Chu Tian, with narrowed eyes, calculated the approach of the Illusionary Sound Beast. Just as the beast was about to reach him, it leaped into the air.
At that moment, Chu Tian extended his hands, and icy spikes shot up from the ground. The ice spikes impaled the Illusionary Sound Beast through its abdomen and lodged in its spine. The beast, however, was not dead yet and struggled fiercely, roaring in pain.
Chu Tian didn't give the Illusionary Sound Beast a chance to counterattack in its dying moments. He summoned fireballs and launched them at the beast. After a few minutes of relentless attacks, Chu Tian's system finally alerted him.
[Ding - Detecting decomposable materials, do you wish to decompose?]
"Decompose," Chu Tian immediately agreed.
[Ding, decomposition successful. Host gains a slight increase in strength, speed, defense, and spiritual power.]
[Ding, decomposition successful. Host gains a slight increase in strength, speed, defense, and spiritual power.]
[Ding - Killing a B-rank beast grants 150 talent points. Current talent points: 1935.]
Chu Tian let out a sigh of relief. He remembered the lessons from his childhood.
Once the Illusionary Sound Beast was fully decomposed, Chu Tian's mental power perception detected Liu Wei.
Previously, his mental power perception range was limited to 50 meters when he was at E-rank. Now, it had expanded to 120 meters.
With Liu Wei about 80 meters away, Chu Tian used his talent to suppress his aura to E-rank pinnacle.
When Liu Wei returned in haste, he saw the Illusionary Sound Beast's remains, stripped of its fur and bones.
"Are you alright? I'm sorry; I suddenly had a voice urging me to run," Liu Wei apologized sincerely. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Thanks to this Illusionary Sound Beast, I'm just one step away from reaching D-rank," Chu Tian said, taking out the Illusionary Sound Beast's head and teeth and handing them to Liu Wei. "Here, take these. They might not be worth much, but they're enough for completing the mission."
Liu Wei accepted the head and teeth with gratitude and said, "I'm ready to head back. I've been in Area D for a month already. In fact, I was planning to return yesterday, but I didn't expect to run into a Giant Mantis."
Chu Tian didn't reply. While he could handle higher-level monsters, it depended on the type of creature. Facing a Giant Mantis, which was a colossal beast, required caution.
"By the way, take this," Liu Wei suddenly remembered something and handed over his communicator. He then opened a map and gave it to Chu Tian. "It's a map of monster distributions. My senior gave it to me, but his greed led to his demise. His team sacrificed their lives for a high-value beast, and this map was what my senior gave me before they set out."
Chu Tian understood the sentiment behind the gift. This senior must have been very important to Liu Wei. Since Liu Wei didn't explain further, Chu Tian didn't pry.
After making a copy of the map, they parted ways. Liu Wei would return to the ruined city and catch the daily flight back to the mercenary base to complete his mission, while Chu Tian would continue to stay in the area, using the new map to hunt monsters.
Although Chu Tian had already killed 300 beasts, he wasn't satisfied yet. After all, leveling up required a substantial amount of talent points, so he needed to accumulate more of them.
After resting for an hour, Chu Tian took out the map Liu Wei had given him and compared it with the task area map provided by the mercenary base. He noticed that many of the areas marked on Liu Wei's map were now outside the six major regions.
However, the allure of money was hard to resist, and Chu Tian couldn't help but be tempted by the names of some of the beasts on the map.
The Golden Snake Turtle, the Unicorn, and the Lightning Mark Snow Fox – these three creatures were all valuable beasts.
The Golden Snake Turtle had a unique shell that was incredibly tough, serving as a natural armor material. Its shell was golden in color, and it had a venomous snake head, hence the name. The shell alone was worth at least 15 million credits, and it was often sold at auctions.
As for the Unicorn, it was a beloved pet of the wealthy and a symbol of opulence. However, it had a fierce temperament, and taming one was a significant challenge. It also had formidable combat abilities, making wild unicorns more sought after than their domesticated counterparts. They were worth around 10 million credits.
The Lightning Mark Snow Fox, on the other hand, possessed the lightning talent, with a lightning mark on its forehead and a snowy white fur. It was born with D-rank combat power, making it an excellent combat pet. However, it required nurturing from a young age, as adult Lightning Mark Snow Foxes were impossible to domesticate. The market value of a wild Lightning Mark Snow Fox cub had already skyrocketed to 10 million credits.
Despite all this, Chu Tian's primary goal was the Golden Snake Turtle. He decided to take a risk, hoping to obtain a Golden Snake Turtle's shell, which would bring in more income than the mission assigned by the mercenary base. Even if he didn't sell it, he could use it to craft high-quality armor for himself.
With his decision made, Chu Tian ventured out into the wilderness, leaving Area D for the outer regions of the six major areas.
Along the way, Chu Tian killed many beasts, both E-rank and D-rank. While these creatures were not high-level, the number of ears and tails he collected was approaching one thousand, and his talent points had exceeded one thousand three hundred. However, there was still no indication of a grade increase.
It seemed that reaching C-rank mid-level required a considerable number of talent points.
In addition to talent points, he also collected a substantial amount of beast fur from the creatures he defeated. Selling these materials on the black market could fetch him over ten million credits.
Although his family ran a small supermarket, it only provided them with a basic living. Chu Tian had a strong desire to improve his family's living conditions so that his parents didn't have to work tirelessly.
With these thoughts in mind, Chu Tian couldn't help but feel greedy. However, he was clear about his goals and knew when to retreat. If he encountered enemies beyond his abilities, he could use his talent for aura suppression to hide his presence and find an opportunity to escape.
After checking the map once more, Chu Tian realized that he was about to leave the mercenary mission area and enter a non-mission zone. He became extremely vigilant because the beast levels in this area were significantly higher, and any slight mistake could result in being devoured by the powerful creatures.