Unlike the bloodthirsty, reckless One-Eyed Demonic Wolf, the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat was just as cruel, but its lack of strength made it more cautious.
The moment it realized Xu Fang had spotted it, it abruptly halted its charge and unleashed a skill from its enormous eye.
Crimson Dark Beam!
It was incredibly fast. The human on the other side seemed so frightened he couldn't react, standing stock-still.
A flash of excitement passed through the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat's eye. It looked as if, in the next second, it would be able to gobble up the two-legged sheep.
"Radiance!"
Soft golden light outlined an aurora-like curtain between the man and the rat. The thick Crimson Dark Beam entered the curtain, grew smaller and smaller, and finally vanished.
The Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat's eye went wide. It had fought human mages before, and it had seen mages who could emit light.
But the others had only used it for illumination. It had never seen anything this bizarre!
And that wasn't all. After swallowing the Crimson Dark Beam, the golden light seemed unsatisfied. It spread farther, enveloping the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat!
From the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat's perspective, aside from a golden filter appearing before its eyes, it felt no discomfort in its body.
Instead, it felt warm and blissful, as if it were soaking in a hot spring.
But from the outside, the sight was rather horrifying. Crimson demonic energy steamed from the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat's body, then was transformed and absorbed by the golden light.
"Damn, that's awesome!"
Watching this scene of slowly boiling a frog, Xu Fang felt the magic energy in his body recover and couldn't help exclaiming in amazement.
It reminded him of his favorite skill from playing video games as a kid: Parasitic Seed!
Meanwhile, after a few seconds of bliss, the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat's animal instincts snapped it back to its senses. It attacked again, shrieking as it charged out of the golden light and straight at Xu Fang.
"Come on!"
Xu Fang's fighting spirit surged. In his Spiritual World, the golden cores of the seven Star Seeds had dimmed, while the crimson Star Rings around them shone brightly.
"Fire Spark!"
A vivid crimson Star Track appeared around Xu Fang. It flashed past him, then quickly gathered in his right hand.
He flung it with all his strength, hitting the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat dead on!
The Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat let out a miserable shriek. Its body had already been drained, and it couldn't withstand the strain. Under the scorching flames, it turned into a pile of charred remains.
"It's dead already?"
Xu Fang felt a little disappointed. The little lab rat wasn't tough enough; he hadn't finished testing his abilities yet.
The entire battle had lasted less than half a minute. If Xu Fang had gone all out, he could have ended it even faster.
And just as he'd expected, the special Star Seeds were extraordinary. In the time it took other people to cultivate one element, he could cultivate two.
Light Element's Radiance was clearly just an illumination skill, yet it came with the ability to transform and absorb energy. It left opponents weak and limp while keeping his own magic reserves full, letting him fight longer!
Xu Fang remembered that only High Level Mages with a Soul Seed could possibly master this kind of domain-like ability.
Fire Element didn't have any extra effects, but judging by how a Basic Level One skill had blown away the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat, its power was at least equivalent to an ordinary mage's Fire Spark Burning!
And that was when he cast the skill on its own. Xu Fang could sense that when the Star Seeds and Star Rings lit up at the same time, he would unleash an even more terrifying killing move!
"My talent is beyond anything I imagined."
"Too bad the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat was so fragile. It went down before I even tried. I'll have to wait until next time."
In high spirits, Xu Fang rode off on his bicycle.
An hour later, a truck driver passed by and saw the signs of a battle. He hurriedly notified the City Demon Hunting Squad.
"There are very few signs of a struggle. That mage must have ended the fight in three moves or less." The Wind Element mage, Li Wenjie, carefully examined the area and found no signs of dodging.
In other words, the mage had stood his ground and instantly killed the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat. Terrifying!
"A completely carbonized corpse. Captain, could you do that?" Guo Caitang turned to look at the burly Xu Dahuang.
