The one quarter of the previously pristine training hall looked like an elephant rampaged through it, Feng’s eyes scanned across it seeing holes riddling the wooden floor, destroyed training dummies and even some cracks running across the stone walls…

Cythe stood whirling the weighted chain end of her new weapon in what looked like the eye of the storm. With a perfectly normal-looking section surrounding her as well as an upright dummy in good condition in front of her.

Yet, the cowering instructor standing well away from her and the few braver players left training on the furthest opposite end of the hall told Feng all he needed to know.

“Damn it. Not again… I forgot about her violent tendencies… and poor aim.”

Prodding the stunned half-troll, Feng shrugged as he got no response and squeezed past Roth into the training hall. He approached Cythe and called out, ignoring the frantic warnings the instructor yelled out.

“Please stop training dear…”

Feng stopped a safe distance away directly in front of her where Cythe was aiming… the place he knew from experience tended to be the safest due to her incredible sense of aim…

“Huh?”

The heavy and dark aura drifting off Cythe abruptly dissipated as she was roused from her focused state by Feng’s familiar voice.

Cythe looked up at Feng with sad puppy dog eyes as she ran over to him, whining cutely.

“Fennngggg!!! I just can’t seem to get it right… No matter what I do, it seems I can’t do any damage the dummy at all with this chain-sickle...”

Cythe attempted to dive straight at Feng to embrace him only to be silently side-stepped, causing her to trip and fall on the ground.

“Owwwieee… That was meannnn! Why did you do that dear!”

Sitting up and rubbing her nose delicately, all the nearby on-lookers were dazzled by her innocent-looking actions and beautiful looks… only to sweat-drop and shiver as they looked beyond her at the scene of destruction.

Feng sighed as he deftly grabbed the kusarigama out of Cythe’s hands only to quickly wince and drop it on the floor as he felt it heating up in his hands. Helping Cythe up and embracing her gently, Feng patted her head and said with a long-suffering tone.

“You were running at me with your sickle in hand dear… That would have been a really painful hug.”

“Oops! Teehee~”

Cythe’s adorable reaction as she stuck out her tongue almost made the on-lookers crush on her and envy Feng… until they thought of the implications and shuddered as one and pitied and respected Feng at the same time.

Feng released Cythe from his embrace and palmed his face at Cythe’s puzzled expression and question as she finally took in the torn up training hall.

“Whoa! What happened here? Why did the place get so messed up!”

The previously fearful instructor and students here face-faulted in that instance with the same thought running through their minds.

‘IT WAS YOUR FAULT! HOW COULD YOU NOT REALIZE THAT!’

Feng sighed and patted the confused looking Cythe, knowing her absolute focus caused her to lose track of her surroundings.

“Your weapon was too strong and damaged the place...."

“Oh no... I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry everyone! I really didn't notice! Is anyone injured? Oh no, how can I make up for this..."

Seeing Cythe panicking over her mistake, Feng retrieved a cookie from his inventory to distract, a sight which instantly made Cythe’s mouth water and caused her to jump at him like a starving hound.

Feng hurriedly tossed the cookie at Cythe and got out of her way as she dived at it with eerie precision, snapping it up in her mouth and happily gnawing away at it. Despite how fun it was to tempt her with it while keeping out of her reach, Feng shuddered at the pain she had inflicted upon him for such a previous attempt…

‘Never get into the way of Cythe and her sugar…’

With Cythe suitably distracted, Feng headed over to the instructor, Holfen to find out what exactly took place.

“So… What exactly happened here?”

“That girl is a menace… We didn’t have a suitable practice weapon for her so we allowed her to use her weapon as long as she sheathed it in padding… BUT SHE MANAGED TO LEARN HOW TO USE AURA STRIKES WITHIN A FEW MINUTES AND THE PADDING WAS SHREDDED WITHIN A STRIKE AND SHE TORE UP THE REST OF THE HALL!”

The instructor started off with a relatively calm voice but his voice progressively grew louder and more incensed. Luckily, Cythe was completely off in her own sugar-induced dreamland though Feng still hurriedly attempted to placate him.

