Chapter Four: Leveling Up! Consecutive Battles with Monsters

Stone statues are the key to conquering the Poison Moon Forest.

At regular intervals, the Poison Moon Secret Realm teleports hunters to random areas. To find the correct path, one must rely on these stone statues. To enter the territory where the Moonlight Hunter resides, one must locate at least three of them.

Typically, powerful monsters lurk around these statues. This is precisely where the difficulty lies. The monsters surrounding the statues are exceptionally strong, and furthermore, one must challenge them solo.

Looking up at the sky, the moon was currently positioned in the west, appearing as a crescent. Hunters can determine the timing of the teleportation based on the lunar phase.

"It seems the teleportation is imminent..." Mi Chen estimated roughly. It could be in half an hour, or perhaps the very next second.

Sure enough, just as Mi Chen walked out of the forest, about ten minutes later, a violent tremor occurred. Thick fog instantly engulfed the entire forest, making it impossible to see anything. The shaking ceased, and a purple magic circle appeared beneath his feet, emitting a low, humming roar.

As the fog dissipated, the tall trees that had stood before him vanished. The forest had transformed into hills, the ground became rugged, and the surroundings were littered with collapsed and broken trees. Not far away stood a shattered stone statue.

Being suddenly teleported to an unfamiliar place can naturally cause bewilderment. Mi Chen looked up to observe the lunar phase. The crescent moon, once in the west, was now a full moon hanging in the true north. There was at least an hour until the next teleportation. He had to hurry and find the stone statues.

The most direct way to find a statue is to locate the area with the highest concentration of monsters. Mi Chen crouched down and channeled his magic power into his palms, sensing the traces of magic on the ground. This is a unique skill for hunters; by extending their magic perception, they can effectively scout the distribution of nearby monsters. An average hunter would need at least one to two years to master this skill, but Mi Chen, possessing the Magic Eyes, learned it in less than three days.

Detecting a magical fluctuation ahead, Mi Chen immediately took action. He soon found the monster.

Mi Chen lurked in the shadow of a rock, watching the creature ahead. It was a bizarre sphere made of dozens of poisonous snakes knotted together. As the scales rubbed against each other, the snakes hissed in unison—a bone-chilling sound.

A Level 1 monster: [Wind-Eater Python]!

Mi Chen disengaged the safety on his handgun, loaded it, and partially drew the long blade at his waist, ready to strike at any moment. The Wind-Eater Python slithered slowly, completely unaware that danger was descending.

The opportunity had arrived!

Mi Chen lunged forward, cold light flashing as he slashed down!

"What?"

The Wind-Eater Python had vanished. Mi Chen’s attack missed.

From the side! The Wind-Eater Python, with terrifying speed, had circled to Mi Chen's rear-left. The monster's instincts were truly horrific. However, Mi Chen had not expected the sneak attack to succeed regardless. He pulled out his handgun, predicted the python's position, and pulled the trigger.

The bullet fired, but unexpectedly, cyan wind currents swirled around the Wind-Eater Python. Its movement trajectory became erratic, tracing a strange zigzag on the ground as it ducked into the nearby bushes. Mi Chen’s bullet tore through the trees, sending wood chips and leaves flying.

Amidst the swirling dust, several black shadows shot out. Four or five snakes, fangs bared and flicking scarlet tongues, lunged at him. Mi Chen raised his long blade, and with a few swift flashes of cold light, the attacking snakes were decapitated.

Blood splattered, the dust settled, and the air grew deathly silent.

"Damn it, it hid again..." Mi Chen surveyed his surroundings. The Wind-Eater Python remained hidden in the darkness.

Suddenly, killing intent struck from behind. A ball of highly compressed air shot directly at Mi Chen. With no time to dodge, he held his blade horizontally in front of him.

*Clang!*

The air cannon slammed into the blade, sparks erupting. He had barely blocked the attack, but his arm was left numb. At the same time, three wind blades descended from above. With his right hand temporarily paralyzed, Mi Chen had to shift his body to adjust the position of his blade.

Perhaps sensing an opportunity, the hidden Wind-Eater Python finally revealed itself. According to monster taxonomy, the Wind-Eater Python is not a biological entity but an elemental one. Its true core was hidden at the center of the snake mass.

