Lu Chen needed to gather some information.
This morning's hunt had made Lu Chen realize that, since he was not particularly fast, unless he slowly learned hunting techniques, he could only use himself as bait to hunt powerful Barbarian Beasts.
After all, compared to ordinary wild animals, Barbarian Beasts were stronger and each had their own territory.
Moreover, when such powerful creatures faced intruders in their territory, they would not flee. They would choose to fight.
That meant Lu Chen did not need to worry about prey running away. As long as he defeated those Barbarian Beasts, he could obtain a large amount of meat.
Of course, most Barbarian Beasts were dangerous, but if he wanted to grow stronger, it was impossible not to take any risks at all.
At the same time, the soul from the twenty-first century kept Lu Chen from acting rashly. This time, he had come to Uncle Da Zhuang to reduce the risks.
"If I just search everywhere for Barbarian Beasts, not only will it be slow, but I might also run into powerful ones that I can't handle. Asking around is different."
"Barbarian Bull Village has been established here for many years. They definitely know where Barbarian Beasts can be found, and they must know something about their abilities. Once I get information from them, I can choose Barbarian Beasts that I'm capable of dealing with."
"That way, I can hunt Barbarian Beasts while greatly reducing the danger."
Gathering information before going hunting—that was Lu Chen's plan.
However, Da Zhuang did not know what Lu Chen was thinking. He thought Lu Chen had come to ask so he could avoid the areas inhabited by those Barbarian Beasts.
His good relationship with Lu Chen's father, coupled with Lu Chen's earlier show of gratitude, made Da Zhuang hold nothing back as he told Lu Chen everything he knew about the Barbarian Beasts in the surrounding area.
After learning the information, Lu Chen got up to say goodbye.
"A'Chen, stay for a meal before you go."
"That's right, A'Chen. Stay. Auntie will make something delicious for you today."
Looking at Da Zhuang's wife's smiling face, Lu Chen recalled the memories of the Barbarian youth A'Chen from before.
The Barbarians were poor, and every household's food was extremely precious. In the past, Uncle Da Zhuang had often helped Lu Chen, which had left Uncle Da Zhuang's wife quite dissatisfied with him.
But now, with Lu Chen bringing over half a Brown Bear, Uncle Da Zhuang's wife's attitude had undergone a heaven-and-earth reversal.
This was the respect brought by strength.
Still, Lu Chen had no intention of staying. His appetite was too large, so he had better not eat here.
Just as Lu Chen was preparing to leave and thought this visit had come to an end—
Da Zhuang's wife seemed to think of something. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she said, "A'Chen, you don't have a woman in the house yet, do you? What do you think of our Xiao Mai?"
Her words abruptly stopped Lu Chen in his tracks. On the other side, Uncle Da Zhuang also began to laugh.
"A'Chen, you're not young anymore. It's indeed time you had someone in the house."
"No, I'm still young. I'm not even sixteen yet."
Of course, Lu Chen could only say that in his heart. Among the Barbarians, thirteen already counted as adulthood.
"Uncle Da Zhuang, I don't plan to marry anytime soon. Besides, Xiao Wei is already taking care of things at my home."
"A'Chen, that Xiao Wei doesn't look like she can handle heavy work. Our Xiao Mai is different. How about this? Tomorrow, I'll have Xiao Mai go to your place and help out."
"No need, really, there's no need!"
Da Zhuang's wife's enthusiasm left Lu Chen at a loss for how to respond.
He practically fled home in embarrassment, only to find Xiao Wei waiting at the door for a long time.
"A'Chen, you're back."
"Mm. Is the meat done stewing?"
"It's done."
After entering the room and seeing the two fully cooked bear paws in the pot, Lu Chen did not eat immediately. Instead, he opened the attribute panel and brought up the experience point and level-up interface.
