Jake acknowledged their gratitude with a wave of his hand. "It''s okay," he replied modestly.

    "Now, since this hunt turned out to be relatively easy, we might as well go after the Mountain Troll," Jake suggested. The team responded with enthusiastic nods and cheers.

    ****

    On Sophia''s side, unlike Jake''s easy win, it was difficult, as the Aqua Deer proved more formidable than she thought. Most of her time and energy were wasted on keeping the Water Control of Aqua Deer in check while others attacked it from different directions.

    Still, after hours of hard work and guerrilla tactics, they slew it, albeit now there is nothing left on its body that they can harvest.

    "Haaah, we win, yet our gain was not that big," Sophia sighed, holding the only loot, a medallion and an Aqua Deer Core.

    "It''s a pity we can''t have its meat," Milo said.

    Sophia and others nodded, but what can they do? Their attacks have mangled the body of the Aqua Deer to pulp.

    "Let''s return after searching around," Sophia said, hoping to at least find any other natural resources.

    "We should hunt as we return. Captain''s team won''t harvest any meat," Milo suggested, and Sophia nodded.

    The plan was to let Sophia''s team gather Aqua Deer meat after defeating it, but it is thrown in the gutter, leading them to resort to other wild beasts.

    As they scoured the area for any valuable resources, Sophia''s team stumbled upon a cluster of rare water magic herbs glistening under the sunlight. Excitedly, they collected as much as they could, knowing these herbs could become a good spice for their food.

    While gathering the herbs, they encountered another water elemental beast, a Serpent Seal lurking by a nearby stream. Despite their exhaustion from the previous battle, hunger pangs urged them on. They decided to take on the challenge, viewing it as an opportunity to replenish their food supplies.

    And since it was only a C+ rank beast, Sophia and Milo were enough to kill it. Milo froze it while Sophia sliced its head off with a sharp water blade. They drained its blood and preserved it in ice before starting their journey back to the campsite.

    Returning to the campsite, they found it empty, wondering what had caused Jake''s team to delay.

    "Milo, you''re in charge," Sophia said, then started rushing towards the Swamp region.

    Milo watched her back as she hurried away, then turned to the team and instructed them to start preparing for lunch.

    While giving the order, Milo couldn''t help but think, ''Should I follow her too? If our Captain is being delayed, it means the opponent is surely strong.''

    However, realizing that his presence wouldn''t make much difference, he decided to focus on the camp and prepare a good meal for the others.

    Sophia, on the other hand, soon reached the Swamp region and found various swamp beasts feeding on a weirdly shaped Mud Spitter.

    She observed the scene and quickly understood that the Mud Spitter had been dead for hours. "If it''s dead, then where is Jake and the others?" she wondered aloud.

    Sophia looked around for clues and spotted a flag bound to a tall tree. Making her way to it, she read the message engraved on it:

    She then went back at the top of tree and meditated there as she waited for another swarm to form on this battlefield, which will help her grow her fighting techniques and allow her to harvest a large number of Cores.

    ****

    While As Jake moved towards the mountain region, he checked the Talent of Multi Mask Jester, he Plundered after it''s death.

    [ "Amulet of a Hundred Masks" ]

    Change into 100 different beasts.

    Extra mass will be replaced by Core Energy.

    Can change into the beasts whose meat and core the user has eaten.

    Additional Ability: Perfect Terrain Adaptability. ]

    Jake then delved deeper into the information and discovered that there were only two beasts he could currently transform into. One was the Jade Horn Rabbit, a Divine beast, which he had consumed frequently during his childhood. The other was the Phoenix Blood Chicken, another favorite food of his.

    A wide smile spread across Jake''s lips as he read this revelation. "Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the tasty food you always made for me," he murmured gratefully.

    ~tsk tsk, some one was born with Mithril spoon

    [He has eaten more, just not their cores so he can''t change into them currently]

    Jake ignored their banter and looked for the abilities he will gain after transforming into them.

    [ Jade Horn rabbit ]

    Innate Ability : Jade Purification, Sky Jump, Jade Driller Rush]

    - Jade Purification : Purify all poison up to one Rank above user

    - Sky Jump : Jump 10 time further than original capacity

    - Jade Driller rush : Concentrate all of your power to a single point and deals internal damage too.

    [ Phoenix blood Chicken ]

    Innate ability : Blood Burn, Phoenix Cry, Phoenix Blood ]

    - Blood Burn : Ignite the Phoenix blood and enter into Berserk state, improving overall ability by 50% for 1 minute .

    - Phoenix Cry : Subdue those with lower will power than your self.

    - Phoenix Blood : Increased regeneration by 100% and heal others by giving your blood to others.