Chapter 457 - 447: The Village Chief’s Task

After leaving the Thunderfiend Forest, Moira Lynch took stock of her haul as she walked. In addition to a large quantity of Thunderstruck Wood, she had also obtained twenty-eight each of Thunder Demon Scales, Thunder Demon Skin, Thunder Demon Meat, Thunder Demon Bones, Thunder Demon Blood, and Thunder Demon Gallbladders from the Thunderfiends she had slain.

In other words, she had just killed a total of twenty-eight Thunderfiends.

Normally, killing monsters in her Snow Maiden form shouldn’t have granted any experience. But perhaps because Moira Lynch had conjured the blizzard herself, and because the Thunderfiends’ level was so much higher than her own, her level had unexpectedly jumped to thirty-five.

’Wow, she’d skipped several levels in one go.’

She was still a bit behind the top-tier players.

However, Moira Lynch wasn’t worried. She was confident she would catch up; it was only a matter of time.

Aside from all that, her greatest prize was the three eggs she had discovered where the Thunderfiends stored their Thunderstruck Wood.

The eggs’ surfaces were covered in purple markings and lightning bolt patterns. They looked incredibly cool.

She took out one of the eggs, held it in her arms, and used her Identification Skill on it.

[Thunderfiend Egg, Incubating.]

[This is a Pet Egg. After hatching, it can be bonded to a master.]

’A pet egg?’

’If I remember correctly, the pet system is a new feature that was added in a recent update for Divine Soul.’

’That must be why those people attacked the Blizzard Bird earlier—they wanted to tame it as a pet.’

With this in mind, Moira Lynch opened the auction house to check the price of pet eggs.

Even the most common pet egg was priced at 15,000 Gold Coins.

Considering the Thunderfiends’ combat strength, Moira Lynch knew the egg in her hands had to be worth far more than a common pet egg.

Without any hesitation, Moira Lynch listed the Thunderfiend pet egg on the auction house, choosing to sell it anonymously.

The auction house set the starting price for the Thunderfiend pet egg at 100,000 Game Coins, and the final sale price would likely be even higher.

She then listed the second one as well. After all, she had no interest in a three-headed snake.

Just as Moira Lynch was about to list the third pet egg, she paused.

’This egg seems a little different.’

She cast Identification on the egg.

[Thunderfiend Egg, Incubating.]

[Has mutated due to absorbing too much energy from Thunderstruck Wood...]

’So it’s a mutated one.’

After a moment’s hesitation, Moira Lynch listed the mutated Thunderfiend egg anyway.

The previous two eggs were priced at 100,000, but the starting price for this mutated pet egg was one million—a tenfold increase.

Moira Lynch gasped when she saw the price.

’Does this mean an incredibly powerful pet will hatch from this egg?’

’Honestly, I’m starting to regret it. Can I even cancel the listing?’

In the end, after an intense internal debate, Moira Lynch didn’t cancel it. She closed the auction house. ’Since I decided to sell it, I can’t have any regrets.’

’It’s just one mutated pet egg. I can find better ones in the future. Besides, I still have my Blizzard Bird.’

’Besides, my level isn’t high enough anyway. The pet system only unlocks at level forty, and I’m just level thirty-five.’

’So there’s no rush. I can take my time looking for a pet later. The most important thing right now is to go to the village chief’s house.’

「Half an hour later.」

Moira Lynch looked at the familiar house, took a deep breath, and walked inside.

The moment she stepped inside, she saw an amiable-looking, white-haired old man smiling warmly at her.

"Can I help you?" the old man asked softly.

"I need some of your wood. What do I need to trade for it?" Moira Lynch asked, getting straight to the point.

"Wood?" The village chief paused for a moment. "I was a carpenter for a time when I was younger, so I have a fair bit of lumber left over at home. What kind do you need?"

Hearing this, Moira Lynch recalled that when she had previously posed as the village chief’s daughter, there had indeed been a room piled high with lumber.

"May I see it first?" Moira Lynch asked.

"I’m afraid not," the village chief refused with a smile. "However, if you’re willing to do me a favor, you may choose any piece of wood from my collection to take with you."

"Deal."

After a moment’s consideration, Moira Lynch agreed to the village chief’s terms.

Immediately, a quest notification chimed in her ear, and a white quest panel appeared before her.

[The Village Chief’s Request:]

[For some time now, the roars of a tiger have been heard from the mountains, throwing the villagers into a panic. The village chief went to investigate a while ago and found himself in grave danger. Now, esteemed hero, please go and subdue this fierce beast to rid the village of this menace.]

[Quest Reward: Bring back the Tiger King’s fang, and you may take one item of your choice from the village chief’s collection.]

After she accepted the quest, the smile on the village chief’s face grew even wider.

He then pointed nearby and said, "The path up the mountain is over there. I hope you’ll be swift. The children in the village have been crying from fright, and the women are too scared to leave their homes. The sooner you deal with the Tiger King, the sooner we can all rest easy."

"Alright, I understand."

Just as Moira Lynch was about to head into the mountains, she heard the sound of hurried footsteps behind her.

She turned to see a small, barefoot boy running toward her, clutching something in his hand.

The little boy stopped in front of Moira Lynch, panting. "Finally... I finally caught up," he wheezed. "Here, the village chief asked me to give you this. He said the mountain terrain is treacherous, and you can’t go without a map."

He held the map out to Moira Lynch.

Looking at the tattered map, where many areas were faded and unclear, she thought, ’Is a map like this even usable?’

She reached out and took the map.

’Oh well,’ she thought, ’it’s better than nothing.’

Seeing Moira Lynch take the map, the little boy held out his hand again, his big, dark eyes fixed on her.

"Is there something else?" Moira Lynch asked, a bad feeling growing in her gut.

Sure enough, the next second, the little boy said, "The village chief said you’d reward me for bringing you the map."

Moira Lynch was speechless.

Her expression remained neutral, but inwardly she was cursing the village chief to high heaven.

But faced with the little boy’s expectant gaze, Moira Lynch couldn’t bring herself to disappoint him. She took out a few Game Coins and gave them to him.

After taking the money, the little boy ran off happily. Behind him, Moira Lynch silently clenched her fists. She swore she would make the village chief pay dearly for this.

The only consolation was that the map the boy delivered wasn’t useless. It marked the Tiger King’s location as well as her own. It was a classic quest map. It was just that...

’Why are there five of them?’