CHAPTER 122 - MERELY AN ODOR-INARY HUNTING ADVENTURE

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Of course, my “crew” didn’t actually need to do anything after I clicked on the System map. The gangplank automatically retracted and a strong wind came out of nowhere to fill the ship’s crimson sails. The [Chinese Traditional Ship] flew so fast that the surroundings became a blur. It only took three minutes and fifty seconds for us to reach our destination, part of the river nearest the [Lunar Forest].

This was my first time going to that place, so I turned on the map’s [Guide Mode]. Bright yellow arrows, visible only to me, appeared on the ground. I followed them and the other six followed behind me, my apprentices chatting about mundane things while the clan members scanned the vicinity, constantly on the alert.

Soon, the normal trees gave way to white-trunked [Lunar Trees] that had broad silver and green leaves. The yellow arrows faded away and I received the usual System notification.

[You have arrived at your destination.]

“Oh, I almost forgot! Guys, come here and see if you can put this on.” I handed each of my apprentices a full set of [Training Armor] that included a helmet, breastplate, gauntlets, and platelegs. I should have given it to them when we were on the boat, but the trip had been so fast that I had forgotten.

Last year, Shuye had told me there were no dangerous animals in the Ancient Hill Forest, so I hadn’t bothered with any protective gear, but now that I knew that animals had mutated into more dangerous forms, I thought it would be good to give them the armor.

Thankfully, the System allowed my farm hands to use them, maybe because they were training gear. They definitely couldn’t use the [Steel Armor]. We’d tried. They knew enough to use the System’s equip tab instead of manually putting all the items on.

The Commander and her men looked surprised but made no comment when the armor disappeared and then materialized on their bodies.

“What kind of armor is this, Teacher?” It’s so light!” Kharli rotated her elbow, marveling at the smoothness of the movement despite the heavy-looking steel plate covering her arm.

“It weighs almost nothing, too!” Mo jumped up and down then did a cartwheel.

“Thank you very much, Teacher. Can I keep this armor?” asked Lari.

“Of course, it’s yours. Make sure you put it on when you go hunting,” I said.

As for me, I put on my [Studded Leather Armor] and slung a quiver of [Orichalcite Arrows] on my back. [Orichalcite] was Adventure Incarnate’s name for steel mixed with enchanted platinum. With my [Goldenwood Longbow] in my hand, I asked the others, “Ready?”

I waited until they nodded before politely bowing and gesturing for the Commander and her men to precede us. They spread out and walked in front of us to scout the [Lunar Forest] while we followed behind them.

It wasn't long until we saw them.

[Lunar Goats:

These goats have luminous, silver fur that glows in the moonlight, and their milk is rumored to have mystical properties. When threatened, they can phase partially into the ethereal plane, becoming momentarily insubstantial and allowing them to pass through obstacles or evade danger.]

I put a finger to my lips and retreated a few feet away until the [Lunar Goats] were out of sight. The others followed me.

The Commander frowned and held a whispered consultation with her men. I didn’t catch most of it, but I did hear a few phrases like “never seen anything like it,” “it’s just like he said,” and “extremely valuable.” The words “impossible” and “crazy” also seemed to be repeated a lot.

When they finished their discussion, I asked them if everything was alright.

“It’s just that these goats are very unusual,” said the Commander.

They looked ordinary to me. I mean, apart from looking cleaner than most wild animals, they looked exactly like goats. “How so?”

“There shouldn’t be a herd of spiritual animals here, and even if there was, wild herds normally only have one or two animals that have spirituality, unlike this one where all of them are brimming with powerful qi,” she said.

“Oh. Is it okay if we set up traps for them?” I asked.

She frowned. “I can’t sense anyone’s zidan over this place which means it shouldn’t be anyone’s territory, but that is very strange. These spirit animals are valuable.”

“Aw, does that mean we can’t hunt here?” We’d come so far just to try to level up our Hunting skill on the [Lunar Goats]!

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“...It’s probably fine.” The Commander held a whispered conversation with her men, and one of them trotted off. “He’ll inform the nearest village.”

“Yes!” I huddled up with my apprentices and whispered instructions to them. “Go to your Hunting tab and get one [Steel Cage] and [Lunar Lure Lantern].”

[Lunar Lure Lanterns:

Magical Lanterns fitted with a special light source that emits a calming, moon-like glow. Place these inside a [Steel Cage] to trap a [Lunar Goat].

One use item.]

“Done? Okay, now right-click on the [Lunar Lure Lantern] and [Use] it on the [Steel Cage]. Lari, find us the best spots to place the traps.” I was only level 6 Hunting since I hadn’t trained it much while Lari was level 9 and had a real knack for it.

“Yes, Teacher,” said Lari. He looked around and shook his head. “Not here, it’s too close.”

