"Wood Release: Explosive Gun Tree!"
As Smith pressed his hands together and shouted, the ground beneath the Violent Demon Bear suddenly split apart.
Thick, serpent-like trees surged upward, coiling around the beast's massive frame with astonishing speed. Even though flames still burned across the bear's body, the trees were strangely resistant—they didn't catch fire at all.
Crack!
As soon as the vines bound the bear, they rapidly grew into towering trunks, completely engulfing the struggling monster. The fire sputtered and died out before it could even threaten the dense wood.
"Did we win…?"
Yan Yue stared in surprise at the motionless tangle of trees. The Violent Demon Bear had disappeared beneath the wooden prison. Smith's Wood Release had once again surpassed her expectations.
Just as they began to relax—
BOOM!
Chunks of wood exploded into the air. The Violent Demon Bear burst free, landing on all fours and charging straight at Smith with feral speed.
"You're still not dead?!"
Smith's expression tightened in disbelief, but he remained calm. His Sharingan spun rapidly, tracking every motion of the bear's muscles, every shift of its weight.
"Genjutsu: Sharingan!"
The red tomoe spun into a focused circle. In an instant, his pupil power burst forth, seizing the monster's consciousness.
Buzz!
The moment the Violent Demon Bear locked eyes with him, its body froze mid-air. Caught in the genjutsu, it dropped like a boulder.
Thud!
It crashed hard into the ground right in front of Smith.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward and drove his dagger deep into the bear's head.
Puff!
The Violent Demon Bear let out one final, trembling breath—and then went still.
Smith stepped back, his breathing slightly labored. The series of jutsu he had just performed had drained a lot of his spiritual energy.
"You okay?" Yan Yue ran over, staring at the slain beast in amazement.
Her lips parted slightly as her eyes flicked between the monster and Smith. "How… how did you do that?"
She had thought he was done for when the bear lunged. But somehow, he turned the tide in a blink.
Smith smirked. "That's a secret."
There was no way he'd reveal his Sharingan abilities to anyone. Only a fool carelessly exposed their trump cards.
"Anyway," he said, steadying his breathing, "we've completed our first target."
Their mission today was to take down three monsters. This was only the first, yet all four of them were exhausted. Wei Lin and Zhao Mei had even sustained injuries during the fight.
"At this rate," Yan Yue frowned, "we'll never be able to complete the three targets before sunset."
Although her physical condition was the best among them, even she had burned through most of her spiritual energy.
Smith waved her concern away. "It's still early. Let's rest here for a bit. Once we recover, we'll go after the next one."
He wasn't the type to back down from a challenge. The thrill of battle, the growth he could feel—he welcomed it.
"Let's take this thing's body back first."
As he reached for his dagger, he noticed something glowing faintly within the bear's head.
"…What's that?"
He pried the dagger loose and saw a faint fiery red light shining from within the wound. His eyes widened.
"Wait... this is—a demon core?!"
He immediately knelt down and split the skull further open, revealing a thumb-sized, glowing red crystal nestled inside.
A monster core.
This was the most valuable part of any demon beast, containing a condensed form of the creature's power.
Typically, only second-level and higher monsters developed cores. But occasionally, a powerful first-level beast like this one would form one too.
Monster cores had a wide range of uses: absorbing them could boost power directly, while embedding them in weapons or armor could significantly enhance performance.
Smith was thrilled.
"I didn't think this thing would drop a demon core!"
His excitement only grew as he remembered something important.
The system had informed him earlier: aside from completing missions, he could also earn energy points by absorbing monster cores, spirit stones, and other rare resources.
"System, analyze this core. How many energy points can it be exchanged for?"
[Item Identified: First-Level Intermediate Fire Demon Core – Exchange Value: 100 Energy Points]
"100 points?! That's insane!"
Grinning, Smith didn't hesitate. He exchanged the demon core immediately for 100 energy points.
Then, he opened the mysterious shop and used the new points to purchase the skill he'd been eyeing.
"Illusion: Jihang Technique – purchased at 10% discount."
"Delicious!" Smith smirked.
He felt like he'd just discovered a goldmine. As long as he could hunt enough monsters and harvest their cores, he could power up endlessly.
Hunting monsters = Getting rich.
He clenched his fists. This was only the beginning.
---
Though elated, Smith didn't lose sight of their main objective.
The team worked together to carry the corpse of the Violent Demon Bear back to camp. As they returned, the size of the beast drew immediate attention.
"What kind of monster is that? It's massive!"
"Wait, I've seen that in the Monster Encyclopedia! That's a Violent Demon Bear—fire attribute, and one of the strongest among first-level monsters!"
"No way… That thing's terrifying!"
"As expected of Yan Yue! She actually took it down!"
Amid the murmurs, Smith and his teammates kept calm. They didn't need recognition. Their strength spoke for itself.
From a tree nearby, a figure watched silently. Qingyun of the Executive Department narrowed his eyes.
"That's a Violent Demon Bear... Seems like those double S-level freshmen from the two elite academies are capable after all."
Seeing them carry the monster back successfully, he gave a slight nod of approval before disappearing into the canopy.
---
After an hour of rest, Smith and his group reentered the forest in search of their next target.
With the success of the last hunt and the reward of the demon core fresh in his mind, Smith was bursting with motivation.
He felt like he could take on ten more monsters right now.
---
Meanwhile — Xiahai City
The tall city walls, once proud, were now cracked and crumbling.
Masses of monsters swarmed toward them, climbing relentlessly. The defenses were close to breaking.
Within the city, every psychic fought with everything they had to hold the line.
"Thunder Cloud Hidden Rage!"
A furious shout echoed across the battlefield. A bolt of lightning tore down from the sky, followed by a massive storm cloud that rolled in over the city.
Blinding lightning bolts connected like a web, reducing hundreds of monsters to ashes in seconds.
From the nearby forest, dozens of figures emerged and dashed toward the city walls.
"Reinforcements!"
Cries of relief echoed from the defenders.
A bolt of lightning struck beside an elderly man—Dean Chen of Xiahai College. A figure appeared in the flash: a tall man, crackling with electric power.
"Dean Chen! What's the situation?" he asked, landing beside him.
"Jiang Lei! You're here just in time!" Dean Chen's eyes welled with tears of gratitude. "We're barely holding on!"
He gestured to the swarm of monsters scaling the wall.
"This wave… it's not normal. The monsters are too aggressive. Even the wall can't hold them much longer!"
Jiang Lei's expression darkened.
"This is beyond a standard tide. Something—or someone—is driving them."
But there was no time to investigate.
"First, we stop the tide."
He turned to the reinforcements and raised his voice.
"All members of Huaihai College, listen up! Do everything you can to wipe out the monster tide and protect Xiahai City!"
"Yes, sir!"