High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1844: Chapter 65: The Last Day

The advantage that Old Verne mentioned was fully validated in the subsequent trials.

While the other students of Astronomy Class 08-1 were preparing for Flerek, the five hunters of the Absolution Hunting Team had already left the camp, embarking on their journey of exploration—of course, on the first day, Li Meng stayed obediently in the camp, diligently preparing common magic potions for her teammates while munching on Old Verne’s chickpea puree four or five times a day.

Adapting to the new world’s environment through food is the oldest and safest method of Flerek preparation.

In the following six days, Zheng Qing led his hunting team, completing one project per day, sweeping through those unknown areas marked on the map, progressing from easy to difficult. Due to their initial advantage, they always faced less risk in their chosen areas than others, thus completing basic exploration tasks more quickly, and having more time to rest and complete additional trial tasks.

This formed a very favorable positive feedback loop.

By August 29th, the penultimate day of the trial meeting, the points on the trial cards of the six young wizards of the Absolution Hunting Team had risen from sixty on the first day to an average of one hundred and fifty, firmly occupying the first place on the total score leaderboard.

Apart from Li Meng, the other five almost scored ten points each day for basic projects, with only slight differences in bonus points.

For instance, on the second day of the trial, Xin Fat Man used his own magic potion to clear a nest of Deng’s White Ants, earning a five-point bonus; on the third day, Zhang Ji Xin shattered an Earth-bound Spirit, earning an eight-point bonus; and Zheng Qing and Jiang Yu jointly purified a lush area of Corrosion on the fifth evening of the trial, each receiving a ten-point bonus.

Li Meng had one less point than others right from the start, and then wasted a day on Flerek preparation, so by the day before the trial ended, her total just barely reached one hundred and twenty.

Compared to some unlucky ones—like Duan Xiao Jian, who dived straight into a thundercloud layer after disembarking—Li Meng’s score was already satisfactory, but compared to her own team, it was slightly inferior.

As they say, better than some, but not as good as others.

Therefore, after the sixth day of the trial, the little witch kept a stern face, looking at everyone with an expression full of bitterness and resentment. Even Jiang Yu’s sweet licorice bean paste couldn’t lift her spirits.

”Bean paste, bean paste, bean paste!”

Li Meng poked at her dinner with a wooden spoon, glaring fiercely at Zheng Qing, as if stabbing an unashamed scoundrel across the table, muttering complaints, ”It’s chickpea puree all day long... isn’t there anything else to eat?”

”The meat from the back of a ghoul’s neck is quite chewy, but you won’t eat it.”

Zheng Qing, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, shifted his seat as if a few sharp thorns were growing there: ”And there’s fried spider, sandworm sauce... Just finding something to eat in the Black Prison is good enough, you know, the last time I came to the Black Prison...”

”The last time you came to the Black Prison, you saw those prisoners only eating bone scraps.”

Li Meng rolled her eyes, preemptively helping Zheng Qing finish his sentence, then disdainfully poked at the bean paste, ”Can’t you say something new? You’ve said that a hundred times.”

”Meng Meng!”

Jiang Yu tapped her spoon warningly, ”Even though we’ve completed Flerek preparation, continuing to eat local food strengthens our connection to this world, which is very important for this trial. Don’t throw a tantrum!”

The little witch pursed her lips but didn’t dare retort, bowing her head and starting to eat the bean paste on her plate, though her spoon clattered against it noisily.

Zheng Qing quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

A bamboo skewer extended from the side, with a crispy, oily fried spider skewered on it.

”The fried spider you wanted.” The fat man, either partially deaf or only caught part of the conversation, thought Zheng Qing wanted a fried spider, ”There’s no more sandworm sauce, but there’s some pickled termite eggs, want some?”

Deng’s White Ants are poisonous, but their eggs, when pickled, have a peculiar spicy flavor that mixes surprisingly well with chickpea puree.

Zheng Qing followed Jian Ruiliu’s suggestion, not only stirring a spoonful into his bean paste but also spreading a thick layer on the fried spider.

He was about to continue his dinner but found the fat man still watching him eagerly.

”What is it this time?” The young scholarship student put down his skewer, sighing.

The fat man blinked.

”Where’s your little snake? Aren’t you letting it out for some air?” He rubbed his hands enthusiastically, as if offering to babysit, ”... After Furry Bean was sent away, it’s the only pet we’ve got left.”

The school’s trial prohibited bringing pets, alchemy puppets, or anything that might boost students’ magic abilities, but there was no rule about pets that found and followed their masters on their own.

Furry Bean was a dog with Tingdalous hunting dog lineage, allowing it to hide in the crevices of angular spacetime, evading the school’s detection.

So, on the second morning of the trial meeting, when this grey dog started meowing and running around the tent, not only were the young wizards of the Absolution Hunting Team stunned, but even Old Verne, responsible for the camp, was left dumbfounded, having no idea where the dog had come from without triggering the alert magic.

After a round of urgent contacts and discussions, the innocent Zheng Qing managed to keep his poor score, but Furry Bean was taken away by the irate camp coordinator and sent back to school.

As for the little snake the fat man mentioned, it referred to the Little Green Snake hidden in Zheng Qing’s ear.

On the first day of the trial, after they passed through the thundercloud layer unscathed, the fat man was intensely curious about Zheng Qing’s methods, displaying a journalist’s instincts to probe and ask questions constantly.

Zheng Qing, wanting to be transparent with everyone, brought out the Little Green Snake during their first exploration of an unknown area to introduce it to the hunters of the Absolution Hunting Team.

Of course, he would never tell his teammates the Little Green Snake’s true identity—if he dared to reveal it as a fragment of essence from the Sea Demon King’s unvanquished true form before it advanced, he’d have to explain much more to them.

Sometimes, too many secrets are indeed troublesome.

Every lie that hides the truth must be covered by more lies. If you don’t want to keep lying, then staying silent is the only smart choice.

Back to the main topic.

Although the fat man didn’t know the Little Green Snake’s true identity, its beautiful heterochromatic eyes and the peculiar magic aura surrounding it captivated him, making him hassle Zheng Qing every day to see it more often.