Chapter 39: Completing The Tasks

The silver-tongued serpent was tracking a prey from behind, waiting for the right moment to attack.

It kills its prey by injecting venom from its scales. They are quickly paralysed and killed moments later.

The venom is also acidic and capable of penetrating the tough hides of magical beasts.

This was one of the issues students faced when trying to get its venom, and it was why it was best to wait until a silver-tongued serpent went out to hunt.

Fortunately, with Felix, I didn’t need to worry about any of that.

We trailed behind the silver-tongued serpent silently from above.

It was easy to keep track of it with Felix’s [Optical Targeting System].

Soon, the serpent slowed down, and so did we.

The prey was an ordinary four-legged creature that resembled a deer but was covered in striped, red fur. It lowered its head to feed on some berries from the surrounding bushes.

The silver-tongued serpent carefully slithered behind, then it lunged forward.

Before the prey could react, the serpent coiled around its body and clung to it tightly.

The silver-tongued serpent’s scales instantly straightened, like a deadly blade unsheathed. They were laced with a white liquid that penetrated through the creature’s hide and spread through its bloodstream.



A high-pitched wailed tinged with anguish and fury escaped the creature’s jaws and resounded through the forest.

Unfortunately, only the endless thick clouds blanketing the skies bore witnessed to its cry for help.

I quickly took the opportunity to launch an attack.

"Felix, use plasma horn charge!"

Felix’s segmented horn shone with a dazzling blue light as it spun rapidly. The electric currents on the horn intensified, forming a pin-sized blue dot that gathered above the tip.

CRACKLEE!!! BANNGG!!

The energy transformed into an electrical plasma cannon, detonating upon impact as it struck and pierced the serpent’s scales. A massive chunk of its flesh, along with its blood, evaporated into thin air.

I quickly held onto Felix, prepared for the aftershock phase of the attack, which I had learnt during our training.

We quickly recovered our bearings mid-air.

I looked at the current condition of our prey.

It couldn’t even register how or why it had been attacked.

What was supposed to be a deadly one-on-one battle was handled by Felix with only one attack.

Was this how Beastmasters watched their beasts do the heavy lifting while they sat back and watched, knowing they would reap all the rewards later?

It felt good.

HISSSS!!!

The silver-tongued serpent cried in distress as it slammed its body against the ground as though attempting to dull the pain. It tossed its prey asides, no longer concerned with satisfying its empty stomach.



"Target eliminated, master," Felix said.

The silver-tongued serpent lay on the ground lifelessly. Blood and white fluids oozed from its sharp, scaled skin and fell to the ground, melting off the surrounding grass and leaving a scarlet and silvery gloss on the surface.

The red-furred, four-legged creature lay on the other side, also lifeless.

Soon, the air was filled with the scent of rotten, fried meat and blood.

"Casualty: One. Status: Dead," Felix stated.

Yeah, I thought so too.

"Let’s go down," I commanded.

Felix soared downwards. Once we were closer to the ground, I leapt down from the jet and landed on the ground.

Felix shifted into back [Cybernetic Swift Horned Panther] form.

"Stay alert and let me know you if you see anything," I instructed.

"Okay, master," Felix responded.

He turned around and observed his surroundings attentively.

I opened my storage bag and brought out a 3.5-litre tub container and a pair of sleek black gloves. They were both able to withstand the acidic effects of the venom and possessed some degree of elemental resistance.

The gloves had short-term durability and lost their effectiveness after a few uses. The tub container could be obtained for free at the cafeteria.

They were the recommended equipment for completing these tasks.

Before then, a student had attempted to complete the task by gathering the venom with their bare hands, and their flesh had quickly fallen off. Fortunately, they made a swift recovery.

Thanks to their sacrifice, no one underestimated the serpent’s venom, and they spent their merit points to purchase the recommended equipment, enabling them to complete the task.



According to Fredric, this was meant to teach us that completing our tasks didn’t just end with swinging our swords.

I wore the gloves and approached the silver-tongued serpent’s carcass with the tub container in hand, vigilantly.

Although Felix had assured me that it was dead, one of the other things that I learnt was ’never to underestimate a magical beast, whether they were dead or alive,’ until the task was completed and one was safely out of the premises.

The venom would dry up and solidify on its body, so I had to be quick.

It took me twenty minutes to scoop the silvery venom into the tub with my hands, filling it to 3 litres, before sealing the lid and storing it back in my storage bag.

The storage bag was a separate space used for storing equipment, battle spoils, and various other items. Without it, students would have to carry their spoils on their backs to the teleportation platform, which was very impractical.

It was also expensive and couldn’t be purchased with merit points. It was one of the few items that could only be bought within the academy with money.

Ordinary students who had spent their families’ life savings entering the academy would further empty their pockets or go into debt to obtain one.

I drew my sword and used it to slice open its upper belly.

Suddenly, a red, ball-sized object, pulsing with mana, came into view.

This was the core of a magical beast, otherwise known as a Mana Heart. For simpler terms, it represented the Spirit Veins of a magical beast, containing its life force and a portion of its strength.

Shattering a beast’s core is akin to crippling its strength and effectively sentencing it to death.