Chapter 97 Luck Of The Century II



Now that I have the Horizon Elixir and Catalyst Potion, it's time to level up!

Well…there might be a little bit of gacha…

Anyhow, lucky or not, I had a few chances—around 4 or 6 chances to gamble with the Catalyst Potion. 

Though I couldn't use them repeatedly in a day or else I would be overdosed and ended up with MCD (Mana Core Dysfunction). 

One bottle per week, so if my luck this week was on the negative side, I could try to consume the potion in the next week. But that wouldn't be necessary as I was confident I could hit the jackpot on the first try.

Lumi also had making sure to notice the warning for the Catalyst Potion.

"This potion could be consumed a few times until your body resisted the potion's effect. Even so, we suggest that you don't use the potion repeatedly in a day. Our suggestion is to consume at most two times a week. There's no shortcut to achieving power -Nova"

Something like that.

There was a flaw in the Catalyst Potion restriction and that was the blessing, talent, skill, or even curse that allowed the Enhanced to take the drugs simultaneously without worrying about the side effect that came with it.

Bell Walker was the very example of that. He had a blessing that could enhance the potion or elixir efficiency he consumed, on top of that, every side effect of the potion he consumed was nullified.

Thus, these two potions were like gifts from God to him. If only he got the money to afford them…

"..."

Wait, money…

'Maybe I could get a score with him with this?'

Yeah, I might be. But, let's put that aside first as I got more important things to do first.

Currently, I was inside the building with a large and beautifully decorated lobby. 

Many people—mostly the Enhanced—were hanging out, talking to each other, and enjoying their leisure time. Some were busy and crowded around the devices spanned across the lobby's wall. And some were just like me, lining up and attending the registration or receptionist table.

This was just like an Adventurer Guild you oftentimes found in the manga but much more modern and advanced.

ECQ, or Enhanced Commission Quarter, was what this place was called. 

This was a building maintained and belonged to the Hero Association, Omega.

For the record though, this wasn't the Omega's HQ.

This place served just like an Adventured Guild just as I mentioned earlier. The Enhanced could take the commission and work that the other had requested through the ECQ.

Other than that, this place could also serve as a place for hanging out and so on.

My reason here was to search for a place, a base dungeon or hunting field to be precise. One that had a particular monster residing in it.

"Good morning! What can I help you with today?"

"Good morning, sir!"

It wouldn't hurt to be polite, right?

"I was looking for a hunting field to practice and make money."

At the same time, I showed him my student card. Recognizing it, the receptionist changed his demeanor almost immediately.

"I see. Let me look it for you," said the receptionist as he began to operate the device on the table.

After a while, he pressed the small button protruding from the edge of the device.

The tiny printing device on the backside whirred quietly, producing five chips resembling a short delicate pen.

Gently, he retrieved the chips and placed them delicately on the table before me.

The chip, with a shape of a pen no longer than a standard poker card, came to life as he activated it. As if guided by unseen forces, a slender screen emerged from within the chip, integrating with its compact form.

The screen was displaying information about each of the base dungeons that would be suited for a student like me. The rank of those dungeons was not higher than <D> rank, which I saw on the screen.

The receptionist began telling me about each of the hunting field's pros and cons, its geography, the monsters residing in it, etc.

Though, I found those unnecessary so I listened to him half-heartedly.

Almost every hunting field was occupying either mountains or forests, so I ignored his geography and terrain explanation and only focused on the pros & cons, and what monsters the field had.

The first hunting field was a forestry area located in Australia. The forest was turned into a hunting field 7 years ago but the magical molecules that shrouded the area were still dense.

"Since it's a forest area, you don't need to worry about food and water supplies if you were going to hunt for a long time there. But, please remember that not every natural food from the forest such as fruits and plants is edible. It's better if you have a guidebook. If you don't have it yet, you can buy it from us with a huge discount as you are an Octagram student!"

This was the privilege and treatment you would get from attending Octragram Academy. A huge discount!

Though, I didn't need those guidebooks.

"Swamp monsters like lizardman are dwelling here. But mostly you will find low to mid-ranked monsters such as a goblin to an ogre, and a few mutated animals."

The second hunting field was a mountainous region located in North America. The biggest and most popular hunting field for its diverse monsters and areas, also the oldest hunting field in the world. It already inhabited Earth since the first catastrophe.

"This hunting field is a bit unique. Because of its large area, we divided this hunting field into a few areas namely the black zone, red zone, yellow zone, and green zone…"

The black zone was a term for the most dangerous <A> to <S> ranked area. The green zone was the safest area where only small and low-ranked monsters were dwelling around. A suitable place for newbies to make money and get experience.

"One thing to note about this hunting field is its rich mineral deposits. The areas are filled with valuable resources like ores, gems, and crystals, which can be used for crafting weapons and armor, or you can just sell them to us, we are fair when it comes to pricing loots the Enhanced got. It's a paradise for those looking to make a fortune!"

Yeah, I knew that already. Despite its resources being looted every day, the miasma or magical molecules would restore them the next day the same as the miasma spawned thousands of monsters.

Though it had been 40 years since the first emergence of this hunting field, the magical molecules surrounding the mountain range showed no signs of depletion.

The receptionist proceeded to tell me the last two hunting fields but I didn't listen to him anymore.

As he was done, I asked him a question.

"Is there a field that recently has an unusual rate of the goblin's activities?"

He seemed to fall in thought for a while.

"Yes, there is," he said as he operated the device. "We've received reports and signals of unusual activity and spawning rate of the goblins in some of the hunting fields."

"And, which of them has the highest rate?"

"It's on the Caltrope hunting field's green zone area I told you earlier. They said they saw an unusual number of goblins and that they were always flocking together in a group of ten which usually only one to three were found in a group."

Ha! That's it.

After hearing the information, now I was certain where I should go to get my luck with the Catalyst Potion.

"Thank you, sir!"

I thanked the receptionist and immediately headed for my destination.

…

"Hoo… So this is the Caltrope hunting field? It's so vast…"

As I stepped into the Caltrope hunting field area, I was greeted by a breathtaking sight.

Towering peaks stretched as far as the eye could see. The air was crisp and invigorating, and the sound of howling winds echoed through the valleys.

The terrain was rugged and challenging, with steep slopes, rocky cliffs, and dense forests.

As I made my way to the first level of the hunting field, the green zone area—which was a forestry area, I noticed signs of goblin activity after a few minutes of walking.

Broken branches, footprints, and faint laughter in the distance indicated their presence.

I pressed forward, keeping a watchful eye on the nearest goblin's group at a safe distance.

The reason for this group dynamics and the increased number of goblins was that they were celebrating.

What did they celebrate? You'd find out soon.

'That is…'

As I followed the group of goblins quietly, I finally found their hideouts.

The goblins there were just like humans, they were celebrated along with the fire and danced, just like a tribal civilization of humans.

Sitting on the huge, majestic chair made from animal bones was an unusually large goblin with an animal skull resting on its head.

No, it was not an ogre. It was a goblin. A goblin champion that had recently become a goblin king.

Sweeping my eyes throughout the hideout, I found what I looked for.

Recently leaving the small tent to a bigger one was a small goblin with distinctive skin color, it was different from the rest green creatures.

That small goblin had a long nose like Pinocchio, pointy ears as sharp as an elf, and skin color as shimmering as gold.

"Found it."