Astral Apostle

The white spider beast wailed incessantly. Finally, the arrow was at the end of its flight. Now that it had suffered a critical hit, it was also on the verge of death. Its two enormous arms, which once possessed infinite strength, could no longer be raised.

Seeing this, Barong's eyes lit up. He immediately seized the opportunity and threw the ax in his hand towards the white spider monster's defenseless head.

Pu!

The ax was deeply embedded into its head, almost splitting it into two.

The White Spider sagged down without any movement after. It was dead.

"It's finally dead…"

Zhou Jing was just about to grit his teeth and get up when he saw this scene. He heaved a sigh of relief and continued lying on the ground.

His entire body felt like it was about to fall apart. Several of his bones were broken, and his internal organs were also throbbing in pain.

Unfortunately, the interface did not have any health points or data showing his status. He could only sense his condition on his own.

Although his Resistance attribute was not extremely high, his Physical Fitness was strong, and it also helped increase his resistance to attacks. The beast could kill an ordinary hunter in one hit but only severely injured him.

Zhou Jing silently lay on the ground and looked up at the sky. Suddenly, he felt a sense of relief.

This was the first time he had experienced a life-and-death struggle.

He, a law-abiding citizen who had never seen blood, rushed into the battlefield and fought with such a monster…

Most importantly, he did not have any lingering fear. Instead, he felt that this feeling of risking his life… was very addictive.

He was focused as if he could cast aside everything. The only thing he needed to care about was the moment when life and death were decided.

It was as though he was immersed inside the situation with all his heart, dancing on the edge of a knife.

He somehow felt an indescribable pleasure in this activity.

Only today did Zhou Jing realize that he actually had such a side to him.

Furthermore, this was his first time participating in a battle, but he was extremely calm and did not panic.

When he remembered how he clearly captured the movements of the white spider beast just now, Zhou Jing felt a bit enlightened.

"It seems like I'm quite talented in combat…"

If he did not travel through the astral realms and did not encounter such a life and death battle, he might have never discovered his potential in this aspect.

He would also not know where his true talent lay.

At this moment, Barong had retrieved his ax and walked over. He plopped down beside Zhou Jing, gesturing with his chin as he asked in concern.

"Are you okay?"

"…I should be the one asking you that."

Zhou Jing tweaked his head to look at him.

Barong looked much more miserable than him. He had faced the white spider beast head-on the entire time, and the webbing between his thumb and index finger was badly mangled. His mouth and nose were still bleeding.

"Haha, I'm just a little weak after my burst just now. This small injury is nothing. I've suffered worse injuries than this before. It's normal for me to bleed a little when hunting medium-risk mutant beasts."

Barong laughed heartily.

Zhou Jing's face twitched when he heard this.

Are you really alright? Your ears are spewing blood!

At this moment, Barong stopped laughing and became serious.

"Will, you didn't have to risk participating in the hunt. In the end, you still helped. You helped us get rid of this beast faster and avoid more casualties. I have to thank you."

When Zhou Jing heard that, he propped himself up and said with deliberation, "There's no need to say all this. We're all in the same situation. If you failed, I wouldn't be able to walk out of the forest. You were willing to help me back then. It might be as easy as lifting a finger for you, but it's very important to me. I can't just hide and watch as you suffer heavy casualties."

After hearing that, Barong felt that Zhou Jing was more pleasing, so he extended an invitation with a loud laugh.

"We've fought side by side today, and we'll be brothers in the future! I don't know where your hometown is, but you'll always be welcome in Frostwood Village. You're talented in combat, and you're a good seedling to become a Mutant Beast Hunter."

At this moment, Griff walked over with his injuries. He had survived the battle as well.

He smiled as he spoke, "Will, I didn't misjudge you. You really are someone I can trust. That guy Dean kept saying you were suspicious. He—"

Griff paused suddenly. He remembered that Dean had died in battle and fell silent.

Although there were conflicts usually, the other party was still a comrade who could be trusted at crucial moments. He could not help but feel a little sad.

Zhou Jing shook his head lightly.

They had only known each other for a few days, so they naturally didn't have much of a friendship. However, he still felt a little sad when he thought about how Dean had yearned to return to the battlefield before he died.

At least for these hunters, he was a reliable companion.

Barong used his ax as a crutch to stand up, swaying for a moment before standing firm. He shook his head and said,

"Bury our dead brothers. Don't let the wild beasts eat their bones. Also, remember to collect the spoils. Take away the White Spider's shell and arm bones. Those are good materials. They can be sent to the workshop in the town and made into protective gear…"

Everyone nodded and dragged their tired and injured bodies to clean up the battlefield.

Zhou Jing checked his injuries and confirmed that he wouldn't die in the short run. He slowly crawled up with difficulty to help dig a hole to bury the hunters' corpses.

It was then he had the time to open the interface and take a look at the information he had just received.

______________________________________________________________

[You have triggered an achievement: First Victory in Combat!]

[You have received 200 Astral Points!]

[You have triggered an achievement: Participate in a Hunt!]

[You have received 100 Astral Points!]

[You have triggered the achievement: First Kill!]

[You have received 200 Astral Points!]

[You have triggered the achievement: First Kill of Mutant Beast - Medium Risk!]

[You have received 500 Astral Points, 1x [Aptitude Boost - Physical Fitness (Small)] and 1x [Attribute Boost - Physical Fitness (Slight)].]

_______________________________________________________________

He hadn't had time to pay attention during the battle, but he discovered that four successive accomplishments were related to the battle.

His Astral Point count increased by 1,000 points in one go, giving him a grand total of 1,305 points in his interface. He had gained quite a bit from this whole experience.

The special rewards for [Attribute Enhancement] and [Aptitude Enhancement] did not immediately take effect on this Astral Apostle. They were stored in the Achievements warehouse and could be activated or used by different apostles instead.

Zhou Jing knew that he didn't have much time left in this realm. Hence he decided to first store them in the warehouse.

Up till now, he was still unaware of what the situation would be like when he returned. He didn't think it would be too late to arrange these rewards after he figured out all the functions of the interface. If he used it hastily without understanding all the mechanisms, he would just be wasting these precious resources.

Now that he had killed his prey and his situation was safe, Zhou Jing relaxed and began to plan for the future.

These hunters have completed their goal. Next, they should bring me out of the forest to Frostwood Village. Speaking of which, is this considered exploring a new area?

I'll think about what to do next when we reach Frostwood Village. Since I have a friendly relationship with these hunters, I should be able to integrate into the village and ask about the situation…

After spending four days with the hunters, he only had a general understanding of the world. There were still many details that he was not clear about.

So long as he arrived at a village inhabited by people, he could slowly ask around. At that time, he could then think about his next step.

Zhou Jing dug the hole absentmindedly as his thoughts drifted away.

However, at that instant, a sense of danger arose in his mind, causing his exhausted mind to jolt in shock.

Shuashuashua —

They were footsteps… dense and high-frequency footsteps!

"Be careful! Something is approaching… F*ck!"

Zhou Jing immediately became alert, but before he could finish shouting, he heard a series of whooshing sounds.

In the next moment, dozens of arrows shot out from the forest and flew rapidly towards them!