[Bloodthirsty Hunter]! Lend Me Your Strength

Gu Xin tossed all four materials into the alchemy furnace.

"Mr. Simba, although you were an evil idiot, and I was the one who killed you, once death comes, all karma is settled."

"I've already forgiven you for attacking me, and I hope you'll forgive me for killing you."

"Now, I need your help. Lend me your strength!"

Despite claiming not to believe in mysticism, Gu Xin muttered superstitiously as he held a one-sided conversation with Simba's corpse inside the furnace.

There was no helping it. When it came to card refining, "heavenly luck" was important.

"Here we go!"

Gu Xin steadied his mind and slowly infused magic power into the furnace.

Furnace, activate!

Beep beep beep!

The alchemy furnace began operating. Magical flames ignited, gradually refining the four materials.

His mental power linked with the furnace, and Gu Xin began constructing the image of the card in his mind.

A master tracker, a werewolf, abnormally sensitive to blood, savage as a beast...

Gu Xin carefully shaped the image, determined not to make even the slightest mistake.

After all, he only had one Mr. Simba. If he failed, there would be no second chance.

That made Mr. Simba exceptionally precious. He had to refine this properly!

Time passed second by second.

An hour later, Gu Xin opened his eyes and let out a long breath, gazing delightedly at the furnace's card slot.

A magic card glowing with a faint purple light slid out.

"Heh heh—hahaha! I really am a genius!"

Gu Xin picked up the brand-new card, unable to suppress his smugness. He had succeeded on the first try! The first try!

As expected, it still had to be me.

The corners of Gu Xin's lips slowly curled upward as he looked at the card in his hand.

The artwork was exquisite. It depicted a wild and ferocious-looking werewolf, its sharp claws gleaming coldly, its expression vicious and cruel, and its pointed fangs bared. Alchemical devices were mounted behind it and around its wrists, filled with an ominous dark-green liquid.

[Bloodthirsty Hunter]

[Category: Summoning Card]

[Quality: Two-Star Purple]

[Attribute: None]

[Racial Trait: Blood Hunger]

[(Note: Blood is flowing... Leave none alive!)]

It was a very powerful beast-type summoning card!

Gu Xin judged that his [Bloodthirsty Hunter] was definitely stronger than most second-tier beast-type magical beasts and summoning cards.

After all, it was purple, epic-grade quality.

"What a pity. That evil, ugly demi-human Simba was simply too low-ranked, and it still affected the quality of [Bloodthirsty Hunter]."

Gu Xin felt it was a shame. In his view, [Bloodthirsty Hunter] had entirely been capable of reaching gold-card grade, or entering the three-star tier.

But Simba, the main material, had only been a newly advanced second-tier demi-human. He was simply too weak, so naturally it had affected [Bloodthirsty Hunter]'s quality.

Still, Simba had contributed his own corpse, so Gu Xin decided not to curse Mr. Simba anymore.

Fully satisfied, Gu Xin walked out of the laboratory.

Toyokawa Shoko sat on the sofa, holding a magic book as she read. Hearing his footsteps, she turned around.

"Boss, it looks like you succeeded." The girl wore a gentle smile.

Today, she wore a white dress. Her sitting posture was as elegant as ever, and its fitted waist beautifully outlined the curves of her waist and hips.

Mm, the poster girl of my shop really is pretty.

Gu Xin had already been in a good mood, and seeing such a pleasing girl the moment he came out made him feel even happier.

"Everything went smoothly today. I succeeded on the first try."

"You're amazing, Boss!"

Toyokawa Shoko generously offered her admiration. She had heard that card refiners had very low success rates when refining cards.

"Eh, I just got lucky. Shoko, are you reading a magic book?"

Gu Xin looked at the thick magic textbook in Toyokawa Shoko's hands.

"How about hiring a mage to teach you the basics first?"

Gu Xin thought of Wang Quan. After all, he was the most powerful mage Gu Xin knew. As for their homeroom teacher, Gu Xin really was not familiar with him.

"No need. I actually know quite a lot about the mage class. Back when I..."

Toyokawa Shoko shook her head and replied softly, but as she spoke, her voice gradually lowered again.

Yes, she had once had a very talented mage friend—her childhood friend.

But after her family fell apart, she and her father left Sakura Province, and the two of them lost contact. Well, though it had actually been Toyokawa Shoko who had cut off contact unilaterally.

Thanks to that childhood friend, Toyokawa Shoko truly knew quite a bit about mages, so getting started would not be difficult for her.

"Alright. I remember dark magic seems to be the hardest to learn among all magic types. Don't push yourself too hard. If you run into any difficulties, tell me."

Gu Xin thought of [Demon Beast]. Though Demon Beasts were demons, they also used dark magic. It could be said that every one of them specialized in dark magic.

Theoretically, learning dark magic from demons should not be a problem... right?

"Yes, I'll work hard. I won't overdo it either."

The corners of Toyokawa Shoko's lips lifted considerably as she gave Gu Xin a sweet smile. Her eyes curved into crescents, and she seemed truly happy.

She liked the feeling of being cared for by Gu Xin. It made her genuinely feel that she was not alone.

"Good. I'm heading out first."

"Alright, Boss. Be careful on the road."

Toyokawa Shoko stood at the shop entrance and watched Gu Xin disappear around the corner. Then, hugging her magic books, she returned to the shop with light steps.

She had to study hard and strive to become a mage as soon as possible. One day, she would definitely be able to help her boss.

With that resolve in her heart, the girl continued studying her magic books with great interest.

Yes, she was reading books on dark magic. As for water magic...

Well, even Toyokawa Shoko could only tactfully say that dark magic was more practical than water magic.

But...

"What does 'water mages produce an enormous amount of water' mean?"

When she recalled the comment she had seen while searching up the advantages of the two magic types last night, the girl was still utterly baffled.

Meanwhile, after arriving on the street, Gu Xin thought for a moment and entered a small supermarket to buy two cases of milk.

He then arrived in front of a convenience store. As expected, it was not open.

Gu Xin went around to the back door and knocked. Before long, someone inside responded.

The one who opened the door was Aunt Huang.

"Huh? Gu Xin, what's all this?"

Aunt Huang froze when she saw Gu Xin.

"Aunt Huang, I wanted to talk to Brother Xiaoming about something. Sorry for dropping by so suddenly."

Gu Xin smiled as he spoke to Aunt Huang.

"Gu Xin, you even brought gifts when coming to see your aunt? What, do you think of me as an outsider?" Aunt Huang was a little unhappy.

"How could that be? This is for Brother Xiaoming. Look, he's usually so busy, and he's only just managed to come back. Of course I had to bring him some milk."

"Oh, it's Gu Xin. Hey, you even brought stuff with you."

The young man speaking leaned against the wall, cracking sunflower seeds in his mouth. He carried himself with a frivolous, carefree air, smiling like a fox.