Hunting

"Can he really do it?"

Ever since entering into the employment arrangement, Lu PingAn had hesitated over the answer to that question.

But since he was the only one in the entire mercenary agency willing to take this commission, there was no point in dwelling on it anymore.

"It's here."

The deep voice in his earpiece immediately sharpened Lu PingAn's focus.

Yet the forest before him remained as peaceful as ever—if one ignored the birds fleeing into the air and the towering trees collapsing.

"Rumble!"

The impact arrived, and a swath of forest suddenly fell before his eyes.

Massive antlers burst from the shadows of the woods. The four-legged beast, the instant it appeared, used the "battering ram" on its head to knock over a row of logs.

Antlers, four hooves, a deer's head... If not for its blade-like tusks and toothed jaws, Lu PingAn would have thought of an elk first. But what kind of elk stood at least four meters tall?!

"Bzz!"

The beast spotted the little Meatman. Its craving for flesh filled its dark green eyes with even more bloodshot veins.

"This Aklis is at least a one-year breed. Watch out for its charge, and its Mist Eye. Mature Aklis can blind you!"

But the warning in his earpiece had clearly come too late.

"Boom!"

Lu PingAn felt his ears go numb, as if someone had punched him with a hammer.

The next second, his vision was filled with confusion as well.

It was not total darkness, but rather as though everything lay behind a heavy fog. Everything he looked at seemed covered in a layer of mosaic blur.

"Bzz!"

With a low hum, the forest began to tremble.

The beast had begun its charge. The violent seismic waves announced that an overwhelming impact was upon him.

The pressure bearing down on him at such close range reminded Lu PingAn of a roaring freight locomotive!

Aklis, Aklis... According to the records, its joints are extremely stiff. It can only charge. It can't stop, and it can't turn.

Information on the monster flashed through his mind, yet inwardly, he could not help but complain.

This thing is only a first-rank monster? It's fiercer than a locomotive!

But the fact that he still had the strength to think such nonsense naturally meant he was confident.

"Frenzy."

With a low murmur, his supernatural ability activated, and Lu PingAn's perception of the world changed.

Though everything before him was still a blur, he could sense the gale rushing toward him and the traces of the beast's charge.

The instant Frenzy activated, everyone and every living thing around Lu PingAn slowed as though caught in slow motion. He had more than enough time to react.

He slowly adjusted his body and leaped diagonally aside.

The extreme sharpness of his mind and the sluggishness of his body made him feel utterly miserable.

The next second, Frenzy ended, and everything returned to normal.

"Rumble!"

The speeding beast slammed directly into the massive tree stump behind Lu PingAn.

At that instant, the deadly trap was activated. Countless demonic vines danced atop the stump.

The Snake Whip Vines, filled with neurotoxins, had long been woven into a net. At their master's command, they tried to capture the massive beast.

"Bzz!"

The beast roared furiously, threw back its head, and charged forward!

Crack! A crisp snap rang out.

The stake trap meant to catch it, along with the giant tree behind it, was smashed into two.

The accumulated Snake Whip Vine trap scattered everywhere before it could fulfill its purpose.

The standard method for dealing with Aklis described in the guidebook—the legendary "stake lassoing a bull"—had failed completely.

"This is an Aklis over a year old. It has undergone at least two evolutions. A trap of this level can't hold it. I need two minutes to get there. Can you hold on?"

The notification in his earpiece came belatedly. Fortunately, Lu PingAn had never counted on him from the beginning!

The beast was still charging. Lu PingAn suddenly swung his right hand, sending pale green ripples spreading outward.

The scattered Snake Whip Vines struck the Target Points that had already been prepared, and Life Force was poured into them.

"Come forth, Monkey Shield Tree."

The buried seeds sprouted instantly. Right before the Aklis beast's hind legs, two thick wooden stakes rose up in an instant.

"Bzz!"

This time, the beast's cry was filled with misery.

The Aklis's weakness lay in its rigid hind legs, which had no joints at all. It could not change direction.

