Every time after school, Xue Yiran would log into the virtual net and visit the battle arena at the upper zone. She would watch the fight between several beast masters. Aside from her, several participants would cheer for their victor whom they had bet on and some would curse if the person whom they bet on failed to win. Xue Yiran only looked at this nonchalantly.
Betting is like an addicting drug. Once you start, you might find it hard to withdraw from its leading to the woe of such person life.
She wouldn't recommend anyone to bet for they serve as life destroyer. Having watched several tournaments, Xue Yiran now had a grasp on how to use the power she had gotten from Sky but she had yet to try it out.
Right now, she was standing in front of the mercenary hall. She was don in the mercenary combat suit and the Tyron's guild badge identity was pinned to her chest. Beside her was a big fury white creature that stood proudly while gazing at the passing by mercenaries' members.
The creature was Sky. Xue Yiran hadn't wanted to summon him out but the king creature wouldn't stop whining in her head. After noticing that Susu wouldn't do anything to him unless he tries to harm Xue Yiran, the wolf king started getting bolder. Several passersby would glance at the beast. Since it was not in the rule that summoning your beast would warrant punishment, they just took a look and went by on their way.
It didn't take long for the people she was waiting for to arrive.
"Sorry for coming late." The first to arrive was Tyron since he was the guild leader.
"It's nothing. I just arrived earlier because I didn't come last week Sunday." Although she had said she would apologize the next day the incident came, but she reneges on that thought because she had to accompany the two duo Ayaan and Xue Haoran while they play with Sky. Since the group chat had been dormant since that incidence, she didn't know whether they had settled or not.
Next to come was Walker, followed by the other guys in the guild. Seeing that everyone except Miley was present, Tyron signal for the team to commence outing.
*Sigh* Looks like they haven't yet made up. Just as they were about to leave, a voice reach everyone's ears.
"So, you're all thinking of leaving me behind." Everyone turned their heads and saw that familiar silhouette.
"Vice president!"
"Miley!"
"Ice witch!"
Everyone called with surprise in their eyes.
"Who the hell just called me ice witch."
'Shit, did I just let my tongue slip.' Jose hurriedly shut his mouth afraid to warrant the ice witch anger.
"You finally came." Tyron face was filled with a smile as he looked towards Miley's direction.
"I'm still the vice president of the guild so why won't I come. I only took some days off and you all thought I won't be coming back."
"It's good to have you back, Vice president."
"You don't know how boring training is without you."
"Yes, the president suddenly turns into a crazy person and kept training us like machines."
"If you hadn't come back, perhaps my pitiful life would have already been lost due to the president craziness." Walker said amidst of tears. It looks like the six days of Miley's absence has been hell for him.
"Stop making that face. It cringes me a lot." Miley immediately back away from Walker enthusiasm. Her gaze landed on Tyron, but it was only for a short while before she turned to look at Xue Yiran. "Hi Xue Yiran, I was wondering if I can come to your house again to meet Xue Haoran. I've been thinking about his cute face all day. Gosh, it's really nice to have such a cute brother."
Tyron who saw that he was being ignored could only lower his head in pity. 'Guess she's still angry at me.'
"Let's set out. We'll be going deeper today. Our destination is the misty swamp arena. We'll be going against the swamp crocodiles inhabiting the area. Their king is a B rank monster. From the Intel I've gathered, I heard it's about to break into the A rank."
"Everyone knows that those Crocs has a tough defense. None of the mercenary are not even taking the mission because of how tough they are to deal with. If we are to go up against them, we won't be gaining anything or instead tire ourselves out before reaching the midway." Miley frowned, wandering why Tyron had accepted such mission.
The swamp crocodiles' skin was filled with hard scales. No weapon could penetrate through their tough defense. They were such a headache. Their only weakness were their eyes. Still, such weakness was protected by their strong eyelid skin. Piercing through those eyes required a strong precession, which consume a lot of mental strength.
Due to their tough defense, the swamp crocodiles' materials were very expensive. However, most people decided not to hurt them.
Why? Because just killing a member of the crocodile's race would take 90% of the team strength. After the intense fight, the gain wasn't worth the sacrifice at all. Hence, no team dare to waste their strength on hunting the swamp Crocs.
Miley truly had a reason to question Tyron's judgement.
"You can somewhat call it a private mission. A client wants us to help him capture the capture the swamp crocodile's king." Tyron explained.
"Is he seeking death." Jose exclaimed.
"An adult beast king? To form a contract with one is no difference from seeking death." Walker cried.
"He's funding the materials for catching the beast. There's a cage for catching S rank beast in my pouch. Also, the client seems to have found a secret passage to reach the swamp crocodiles lair which I've confirmed it to be real. And lastly, the reward of the whole outing is 200 billion credits."
