First Mission

A week had passed since Azrid became an adventurer. Aside from fighting in the virtual world, he also asked some adventurers to spar with him. Some of them declined his request while a few accepted his proposal to spar. This way, he got closer to a few F-rank adventurers in the guild.

He trained hard in the past week to improve his strength. He didn't take on a mission since he wanted to improve his strength first. Azrid knew that he was too weak right now, so before taking on a mission, he trained his body first.

Azrid also bought another Field Armguard to protect himself. He also bought boxes of ammo for his gun. He knew that he was being too cautious, but he needed to do this to survive. There was nothing wrong with it. At the very least, he was slowly grasping his ability to fight. Although he was still at Tier 1, his fighting skills were better than the last time he was in the trial.

Azrid was fully prepared now. He was ready to take on a mission and earn some money. Well, it was one of the reasons why he wanted to take on a mission today. He only had a few thousand credits with him.

He was lucky that he had Super Nutrients to aid his training. Ordinary F-rank adventurers didn't have the money to buy one Super Nutrient. It was all thanks to his good friend, Sisi.

He went to the Adventurer Guild early in the morning. While he was walking, he checked his ability.

[Great Devil Bodies: 0.43% proficiency]

[Ouroboros: 0.12% proficiency]

[Ouroboros] was harder to increase, so he decided to focus on his [Great Devil Bodies] first. Azrid then checked his status. He had improved greatly in the past week.

Name: Azrid Brimfield

Status: Tier 1

Strength: I » I+

Agility: I+

Defense: I+ » H-

Ether: I- » I

Azrid was pleased to see that his three attributes had had all increased by one rank, but his other agility stayed the same. His defense had even advanced to Rank H. He was satisfied with this improvement.

"Everything's good," he sighed.

This time, he had gained new knowledge about the [Great Devil Bodies]. He finally understood why it was called "Bodies." It meant that he would gain devil bodies, each possessing different specialties. He didn't know what those specialties were, but he would learn them as he increased his proficiency.

As for [Ouroboros], it remained unchanged. Azrid had not gained any new knowledge of it, and increasing its specialty proved to be harder than he had imagined.

When he had reached 0.1% proficiency, he had only received one word: "Infinite."

Azrid arrived at the Adventurer Guild.

"Hey, you're here again, Azrid! What are you going to do?" A tall man wearing full-plate armor said. He had short black hair and red blood eyes.

Sometimes awakening changes something in the human body. Originally, humans didn't have red eyes, but after they awakened, some of them changed. Some got blue hair or even got a tail in their awakening ritual. Some of the abilities could be inherited by their descendants while others weren't.

This man was Joe, an F-rank adventurer like Azrid.

"I'm going to use my time in the virtual cabin first. Then I'll take a mission," Azrid answered with a faint smile.

"Whoa! You're going to accept a mission?!" Joe couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Ever since Azrid became an adventurer, he never accepted any missions. All he did was fight in the virtual world and spar with the other adventurers.

"Yeah, I think I'm ready," Azrid nodded.

"Then I'll join you!" Joe said.

"Sure, I'm just going to accept a simple mission on this planet. I currently don't have a planet to go outside," Azrid said.

"I already expected it," Joe said as he hooked his arm around Azrid's neck. "I'll help you become a real adventurer."

"Whatever," Azrid shrugged his shoulders.

Azrid went to the virtual world, and after one hour, he exited the cabin. Joe was already waiting for him in the hall. He was fully armed with various weapons and gadgets.

"What do you want to take?" Joe waved his hand and asked.

"Me? A simple mission involving a demon beast," Azrid answered.

He approached the desk and looked through various F-rank missions. After a few minutes, he decided on what mission he should take.

Azrid showed the contents of the mission to Joe before they passed it to the receptionist. The receptionist recorded their names and ranks before she gave approval. She stamped the mission sheet and this mission couldn't be taken by other adventurers anymore.

The mission was to defeat ten Night Eagles and six Horned Lions in the Latebound Area of the North Continent.

This planet consisted of six continents, and the North Continent was where demon beasts gathered. Ordinary people were not allowed to enter, and it was reserved for various researchers in Planet Red Tree to study the demon beasts there. While the sanctuary in outer space was exclusively for adventurers, the North Continent was open to other professionals who were not members of the Adventurer Guild, as long as they had permission to enter.

Sometimes, adventurers would take on missions to eliminate demon beasts in the North Continent. If the number of demon beasts grew too large, it could become a threat, and thus adventurers were needed to control the population.

