The Apostle of the Astral Realm
Chaptre 005. Mutant Hunters

"There!"

“Slow-slow, slow! We've gone too far. Quick, turn down the hill in front!”

Zhou Jing dragged the burly hunter and ran to the front of the team. He became a guide instead.

Four other hunters followed behind, followed by a dozen wolf dogs.

As he ran, a cold wind gushed down his face like a knife. Its center of gravity continues to rise and fall, but its vision remains relatively stable.

His feet spun as if flying as he stepped on the rotting ground. He could feel his feet sink into the ground. Every time he stepped on the ground, the muscles in his legs would tighten and pump with incredible force, giving his body a strong and stable reaction force. He moved through the forest like a strong wind, sweeping away the layers of fallen leaves.

Only when he started running at full speed did he realize how fast he was running.

Wow, 9 Physical Fitness is already very powerful. If I go back to ancient times with this physique, I will definitely become a fierce general.

Zhou Jing thought idly of himself as he blindly charged forward.

As soon as he ran into the open forest with a sparse grass, he heard the twang of the bowstring suddenly ringing from the dense canopy above him.

Sou! Sou! Sou!

Several arrows shot out from the top of the tree. With several sounds in succession, several beasts were pinned to the ground.

Bumped! Zhou Jing and the others had just run to a place with a large web of vines covered by leaves. The vines rose, wrapping around six to seven ferocious beasts and letting them hang in the forest.

More than half of the animals were lost, and the few remaining escaped.

"Against!"

Some hunters stopped in their tracks and released their arrows. The burly hunter also broke free from Zhou Jing's hands, released the bow on his back, and turned to shoot.

The arrows were continuous, but the tree was blocking them. The five of them and their comrades, who were hiding at the top of the tree, only shot the three beasts to death.

The last beast ran around the tree and used the tree as cover. It would escape from the range of the arrow.

At this moment, the sound of strong wind could be heard.

Whooshing

With a flash of cold light, two axes flew past Zhou Jing's side and headed straight for the savage beast, drawing two cold lights that spun in his peripheral vision.

In the middle of the road, an axe collided in the air, and sparks exploded.

With a sharp clang, the trajectories of both axes changed at the same time. The first is embedded deep into the trunk of the other tree, while the second deviates from its original trajectory. Coincidentally, he passed through the tree trunk cover and crashed into the area behind the tree.

A miserable howl came from behind the tree. The last beast stumbled and fell to the ground, kicking wildly with all four legs. The axe was embedded deep in his neck.

Zhou Jing's eyes sharpened.

… If it was an arrow, he could still accept this result. But he was amazed that an ax with an unbalanced center of gravity could be used like this.

At this moment, four other hunters jumped down from the treetops. They were dressed similar to the previous five. The moment they landed, they pulled a dagger from their waist and stabbed the ferocious beast on the ground.

Zhou Jing turned to look in the direction where the hand axe was thrown and saw a man walking out from behind the tree. His clothes were clearly different from the other nine hunters.

It was a tall and strong bald man. There were some fine scars on his face, and the bottom of his face was buried in a thick, reddish-brown beard. He looks rude.

Dressed in a dark green beast skin robe, the tip dangled to his knees, and he wore a black beastman mane scarf on the top of his body. Some ropes were tied around the shoulder pauldron of his skin with animal stripes on either side, while his waist was tied with an armed leather belt. There were four buckles in the leather belt, and two of them were empty at the moment. The rest were equipped with hand axes, and his hands were covered with gray metal bracelets.

The most eye-catching part was that the bald man was carrying a long one-eyed axe. The surface of the silvery-gray axe was so large that it was almost like a door. It looks very heavy. Moreover, there seemed to be several lines of inscriptions on the surface of the axe.

The bald man noticed Zhou Jing's unfamiliar face and asked, "Who is this?"

When the burly hunter heard that, he hurriedly bowed and explained to the bald man.

“Captain Barong, he is the missing person we hit in the forest. He wants us to take him out of the woods. Her name... Uh, what's your name again?”

"Will Wood."

Zhou Jing spoke simply.

The default name of the Astral Apostle should at least correspond to the naming format of this world. He had thought about it on his way here. If anyone asked, he would use this name.