"Fuck, a rich guy." Milo's eyes widened. Even the others couldn't believe their ears. 200 billion credits for reward. That was really a lot.
"Where did such a rich guy pop out from. Such a money could hire an S rank mercenary to work for him."
"Half of the money has been paid as upfront; the remaining would be paid once the job is completed."
"I've some bad feelings about this." Miley decided to trust her hunch. "If he's that rich, he could hire some experts to execute the mission. That's where everything seems suspicious."
"It's not our job to ask the client about their decision. Our only job is to complete the task assigned to us." That was the rule for all mercenaries. "We should head out."
Xue Yiran put back the wolf king into her consciousness and head out with the team. Apart from the constant conversation between her and Miley, the whole journey was silent.
On the other side of the mercenary hall, two figure walked out both wearing a black cloak. The cap was covering their face which prevent people from seeing their appearance.
"Hum, master. I think everyone is looking at us." Several people turned their head to looked at the duo.
"Weird, are they shooting some scene."
"They must be the new bumkins. Ha-ha-ha. Their dressing is so funny."
"So embarrassing."
"What are they doing?"
"Do not go near them or else you'll be influenced by their mental illness."
Mental illness! Isn't that going too far. Ian wish he could confront that person but he was feeling so embarrassed from the gazes directed towards them.
"Do not mind their words. Since me taking you to the wild is a secret matter, your identity must be kept a secret. You're the crown prince of the empire, your whereabouts must be kept a secret." Amos said without feeling uncomfortable from the attention he was getting. "What you're wearing is a shadow cloak. It's not popular among the mercenaries because of its appearance. Nevertheless, it's still a must have due to the destination we're heading too."
The pressure Ian felt suddenly decrease when he heard his mentor words. It wasn't that mentor Amos had a weird taste; this was all part of the preparation."
"However, you'll also see that the cloaks bear much resemblance to the cloaks used in the shadow hunter movie. I've been a fan of the movie. Now that I'm wearing this cloak, I feel that I'm shadow hunter himself. Ha-ha-ha. Who in the world can stop me, shadow hunter!"
"Fuck, they are truly crazy."
"Hurry stay away from them."
"Let's go boy. We have a long day ahead of us." Amos walked forward.
Ian who had previously felt a relief that his mentor wasn't weird was suddenly doubting if he would be coming out of the wild alive. Shadow hunter? Cosplay? Mentor Amos truly had a weird taste.
Despite the fact that he had a somewhat disturbing taste, Amos truly had the capacity of being a teacher.
Ian was currently facing a millepede giant monster. It was thousands time bigger than human, yet this was just a baby millepede in it growing stage.
"Watch out for its venom. They are very acidic and they can melt individuals below C rank. Well, you're above C rank but however watch out for it. I'll be at the side watching you." Amos stood at the side and gave a very big loud yawn as he speculates the fight. He wasn't really fit for this babysitting job. But Ian was the crown prince, after all. And as his mentor, it was his responsibility to groom him into a powerful young man.
"Pang!" The sound of mental hitting each other filled the area.
Ian's face was currently filled with perspiration. It is just a baby millepede monsters. I've fought several of them in the virtual combat zone. How come--. He was attack again.
The millepede swung its several leg at him. It was evident that it was furious. 'I was just about lazing in the sun when this two-leg figure sneak attack on me. I've seen several of these two legs figure. I wonder how they taste like'.
Unaware of the monster thoughts, Ian was finding it hard to hold on.
"Make sure to conserve your energy. There are still a lot more fight for you to undergo."
"Yes, master." The monster who was thinking about what to eat had unintentionally lax his guard. Seeing the chance to strike, Ian immediately evades the acidic venom and strike at its weak opening."
A smile formed on his lips. 'Gotcha.'
"Screeeeth!" The insect screamed in pain. It pounces it huge body at Ian.
If such a big thing were to land on him, it was evident that he would be squashed under it.
"Wind thrower!" A whirlwind appeared below his feet, bringing him a distance away.
"Boom." The insect giant body land onto the ground, creating a deep crater.
What a narrow escaped. His back was now soaked with sweat. 'So, this is just a tip in the level of danger in the wild. Thankfully, I made the decision to merge with Huji at the last moment.'
"Don't just run away. You won't grow if you keep evading. Just faced it head on. Don't worry, I'm here to keep you from danger." Amos shouted.
Getting the word of safety from his mentor, Ian face suddenly turned serious. His grip on the sword tightened and he rushed forward. "Yahh!!"
And then 'Boom!'