"Me? By myself?"
Ning Rongrong pointed at herself.
With her Reversal Soul Skill, Trapped Beast, she could hunt Soul Beasts under 2,800 years old just fine. But was Flender really so confident that he'd send a support-type Soul Master to hunt one alone? Wasn't that a little... too trusting?
"Yes... Oscar, come over here and listen, too."
Oscar had just stepped out of the boys' dormitory nearby when Flender spotted him and called him over. He came with reluctance written all over his face.
"The most important thing for a support-type Soul Master is being able to protect yourself. Only then can you support your teammates. Hunting a Soul Beast is a good way to train that ability."
"Hunt a Soul Beast? Dean, who needs a Soul Ring?"
Oscar froze.
Flender gestured with his eyes toward the person standing beside Oscar.
"Don't we turn away Soul Masters who are level 20...?"
Oscar ventured, hesitant and certain he'd figured it out. Flender mercilessly cut him off.
"She's level 30, one level higher than you."
"Oh! Dean, so you mean I'm supposed to support her while she hunts a Soul Beast?" The thought of hunting one alongside the girl he had a crush on made Oscar excited. Then he suddenly realized something. "Wait, Dean, isn't Ning Rongrong a support-type Soul Master from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
"Exactly."
"So the two of us support each other while hunting a Soul Beast?" Oscar guessed, settling on what seemed like a reasonable answer.
Flender shook his head. "Wrong. She'll hunt one by herself, and you'll hunt another. Give the juniors an example to follow."
Ning Rongrong had been listening out of boredom, but now she perked up and looked at Oscar.
Oscar, on the other hand, jumped in alarm. "Dean, I'm only level 29! It's not time yet!"
"You've been stuck at that level for ages. You might break through any day now. You can absorb a Soul Ring while you're at it."
"What am I supposed to hit it with, my hammer? Do I even have a weapon, Dean?"
"Something as trivial as a weapon? Figure it out yourself."
Flender scratched his head. He hadn't considered any of that. After all, he hadn't actually expected either of them to hunt a Soul Beast. He just wanted them to build up their stamina along the way.
And the reason he'd called it a Soul Beast hunt...
Wasn't that strict enough?
Besides, he'd be supervising them the whole time, and he'd even found someone else to do the same thing. Wasn't that very prudent of him?
"All right, then. Sorry for the trouble, Dean. Please take us near some Soul Beasts."
Ning Rongrong, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke. Her words startled Oscar even more.
"Wait, you're agreeing just like that?"
Oscar could hardly believe it.
"Is that so hard?"
Ning Rongrong turned to him with a look of disdain.
"Good. Then follow me."
Some time later, at the entrance to the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Once you go in, your four hours start when you encounter your first Soul Beast. I'll keep an eye on you the entire time. If you run into danger you can't avoid, I'll step in."
Flender adjusted his glasses and continued, "Oscar, you go in first. Ning Rongrong, wait ten minutes before you go in... Hmm?"
Flender turned to look at Ning Rongrong, only to find she had already disappeared.
He adjusted his glasses again, then flew into the air.
To the left, the forest was shrouded in pale white mist.
To the right, Oscar's figure was clearly visible.
"How strange... Ning Rongrong must have gone into the forest on the left. Why is that girl in such a hurry?"
Flender wondered. After a moment's thought, he decided to trust Oscar to protect himself and turned toward the forest on the left.
Oscar had no idea Flender wasn't watching him. He was busy searching for a Soul Beast around his own level.
As far as he knew, Flender would respond when Oscar made the right choice.
The moment he entered the forest, he came across a patch of Blue Silver Grass. Flender didn't respond, so Oscar accepted that as his answer.
Blue Silver Grass grew all over the forest and posed no threat. From the perspective of training himself, it obviously wasn't what Flender wanted him to challenge.
Then he heard the sound of teeth grinding behind him.
He turned and saw a Wind Wolf pacing nearby.
Oscar sensed a threat from it.
Oscar decided to run.
"Help! Dean! This Soul Beast's strong enough, right? I'm a food-type Soul Master. If I can survive against this Wind Wolf, that's already pretty impressive!"
Oscar shouted, but Flender gave no response.
At that moment, Flender was still in the forest on the left, trying to find Ning Rongrong. Suddenly, he sneezed.
"Why do I feel like someone's calling me?"
Flender focused his spiritual power in his ears, but still couldn't hear a thing.
He shook his head.
"I must have imagined it. Oscar should be able to handle himself. I need to figure out which way to go."
Before Flender lay a Y-shaped fork in the path. At first glance, the two sides looked identical. There was only one trail leading in from the forest, and Flender couldn't tell which way Ning Rongrong had gone. His Soul Skill could enhance his vision, but it seemed to have failed in the white mist. He couldn't see where Ning Rongrong was.
"Let's go left."
Flender made his choice.
A little earlier.
When Lu Ma had watched the cutscene finish and regained control, he ignored whatever Flender was saying, saved his game, and headed straight into the misty forest on the left. To Lu Ma, NPCs like this were just there to unlock new features.
The reason he chose the left was simple, too. The first dungeon he'd encountered had been shrouded in white mist, so he figured there had to be something good in there. If he found something like a Holy Spirit Scroll, he could level up immediately after absorbing a Soul Ring.
And if it turned out to be dangerous, he could reload his save and choose again at the entrance.
So in he went.
Like Flender, Ning Rongrong had entered not long before. After ignoring the Blue Silver Grass she'd seen for more than a decade, she, too, reached a fork in the path. But she didn't choose left or right. She took the wild path in the middle instead. The reason was even simpler: those neat, well-worn paths looked like they were used all the time. What good stuff could possibly be there?
The really good stuff was bound to be hidden away.
Unlike Oscar, and unlike Flender's assumptions, she genuinely wanted to get a Soul Ring this time.
The closer to 2,800 years old, the better. The kind didn't matter.
Lu Ma believed that no matter which Soul Beast he absorbed, he'd still get a Soul Skill that boosted Soul Power.
The first Soul Skill of Reversal was incredibly clever. From Lu Ma's perspective, every Soul Beast had its age displayed clearly above its head.
Ink-line Snail, 27 years; Nether Wasp, 233 years; Mutated Ghost Vine, 799 years; Golden-armored Scaled Beast, 947 years.
As Ning Rongrong went deeper into the forest, the Soul Beasts she encountered grew stronger. Now she was surrounded by thousand-year Soul Beasts, while those that had been eyeing her warily had gone into hiding.
Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, 1,437 years old, chance of successful Soul Ring absorption: 100%;
Wind Wolf King, 1,566 years old, chance: 100%;
Pink Lady, 1,879 years old, chance: 100%...
Ning Rongrong stopped in her tracks. The Soul Beast before her left her astonished.
Man Faced Demon Spider, 3,001 years old, chance of suppression: 80%; chance of successful Soul Ring absorption if suppressed: 60%; chance of obtaining an External Soul Bone after successfully absorbing its Soul Ring: 10%.
She wasn't astonished because she suspected this was the same kind Tang San had encountered. Rather, she'd realized that she could still suppress it, and still absorb its Soul Ring.
The odds?
Just now, Lu Ma had tested whether he could save his game.
The answer was—yes.
Before you continue