“Relax Holfen, just take a deep breath and relax… I mean it can’t be the first time this has happened right?”

Roth spoke up as he came over to join them, having snapped out of his stunned state.

“He’s right Holften. It’s nowhere near as bad as the time Ylisa tried to create a new skill or Avyne or that time Rania…”

The two senior members shuddered as Roth’s words trailed off, remembering the devastation caused by various other guild members… who coincidentally all seemed to be female as well…

‘Wait… Rania? They can’t be talking about the same chibi Rania right?’

Feng’s mind suddenly processed the names Roth mentioned but discarded the possibility as his mind failed to reconcile the image of a destructive Rania with the same cute small cat-girl he knew. Deciding to break the awkward silence as the other two men reminisced about their destructive fellow guild members, Feng said.

“Well… I guess if there’s nothing else, I’ll just grab Cythe and go out to hunt some monsters or something for real combat experience.”

Turning away and heading back to Cythe, Feng quickly walked away only to be halted by Roth’s hand on his shoulder.

“Not so fast Feng, we still have to induct Cythe as a member of the guild. After all, I think she more than proved herself… Plus, you didn’t think we’ll forget about the repair costs did you?”

Feng winced as he felt the upcoming squeeze on his ever shrinking moneybag and tried to laugh off his escape attempt.

“Ahahaha, of course not… How could I forget that? I was just thinking you know since Cythe don’t really have any funds at the moment, we could go hunting and do some jobs for money to repay the guild!”

Roth bared a toothy smile and replied cheerily.

“Sure, you guys can do that… After you pay first for the repairs, after all I know you have enough money to do so, right Feng?”

Mentally crying tears of despair, Feng’s situation was hardly helped by a curious Cythe joining them before Roth swept them away into the main guildhall to induct Cythe and extort Feng…

“How about rabbits? There’s one for clearing out the rabbits attacking some farms… Huh. There’s another job for getting rid of a rabbit which is worth two hundred and fifty gold?!? … Must be a written wrongly, it’s probably coppers.”

“No rabbit slaying quests! They are so fluffy and cute!”

Feng sighed as he tried to pick out a well-paying but simple job after having to fork out fifty gold for the repairs… Girlfriends are really tough on the wallet...

“Most of these quests are to clear out beasts which having been a nuisance or attacking travelers dear… And the non-cute animals aren’t exactly the kind you should be fighting now.”

“Oohh... How about this one?”

Feng looked over only to realize Cythe wasn’t listening and was instead picking out jobs, glancing over at the job he winced at what was written.

Job Request: Drive Away Monster Wolf

Our sheep flocks have been getting raided by a Monster Wolf coming from the Black Forest! It is much stronger than the usual wolves and our arrows simply bounce off its pelt. Please help to drive it away; we don’t care how you do it as long as our sheep are safe!

Location: Northern Plains Lornie Sheep Ranch

Objective: Kill or drive off the Monster Wolf

Rewards: 25 Gold, 40 Guild Points

“I’m not sure this is the best idea for your first job? It sounds rather strong…”

Feng tried to logically dissuade Cythe, as he mentally calculated that such a monster will likely be at least 40 if not much higher given the average levels of the beasts within the Black Forest.

“It’ll be fine! Besides we only need to drive it off and you’ll be there too!”

Cythe excitedly took the pinned job offer and ran over to Roth with it before Feng could reply, leaving him with a foreboding feeling that she was up to something…

“Are we there yet?”

Trudging through a dirt lane winding through the plains, Feng sighed as Cythe asked the same question yet again. He opened his mouth to answer only to stop as he caught sight of something as they crested the small hillock they were climbing.

“I think we are! Look at those flocks of sheep and there’s a farmhouse over there.”

They picked up their pace but was halted by a group of sheepherders before they reached the farmhouse.

“Halt! What are you doing here?”

The group of five was extremely agitated and bristling with weapons, with two arrows nocked and pointing towards them causing Feng to raise his hands up as a peaceful gesture as he answered.

“We are from the Adventurers’ Guild here to take on the Monster Wolf job.”

Upon hearing that, the herders relaxed and they lowered their weapons and the one who spoke previously came closer with a hopeful expression.

