Cosmic Ruler

Jake acknowledged their gratitude with a wave of his hand. "It's okay," he replied modestly.

"Now, since this hunt turned out to be relatively easy, we might as well go after the Mountain Troll," Jake suggested. The team responded with enthusiastic nods and cheers.

****

On Sophia's side, unlike Jake's easy win, it was difficult, as the Aqua Deer proved more formidable than she thought. Most of her time and energy were wasted on keeping the Water Control of Aqua Deer in check while others attacked it from different directions.

Still, after hours of hard work and guerrilla tactics, they slew it, albeit now there is nothing left on its body that they can harvest.

"Haaah, we win, yet our gain was not that big," Sophia sighed, holding the only loot, a medallion and an Aqua Deer Core.

"It's a pity we can't have its meat," Milo said.

Sophia and others nodded, but what can they do? Their attacks have mangled the body of the Aqua Deer to pulp.

"Let's return after searching around," Sophia said, hoping to at least find any other natural resources.

"We should hunt as we return. Captain's team won't harvest any meat," Milo suggested, and Sophia nodded.

The plan was to let Sophia's team gather Aqua Deer meat after defeating it, but it is thrown in the gutter, leading them to resort to other wild beasts.

As they scoured the area for any valuable resources, Sophia's team stumbled upon a cluster of rare water magic herbs glistening under the sunlight. Excitedly, they collected as much as they could, knowing these herbs could become a good spice for their food.

While gathering the herbs, they encountered another water elemental beast, a Serpent Seal lurking by a nearby stream. Despite their exhaustion from the previous battle, hunger pangs urged them on. They decided to take on the challenge, viewing it as an opportunity to replenish their food supplies.

And since it was only a C+ rank beast, Sophia and Milo were enough to kill it. Milo froze it while Sophia sliced its head off with a sharp water blade. They drained its blood and preserved it in ice before starting their journey back to the campsite.

Returning to the campsite, they found it empty, wondering what had caused Jake's team to delay.

"Milo, you're in charge," Sophia said, then started rushing towards the Swamp region.

Milo watched her back as she hurried away, then turned to the team and instructed them to start preparing for lunch.

While giving the order, Milo couldn't help but think, 'Should I follow her too? If our Captain is being delayed, it means the opponent is surely strong.'

However, realizing that his presence wouldn't make much difference, he decided to focus on the camp and prepare a good meal for the others.

Sophia, on the other hand, soon reached the Swamp region and found various swamp beasts feeding on a weirdly shaped Mud Spitter.

She observed the scene and quickly understood that the Mud Spitter had been dead for hours. "If it's dead, then where is Jake and the others?" she wondered aloud.

Sophia looked around for clues and spotted a flag bound to a tall tree. Making her way to it, she read the message engraved on it:

[Sophia, if you are here, then congratulations on your hunt. As for us, we are going to hunt Mountain Troll. Our foe turned out to be an easy-peasy thing, so we thought of hunting the next one. Don't come here; return and take care of the camp.]

Reading the message, Sophia felt a surge of frustration and powerlessness. Her team had struggled for four hours to defeat the Aqua Deer, yet Jake's team had found their opponent easy and had already moved on to face a more formidable foe.

Clenching her fists, Sophia made a silent vow to grow stronger, determined to reach a level where she could fight alongside Jake. With newfound resolve burning within her, she turned her gaze towards the horde of beasts feeding on the dead Mud Spitter and rushed towards them.

With each step, Sophia's determination fueled her actions. She knew that every challenge she faced would be an opportunity to improve herself, to hone her skills, and to prove her worth as a formidable warrior. As she charged into the fray, her heart brimming with determination, "Give me your Cores!!" Discover hidden stories at My Virtual Library Empire

With a fierce yell, Sophia conjured various water blades around her, resembling a mad bull as she charged at the horde of beasts.

"Roarrrrrr!"

"Shriekkkkkk!"

The beasts, previously feeding on the Mud Spitter, turned their attention to Sophia upon hearing her shout. Sensing her killing intent, they roared in response and charged at her.

