Free Web NovelChapter 16: Desert Hunter
William walked deeper into the forest while paying close attention to his surroundings.
He was searching not only for monsters to complete his trial but also for any herbs or other treasures that might help him accelerate the formation of his Aether Core.
A few minutes later, through the Supreme Star Scripture, William suddenly sensed that the flow of Aether Energy about one hundred meters away from him was slightly unusual.
Without hesitation, he hid himself behind the tall trees and quietly approached the area.
Soon, he was only ten meters away from the location where he had sensed the abnormal flow of Aether Energy.
There, he saw a pale yellow flower growing at the base of a large tree.
The flower had two leaves and was slowly absorbing the surrounding Aether Energy, creating the disturbance that William had sensed earlier.
’A Two-Leaf Hollow Earth Flower...’
William immediately recognized the flower and sighed inwardly, feeling somewhat disappointed.
’If it had been a Nine-Leaf Hollow Earth Flower, I would have struck gold right from the beginning.’
The reason for his disappointment wasn’t because the Two-Leaf Hollow Earth Flower was useless.
On the contrary, for someone at his current level, it was an extremely valuable treasure. Consuming it would greatly reduce the amount of time he needed to form his Aether Core.
The reason he felt disappointed was because the Hollow Earth Flower existed in different grades.
Its quality ranged from one leaf to nine leaves, and a Nine-Leaf Hollow Earth Flower was a treasure that even the King of the Silver Wing Kingdom would struggle to obtain.
’It’s only a Rank One Astral Rift. It’s impossible for a Nine-Leaf Hollow Earth Flower to appear here.’
William shook his head and turned his attention back to the flower before him.
He didn’t immediately rush over to pick the Hollow Earth Flower because he knew it was impossible for the monsters inside the Astral Rift to overlook such a precious treasure.
He carefully observed the area surrounding the flower and soon, he noticed several long trails in the soil around it, as though a long creature had been crawling across the ground repeatedly.
’A snake...’
The moment this thought appeared in his mind, William immediately raised his head and looked toward the upper part of the tree where the Hollow Earth Flower was growing.
And just as he had expected, he spotted a light yellow snake coiled around one of the thick branches halfway up the tree.
Black spots covered its body, and it was nearly five meters long with a body almost ten centimeters thick.
Its glowing yellow eyes remained fixed on the Hollow Earth Flower below while its forked tongue flicked in and out from time to time.
’A Desert Hunter...’
William frowned slightly after recognizing the snake.
The species was called the Desert Hunter, and just as its name suggested, it was a monster that was normally found only in deserts.
’Is there a desert on the other side of this forest?’
William wondered briefly before he stopped thinking about it.
’Since there is no sand in this area, this snake is already half crippled.’
The reason the Desert Hunter was known as a hunter was because it was one of the deadliest monsters in the desert.
It possessed the ability to travel underground through sand with incredible speed and could even sense the presence of living beings through the vibrations within it.
Inside a desert, it was like an invisible assassin capable of killing its prey at any moment without being detected.
However, here in this forest, where there was no sandy terrain, the Desert Hunter’s greatest advantage was completely useless.
As a result, it posed far less danger to William.
Of course, that was only because William had complete confidence in his own abilities.
For most other people, or even other monsters, the situation would have been entirely different.
Although the Desert Hunter wasn’t a venomous snake, its constricting strength was terrifying.
Once someone fell into its grasp, even a Star Warrior-level being would find it extremely difficult to break free.
After carefully looking around and confirming there were no other monsters nearby, William finally decided to make his move.
’Since this is my first time entering an Astral Rift, the chances of a monster I kill for the first time dropping something after death should be very high.’
William pressed his feet firmly against the ground to gather momentum and the next instant.
Bang!
The ground beneath his feet caved in as his body shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
In a single instant, he crossed the ten-meter distance and arrived beneath the tree where the Desert Hunter was perched.
Using the tremendous momentum generated by his sprint, William swung the sword in his hand.
A hazy blue light covered the blade as Aether Energy flowed through it.
Swish!
Like a hot knife slicing through butter, the sword effortlessly cut through the nearly twenty-centimeter-thick tree trunk.
Hiss!
The Desert Hunter had noticed William the instant he rushed out from behind the trees.
However, by the time it reacted, the tree it was coiled around had already been severed and along with the collapsing tree, the snake began falling toward the ground.
William’s eyes remained locked on the descending snake.
Halfway through the fall, the Desert Hunter suddenly released its grip on the tree and lunged toward William like a released arrow.
Seeing this, William remained completely calm and a faint smile even appeared at the corner of his mouth.
BOOOOOM!
With a deafening crash, the massive tree finally slammed into the ground.
It was as though that impact had been the signal William had been waiting for.
He suddenly swung his arm forward with all of his strength.
Whoosh!
A stone that he had secretly picked up before charging out shot toward the snake like a bullet.
Because the Desert Hunter was suspended in midair and had committed all of its strength to its attack, it had no way to dodge.
The stone struck it directly in the face.
Hiss!
A painful hiss escaped the snake’s mouth as the stone shattered nearly half of its face.
The tremendous impact sent the Desert Hunter flying backward.
However, before its body could even hit the ground.
Swish!
A flash of sword light streaked through the air and the snake’s head separated cleanly from its body.
William immediately retreated after decapitating the monster and even without its head, the Desert Hunter’s body thrashed about violently.
Its severed head even attempted to leap toward William in an instinctive attempt to bite him.
However, less than ten seconds later, all of its movement stopped and its body finally went still.
At this very moment, a soft light emerged from the Desert Hunter’s corpse.
The light condensed beside the dead snake, and a glowing book materialized on the ground.
William looked at the book, and his eyes immediately lit up.
"A Skill Book."
