Monster Paradise Chapter 26: The Terrifying Yin Crow Flock!
Fatty sprang up as he was slapped into consciousness by Lin Huang. See his chunky naked upper body, he immediately covered himself with his blanket and shouted in alarm. “What are you planning?!”
“No time to explain! Quick follow me!” Lin Huang yelled as he tore off the blanket. Underneath the sheets, Fatty was naked except for a pair of tiny red boxers.
“Let me put on some clothes first.” Fatty Yin covered his breasts in response.
“Quit stalling. We’re about to lose our lives!” Lin Huang shouted as he pulled him out of the tent by his arm.
Fatty was obviously unwilling but hearing the panic in Lin Huang’s voice, he quickly grabbed the pile of clothes behind and followed Lin Huang out of the tent.
The moment he stepped out, he was stunned by the sight that greeted him.
The sky seemed to be cut in half as two distinct layers could be clearly seen in the horizon. One half was a dark navy blue unique to the night sky, the other a pitch black ink blot that was slowly creeping towards them and expanding.
“It’s a Yin Crow Flock. Shit, we’re done for...” Fatty Yin’s lips quivered as he said this.
“Quit yapping and get on!” Lin Huang summoned Tyrant and quickly hopped onto his shoulders.
Tyrant grabbed the fatty and dumped on his shoulder and, seeing the crow herd behind him, took off at full speed. It was a no-holds-barred mad dash away from the incoming herd. A blistering 120 km sprint.
Fortunately, Lin Huang had already settled down on Tyrant’s shoulders and was grabbing onto Tyrant’s needle-like beard, preventing him from falling off. However, fatty had barely got on before Tyrant started dashing, coupled with the pile of clothes in his other hand, he soon fell off Tyrant’s shoulders.
This gave Lin Huang a terrible fright however it was short-lived as Tyrant caught the falling meatball in the nick of time. However, he did not place Fatty Yin back on his hands but carried him in his hands and continued with his sprinting.
Under Tyrant’s panic mode, the ride was even bumpier than usual. The fatty in Tyrant’s hand suffered the most from this high speed escape. It was as if he was thrown into a washing machine, as he tumbled around in Tyrant’s hands. It wasn’t long before he fainted.
Lin Huang didn’t fare much better as the bumpiness increased as Tyrant picked his speed once more. He forced himself not to vomit as a strong wave of nausea washed over him.
However even with Tyrant’s speed, the sea of blackness continued growing as the Yin Crow Flock grew closer and closer.
Yin Crows belonged to the poltergeist family of monsters and as such did not possess a physical body. They fed on souls to sustain themselves and moved as pack, floating through the sky like a dark cloud. A cloud with the speed of a race car.
This flock mentality came about as each individual crow was weak, only possessing the strength of a BlackIron and with their lack of a physical body, easily banished. As such they started hunting as a flock. In the face of such a massive amount of crows, even Gold ranked individuals steered clear of them.
Lin Huang attended a course called 《Basic Monster Illustrations》while he was at the Hunter Preparatory Institution. Within it was a description of Yin Crows. He remembered a line which said:
“While in deserted areas like deserts or forests, if you happen on a large pile of corpses without any injury, you must steer clear of the area. This is one of the common signs of a Yin Crow Flock passing through. They only consume the souls of their prey and as such cause no visible wounds on their prey.”
Lin Huang’s face grew darker and darker as he noticed the distance between the crows and him shrink.
Various plans raced through his mind as desperately tried to find a solution. Yin Crows did not possess a physical body so there is no point hiding. They are able to pass through any obstacles, including the ground or even a mountain.
Life energy is able to harm these crows but even with the combat strength of the Gold realm, it still isn’t enough to deal with a flock of these crows. Besides I’m unable to utilize Life Energy attacks and fatty is nothing more than a BlackIron. Even if he had a special skill which counters these birds, his strength is insufficient.
From the looks of things, they will catch up with us in under half an hour. The only option left is to call for help. With that head examiner’s Dimensional Relic, we should be safe…
This was the only feasible plan that came to plan but he still hesitated. Using the SOS beacon is the same as forfeiting this exam. If this flock fell within the exam’s acceptable boundary, he would fail no matter what.
If it was the normal Lin Huang, he would have pressed the SOS beacon long ago but completing this exam was a requirement of the Mission Card he drew. If he failed this mission, he would lose his Blessing and everything that came with it.