“Thank the Gods! That monster just struck recently and even brought a pack of smaller wolves along this time. Them beasties took out nearly a dozen sheep before we could react! We have assigned a guard over our flocks this time… but the monster just mowed over poor Tom. Not only that, Tom and the sheep’s bodies started dissolving into black motes. There was nothing we could do!”

Feng nodded at the herder and carefully phrased his words to empathize with them in hopes of getting this job done quickly and bartering for a larger reward later…

“Where were the wolves headed? If the tracks are fresh, we should have no problems quickly finding their lair and getting some payback for Tom.”

After receiving directions, Feng decided that their previous pace was much too slow as Cythe still had minimal training in [Endurance] and [Running].

“Eep! What are you doing Feng! Let me-”

Sweeping Cythe off her feet, Feng held her in a princess carry and decided that it was an opportune time to train his [Qing Gong] with the wide expanse of plains and activated the skill before dashing off.

“Wheeee… Go faster Feng!”

Cythe the adrenaline junkie quickly stopped protesting and enjoyed her ride as Feng burst off leaving the shocked sheepherders stunned in his wake.

Feng slowed down as he reached the outskirts of the Black Forest, not trusting his current Qing Gong skills in an obstacle-filled environment. He released a whining Cythe as he dismissed a notification window, before trying to use his [Observe] skill to clarify the heading of the wolf tracks.

Congratulations! Through usage, you have earned:

+1 Agility

+1 Endurance

Qing Gong has leveled up to Novice 5

Chi Cultivation have leveled up to Novice 2 Large Paw-print

Type: Tracks

Description: A large paw-print somewhat masked by the mossy forest ground... You can tell it belongs to a canine but the size of it marks it as some form of monstrous beast. Beware.

The description of the beast’s tracks both reassured Feng that they were on the right path as well as worried him especially as he glanced over at the overly excited Cythe.

“Ooohh! Look Feng, squirrel! Point!”

‘… I’m so glad I didn’t let her come alone.’

Feng sweat-dropped watching Cythe flit around checking out the forest and particularly cute animals though they fled quickly at her noisy approach.

“Cythe? Let’s get going? We don’t want to lose the trail of the wolves, do we?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, let’s go!”

Cythe started charging off only for Feng to pick her up by her armor while her feet pumped frantically in the air.

“It’s that way dear.”

Feng deadpanned as he spun her around before setting her down. He quickly followed behind Cythe who completely didn’t even notice and simply continued charging when her feet touched the ground.

With Cythe simply running through the woods and making a racket, it was hardly a surprise to Feng when they attracted enemy attention. Though what they attracted definitely shocked him and he hurriedly observed the hulking shadowy figures surrounding them.

Black Boar (Corrupted)

Type: Porcine Monster - *ERROR*

Level: 44

Attacks/Weapons: Tusks, Body Blow, *ERROR*

Traits: Tough, Heavy, *ERROR*

Stats: Constitution-Focused, *ERROR*

Weak Spots: L*ERROR*

Description: A large black boar found only in the [Black Forest], its impressive tusks and girth make a good deterrence for any hunters seeking easy meat… At least before it was corrupted, now the boar barely looked recognizable with glowing red eyes and its body seemingly made of rippling inky black shadows.

Feng’s eyes widened as he scanned through multiple errors running through the information window. He turned serious in an instant, yelling out a warning as he drew his sabre and dagger and fell into a ready stance.

“BE CAREFUL CYTHE! THESE MONSTERS AREN’T NORMAL!”

Feng who stood back to back with Cythe, upon realizing that Cythe was likely to be crushed in a single blow by any of the boars’ attacks, quickly gave her instructions before jumping ahead.

“Stay back and hit them from a distance!”

Not taking any chances, Feng lashed out with a [Far Strike] as he closed the distance, throwing a boar into the other two. The pigs squealed loudly in protest but seemed hardly affected.

However, Feng grinned as his plan worked and the passage of the attack blew scattered leaves up into the air, obscuring visibility for an instant. In that moment, Feng leaped up into the trees, activating [Qing Gong] to boost him up easily and activated [Stealth].

