Chương 39: Chapter 43: Night Quest

True to their words, the protectors provided no help to the trainees. They had to prepare their own meals for the month they would be staying in the wetland. Ember took the task of cooking upon himself, as whatever the others had prepared the other day was barely edible. The bog had no shortage of livestock. He easily managed to hunt a wild goose weighing over two kilograms. Now, his only regret was that he hadn't packed any spices with him.

He could only procure some salt, pepper, and oil from the outpost, but at least it wouldn't taste like raw flesh anymore. After making a makeshift fire, Ember hung the skinned and marinated goose over it, and slowly fell into a half-meditative state. He didn't forget to turn it over to cook it properly from all sides. There were already several people eyeing the food while salivating. Although they had all packed dry rations and fasting potions, they were mostly tasteless and meant for emergencies.

Well, the game was sufficiently large that it could feed a couple more people than the five in his group. Soon, a delectable aroma wafted from the roasted goose, when a figure drifted closer to him. Ember cracked open an eyelid to find Elin pulling along a couple-of-metres-tall dead crane by its feet. She rested it before him, saying, "Roast it." A frown crawled between his brows. The teen girl imitated his expression as well before fishing out a small pouch from her belongings and tossing it over.

"A remittance for the trouble," she said.

"You'll cover my meals for the rest of the expedition." Ember opened the small pouch to find six Iron cores inside. Considering they came from Tier 4 creatures, they could be sold for forty to fifty iron chips. Not a small amount for such little work. Well, he might have delivered it burnt if she had demanded this of him without any compensation. But seeing as she was being so reasonable and generous, Ember quickly began to collect some more dry wood.

In the last couple of years, Elin seemed to have grown more mature. Of course, she was still as imposing, and liked to flaunt her skills, but she had lost most of her haughtiness. Perhaps losing her aunt, who was also her mentor, contributed to that. Well, girls matured sooner than boys, though Elin seemed to have beaten Benny into making it to Tier 7. As Ember was preparing a fire, his eyes darted to the Huan cousins slacking off to the side.

"You two numskulls!" he couldn't help but bark.

"Since you've been freeloading for a couple of days now, why don't you make yourselves useful and skin that bird for me?" The girl glared at him unceremoniously, whereas her cousin seemed contemplative.

"Give me half of what Lady Elin paid you," Erming demanded, "and I'll do it."

"Sure," Ember snorted.

"If you pay me for feeding your ungrateful ass for two days straight."

"Are you looking for a beating, brat?" Ember cast him a disparaging look.

"With just you alone?"

"That's it," Erming said.

"I have been enduring it for some days now. This is the last time I will hear another insult out of you."

"Why?" Ember cocked an eyebrow.

"You seem like someone who is used to hearing far worse." From the corner of his eyes, Ember noted Benny was deep in his mana practice, with no intention of mediating the mess. As Erming came for some beating, the last member of their group came forward to quell the quarrel.

"I can skin it for you," Zea said.

"You don't have to pay me."

"At least someone is grateful," he said, sparing a last glance at Erming. Ember quickly proceeded to make the fire while Zea began working her knife on the crane. Although the girl was skilled with knives and swords, it was evident that it was the first time she was skinning an animal. Well, all the trainees here were the cream of the crop. They all had high standings among their clans. Things like skinning games or cooking were beneath them.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Don't just use the knife," Ember advised.

"You are wasting too much good meat. Yank that skin up with your palm, like this." Zea was a quick learner. With a little instruction, she skinned the large bird within fifteen minutes. After cleaning the skinned crane, Ember sliced open dozens of small cuts all over its form, rubbed in a good amount of oil and the seasonings available to him, then hung it on a stick over the flame. The night passed without any more squabbles. However, unlike most of the trainees, Ember didn't sleep completely.

With Meditative Muse at maximum mastery, he fell into a meditative rest, rejuvenating his stamina and mana. His eyelids only opened around three o'clock. The surroundings were shrouded in gloomy darkness, with a chorus of bugs and nocturnal creatures echoing incessantly. There were still a couple of hours until sunrise. Ember scanned the camp, noting only two drowsy trainees on night duty. It proved no difficulty sneaking out of their sight unnoticed. Well, it wouldn't be a big issue if they were to see him.

