He felt it was going to be fun.

He stood on the edge of White Brook Hill and looked down into the valley. Electric tigers ran everywhere. They were animals the size of small horses, with fur that in places glowed with a faint blue light.

When they moved, sparks jumped from their bodies. Their mana cores were in the head, right next to the brain. That's not a place a person can open easily. But it was possible. It took time, and the technique varied depending on the experience of the one trying to extract it.

Some students used traps, others explosives; most fought the tiger directly and then snatched the core quickly.

Before the mission Flain had thoroughly consulted with Flor to gather useful information that might speed things up.

He learned an unfortunate fact: the hunt would be crowded. Electric cores were highly sought after on the market and very rare. And White Brook Hill was one of the main sources where they were obtained.

Flain gave his orders. In his mind he focused only on the task: collect as many cores as possible. Each core equals ten mana crystals. The quest was permanent. That meant no one had exclusivity there — first come, first served. Flain knew how to exploit that.

"My king, at your command," Aran said quietly. Aran thrust his spear. Ivy wrapped ivy around her body and hid behind a rock, ready to sprint into the fight with her fists. Flain nodded and chose his first target.

The first tiger was alone; there was no one near it. It was Peak Stage 2. Flain activated Transparent Wings and flew a short distance. He leapt from height, spun two swords in his hands, and attacked.

His Transparent Wings were now twice as fast, and even Ghosty seemed willing to transform into them. So Flain didn't have to convince him before every use.

The tiger released a heavy discharge that sprayed from its fur, but Flain was faster. He struck the neck area, cut a path to the brain. The tiger fell without a sound, its body ending in a lifeless heap.

Flain stood above it and checked the head. The mana core pulsed, glowing blue. It was a precise movement: pry open the skull, gently remove the core. He understood the core had to be intact. No damage. He placed the core into the pouch he had received when accepting the quest.

Aran looked at him in awe. "My king, you are even more amazing than before; nothing else could be expected of you."

Ivy muttered beside him, "Don't talk so much, I want to get this over with as fast as possible. I feel like fighting something that pulses lightning will be too exhausting."

Aran turned to him, face flushed. "You overgrown lump of stone, you should be honored that the king even tolerates your blackened personality."

Flain stared at them; murderous intent radiated strongly from him. Both of them froze instantly.

"Focus on your task," he said coldly.

A few minutes later Aran struck into the group of tigers. It was a smaller group of four.

Flain planned to circle the whole hill with Aran and Ivy, collecting cores along the way so he would know what he was dealing with before they split up.

Aran rushed among them, his spear gleaming with poison. Ivy wrapped two tigers with ivy so they couldn't strike quickly. Flain approached from the front. Lightning struck the ground near him. One of the tigers turned and struck with an electric shock that burned the ground under its paws, but Flain dodged with a speed no one would expect from his apparent stage. He cut two quick, clean blows.

One tiger fell; he caught the second by the tail and drove its bony spike into its head. Very quickly all four tigers fell and the cores just poured into the pouch.

There were other hunters on the hill. He saw smaller groups of adventurers.

Some were noisy. One group noticed Flain. It was an adventurer with brown hair; he had two short spears on his back and appeared to be Peak Stage 2. Flain guessed he was the leader, since he was by far the strongest in the group.

He wondered if a conflict would arise. Flain signaled with his hand for Aran and Ivy to be quiet. The moment the hunter stepped closer and unleashed a warning discharge into the air, Ivy interrupted his action.

The ivy extended, wrapped around his leg, and prevented him from firing. Aran moved, positioning himself between the hunter and his target. Flain climbed onto a small stone outcrop and just looked at the group. His expression was cold.

"Don't try anything dangerous; drop your cores on the ground," he said.

The hunter laughed nervously. "Who are you? You think you can rob me? You walking cursed-road? If so, you won't last long."

People who traveled the cursed road were basically criminals and mostly had no restraints. They were treacherous and usually lonely because they couldn't agree among themselves.

Society did not regard them well. Flain practically fell into that category.

By contrast, the light road was the opposite. On the light road most were Enlightened. They were basically law-abiding and wouldn't do bad things without a serious reason; otherwise they would turn to the cursed road.

Flain smiled through his fingers. It was not friendly. He jumped down. The group of five became alert and took combat positions.

A golden aura appeared around the adventurers, strengthening them. It was the doing of a supporter who stood in the back, guarded by two swordsmen.

Flain ran at the commander; their weapons met. But the commander did not exert much force, so he was quickly disappointed. Flain kicked him in the legs and then sliced off them.

AAARRRHHGGG!

The leader's eyes widened, he screamed, and collapsed to the ground.

Meanwhile Aran and Ivy occupied the other adventurers in his group who wanted to help him, but they didn't last long and ended up trapped in Ivy's ivy.

"I'll let you live on one condition," Flain said with a smirk. "Give me all your mana crystals and electric cores."