Though his right hand had not recovered, he still had his left. He raised his handgun and fired three shots, but they only destroyed two or three snakes in the swarm. The damage was nowhere near enough.

"I must crush the core in the center."

Gritting the hilt of his blade between his teeth, Mi Chen chose to advance rather than retreat, leaning forward and sprinting toward the Wind-Eater Python. Anyone witnessing this fighting style would surely call it insane—a suicidal approach.

Clearly, the Wind-Eater Python had not expected Mi Chen to close the distance. Dark green magic surged over its body. A dozen snake heads opened their mouths simultaneously, deadly venom rippling across their surfaces. It was compressing its magic, gathering strength to kill Mi Chen instantly.

His only hope now was to slay it before it completed its charge. Mi Chen’s expression hardened. Strength gradually returned to his right arm. *Faster!*

However, the Wind-Eater Python’s charging speed exceeded his expectations. The venom condensed, the wind magic compressed, and in an instant, it fired a dark green beam of deadly poison straight at Mi Chen. The beam was too fast, and given that Mi Chen was charging headlong into it, anyone else would have been unable to react.

But... Mi Chen was different. He possessed the Magic Eyes!

The entire world slowed down in an instant. Just as the toxic beam was about to strike him, he sidestepped in advance. Pushing off with his left foot, he lunged forward. The Wind-Eater Python, having just expended its energy, was in a weakened state, its speed dropping sharply.

The blade was within reach. Giving it no chance, he struck. A powerful cross-slash instantly shredded the central snake cluster. Finding a gap, Mi Chen plunged his hand into the bloody, viscous mass. He quickly felt a smooth, round, and cold object. With a sharp tug, he pulled out a small, transparent orb resembling an eyeball.

As the orb was removed, the snakes instantly lost their vitality, their bodies rapidly shriveling. The Wind-Eater Python was essentially a variant of a wind sprite; the snake-eyed gem was its core. Once removed, the sprite lost its energy source, and the snake swarm disintegrated immediately. Those poisonous snakes had actually been dead all along; the sprite had merely been using its magic to force them to move.

Mi Chen looked at the snake-eye gem in his palm. At market price, the core of a Wind-Eater Python could sell for 10,000 credits. Just the material from a Level 1 monster was worth more than his monthly income as a laborer. The profitability of being a hunter was evident.

He tucked the gem into his pouch. Just then, a notification box popped up in his field of vision.

[Monster Hunted]
[Obtained Skill: Snake-Path Wind Blade (E)]
[Power: 80]
[Magic Power Gained: 16]
[Total Magic Power: 140]

The magic circuit in his hand shifted, and the dark golden light glowed slightly brighter. "So this is a monster skill..."

Mi Chen prepared to test it immediately. He slowly raised his long blade, and the magic power within his body flowed according to the trajectory in his mind, gradually concentrating on the blade's edge. Cyan wind elements surged over the steel.

The next second, Mi Chen swung.

*Swish!*

A snake-like wind blade shot out, lashing like a fierce whip and instantly cleaving a large tree in half.

"Such immense power!" Mi Chen was surprised. But what surprised him even more was the nimble and erratic attack trajectory of the skill. Unlike standard air blades, which were purely long-range attacks, the Snake-Path Wind Blade remained connected to the long blade. By controlling the angle of his swing, he could alter the trajectory and distance of the attack. In battle, this would surely have miraculous effects!

Following the traces of magic, Mi Chen left the woods and arrived at an open area where a broken bridge stood. Beside the bridge was a cat-headed stone statue the size of a person's torso.

He had finally found the first statue. However, Mi Chen did not approach it directly. Instead, he crouched down, vigilantly observing his surroundings. Usually, powerful monsters guarded these statues. Yet, there were no monsters to be seen here.

Mi Chen took two steps forward, still finding no signs of life. But his intuition, honed from years of traversing secret realms, told him this was not as simple as it seemed. He keenly sensed a gaze upon him.

*Behind him!*

Mi Chen activated his Magic Eyes and turned around, just in time to see a throwing knife flying toward him. It grazed his cheek, leaving a bloody streak. Simultaneously, Mi Chen drew his long blade and instantly unleashed a Snake-Path Wind Blade in the direction the knife came from.

