High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1841: Chapter 62: Flerek Preparation

The black on the map varies in depth, the only commonality being that they seem alive, like smoke or flowing water, slowly undulating on the thick leather base.

”The darker the black, the greater the risk in the corresponding area; the more pronounced the undulations, the higher the frequency of danger appearing in the area.”

Old Verne’s fingertip glided across the map, his voice flat, expression as still as an ancient well without waves: ”...but at the same time, they also signify more abundant reward points.”

”Your task in this trial is to explore at least one black area and make a complete record. This includes the topography, hydrology, the species and quantities of plants and animals, the magic intensity, possible mineral deposits, and so on. If possible, eliminating pests in the exploration area can earn you additional reward points.”

”Here’s a list of pests... Oh, and one more thing, all the gains you achieve during exploration and pest elimination, except for what’s needed for specimen preparation, belong to you.”

The elder wizard took a piece of parchment from the side and handed it to Zheng Qing.

The paper was densely packed with the names of many magic insects, such as goblins, fence fairies, mutated earth dragons, man-eating flowers, corrosion, ogres, Deng’s white ants and so on, with their respective reward points noted next to their names—most rewards were below two points, but in certain cases, such as giant mutated earth dragons, two-headed ogres, large-scale Deng’s white ants, the rewards could reach four or even five points.

It seemed quite fair.

”Are the points for each exploration area fixed?” Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses, getting close to the giant map, the lenses almost touching the parchment: ”...Assistant Hilda told us, completing a project earns ten points. But you also mentioned that the darker the area, the more abundant the reward points.”

”This is not contradictory.”

The elder, while keeping a watchful eye on a young witch attempting to jump onto the dining table a few steps away, calmly explained: ”The base exploration points for each area are ten, regardless of color...and depending on the threat level of the species or pests in the area, you can earn additional rewards.”

”Is there a cap on the rewards?” Xin Fat Man keenly sniffed out, almost embodying the instincts of a journalist.

Old Verne hesitated for a moment before slowly shaking his head: ”Not currently... this is also to remind you that during the expansion process in a new world, any danger can arrive unexpectedly. Constant vigilance is a sufficient but not necessary condition for ensuring safety.”

This wasn’t the first time the young wizards of the Absolution Hunting Team heard such words today.

Jiang Yu raised her hand, and the elder nodded in acknowledgment.

”You just mentioned this is a new world,” she inquired earnestly and seriously as if asking a question in class: ”I wish to confirm, can we know more specific information about this world, such as the strength of the natural law, Flerek preparation time, or the dimensional coordinates of the world?”

Zheng Qing noticed Zhang Ji Xin’s face turning a deeper shade.

These questions should have been asked by him, the main hunter of the Absolution Hunting Team, but Zhang Ji Xin’s entire attention was on choosing the depth of the map colors, completely forgetting the standard procedure a hunting team should follow when entering an unfamiliar hunting ground.

This fully equipped camp gave one a sense of familiarity and safety in the environment.

”This is a private territory affiliated with the First University, and the world dimensional coordinates have only been briefly reported to the Alliance.”

Old Verne first tactfully declined the witch’s last inquiry before answering her first question: ”As for the strength of the natural law, it is currently about 0.8, but it is steadily rising... I can only tell you that the diviners predict in the short-term—well, this short-term could mean ten years or even a longer period, in terms of world history—the natural law strength of this world may rise to 1.5, or even higher...”

The strength of the natural law is a relatively colloquial term, roughly understood as the intensity of using magic in a world. The higher the natural strength, the greater the power of magic; the lower the strength, the less power the magic has.

For example, the current natural strength of 0.8 means that casting the same fireball spell, if the fireball at the First University is defined as a standard fireball with a strength of 1, then in this world, the fireball can only reach 0.8 times the standard fireball.

And the rapid rise in natural strength indicates that this is likely a newly born world, or a world undergoing a tide of magic power.

The hunters of the Absolution Hunting Team, not being novices, naturally heard the implications in the elder’s words, each appearing deep in thought.

”As for Flerek preparation.”

Upon reaching this point, old Verne cast a subtle glance at the young wizards, paused, then said softly: ”Initially, I prepared a pot of broth for you, but now it seems somewhat wasteful...”

Flerek preparation, as it is called, refers to the process where a wizard entering a brand new world discovers significant deviations from the rules of their original world—this is nearly inevitable—and then prepares to further engage by consuming magic potions made with local ingredients, waiting for the cells throughout the body to renew, matching their magic power and aura to the new world.

A common wizard takes about ten days to a month to complete Flerek preparation; powerful wizards can rapidly shorten this time by stirring the magic power throughout their body, completing aura fusion and cellular replacement possibly within minutes or even seconds.

If Flerek preparation is bypassed, and the stored magic power is depleted, a wizard attempting to forcefully use magic in the new world might experience dizziness, internal bleeding from organs and orifices, memory loss, continuous decline of magic power, and other unidentified curses. In severe cases, it could manifest as memetic-like symptoms, causing irreversible severe contamination to both the environment and themselves.

Currently, following continuous use of the flying curse and other spells, the magic reserves within the young wizards have dropped to a dangerously low level, urgently needing to complete Flerek preparation.

”Wasteful?”

Jiang Yu slightly furrowed her brow, seemingly not understanding the elder’s implication.

”You are a cautious child.”

Old Verne first praised the witch, then glanced at the other nonchalant warlocks: ”...You have always kept your magic power well-contained without recklessly exchanging aura, so you probably didn’t notice that you guys—except for that little one—have an extraordinary adaptability to this world.”

The ’little one’ referred to by the elder would be Li Meng.

And the few warlocks who were subtly disparaged by the elder, being thick-skinned, pretended not to understand and continued seriously noting down the map hanging on the wall.