CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 17: SASA

A dozen days passed in a flash, and finally, the time came to assess the results of the tutoring.

Yan Luo arrived at the third-floor lobby, and just as he sat down, someone approached him.

"I heard the guild asked you to tutor those newcomers?"

Yan Luo glanced at the Hunter who sat down beside him, nodded, and said, "Yes, and the guild requires me to get 70% of the candidates to pass the exam, otherwise I won’t receive the subsequent reward."

The reward Yan Luo mentioned was actually that space artifact; if the pass rate among this batch of candidates didn’t reach 70%, he wouldn’t receive it—he could still collect the tutoring fee though.

The guild’s contract didn’t stipulate that Yan Luo had to keep it a secret, so it wasn’t a problem if he talked to others about it now.

"70%, huh..."

Hearing this, a few Hunters nearby who wanted to chat with Yan Luo looked at each other in dismay.

"It seems the changes in the Abyss are also troubling the guild, or else they wouldn’t be recruiting so many newcomers."

Yan Luo had noticed this too; he knew from the start that the Abyss mutation was a troublesome issue, which was why the guild needed to recruit a significant number of newcomers.

In the past, the guild didn’t care at all whether those taking the exam could pass, since even if they failed, the guild would still receive money, so why worry about the number of Hunters?

But now, the Abyss mutations have instilled a sense of urgency in the guild.

However, Yan Luo had some doubts: wasn’t it a bit too late to act in haste now?

Even if the pass rate reached 70%, or even 80%, it would just mean more rookies. Forming combat power was out of the question; surviving three Abyss hunts would already count as a success.

Although the Abyss mutation happened two weeks ago, the trend of the Abyss over the past few years showed a continuously worsening situation.

Not to mention thoroughly eradicating the Abyss, for there were many intricate interests tangled up, hard to resolve. But to not consciously increase the number of Hunters all this while baffled Yan Luo.

He didn’t think it was something he could think of that others, smarter than him, couldn’t.

Could it be that doing so was more in line with the interests of the Blue Star United Government?

Beep beep!

Yan Luo received a message from Wang Lingyu, and upon seeing it, he sighed helplessly.

Finally!

The team from Lingquan University had delayed and delayed, leaving Lingquan City only yesterday, and finally arriving at Crimson No.2 today.

Yan Luo stood up and took the elevator to the first-floor lobby.

The teachers and students from Lingquan University were in the first-floor lobby, and the leading professor was conversing with a guild staff member. Around them stood several Hunters, who were curiously watching the large group of ’outsiders’ with an academic aura.

They were puzzled, wasn’t this year’s graduates of Lingquan University taking the Hunter exams? Where did these people come from?

Yan Luo sent a message to Wang Lingyu, indicating he had arrived.

Soon after, a petite girl in the crowd, with messy long hair draped over her shoulders and wearing an eye mask that covered the upper half of her face, looked around.

Quickly, she located Yan Luo according to Wang Lingyu’s description of his appearance.

Sasa turned to her mentor and said, "Professor, my junior’s friend has arrived, and I would like to go out with him."

The gray-haired middle-aged teacher glanced at his student, looked in the direction she pointed, saw the tall and indifferent Yan Luo, and nodded, "Go ahead, but be back in the dorm by 7:30 PM; we have an internal meeting tonight."

Slightly nodding, Sasa left the group and walked toward Yan Luo.

"Are you Yan Luo?" Sasa approached Yan Luo, looking up at his face.

Yan Luo nodded, "Yes, I am Yan Luo. Are you Wang Lingyu’s senior?"

Sasa raised her hand, "Hello, my name is Sasa, with the family name Sa and given name Sa, like Sa Shoujian’s Sa."

Yan Luo already knew her name from Sasa’s name card, and carefully shook hands with her, "Yan as in serious, Luo as in Luo River."

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Sasa suddenly held onto Yan Luo’s hand, feeling his palm up.

This startled Yan Luo so much that he almost shook Sasa off, but fortunately, he restrained the impulse in time.

With his current strength, a gentle shake would be enough to dislocate Sasa’s arm.

Fifteen days were sufficient for him to fully digest the Magic Power he consumed earlier, and his ultimate strength had now reached a terrifying 624kg; a casual squeeze would be enough to flatten an aluminum can.

Fortunately, Sasa did nothing except measure Yan Luo’s muscles with her soft palm, remarking, "Such beautiful muscles... No wonder you could become a Hunter as an ordinary person."

Sasa looked up at Yan Luo curiously, "Was your strength naturally great?"

Yan Luo pondered for a moment and replied, "Among people of the same age and build, none are stronger than me."

"I knew it!" Sasa seemed pleased and released Yan Luo’s hand.

Yan Luo secretly breathed a sigh of relief without showing it on the surface.

"Where would you like to go?"

Though he had been at Crimson No.2 for four months, Yan Luo hadn’t managed to explore the entire town; he mostly lived a routine life: at home, at the guild, or in the Abyss, rarely visiting other places.

Only when going out with other Hunters for gatherings would Yan Luo visit other places; otherwise, he usually stayed at home.

"The library!" Sasa replied immediately.

Yan Luo was slightly startled; he hadn’t expected that there were still people whose first place to visit upon arriving in a new town would be the library.

Sasa continued, "The library at Crimson No.2 houses some obscure materials not found in the public databases; I want to see those."

Since Sasa said so, Yan Luo had no reason to object. He remotely summoned his motorbike, letting it arrive at the guild entrance.

The two got on the motorbike, and Yan Luo placed a helmet over Sasa’s head, then asked her to hold onto the handles tightly.

The motorbike zoomed like a bullet, speeding down the street.

The wind blowing towards them was mostly blocked by Yan Luo’s broad body, and Sasa could only feel the exhilarating speed, something she couldn’t experience sitting in a car before.

"I heard from Lingyu Junior that you are a lone Hunter?" Sasa shouted.

Yan Luo answered, "Yes."

Sasa then laughed, "You can consume Demon flesh to strengthen yourself, right?"

In that instant, a chill ran down Yan Luo’s spine, and he tensed all over.

Without waiting for Yan Luo’s response, Sasa continued on her own, "Why does eating the meat of mutated animals strengthen the body? The answer is simple; it’s not the meat that works but the Magic Power within it. The Abyss’ Demons are primarily composed of Magic Power, and even when their parts are separated from the body, they can remain for a while; theoretically, they are consumable. However, after ingestion, they quickly turn into Magic Power and dissipate from the body.

"You’re different; your adaptability to Magic Power is extremely low, preventing it from entering your body. Conversely, once Magic Power enters your body, it barely disperses. You can spend time digesting that Magic Power, just like how you digest the Magic Power in mutated animals’ meat!

"Yan Luo, your disguise is clumsy. Being an ordinary person yet choosing to be a lone Hunter, anyone with a sharp mind, like me, can sense the inconsistencies about you, no matter how you try to conceal them; there will always be flaws. My sense is quite keen, and while feeling your muscles, I realized your muscle structure is different from ordinary people’s—more resilient. Although firm to the touch, a slight press reveals its superb elasticity.

"You’ve ventured onto a path distinct from mutated animals and Engravers; haha, how delightful this discovery is! It was worth coming here!"

Screeeech!

The motorbike came to an abrupt stop, and Sasa, caught off guard, was thrown forward, hitting Yan Luo’s back.

Dizzy, she leaned on Yan Luo’s back to sit up, feeling something wet on her nose. She touched and said woefully, "I’m having a nosebleed."

Yan Luo took a deep breath, then exhaled as if releasing all his tension.

"...We’re here."