n

n

nAs soon as the five of them reached the entrance, they heard a commotion.

nWhen they turned the last corner, they saw what the commotion was about.

nTrash Birds.

nThere were three Trash Birds pushing each other away from the hole that Shang had created in the wall, while there were even more looking nervously down from the hole at the top.

nObviously, they had smelled the corpse of the Mid Adept, and they wanted to eat it more than anything.

n“Idiots,” Soran commented. “They don’t have the capabilities to leave the Caves as soon as they enter. Yet, for a corpse, they decided to throw their lives away.”

nThe group looked at the Trash Birds for a bit before entering the cave.

nOne of the Trash Birds quickly noticed them and squawked.

nThe other Trash Birds immediately turned to the humans.

nBANG!

nThe Trash Bird that had squawked jumped up, shoved its head into the hole, and swallowed the corpse in an instant while the others were distracted.

nThe other Trash Birds noticed, but they didn’t do anything against the one that stole their food. There was no sense in fighting another Trash Bird.

nHowever, their eyes eventually focused on the group.

nThe Trash Birds on top also looked at the group with greed.

nTrash Birds weren’t known to hunt in packs, but if several of them were close to each other, they could cooperate temporarily.

nThe three hunters took a deep breath._<

/sub>

nThey knew that they were safe, but their hearts still beat faster after looking at such a dangerous group.

nThey could deal with one Trash Bird, maybe even two, but there were nearly ten, including the ones looking down from the hole.

n“Squawk!”

nOne of the Trash Birds on top suddenly squawked with an alarmed voice and ran away.

nThe other Trash Birds on top quickly focused their eyes on Soran and also fled.

nThis was not food!

nThe three Trash Birds in the Caves tried to jump out via the hole, but they just couldn’t jump even nearly high enough.

nSHING!

nA green distortion went over the three Trash Birds, and an instant later, they collapsed into several pieces.

nSoran had unleashed a Wind Blade Spell.

nOne shouldn’t forget that Soran was a Magic Warrior. Even though Soran mainly focused on his warrior path, he still had the Magic abilities of a weaker True Mage.

nNone of the other four questioned Soran about why he did that.

nTrash Birds were a menace to the Wild Forest.

nThe five of them walked to the center and readied their talismans, except for Soran, since he didn’t need one.

nBANG! _<

/sub>

nSoran just casually jumped, creating a huge crater beneath him, and he lightly landed on the outside.

nWhen the three hunters saw that, a feeling of grandeur entered their hearts.

nThe height required to reach the hole was unachievable for them, and it would remain so for a long time.

nYet, Soran easily jumped over it like it didn’t even exist.

nShang didn’t feel like the other three. His goal had already gone far beyond the Commander Stage.

nAlso, Shang could get out of the Caves without a talisman as well. It would, at most, need two blasts. Maybe he could even get out with only one.

nBut just like everyone else, Shang prepared his talisman and activated it.

nWind Mana gathered around Shang, and he jumped.

nThe Wind Mana was being used up by extending Shang’s momentum, and just three seconds later, Shang also exited the Caves.

nThe others followed, and everyone finally saw the outside again.

nIt wasn’t special.

nIt was just the Wasteland.

nBy now, it was afternoon, and the number of hunters had declined by quite a bit, which meant that there were more beasts walking around.

nHunting in the Wasteland was a dangerous balancing act.

nEnter at a time with too many hunters, you won’t earn anything. _<

/sub>

nEnter at a time with too few hunters, you will be besieged by beasts and die.

nDuring the afternoons, it was still alright for them to hunt, but as soon as the evening arrived, they would have to leave.

n“Are you done hunting for today?” Soran asked.

n“Yes,” Sarah answered.

nSoran nodded. “Then, let me accompany you back.”

nThe team started running and directly charged towards Warrior’s Paradise, following Soran.

nWith Soran accompanying them, they didn’t need to be careful.

nA journey that would have taken them over an hour was completed in just ten minutes.

n“We don’t have Returnal Talismans,” Sarah commented.

n“I know the Spell. Don’t worry,” Soran said.

nReturnal Talismans were the talismans that allowed the hunters to directly enter Warrior’s Paradise by jumping.

nBut, of course, these talismans were far more expensive than the other ones. After all, the talismans needed to securely throw someone to a height of over two kilometers. That was a lot of Mana, and it couldn’t be compared to the small talismans required to exit the Caves.

nEventually, the five of them arrived directly below Warrior’s Paradise.

nThey had never seen Warrior’s Paradise from this angle, and the city felt very different from normal.

nBeing in the gigantic shadow of Warrior’s Paradise and being unable to see its top from down there made them feel small.

nA couple of guards with two ballistae stood near them in a bored manner.

nThis was a designated point for returning hunters, and this point had to be free of any threats, which was why the guards were here.

n“Oh, hey, Soran!” an officer with a silver uniform said when he saw Soran.

n“Hello, Charles,” Soran said with a smile.

n“Haven’t seen you in a while. How have you been?”

nThe officer and Soran had a short conversation about unimportant topics until Soran said that they had to go.

nThe officer nodded and quickly performed a routine inspection on everyone, just like the guards at the gates.

nAfter clearing the inspection, Sarah walked over to the designated Returnal Point.

nIt was a complex Magic Circle on the ground, several meters wide.

nThis Magic Circle would guide the talisman to give it the correct coordinates.

nWithout it, the talisman would throw someone straight into the air without any restriction.

nThe Spells were designed this way on purpose. After all, what if someone bought a talisman, got some contraband, and simply entered Warrior’s Paradise again from an unsupervised location?

nBecause of that, the talismans needed the Magic Circle to work, which forced the hunters to get close to the stationed guards, who could inspect them.

nSarah readied herself, and Soran cast a Spell.

nTwo seconds later, a terrifying amount of Wind Mana gathered around Sarah, and the Magic Circle beneath her began to shine.

nAn instant later, the chaotic Wind Mana became orderly.

n“You can jump,” Soran said.

nBANG!

nSarah jumped, and a wave of wind swept over everyone.

nThe team looked at Sarah basically flying away, and some seconds later, she landed in Warrior’s Paradise.

nNext, it was Elver’s turn, and after that, it was Astor’s turn.

nSoran finished his Spell. “You can jump,” he said to Shang.

nShang narrowed his eyes and jumped.

nWHOOOOM!

nShang felt himself being assaulted by a terrifying amount of wind as he reached speeds he had never reached before in his life.

nHe looked to the side and saw the world around him quickly sinking.

nIt was a strange feeling.

nEventually, Shang’s momentum became slower and slower.

nAnd when Shang was about three meters above the wall, his momentum stopped, and he was lightly thrown forward for a couple of meters.

nFinally, Shang lightly landed on the wall of Warrior’s Paradise.

n