The week passed, and during this time, Nathan and Amelia primarily focused on training their skills, such as Fingerstrike, Cleave, and Faint Float. Meanwhile, Eldryn dedicated his time to cultivating his Wood Affinity and learning talismans from Emily. He needed to master the common rune patterns for special runes like Strength, Toughness, and Speed to fully master all the common rank rune patterns in the book Emily had given him.
Today, Nathan, Eldryn, and Amelia were waiting for Andrea and Emily to come downstairs so they could head out for the hunt.
"Hey, Eldryn, what do you think is taking them so long?" Nathan asked. Eldryn just shook his head.
"Maybe they're preparing for our hunt," Amelia suggested. Hearing this, Nathan nodded in agreement.
After waiting for a while, Andrea and Emily walked downstairs, chatting and smiling as they approached Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia. Andrea smiled and said, "It seems you're all eager to head to Wood Peak Mountain to hunt the Star Beast."
"Alright, before we go on the hunt, we have a gift for you guys," Andrea added.
As Andrea spoke, she retrieved three swords from her storage ring and handed one to each of them. "These are Rank 6 swords, my gift for your first hunt," she said. The swords featured a defensive hilt design that provided added protection to the hand and wrist. Each sword had a hilt in a different color—yellow, red, and brown—corresponding to their first awakened affinities.
Afterward, she glanced at Emily, who then took out three shields from her own storage ring. "These are Heartshield Guards of Rank 5. They can withstand a full attack from a Rank 6 warrior," Emily explained as she handed the shields to Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia.
Emily, Nathan, and Amelia's faces lit up with excitement upon receiving the gifts. Seeing their enthusiasm, Andrea smiled and said, "You should equip yourselves with these so we can head out for the hunt." They quickly donned the guards and stored the swords in their bags.
The five of them then walked out of town and made their way toward Wood Peak Mountain.
Unbeknownst to the three, as they entered the mountains, a Rank 2 warrior took a token from his storage bag and spoke into it.
In Silvercrest City, the capital of the Silvercrest Kingdom, there was a small, inconspicuous store on the bustling main street. However, inside, the front hall spanned about 50 meters and served as the base of operations for the kingdom's spy network.
Currently, a cunning middle-aged man reviewed the message from his token with a joyful expression. "It's time for another wonderful day of earning," he muttered. He then called his subordinate and instructed, "Inform the Fourth Prince about the news regarding Jonathan's family from Seastone Town. Also, tell the Young Master of the Mistshade Family."
"Yes, Lord," the attendant replied before heading off to complete the task.
In a room of the royal palace, James Silvercrest, the Fourth Prince, was reading a book when a knock sounded at the door, followed by an old voice.
"Young Master, there is news from the spy hall."
"Come in," James replied. The old man entered, and James asked, "What is the information?"
"Young Master, it concerns Jonathan's family. To obtain this information, we need to pay 5,000 low-grade star stones. Should we purchase it?" the old man inquired.
James closed his book, looked at the old man, and said, "Get that information. It's just 5,000 low-grade star stones."
The old man nodded respectfully and, after about five minutes, returned with a token, handing it to James. "Young Master, here is the information."
James took the token, read the content, and the token turned to dust. With a mixture of excitement and killing intent, he instructed, "Gather one Rank 8 warrior, four Rank 7 warriors, and 100 Rank 4 warriors. Send them to Wood Peak Mountain and ensure they reach Seastone Town by tonight. Their mission is to kill Jonathan's family."
"Yes, Young Master," the old man replied, then left to make the necessary arrangements.
In the Mistshade family's courtyard, Roy Mistshade, the First Young Master, was practicing his sword techniques when a middle-aged man approached and handed him a token.
Roy took the token, read its contents, and after finishing, the token turned to dust. With a slight killing intent emanating from him, he instructed, "Send three Frostguard to Seastone Town and give them this message." He then retrieved a scroll from his storage ring and wrote out the mission for the Frostguard.
The Frostguard were specially trained elite guards of the Mistshade family, consisting of Rank 7 and Rank 8 warriors, assigned to the young masters. Their lives and deaths were under their direct control.
Noticing the middle-aged man's hesitation, Roy asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Young Master, during last week's clan meeting, it was decided that only two Frostguard would be assigned to you."
Roy's body trembled slightly upon hearing this. "I understand. You can then give the mission scroll to the two Frostguard," he said, taking out another scroll and writing further instructions. He handed this scroll to the middle-aged man. "Post this information as a mission in the Assassin Hall to assassinate ."
The middle-aged man nodded and departed to carry out the tasks.
Roy looked up at the sky, sighed, and muttered to himself, "Even my family is starting to give me less importance. Jonathan, this is all because of you. But this time, you won't have an easy time."
At the same time, Andrea, Emily, Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia were already on Wood Peak Mountain.
Emily asked Andrea, "Do you think they might have received news of our arrival at the mountain?"
Andrea replied with a smile, "Given the greediness of the spy hall, they likely received the information. What concerns me is how many warriors they will send and what resources they'll bring with them."
Emily nodded in agreement. "That's true. I just hope everything goes well. We might also end up with some free resources." She then looked at Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia. "They will also experience real combat and witness the power of Rank 7 and Rank 8 warriors fighting."
Andrea nodded in response.
As they were searching for their first target, Eldryn checked his progress in the Chaos Book.
[The Heavenly Chaos System]
Name : Eldryn Emberheart
Age: 6
Cultivation: -2 star warrior
Cultivation techniques: Chaos Resonance (45/5000) intermediate
Skills: Chaos Surge Assault (400/2000) intermediate , fingerstrike cleave (147/10000) Master , Faint float(106/10000) Master
Affinity: - Space-1(2.28) ,Time(40.38), Fire -2 (2.14), wood (34 .98).
Eldryn contemplated whether he should focus on his Fire and Wood affinities to break through to Rank 3 and enter the Trail of Legacy Gate.
While Eldryn was lost in thought, Andrea and Emily, who were moving ahead, stopped and looked back with smiles. "Get ready, guys. Your first target is approaching," Andrea said.
"What type of Star Beast is it?" Nathan asked, his excitement evident.
"It's a Rank 8 Oakshade Beast. All the best, Nathan—this is your mission task you have chosen in the Mercnary hall" Andrea replied with a smile. "There's also an Earthshard Beast of Rank 8, which will be handled by Amelia and Eldryn."
Nathan and Eldryn were excited by the news, while Amelia appeared a bit nervous.
"Don't be nervous," Emily encouraged with a smile. "Just use your full strength and aim for its weaknesses."
After giving their instructions, Andrea and Emily disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye. The group, puzzled by their sudden absence, was startled when they heard two beast roars from the front. They turned to see the Oakshade Beast and Earthshard Beast charging toward them, having chosen to fight together rather than against each other, as they perceived the group as the easier prey.
"Nathan, be careful. Amelia and I will focus on slaying the Earthshard Beast and come to help you," Eldryn said to Nathan.
Nathan wanted to respond that he could handle the Oakshade Beast on his own, but before he could voice his thoughts, Eldryn and Amelia had already rushed toward the Earthshard Beast. Seeing this, Nathan also charged toward the Oakshade Beast, marking the beginning of their first fight against the Star Beasts.
In a distant tree, Andrea asked Emily, "How long do you think it will take them to slay these two beasts?"
Emily smiled and replied, "It's hard to predict, as we don't know the true proficiency of their skills."
Andrea nodded in agreement. As they spoke, Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia engaged in their first clash against the beasts.