This meant losing Kuro, all his Monster Cards, Skill Cards and even the Prana he gained. He would be left in an even worse state than when he had transmigrated to this world.
Lin Huang was torn by this dilemma. If he was disqualified, it would be difficult for him to register for and pass another Reserve Hunter Exam. Furthermore, he had banked on passing this exam and therefore did not look up the details of the other exams.At this moment, he also was unable to search the HeartNet for details.
Looking at the fatty in Tyrant’s hands, he frowned. If Fatty Yin had not passed out, he could have tried persuading Fatty Yin to give up on the exam and press the SOS button. He would then compensate him with several Equipment. However with Fatty Yin knocked out, there was no way to retrieve the SOS beacon from fatty’s storage space.
Finally, after a long frantic deliberation, coupled with the encroaching flock of crows, Lin Huang finally made up his mind. Given the current circumstances, living is the most important thing. As for the mission, I’ll think about that later.
With that in mind, he took out his own SOS beacon and forcefully pressed the red SOS button.
Monster Paradise Chapter 27: Getting out of Danger
7D121 Stronghold,
Approximately 800 km away, in a luxurious hotel room…
A beautiful lady was sleeping soundly on a soft king sized bed, draped with a extravagant looking blanket covered in gold embroidery.
She wore a loose fitting, white satin nightie that barely covered her buttocks. Beneath that were a pair of long slender legs with skin so smooth and fair that it gave off a seductive lustre under the moonlight.
Suddenly a vibrating sound echoed throughout the room, disturbing the serenity of the room. It came from the Imperial Heart Ring on the lady’s left hand.
*Di Di*
A loud beeping sound soon followed, disrupting this lady’s peaceful slumber.
She got up with an annoyed look on her face, her temper on the verge of exploding as she ruffled her hair to vent her frustration. “It’s the middle of the night! Let me sleep!”
She belonged to the type of people who absolutely hated having their sleep interrupted. As she accepted the distress signal, her face revealed a savage expression as she swore to herself “ When I find out who woke me up in the middle of night, I’ll make sure you regret it.”
A three dimensional map popped out from the Imperial Heart Ring’s projector. It was the entire map of the examination grounds. Within the map, a conspicuous red dot was continuously blinking while giving off a beeping sound.
This red dot naturally belonged to Lin Huang.
“What’s up with this guy? Why doesn’t he just remain at his initial location and await rescue?!” Yi Yue Yu she grumbled as she stared at the constantly moving red dot. However she soon noticed the strangeness of the red dot, “There’s something off about this candidate’s speed. Even a BlueCopper has difficulty moving at such speeds in the desert.”
Putting aside her doubts momentarily, she put on her clothes and makeup before getting ready to summon her dimensional door. Based on the target’s velocity, she set the coordinates on her Dimensional Relic and summoned the doorway. She pushed open the large green wooden doors and stepped through the doorway.
She reappeared a moment later in the examination grounds. She wore an icy cold expression as stood there with arms crossed, looking at the 3D map.
Seeing the target rapidly approaching her location, she smiled sinisterly, the grudge from her interrupted sleep still fresh in her mind. However, this changed as she spotted an oddity in the sky.
The sky was seemingly blanketed by a shadow and that same shadow was rapidly closing in on her. With her eyesight, she quickly determined it was a flock of Yin Crows.
Recalling the red dot’s velocity and constant movement, she finally understood the dot’s actions. She couldn’t help but chuckle, “Who is the poor soul being chased by a flock of Yin Crows. Being able to survive till now is pretty impressive…”
Soon, a growing dust cloud rapidly closed in on her, as if there was an object rapidly sprinting towards her. She stared in shock as a gigantic ogre madly dashed towards her.
“A Sand Ogre? The Yin Crows should catch up with that ogre any moment now. What about that fellow who sent out the distress signal? Is he behind the ogre?” Yi Yue Yu tried to peer behind the ogre but was blocked by the trail of dust behind him.
It was at this moment that a voice echoed from the direction of the ogre, “Miss Head Examiner, please get us out of here!”
She finally noticed the teenager sitting atop the Sand Ogre, furiously waving his hand.
At first, Lin Huang didn’t notice the examiner but instead saw the green wooden door. He then spotted the examiner nearby.