Experience Points: 487
Last night's initiative, the chance encounter with the Small Drum Monster, and today's battle with the wild bear during the hunt—all of that had given Lu Chen, who had only just become a Swordsman, more than four hundred experience points again.
Now, Lu Chen planned to use the energy from the bear paws to spend those experience points and convert them into his own strength.
However, as he looked at the attribute panel, Lu Chen felt a headache coming on over what to improve.
Experience points were very useful. Whether used to improve skills or raise levels, they could increase Lu Chen's strength.
But Lu Chen had too few experience points and too many things he wanted to improve, so he hesitated.
After a moment of silence, Lu Chen suddenly clenched his teeth.
"System, raise the Swordsman level."
System Prompt: The host has consumed 200 experience points. The Swordsman level has risen to Level 2. Host Agility +1.
A level increase boosted basic attributes, and that was extremely important.
But that was not the only reason Lu Chen had chosen to raise his level first.
"My skills are all very powerful, but most of them were designed to deal with humans or beasts."
"But the greatest threat to me right now is the strange and supernatural."
"Therefore, for safety's sake, my first priority now is to raise my level quickly. Once I reach Level 5, I can use the system to draw a skill that can deal with the supernatural. At that point, things will become much easier for me."
Wanting to obtain more skills—especially skills that could detect or deal with evil entities—was the true reason Lu Chen had chosen to raise his level first.
And Lu Chen remembered clearly that their studio's skill pool contained quite a few skills capable of harming supernatural entities.
"Armament Haki, Observation Haki, Angel's Judgment Sword, Ghost Swordsman's Ghost Slash—these can all harm evil entities. I hope I can draw one of them."
Of course, drawing skills was something he could only do at Level 5. For now, Lu Chen still needed to work hard.
Raising his level still required energy, but perhaps because he was only raising a level, and only one of his two classes at that, Lu Chen's expenditure was not great.
Of the two bear paws, Lu Chen only ate one and a half before replenishing the system's consumption.
He looked at the remaining half bear paw in the pot, then at Xiao Wei beside him, who watched it with envy but said nothing. Lu Chen nodded in satisfaction.
"You can eat the rest."
Before, Lu Chen had not known how to obtain food, so he had been somewhat stingy and only gave Xiao Wei a few scraps of meat.
But things were different now. Out in the wilderness, countless Barbarian Beasts were waiting for Lu Chen to hunt. Thus, he no longer cared about such a small amount of food.
"Thank you, my lord."
After letting Xiao Wei eat the food and having her wash the clothes he had worn last night, Lu Chen went to rest.
"Although my body can go days without sleep without any problem, I still need to continue hunting tonight. Resting and gathering my strength are essential."
Wanting to face the night's battle in peak condition, Lu Chen slept straight through until evening. Only after his spirit had fully recovered did he get up.
By then, Xiao Wei had followed Lu Chen's instructions and cooked more meat.
This time, however, Lu Chen did not eat it. Instead, he found a large leaf and wrapped the meat inside. As Lu Chen packed up the food, Xiao Wei saw that he was leaving some for her and hurriedly spoke.
"My lord, that half bear paw is enough for me to eat for several days. I'm not hungry now."
"Are you sure? Don't worry about there not being enough food. I can still afford to feed you."
"It's enough, my lord. It's absolutely enough. I'm already very full."
That was a lie. It was merely that she was not hungry. Xiao Wei had put away the remaining meat because, during her years in the Barbarian Wastes, she had come to understand the value of food. Afraid of becoming a burden and being driven away, she did not dare eat too much at all.
Lu Chen did not notice this, nor did he have the mind to think further about it. Right now, his thoughts were entirely occupied with how to deal with evil entities.
After Xiao Wei personally said she did not want the food, Lu Chen did not leave any behind. Carrying the leaf-wrapped meal, he headed straight out.
Following last night's route, Lu Chen quickly arrived at the patrol camp. By then, someone was already there, holding a clay jar and waiting for Lu Chen.
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