One frog-like beast opened its mouth and shot its tongue like a bullet towards Sophia. Reacting quickly, she ducked, narrowly avoiding the sharp spear-like tongue as it grazed her long hair. In retaliation, Sophia formed a spear of water and plunged it into the frog's long tongue, freezing it solid.

The Dart Tongue frog attempted to retract its tongue, but it snapped halfway, causing a mountain of pain to surge through the creature instead.

As the Dart Tongue frog writhed in pain from its frozen tongue, a flying ice spear suddenly pierced its eye, swiftly ending its life. However, the other beasts paid no heed and continued their relentless charge towards Sophia.

A lizard, its claws glowing with an eerie green light, brandished its poisonous talons as it closed in on Sophia. Reacting swiftly, Sophia created a thin water film around herself, isolating herself from the toxic fumes emitted by the creature's claws. With a deft movement, she then conjured a water shield to block the lizard's deadly claws.

In a split-second counterattack, Sophia transformed the water shield into a spear, which swiftly pierced the lizard's neck, bringing it down before it could inflict harm.

Sophia's mastery over water-based weapons, coupled with her ability to change their shape at will, made her a formidable opponent indeed. As she continued to fend off the relentless assault of the beasts, She unknowingly massacred all the beasts,

"haah"

"haah"

Breathless and surrounded by the corpses of the defeated beasts, Sophia stood in the midst of the swamp, reflecting on the intense battle.

"Haah... Haah..." she panted, the adrenaline still coursing through her veins.

Closing her eyes, she replayed the fight in her mind, analyzing every move, every decision, seeking ways to improve herself even further.

After a moment of contemplation, Sophia opened her eyes and began washing away the filth of the swamp from her body. With steady hands, she harvested the cores from the fallen creatures, their glowing beads shimmering in her palm.

Closing her eyes once more to regain her composure, she reminded herself, "Now's not the time."

With a determined nod, Sophia carefully stored the cores, deciding to absorb their power later when she could focus fully on harnessing their energy to enhance her own abilities.

"there are more anyway" She focused on the moisture around her and communicated with it and got to know more and more beasts are rushing here, sensing the blood.

She then went back at the top of tree and meditated there as she waited for another swarm to form on this battlefield, which will help her grow her fighting techniques and allow her to harvest a large number of Cores.

****

While As Jake moved towards the mountain region, he checked the Talent of Multi Mask Jester, he Plundered after it's death.

[ "Amulet of a Hundred Masks" ]@@novelbin@@

Change into 100 different beasts.

Extra mass will be replaced by Core Energy.

Can change into the beasts whose meat and core the user has eaten.

Additional Ability: Perfect Terrain Adaptability. ]

Jake then delved deeper into the information and discovered that there were only two beasts he could currently transform into. One was the Jade Horn Rabbit, a Divine beast, which he had consumed frequently during his childhood. The other was the Phoenix Blood Chicken, another favorite food of his.

A wide smile spread across Jake's lips as he read this revelation. "Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the tasty food you always made for me," he murmured gratefully.

~tsk tsk, some one was born with Mithril spoon

[He has eaten more, just not their cores so he can't change into them currently]

Jake ignored their banter and looked for the abilities he will gain after transforming into them.

[ Jade Horn rabbit ]

Innate Ability : Jade Purification, Sky Jump, Jade Driller Rush]

- Jade Purification : Purify all poison up to one Rank above user

- Sky Jump : Jump 10 time further than original capacity

- Jade Driller rush : Concentrate all of your power to a single point and deals internal damage too.

[ Phoenix blood Chicken ]

Innate ability : Blood Burn, Phoenix Cry, Phoenix Blood ]

- Blood Burn : Ignite the Phoenix blood and enter into Berserk state, improving overall ability by 50% for 1 minute .

- Phoenix Cry : Subdue those with lower will power than your self.

- Phoenix Blood : Increased regeneration by 100% and heal others by giving your blood to others.