Xu Dahuang shook his head, his expression serious. "Taking this beast's life would be easy. One Fire Spark would do it. But burning it alive like this? That's hard.
"My Fire Spark Burning does plenty of damage, but making it kick the bucket after barely struggling, like this one did... I couldn't do that."
"He must be a really powerful mage!" The Water Element cutie Xiao Ke's eyes sparkled. "It'd be great if he joined our Monster Hunting Squad."
"Dream on. A mage that strong—are you going to recruit him as captain?" Fei Shi rolled his eyes. When he caught Xu Dahuang's displeased look, he hurriedly grinned apologetically. "Hehe, Captain, I was just joking."
Xu Dahuang said irritably, "Keep your feet on the ground. Stop daydreaming all the time. Why not dream of a Lightning Element mage joining our team?"
"Captain, that's too far-fetched. Even I don't think it's realistic in my dreams..."
After the first semester ended, Xu Fang welcomed a month-long winter break.
At sixteen, he was at the age when he ran so hot he could sleep on a cold brick bed. Having gotten his first taste of magic, Xu Fang couldn't get enough of it. But after several trips to the outskirts, he still hadn't been lucky enough to encounter a Demon Beast.
"Looks like I need to be more deliberate."
Having made up his mind, Xu Fang stepped into the Hunter's Alliance.
The Hunter's Alliance was an organization that brought independent hunting squads together. Every day, hundreds or even thousands of Hunter Mages came here looking for suitable bounties.
"We need an Earth Element Mage who can use Earth Wave skillfully to help with repositioning. Good pay!"
"Wind Element mages, listen up! Our squad urgently needs a scout!"
"Any Ice Attribute mages? Experienced hunters preferred!"
Calls rang out one after another in the Hunter's Alliance hall. The best squads had long lines, and applicants even had to bring résumés.
"Hey, you alone?"
A lanky fellow sidled up, acting like an old friend. "Interested in joining our squad? We haven't been together long, but we've got tons of potential, and the benefits are unbeatable. Every newcomer gets..."
Xu Fang glanced at him and snapped his fingers. A ball of light sprang up at his fingertips. "You taking me?"
The lanky fellow's words caught in his throat. A few seconds later, he swore as he walked away. "Damn, what rotten luck. What's a lousy Light Element mage doing at the Hunter's Alliance? And you're wearing a hood and mask, pretending to be some mysterious expert?"
The lanky fellow had spotted Xu Fang's mysterious getup from far away. He'd thought he'd hit the jackpot, bringing a hidden powerhouse who acted weak to lure people in onto the team. He hadn't expected Xu Fang to really be a nobody!
Being a nobody would've been bad enough, but he still had to act all cool!
After sending the lanky fellow packing, Xu Fang continued looking over the bounty listings on the big screen.
He had no plans to join a hunting squad. For one thing, he wasn't short on money, so the benefits of a hunting squad held little appeal for him.
For another, his main goal was cultivation. Joining a squad would only tie his hands, since he'd be limited to using a single element. That would go against his original intentions.
He planned to go alone.
"Let's see... This one looks good, and this one's pretty suitable too... The cemetery in the west suburbs. That's the one!"
After finding a suitable bounty, Xu Fang went to the front desk to register.
"You want to take the mission alone?" The receptionist was taken aback. She urged him, "Although the mission report says your target is only a Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat, going alone is still too risky. I recommend finding a few reliable teammates."
"It's fine. I can handle it on my own," Xu Fang said.
The receptionist looked a little helpless. There was no reasoning with someone bent on getting himself killed. She took a registration form from the drawer. "Then please give me your name and leave a deposit. Once you complete the mission, we'll return it to you along with the bounty."
"My name is Zhang San."
"All right, Mr. Zhang San. Here's your mission permit. Please don't take on more than you can handle."
The receptionist was a nice person. Even without seeing his handsome face, she was still so thoughtful. He'd have to complete a few extra missions to boost her commission!
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