Krune, for an instant, seriously considered if he should just leave this team and look for another one himself. It couldn't be that hard to find one with his Four Stars Badge, right?
"You did that on purpose, right?"
Yusa replied
"Of course, this is the best name we could have, it will help us to be recognized after all."
Krune looked even more depressed.
"But you know I hate to attract attention!"
Yusa kept smiling.
"Yeap, this is my revenge for the sex shop event."
She then laughed hard. Krune, on the other hand, got angry on the other side.
"You said that you would let it go!"
Yusa didn't care, though.
"And I did, but I didn't say that there would be no return. Anyway, this is not a bad thing to start with. If people can recognize that you are in this team, maybe we can get better opportunities! Even if our position isn't that high, we need more ranking points in the future, right? This is the way to go if you want that."
Krune begrudgingly accepted that reason. Since that's already done, then let it be, no point in keep thinking about that. Ao Sulian then tried to smooth the mood.
"Alright then, since it's already decided, let's go with it. Let's meet at the mission hall in an hour. We can choose a mission there or more than one to get the points we need."
Krune and Yusa nodded, but before Krune finished the call, he asked Yusa.
"If we are entering the ranking system only now, wouldn't it be too late? Those who have been there for a long time should already have an outrageous amount of points, no?"
Yusa then replied straight away.
"There is no need to worry. The ranking system is reset every six months, and the last reset just so happens to have been three weeks ago. So everyone in the rank now doesn't have that many points. Besides, what we need are the points, not the position in the rank itself. So even if we were at the end of the six months cycle, we could still make the points to buy what we need."
Krune understood, humans really have very practical systems.
Krune, Yusa, and Ao met in the mission hall an hour later. Yusa then opened the channel with the missions available for them.
"There are quite a few. Ao needs 650 points, so how many points you need, Krune?"
Krune replied
"I need 1200 points."
Yusa nodded.
"That's quite a lot. Fortunately, the points received are the same for everyone. As long as we get 1200 points, it will be enough. As I can see here, the missions capable of giving us that amount and are safe at the same time will take too long to complete. However, if we go for something more challenging, then we should be able to get enough points in three to five days."
They looked at each other, and the answer was obvious. Since they entered the ranking system, they might as well put the effort.
"The challenging ones it is then! Te point system rewards according to the mission level and the difference in cultivation between the recommended cultivation realm and the cultivation of the highest realm member in the group. Our highest cultivation level is the 3rd stage of Foundation Establishment. So if we get a mission for one realm stage higher and complete it, we will get a 15% bonus, 30% for two stages, and 50% for three stages. This is the limit. The guild won't allow mercenaries to take missions that are too out of their scope."
They then went through the list.
"The majority of missions are inside danger zones. That is to be expected, outside danger zones are pretty safe, so there isn't much that needs mercenaries.
Oh! I found one here, it's in the Kaliu Zone, and the employer is an alchemist of the alchemist guild of Rore City, which is the closest one to Kaliu. He needs the blood of a 5th stage or higher Foundation Establishment blazing alligator, the guild is offering 900 ranking points for the mission."
Ao found something wrong.
"That doesn't make sense, this mission shouldn't be able to give this many points, try to see if there is something wrong about blazing alligators."
Yusa then did a quick research in the guild system.
"Found it! The reason they are offering this much is that blazing alligators live very deep into the zone. Still, because they live close to the lava and have big groups, other higher-level beasts don't bother them. The problem is to enter and leave the place in one piece. If we accept this one, we will need to reach the alligators without catching the attention of the other higher-level beasts in the area."
Krune doesn't have experience about those issues, so he asked.
"All foundation establishment demon beast already have a conscience, isn't it possible to talk through in case we stumble on some?"
Yusa shook her head.
"You are mistaken here. A demon beast that can take their human form can indeed leave the danger zones and even live a normal life in the cities too. But they are, after all, demon beasts, and the danger zones are their habitat. Even if some race is at odds with another, when it comes to hunting of demon beasts materials, all demon beast of the Foundation establishment and higher are pretty much of the same mind. Kill all those who try."
