Bab 13: Mana Boars
There was no shortage of meat in this world since most of the mana beasts were edible. However, killing mana beasts was difficult for most people. A proper hit from a mana beast was enough to kill a weak magic user, which is why it was always advised to study the strengths and weaknesses of a mana beast before confronting it.
As Julian flew, he recalled the mana boars from the anime. The boars were of fire aptitude and twice his size. Reflecting on this, Julian realized that species with fire nature were more numerous than others. These boars were famous for ravaging fields and causing destruction wherever they went. Sosshi village was near the Grand Magic Zone, so attacks like this were common.
As the village came into view, Julian saw the ravaged forest outside the village with boars resting. He launched at the nearest boar from the air with a mana-reinforced kick, breaking its skull and instantly killing it. He decided to only use his dagger to kill the boars. Used to fighting a single enemy, Julian thought experiencing a fight where the numbers were against him would be a valuable experience.
For most people, handling such a situation would take a lot of time, but with his current strength, Julian knew it wouldn't take long. His attack managed to draw the boars' attention, and they all charged at him, causing a mini-earthquake. He took out his dagger, reinforced it with mana, and charged at the first boar. He planted the dagger in its brain and jumped into the air, using the boar as a platform. While in the air, he did a full 360-degree rotation, launching mana-charged slashes all around, killing nearby boars. He descended with a long slash, dividing the boar below him in half. Some boars used flame attacks, but Julian unleashed his own flames, devouring theirs and covering the attackers.
Julian unleashed all the dagger styles Sister Theresa had taught him, causing a massacre. He could extend the length of the dagger using mana, turning it into a sword to attack boars that didn't come within his range.
It took twenty minutes to kill all fifty boars. Fighting them helped Julian sharpen his senses and gain better insight into adaptability. But getting covered in blood was not a pleasant experience.
These boars didn't know mana reinforcement like the shadow wolves, so killing them was easy. Julian approached the largest boar and absorbed some of its vitality using 'Devouring Flames,' but the improvement was minuscule. A year ago, that spell had become nearly useless as the vitality absorbed was too little to show any improvement. No matter how much he tried, he could not make it a proper spell as it never showed up in his status panel.
Julian cut open the boar's belly and compared it with other species he had researched before. After dissecting some boars, he discovered that the mana boars had different patterns all over their bodies, which normal boars didn't have. These patterns attracted mana from the surroundings for them to use. These creatures didn't produce mana from their bodies.
The movement of the boars drew the villagers' attention. Seeing someone near a mountain of corpses and dissecting them horrified some of them. An old-looking chief separated from the group and asked Julian's identity with a shaking voice. Julian informed them of his identity from the Hunter's Guild and his purpose, making them sigh in relief.
"Please stay for the day. We had notified the Magic Knights but got no response, so we posted it to the Hunter's Guild. You are our benefactor and have managed to reduce a lot of our losses."
Julian had gathered almost two months' worth of meat for the villagers with those boars. He nodded and went with them, feeling quite hungry and having other objectives too. Magic Knights were mostly nobles, so they wouldn't bother with these tasks, except for The Black Bulls or The Praying Mantis.
He went to the chief's house, took a bath, and cleaned the bloodstains from his clothes. It didn't take much time due to his magic to dry them. Later that day, Julian joined them for dinner. The villagers had a feast with the roasted boars, with people cheering and dancing, making him feel a little nostalgic. There was also a celebration in the Hage village after every harvest.
Many people wanted him to drink, but Julian straight-up refused and went to sleep in his provided room, not lowering his vigilance. One of the things he had learned was to never lower his vigilance, even in his own bed.
The next morning, Julian went to the chief's room. He observed the room but didn't find what he was looking for. He had hoped to find the magic stone but realized it was foolish to expect that it would be kept in the open. Every stone represented a key to the Tree of Sephira or Tree of Life, and the elves would desperately search for it later on. Even if he got the stone, there was no way he would keep it with him. He was nowhere strong enough to face the elves.
The chief came back with a sad face and said, "Initially, we had posted the reward of 5000 yuls, but we only managed to gather around 4,000 yuls. We are sorry. Can you please accept this amount?"
Julian replied, "I will take 3000. Use the rest to fix the damages." The man looked surprised and asked again. Julian confirmed, making the chief cheerful and thankful. He asked the chief if he had seen a peculiar stone, but the chief seemed to have no idea or had forgotten about it.
Julian thanked the villagers for their hospitality and flew towards the guild.
He submitted the mission confirmation note he received from the mayor and 10% of his earnings as per the agreement. The receptionist was astounded by the number of kills and couldn't help but read it out loud, earning different reactions which Julian ignored as he exited the place at a slow pace.
Julian didn't have to wait long before, at the edge of the forest, he was surrounded by five people who looked as if they had found new prey.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
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Immortle_diablo123 Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone