Free Web NovelChapter 93: Crimson Salamander
Evan spent a few minutes updating his records, and once that was done, he decided to pick up a few missions, nothing serious, just enough to get a feel for how things worked in this new place.
He kept his selections simple. Quick hunting jobs, the kind that could be completed without much effort.
And as he worked through them, he started building a clearer picture of how the capital operated compared to Lirath and Branleaf
On the surface, the structure wasn’t all that different from BranLeaf or the other cities he’d passed through. The Association worked the same way, the mission boards followed the same format, the ranking system was consistent. But the geography surrounding the capital was something else entirely.
Because of the heightened security maintained around the Royal Capital, the hunting grounds in the immediate vicinity were deliberately kept light. The beasts that roamed close to the city walls were either unawakened entirely, or if awakened, capped at the E to F rank range.
Anything stronger was a rarity near the capital’s outskirts, and for proper high-rank hunting, adventurers were expected to travel a fair distance away from the city.
In that sense, BranLeaf and Lirath had genuinely been exceptional locations. The density of awakened beasts, the rank variety, the sheer volume of available targets, it all made sense now. He understood why BranLeaf had earned its reputation as a hunter’s paradise.
’Well. This one should do just fine for what I need,’ he thought, selecting an E-Rank mission.
He would have preferred something D-rank, clearing those would have at least let him stockpile mana cores to upgrade his skills, but with the current scarcity near the capital, there wasn’t much to work with. He took what was available and moved on.
The real reason he’d decided to go hunting at all, despite the low rank of what was currently accessible nearby, wasn’t about ESS or cores. It was Ash.
Unlike Shadow, whose advancement had required absorbing the life force of a modest number of higher-ranked beasts and roughly a hundred creatures of his own rank at the advanced stage, Ash’s conditions were different in nature. He was required to kill beasts of the fire element specifically, around a hundred of his own rank across various stages, plus ten commander-class beasts, creatures that sat one rank above him and led small groups of their own kind.
Evan had managed to clear the commander requirement during the past week, taking care of that last condition during the journey. But fire-element beasts hadn’t been common along the route. They’d had to work for every kill, scraping together barely sixty over the entire trip.
Here, though, the situation was different.
Among the many beast habitats scattered around the capital’s outer ring, there were several zones known to host fire-element species in significant numbers. One of them was exactly what he needed, a dense concentration of fire beasts, and more than enough targets to finish what needed to be done.
Even better, when he checked the mission board, he found something that fit perfectly.
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[HUNTING MISSION]
TARGET: Crimson Salamander
RANK: E
Description: Over the recent period, the Crimson Salamander population has undergone a dramatic surge in numbers. As their territory becomes increasingly overcrowded, large groups have begun pushing far beyond their natural boundaries in search of space, triggering violent conflicts with neighboring beast species and posing a growing threat to novice adventurers operating in the outer zones. The Association is actively encouraging all available adventurers to cull their numbers. Bring back scales or body parts as confirmation of kills. There is no limit on rank or quantity.
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Evan gave the mission sheet one last read, then looked up.
In the distance, rising from the landscape beyond the city’s outer edge, stood what appeared to be a miniature volcanic formation, not a true volcano, but something close enough to make the distinction feel irrelevant. Its central opening stretched nearly fifty meters across, wide enough to be visible even from this distance, and from its mouth rose a slow, steady column of heat haze and thin smoke.
The ground around it was cracked and darkened, the soil baked dry from years of exposure to the heat bleeding up from below. Pools of cooled magma lined the lower slopes like dark stone scabs, and the air around the base shimmered faintly, distorted by the rising warmth.
It was a natural habitat, carved out over decades by the creatures that had made it their home.
And right now, it was crawling with Crimson Salamanders.
Through Shadow’s ability, Evan could already pick out dozens of auras clustered across the terrain. Some were stationary, basking on the sun-warmed rock faces. Others moved in loose, restless patterns, their energy signatures flickering like embers. The stronger ones pulsed with a heat that was almost tangible even at this range.
He Summoned both clones without a word and got to work. freёwebnovel.com
[Ding! Your clone has killed an E-Rank (Early-Stage) Crimson Salamander!]
[You have gained +100 ESS.]
[Ding! Your clone has killed an E-Rank (Mid-Stage) Crimson Salamander!]
[You have gained +250 ESS.]
[Ding! Your clone has killed an E-Rank (Advanced-Stage) Crimson Salamander!]
[You have gained +450 ESS.]
Needless to say, the ESS gains were pitiful, to say the least. Several of these salamanders combined barely matched a single higher-ranked beast that he and his clones had killed recently.
The notifications came in a steady stream, but each individual number was a reminder of just how far below his current level these targets were.
The slaughter began in the late afternoon.
From there, it continued without pause.
The Crimson Salamanders were fast for their rank, built low to the ground with scaled hides that shimmered between deep red and burnt orange depending on how the light caught them.
Their tails were thick and powerful, capable of delivering a solid strike if underestimated, and the ones at the advanced stage could expel short bursts of superheated air from their throats, not true fire breath, but enough to blister exposed skin if someone wasn’t paying attention.
Under normal circumstances they would have been a genuine threat to an E-rank adventurer working alone.
Under current circumstances, they were target practice.
The only real complication was the method. Since Ash needed to be the one to land the killing blow for the kills to count toward his advancement, Evan and Shadow had to hold back. They wounded, cornered, and weakened each salamander, and then stepped aside, letting Ash finish the job.
It was a slower process than simply wiping the area clean, and more than once Evan found himself holding a nearly-dead salamander in place while Ash caught up, which felt somewhere between efficient and faintly undignified.
But the system was unambiguous on the matter. A kill was only credited if Ash was the one to end it, so that was how they played it.
By the time the sky darkened and the volcanic formation glowed faintly orange in the dusk, they had finally finished.
Evan rolled his shoulder and exhaled.
"I swear," he muttered, looking out over the scorched clearing littered with the remnants of the hunt, "if the E-rank advancement conditions are already this tedious, I don’t want to think about what’s waiting further down the line."
He let the thought sit for a moment, then pushed it aside. Complaining about it didn’t change anything.
He pulled up Ash’s status screen to check the results.
The numbers loaded, and one thing stood out immediately.
’Just as I thought, he got it too.’