The whip-like wind blade struck the bushes behind him. Instantly, grass, wood, and dirt flew into the air. A swift figure darted out. With his Magic Eyes and extraordinary dynamic vision, Mi Chen clearly saw that it was a rabbit-type monster.

[Assassin Rabbit]
Known as one of the most dangerous Level 1 monsters, the "novice hunter killer." Small in size, fast, and wielding twin blades, its ferocious strikes are on par with those of a master swordsman. Unlike the instinct-driven Wind-Eater Python, the Assassin Rabbit was different.

*Clang!*

Blade met blade. In just one exchange, Mi Chen had gained another wound. The Assassin Rabbit attacked again from the rear. Mi Chen immediately pulled out his handgun. Bullets poured out, but the rabbit dodged through the barrage, pushed off its legs, and lunged with another strike.

This time, Mi Chen saw the movement clearly. He held his long blade horizontally, blocking the rabbit's strike. Immediately after, he swung again. But the rabbit was far more agile than he imagined, leaping into the air to dodge the attack.

Almost at the same moment the rabbit dodged, Mi Chen unleashed his Snake-Path Wind Blade again. A cyan blade of air struck, aimed perfectly at the rabbit's landing spot.

*Bang!*

The Assassin Rabbit was sent flying several meters until it hit a nearby tree trunk. In this round, Mi Chen had the slight upper hand. But such an attack was not enough to kill it. As the dust settled, he saw that the blade in the rabbit's left hand, which it had used to block his wind blade, had snapped in two.

It tossed the broken blade aside and spat out a mouthful of blood-mixed saliva. Crimson magic slowly emerged over its body. Its aura had changed.

Mi Chen frowned, gripping his long blade tightly. The real fight was about to begin.

The Assassin Rabbit moved. Its speed was faster than before, its body wrapped in crimson magic, maneuvering through the air like a series of afterimages. Blade light flickered like a torrential downpour. Mi Chen adopted a defensive stance, choosing to meet change with stillness. Although, as time passed, more and more small wounds appeared on his body, seeping blood—if this continued, he would likely die from blood loss.

But the rabbit's offensive was fierce, giving Mi Chen no chance to counterattack. Both sides remained in a stalemate; sparks flew, and the sounds of metal clashing rang out.

Suddenly, the Assassin Rabbit leaped with all its might, jumping several meters high. Its silhouette overlapped with the full moon, and its sharp blades reflected the cold moonlight, its speed increasing once more.

Mi Chen decisively unleashed a Snake-Path Wind Blade. The cyan blade struck out. The Assassin Rabbit did not dodge, for its speed was simply too great. Mi Chen’s attack missed. Seeing this, the Assassin Rabbit even wore a savage grin, much like a human. It seemed it would be the victor of this duel after all.

But the next second, its smile froze. Because it saw its own lower body.

"Why..." Its confusion could never be answered. The two halves of the Assassin Rabbit fell straight to the ground. It died with its eyes open.

[Monster Hunted]
[Obtained Skill: Blood-Fury (D)]
[Effect: Significantly increases speed and jumping ability]
[Magic Power Gained: 20]
[Total Magic Power: 140]

Covered in blood, Mi Chen looked at the carcass of the Assassin Rabbit. "That was close..." he thought, his heart still pounding.

In truth, Mi Chen had intentionally let the rabbit dodge the first wind blade so he could change its angle, causing it to loop back and slice the rabbit in half from behind. It sounded simple, but it required incredibly precise control of his magic; the slightest error would have cost him his life. But regardless, he had won.

Using the blood-energy recovery he had obtained from the Boar-Slaughterer, the wounds on his body quickly healed and scabbed over. A massive wave of fatigue followed, but with nutritional supplements, recovering his stamina was only a matter of time.

Looking at the rabbit's corpse, it was a pity there was no loot. The fatal blades of an Assassin Rabbit were quite rare, worth at least 70,000 credits. After a monster in the secret realm dies, its body slowly turns into black fog and merges back into the realm over time, but some items can remain—these are the materials.

Mi Chen arrived in front of the cat-headed stone statue. The statue opened its mouth and spat out a purple glass bead.

He had collected the first guidance bead. He still needed to find two more statues. With the broken bridge ahead, it was clearly impassable, so Mi Chen had to look for another way.