The shades of black on the map varied, but they had one thing in common: they seemed alive, rising and falling slowly across the thick leather like smoke or flowing water.
"The darker the black, the greater the risk in that area. The more violently it shifts, the more often danger appears there."
Old Man Vernal ran a fingertip across the map. His voice was even, his expression unreadable. "...But it also means richer reward points."
"Your task in this trial is to explore at least one black area and make a complete record of it. That includes its terrain, water features, types and numbers of plants and animals, magic power levels, possible mineral deposits, and so on. If you can eliminate pests in the area you explore, you'll earn extra reward points."
"Here's a list of pests... Ah, one more thing. Anything you collect while exploring or eliminating pests is yours to keep, apart from what's needed to make specimens."
The old wizard took a sheet of parchment from beside him and handed it to Zheng Qing.
It was packed with the names of magical pests: goblins, Fence Goblins, Mutated Earth Dragons, Man-eating Flowers, Rotten Tan, Ogres, Deng's Termites, and more. Each name had a reward value beside it. Most were worth less than two points, but a few, such as giant Mutated Earth Dragons, Two-headed Ogres, and large colonies of Deng's Termites, could be worth four or even five.
It seemed fair enough.
"Is the point value for each exploration area fixed?" Xiao Xiao pushed up his glasses and leaned toward the enormous map, his lenses almost touching the parchment. "...Assistant Hilda told us we'd get ten points for completing each project. But you also said darker areas offered richer rewards."
"There's no contradiction."
Keeping an eye on