Special Species

The second one...

What happened next was very simple.

Maizer went to collect the spoils again.

This time, the haul wasn't as bountiful as before, but it still came to 12 gold coins.

Meanwhile, during the hunt,

Lu Cang's "Ice Shuttle" also successfully reached level 200.

Easy...

The healer and the defender felt like their only job was to sit in the carriage and watch this kid put on a show.

And keep him company.

Had they really become his conversation partners?

The third monster was an Ice Crystal Winged Bird circling at low altitude.

This kind of flying monster

could be a real nuisance for some parties.

But for Lu Cang, it was much easier to deal with.

The Ice Shuttle's second evolution was speed.

"Extreme Speed Ice Shuttle (LV:201)—Unusual speed"

Bang!

The Ice Shuttle's launch created a sonic boom!

It had barely appeared beside Lu Cang before it had already pierced the Ice Crystal Winged Bird's wing.

Dozens of holes were punched through its wing, instantly robbing it of most of its ability to fly. Then Lu Cang followed up with [Silent Wind Swarm], finishing it off easily.

This Ice Crystal Winged Bird... yielded 16 gold coins' worth of materials.

Taking advantage of the time on the road, Lu Cang also asked about Yakartikto.

"Does praying to Yakartikto actually do anything..." Loth said, rubbing her temple as she thought.

At last, she answered seriously, "If I had to say, it's just for good luck."

Lu Cang asked doubtfully, "Just good luck?"

Loth nodded with conviction. "There's nothing to suggest that offering money to Yakartikto will bring you unexpected good fortune."

"But Harvest Moon is one of the few good months in the year, and everyone hopes to make a fortune during it."

"So people place their hopes in Yakartikto."

"Over time, that's how the custom of praying to Yakartikto during Harvest Moon came about."

"But in truth, people pray to that month's Moon Star no matter which month it is."

Lu Cang continued, "Even in the twelfth month?"

The twelfth month.

The month of Death and Destruction.

Moon Star: Bai.

A god regarded as taboo across the continent. No one could pray to her, build a temple for her, or worship her.

Anyone discovered worshipping or praying to her would be sentenced.

"Mm."

"Some people do."

Lu Cang felt there was nothing more to ask about that.

Then he suddenly remembered Loth's profession.

"Oh, right!"

"Big sister, you can tell fortunes, can't you?"

Loth nodded uncertainly. "Mm... I'm a level-one fortune-teller."

"But I'm not very accurate, since I'm only level one."

Lu Cang asked, "Could you try telling my fortune?"

Loth thought it over. "Well, I suppose that's fine."

As she spoke, she pulled out a tube.

Lu Cang peered inside.

It was full of paper balls.

"Pick one."

Huh?

"Just pick one. Whatever's written on the paper is your fortune."

Lu Cang: "..."

Wait, this was what a fortune-teller did?

Even if she didn't use anything as arcane-sounding as the Six Lines, the Eight Trigrams, Plum Blossom Numerology, or tortoiseshell divination,

she could at least use tarot cards, a crystal ball, or an astrolabe...

At the very least... playing cards would do.

If nothing else, shouldn't the tube at least be filled with lots?

What was with the paper balls?

And they were just crumpled-up scraps, not even folded?

Noticing Lu Cang's silence, Loth seemed to guess what he was thinking.

Her face flushed. "I'm not a professional fortune-teller, and I haven't studied any proper fortune-telling methods."

"Fortune-telling techniques are expensive! Are you going to draw or not? If not, forget it."

As she spoke, Loth started to take the tube back.

"Wait!"

"Big sister, I'm just curious about how fortune-telling works."

"I'll pick one."

Oh.

So she could get embarrassed...

But fortune-telling was expensive? Lu Cang was actually quite interested in the fortune-teller profession. It sounded like a job that could predict the future, after all.

Lu Cang casually picked a paper ball.

"What do I do now, big sister?"

To make sure he didn't get the steps wrong, Lu Cang asked.

Loth mumbled a little sheepishly, "Just open it and see."

It really was... just as simple as he'd thought.

Lu Cang opened the paper ball.

It read: Supreme Auspicious.

"What is it? What did you get?"

Curious about the result herself, Loth leaned over to look at the paper Lu Cang had picked.

"Supreme... Auspicious."

"Wow! You got the luckiest result!"

Lu Cang: "The luckiest?"

"Mm. My homemade Fortune-Telling Tube has 128 different results written on it, and this one's the highest level of good fortune."

Huh... 128?

Could there really be 128 different kinds of good and bad luck?

"This is the first time I've ever seen this result."

"But there are only 128 results, right?"

Loth said, "You can't calculate the results of fortune-telling based on probability."

"I've told fortunes for hundreds of people, and this is the first time anyone's gotten Supreme Auspicious."

"Even if my readings aren't very accurate, someone who draws this probably won't have all that bad luck."

Lu Cang checked the spoils inside his ring.

That was true.

Today's haul had been incredibly bountiful.

They'd collected four or five times what he'd originally expected.

He looked up at the sky beyond the carriage window. It continued to glide by like a painted scroll—

Along the way, Lu Cang chatted with them quite a bit more.

Unlike the adventurers from Rhein Town, they were adventurers who traveled long distances across the world.

They had seen and learned far more than the people of Rhein Town, and talking with them gave Lu Cang a lot to think about.

For example, powerful mages usually had their Magic Wands made by professional Magic Craftsmen they hired themselves. Even the cheapest proper fortune-telling techniques cost 10,000 gold coins; fortune-telling was a money-burning profession.

Or how adventuring wasn't a good way to make a living these days, and it was better to train as a blacksmith and hammer away...

He really heard people talking about things like that in every world.

There were also collectors, who were always suspected of hiding spoils. Some places had even started making collectors sign contracts.

Listening to their conversations, Lu Cang felt like he was hearing about the real lives of people in this world.

It was completely different from how he felt when he was with Iz and the others.

One was legends and dreams.

The other was reality and everyday life.

The fourth, fifth, sixth...

The hunts continued, but it was almost entirely Lu Cang showing off on his own.

By noon, he had already taken down eight third-tier lord monsters.

Including the reward for completing the commission, his earnings had reached 144 gold coins.

That was something ordinary level-two adventurers wouldn't even dare dream of...

"The last one's up ahead."

Lu Cang looked at the commission slip.

The final target was a B-minus commission. It was also a third-tier lord, but a Special Species.

As for Special Species,

Lu Cang roughly understood them as elite monsters.

They were stronger than ordinary specimens, and killing one was also likely to yield valuable spoils for collectors.

The elements were stirring—

Lu Cang could feel the currents of wind speeding up considerably.

Trand, the defender, had already raised his shield and positioned himself in front of Lu Cang.

It felt like they were close.