He simply dreaded the questions that would come. With Blitz Steps, he bolted away along the path he had already scouted. Mana Augmentation allowed him to see a little better in the dark. It was certainly no night vision, but coupled with his Keen Mind and Hunting skills, he had no problem moving through the gloom. The hunt commenced at around nine o'clock every day, so he had a good few hours to himself to make them count. Well, most of the time would be wasted on moving, despite his speed.

Their camp was far from any of those frogs' dwellings. Ember's primary goal for this little solo quest was definitely to work towards advancing his Hunter title. However, since his father's disappearance, Ember had come to realise how significant a role money played for an ascendant. Yes, Cliff had left them with enough savings to get by well for over a decade. But with two new members in the family and Ember's needs growing, he couldn't remain nonchalant about wealth.

The price of a Tier 4 wand had already made him gasp, and it would continue to rise for Tier 5 and Tier 6 wands. A Tier 6 wand of any element could cost over a thousand iron chips. He was sure he could negotiate something with the clan, but that was still something he'd have to pay back. Besides, he wouldn't want to owe anything to his uncle Pine. In this training expedition, Ember planned to make as much money as he could.

If he could manage to hunt down a hundred Tier 4 creatures, that might net him over six hundred iron chips. Of course, the profit would be a lot more if they were Tier 5 or even Tier 6 creatures, but he didn't have a death wish. Ember knew his limits very well and was only going to target those Tier 4 Mirewood frogs. Even without those maps, Ember didn't believe it would be much of a problem finding them with how many of those rotund frogs had been croaking all night.

Even now, with the sun only an hour away from peeking over the horizon, there was still some cacophony coming from all around. Throughout the path, he only stumbled a few times, though only because he blitzed through the wetlands at the speed of the wind. It took three-quarters of an hour for him to find a flock. Ember didn't assault them immediately. First, he scanned the surroundings, counted the number of frogs and their relative ranks.

It was only after finding a clear route of escape that he sneaked up on one with a potent Wind Blade, Mind Wall stilling his nerves. The Mirewood toad dropped dead without making a noise, allowing Ember to ambush another of its companions. This time, he wasn't so lucky. Although he managed to fell it in one blow, the disturbance had alerted the others in the surroundings. Instantly, a frog croaked out, followed by a dozen others. The deafening chorus made him dither for a moment, but Ember didn't withdraw.

As their acid spits assaulted him, his protective ward flashed to life, surrounding him in a shield. It was certainly much easier to find the toads at night. Now, Ember had over a dozen Tier 4 toads surrounding him. Swiftly using Blitz Steps, he disappeared from their line of attack to assault one at the far rear, his blade digging into its eyes while a Wind Blade finished it.

After close to nine hours of rest, Ember was brimming with power, his mana responding to his will, flowing through sword and wand alike as his body shifted from one position to another, sparing no effort in assaulting with sword and spell. The toads were certainly not as meek during the night, as one of them managed to wrap its tongue around Ember's waist, pulling him towards it. With a swift motion of his blade, Ember cleaved it apart when another one lurched at him.

Pinned underneath the terrible weight, he assaulted it with his most potent Wind Blade. The pressure barely subsided with its death. With a burst of Blitz Steps, he slipped away. The weaker toads had already scattered, while the Iron-Ranked ones chased after him. Ember was certainly running away. His wand flashed with mana as his form blurred through the expanse, ambushing the amphibians from their blind side. Of course, it was no one-sided battle either.

The frogs' slimy tongues had captured Ember more than a couple of times. He had been thrown off balance a number of times, with the heavy monsters tackling him. Even the scattering low-levelled ones wasted much of his effort. With his current progress in Mana Foundation, Ember could cast close to fifty potent Wind Blades, but he'd still have to leave some mana for Blitz Steps and his other skills.

For this nightly adventure, he would only spare seventy breaths of mana on casting, about thirty shots of Tier 4 Wind Blades. Ember had to make them count by hunting at least ten Tier 4 toads. Taking his time, Ember withdrew from the toads' reach to readjust his game plan. Without Mind Wall suppressing his emotions, he might have already been thinking of fleeing. But now that he had come this far, he had no thought of fleeing. At least not without collecting his bounty. This chapter was edited by one of you.

Shout out to Connor Higdon for the hard work.