High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 871: Chapter 129: Cabin in the Woods

On the morning that the winter hunt began, the school’s climate management department was merciful, not blanketing us in heavy, feather-like snow. However, to add a bit of challenge and enjoyment for everyone, the sky still let down a light snowfall.

This dusting of snow could be seen as an aftertaste of the Christmas blizzard, so it didn’t seem too out of place.

It should blow some cold wind on a winter morning.

Zheng Qing originally thought that the morning wind, like the morning snow, would soon stop. But the Absolution Hunting Team continued to rest and ’prepare their meal,’ and this small yet persistent wind and snow did not cease, constantly buzzing and swirling around everyone.

The fine, salt-like snowflakes pattered against the face, causing a slight tingling sensation. Including Zheng Qing, all five members of the hunting team refrained from using amulets or any other magic, instead earnestly feeling the messages hidden behind the wind and snow.

This was a technique passed on to them by Deng Xiaojian during the hunting team training a few days ago—in the forest, especially in forests with harsh climates, staying alert and conserving magic power were the most important principles for hunters. Intimate contact with wind and snow not only reduced the consumption of unnecessary supplies but also captured messages lurking behind the breeze, killing two birds with one stone.

They talk of ’preparing a meal,’ but for the wizards in the hunting team, this was not feasible.

They weren’t here for a forest picnic, nor were they training in some school hunting ground. They were in a real hunt. In this forest, full of malice towards wizards, it seemed as if every slender twig, every dry leaf, every snowflake, every gust of cold wind, concealed malevolent gazes.

The hunters needed to minimize the signs of their presence as much as possible while trying hard to detect the movements of their prey.

Starting a warm fire at this time, allowing the pale smoke to drift away with the wind, would be as conspicuous as holding a large lantern in the pitch-black night. Anyone with some sense would avoid doing that.

The ’noon meal’ consisted of a chocolate bar per person, a three-ounce piece of beef jerky, a slice of white bread without cream or butter, and a small bottle of clean water—if that was still too much trouble, the school also prepared nutritious ration pills for the hunters participating in the activity, although the pills were small and didn’t taste good, so unless necessary, no one liked to eat them.

”I really want to eat a sweet, fragrant cupcake,” Xin Fat Man muttered under his breath, his gaze lingering on a snow pile not far away—His wristwatch had been confiscated by the Hunting Committee before the start of the game, and besides the specified resources, the school only allowed them to carry weapons they were proficient with.

Zheng Qing followed Fat Man’s gaze and couldn’t help but laugh.

The snow pile, round at the bottom and pointed at the top, did look quite like a cream-filled cupcake. It just lacked the sweet fragrance.

”I originally thought that as wizards, we could have an easier time in the wild.” The young scholarship student tugged at his clothes, wrapping his coat tighter around himself.

As he said, the situation of the Absolution Hunting Team was far from leisurely—he had assumed everyone could hang an array of warming and protective talismans on themselves, activate all-around scanning magic, and shuttle through these clearings on the outskirts of the forest like on an outing, searching for prey hiding behind dry bushes and snow piles.

They would find them, kill them, skin them, pluck out their eyeballs, remove their innards, tap out the marrow from their bones, and throw the unused flesh and blood back into the wild. Then, everyone would continue to look for the next batch of prey, happy and cheerful.

But reality dictated that, without being able to ascertain the safety of the hunting area and the strength of the prey, according to the SOP manual issued by the school’s Hunting Committee for the winter hunt, no hunting team was allowed to overuse magic.

They had to face any potential situations with the most professional and careful posture, just like a real hunting team exploring the wilderness of the forest. Hunting teams that violated this principle would not have their winter hunting qualifications canceled by the school, but their scores would undoubtedly drop to the lowest—And the scoring of the hunting teams was related to the academic credits awarded at the end, which was of the utmost concern to all students participating in the winter hunt.

Without exception.

It wasn’t that nobody had thought of sneakily using some advanced magic, but the honest members of the Absolution Hunting Team were not among them. They did not wish to dangerously test the limits, to see just how sensitive the school’s great magic Array was.

”Magic is just a skill we use to survive in this world; cognition is our unique talent,” Xiao Xiao always liked to preach. ”Without using magic, we can still be very comfortable in the wildland... We need to fully utilize the subjective initiative that we have as wizards.”

Similar to Doctor Zheng Qing, Xin Fat Man also always liked to argue.

”If cognition is really that important, why don’t we call ourselves ’cognitionists’ instead of ’magicians’?” As a journalist, Fat Man was obviously adept at spotting loopholes in others’ words.

”The ’Wizard’s Code’ clearly defines us as ’wizards,’ thank you,” Xiao Xiao was clearly not intimidated by Fat Man’s challenge and calmly rebutted: ”...not some colloquial ’magician.’

”That’s nothing but sophistry!” Fat Man’s face turned red, and he looked a distant relative of Zhang Ji Xin.

”I’m just correcting your deviation from self-definition,” Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses and curled his lip.

”Enough chitchat! Instead of bickering here, we’d better hurry up and find those Star Apes, then take them down... That way we can return to the Cabin in the Woods and sit around the stove drinking piping hot tea,” Zheng Qing interrupted the small friction between the two companions with the authority of the Hunting Team Leader, realigning the hunting team’s goal.

The Cabin in the Woods was a safety camp established by each hunting team before entering the forest and was the only major support the hunting teams could rely on during the three days of winter hunting. The resources for the Guardian Array Plate, Talisman paper, and so on used by the cabin were uniformly provided by the school. Each hunting team would also arrange for several Substitute members to stay there, partly as personnel reinforcements and partly as a rest and recuperation base.

This time, the Absolution Hunting Team had arranged for Lin Guo, Blue Bird, and Monk Shi Yuan as Substitute members, staying at the Cabin in the Woods.

”I don’t like tea,” grumbled Fat Man, pulling out a magic potion for frost resistance and concealing scent from his bosom and began to distribute it among his companions: ”...in this kind of weather, I prefer a little drink, to warm and soothe the stomach.”

”No problem at all,” Zheng Qing accepted the magic potion handed over by Fat Man and said amiably: ”Lin Guo has a bottle of Amber Light, left over from the D&K opening ceremony, we’ll drink it up after we get back. For sure.”

”For sure,” Fat Man’s face immediately burst into a satisfied smile.