Chapter 36: Monster Ranks

Special Note:

Today marks one month since The Alchemist began its journey online!

It's been an incredible ride so far — thank you for being part of it.

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"How are you feeling?" Kai asked as he arrived in the backyard. He hadn't had much chance to speak with Tony the day before, so he wanted to check on his health.

"Much better. At least now I can feel my bones," Tony replied, recalling the first few days he'd spent wrapped in Self-Healing Bandages.

"That good," Kai said, then silently turned his gaze to the small garden.

"You know, back on Earth, I used to be a truck driver," Tony began suddenly, breaking the silence. "The work was hard, but the pay was good. I could fulfill all the wishes of my little princess. But now, it's been more than four months since I last saw her. I don't know how she's doing. I hope she's with her mother…

"But what if—like Yara—she got separated? Kai, these thoughts don't let me sleep peacefully at night."

Tony's voice trembled as he spoke about his daughter out of nowhere.

"Kai, you're a kind-hearted kid. I want you to promise me something: if someday I'm no longer in this world and you come across my daughter—take care of her. Okay?"

Tony then took out the only picture he had of his daughter from underneath the bandages and handed it to Kai.

Although Tony had seen many of his teammates die, he had never come this close to death himself. His recent experience with the Trolls had shaken him deeply, making him reconsider all his plans for the future.

At first, he had been determined to work hard, grow stronger, and find his wife and daughter. But now, just one defeat had crushed his fighting spirit, leaving him unable to envision a future where they were reunited.

"Just one near-death experience and you've given up? Tony, you're better than that…"

Hearing Tony's words and seeing him lose all his fighting spirit, Kai was thunderstruck.

Out of all the people in the Candy Complex, half were already dead, and the rest had given up on ever reuniting with their families. Tony was the only one who still held on to the determination to become stronger and find his loved ones.

But now, out of nowhere, even Tony was giving up. That made Kai's heart sink.

He too wanted to reunite with his family. However, unlike the others, he was betting on the belief that sooner or later, humans would grow strong enough to begin searching for others scattered across the map.

"Don't be so discouraged. When we first arrived in this world, we had to run the moment we encountered an Elite Monster. But now, aren't we hunting Elite Monsters left and right?"

Holding himself together, Kai handed Tony's daughter's photo back to him.

In the past four months, humanity had made tremendous progress.

In the first month, encountering an Elite Monster meant certain death.

In the second, it changed to flee on sight.

By the third month, people had started challenging them.

And now, they were hunting Elite Monsters like they were no longer the terrifying threats they once were.

Because of this progress, Kai remained hopeful that it wouldn't be long before different towns and cities started coming into contact with each other.

Hearing Kai's words, the last embers within Tony were reignited.

Many members of the Candy Complex had died at the hands of Elite Monsters, but now they were able to hunt them. And this was just the beginning. Everyone was getting stronger, and it wouldn't be long before even Epic Monsters found it hard to survive.

Thinking over Kai's words, Tony came back to his senses. All the negative emotions he had built up over the week vanished instantly.

"Thanks. Staying inside the room all day made me weak," Tony said, thanking Kai for helping him get rid of the thoughts that had been weighing him down.

Ever since he was injured, he had been confined to his room and hadn't had the chance to talk much with others. After all, everyone was busy—either training or out hunting monsters.

Now, after speaking with Kai, he felt much better.

"So, how's life?"

"It's the same as before. I told you about me getting my own Alchemy room, right? I just have to refine a pill or make a potion—whatever the shop owner asks—and that's it.

As for the problem I told you about, it's resolved now. I don't have to worry about anything anymore. In eight months, I'll leave the Alchemy shop and be a free man."

Unlike the others, Kai had shared his situation with Tony before leaving the Candy Complex.

"That's good!" Tony was surprised. After all, the last time he saw Kai, he had told him about the trouble he was in.

The Alchemy shop where he went to learn alchemy had tricked him—they didn't tell him that having a Knowledge Sea was crucial to becoming an Alchemist. According to the contract he signed, if he couldn't figure out how to perform the most important skill of Alchemy using his Ki, he would be forced into slavery.

As Kai and Tony were talking, Yara came to the backyard and urged Kai to play with her.

"Big bro, let's play!" she said, dragging Kai along.

After half an hour, Kai became tired and sat down beside Tony.

"I think that's enough for today," Kai said while looking at the energetic Yara, who didn't seem tired at all.

As Kai was resting, Orion returned from running errands and soon got busy playing with Yara.

Yara was an energetic kid who loved playing tag.

Soon after Orion returned, the rest of the crew came back from hunting monsters.

"Is it just me, or are the monsters in this Monster Tide weaker than before?" Oliver commented as they entered the Candy Complex.

"It's not that they were weak, it's that we got stronger," Eric replied. He had participated in all two previous Monster Tides, but none had felt as easy as this one.

On the first day, almost the entire area around the town had been cleared, and in three days at most, they should be able to return to their usual hunting grounds.

"Why don't we celebrate today's great victory with a feast?" Omar suggested.

When he left in the morning, he had expected grave danger—but they didn't come across a single Level 5 Monster, only the occasional Elite Monster.

So far humans have encountered three types of monsters: Normal, Elite, and Epic.

Normal Monsters range from Level 1 to 3. They don't possess much intelligence and rely mostly on instinct, which makes them the easiest to hunt.

Next come the Elite Monsters, which range from Level 4 to 6. Unlike Normal Monsters, Elite Monsters have higher intelligence and are equipped with various Innate Skills.

Currently, humans are able to hunt Level 4 and Level 5 Elite Monsters, but they still struggle greatly when facing a Level 6 Elite Monster.

As for Epic Monsters, they can only be observed from a distance. Once, a team full of Level 5's tried to take on an Epic Monster—but they were all killed within seconds.