“That kid is a Beastermaster?!” She gasped in shock as she recalled the sight of a candidate sheepishly admitting that he missed the registration. He was also the only candidate who had reached the rank of BlackIron.
Due to the slight delay caused by her putting on her clothes and makeup, the Yin Crows were practically at their doorstep and closing in fast.
Lin Huang frantically egged the ogre on while turning around constantly to check on the crows.
The Sand Ogre naturally complied with his orders, he also knew how scary the Yin Crows were.
Realizing the how dangerous their predicament was, she immediately formed a series of hand seals and created a mystical insignia out of her golden Life Energy. The insignia automatically imprinted itself on the wooden door the moment it was completely formed, causing the two metres tall door to expand rapidly. Within 3 seconds, the door grew to a height of 10 metres.
She pressed on the enormous door and with creaking sound, the door started opening.
“Run through that door!” Lin Huang immediately gave a new order to Tyrant.
The Yin Crow Flock was only a few hundred metres away from the ogre at this point. Given a couple seconds more, the flock would have caught up with the group.
Yi Yue yu knew how dire the situation was so she spent her Life Energy to transform the dimensional door.
Tyrant didn’t slow down for a second and as he approached the door, he took a giant leap through the door. At this point, the flock was less than a hundred metres away however, Yi Yue Yu didn’t pay attention to them as she immediately stepped through the door as well.
With loud a bang, the green door closed up and disappeared just as the spear head of the flock was about to collide with it. A moment later, a tidal wave of shadows crashed into the spot where the door once stood, accompanied by the clamoring of the Yin Crows.
The bedroom in Yi Yue Yu’s suite was a complete mess at this moment. There was a large hole in the ceiling which penetrated through several floors. This was caused by Tyrant as he teleported in, by the time Lin Huang had thought of this problem, it was too late to recall the ogre.
Yi Yue Yu’s face was a deathly pale as she sat on her bed, Lin Huang on the other hand stood stock still like statue by her side while fatty was lying on the floor, unconscious as ever.
“You are Lin Huang right?” She remembered his name from the time when she helped him register for the exam. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
This question finally brought Lin Huang to his senses as he breathed a sigh of relief. Ominous thoughts of damages, compensation and fees previously filled his head as his brain pertually cycled through “I’m screwed and “I can’t pay for this”. Hearing that question, he knew that the examiner wouldn’t ask him to pay for the room’s damages and repairs.
After collecting his thoughts he started recounting how he had encountered the crows and how after desperately trying to shake them off, he had no choice but to send out the distress signal.
“The distress signal was sent half an hour ago so you are saying the crows were chasing even before that?”
“Yea, if it wasn’t for those pesky crows, I wouldn’t have used my SOS beacon.” Lin Huang grimaced as he remembered the incident.
“Your ogre was able to run away from the Yin Crows for half an hour? That’s not the speed of a normal Three-Star BlackIron Sand Ogre. It should be mutant right?” She had previously suspected this when she first saw the ogre but she was now completely sure.
Mutated monsters were rarity. Once they mutated, their basic abilities underwent a massive change, even having the possibility of having a skill new manifest, and also allowed for greater growth.
Tyrant had underwent a natural mutation unlike Shirou. Tyrant was already a Rare Card when Lin Huang attained it so he didn’t have much reason to hide it. Furthermore, the more he displayed his abilities and worth, the less likely he would be disqualified.
“Yes, it’s a mutant.” Lin Huang as he replied.
“Alright.” Yi Yue Yu had a neutral expression as she continued, “I’ll have to report this incident to the higher ups. By morning, the problem should be resolved and I’ll send both of you back to your original position. You can continue the exam then.”
“You mean we won’t get disqualified?” Lin Huang nervously asked.
“What’s the matter? Do you want to get disqualified?” She rolled her eyes at Lin Huang.
“No. No. I didn’t use the SOS beacon. The emergency communicator was busted from the start, I didn’t send out the distress signal.” Lin Huang waved his hands furiously as he blatantly changed his previous statement. Shameless…
“Beastmasters are a rare talent and as such, they are always welcome to join the Association. Beastmaster who own a mutated minion like her even have special privileges such as direct entry. However, I’ve used up my 3 recommendation slots for the month so I can’t bring you into the Association. So you have no choice but to pass the exam under the normal rules.” Yi Yue Yu explained in detail why he was given such leniency.
