CHAPTER 26: RETURN

[Congratulations, Host. You have killed 20 intermediate stage Demonized Wolves, 14 advanced stage Demonized Wolves, and 1 peak stage iron rank Demonized Wolf. You have gained 1050 EXP.]

[Congratulations, Host. You have avenged countless villagers. You have gained +1500 EXP for your act of vengeance.]

[Congratulations, Host. You have saved nearby towns and villages from future trouble. You have gained several thousand EXP for your righteous act.]

[Congratulations, Host. You have leveled up. You have gained +4 Stat points for reaching level 10!]

Ray thought, "I see. I can earn a lot more experience points by contributing towards the survival and growth of the human race. Looks like I am going to be doing a lot more good in the future."

He used all four stat points to increase his strength.

[-4 SP]

[Your Strength has increased from 3 → 7]

Now his stats were as follows:

***

Ray

Level: 10

EXP required to level up: 1200/11520

Rank: Iron 3

Beast Taming Seal: Eclipse Devouring Seal (1-Star)

Strength: 7

Stamina: 0.2/2

Agility: 8

Soul Quality: 90

Magic Power: 200/900

Magic Power Regeneration: 10 units/second

Debuffs: None

SP: 0

Skills: Beast Taming (LV:1), Fire Dragon Breath (LV:1), Wind Manipulation (LV:1)

***

His speed and strength were comparable to peak iron rank demonic creatures. His stamina was a little lacking, but Ray promised himself that he would raise it the next time he leveled up as he wanted to be an all-rounder, someone who excelled in every aspect.

Though still inferior to bronze rank 3 beast tamers, his soul quality and magic power were superior to those of bronze rank 1 and bronze rank 2 beast tamers.

It meant that he could do the impossible.

Despite being just an advanced stage iron rank beast tamer, he could capture and tame a bronze rank beast!

"Tomorrow, I will hunt for a king type demonic creature," Ray muttered. He was too tired to go for it today.

"With the help of the enchanted map, although it would still be hard, it wouldn’t be impossible."

Unless a certain number of conditions were met, it was impossible for king type demonic creatures to be born. Thus, they were extremely rare to come across.

These conditions could only be met in a select number of environments. The enchanted map could show whether these environments existed around it or not. So it was a certainty that it could be used to track down a king type demonic creature.

However, it was also a certainty that it would be hard and dangerous, as king type demonic creatures lived in areas dense with demonic creatures!

Shling! Shling!

Ray started cutting open the heads of the corpses strewn around the cave for their cores.

Every demonic creature above initial stage iron rank, which the system denoted as iron rank 1, had a demonic core in their head region.

He killed over 50 demonic creatures, so he got over 50 demonic cores.

"No way."

Ray gasped in surprise.

When he cut open the head of the Demonized Alpha Wolf’s corpse, he saw a hexagonal crystal twinkling like stars.

It was a soul crystal.

Commander type and king type demonic creatures had the highest chance of dropping it, but he was totally not expecting to get a soul crystal from the very first commander type demonic creature he killed, thus his surprise.

He roughly cleaned it before tossing it into his mind.

[You have consumed a level 1 soul crystal. You have made a breakthrough. You have advanced from an advanced stage iron rank beast tamer to a peak stage iron rank beast tamer. You have reached iron rank 4!]

[You have experienced massive improvement in your soul quality. Your soul quality has increased from 90 → 180]

[The improvement in your soul quality has led to an improvement in your magic power capacity and magic power restoration rate.]

[Your magic power has increased from 900 to 1800!]

[Your magic power restoration rate has increased from 10 to 14!]

What did a magic power of 1800 signify?

It meant being better than an average advanced stage bronze rank beast tamer, but worse than an average peak stage bronze rank beast tamer!

"When I advance to the bronze rank after cultivating for a few days, I will have the same magic power as an average peak stage bronze rank beast tamer!" Ray felt excited for his future.

He spared a glance at the vortex swirling at the end of the cave.

It led to the birthplace of beast tamers.

He didn’t dare cross it, although he felt deeply curious.

Without ample preparation, going there would be suicide!

After all, even a rising star met his end because of that place.

Indeed, if not for the injuries and losses Torvin had suffered in the birthplace of beast tamers, things would have gone differently.

Instead of killing him, Ray would have died at his hands.

"Time to return home and hit the sack."

After sparing a glance at it, Ray turned to leave.

Before leaving the cave, he stuffed the bodies of the demonized wolves into the interspatial ring, planning to sell them after returning to the town and resting properly.

His stamina have dropped to 0.2. He was close to passing out, so he was in urgent need of rest.

When Ray woke up, it was already the evening of the next day.

After washing up, he went to sell his stuff.

"Welcome, dear customer. May I ask your purpose for coming here today?" A beautiful woman approached him with a smile as soon as he entered the branch of Fang & Fang located in White Sparrow Town.

"Selena, I want to sell around seventy demonized wolves and their cores," Ray replied.

"Please follow me," Selena said.

Ray nodded.

They went upstairs.

The first floor of the high-end shop was much more peaceful than the ground floor, which was bustling with activity.

They sat around a table before continuing their talk.

"The market value of demonized wolves ranges from 300 silver coins to 1000 silver coins depending on their rank."

Ray listened intently as Selena spoke, her pretty red lips moving with the hypnotizing grace of a belly dancer.

Today, she was dressed in all white and wearing several pieces of high-quality jewelry, looking specially stunning, like a lotus growing atop a snowy mountain.

According to Selena, the body of an intermediate stage demonized wolf could fetche 300 silvers, while the body of an advanced stage demonzed wolf was worth around 600 silver coins. Only the body of a demonized alpha wolf was worth throwing away a 1000 silvers for!

Ray couldn’t help but ask, "Why are they worth so much?"

After all, even the entire corpse of the mutated HarpoonHead had only fetched him around 150 silvers, which was merely half the price of an intermediate stage demonized wolf’s corpse.

"Because, unlike many beasts, nothing from a demonized wolf goes to waste. Their furs can become magic cloaks that provides resistance against cloak. Since winter is coming, the worth of these body warming cloaks has only increased. Their claws, fangs, bones, organs, and cores are crucial material in the forging of various weapons, armors, and medicines. Even their brain, blood, and flesh are in high demand!" Selena explained.