Chương 22: Hunting Assignment

Ember was the last one to get out of the carriage. After the relative coolness and comfort of the enchanted carriage, the scorching heat of the sun struck him in a fuming wave. He held up a palm over his brows, eyeing the town of Desir ahead of him. It had been three years since he had last come here with his father and Rain, and in that time, the town seemed to have developed considerably.

There were more multi-storeyed establishments cluttered on both sides of the path, and twice as many people stampeding about their work. But it was not only the town that had grown. Ember, too, had grown considerably in that time, the most prominent change being his height, now reaching well over four feet. Regrettably, he came from the house of knights, and his stature was merely above average among his peers. His status, however, was at the very forefront.

With a swift and conscious thought, Ember summoned it to indulge in his accomplishment. Ember Blackstone Human (Copper) - Tier 3 (Progress: 2391/2400) Class: N/A Titles: Knight Squire Mana Foundation: Tier 2 Mana Aperture: 18 Mana Circuit: 86. 5% Breath of Mana: 34 Attributes: Might: 2. 6 → 4. 2 Speed: 5. 8 → 10. 5 Will: 17. 6 → 19. 2 Insight: 25. 9 → 33. 7 (+10) Mystic: 19. 8 → 33. 6 (+10) Immunity: 9. 5 → 13.

3 Class Skills: General Skills: [Skill Slot: 27/27] Common: Language Acquisition Max | Swordmanship +9 | Archery +6 Copper: Heightened Focus Max | Meditative Muse +7 | Breathing Art +6 | Sprint Burst +8 | Keen Mind +4 Iron: Mana Shaping +4 Boons: System Access I Affiliation: House Blackstone - Tier 5 At eight and a half years old, Ember was at the very precipice of Tier 4. Just one or two skill level-ups more, and he would be among the elites. Not only that, he would get there well before his ninth birthday.

Rain had been well over eleven when she achieved the feat. Although she was not the fastest in the clan, she had been among the top few. Perhaps Ember, too, would have taken as long, if not longer, considering his birth potential. But simply having an Iron skill made all the difference. Out of all the evolution points in the progress tab, a thousand of them came from Mana Shaping alone, while the rest were contributed mostly by his other copper skills, especially Meditative Muse, Breathing Art, and Sprint Burst.

Sadly, save for Keen Mind, which he got by upgrading Active Recall, his other copper skills had become too time-consuming to progress further. Otherwise, Ember would have liked to reach Tier 4 before coming to this hunting assignment. Now, he believed the required 9 evolution points would likely come from Archery or Keen Mind. Hopefully, sooner rather than later. A part of Ember had wanted to save the slots for Swordsmanship in place of Keen Mind, but he had been too impatient.

For the last slot he got out of Knight Squire, he had taken Archery, thinking he could master it faster. Ember's primary focus had remained on his mana foundation. He had received more of those mana elixirs from the clan, though he had not taken any yet. Still, his mana grew faster than anyone else's. It was all thanks to the Iron-ranked Mana Shaping skill. But that did not mean he did not have to put in the hours. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

An Iron skill was considerably harder to master. In the eighteen months since he had acquired it, Mana Shaping had only reached the fourth level, despite being the most prominent skill he cultivated. Cliff had been livid, hearing him complain about an Iron skill. Over the months, he had returned twice, staying longer the second time after learning about Rosanna's pregnancy. There were still four months until the delivery, so Ember could hope to see him again in a couple of months.

"Are you feeling nervous, nephew?" Ember turned his gaze to find a boy of his age. Sunny was of even lower stature than him, but he was Timber Blackstone's youngest offspring. The boy was among the top five of their peers; unfortunately, he always tried to appear slick, imposing himself as his uncle.

"Don't fret, your uncle will protect you." Ember snorted at that. There were already two Iron-class guardians beside Aunt Zephyr who had accompanied them, let alone the dozen other Copper-class guards. They would only circle the outskirts of the forest, but if any Iron creatures lost their way and found them, they would be dispatched swiftly. As for his own assignment, Ember was relatively at ease. With his breath of mana growing, he could cast about a dozen Tier 3 spells before exhausting himself.

