact that made his cultivation speed skyrocket, far surpassing anything the school could provide. If it weren't for the fact that an elementary mage's mental strength lagged far behind that of a mid-tier mage, limiting his efficiency, reaching level three in both systems within half a year would have been effortless.

The original Mo Fan had awakened two new systems at the mid-tier with the help of the Little Loach, which had absorbed the Earth Holy Spring. His speed was comparable to Lu Jun's current rate.

The White Tiger Pendant was no weaker than the Little Loach at that stage. The slow start for elementary mages was normal. Once he reached the mid-tier, his experience and higher mental strength would allow him to cultivate new systems much faster.

Time passed, and in the final two weeks of winter break, Lu Jun focused entirely on cultivating.

After discovering the Black Vatican's movements in the sewers, the city only sounded one orange alert, which turned out to be manageable. Compared to the blood-red extinction-level alert two and a half years later, it was nothing.

Still, certain ominous signs were beginning to surface, even though the original story portrayed this period as filled with panic.

Though eager to contribute, Lu Jun knew the military mages would never let a kid like him join the fight, so he gave up on the idea.

Finally, the second semester of his first year began, and he returned to school.

In Class 8, the students gathered excitedly, discussing their winter break and New Year's celebrations. The conversation soon turned to bragging about their magical progress.

"I can already control two stars!"

"What? Only two? I'm at three!"

When Zhao Kun-San noticed Mu Bai's expression, he eagerly chimed in, "Two or three stars? That's nothing! Mu Bai can already control five stars! EvenBy slacking off next semester, he'll easily reach seven and cast an elementary spell!"

"No way! Mu Bai's that good?"

"Five stars… how do you even train to reach that? That's insane!"

"I heard the top student in Class 7, Xu Zhaoting from the Lightning element, also controls five stars."

Hearing his classmates' chatter, Mu Bai felt a little smug but kept a composed demeanor. Zhao Kun-San was proving to be an excellent sidekick.

Boasting about his progress openly would be beneath him, but this subtle showmanship was perfect.