As soon as he finished speaking, his interface jumped up.

[+5% Synchronization Rate]

[Current synchronization rate: 15%]

Zhou Jing's eyes blinked.

Only by using the name of its carrier in the realm of increasing the synchronization rate ... He'll remember.

After hearing this, Barong's expression became a little serious. "Wood? Never heard of it. But since you have a surname, it seems like you are a blood relative of some tribe.”.

What the hell, blood relatives of a tribe?

Does not everyone have a surname?!

Zhou Jing was surprised. He doesn't know much about the world today. Afraid that he would be asked further, he quickly asked, "Then who are you?"

Barong was not trying to hide anything. He immediately told her where they were from.

“My name is Barong, a Mutant Beast Hunter from Frostwood Village. I am also the leader of this team of hunters. They're all hunters from the village.”

Zhou Jing's heart trembled.

Mutant beast hunter? ? That is one of the life goals mentioned in the current template.

At this moment, the burly hunter beside him interrupted in a passionate tone.

“I Griff. You run so fast now, I feel like I'm going to fly. Your body is amazing. Are you a Mutant Blood Warrior? ”

"I'm not." Zhou Jing shook his head carefully, not daring to agree casually.

Mutant Blood Warrior ... It was also a term mentioned in the life goals of my current model .

Judging from this person's reaction, maybe it was some kind of supernatural power or work for the person with a strong body... ?He was secretly analyzing.

Griff looked surprised. "Thul? If you are not a Mutant Blood warrior, then your body is too good, right? But you don't look strong.”

"Enough. I can tell that he is not a Mutant Blood Warrior. ”

Barong interrupted Griff.

Then, he turned to Zhou Jing and asked, "You want us to take you out of the forest?"

“Ah yes, I am lost. Without supplies, I could not survive in the forest alone. I hope to receive help from some good people.”.

Seeing that the other party was easy to talk to, Zhou Jing repeated his reasoning.

While the three of them were talking, the other hunters had finished cleaning up the lost ones and moved on to join the conversation.

Upon hearing Zhou Jing's request, the skinny hunter, who had previously objected, shook his head repeatedly.

“I still think this guy is suspicious. Risky to let him come. I've never heard of Wood's surname. Who knows if he was just making it up and pretending to be a blood relative of the tribe .. ”

Griff replied, “Dean, you think too much. Is he an underground man? Is he a Mutant Beast? He's Terran, our kind! In this Forest of Black Clothes, what could be more trustworthy than our kind?”

Skinny hunter, Dean, retaliates, “We will go to the forest to hunt mutant beasts that threaten the village. If we bring in strangers, we'll all be in danger. He could act rashly during the crucial moment of the hunt. ”

Some hunters immediately nodded in agreement after hearing this. Of course, a savage beast hunter would lose his life if he was not careful, so it was fine to reduce the instability factor.

Griff replied, “Then we should escort him out first. Either that, or we will send one or two people to take him out of the forest.”

“Don't tell me you forgot about the nearby Underground Nest? If we move on our own, what would we do if we coincidentally encountered those underground looters? And, we have locked the existence of that mutant beast. If we give up halfway, what if the strange beast runs out and injures the villagers?”

"So you mean you're gonna leave him in trouble?" Griff put his hand on the hip.

Dean glanced at Zhou Jing. “He is not from the village. We have no responsibility to protect it... Give him food and water and show him the way to go. Thats enough. Whether he lives or dies depends on his luck. ”

The Black-clothed Forest…

Zhou Jing, who was listening at the side, did not interrupt. Instead, he simply pretended to be anxious while secretly memorizing the information the two men had revealed in their argument.

Barong listened for a while before he interrupted the argument in an impatient tone.

“Stop arguing. I'm captain. This is my call. ”

The two of them immediately shut their mouths. Obviously, Barong's prestige on the team was very high.

The baron looked at Zhou Jing carefully as he scratched his bald head. After a while, he simply waved his large hand casually.

“Then let's take him. From his looks, he might really be in trouble. Besides, he's just an ordinary person. Just watch him okay. If he has any other intentions, I will handle him. ”

"I still think there's a risk .." murmured Dean, but he didn't continue to object.

