Chapter 17: Happy Hunting
After Luna finished wrapping and dressing my wounds, I reopened the supply bag to see what we had. There were two large bottles of water, some fruit, and a few canned goods. All in all, these supplies looked like they were only meant for one person.
As I rummaged through the bag, I noticed something that looked out of place among the other items. I pulled it out to see exactly what it was, and to my surprise, it was a thick black book titled ’Dungeons and Beasts Encyclopedia.’
It contained pictures and information about creatures found inside the dungeons. I opened the book just to take a look inside, and there was a giant bird-like creature, apparently called a harpy. It provided various details about the dungeons these creatures inhabit and the skills they possess.
The book classified the creature as a C-ranked threat. I had no idea what that meant; the beasts were ranked from S to E, with S rank being the highest and E rank the lowest.
The problem was that I had no context, making it hard for me to make sense of the rankings. So, I skipped ahead to a beast I had fought before—goblins. According to the book, they were classified as an E-ranked threat, which was the same classification as the wolves and hyenas I had encountered.
Next, I moved to the section of the book that discussed the different types of dungeons. It wasn’t long before I found the section on Purgatory. The book described Purgatory as a tropical island that primarily holds D and E-ranked beasts. The only treasures found here were elemental essence crystals, located inside beast nests—just like the fire essence I found in the wolf dens.
I spent the rest of the day trying to memorize some of the information in the book. When night fell and Luna was asleep, I made my move. I still wasn’t in great shape after my fight with Yuan, but I had practically wasted the whole day, and there was something I needed to do.
I exited the cave and headed into the forest. It wasn’t long before I found my targets—a group of applicants camping in a clearing. I counted three of them in total; they were seated around a campfire, talking. It would’ve been better if they were asleep. Maybe I should’ve waited until it was a little later, but I was here now. Better to get it over with.
I stepped out into view so they could see me.
"Umm, excuse me," I said, trying to channel my inner Luna to gain their sympathy.
When they saw me, they shot to their feet, all of them pulling out weapons.