At night, under the command of Patriarch Abe, the Trolls found a safe place to camp in the Endless Forest. They dismembered the salamanders with knives and axes, then roasted the flesh over a fire, taking the leftovers to take back to the tribe.
Klaus took advantage of the time when all were gathered around to eat the roasted meat. He walked alone to a secluded area, then opened the panel with his mind.
Klaus had expected that this pursuit of the Salamander would fulfill the system's quest, but the message that appeared on the panel confused him.
[Combat Value: 10/100]
[Strength Value: 10/100]
[Agility: 10/100]
[Physical Strength: 60/100]
[Luck Value: 0/100]
[Hint: The mission has not been completed yet. Please hurry.]
Klaus saw a red progress bar underneath the cue with only 40 percent remaining, meaning he had little time left. He had to hunt the magical beast again to increase his battle value in the time remaining.
"Why did I hunt the Salamander, but the system shows that the quest is not completed?" Klaus thought to himself, "Looks like I need to fight alone next time to gain more battle value."
"Klaus, what are you doing here?" Abe's voice came from behind and Klaus immediately retracted his panel.
"Everyone is happy for Rand. He killed that Salamander." Abe walked up to Klaus, whom he looked at with a scrutinizing gaze.
"When they brought the Salamander back, I noticed that the Salamander's tailbone was pierced by a spear." Abe said, "Rand said it was your doing, right?"
Klaus nodded in acknowledgement.
"Salamander has two fatal weaknesses. One is its tailbone and the other is its eyes." Abe whispered, "Rand gouged out the Salamander's eyes with an axe, and everyone thought he was responsible for hunting that Salamander. But I knew that Rand would never have been able to kill that Salamander if it had not been for the spear that pierced its tailbone. Klaus, I can't believe I didn't realize that your spear throwing was so accurate before."
"I was just doing what you taught me." Klaus invented a lie. The truth was that just as he was about to plunge his spear into the Salamander, the panel of the system opened automatically, and he saw a red spot on the Salamander's tailbone joint. He then took aim like a sniper and fired quickly.
The batting average was 100 percent.
"Good boy." Abe patted Klaus on the back with relief, "I'm sure one day you'll surpass me."
"Abe, I'd like to join the patrol squad tonight." Klaus was planning to use his nightly patrol time to hunt alone so he could increase his combat value.
"Aren't you going to sleep tonight?" Abe said, "I want you to join the vanguard for tomorrow's hunt, so it's best for you to get some sleep tonight."
"I'm not tired," Klaus said firmly, "Even if I don't sleep for a night, I can still participate in the hunt tomorrow."
"Alright, you and Lem will be in charge of patrolling tonight," Abe said. "Remember, once you find a difficult magical beast, never face it alone."
"I will."
At night, all the other trolls slept in their makeshift tents. Two of them, Klaus and Lem, were in charge of the night watch and patrols. Klaus asked Lem to remain in camp, and he himself, armed with his spear, patrolled the vicinity of the camp.
Klaus moved noiselessly through the dark woods, and with the aid of his quick sense of hearing, he spied a Tusk rabbit crouching under a tree. Its eyes glowed like two rubies in the darkness, and now and then it raised its head to look alertly around.
Klaus turned on the panel's parsing function, and instantly the information about the Tusk rabbit came into view.
[Race: Tusk Rabbit]
[Rank: 1]
[Magic Element: Earth]
[Battle Value: 30]
[Weakness: Head]
Klaus lifted his lance. In his line of sight, a red dot appeared on the head of the Tusk rabbit. Klaus did not hesitate to throw his spear at the head of the Tusk rabbit. In the next second, the head of the hare that had been the Tusk rabbit was pierced by the spear and split open, and blood and brains were scattered everywhere.
Klaus ran and picked up the dead Tusk rabbit and put it in his leather pocket. He knew that killing a single Tusk rabbit would not accomplish the task. He needed to hunt more beasts.
Klaus continued to stalk through the woods, and soon he had another Tusk rabbit and a wild gray wolf in his pouch. He was about to open the panel to examine the information when he heard a rustling in the trees.
Something seemed to be dragging its body forward, and Klaus could tell by his hearing that the other party was supposed to be a behemoth.
He instantly raised his alertness, and his instinct told him that the monster was coming in his direction. At that moment, the panel opened automatically.
[Attention: A magical beast is approaching]
Race: Black iron snake
[Level: 5]
[Magic Element: Earth]
[Battle Value: 70]
[Weaknesses: abdomen, head]
Klaus had never seen a Black iron snake, but he had heard that this kind of magical beast was hard to deal with. Ordinary trolls couldn't kill the Black iron snake alone, and the only one in the tribe who had killed the Black iron snake alone was the patriarch, Abe. Abe had killed the Black iron snake by himself, and the trolls usually adopted the team fighting method to face powerful beasts.
Klaus did not have the confidence to kill such a formidable opponent, and just as he decided to return to camp to inform the other trolls, a sturdy wall suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his way.
He jerked his head up and saw a huge black iron snake, erect in mid-air. It looked almost 40 feet tall. The head of the black iron snake was triangular in shape, and it spat out its blood-red tongue as it looked at the leather pouch in Klaus's hand.
The black iron snake was attracted by the scent of the prey in the bag.
At this moment, a prompt appeared on the panel: [Attention: The quest has not been completed. 5% time remaining]
"Damn it!" Klaus clutched the spear in his hand.