Barong ignored him and raised his chin towards Zhou Jing.

“Despite whether you are a blood relative of a tribe or not, we must hunt mutant beasts first. We don't have time to take you out of the forest, so you'll have to follow us for a while. If you affect our movements, then we can't keep you with us. Can you accept that?”

"No problem."

Zhou Jing immediately nodded and finally heaved a sigh of relief.

He finally got rid of the crisis of survival and found someone he could communicate with.

...

With Baron's orders, the hunting team temporarily accepted Zhou Jing's whereabouts.

Everyone packed their traps and took their arrows and axes. After dealing with the spoils, they rested for a while before continuing on their way.

Zhou Jing took some dried jerky and water they shared with him and even borrowed an animal leather jacket to cover himself. Only then did he feel much more comfortable.

He follows the team through the woods, talking to the hunters from time to time.

In the previous conversation, Zhou Jing realized that Griff was easier to talk to, so she took the initiative to approach him and communicate with him. He carefully hid his lack of common sense in this world and rambled around for information.

Griff was a straightforward man, and he quickly spilled whatever Zhou Jing needed to know.

Zhou Jing slowly gained a vague understanding of the current world.

The world is still in its early agricultural age, mainly living off hunting and farming. The main intelligent species known today are only humans. Their environment is harsh, and they face a huge threat of mutant animals.

People in the world today divided beasts into two categories: ferocious beasts and mutant beasts. A beast is an ordinary, unintelligent creature. For example, the dozen "Snake Wolves" that the team had previously hunted were pure beasts.

Moreover, there were many types of mutant beasts like that. Some can be found in the air, some in the water, and some on land. There are all kinds of animals, and new species will emerge from time to time.

To this day, no one can count how many types of animals there are in the world.

From his days in the wilderness, to his survival, humans have united into tribes to fight mutated beasts. However, due to the enormous difference in strength, the living space of humans had shrunk many times, and they were on the verge of extinction many times.

This situation only changed for the better after the appearance of the mutant blood warrior.

In the long dark history, some people believed that mutant beasts were powerful because their flesh and blood contained power. As long as they used a certain method to extract the flesh power of the mutant beasts and give it to the human warriors, they would be able to seize the strength of the mutant beasts themselves... It was a very primitive idea, but it didn't seem.strange to believe in such a thing either.

After countless efforts, one finally achieved this. They used a special method to extract the essence of flesh and blood from different mutant beasts to form a medicine, allowing humans to obtain astonishing physical strength. This allowed the individual to fight against the mutant beasts.

And this potion is known as the "Mutant Blood Banquet," which opens supernatural doors for humans in this world.

However, there was a risk of death if they used the blood potion. If they could not accept it, their bodies would slowly collapse even if they were strengthened. Therefore, in order to obtain a powerful force to protect the tribe, the tribe warriors would take the blood potion as an honor by risking their lives. The soldier who managed to obtain reinforcement was also known as the "Mutant Blood Warrior."

The overwhelming power that the Mutant Blood Warriors had obtained, coupled with their fighting skills that had been honed repeatedly, gave rise to the occupation, the Mutant Beast Hunter.

This glory from ancient times has been passed down from the Wilderness era to the present, giving this profession a special meaning for humans.

"Being a Mutant Blood Warrior is becoming a Mutant Beast Hunter." This sentence is the consensus of almost everyone.

As more and more Mutant Beast Hunters appeared, they gradually became the acknowledged guards of the human race. The tribes were no longer afraid of most of the mutated beasts, and their living space expanded. Gradually, they had a stable territory, and they formed an alliance and clashed with each other.

Finally, after a long period of friction, the history of civilization opens a new chapter. Man in this world founded the first human country—Terra Empire today.

So there was only one government, and it was only about forty years since it was founded. Entering the national era not too long ago from the tribal era.However, due to the accumulation of the long tribal era, their level of technology is not too far behind compared to their era. At least, it should be in the Iron Age. From their weapons, their smelting techniques were quite mature…

Zhou Jing sat by the campfire, the light from the fire causing his face to blink. As he chewed on the dried meat, he recalled the information he had obtained along the way and built his understanding of this world in his mind.

