Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Su Bei nodded and glanced around, but noticed that the compass needle's position in every direction looked about the same. Clearly, the needle wasn’t all-powerful—it worked inconsistently when nothing significant was happening.

Seeing this, Su Bei made a decisive call: “Let’s go back and find Jiang Tianming and the others. We split up earlier because we weren’t sure whether to accept the mission and didn’t want to waste time. Now that we’ve taken it, there’s no harm in regrouping.”

It was a valid reason, but not the main one. Su Bei wanted to reunite with Jiang Tianming because he knew that things were bound to be more eventful around the protagonist.

Mo Xiaotian had a great quality—he listened. He nodded without hesitation. “Sure! Strength in numbers!”

The two confirmed Jiang Tianming’s location on the map and headed in that direction.

Oddly enough, after deciding to find Jiang Tianming, it didn’t take long for them to encounter a Nightmares—a monkey-like one. This was surprising, considering they had walked for so long earlier without encountering even a single one.

The dark, monkey-like beast seemed to approach them of its own accord, possibly because they had wandered into its territory. Out of nowhere, they were hit with stones, leaving them dizzy and disoriented.

Realizing the source of the attack, Mo Xiaotian exclaimed excitedly, “Wow, we ran into one so quickly! Our luck is amazing!”

No, Su Bei thought the real “lucky” one was Jiang Tianming. But he kept that to himself and instead turned his attention to the monkey. He launched a gear in a probing attack.

Unsurprisingly, the monkey dodged effortlessly. Its monkey-like form naturally excelled in speed, allowing it to move through the forest with ease.

Su Bei’s expression darkened. He quickly realized that this monkey might be even more formidable than the lizard beast Qi Huang and the others had fought earlier. Both were extremely fast, but the lizard moved in predictable, fixed patterns, while the monkey was darting unpredictably across the treetops.

Mo Xiaotian, with his keen battle instincts, accurately pointed out their disadvantage: “It’s too fast. I don’t think I can hit it... even trapping it would be difficult.”

Hearing this, Su Bei had to abandon his original plan. He had intended for Mo Xiaotian to use air blocks to confine the monkey to a small area while he attacked. But since Mo Xiaotian had already predicted and dismissed this strategy, it was time for a new approach.

Having faced countless battles, Su Bei quickly devised a new plan. If the strategy of Mo Xiaotian trapping and him attacking didn’t work, they could simply reverse roles. Su Bei would handle containment, leaving the attack to Mo Xiaotian.

With the plan in mind, Su Bei dodged the monkey’s relentless barrage of stone projectiles while asking, “What’s the maximum number of explosive blocks you can make at once?”

“Three,” Mo Xiaotian admitted a little sheepishly. “If I make more than that, I can’t control their detonation timing properly.”

“That’s enough,” Su Bei replied, nodding in satisfaction. He appreciated Mo Xiaotian’s honesty—trying to overdo things would only backfire.

After surveying the terrain, Su Bei quickly issued instructions: “Place explosive blocks at three locations—on the treetop of the tree at twelve o’clock, on the tip of the branch midway up the sixth tree to the right, and where the monkey is now. Can you do that?”

Mo Xiaotian nodded immediately, narrowly dodging two falling stones in the process. Despite the chaos, he remained unfazed and even seemed excited. “So, Brother Bei, you’re going to rely on my bombs to attack the monkey?”

At this point, he wasn’t worried about dealing enough damage. Mo Xiaotian was smart—he understood that a creature with such high speed likely had weak defenses. Otherwise, the academy wouldn’t have left it here.

While his bombs might not be effective against tougher foes, they should be enough to take down a fragile monkey.

“Yes, I’ll force it to those three positions, and you’ll decide the right moment to detonate. Got it?” Su Bei didn’t wait for a response before emphasizing, “You only get one chance.”

He wasn’t trying to pressure Mo Xiaotian—just stating the truth. The monkey was clearly intelligent. It refused to get close to them, instead provoking them with mocking cries while trying to lure them into a trap.

Against such a clever enemy, once it realized Mo Xiaotian’s attack method, it would undoubtedly adapt. And since Mo Xiaotian’s bombs were relatively rigid in their deployment, they would become easy to evade if the monkey were prepared.