He was also carrying two new wands with him: a wind wand for attacks and another with a kinetic enchantment, which could throw off any monster that came close to him. With his mastery of mana skills, the wind blade he could fling through the wand had grown even more tyrannical. It could eviscerate any peak Copper creature. Even a lower Iron beast would not be impervious to it. But they were his trump cards, while he would try his hand primarily with the bow and arrow. He also bore Rain's old sword.

It was a Tier 4 item, imbued with anti-rust and sharpness enchantments. A full swing of it, applied with adequate mana, would not be any weaker than his wind blade. The only disadvantage was that he would have to confront the enemy at close range. Well, that was the nature of a sword, but any Copper beast could rip him apart in a matter of seconds in a moment of lapse. That was why he had the protective ward and enchanted leather garments.

The bracelet could shield against even an Iron-ranked beast, but the hunting attire was not nearly half as tough. His sister had prepared him by having him wear those thick garments for days leading up to the hunt, so he would not feel uncomfortable in them. Finally, with the Tier 5 ring that worked as a reservoir for mana, Ember was fully prepared for the assignment. The goal was to gain experience and work towards the Hunter title.

They had brought two carriages full of children, with Ember's group being on the younger side. For many in their group, it was their first time on a hunting mission, as evident from the nervous air they radiated, while some were simply foolish enough to believe it would all be a breeze. Aunt Zephyr further divided the children into groups of five. Ember found himself in the same group as his little uncle Sunny and Talon, who was accompanied by a girl with pigtails.

They were all relatively proficient in mana, while the last member was another Tier 3 boy, one primarily a shield-and-sword user. After securing the inn where they would be staying for the week, Aunt Zephyr and a few guards took them to the forest of Desir without wasting time. The other groups headed in different directions, though none of them was likely to venture much deeper into the wilderness.

Although their goal was to acquire the Hunter title--and many children were delusional enough to believe they would achieve that within this week--Ember believed it would take several such assignments in the wild. The requirements alone were quite substantial, especially in comparison to Knight Squire, whose only criteria were Tier 3 in race and a willing Silver knight. For the Hunter title, each of them would need to dispatch ten Copper creatures without any help from Aunt Zephyr or the others.

Now, the elementary Hunter title might not be as difficult, as they could earn it under the purview of high-ranking protectors. But if those high-rankers were to assist in the fight in any form, the system would discount their accomplishments. Besides, Copper creatures were not that easy to find or deal with. Yes, they did not have tough exteriors like their Iron counterparts, but most peak Copper beasts could easily overpower and tear through their bodies like wet paper.

Of course, all of them carried protective amulets and wards, so there was no real fear of that. But full protection did not mean they would prevail against a level 20 hyena or wolf. Unless they encountered flocks of harmless rodents, Ember believed they were in for some real experience. An experience in disappointment, so far it seemed. They had been trudging along the outskirts of the wilderness for about an hour, and all they had encountered were a few unawakened beasts.

Even those began to dwindle, as Talon and Sunny cast their fire spells on sight. While only a couple of their spells struck true, they easily scared away the rest of the creatures before Ember could try his archery.

"No, this isn't working," Sunny said.

"At this rate, we will never get done with the assignment." The pigtailed girl nodded emphatically. She was intelligent enough to conserve her mana for an actual fight.

"It must be our guardian's aura scaring the monsters away," said Talon. Although they had not become friends after their initial scuffle, the boy seemed to have matured and become much easier to deal with. Sunny appeared to agree and turned towards Zephyr.

"Big sister, why don't you watch us from the shadows?" he asked.

"You can even keep the others hidden with your shadow attunement, too."

"I can," Zephyr affirmed, "but there is no need. It has only been an hour. You have a whole day left to claim some. Besides, I have already sent a scout to find easy targets for you to practise. They will be back once they find something worthwhile." That elicited an agreeable chorus from the group, Ember included. With how inexperienced they all were, finding something worthwhile on their own was perhaps more difficult than dispatching a Copper beast.

Still, with all his preparation, it would be a lie if Ember said he was not itching for a tussle or two against some Copper beasts. The scout returned about half an hour later, bearing good news. Not only had he found a relatively small pack of hyenas, but he had also located a high vantage point from which they could observe and plan ahead of the hunt. Although Ember feared none of his companions had any inclination to make a plan.

They were already prepared with their preferred weapons, ready to charge down at the pack of Copper beasts as if they were mere pigs to be slaughtered.