This was truly a new world he had never heard of. There is no time in the history books where he came from ... He's a little excited.

It was night, and the forest was getting darker. It was so dark that people could not even see their own hands in front of them, and the cold wind was extremely strong.

A dense canopy covered the top of his head, making it difficult to raise his head to observe this astronomical constellation of the world. However, he had heard that there were also stars and moons.

The team of hunters traveled for a day before building a temporary camp in a somewhat flat forest. They made a bonfire and decided to rest here for the night.

Everyone lay down to rest, except Griff and Dean, who were awake and on guard. The camp was silent, except for the occasional crackling sound of fire and the rustling of leaves blowing in the wind.

Dean sat at the end, his back leaning against a tree. From time to time, he would glance at Zhou Jing with distrust and suspicion. Griff sat not far from Zhou Jing, playing with a dagger.

Zhou Jing secretly sorted out the information he had obtained. After thinking for a moment, he sat down beside Griff and asked gently, "Do you know how to become a Mutant Blood Warrior?"

He did not forget the main purpose of his Astral Realm journey—gaining superpowers and turning his body into a Super.

There was indeed some form of supernatural power in the world today, but he had only heard of the method of the Mutant Blood Warrior and nothing else.

These hunters are not scholars at all. They know very little.

“For that you should ask Captain Barong. He was an official Mutant Beast Hunter, and had drunk the blood potion once. We are all just ordinary hunters.” Griff shrugged.

"Yes. He didn't tell me.”

Zhou Jing shook his head and looked at Barong, who was resting with his eyes closed. He secretly checked the basic attributes of the Baron with the interface function:

[Attributes: Physical Fitness 18, Resistance 15, Perception 6, Spirit 5, Energy 0]

He had discovered this function along the way. As long as he consumed 10 Astral Points, he could check the attributes of the target, provided that the target interacted with him.

However, only the basic attributes could be seen. There was no talent, grace, or skill displayed by the other party.

Zhou Jing spent a total of 20 astral points to check the basic attributes of the Baron and Griff to compare and determine the level of his carrying shell.

Griff's physical fitness is at seven. The average healthy and trained person may be at this level.

Barong, on the other hand, was completely different. His Physical Strength had reached 18 points, which was double his own nine points. The difference in performance is huge. Carrying a giant axe on his back, he could still jump around lightly in the forest. It almost made people think that he was carrying a plastic toy, not a very heavy weapon.

On the way there, Zhou Jing even saw Barong easily lift up a stone plate with one hand and put it in the river to build a bridge so that no one would wet their shoes. After which, he casually threw the stone to the side easily.

Back then, he tried to move the stone silently but it turned out that he could not move it at all. He used all his strength to move it, but he could only sense that the stone weighed over half a ton.

His strength was still in the category of normal people, yet Barong's physical attributes had already entered the extraordinary realm.

As for resistance, it was a combination of all kinds of defensive attributes, such as physique, energy, elements, diseases, and so on. Barong's resistance was as high as 15 points, which Zhou Jing could not judge directly for now.

By comparing the difference between his basic attributes and his actual performance, Zhou Jing had a rough estimate of the current level of world power... Using his main world classification, the Mutant Warrior should be considered part of the Super System's "Physical Strengthening.

In the main world, there are many ways and systems to strengthen the body, each with its own advantages. Physical reinforcement is the most common type of superpower.

Although it only had one function and its range of applications was not comparable to Esper's luxurious Abilities, secret arts, and mechanical implants, it was superior in pure foundation.

A strong body will give rise to high freedom in learning, such as firearms, fighting, driving, and so on. As long as one had sufficient experience, they would not be considered useless.

Zhou Jing only had Barong to interact as a Mutant Blood Warrior for now. Based on his years of experience watching the Super League, Barong can only be considered a "Super 1 Rank."

In the Supers evaluation criteria in the main world, with Rank 7 as the highest. Being in Rank 1 meant that one had just entered an extraordinary realm.

However, he had no right to be picky. It's good enough if he has a chance to gain supernatural powers ... Zhou Jing was quite clear-minded in this aspect. He would not complain outwardly and would only keep it to himself.