Yusa continued.
"Think about it. If you could just talk to them to let you pass, soon, thousands of mercenaries, even those who are demon beasts too, will find all kinds of excuses to achieve their objectives. Like this, the demon beasts in the danger zones will be wiped out sooner or later."
Yusa then concluded.
"Not to mention, the government also doesn't want it to happen. Although it's not written on paper, danger zones are considered the places where talents can be tempered. If the danger zones disappear, soon there will be no more places to train the rookies in life and death situations. The country will then lose power and suffer the risk of being attacked by other countries, that's not what they want."
Krune understood, but then he thought about something.
"But what happens if, for example, a team made of only demon beasts is made to go after the other demon beasts necessary for a mission?"
Yusa then laughed out loud.
"If a team like that really tries, then they would be courting death. Do you really think that the areas where demon beasts can be hunted have no one overseeing? Too naive! The high-level demon beasts like the Divine Soul ones will always keep an eye open for this kind of team trying to take advantage of the fact that they are not humans. They will not intervene if normal groups are to try to attack even if those groups have demon beasts in the middle. That's because they can't conceal the fact that they are together. But let's say if a group of demon beasts never seen before appears in their zones and suddenly attacks another group of demon beasts taking away their blood or other materials. Only an idiot wouldn't understand what is happening. Such a group is fated to be wiped out unless they are extremely lucky."
Krune then asked.
"In that case, couldn't those high-level demon beasts wipe out any group that enters deep into the danger zones straight away? Wouldn't it prevent them from causing any damage to the beasts who live there?"
This time, it was Ao who shook his head.
"No! If they really do that, then they will have problems in nurturing their own races. It's not only humans who seek demon beasts materials. The demon beasts also can kill the humans instead and take away their dantians or the items in their spatial rings, for example. Do you think that only demon cores can be used for cultivation? The only difference between a demon core and a dantian is the properties of their spiritual energy. As for the rest, they are pretty much the same, and both are full of spiritual energy! Since humans can use demon cores for cultivation, why wouldn't demon beasts use dantians for the same purpose?"
Krune nodded, it indeed made a lot of sense. Ao then continued.
"So in the eyes of the high-level cultivators, be it humans or demon beasts, danger zones are the best place to train their forces and nurture their talents. I've heard that the Divine Soul Realm humans and demon beasts even have some dealings regarding this issue."
Krune had been a wisp at the Qi Condensation realm for the most part of his life, so he had never been told about those agreements. But after thinking a little, it indeed was the best solution for both sides. Today, his eyes have been opened. The relationship between humans and demon beasts isn't as simple as he always thought. Yusa then said.
"Alright, let's go back to the main issue. How should we approach the blazing alligators without alarming the other demon beasts?"
Krune then raised his hand.
"Although my cultivation realm is still at the 2nd stage, my Divine Sense is different. I can spread it over 6 kilometers, so unless a demon beast with a Divine Sense as powerful as mine appears, we should be fine. Because of the power of my Divine Sense, I don't believe any demon beast of the 7th stage or below can even notice it. Those above 7th stages might notice my Divine Sense. Still, the range of their own Divine Sense shouldn't be as big as mine, so they won't be able to tell from where it came. Demon beasts have smaller Divine Sense coverage in general, after all."
Yusa and Ao were surprised. Ao then commented.
"I knew that your Divine Sense was strong, but I didn't think it was this outrageous! How did you do that? My own Divine Sense can barely surpass 1700 meters."
Yusa also nodded.
"I'm a little better, I put some effort into the soul while cultivating, so my Divine Sense can reach 2000 meters, but it is still a far cry from yours."
Krune then smiled and let out his sure-kill excuse.
"It became like this after I built my universe foundation."