Even though it had survived countless bloody battles, it instantly noticed the two stakes ahead of its hind legs—but it was already impossible for it to stop.

"Boom!"

Though they were both first-rank defensive demonic plants, even if Monkey Shield Trees were not particularly renowned for their hardness, they were not something the Aklis's unbendable hind legs could easily trample.

Like a car crashing into a spiked roadblock, its rear wheels suffered a devastating blow from below, and its entire body was sent flying sideways.

The moment it fell, the battle was already over.

Ever since birth, its jointless hind legs had been stiff as a board, preventing this fantasy creature from ever lying down in its entire life.

The moment it fell was the moment of its end.

"Go."

This time, the Snake Whip Vines hunted the stiff, dying beast.

After it was completely paralyzed, Lu PingAn, whose vision had already recovered, walked over and ended it with a single slash.

"Whew."

Lu PingAn let out a breath and sat down with his back against a wooden stake.

"Didn't they say this would be an easy hunt? This is nothing like what I expected. It was far more troublesome than fighting people."

His expectation of easily farming experience had been replaced by a trial at the brink of life and death.

Thinking back on the battle, the most dangerous moment had actually been when the beast burst through the forest.

At that moment, his eyes had been obscured by the unexpected "mist," while the beast's charge was right in front of him. Had he been even a moment slower, he would have been finished.

Countless Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters had probably fallen to that combination attack.

"Good thing I had Frenzy."

Lu PingAn looked at the System Panel. He had only awakened this ability that morning, yet it had already been a huge help.

Swift Flash Breathing Method LV UP! Current LV4, 1/100

Congratulations, host, on your breakthrough. Physique slightly increased, spirit slightly increased, reflexes slightly increased.

'Swift Flash Breathing Method' has entered the branching stage. Please choose a specialized evolution path.

A. Turtle Breath: Enhances the Breathing Method's internal circulation ability, increasing physical endurance.

B. Tiger Fury: Enhances the Breathing Method's short-term burst capability and grants the spell-like ability 'Frenzy,' allowing you to enter an 'instantaneous Frenzy overdrive state.' This ability consumes a large amount of stamina. Use with caution.

C. Snake Slumber: Enhances the Breathing Method's meditation effect and increases spiritual power. (Chasers do not have an advanced evolution along this path. It is recommended that you do not choose this option. If needed, you may try other part-time jobs with Breathing Methods.)

Though there were three options again, only two were truly available.

"Thanks to Cat Cat's profit-sharing. Thanks to myself for not choosing wrong."

Since he had chosen the burst-power path for his running method, his Breathing Method naturally had to match it. Lu PingAn chose Tiger Fury without hesitation.

In his view, even in games, at low levels, the effects of "active abilities" were often more immediate and effective than "passive abilities."

For now, this spell-like ability seemed capable of giving him an instant of bullet time.

And during that instant, his body entered an adrenaline-fueled state. His reaction speed and strength reached their peak, though the aftereffects were obvious as well.

His entire body ached now, as though he had spent a whole day torturing himself at the gym.

"Crack!"

The crisp sound of a branch snapping instantly put him on alert.

If another Aklis came, he would surely be finished. Could his first "death" in this secret realm come so soon?

"Tch, I was a little careless. And a little unlucky."

Lu PingAn could face it all calmly. He felt that he had already done well enough.

But when he saw the man in black appear before him the next moment, Lu PingAn still let out a sigh of relief.

Behind the man, the fallen beast had begun to dissipate, turning into a mass of mist as faint black fog spread outward.

Most of it returned to the earth, while a small portion directly wrapped around Lu PingAn's body.

This "pollution" he absorbed was the reason Lu PingAn had come here.

But before he could sort through his gains and changes, the mercenary's cold expression was already right in front of him.

He first gave Lu PingAn a direct look. The flickering white safety light made him frown.

"Leaving aside the 'bracelet' you modified without authorization, your combat performance was a failing grade. Four points at most. Was this your first hunt?"