“If you can’t pass the exam this month, I can directly recruit you into the Association. You just have to head to 7C87 and register directly.”
Lin Huang did not expect his Beastmaster identity to be so useful. With the matter of his exam qualifications settled, a heavy load lifted off his mind.
“By the way, regarding the damages , I’ve paid it for you. When you’ve earned the money, you can return it to me then.” Yi Yue Yu added.
“Damages… Fees…” Lin Huang’s mood plunged straight into the depths of hell as his initial elation at having his qualifications retained, swiftly changed into despair at the thought of paying the repair fee.
“Alright, you can bring that fatty out of my room. Gather at the hotel lobby at 9 am. The Yin Crows should be taken care of by then, I’ll send you two back at that time.” As she finished saying this, she chased them out.
Lin Huang left the room with a helpless look on his face and tub of lard on his back.
Just as she closed the room door, Yi Yue Yu smiled, “ Looks like my luck is pretty good. I found another Beastmaster with a mutated minion. Now let’s who still dares to say the newbies I pick are all scrubs!”
What she didn’t know was that the beastmaster in question was constantly labelled by a certain black card as being ------ A Scrub!
Monster Paradise Chapter 28: An affair?
8 am…
Lin Huang just woke up from his slumber.
While last night’s harrowing events left him drained, he did not get much sleep. The traumatic events of last night still haunted him.
In contrast, Fatty Yin was sleeping soundly on a bed, his snores echoing thunderously , beside him a bed laid empty. Initially, Lin Huang rented a two person room but the snoring left him little choice but to rent another hotel room, several units away.
Checking the time, he went to wake the fatty up for breakfast. As they walked towards the hotel lobby after their breakfast, Lin Huang recounted the events of the previous night.
At 9, Yi Yue Yu arrived wearing a purple dress with pair of 20 cm tall black high heels.
Her appearance attracted the gaze of the majority of the men in the lobby.
“Has the Yin Crow Flock been taken care of?” Seeing her approach them, Lin Huang hastily inquired. The Yin Crows deeply traumatized him, he couldn’t calm down without confirmation of their demise.
“They’ve been taken care of, after you left my room, I contacted the Association. Apparently, they sent over a Transcendent who suppressed the crows within a minute.” A look of awe crossed her face as she said this.
“Within a minute?!” Lin Huang could hardly believe what he was hearing. Up till now, he wasn’t sure how strong the highest combat rank actually was. However after hearing this, he knew that Transcendents were clearly existences that surpassed humanity.
“A Transcendent’s strength is unfathomable. However that is a matter for the future, what you need to focus on is how to pass the exam and advancing into BlackIron. As she finished the sentence, she added, “and how to repay me…”
Hearing her say that, Lin Huang chose to keep quiet, in case he inadvertently remind her of his debt once more.
“Since the birds are gone, the examination grounds are safe again. Follow me, I’ll send the two of you back to your original position. You can continue the exam from there.” Yi Yue Yu said as she brought the two to her room.
As they approached her room, Lin Huang saw the room number and an awkward look crossed his face, “ You didn’t get a new room?”
“The hotel owner didn’t allow me to. He was afraid I would wreck the room again…” She gave him a dirty look as she said this.
She unlocked the door and the three entered the room in single file. “What the heck. Sister what have you have been doing in this room? Even the ceiling is damaged!”
“You have to ask him.” Yi Yue Yu pointed at Lin Huang.
Lin Huang winced at being mentioned.
“No way, both of you spent the night in this room?” As if he had just uncovered a scandal, he leered at the two of them, “ An affair?”
“Screw off, you were there too.” Lin Huang knew the fatty’s mind was in the gutters again.
“I was there?! What were you two doing to me while I was unconscious? I’m a virgin!”
“Shut up!” Lin Huang and Yi Yue Yu simultaneously retorted.
“Any other questions? If not, I’ll send you guys off.” She looked at the duo. They shook their heads in response.
She summoned the familiar dimensional doorway once more and pushed it open.
Stepping through it, Lin Huang and the fatty found themselves at the spot where the ogre leaped through the enlarged door last night.
“Where are we?” Fatty Yin asked with a look of confusion on his face. He was out cold for the majority of the battle.
