MMORPG: War God, You are Invincible Again

The elf girl's business was something he simply couldn't worry about; if the old man could handle it, he would have done so, and if not, there was nothing he could do about it, since he was merely a commoner of half-orc descent. No, if someone discovered his half-orc lineage, he might be treated even worse than a commoner. Of course, having seen the empire's princes treat the old man with respect, Lu Hong was confident the matter would be easily resolved.

Even though entering the hunting grounds required payment, and it was quite expensive, Lu Hong firmly believed that the second prince, who had shown such understanding the night before, must have already arranged everything. And indeed, Lu Hong was right. When he came down to the inn's lobby, a security guard specifically assigned to him was already waiting: "Mr. Tugulu, my name is Chet, and I'm the security guard at your service today."

"Take me to the unclassified Demon Beast area; I want to go hunting there."

"Please follow me." Chet led Lu Hong straight to the carriage waiting at the entrance and headed directly to the enclosures where unclassified Demon Beasts roamed: "Mr. Tugulu, this is the area where unclassified Demon Beasts appear. Since this is your first time here, allow me to provide a detailed introduction to the distribution of various Demon Beasts and their characteristics to facilitate your hunt."

"No need, and don't follow me. Just wait here for me." Demon Beasts and such—Lu Hong was overly familiar with them, having killed millions, maybe tens of millions, in the Sky Game.

"Very well, sir, I'll be waiting right here for your return. However, please take this with you. If any problems arise, just pull this string to send a signal, and I'll come immediately." Chet handed over a small signaling device, which Lu Hong took and waved off, carrying his greatsword and entering into the heart of the mountain range.

The Engels Mountain Range was not very crowded with nobles hunting for sport in the early morning, and even less so the area where unclassified Demon Beasts roamed, since not every noble offspring was limited to just two or three levels. This zone was designed purely for those without any real combat experience to practice. But for Lu Hong, it was just right at the moment.

As expected for a fully stocked area, it wasn't long before Lu Hong saw a bouncing rabbit hopping around.

"Experience! Here I come!" Lu Hong bellowed, swinging his greatsword down hard. The rabbit had just lifted its head at the sound of the whooshing blade when it was smashed on the head.

"One!" Lu Hong happily picked up his greatsword and continued the search for his next target. There wasn't much to say about the hunt against unclassified Demon Beasts—they were essentially domesticated, only a bit stronger than poultry, so let's just skip the middle process entirely.

From the moment he entered the jungle, Lu Hong kept count as he cut down his prey, leaving behind a trail of crimson blood.

"Two hundred!" Lu Hong shouted after taking down the last pangolin's head. Overwhelmed with excitement and anticipation, the Fighting Spirit within him stirred, and a surge of Fighting Spirit descended from nowhere and merged into Lu Hong's body.

"Level two warrior, achieved!" Lu Hong exclaimed in delight, it seems like leveling up by monster hunting really suited him!

To go from level two to level three, one needed five hundred unclassified Demon Beasts or two hundred and fifty level-one Demon Beasts. After some thought, Lu Hong decided to keep killing unclassified Demon Beasts until he reached level three. The strength of Demon Beasts was not classified the same way as human job levels; level-one Demon Beasts had strength that varied between level one and three of the basic human classes, depending on how vicious the Demon Beast was. Each level of Demon Beast was equivalent to passing three levels of a human class, so a level-four Demon Beast was equal to a basic twelfth-level human class.

Lu Hong's efficiency in killing unclassified Demon Beasts was certainly very high, but with the fluctuating strength of level-one Demon Beasts, what if bad luck always brought him-faced powerful beasts equivalent to basic level three? It would be troublesome to kill such beasts and a waste of time, better to go after them when he himself was level three.

As a seasoned gamer, Lu Hong had already devised his levelling strategy from level one to ten in a short amount of time.

By dusk, Lu Hong, covered in blood, finally returned to the entrance under Chet's anxious gaze.

"Mr. Tugulu, you've finally returned! I was about to come looking for you." Chet quickly went up to check Lu Hong's body, ensuring no harm other than animal blood before he could breathe a sigh of relief. After all, this was an important guest entrusted by the second prince!

"Yo Chet, long time no see, I'm hungry, take me to eat," Lu Hong said, his mood brightened significantly from successfully reaching level three. He had casually made a fire at noon and roasted some beast meat which didn't taste very good, so he wanted something more satisfying for dinner.

"Not a problem, sir. Please, follow me." With that, Chet ushered Lu Hong onto the carriage and drove back to the inn.

"Young master, how was your hunting today?" After Lu Hong had washed off the blood and changed into clothes prepared by the inn, he sat in his room ready to eat the feast that had been served when the little old man knocked on the door.

"Come in, the door is unlocked."

