The two coldest months of the year had passed.
The cold wind was still biting, but the sunlight felt warm on the skin.
The snow, over half a meter thick, slowly melted, seeped into the soil, and flowed into the rivers, replenishing the dormant earth with the water necessary for its resurgence of life.
Carefully, I opened the wooden cabin door, shoveling away the snow that had turned into fine ice particles at the entrance.
Like all the villagers, Gordon, who had been cooped up for dozens of days, stepped out of his house, bathed in the long-awaited sunlight, and stretched with a long yawn.
Compared to the youth who had struggled to hunt the Great Wild Boar King half a year ago, Gordon was visibly "larger" by a circle.
Running fully armed through the Hunting Field, wielding a steel Burst Blade weighing tens of kilograms, was in itself an extremely intense form of exercise.
Combined with the fact that as a Hunter, he naturally didn't lack meat, his muscles and bones grew as if inflated.
Now, he was nearly one hundred ninety centimeters tall, with broad shoulders, a wide chest, and bulging muscles, standing there like a wall; if not for his still slightly immature face, who would guess that this guy still had several months until he became an adult?
Not to mention him, even Zhu Pa had become much sturdier.
Of course, he hadn't reached Gordon's devilishly muscular physique, but he no longer slouched and hunched his shoulders like when he first arrived at Kokoto Village.
Casually tossing a solid iron bar leaning by the door to Zhu Pa, and then picking up his own giant stone pillar from the ground, Gordon's eyes curved slightly, in a good mood:
"Zhu Pa, yesterday was five hundred swings with the iron bar. Today, after a long-awaited sight of the sun, shouldn't we take it a step further? Is six hundred swings a problem?"
"...Meow meow meow?"
Zhu Pa, who fumbled to catch the iron bar, couldn't understand what the connection was between seeing the sun and improved stamina.
However, if it's just an increase of one hundred times, it shouldn't be a problem, right?
"Okay, meow! Today is six hundred times, meow!"
Just as people in nearby villages ended their winter hibernation and emerged from their homes to resume productive activities, Shuretsusen Hill gradually began to regain its vitality.
Snakes and insects burrowed out from underground, Great Wild Boars left their warm tree hollows, and began to roam the forest, attempting to find some delicious fragrant mushrooms spurred by the melted snow, to alleviate the hunger that had lasted throughout the winter.
In the Blue Velocidrome nest deep within the dense forest, little Blue Velocidrome hatchlings, still covered in slippery egg white, chirped, urging their parents to hunt for meat to fill their bellies.
A swift gray shadow swept across the high sky of the forest hill.
It was a brown-gray Falcon.
This specially trained raptor accurately found the small village named Kokoto on this still snow-covered land.
After circling with clear cries, it landed on the windowsill of the village chief's house.
The doddering village chief opened the window, and the Falcon tilted its head, looked at him, hopped a few times, and entered the house.
"It's the Falcon, it's the Falcon."
The village chief grumbled as he closed the window, and the Falcon, in a very human-like manner, raised one paw, revealing a small metal tube tied to it.
A small emblem was carved on the metal tube; this was the Hunter's Guild's mark.
The village chief's movements paused slightly.
Under his long white eyebrows, his always squinted eyes opened slightly into a slit, revealing clear pupils beneath, unlike those of an old person.
"An urgent message from the Hunter's Guild?"
The village chief's long eyebrows twitched twice; at this moment, he no longer had his usual senile, confused appearance.
"Chirp chirp~"
The Falcon chirped in dissatisfaction, raising the paw with the metal tube again, as if urging the village chief to quickly receive the message.
Having traveled day and night to deliver the message, it hadn't even had time to eat. Now it just wanted to deliver the information quickly and then hunt a field mouse or wild rabbit nearby for a good meal.
"Sorry, sorry."
The village chief skillfully removed the metal tube from the Falcon's leg, unscrewed the cap, and pulled out a small roll of parchment from it.
"Hmm? I see, it is indeed a bit troublesome." Opening the scroll and quickly scanning it, the village chief muttered to himself, "But for him, it might be a good opportunity. Yes, I'll leave it to him."
