Chapter 31: Irista flower
In the dense and slightly foggy jungle, a sudden piercing sound broke the silence as Kevin thrust his knife into a two-feet-long brown and green centipede.
"Take that, you creepy crawly!" he exclaimed with mock bravado, doing his best to mask his disgust.
The centipede's green blood splattered on his boots, and Kevin's face contorted with revulsion. "Ugh, this is far from happiness, it's absolutely repulsive," he muttered, quickly retracting his knife from the centipede's lifeless body.
Kevin had set out early that morning, knowing that the part of the mountains he chose for hunting would soon be crowded with other hunters. By arriving early, he hoped to reduce the competition and find more monsters to hunt. Surprisingly, he encountered many like-minded individuals, some hunting in groups while others, like him, ventured alone.
There was another group of people planning to go deeper into the mountains where the quantity and quality of monsters were higher. Kevin considered joining them as they were looking for extra members, but he knew he was not strong enough to come back unscathed, or worse, not come back at all.
Instead, he decided to stick to the area where many weak cultivators like himself hunted, along with some regular folk seeking a similar challenge.
With a look of contempt etched across his face, Kevin squatted near the lifeless corpse of the two-feet-long centipede. He skillfully wielded his knife, stripping away the hard brown and red chitin, resulting in a grotesque green blood bath. Despite the repulsiveness of the task, he meticulously collected the chitin, making sure not to waste any part of the creature. Carefully, he extracted the poison glands, placing all the body parts into the military bag he had acquired earlier.
As he wiped his hands clean, Kevin couldn't help but wonder, "Why the hell did I come to this cursed part of the mountains?" The thought of facing more insects made his skin crawl, but the potential profits from selling their parts still lured him deeper into the wilderness.
His mind wandered back to the reasons that had led him to this desolate place. Before embarking on his journey to the misty mountains, Kevin had diligently researched the area, discovering its reputation for housing numerous valuable herbs that sold for a pretty penny. Among these botanical treasures was the elusive Irista flower, rumored to be found in this very region. However, he had been oblivious to the fact that this particular part of the mountains was infested with disgusting insect monsters, to which Kevin harbored a profound disdain.
At the sight of the first centipede, he had succumbed to fear and fled, driven away by the creepy creatures. However, the allure of the potential profits from selling the valuable insect monster parts was too enticing to ignore. Despite his aversion, Kevin decided to muster the courage to stay in this perilous area, seeing it as a means to achieve his financial goals.
In his time exploring this dangerous landscape, Kevin had successfully slain a total of four centipedes, called Teris centipede, along with a peculiar green-colored moth referred to simply as the forest moth.
Kevin couldn't help but reflect on the irony of the situation. He had never imagined himself willingly engaging with insects, let alone profiting from their demise. Yet, the harsh realities of survival and the pursuit of wealth had a way of reshaping one's perspectives.
But amidst his struggles, he suddenly spotted a sight that made him forget about the centipedes – a pristine white flower swaying gracefully near a tranquil pond. His eyes widened, and a smile spread across his face as he exclaimed, "Oh, hello there, my flowery friend!"
The allure of the six-petaled flower was irresistible. "Finally found one!" Kevin cheered with enthusiasm, feeling as if he had just stumbled upon a treasure chest filled with gold.
He cautiously approached the flower, knowing that the monsters around might have left some surprises. But when he activated his trusty treasure detector, his heart leaped with joy at the notification.
[Irista flower detected 1 foot away]
"Jackpot!" Kevin whispered, feeling like he hit the lottery. This flower was like hitting two birds with one stone – it was highly sought-after and not swarmed by monsters.
With a stroke of luck, Kevin decided to select the Irista flower as the detection target for his treasure detector for the next seven days. "I've got you now, my little beauty," he said, gently plucking the flower and storing its petals in a wooden box.
As he counted the units he'd potentially make from selling these precious petals, he couldn't help but calculate his progress toward the system's mission. "It's only around 12,000 units worth of items here. I need at least 100,000 units' worth of things," he thought, trying to figure out how to reach his target.
Given the limited time frame, Kevin knew he had to make strategic choices. The Irista flower seemed like the most viable option since it was the most sought-after product on the cultivations association's website. Its popularity ensured a higher likelihood of selling and earning a substantial profit.
With a hint of mischief in his eyes, Kevin grinned and said, "Well, looks like I'll have to channel my inner salesperson extraordinaire!"
As he continued his quest in the misty mountains, Kevin kept his focus on gathering the valuable petals of the Irista flower. The monster's body parts, though a nice bonus, were not his primary objective. He knew that by focusing on the flowers, he could maximize his chances of meeting the system's mission requirements and saving himself from becoming systems slave.
[Irista flower detected 12 meters away]
The sound of the system's voice echoed through the misty air, and Kevin's face lit up with excitement. It had been half an hour since he last heard the system's notification, and the prospect of another discovery thrilled him. "If this keeps up, I'll surpass my target much sooner than expected," he pondered with anticipation as he ran in the direction the system was pointing at.
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