Thus, as Su Bei said, Mo Xiaotian only had one real chance. While the three blocks gave them more options, only one would ultimately detonate.

Hearing this, Mo Xiaotian nodded in understanding, his expression unusually serious.

As they discussed, the monkey’s stone attacks continued without pause. Su Bei could feel the frequency of the stones increasing. He couldn’t help but wonder about the monkey’s abilities—was it creating stones out of thin air? Did it never run out of energy?

Either way, he needed to speed things up. With this thought in mind, Su Bei began unleashing a series of gears in rapid succession, sending them flying in rows at the monkey. Forced to dodge the relentless assault, the monkey swung through the trees, gradually moving toward the first explosive block.

It passed the first block without triggering an explosion. Su Bei said nothing and continued to push the monkey toward the second block.

“Chatter-chatter!” The monkey screeched as it swung through the foliage, dodging Su Bei’s gears and retaliating with stones.

“Hiss!” A stone struck Su Bei’s arm, causing him to gasp in pain. But there was no time to clutch his injury—he rolled to avoid the next projectile.

Unlike earlier, when their attacks were evenly split, Su Bei now bore the full brunt of the monkey’s aggression, making the situation much more intense.

Currently, the Nightmare Monkey’s attacks had intensified. It prioritized targeting Su Bei since he was the one constantly attacking it. Meanwhile, Su Bei, focused on controlling his gears to aim at the monkey, had to divide most of his attention.

As a result, Su Bei could no longer dodge attacks with 100% accuracy. A moment of distraction meant getting hit by a stone.

In truth, if it were any other first-year student in his place, their body would likely already be covered in injuries.

Guiding the monkey past the two explosive blocks without detonating them, Su Bei pressed his pale lips together, saying nothing as he continued to lead it.

After prolonged use of his mental energy, Su Bei didn’t have much left. On top of that, he had been struck by stones four or five times, leaving him in pain all over. He was desperate to end what felt like a one-sided beating.

Still, he didn’t complain or even glance at Mo Xiaotian behind him. 'If you trust someone, you don’t doubt them.' Since Su Bei had decided to entrust the single chance of victory to Mo Xiaotian, he wouldn’t pressure him unless he was on the verge of collapse.

He believed Mo Xiaotian would find the perfect moment for a decisive strike.

Finally, just as Su Bei began the second round of luring the monkey toward the third explosive block—

“Bang!”

“Screeech—!”

The sharp sound of an explosion rang out as the monkey let out a miserable scream, black blood spurting from its body as it tumbled from the treetops to the ground.

Seeing this, Su Bei’s spirits lifted. Without hesitation, he launched several more gears toward the monkey’s landing spot. After all, leaving an enemy alive was as good as wasting effort.

He hadn’t forgotten Mo Xiaotian’s terrifying reaction when they first met, after noticing Su Bei observing him. Until he was fully prepared, it was best not to dig too deep.

The grilled Nightmare Monkey meat tasted quite good—similar to chicken. Although it lacked seasoning, Mo Xiaotian’s grilling skills elevated the meal. The meat was tender, juicy, and had a unique flavor.

As he ate the beast meat, Su Bei felt his stamina slowly recovering. Compared to ordinary meat, consuming Nightmares meat could enhance one’s physique, and certain types even improved mental power. No wonder the academy specifically offered it in the points cafeteria.

Speaking of which, after this monthly exam, Su Bei would finally be able to indulge at the points cafeteria.

“The smell seems to be coming from over here.”

Just as they were enjoying their meal, a voice came from nearby.

It was Zhou Renjie’s voice!

Su Bei and Mo Xiaotian exchanged a glance, quickly stuffed the last bit of meat into their mouths, stomped out the fire, and darted into the bushes to hide.

Just as they settled into their hiding spot, Zhou Renjie pushed his way through the dense grass. Behind him were Ai Baozhu and Si Zhaohua. Zhao Xiaoyu and Wu Jin, however, were nowhere to be seen—they had likely been abandoned to fend for themselves.

“The people here must’ve heard you and ran away just now,” Ai Baozhu said, looking at the still-smoking fire pit. She pouted, “But I’m already hungry. What do we do now?”