The little old man pushed the door open, and behind him followed a slender and extremely beautiful elf woman, both entering Lu Hong's room.

"Is this Miaomiao?"

"Answering the master, I am indeed Miaomiao," the elf girl replied very formally, kneeling as soon as she heard Lu Hong's inquiry.

"Never mind the kneeling, I don't care for that," Lu Hong signaled for Miaomiao to stand up.

"Master, please take this; it's Miaomiao's slave rune." An old blue mark floated from the old man's hand and slowly sank into Lu Hong's palm. From that moment on, Lu Hong had the power of life and death over Miaomiao.

Seeing Lu Hong accept the rune, the old man rubbed his hands together and asked, "How was today's haul, young master?"

"Couldn't be better," Lu Hong replied, bursting with pride as he released his Fighting Spirit.

"Holy shit!" The old man nearly dropped his jaw. Level three, he'd jumped from a level one warrior to a level three warrior in a single day. Was I hallucinating from drugs?!

"How about that? Impressive, huh?" Lu Hong chuckled.

"You really leveled up by fighting monsters?" the old man pressed.

"Definitely. I slew seven or eight hundred demon beasts today." Lu Hong casually revealed his accomplishments.

"Seven... seven or eight hundred?!" The old man was even more astonished; normally, it wasn't easy for someone in any profession to defeat demon beasts of the same level. To kill so many demon beasts in one day would normally require an overwhelming level advantage—a feat Lu Hong shouldn't have been capable of.

"Don't be surprised; it's just practice," Lu Hong enjoyed the old man's shocked expression, but what he said was true—it was all about familiarity. He knew the characteristics and weaknesses of most demon beasts like the back of his hand. While others had to struggle with demon beasts, he only needed to strike their weaknesses according to their traits, his efficiency was off the charts.

The old man really fell silent then, "Just practice," he mumbled, deep in thought. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh and declared, "I'm off to train my skills!"

"Good for you, go on then." Lu Hong was very pleased and nodded as he watched the old man leave.

After the old man had gone, Lu Hong's gaze returned to Miaomiao, who stood off to one side, timid and shrinking.

"So, Miaomiao, what can you do?" Lu Hong asked directly.

"Sir, I can sing, and I can dance, and... and I can keep you warm in bed," Miaomiao said in a small voice.

Damn, he almost spat out the food he had just stuffed into his mouth, "Cough cough, you...," Lu Hong managed to swallow his food and continued, "I didn't mean that. What is your profession?"

"Sir, I was taken away by Lord An Ze when I was very young and have never received the Heavenly God's blessing," Miaomiao replied. Indeed, Miaomiao was to be blessed on the day she was snatched away by a gang of slavers who stormed into her village, killed all the warriors, and captured the young Miaomiao.

"Not yet blessed, huh? You elves should start receiving blessings in ceremonies from the age of five," Lu Hong said, then paused; he knew that from just under five years old to now at eighteen, a little girl had passed from one group of traffickers to another and finally sold to An Ze for training. The girl must have suffered a lot.

Thinking of the other elven girls, indeed, Lu Hong wanted to rescue all the slaves from An Ze, but he knew it was impractical. "Alright, since you haven't chosen a profession, you rest up well in my room the next few days. Remember to sleep on the couch; don't you dare get on my bed. When I take you back to Kains Academy, I will have you receive the Heavenly God's blessing."

"Thank you, master. I will listen to everything the master says," Miaomiao nodded, her voice still timid.

"From now on, don't call me 'master,' just call me 'young master,' like the old man does. Besides, what profession do you want to specialize in?" Lu Hong inquired.

"I leave it to the master's decision," Miaomiao was smart. Since Lu Hong asked, he must have his own thoughts, so regardless of what she wanted herself, it was certainly right to listen to her master.

"I know most of your elven kin tend to become druids or hunters, but I have my own selfish wish for you to become a Priest instead. And for your Second Transition, you must become a Divine Punishment specialist," Lu Hong said forcefully. He indeed needed a Divine Punishment specialist to help him, and the best choice would be someone extremely loyal to him because he had something very important to retrieve!

"Understood, young master," Miaomiao's face showed neither joy nor sorrow, and Lu Hong said no more. After all, she was still his slave.

"In fact, I wanted to set you free," Lu Hong spoke after a long silence. "Unfortunately, after over ten years of being tamed, you've lost the ability to fend for yourself. An elf in human lands is unlikely to have good days. I promise that once you transition into a Divine Punishment specialist and help me retrieve a certain item, I will free you from the slave contract."

"Thank you, young master," Miaomiao rose to express her gratitude then laid back down on the couch.

"Yeah, you're welcome," Lu Hong tucked in the blanket, and then suddenly added, "Remember, don't climb into my bed at night. I'm afraid I'd kick you out!"