Furthermore, according to the hunters, the Mutant Blood Potion could be taken several times to further strengthen its effects. The baron was only reinforced once, which only represented the lower boundary. Perhaps the upper limit of the Mutant Blood Warrior system was extremely high.

These hunters don't trust me yet. After I leave the Black-Clothed Forest and reach Frostwood Village, I will ask them about how to obtain the blood potion…

Flames from flames danced in Zhou Jing's eyes as he thought.

Only now did he have the mood to enjoy his wonderful meeting today. He still could not believe what had happened until now.

Seeing the crackling firewood and the surviving hunter, Zhou Jing suddenly realized that he was really here ... It was as if he had left the familiar home environment and arrived at an unknown world, on a different plane from the main world.

Astral Travel ... I want to know what I will meet in the future ...

Zhou Jing's emotions were complicated. He was filled with indescribable anticipation for his current future.

Swished…

At this moment, his ears suddenly twitched. Faintly he caught the unusual sound of dragging hidden under the sound of swaying leaves.

It was as if .. someone had deliberately suppressed their steps and was quietly tiptoeing on the leaf-covered forest floor.

Sounds came from all directions, gradually approaching as if they were surrounding his area.

A sense of danger suddenly appeared in Zhou Jing's heart. His expression changed as he suddenly slapped Griff.

"I heard something!"

Griff and Dean were shocked. Without hesitation, they jumped to their feet.

"Enemy, wake!" They both shouted in a low voice and quickly kicked the others awake.

Everyone woke up in shock and quickly woke up. They picked up their weapons and skillfully leaned against the surrounding trees to cover themselves as they looked around warily.

However, when everyone looked around, all they could see and hear was the sound of the wind whistling in the dark forest. They found no enemy.

"What the hell is going on?"

“Is there really anyone? Who found them?”

Everyone spoke in a low voice, and they were shocked and confused.

"Will said so." Dean pointed at Zhou Jing without looking back.

Could it be a false report... ?Everyone suddenly had this thought.

These outsiders were not their trusted companions, nor were they experienced hunters. His warning was truly unbelievable.

Actually Dean who had woken up everyone couldn't believe it either.

However, even though he disliked Zhou Jing, an outsider of unknown origin, he would not let his emotions influence his decision.

Although he felt that it was a false report, he still warned everyone.A seasoned hunter like him understood that it was never wrong to be careful.

Of course, the real reason was because he was keeping watch at night, and it was not him who would be awakened.

Seeing that there was no movement in the surrounding forest, Griff inevitably nudged Zhou Jing with his elbow. "Don't tell me you're just yelling at random?"

"I felt like something was approaching, and there were a lot of them."

Zhou Jing replied in a low voice. A sense of danger still lingered in his heart, and he suddenly understood.

A sudden sense of danger might be due to the talent of this [Agility] body coming into effect ...

While everyone was still doubtful, Dean's expression changed. He suddenly shouted.

“There really is something. Out!"

As he spoke, he raised the corner of his bow and shot an arrow into the forest as a warning.

Before long, the rustling sound in the forest became clearer, and shadows flashed in the forest.

The light from the campfire roughly illuminated over ten figures. In the darkness further away, there seemed to be more people.

The dim light from the flames illuminated the appearance of these figures. It was about 1.6 meters tall, skinny, and slightly bent.

Their gray skin stretched taut over their cheekbones, and their bodies were smeared with white stripes. They only wore short skirts woven from the grass to cover their lower bodies and held tattered bone blades with one hand and bone spears with the other. The figures weaved through the forest like ghosts in a nightmare.

“Underground!”

Everyone's expressions changed, and the atmosphere instantly became tense and killing.

…Is this what the hunters mentioned, another branch of the human race in this world, the Subterraneans?

Zhou Jing's heart trembled. He narrowed his eyes and observed closely.

At this moment, he suddenly felt something crammed into his palm.

Zhou Jing looked down and saw that Griff had slipped a dagger into his hand.

"Take and protect yourself."

Griff gave her a blink and tied the arrow to the rope. He kept whispering.

“If we fight, I don't think you want to use your fist...”