Chapter 4: Star Worm, Green Skull Ghost Spider, and Lantern Firefly
Char held a bird in his hand, and it was a Purple Quail.
A common bird in the forests, it got its name from the purple azalea-like patterns on its body.
The Purple Quail wasn't a Demon Beast, just an ordinary animal.
They were wary by nature, often moved in small flocks, and would quickly dive into the bushes at the slightest disturbance, adept at navigating the forest on foot, running rather than flying, though they were not slow when they did take to the air.
All of this was told to him by the system.
On the first day after he had crossed over, he had seen the Purple Quail and coveted them, trying to hunt them on several occasions.
Alas, he hadn't inherited any abilities from the body he occupied, and even though there were bows and arrows in the carriage, he couldn't hit the mark.
Direct shooting didn't work, nor did trapping; the Purple Quail were too cautious and didn't fall for it.
After a few attempts, he gave up.
Otherwise, not only would he fail to catch anything, but he would also have wasted time and energy for nothing.
Today was purely a stroke of luck, as he saw seven or eight Purple Quails hidden in the bushes pecking at insects and grass seeds. Thinking to try his luck, he took aim and then flung his dagger like a throwing knife, and to his surprise, he actually nailed one.
It was his first successful hunt, of course he was happy.
Moreover, before crossing over, he couldn't go without meat; every meal had to include it.
Chicken, duck, pork, beef, or fish, as long as there was meat, that was fine; without it, he felt as if he hadn't eaten at all.
And how long had it been since he had eaten meat after crossing over?
He could practically taste the birdiness fading from his mouth!
Now that he could finally eat meat again, how could he not be happy and looking forward to it?
Now Char couldn't think of anything else; his mind was preoccupied with how he would cook the Purple Quail later.
Just the thought made his mouth water.
With one hand holding the Purple Quail and the other gripping a convenient stick he had chopped that afternoon, Char returned to the carriage.
With a "creak," the wooden door opened and then closed.
It was already twilight, and closing the door made the room even darker. The light from the Star Worm became noticeably brighter, like a floating lantern casting a soft golden glow, illuminating the space for Char.
Not to mention, although the Star Worm didn't have much fighting power, it was top-notch for consideration.
Char didn't need to say anything; it would proactively step forward to help with whatever was needed.
Just then, a sudden intense light burst from the Star Worm.
The sudden burst of golden light illuminated the entire carriage. The gold light shining through the holes and cracks looked like golden swords piercing out from within the carriage into the evening sky.
'What's happening?'
Char was taken aback, and before he could comprehend why the Star Worm had suddenly burst into light, he saw the shimmering Star Worm suddenly shoot upward, bringing the light with it in a swift motion.
From the ceiling, a pitch-black shadow swooped down toward Char's face, colliding with the soaring Star Worm.
The Star Worm hit the wall, fell to the ground, and rolled several times, causing the light inside to flicker on and off repeatedly, as if a lantern had been knocked over.
In that moment, the shadow took the opportunity to hide within the darker parts of the room, and Char had no idea where it had gone.
Even so, Char still made the best decision on the spot.
He immediately completed the task.
[Adventure Task]
[Task One]: Larva Collector!
[Task Description]: In life, the most important thing is to fill your stomach. To see the sun of tomorrow, go collect larva—it's the only way you have to satisfy your hunger, rookie!
```
[Reward]: Praying Power ×1.
[Task Two]: Ah, the vigilant Purple Quail Partridge!
[Task Description]: Didn't expect you to actually succeed in capturing a Purple Quail Partridge, lucky you! But sometimes luck is poison, and next time you might not be so fortunate!
[Reward]: Praying Power ×2.
This second task was automatically generated after he killed the Purple Quail Partridge.
As Char's thoughts moved, the two tasks immediately entered the settlement phase.
From within the shrine radiated a golden light with stardust, and three strands of Praying Power formed, ten of which quickly converged into a small golden piece sparkling with starlight.
'I wish to make a Prayer with the Prayer Fragment!' he inwardly cried out.
Following his inner call, several patterns resembling ancient stone carvings immediately appeared at the center of his vision.
At the same time, in the corner of his eye, a cluster of green ghost fire suddenly appeared.
This revealed the attacker's location.
It wasn't until this moment that Char could clearly see what had just attacked him.
It was a large spider the size of a washbasin, resembling a black widow. The creature was pitch black with long hair, and had a green skull pattern on its enormous abdomen.
At first glance, it was a sinister and crafty jungle killer with deadly venom!
At this moment, the green skull pattern was glowing, and with this eerie green light, ghostly green fires appeared out of nowhere, morphing into skull shapes.
A few sets of data appeared above the large spider.
But in a life or death moment, where did Char have the time to read the Monster Introduction?
He made his Prayer with the fastest speed, and from within the shrine burst forth a divine radiance. The golden starlight shot out like a bolt of lightning, reaching beyond the carriage, and landed on a Red Firefly.
That was one of the Red Fireflies, a common animal Char had seen frequently in the past few days. Every evening the forest would teem with countless Red Fireflies darting back and forth, adding a dreamy hue to the night forest.
When enveloped by the Praying Power, the Red Firefly immediately underwent a transformation.
In a magnificent glow full of dreamy colors, the Red Firefly's body markedly expanded.
Originally, the Red Firefly was only the size of a grain of rice, much smaller than the Star Worm. But now, in the blink of an eye, its body length had exceeded ten centimeters and continued rapidly growing.
A streak of red fire like a floating firefly shot across the window like lightning, striking the skull-shaped ghostly green fire, penetrating it instantly!
The ghost fire burst apart, scattering into countless green glowing fireflies.
However, at that moment, Char's attention was not on the burst that scattered, turning into countless green fireflies of ghost fire.
All his attention was seized by the second Magic Pet he had summoned!
The flame that had entered through the broken window, after defeating the ghastly green ghost fire, did not continue onward with its momentum to crash against the carriage wall but instead took a sudden turn. It drew a beautiful red arc in the twilight, continuing towards the large spider in pursuit.
Meanwhile, a set of data appeared before Char.
[Lantern Firefly]
[Attribute]: Strength 25, Defense 27, Agility 31, Constitution 23, Intelligence 26, Perception 21
[Life Value]: 1863/1863
[Magic Power]: 205/254
[Skills]: Red Firefly (Level 1), True Red Thorn (Level 1)
[Challenge Level]: 2
[Introduction]: Lantern Fireflies are the lantern bearers of the forest and are also agile warriors with swift moves. They possess fine Fire Attribute Magic Ability, capable of releasing scorching flames from their lanterns. If you often walk in the forest at night, then the Lantern Firefly is undoubtedly an excellent companion.
```