Lari looked around thoughtfully and then led us away from the herd. Somehow he found a small watering hole and pointed out some good places for us to place the traps. He seemed quite proud of being trusted with this task and gave the clan members several sideways glances as though to check if they were impressed.

I hid a smile and said, “Good work. Thank you, Lari.”

He puffed his chest out with pride. “It was nothing.”

The [Steel Cages] turned out to be quite large, with the top two feet higher than my head and the walls were ten feet long. One side had a door that could be swung open, which we did. It should close by itself when the cage was full. The lantern shone with a soft white light but otherwise, it seemed unremarkable. We placed them twenty feet apart from each other.

“Okay, now let’s go to the next place I want to show you,” I said.

Turning on the map’s [Guide Mode], I once again followed the arrows. This time it took us over an hour to find the [Dewdrop Dell].

“How pretty,” said Mo.

A brook meandered through the dell, a tiny natural depression in the landscape that was surrounded by small slopes on the eastern and southern sides. The grass was a soft green, dotted here and there with colorful wildflowers and moss-covered rocks. The trees here were mostly oaks.

“I see them!” said Lari. He pointed at a brown animal.

It was too far away for me to see the details, but the System gave us plenty of information about the animal.

[Crystal-Eyed Skunk:

These skunks have eyes that emit a mesmerizing light, which they use both for communication and to hypnotize their prey, which are mainly mice, voles, and small snakes. Beware of the skunk’s Spray attack.]

Most importantly, I could see their Battle Rating or BR.

[Crystal-Eyed Skunk:

Type: Ranged

Element: None

BR: 129]

In other games, the combat level was the most important thing, but in Adventure Incarnate, that was just the base stat. The BR took into account the equipment, bonuses, passive skills, potion boosts, and so forth to give a number to signify the threat level of a particular person or enemy.

With my items equipped, my Battle Ranking was 403 for archery.

I set an arrow on my bow and was about to loose it when the Commander made a sound of protest.

“My lady, why don’t you let us take care of them?” she said. “There’s no need for you or your apprentices to lift a finger.’

I raised an eyebrow. “Did you bring a bow? These are skunks. I’m sure none of us want to be sprayed…”

“Why do you want to hunt them? Skunk meat is technically edible, but no one would eat it unless they had to,” said the Commander. “Why don’t we leave them alone? I’m sure we can find better game animals for you.”

“I just want to kill these.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell her the real reason which was that only System animals gave exp. “I know, why don’t the two of you stand in front of me to intercept any that I don’t manage to kill? You can protect me from the ones that try to rush me.”

“Very well. These don’t seem dangerous,” said the Commander.

I put one foot in front of the other, perpendicular to the target, and instinctively assumed the proper archery stance with my head level and my knees slightly bent.

The combat screen came to life in front of me, overlaying itself over my field of vision.

[Archery Skills:

Piercing Shot

Rapid Fire

Escape]

This time, I only needed to use [Piercing Shot].

[Piercing Shot:

Imbue the arrow with your energy, allowing it to pierce through enemies. The shot is incredibly powerful, and can often take down multiple foes with a single arrow.

Cooldown: 5 seconds]

I drew the bowstring and released the energy-imbued arrow which streaked towards the target almost faster than my eyes could see. It sank into the head of the [Crystal-Eyed Skunk] Lari had spotted.

“Beautiful shot!” said Lari.

Kharli and Mo clapped while the Commander gave me an approving nod.

The noise of the attack must have alerted the other skunks who emerged from a hollow tree and from under a nearby rock pile.

“Would you like to try?” I asked my apprentices. They had been training their archery for months.

Lari and Mo pushed Kharli forward.

“Teacher, Kharli can do it,” said Mo with a cheeky grin.

“I’ll try,” said Kharli.

The System considered the three of them as farmhands, therefore, their System menu didn’t have a combat tab. Unlike me, they couldn’t use combat skills like [Piercing Arrow]. Nonetheless, they could equip the bow and arrows that we fletched ourselves.

Kharli had a look of extreme concentration on her face as she loosed an arrow which hit a skunk on its side. I was on standby and was able to hit the same skunk on the head, finishing it off. We then took turns shooting more arrows, killing five more, until the skunks fled.

“Let’s not chase them, okay?” I said.

Everyone nodded or voiced their agreement.

“Now, you two gather the kills.” I pointed at Lari and Mo.

“Have fun with the dirty, stinky skunks!” said Kharli.

“I’ll do the killing next time, and you can pick up the kills,” said Lari.

“You can hardly hit your target half the time,” said Mo.

“Says the one who can’t hit the target more than once in five times,” said Lari.

The Commander went with them to get the skunk bodies while the other clan member stayed with me and Kharli.

Lari and Mo had just walked to the center of the [Dewdrop Dell] when the Commander suddenly pushed them behind her.

“Run back to the others!” she said in a no-nonsense tone, drawing her sword and striding forward.