Zhou Renjie let out an awkward laugh, sniffing the air. “They were probably grilling Nightmares meat. If we catch one, we can eat too.”

What might be a difficult task for most was nothing to this trio. Ai Baozhu turned to Si Zhaohua and said, “Zhaohua, we’re counting on you.”

After speaking, she couldn’t help but chuckle, though her tone carried a hint of concern. “I didn’t realize your ability could be used like this. Be careful in the future, okay?”

“Don’t worry,” Si Zhaohua replied as he tied his silver hair into a ponytail, exuding an artistic aura. “It’ll be fine.”

Listening to their conversation, Su Bei nudged Mo Xiaotian with his elbow, intrigued. “What do you think his ability does to attract Nightmares?”

Mo Xiaotian shook his head, looking puzzled. “I have no idea. Should we leave?”

“Of course not!”

Su Bei replied confidently, “This is the perfect chance to complete our mission.”

They only needed one more Nightmares to finish the task. If Si Zhaohua really could lure Nightmare Beasts, staying put would let them take advantage of the situation.

In the clearing, Si Zhaohua had already activated his [Angel] transformation. He soared into the air, his white feathered wings flapping gracefully. If there had been sunlight, he would’ve looked truly divine.

But then again, forests and elves are generally more suitable, and the presence of an angel in a forest felt oddly out of place.

After about five minutes of flying, the first Nightmares appeared as if on cue. It was another Nightmare Monkey, charging straight toward Si Zhaohua. There was no doubt—it had been attracted by the [Angel] ability.

“It’s the aura...” Mo Xiaotian muttered to himself.

Indeed, it was the aura. The [Angel] ability likely emitted a unique energy that attracted Nightmare Beasts.

For the ability user, this was undoubtedly dangerous. Ability users were already prone to drawing the attention of Nightmares, but having an ability that amplified this effect made things worse. In uncharted spaces or un-cleared wilderness, Si Zhaohua would be extremely vulnerable. If he didn’t use his ability, he couldn’t fight back against the Nightmares. If he did, he’d attract even more.

What puzzled Su Bei, though, was Mo Xiaotian’s expression—he looked envious.

He envied the ability to attract Nightmares?

Why?

If Mo Xiaotian were a powerful ability user capable of easily defeating Nightmare Beasts, his envy might make sense. But based on their earlier encounter with the Nightmare Monkey, it was clear he wasn’t at that level yet.

So why desire such a dangerous ability? Was he courting death?

The more Su Bei learned about Mo Xiaotian, the more pieces of the puzzle emerged, yet he couldn’t connect them into a coherent picture.

Back in the clearing, just as the Nightmare Monkey lunged, Ai Baozhu activated her [Elegant Domain] effortlessly repelling the monkey as it attempted to attack within her field.

“Eek!”

The Nightmare Monkey screeched, baring its teeth, and pounced again, slamming into the barrier of the [Elegant Domain].

Ai Baozhu’s face paled. Her domain was powered by mental power, and the monkey’s attacks were rapidly depleting her reserves. If the attacks became strong enough, they could even overwhelm her mind.

“I’ll handle this!” Seeing her state, Si Zhaohua wasted no time, using his feathers to strike.

Unlike Su Bei’s previous encounter with a Nightmare Monkey, this one was fully focused on breaking through the barrier, thanks to Si Zhaohua’s powerful allure.

This single-minded aggression made it much easier to target. After enduring several fierce attacks, the monkey’s dazed mind finally registered the danger and decided to retreat.

But before it could move, a gear appeared out of nowhere and silently sliced across its neck before vanishing without a trace.

The moment the gear disappeared, a white feather landed on the same spot. The timing was so close that it looked like the monkey had been killed by the feather.

This sneaky kill didn’t arouse suspicion from Si Zhaohua or his group. Su Bei and Mo Xiaotian exchanged a smile, their mission accomplished, and quietly withdrew.

Note: If I had abilities, I'd totally go for a support-type power, 'cause let's be real, I wouldn't survive in a direct fight. And TMI, but I've been super obsessed with the song 'Colors' by Stella Jang lately! ????



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