Lin Huang looked around as well. The surroundings were foreign to him. He barely looked at the surrounding as they fled from the crows last night. However, he soon came up with an estimate, “Last night the Yin Crow Flock came from the south, Tyrant fled north for half an hour. So we should be 60km north of our campsite.”
“Should continue east then?” Fatty Yin quizzed.
“Let’s retrieve our tents first or we will have nowhere to sleep tonight.” Lin Huang replied before heading off.
“Alright, with Tyrant’s speed, it will only take half an hour.” Fatty Yin gave his approval as well.
Half an hour later…
Tyrant arrived at the campsite with the duo on his shoulders.
Looking around, the campsite was mostly intact except for Fatty’s tent which had been slashed by Lin Huang. Yin Crows only consumed souls so objects like their tents were naturally left untouched.
“There’s a gashing hole in my tent thanks to your knife. Is it even usable?” Fatty Yin griped as he looked at his crooked masterpiece of a tent.
“You can sleep outside if you want.” Lin Huang retorted as he took down his tent. He did not intend to share a tent with the Fatty.
Fatty Yin knew Lin Huang did not want to share a tent with him and so, obediently took down his tent while murmuring to himself, “If I knew this would happen, I would’ve gotten up earlier and bought a tent…”
“By the way, what were you doing with that woman last night? Just tell me. What happened to the room? Why do you owe her money?” Fatty Yin kept rambling while taking down his tent.
Lin Huang ignored the fatty and continued taking down his tent. His debt fouled his mood greatly. He quietly swore to never summon Tyrant in a hotel room again.
“Hey, say something!” Seeing Lin Huang ignore him, he tossed a nail at him to get his attention.
“You seem to be really free?” Lin Huang frowned as he replied.
After a while, Fatty Yin tossed another nail at Lin Huang, “Why is your mood so foul? Did she steal your virginity?”
“Just shut up and get back to work!”
Fatty Yin finally stopped badgering Lin Huang.
After a while, he opened his mouth hole again “I still think that Demoness treats you differently…”
“You’re overthinking things.” Lin Huang replied without turning around.
Seeing the lack of reaction, Fatty Yin finally grew bored (of being a douchebag) and went back to his tent.
Without Fatty Yin’s constant rambling, the world (and the chapter) seemed a whole lot nicer.
Monster Paradise Chapter 29: The Monster from Down Under
After packing up the tents, the duo got onto Tyrant’s shoulders and continued their journey east.
Strangely, they had encountered multiple monster attacks during their trip. Thankfully, Tyrant’s overwhelming strength suppressed them without wasting too much time.
Usually monsters avoided Tyrant, attacks such as these used to be a rarity. However, in the past few hours, they encountered 4 of such attacks by monsters that were pretty much fodder to Tyrant.
Under normal circumstances, no matter how low their intelligence was, they knew how to sense and avoid danger instinctively. This type of suicidal action was unheard of.
1 pm…
The desert’s temperature had reached its peak.
Lin Huang and the fatty spotted an abandoned house in the distance and decided to make a pit stop there.
These abandoned houses were designated by the Association as Supply Points.
The duo hopped off Tyrant’s shoulders and entered the Supply Point.
The house was dilapidated and looks like it had been abandoned for several years. It was a Supply Point which existed before the exam.
The Hunter Association would often erect Supply Points in the hinterlands to aid travellers.
“Judging by the wear on this house, I would say its been here for at least 30 years. Hopefully it’s still stocked up on supplies.” Fatty Yin commented.
“Even if it was an abandoned Supply Point, the association would likely restock it for this exam. The house is situated right on the route towards our destination. Plus, this is the midpoint of the exam, reusing this Supply Point has a couple of uses. One, it can provide supplies for candidates who have or wish to give up. Two, it can resupply the candidates who wish to continue, increasing the chance of them passing.”
Lin Huang was 80% sure that the Supply Point had supplies. “We will know when we enter.”
As they entered the house, they noticed it was built like a storehouse. There were large jerry cans full of water, shelves and crates of high energy foods.
Fatty squealed with glee as he walked off towards a shelf, looking around, he finally found his target and grabbed a bag from the shelf. He tore open the package and gobbled down the contents.
Lin Huang stored a jerry can of water and walked towards the fatty, “You were that hungry?”
