บท 33: Monster Slayer

After meeting the criteria for learning Sword Aura, Yuan and Xiao Hua continued to hunt monsters for a few hours.

"I have been training with the sword nonstop for five hours now, but I still cannot seem to learn this Sword Aura…" Yuan sighed.

"It would be more shocking if Brother Yuan actually learns Sword Aura in such a short time. Even the top geniuses in the Higher Heavens need to train for many years before they can learn Sword Aura." Xiao Hua said to him.

"There's no need to be impatient, Brother Yuan. You are without a doubt a genius that was born with a high affinity with swords. If you train enough, you'll definitely learn Sword Aura sooner or later."

Yuan nodded, and they returned to hunting more monsters.

After killing a few monsters, a notification appeared before Yuan.

<Congratulations, you have slain a total of 1,000 monsters>

'This is my second title, and it even comes with a very beneficial effect.' Yuan wondered to himself if Titles are a common thing in Cultivation Online. Of course, due to the lack of guides for this game, he cannot know for sure without talking to other people or looking it up online.

Sometime later, Xiao Hua suddenly stopped moving and said, "Brother Yuan, there's a person ahead of us."

"Oh? What's he doing?" Yuan asked.

"He seems to be pacing back and forth in front of this cave entrance with a distressful expression on his face."

Hearing Xiao Hua's words, Yuan pondered, 'Is he an NPC or a Player?'

"Let's go see the situation. If he's truly that worried, maybe there's something we can do to help him." He said.

Xiao Hua nodded, and they made their way toward this cave entrance.

A few minutes later, a middle-aged man with a pale complexion entered their view, and the middle-aged man noticed them at the same time.

"Ah! It appears that my pleading has finally reached the Heavens! Please, Esteemed Cultivators, I need your help!" The middle-aged man quickly approached them with teary eyes and a desperate expression.

"What's the matter?" Yuan asked him.

"My daughter— she was captured by a fearsome monster and was taken inside the cave! Please, can you help me by bringing her back?! I will do anything in return for your help! Please, Saviors!" The middle-aged man even got on his knees and kowtowed to Yuan.

<Quest: Unknown Man's Plea>

<Location: Demonic Spider's Silent Cave>

<Difficulty: Medium>

'A Quest?' Yuan was immediately intrigued, as this is his first time encountering a normal quest.

"Xiao Hua, what's a Demonic Spider?" he decided to ask her first.

"Demonic Spiders are intelligent and deceptive monsters that mostly dwell within caves like this one, and they are usually within the Spirit Warrior levels." Xiao Hua said to him.

"Do you think I can defeat a Demonic Spider at my current level?"

Xiao Hua nodded, "As long as its cultivation is below the third level, it shouldn't be a problem for Brother Yuan."

Yuan sighed in relief after hearing her words, and he looked at the middle-aged man and said, "Okay, we'll help you rescue your daughter."

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you very much, brave warrior!"

"You can thank me after I return with your daughter," Yuan said to him before he approached the cave.

"Let's go, Xiao Hua," Yuan said to her, who nodded with a mysterious glint in her gaze.

Once Yuan and Xiao Hua entered the cave shortly later, the middle-aged man standing outside cried inwardly: 'Finally! I am finally free!'

"This place isn't as dark as I'd expected," Yuan said after realizing that he was able to see inside clearly despite how dark it looked from outside.

"That's because all of Brother Yuan's senses have improved after becoming a Cultivator." Xiao Hua said.

And then she continued, "By the way, Brother Yuan should be careful."

"Huh? Can you already sense the Demonic Spider?"

However, Xiao Hua shook her head and said, "That man outside… he lied to us."

Yuan's eyes widened with surprise after hearing such words, and he asked, "W-What do you mean by that? Why would he lie to us? And how can you tell?"

"Because Xiao Hua has already searched this entire cave with her spiritual sense, and she was unable to sense the man's 'daughter' inside this place. However, there is a Demonic Spider in here."

"But the despair in his eyes seemed so real, and so was his tears... What if the Demonic Spider has already eaten his daughter?" Yuan asked, still feeling slightly doubtful.

"That's not possible, because Xiao Hua would've been able to sense her blood. Perhaps the man outside is working for the Demonic Spider by luring people into this place for it. After all, Demonic Spiders are very crafty and intelligent beings. It's not uncommon for them to use humans to bait other humans into their dwelling."

"No way…" Yuan stopped moving and stood there with a dazed expression on his face. He didn't doubt the man even for a second because of the Quest. If the man had really tricked them, why would a Quest appear, even asking him to save his daughter? It made no sense at all.

"Then should we turn around and leave this place?" Yuan asked her.

"We could do that, but doesn't Brother Yuan want to fight a monster at the Spirit Warrior level? This could be a good opportunity for Brother Yuan— at least Xiao Hua thinks so."

"You think so…?" Yuan showed a bitter smile on his face.

Should he continue on with this Quest that might be a trap, or should he just turn around and call it quits?