As the leaves settled, the pig monsters were left confused as their attacker vanished… But they quickly recovered and reorienting their sights on the only remaining human – Cythe only to see a weighted chain flying towards them and tore straight through… a black oak nearly two full meters away in an explosion of splinters.

The large monsters’ hooves pawed at the ground as they prepared themselves to charge, wickedly sharp tusks glinting dangerously. Feng hurriedly maneuvered himself into position above them as he prepared to assassinate them in a single blow… only to barely stop himself in time from jumping into the killing zone as Cythe’s true fighting style was revealed.

“EWWW YOU GUYS ARE SO DAMN UGLY!”

Cythe complained loudly as her body tensed and she yanked sharply on her chain… sideways, causing it to RIP through the poor tree and sweep right into the midst of the boars.

*CRUNCH*

Two of the giant boars were sent tumbling to the side with bone-crunching noises while the third was safely distanced away from the deadly arc of her chain-sickle.

Making sure that Cythe was wildly flailing away at the other two boars with huge swinging motions… and more importantly that he was safely out of range, Feng silently leapt onto the back of the remaining boar.

As he fell, Feng brought both weapons to bear on its neck and powering them with [Aura Strikes], intending to finish it in a single blow.

Only to feel his blades to be stuck in the inky black skin of the boar, his blades managing to penetrate halfway only due to the great impact from his momentum before being halted. Feng’s eyes widened and he swore, realizing that the boar skin must provide excellent resistance against edged weapons...

The boar reared up in response to the sudden attack and weight, still kicking and Feng was thrown off entirely having had presumed that it will succumb to his surprise attack.

Feng rolled off the impact of landing and quickly got up only for his eyes to widen in shock and fear as he found himself in a much more dangerous situation…

‘HOLY SHI-.’

Diving out of the way, Feng barely dodged Cythe’s oncoming chain, shrieking mentally as he felt it ruffle his hair as he dropped to the ground.

Unfortunately the boar with his blades still stuck in its neck had recovered by this time and Feng found himself in the prone right across its charging path…

‘Just die already stupid boar.’

Annoyed by the tenacity of the monsters, Feng surged to his feet weaponless and took up a firm stance as though taking the charge head-on…

Mentally calculating its distance and trajectory, Feng exhaled deeply as it neared… and somersaulted forward over its head, grabbing on to his impaled weapons in that split second he was suspended upside down over its head as it charged past.

*CRAAAAKKKK*

An instant later, Feng tensed himself and FLIPPED the boar sideways using his momentum and strength to redirect the beast’s own forward momentum sending it crashing into the trees with a bone-crushing sound.

Completing his somersault neatly on the ground, Feng checked that his target was truly down before preparing to head over to finish off the other two boars… only to sweat-drop at the sight before him.

Trees were shattered and laid haphazardly around within one of the two boars pinned beneath a heavy fallen trunk while huge holes riddled the landscape. The last boar was completely pulverized by the direct impact of Cythe’s weighted chain, its body twisted on the ground.

'That is one unlucky boar to actually be hit full-on by Cythe...'

Gesturing at Cythe to finish off the last boar, Feng retrieved his blades and attempted to dissect the boars but the corpses burst into black motes which vanished into the air…

Your party has killed a group of Black Boars (Corrupted) which are all higher than your level, for that you have earned:

Level up (x4) – Note: Shared experience is reduced by 25% due to [He Who Defies The Heavens] title.

Achievement: Corrupted Killer

Acrobatics has leveled up to Novice 9

Aura Strike has leveled up to Novice 3

Far Strike has leveled up to Novice 2 Achievement: Corrupted Killer

You have encountered and killed corrupted beasts.

+5 Fame

+5% Damage against the Corrupted Secret Quest Unlocked: That Which Ails The World

You have discovered corrupted versions of beasts, which behaves completely unlike their normal counterparts in both life as well as death…

Prerequisites:

Encountered the Corrupted

Difficulty:

*Unknown*

Objectives:

1) Discover more about the Corrupted

2) *Unknown*

Rewards:

*Unknown*

Failure:

*Unknown*

Quest cannot be declined.