The Night Eagles and Horned Lions were particularly strong even among Tier 1 demon beasts, and posed a greater challenge than the Emerald Rabbits and Ash Wolves that Azrid had faced in the trial.

Using Azrid's Aeroship, he and Joe departed from Erinbe City and flew straight towards the North Continent.

After traveling for three hours, the two landed at Nightwatch Fortress's port. The fortress was protected by towering walls and barriers, and its population was approximately thirty thousand people, all of whom were professionals.

Azrid and Joe didn't stay in the fortress for long. After packing all the necessary equipment, they quickly departed for their destination, the Latebound Area, which was twenty kilometers away from the fortress. They had to be careful on their way, as they were sure to encounter other demon beasts.

This place was different from the trial. There was no Tier 2 to protect Azrid from any danger. He could lose his life here just like any other adventurer who underestimated this place.

The ecosystem of this place was good, and sometimes demon beasts could help nature more than humans. Their bodies and even feces were better than any fertilizer, and they could even speed up the growth rate of plants and trees. They could also purify lakes, rivers, or ponds from pollution caused by humans.

This was the reason why humans kept some of them, despite their aggressive nature. Well, there was an exception to everything. Some demon beasts were docile, and humans who mastered the art of taming could control them

Joe was an experienced adventurer who knew some skills that Azrid had yet to learn. He sprayed something into the air to mask their scent and avoid detection by demon beasts with a strong sense of smell.

"How much is this?" Azrid asked.

"Just one thousand credits per small bottle. It's useful when traversing lands full of demon beasts," Joe replied.

He then directed Azrid to a store where he could purchase other useful gadgets, such as night vision, thermal vision, and field armguards.

"I will visit that store later," Azrid said.

"Sure, the owner is a friend of mine and is always looking for new customers," Joe said with a smile.

The two continued their journey across the vast plains until they entered a forest where the atmosphere suddenly turned cold. The area was misty, and the tall trees blocked out all sunlight.

Joe raised his hand. "Halt."

Azrid stopped and looked to the left, where he saw a three-meter-tall deer with a pair of savage-looking crimson horns.

"That's..."

He recalled this demon beast. If he wasn't wrong, it was called the Bloody Deer. A demon beast stronger than the Ash Wolf and Emerald Rabbit, but weaker than their current target.

This deer wasn't their target, so there was no need to kill it. The blood would only attract more demon beasts. Even the spray that Joe had wouldn't be able to mask all the scent of blood.

Joe and Azrid let the demon beast leave before they proceeded. They were slow but cautious. They didn't want any accidents to occur before they could complete the mission.

They passed through the forest and crossed a small river. They avoided all the demon beasts that they saw.

After half an hour, the two arrived at the cliff. The scene before their eyes shocked them to the core. It was nerve-wracking, and it was Azrid's first time seeing something like this with his own eyes.

"Is this for real...?!" Azrid muttered as he subconsciously gulped.

"Yeah, we need to report it," Joe nodded grimly.

The scene in front of them was a group of thousands of demon beasts. They were all from the same species, called Ragnave. It was a humanoid demon beast that looked like a monkey. They had a height of two meters, green fur, and a pair of red tails sticking out of their back. They were fast despite their size.

And there were thousands of them here...

"We need to gather the experts at the fortress. Many of them are Tier 1, but there are also Tier 2 among them. The only one who could command a group of demon beasts like this... it means that a Tier 3 has been born among them," Joe said in a low voice.

"A Tier 3?" Azrid was shocked.

"Don't worry, it's only a Tier 3. As long as we report it back, we can earn a huge sum of money. And we'll be able to get rid of them quite easily," Joe assured him.

A gathering of demon beasts like this was always something humans tried to prevent, so they would eliminate this group to stop them from growing larger.

"I understand," Azrid nodded.

Joe took out his phone to check if the signal was working. Some monsters could block signals and satellite views.

Azrid watched as Joe turned the phone's volume to the lowest and passed him a spray.

"Spray it around us. It's better to be careful than to regret it later," Joe said in a low voice.

Then he messaged the service number of the fortress and reported the group of Ragnave in this place. He also sent some pictures to prove his claim.

"Okay, I've reported everything," Joe said to Azrid. "Now we just need to wait for the reinforcements."

"Will there be a problem? After all, they have a Tier 3 among them. If I'm not mistaken, there are only a few Tier 3 on our planet," Azrid asked.

"Did you forget the difference in technology? We're humans," Joe said with a smile.

"Yeah..." Azrid nodded.