“Kind of. This is my favourite brand of crackers.” As if on purpose, Fatty Yin licked his fingers several times after finishing the crackers. Lin Huang was a bit of a clean freak.
“If you are hungry, then go prepare a meal. One packet of cracker is enough. You know the rules.” Lin Huang walked out as he said so. The rule he was referring to was an unwritten rule among Hunters ----- You only took what you needed from the Supply Point.
This was because the supplies in the Supply Point were meant for emergencies. Sometimes one cup of water, one bite of food was the difference between life and death. That’s why it was inappropriate for visitors to take more than they needed.
While Fatty Yin was pretty thick skinned, it wasn’t to the point of ignoring such a rule. After finishing his first packet and grabbing another, he stopped, grabbed a jerry can and left the room.
Lin Huang sat under the porch hydrating himself as he waited for the fatty. Seeing him walk out, he reminded Fatty Yin, “Remember to wash your hands before cooking!”
The fatty’s cooking was really good but his hygiene left a lot to be desired.
After ensuring Fatty Yin washed his hands, he finally allowed Fatty Yin to being cooking.
Soon, the delicious smell of roasted meat wafted through the air as the two sat on the porch eating and drinking.
“Actually I packed a bottle of wine before the exam, thinking I could have a celebration at the midpoint but it ended up being confiscated.” Fatty Yin grumbled.
“This is an exam not a resort retreat…” Lin Huang had to give it to Fatty Yin. Only he would think of such a thing the day before the exam.
“Barbecue is meant to be enjoyed with alcohol. Have you heard of people pairing Grilled meat with plain water?” Fatty Yin retorted with an indignant look on his face.
Reflecting on that, pairing meat with plain water is a pretty strange scene.
“Alright, enough complaining. Once you finish your food, we will set off. The plan is to reach the foot of the snowy mountains around sunset.” According to Lin Huang’s plan, this would take 6-7 hours of travel.
With lunch out of the way and Fatty’s kitchenware cleaned up, the pair resumed their journey.
As Tyrant sprinted under the scorching rays of the sun, Lin Huang and the fatty sat on his shoulders,each wearing a pair of sunglasses. It seemed like a vacation at a beach.
However, this relaxed atmosphere was soon disrupted. Lin Huang felt the desert floor in the distance, stir as if there was something tunnelling underneath it. Removing his sunglasses, he stared at that spot once more but saw nothing.
His brows furrowed. “Fatty, do you see something moving over there? Underneath the sand dune.” He raised his voice, pointing at the dune in question.
“Nope, must be your imagination. There’s no wind right now so any movement is visible for all to see.” Fatty Yin dismissed Lin Huang’s question with a wave of his hand.
However just as he said this, the dune started shaking and the sand rippled violently as the disturbance tunnelled towards them.
“There’s something coming towards us!” Lin Huang shouted. By this time, the Sand Ogre noticed something, his nose wrinkled as it picked up the scent of the intruder. The Sand Ogre started hesitating.
Seeing Tyrant’s unusual behaviour, Lin Huang readied for battle. Such a reaction could only mean their guest had hostile intentions. He grabbed tightly onto Tyrant’s beard with one hand and readied his Gray Eagle 17 on the other.
“Tyrant, stop!”
Lin Huang gave this command as he saw their guest’s speed was much faster than Tyrant. If they tried to escape, they would be caught up within a period of short time. Preparing to fight was a smarter choice.
“Fatty prepare yourself. Looks like it’s going to be a tough fight.” Lin Huang reminded Fatty Yin.
Fatty Yin had already readied himself prior to this reminder. He had also noticed Tyrant’s behaviour .
Tyrant came to a screeching halt and readied himself as well, his chest rising and falling rapidly as his heartbeat accelerated.
Lin Huang took aim at the sand ripples and fired his Gray Eagle 17. This was a probing shot and meant to kill the opponent, so he naturally used normal bullets.
*ding*
The bullets bounced the disturbance with a loud ring as if it had hit a hard metallic surface. The sand ripples continued its advance unabated, ignoring the bullets. Lin Huang knew the bullets did not even penetrate the creature’s hide.
Fatty Yin was also familiar with the Gray Eagle 17, seeing the bullets bounce off harmlessly, his face paled.
Tyrant howled into the air, his anxiety apparent for all to hear…