The Falcon continued to tilt its head, watching him.
"All right, you've worked hard, little one."
The village chief tied the empty metal tube back onto the Falcon's leg, and fed it two pieces of dried meat, "Go back quickly, and be careful on your way."
"Chirp~" The Falcon seemed to understand the village chief's words, letting out a joyful long cry, flapping its wings, and soaring into the sky, disappearing in the slightly dim sky in the blink of an eye.
"Five hundred fifty-nine, five hundred sixty! Meow!"
"Oh oh oh Zhu Pa, only forty more to go, keep it up! Just a little more!"
"Five hundred sixty-one, meow!!!"
In the open space of the small courtyard by the door, Gordon and Zhu Pa were sweating profusely, until a familiar loud voice came from outside the courtyard.
"Gordon! Zhu Pa! Hey, you're full of energy!"
Gordon somewhat laboriously put down the stone pillar in his hand, looked at the newcomer, and greeted him with a smile, "Good morning, Instructor!"
"Morning, morning, morning. Alright, no more pleasantries, I have an urgent matter for you. How are you and Zhu Pa feeling right now? Can you depart immediately for a hunt?"
The Instructor waved his hand, his tone suddenly becoming serious.
"A hunt? Now?" Gordon was stunned, "Didn't the first full moon of the year just pass? There's still half a month until the hunting season opens, isn't there?"
"It's an urgent quest!" The Instructor waved the parchment in his hand, "Two-Star rating, target Blue Velocidrome. Are you confident? If not, don't push yourself, just leave it to me—"
"Two-Star urgent quest?!"
Gordon excitedly interrupted the Instructor's words, confirming, "The target is a Blue Velocidrome? I'm confident! Of course I'm confident! Thank you, Instructor, please rest assured and leave it to me!"
He was naturally excited.
Under normal circumstances, there were two ways to increase a Hunter's rank.
One was to complete quests step by step until enough experience was accumulated, then apply to the Hunter's Guild and accept a hunting quest one star higher than their current rank. If successfully completed, they could smoothly advance their rank.
The second was to accept an urgent quest. Due to the urgency of the situation, the Hunter's Guild would appropriately lower the acceptance threshold for such quests. Upon successful completion, one could also achieve a rank-up.
Following the normal procedure, maintaining his previous quest completion frequency, it would take another half a year or so before he could actively apply for a Two-Star quest.
But now, this urgent quest directly saved him that half-year's time! As long as he completed it successfully, he could directly advance to a Two-Star Hunter!
In terms of strength, Gordon believed he had long reached the level where he could successfully hunt a Blue Velocidrome, which was the Two-Star Hunter level.
He only lacked opportunity.
Unlike large towns where resources were concentrated, it was simply too difficult for Kokoto Village, which didn't even have a Gathering Hall office, to wait for a suitable urgent quest.
Now that an opportunity presented itself, how could he let it slip away?
The Instructor suddenly smiled.
He naturally knew what Gordon would choose, and he also knew the latter's strength. A mere Blue Velocidrome was not enough to pose a threat.
In terms of monster danger, the Blue Velocidrome and the Great Wild Boar King were almost the same. This guy, wearing a Hunter Set and wielding a Hunter's Knife, could even hunt the Great Wild Boar King.
Now with the Burst Blade and Blue Velocidrome Set, what was there to worry about with a Blue Velocidrome?
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Instructor Ernest handed the urgent quest slip to Gordon.
"Time is short, depart as soon as possible!"
—
Hunting Quest (Urgent Quest): The Bandit Leader Threatening the Trade Route (★★)
Quest Content: Hunt a Blue Velocidrome
Reward: 4000z
Quest Location: Shuretsusen Hill
Time Limit: 5 days
A report from the Observatory's hot air balloon indicates that a Blue Velocidrome pack has migrated to the southwest of the Shuretsusen Hill area. Their territory overlaps with the trade route between Minagarde City and Melchita City, posing a serious threat to caravans and travelers on the route. It is imperative to swiftly hunt their leader, the Blue Velocidrome, to cause their pack to collapse.
—
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Thanks for the support. Keep the Power Stones coming and I'll keep speeding up the chapters.