That answer made Ao and Yusa depressed, this fuc*ing universe foundation again! They even cogitated the idea of cripple their cultivation and start again so that they could try to build one themselves, but they soon gave up the idea. Let alone have to cultivate from zero, can they even succeed in creating a universe foundation? Yusa and Ao stopped the simply stopped thinking about that.
"Then it's decided, blazing alligator blood it is!"
The three nodded and applied for the job. The time limit was two weeks. Although the mission itself would only take a few days, the travel from Rore City to the danger zone inner parts, and it's way back would take a lot longer.
Yusa the commented.
"Usually, we would need to use the teleportation formation of the mercenary guild. But since we now have the Solie clan, we might as well use theirs. Best of all, it will be free!"
Krune and Ao looked at each other, even Ao came to understand what type of woman Yusa is by now. They simply shook their heads and didn't say anything else, they could only pit Zu Solie at this moment.
Back at the Solie clan, Zu Solie sneezed.
"Is someone thinking about me?"
After teleporting to Rore City, they went to the Alchemist guild to talk with their employer. His name was Zuve Lie, a Two Stars Alchemist. When he saw Krune and his group, he couldn't help but shook his head. He thought that their cultivation level is too low. Still, since they accepted the mission, he gave them the necessary information regardless.
The Mercenary Guild doesn't stop several teams from taking the same job. It will only give a notice to the next team that a group is already in the middle of the task. If they don't mind, they can take the job too, but the reward will only be given to those who finish the mission first. Zuve only has to wait for the next one to come, and he doesn't care if they are courting death or not. Besides, if they can really get what he wants, then it will be even better.
After signing the agreement at the city gate, the three of them pressed forward. They have two weeks to finish the job, or they will get their reward points reduced.
It would take some time before Krune's group arrived at the deep parts of the danger zone, so Krune doesn't need to use his Divine Sense at the moment. He spent his days training a new water skill, and it was none other than the Solie Clan's Myriad Water Dragons. Yusa, who also practiced water element as main, couldn't help but envy Krune's talent. On the third day, Krune could already perform that attack at the same level as the Solie Clan guy from before, and his proficiency is only increasing! By the time they arrive at the blazing alligators' nest, Krune will have a powerful card against fire-type demon beasts like them.
Ao was also impressed with Krune, but that wasn't because of his Myriad Water Dragon, but because of his Wind Movement. Ao is a wind element user, after all. Although Ao could keep up with Krune, that was because Krune was holding himself back so that Yusa can keep up the pace. Ao isn't a prideful person, so on the very first day, he started to discuss with Krune how to use his wind element better. He was impressed with Krune's view of the wind element, and it helped his own control over the wind element to improve by leaps and bounds. Ao is confident that when they come back to Kaley City, he will definitely be able to become a Two Stars Mercenary!
Yusa was even more straight forward, and she is quite a shameless woman to start with. She directly asked Krune how she could improve her water element, and Krune, of course, did his best to help both parties. The stronger they are, the safer his group will be.
It was then that he noticed something.
'Their control over the water and wind element got a lot better after I gave them pointers. It seems like the Myriad Energies Technique isn't good only to help me control elements, it's just as good to help me comprehend their properties. It makes it quite easy for me to see the flaws in their element control. I believe I can use my own comprehension to teach others about their short comes in element manipulation now.'
Krune was right. His technique helped him to understand the elements much better than others. As long as he wants, he can teach them to improve their skills much faster.
Just like that, four days passed. With their cultivation level and speed, they were already inside the inner parts Kaliu Zone. Noticing that, Yusa turned to Krune and Ao and said.
"Alright, we now are counting on you to guide the way, and I will check the map while we move. Ao will scout around more or less 500 meters ahead since Krune can't keep his Divine Sense active 100% of the time. He will need to use it once every few minutes so that he can keep his spiritual energy at peak state in case of emergencies. So you keep an eye in case some demon beast comes close during the times he isn't using it."
Krune and Ao nodded, the danger zones might not have the signal for long-distance communication. Still, if they are close by, then they can reach each other through their communicators.
"Let's go!"
