08 Lair

After this battle, something indescribable had appeared in Sherlock's gaze as he looked at Xia Ming. He had already begun to speculate about Xia Ming's identity.

Though they were both third-level mages, Xia Ming was undoubtedly far more skilled than Sherlock. The casting time for a second-level spell was actually under two seconds—many fifth- and sixth-level mages could only stare after such a feat, utterly unable to catch up.

Not to mention that Xia Ming had used Fire God's Roar, a terrifying spell Sherlock had never heard of or seen before. Fire God's Roar had also left an extremely deep impression on him. In his memory, hardly any third-level spells possessed such formidable power. It was close to the level of a fourth-level spell!

This guy must have an inheritance. Maybe he's even a descendant of some secretive magical family, Sherlock judged inwardly.

Xia Ming had no idea that a spell from the Book of Eternity had led them to mistake him for a descendant of a magical family. At the moment, he merely found it strange that both Sherlock and Tang Ge were staring at his strength in shock. It seemed that this was definitely not as simple as the basic knowledge every mage supposedly needed, as Anthony had said.

Sherlock coughed, neatly concealing his expression as he said, "Brother Xia Ming, your magical talent really is impressive. Haha, I've only ever seen such astonishing talent among friends from magical families."

As he spoke, Sherlock and Tang Ge exchanged a glance, becoming even more convinced that Xia Ming was a descendant of a magical family.

"Here!" Tang Ge divided the six crystal cores he had carved out of the Storm Mad Wolf corpses into three portions, then directly tossed two of them to Xia Ming.

Xia Ming caught the crystal cores and could sense a faint magical fluctuation within them. Smiling at Tang Ge, he tucked the cores into his mage's robe. Though second-level Magic Beast crystal cores did not mean much to Xia Ming, they were still a gesture of goodwill from Tang Ge.

In truth, Magic Beast crystal cores had a wide range of uses. They could be used as high-grade magical materials, for magical inscriptions, and even in the forging of magical weapons. Unfortunately, second-level Magic Beast cores were low-grade cores and not worth much.

By now, a faint glimmer of dawn had appeared in the sky.

After fighting all night, Xia Ming and the other two were all ravenously hungry, so they took out the food they had prepared beforehand.

A bottle of rum and a piece of cheese bread.

Xia Ming bit into the somewhat dry, hard cheese bread and took a swig of rum, unable to stop himself from frowning. Though he had been in this world for over a month, he still found it difficult to adapt to its food.

Tang Ge, on the other hand, wolfed his down in huge mouthfuls. "There are only four days left for this adventure mission. Counting one day for the return trip, we only have three days to finish it. Looks like we need to hurry."

Xia Ming nodded as well. "We should be close to the Sabertooth Tiger's lair by now, right?"

Sabertooth Tigers were solitary Magic Beasts, and they were fifth-level Magic Beasts at that. They were among the more powerful Magic Beasts in Green Caterpillar Forest. A Magic Beast like that would certainly have its own lair. Finding a Sabertooth Tiger was simple enough—one only needed to find its lair.

"Not far. When I took part in an adventure mission before, I once saw the Sabertooth Tiger's lair from afar. It's in the center of Green Caterpillar Forest. At our pace, it should take about half an hour to get there," Sherlock said.

"Sherlock, lead the way!"

Tang Ge climbed up from the ground, casually dusted the dirt off his backside, and called out.

Seeing Tang Ge's highly motivated expression, Sherlock grumbled inwardly, but could only walk to the front with a helpless look and lead the way. He struggled through thorny undergrowth as they moved through the woods.

This time, Xia Ming and the others were undoubtedly much more cautious than before.

A Sabertooth Tiger was nothing like a second-level Magic Beast such as a Storm Mad Wolf. It was a genuine fifth-level Magic Beast. More importantly, Magic Beasts were generally fierce and powerful, and the higher their level, the more intelligence they possessed. A fifth-level Magic Beast like the Sabertooth Tiger was often several degrees stronger than a human professional of the same level. Naturally, hunting one could not be mentioned in the same breath as hunting low-level Magic Beasts.

Thinking of this, Tang Ge subconsciously glanced at Xia Ming, the mysterious mage beside him.

Remembering this fellow's mysterious qualities, Tang Ge felt much more at ease. Having a powerful mage as a companion undoubtedly provided the greatest possible security.

Just as Sherlock had said, after walking for about half an hour, the space before them opened up.

The surrounding trees looked as though they had all been cut down, leaving behind a large clearing. A cave appeared in the trio's field of vision.

A mountain cave!

The cave was spacious, surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs. Stalactites like pointed bamboo shoots hung above it. Yet for some reason, Xia Ming and the others could clearly feel heat wafting from within the cave. The temperature was considerably higher than outside.

Sherlock stared at the cave entrance. "This should be the place."

Xia Ming and Tang Ge both held their breath. Was this cave the lair of a fifth-level Magic Beast, the Sabertooth Tiger? All three moved cautiously into the cave.

The instant they entered, a wave of heat rushed at their faces.

"The temperature in this cave is actually so much higher than outside!" Xia Ming secretly marveled. He felt that the Sabertooth Tiger's lair was rather strange, and his vigilance increased by several degrees.

The farther Xia Ming and the others went into the cave, the more the heat swelled. Even the cave walls had been stained an unusual fiery red.

After taking a few more steps inward, Xia Ming abruptly heard the violent sounds of battle coming from deeper in the cave, along with the faint roars of a lion-like Magic Beast.

Someone was here!

Xia Ming and the others exchanged glances. Each saw a trace of confusion and wariness in the others' eyes.

Xia Ming murmured, "Looks like someone beat us to it. This is going to be troublesome."

"Damn it! If we fail the adventure mission, they'll deduct our gold coins!" Tang Ge cursed, quickening his pace as if he wished he could charge straight into the depths of the cave.

Xia Ming did not care much about the few gold coins, but having the meat already in his mouth suddenly snatched away by someone else was not a pleasant feeling. Frowning, he swiftly followed after Tang Ge.

The sounds of combat and roaring within the cave grew louder and louder. Even the ground was trembling. Xia Ming could already imagine how brutal and intense this battle was.

Yet when he truly saw the scene, Xia Ming was still deeply shaken.

The surrounding air itself seemed on the verge of being torn apart. Sparks flew in every direction, thrilling and magnificent.

One side of the battle was the fifth-level Magic Beast Sabertooth Tiger, the target of Xia Ming and the others' mission. The other was a warrior-like young girl!