The rest of the Blood Wolf Squad was resting on the spot, meditating to recover their Battle Qi and Mana.

  Blood Wolf peered deeply into the dense foliage, shrugging his shoulders. "The Cloud Forest isn't exactly a high-tier hunting ground. There aren't many Champion-level magical beasts to begin with, and Class-level beasts are even rarer."

  Ordinary magical beasts didn't possess magic cores, making them virtually worthless to the Blood Wolf Squad. They specifically targeted beasts that had condensed a core. However, the ratio of Champion-level and Class-level beasts in the Cloud Forest was already low. After the squad's recent relentless hunting sprees, their numbers had dwindled even further.

  It was worth noting that after training for so long at Kael's shop and upgrading their gear, the fully armed Blood Wolf Squad could practically walk sideways through the deep sections of the forest. Unless they were completely surrounded by a pack of Class-level monsters, they could easily retreat from any situation unscathed.

  Yet today, after roaming the depths of the forest for hours, they hadn't encountered a single beast worth their time.

  "Forget it. Let's call it a day for the hunting mission," Blood Wolf sighed. There was no point in staying if the prey had dried up.

  "Works for me. Getting back early for a drink at the tavern sounds perfect." The squad member who had been wiping down his greatsword laughed. He flicked the edge of the blade with his finger, then raised the heavy weapon and brought it down hard, cleaving the earth.

  A greatsword was a heavy weapon by nature; the strike carried immense momentum. The ground instantly split open, sending dirt flying and exposing a chunk of solid rock beneath the soil.

  "Got too much energy and nowhere to spend it, huh?" another member teased.

  "Tell me about it. We've been out here all day and didn't run into a single decent beast. All that preparation for nothing. Had to let it out somehow!" The swordsman roared with laughter, sheathing the massive blade on his back.

  "Let's move out. Time for drinks."

  Laughing and joking, the squad gathered their weapons and headed back toward the edge of the forest.

  Not a single one of them noticed that on the exposed rock beneath the newly cleaved earth, faint but incredibly complex runic patterns were inscribed.

  High above, hidden in the canopy of a towering ancient tree, a pair of crimson, bestial eyes locked onto the retreating backs of the mercenaries. Only when the squad was completely out of sight did that gaze slowly shift down to stare at the crack in the earth.

  A full day had passed since the System issued the new quest.

  Kael's livestream yesterday afternoon hadn't yielded much of a result. The city guards left behind by Ling Xiao showed little interest in the New World Mode. They were strictly following their commander's orders to hone their combat skills in the Single-Player and Multiplayer Arenas.

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  Of course, it was also entirely possible they just didn't have the Spirit Crystals to spare.

  As for anyone else who might have been interested, it seemed they had all visited the shop during the morning rush. The Combat Enhancement Training Room had been expanded to accommodate a hundred pods, which was more than enough for the current customer base.

  "At the end of the day, it's just a traffic problem. Not enough people are coming to the shop," Kael concluded.

  "Manager, did you say something?" Shier mumbled, still half-asleep.

  "Nothing. Shier, what do you want for breakfast?" Kael asked out of habit, stepping over to the vending machine.

  "Fruit jelly and a bacon sandwich, please," she replied promptly.

  "Got it." Kael balanced his own cup noodles while placing Shier's food on the counter, then headed toward the training area.

  The Brilliance Academy training camp, led by Instructor Zhong Lingyun, was once again the first group to arrive. It probably helped that they were staying nearby. Jing Qingyun and the others marched straight to the vending machine to secure their daily breakfast. It wasn't just because the snacks were addictively delicious; the stat buffs they provided were far too valuable to ignore.

  Trailing behind the main group, Ying Feng was sticking close to his sister, Ying Xue, talking her ear off.

  "Sis, you have to believe me. Come play New World Mode with me! Forget the training mission for now. We can challenge those guys later after the Boss puts out a few more tutorial videos."

  "I don't know about this. Aren't you worried Instructor Zhong will come after you?" Ying Xue raised an eyebrow, amused by his persistence. She didn't doubt her brother, but this was a formal academy excursion. Blatantly blowing off their assigned training felt highly inappropriate.

  "Come on, Ying Feng, is what you're saying actually true? Can it really increase your technique proficiency directly?" Ke Minglang asked from the side, looking highly skeptical.

  Technique proficiency was fundamentally different from purifying Battle Qi. It wasn't like leveling up or increasing one's mana pool. As long as someone had the aptitude, Battle Qi and Mana could be accumulated over time, and rare treasures could always speed up the process.

  But martial arts and magic proficiency? If you didn't put in the grueling hours of physical practice, you wouldn't gain an ounce of skill.

  It was a miserable grind. There were thousands of techniques out there. Unlike raw energy—which universally boosted overall power—learning one or two extra skills didn't guarantee you'd be stronger. Furthermore, the difference between a novice and a master using the exact same technique was like night and day.

  Take Charge, a low-tier skill common to almost all Warrior classes. In the hands of a novice, it was just a straightforward rushing attack. But a master could forcefully alter their trajectory mid-dash to dodge fatal blows.

  Most importantly, Battle Qi and Mana were tangible; they could be felt and measured. Technique proficiency, however, existed purely in the mind and muscle memory. It was formless, invisible, and intangible. Even if it did increase, it was hard to quantify.

  Because of this, even though Ke Minglang had immense faith in Kael's shop, he remained half-doubtful.

  "It's fake. And I wasn't talking to you anyway, so why are you butting in?" Ying Feng glared at Ke Minglang. He had discovered a goldmine and wanted to share it with his sister, only to be questioned. Naturally, he was annoyed.

  "Alright, that's enough. We finally got you two to stop fighting," Ying Xue sighed, stepping in to keep the peace. "Let's all try this New World Mode today."

  "Shier, I need to register a Membership Card!" Ying Feng strode up to the counter like a seasoned veteran.

  "Certainly. Just one, correct?" Shier asked, setting down her bacon sandwich to confirm.

  "Wait, Ying Feng, what about mine?" Ke Minglang had overheard them talking about the convenience of Membership Cards and wanted one for himself.

  "Yours? Buy it yourself," Ying Feng shrugged. He took the card from Shier and handed it to his sister with both hands. "Here you go, Sis. Your very own Membership Card."