"Wolf, what are you doing?" One of the hunters asked when he saw Mark grabbing some ripe fruits from a small tree.
"Let me guess. You forgot to bring your rations, didn't you?"
Mark scratched his head in embarrassment. "Yeah. I only brought my equipment with me."This was his first mission after playing the game so he made this newbie mistake.
"Hahaha! That's fine. I brought some extra food with me. You can have some of mine."
"I also have some coarse bread here."
Some kind hunters gave their extra food to Mark. "Thank you so much, everyone." He gratefully said. They had only gotten to know each other, but they were kind enough to give him a part of their rations.
"Don't mention it."
"Let's take a short rest here. We'll proceed after eating lunch." Jason said to the rest of the group.
"Yes, sir!" The hunters immediately took out their rations.
"Wolf, come here!" Jason called out to him.
Mark was surprised when he heard his name being called. "Sir Jason, is there anything I can do for you?" He asked.
Jason smiled at him and patted his shoulder. "We might have to stay in the forest for a few days so you need to eat meat to have the energy to hunt. Have you tried eating mystical beast meat?"
Hearing this, Mark shook his head. "I've only eaten normal animals. As for mystical beast meat, I haven't tried one yet." He replied.
"Is that so? Help me cook this thing right here." Jason grabbed a big piece of meat wrapped in dried leaves.
Mark curiously stared at Jason who was unwrapping the leaves. Meanwhile, the other hunters gathered around when they saw what Jason was doing.
"Sir, isn't that the meat of the Red Spotted Deer we hunted a few days ago?" A hunter asked curiously upon taking a closer look at the meat.
Jason nodded. "That's right. This is indeed the meat of a Red Spotted Deer. To be exact, it was a Level 1 Spider-Grade mystical beast."
"Level 1 Spider-Grade?" Mark furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
Looking at his baffled look, Jason was a bit taken aback. "Eh? You don't know the threat level of mystical beasts?"
The hunters also stared at Mark as if he was a country bumpkin.
Mark smiled awkwardly while shaking his head. "I don't know."
"I see. Unlike cultivators, mystical beasts are classified based on their threat levels. The weakest mystical beasts are Spider-Grade. They are followed by Viper-Grade, Eagle-Grade, Lion-Grade, Devil-Grade, Dragon-Grade, and Lord-Grade. I heard of rumors that there are more powerful mystical beasts after the Lord-Grade, but monsters like that don't exist in our continent." Jason patiently explained.
Mark exclaimed. "There are actually so many levels and this Red Spotted Deer is only one of the weakest? What about the Black Scaled Boar?"
"The Black Scaled Boar is a Level 3 Spider-Grade mystical beast. Although it's technically on the same level as Body Strengthening Third Level cultivators, mystical beasts are innately stronger. That means if there was a fight between a cultivator and a mystical beast of the same level, there is a high chance that the mystical beast would come out as the winner. Only rarely would cultivators emerge as the victor. I'm a Body Strengthening Third Level cultivator, but I'm no match for the Black Scaled Boar." Jason solemnly said.
Mark was shocked to hear this. He had underestimated the power of mystical beasts.
"Don't worry. Other than me, we also have a couple of Body Strengthening Second Level cultivators in the group. As long as we properly plan this out, we can hunt that Black Scale Boar without any problems." Jason chuckled when he saw Mark's dumbfounded expression.
"Relax! There are fifty of us here and Sir Jason is leading this group."
The hunters thought that Mark was afraid after he learned the information about mystical beasts.
"I'm fine." Mark smiled at them.
"Cook this and you'll get a share." Jason handed him the meat of the Red Spotted Deer.
The hunting party rested and took their lunch on the outskirts of the forest. There weren't a lot of creatures around, but the smell of cooked meat attracted the attention of some wandering animals. They were only ordinary creatures so they weren't a threat to the group. The poor creatures ended up becoming prey for the group.
It was the first time Mark had eaten a mystical beast meat and the taste was definitely not something an ordinary meat could compare to. It was like the difference between A5 wagyu beef and cheap beef.
"Wow! This is the best meat I've had!" Mark immediately fell in love with the meat after taking his first bite.
"Hahaha! You can eat more if you want." Jason laughed upon hearing his remarks.
While they were eating, a hunter suddenly asked. "Wolf, I've been a resident of the village for over four decades, but I haven't seen you until today. Are you perhaps from another town?
The others curiously stared at Mark.
Looking at their faces, Mark didn't know how to answer them. He couldn't tell them that he was from another planet since it would be a pain to explain it. "I'm from a distant place called Earth. I only happened to reach this place because I got lost in the Enchanted Woodlands." He vaguely said.
"Earth? I haven't heard of that."
"That must be a faraway town since nobody in the group has heard about it."
"Maybe." Mark shrugged as he focused on eating the meat. He didn't say anything more since he might say the wrong thing.
When they noticed that he was not interested in talking about his origins, they all tactfully changed the topic.
Mark befriended some of the hunters, with four of them being Body Strengthening Second Level cultivators. During their small talk, he learned a lot of things from his new friends. According to them, Greenwood Village was part of Western Capeland, a province that spanned over 2100 square miles. Including Greenwood Village, there were 24 cities and 35 villages. They also said that Western Capeland was only a small province in a country called Celova.
"Grab your things! We'll proceed in ten minutes!" Jason shouted at the group.