Chapter 156: Hunting (2)

To be honest, Vyle did not like these bushes at all. They were almost entirely covered in sharp barbs that, if one was not careful, would tear clothes or scratch the skin. Although the scratches left by the barbs were not deep and did not hurt much, the surfaces of these bushes carried a very peculiar substance. The moment a barb broke the skin and touched the flesh within, an intense itching would set in. No matter how much one scratched, it provided no relief, and the inevitable outcome was only that the wound would worsen through excessive scratching.

At this moment, Vyle was lying prone in just such a bush, and of course, Rosdy was lying right there beside him in the hateful thicket as well.

Following the method of advance that Rosdy had advised, the two had traveled through the Magical Beast Forest for nearly three hours. Along the way, they naturally encountered many magical beasts. However, because they were still near the edge of the forest, none of the beasts they met posed any threat to them. Adhering to a strategy of evading whenever possible to avoid wasting unnecessary stamina, they continued on until they finally crossed paths with something that posed a slight threat: a small group of wind-attribute venomous bees.

Each of these venomous bees was about the size of half an infant's fist. Beneath their yellow and black stripes, their clearly visible, sharp stingers gave off an intensely unsettling feeling. They were notorious for their blistering speed and potent venom. While they were merely low-tier magical beasts—not even falling into the intermediate category—the real danger did not lie in a single bee, but in the terrifying destructive power unleashed when a whole swarm attacked at once.

Although the bees had not yet spotted Vyle and Rosdy, the two held their breath, keeping their lips sealed tight. Rosdy was so nervous that even his breathing had become somewhat irregular.

These little creatures usually looked harmless enough, buzzing about and flying with effortless ease, appearing only a few times larger than ordinary domestic bees. Yet Rosdy knew very well that these were no ordinary bees; they were magical beasts! Furthermore, they were extremely bloodthirsty ones! Once creatures like these emerged, their goal was not simply to gather a bit of flower nectar, but to hunt for prey!

Once spotted by them, nearby venomous bees would gather at the fastest possible speed. A swarm numbering in the thousands or even more would launch an attack, a spectacle that made one's scalp tingle just thinking about it.

Meanwhile, Vyle was also suppressing a surge of irritation. It was not that he couldn't handle these venomous bees; if he wished, a single burst of flame could easily incinerate several of them. The problem, however, was that truly dealing with them was deeply troublesome. The slightest lapse in attention could easily draw an entire swarm. To avoid unnecessary complications, the two had chosen to hide.

Watching the venomous bees hover around the area for a long while with no intention of leaving, Vyle's irritation flared even higher. Taking advantage of the travel time earlier, Vyle had tested his divine staff and discovered some crucial facts. For instance, while the staff could absorb the blood of low-grade and intermediate-grade magical beasts, the benefit he gained from it was negligible. Vyle had roughly calculated that in order to elevate himself to a higher tier, the level and attribute of the hunted beasts were closely linked to his own attributes and levels. For example, since Vyle's fire-attribute and ice-attribute magic had both reached the Mage level, he needed to hunt magical beasts of the sixth rank or higher (namely, high-tier magical beasts). As for intermediate-grade and low-tier beasts below the sixth rank, they were practically useless to him. As for his other five elemental magic attributes, he had to hunt magical beasts of the fourth rank or higher (intermediate-grade magical beasts), while low-tier beasts below the fourth rank were entirely ineffective for him.

Having discovered this rule, Vyle was eager to find and hunt more magical beasts, preferably those of the sixth rank and above. Yet, at this very moment, he was stuck dealing with venomous bees: low-tier yet troublesome, completely useless, and on top of that, delaying his time. No wonder Vyle, who rarely lost his temper, was currently burning with frustration, biting his teeth hard as he stared at the bees not far away. The look in his eyes made it seem as though he wished he could tear them all to pieces with his bare teeth.

After quite a while, the venomous bees finally drifted sluggishly away from Vyle's line of sight. Suppressing the urge to chase after them and burn them to ashes with a burst of fire, Vyle slowly crawled out from the bushes.

"Phew! Running into those things is pure bad luck. But thankfully, nothing went wrong!"

Rosdy crawled out of the brush, brushed the dirt off his clothes, and let out a sigh. Vyle echoed him with a cold grunt of deep realization, gritting his teeth tightly as he said, "Yeah. Let's hope we don't run into those things again..."

Low-tier, useless, troublesome, and entirely devoid of any value!

Vyle added the thought silently to himself. Seeing Vyle's reaction, Rosdy assumed the lad was still lingering in lingering dread of the bees just like he was, and couldn't help patting him on the shoulder. "Forget it! It's no big deal really. After all, this is the Magical Beast Forest; running into all sorts of things is completely normal, isn't it?"

Rosdy's words caused Vyle to pause for a moment, and then the irritation in his heart gradually faded away. Just as she said, this was the Magical Beast Forest, and everything he encountered here could not be forced. This was the same principle as his own process of advancing toward ever-higher goals. Although he already knew the method to progress faster, his current strength was still somewhat lacking. Hunting a sixth-rank or higher magical beast alone was no easy task for Vyle; being overly impatient would ultimately work against him.

Thinking it through carefully, Vyle nodded, turned his head, and smiled sincerely at Rosdy, replying, "Mm, that is indeed true!"

………………………………………….

After the incident with the venomous bees, Vyle seemed to have become much more patient than before. Not only that, he even began to calculate and project everything he might face, considering things with far greater precision than before! Aside from the two hours spent traveling, Vyle conserved his physical strength as much as possible during the rest of the time, refusing to waste a single fraction of a minute. Taking advantage of rest periods, he immediately entered a meditative state, keeping his body constantly at its peak condition. At the same time, Vyle continuously trained his perception, using it to scan the surrounding area for any and all magical beasts within the widest possible radius. Whether the beasts he discovered were low-tier or high-tier, Vyle maintained an attitude as calm as ice-cold water. He merely watched their every move coldly without taking the initiative to attack.

According to Rosdy, the deeper one went into the forest, the more one needed to avoid meaningless physical exertion. Therefore, when encountering certain beasts, his advocated approach was to evade and dodge whenever possible. Vyle naturally followed suit. Even so, when Rosdy looked into Vyle's completely unrippled eyes, his face filled with a strange expression. He always felt that Vyle's gaze now was no longer filled with the eager anticipation to immediately hunt them down as it had been at the beginning. Instead, he stared at his prey with the unyielding focus of a seasoned hunter. The youth's eyes right now looked as though he were truly hunting!

That's right, hunting! He was waiting for his own destined prey, keeping his body in peak condition all for the sake of that final wait! Once the prey he anticipated finally appeared before him, he would complete the hunt with the most flawless posture possible!

Of course, Rosdy had no idea that a casual remark he had made purely by chance had allowed Vyle to achieve an immeasurable leap in his mode of thinking and even his very temperament!