Expelling the Wild Boar

"Eeeh~~"

On a small path not far from the guild, Ul suddenly felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine, making him shiver involuntarily.

"Why do I suddenly feel a bit nauseous..."

Ul crossed his arms and rubbed them vigorously, a faint sense of bewilderment rising in his heart.

For no apparent reason!

Just now, a strange chill had surged up in his heart, accompanied by a faint trace of guilt, shame, and embarrassment...

That feeling was bizarre!

Somewhat similar to the mood he'd had when he shamelessly went to borrow lodging from Granny Is, yet also different—leaving him utterly at a loss for how to describe it.

"Forget it, let's just finish the mission first!"

Shaking his head slightly to dispel that inexplicable sensation, Ul quickly refocused on the task at hand.

To be honest.

Over the past half-month, Ul had nearly gotten sick of grinding D-rank missions.

Don't get me wrong!

It wasn't because D-rank missions were too numerous or monotonous, but because their rewards were far too meager!

Unlocking the system's third-tier membership required a total of 100,000 J.

Over these two weeks.

Ul had worked himself to the bone, completing nearly twenty D-rank missions, yet he was still a fair distance from the 100,000 J needed to unlock the third tier...

"C-rank missions are so much better!"

Gazing at the mission slip in his hand—one titled "Expel Wild Boars"—Ul couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh.

C-rank missions typically offered a minimum reward of 30,000 J, far surpassing the pay of D-rank missions!

Although C-rank missions, like D-rank ones, generally posed no major danger.

Relatively speaking!

C-rank missions had begun to involve combat, albeit usually not against mages. Still, any fight carried a risk of injury, however small that risk might be!

The reward for the "Expel Wild Boars" mission Ul had taken was 55,000 J.

Not particularly high!

But given Ul's current strength, such a mission was just right.

After more than twenty days of training, Ul's abilities had improved somewhat, with each attribute showing a certain degree of growth...

--

Invincible Passive System

Host: Ul

Passive Abilities: Void Stomach, Lava Body

HP: 14

Magic Power: 16

Mental Power: 19

Magic Resistance: 0%

Armor: 1

--

Through these twenty-plus days of cultivation, Ul had gradually noticed the differences between the various attributes.

Compared to "Magic Power" and "Mental Power," the growth rate of Ul's "HP" had noticeably slowed after reaching a certain level...

Still, he wasn't puzzled by this!

After all, every world had its own unique laws!

And in this world, "Magic Power" was clearly the true mainstream.

Relative to other attributes, the growth rate of "Magic Power" was obviously the fastest.

Moreover!

Although Ul's physique still looked somewhat lean, in terms of pure physical fitness, his body was already about fifty percent stronger than that of an average adult male.

Such physical conditioning was already considered decent even among mages!

After all, not every mage was a freak like the "Dragon Slayer Mages."

The "Expel the Wild Boar" quest was posted by a farmer on the outskirts of Magnolia. Recently, a wild boar had somehow sneaked into his farm, causing massive damage to his crops!

If it were just once or twice, it might be bearable, but this boar seemed to have taken a liking to this particular farm. Every night, it would show up on time to wreak havoc. The farmer had gathered people to try and catch it, but they all failed!

At his wit's end!

He had no choice but to seek help from a Mage of Fairy Tail...

This farm wasn't too far from the Fairy Tail guild, so Ul didn't walk long before reaching the quest's destination.

He swept his gaze around briefly!

Ul noticed the farm wasn't very large. Most of what was planted here were vegetables, though a good number of them had already been destroyed...

In the center of the farm stood a simple thatched shed.

Walking up to the farm's entrance, Ul called out, "Anyone home?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth!

A short, stout figure slowly emerged from the shed.

It was a middle-aged man, but right now, he wore a thoroughly dejected expression.

"What can I do for you?" the middle-aged man asked upon seeing Ul.

"I'm a Mage from Fairy Tail, here to complete the quest..." Ul was eager to finish the job and didn't feel like wasting words. He simply held up the quest slip and the guild emblem on his chest for the man to see.

The short, stout middle-aged man froze for a moment at Ul's words, then his expression immediately lit up with excitement!

"Lord Mage, you've finally come! If you hadn't shown up, I wouldn't have made it through the year..."

The middle-aged man was so worked up that tears and snot streamed down his face. He grabbed Ul's hands tightly, mucus and tears flying everywhere—making Ul... feel a wave of nausea!

"Sir, please calm down. Let's talk this over properly!"

Ul subtly pulled his hands free from the man's grip and took a step back as he spoke.

Mages held a high status in this world!

So most people would add the honorific "Lord" when addressing one.

"Lord Mage, you have no idea—that pig... that pig has made my life a living hell! If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have survived this year!" The middle-aged man kept wailing ever since Ul appeared.

Clearly, this man had been tormented badly by that boar; otherwise, his emotions wouldn't be so intense.

Seeing the man's pitiful state, Ul felt a twinge of sympathy for him in his heart!

But for some reason!

He found that he couldn't muster any sympathy at all.

In fact, not only could he not sympathize, Ul felt a strange urge to laugh bubbling up inside him...

Biting back the impulse to laugh out loud, Ul slowly said, "First, tell me a bit about this wild boar's situation!"