I'm Just an Esper Passing Through

The next day.

Zhou Fan decided to take Shukaku out of the city to hunt monsters.

Shukaku needed constant combat to grow stronger.

Keeping him in the summoning space all the time was a waste.

Previously, Zhou Fan had always hunted in the beginner Mutant Beast Forest, where the beasts roaming around were all first-tier.

This time, he planned to head to the Intermediate Mutant Beast Forest and find some second-tier mutant beasts to hone their skills.

The Intermediate Mutant Beast Forest.

The atmosphere here was more oppressive, and human bones could occasionally be seen.

Humans hunted mutant beasts, but mutant beasts hunted humans too.

Countless mutant beasts had been hunted down by humans.

Likewise, many humans had died beneath the mutant beasts' sharp claws.

Every hunt an Esper undertook meant walking the line between life and death.

Zhou Fan didn't dare venture too deep either.

He stuck to hunting on the outskirts of the Intermediate Mutant Beast Forest.

Most of the mutant beasts here were first-tier, four- or five-star, with a few second-tier, one-star beasts among them.

The difficulty was just right.

Before long, several mutant beasts set their sights on Zhou Fan.

"One, two, three... looks like I'm pretty popular. I just got here, and I've already run into three first-tier, five-star mutant beasts."

Zhou Fan glanced at the three mutant beasts.

But he wasn't planning to fight them himself.

"Summoning Technique!"

He formed hand seals with both hands and slammed his palm onto the ground.

An enormous summoning formula spread out, white smoke billowed, and Shukaku appeared.

"Gahaha! You finally summoned the great me!"

"I want to fight!" Shukaku shouted the moment he appeared.

"Shukaku, take out those three mutant beasts." Zhou Fan pointed at them.

"Those ugly things? Easy!"

Shukaku was a ruthless beast of few words. Once he got his orders, he went straight to work.

"Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!"

He opened with an advanced Wind Release Ninjutsu. A massive ball of wind roared forth and struck all three mutant beasts dead-on.

It sent every one of them flying.

"Quicksand Burial!"

Shukaku immediately controlled a great mass of sand, pinning the three mutant beasts firmly to the ground before crushing them with tremendous pressure.

An easy victory!

"Too easy! Too easy!"

Shukaku was second-tier, one-star, after all.

Handling these first-tier, five-star mutant beasts was child's play.

"Impressive!" Zhou Fan gave him a thumbs-up.

"Heh, of course!"

Afterward, Zhou Fan rode Shukaku through the forest, slaughtering everything in their path.

With human and beast working together, almost no mutant beast could last five exchanges against them.

Even second-tier, one-star mutant beasts were easily dispatched.

No challenge.

No challenge at all!

"Up ahead is pretty much the depths of the Intermediate Mutant Beast Forest. There might be second-tier beasts rated three stars or higher."

"Better not go there."

Zhou Fan had already killed plenty of mutant beasts today and collected plenty of Crystal Cores.

But he hadn't let it go to his head.

He knew where he could go and where he couldn't.

Besides, Shukaku's summoning time was up.

He couldn't keep taking risks.

So Zhou Fan began retracing his steps.

As soon as he returned to the beginner forest, he heard the sounds of fierce fighting ahead.

"Someone's actually fighting here?"

Curious, Zhou Fan walked over.

Not far away, several novices who had only recently awakened their superpowers were locked in battle with mutant beasts.

They had come as a team to hunt monsters.

The team had five members: three boys and two girls.

The three boys and one of the girls were all first-tier, two-star. Only the other girl was first-tier, three-star.

Judging by their uniforms, they weren't students from Tianhai No. 1 High School.

That meant they weren't from Skysea City.

There were several other cities nearby, so encountering people from another city was perfectly normal.

At the moment, the group wasn't doing very well.

They were surrounded by six mutant beasts.

Five were first-tier, two-star, and the last was first-tier, three-star.

"Everyone, be careful! Cover each other!" Fang Rou remained calm and composed.

She was the captain and the team's only first-tier, three-star member.

Facing these mutant beasts put her under tremendous pressure.

But that only made staying calm more important.

If even she lost her composure, they would probably be doomed today!

"Roar!"

The mutant beasts immediately attacked.

The first-tier, three-star Explosive Tiger lunged straight at Fang Rou.

It knew Fang Rou was the backbone of this team.

Once it killed Fang Rou, these humans would fall apart without any further effort!

Holding a wand, Fang Rou remained calm and composed.

"Wind Magic: Raging Blade!"

Blade after blade of wind rushed toward the Explosive Tiger.

"Roar!"

With its powerful claws, the Explosive Tiger forcibly deflected every wind blade!

"Wind Magic: Wind Sweep!"

A massive tornado appeared out of thin air and surged toward it.

The Explosive Tiger was forced to retreat again and again.

Suddenly, a first-tier, two-star Black Tiger pounced from the side, attempting a sneak attack.

But Fang Rou reacted quickly.

"Wind Magic: Returning Wind Wall!"

With a sweep of her wand, she instantly created a wall of wind in front of her, sending the Black Tiger flying.

However.

The Black Tiger's attack was only a feint.

The real killing blow came from the Explosive Tiger!

While Fang Rou's attention was focused on the Black Tiger.

The Explosive Tiger successfully circled around. Its claws gleamed coldly as it swiped at Fang Rou with a savage gust of wind!

At such close range, Fang Rou had no time to use her superpower. She could only hold her wand in front of herself to block.

"Bam!"

The Explosive Tiger's attack sent her flying.

Its second claw came crashing down right after.

"Oh no!"

Fang Rou could only watch as the Explosive Tiger's claws descended, the threat of death closing in!

"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"

Suddenly, several fire dragons flew over, striking the mutant beasts with pinpoint accuracy.

The first-tier, two-star mutant beasts were killed instantly.

Only the Explosive Tiger survived the blow, its greater strength making it tougher.

Suddenly, a cold gleam flashed.

A figure appeared in front of Fang Rou.

At the same time, a wound opened across the Explosive Tiger's neck. Blood spurted like a fountain, and it collapsed.

Zhou Fan twirled his blade a few times before sliding it precisely back into its sheath.

"Are you all right?"

He turned back and looked Fang Rou over.

The girl was beautiful, with bright eyes, pearly teeth, and skin as white as snow. She wore a combat trench coat over a gray-blue pleated miniskirt.

White stockings covered her long, slender legs, perfectly complementing her outfit.

"I-I'm fine... thank you!" Fang Rou snapped out of her daze and quickly got up to thank him.

If Zhou Fan hadn't stepped in, she would already have died beneath the Explosive Tiger's sharp claws.

"No need to thank me. It was no trouble."

"If there's nothing else, you should all hurry back."

With that, Zhou Fan turned and left.

He had only happened to pass through and helped them along the way.

"Um... my name is Fang Rou. I'm from Flowing Leaf City. May I ask your name?" Fang Rou hurriedly asked.

She wanted to know who had saved her life.

Zhou Fan didn't turn around. He merely waved a hand.

"I'm just an Esper passing through. You don't need to know my name."