Chapter 39 - 38 Moon Spirit Leopard
Chapter 39: Chapter 38 Moon Spirit Leopard
By the time Lis and Lunbos arrived at the location where the signal was emitted, Ya’er and Arsen had already reached there before them.
The signal was sent by Ailina, who nodded to acknowledge Lis and Lunbos’s arrival.
“It was here that I encountered the magic beast, or rather, nearly got attacked by it,” she said.
Ailina pointed at the top of a large rock in front of her and continued,
“The magic beast was perched up there, it must have noticed me already and probably planned to strike when I passed by.”
“When I first began my search in this area, my hunter’s instinct was constantly alerting me, and it was only after careful observation that I discovered its location.”
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“Once the beast realized I had spotted it, it immediately turned and left. I sent a signal and tried to pursue it but failed to catch up, so I had no choice but to return here and wait for you.”
“How despicable of that magic beast to try and ambush Sister Ailina.”
Ya’er puffed up in anger, swinging her little fists as if she would rush to beat the beast the moment it appeared in front of her.
Arsen wasn’t as impulsive; after all, Ailina was standing right in front of them, clearly unscathed and without having engaged with the beast.
“Ailina, did you get a good look at that magic beast? What kind was it?”
There seemed to be some hesitation in Ailina, but she bit her silver tooth and said,
“I did. It was a… Moon Spirit Leopard.”
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The Moon Spirit Leopard, that explained the complexity of Ailina’s expression.
Lis understood now; he had previously found it strange why Ailina was so hesitant to name the magic beast, and now it made sense.
Arsen quickly caught on as well, while Ya’er and Lunbos still looked innocently puzzled.
The Moon Spirit Leopard? What is that magic beast? Why did Ailina look so odd?
It was clear that these two were not particularly gifted in their studies.
Lis, with his abundant past-life experience, naturally knew what the Moon Spirit Leopard was, especially since the main storyline of the game’s version 3.0 took place in the elves’ homeland—Navia Forest—and it was there that he came into contact with many hidden details related to the elves.
Included among those was information about the Moon Spirit Leopard.
The Moon Spirit Leopard is an extremely rare type of leopard magic beast that frequents the night, covered in pitch-black fur that shimmers with a moonlike glow, hence the name Moon Spirit Leopard.
Most importantly, the Moon Spirit Leopard is believed to be a messenger of the Elf God System: the Moon and Guardian Goddess Fenrir, and also the best companion and assistant to the Elf Hunters. Virtually all Moon Spirit Leopards live within Navia Forest, and every Elf Hunter considers it an honor to earn the recognition and companionship of one.
That reveals just how esteemed the Moon Spirit Leopard is in the hearts of the elves and Elf Hunters!
As a distinguished Silver High Rank Elf Hunter, Ailina was certainly well-aware of this, but the realization that the invader in the territory was one of them made her somewhat reluctant to accept the duty her team had to hunt it down.
“Is there a chance you might have seen it incorrectly?”
Lis asked Ailina, after all, it seemed somewhat unrealistic that a Moon Spirit Leopard would appear deep within the Human Kingdom’s territory, killing many residents.
“No,” Ailina took a deep breath, steadying her somewhat tumultuous emotions.
“My mother’s companion was a Moon Spirit Leopard; it was with me as I grew up. I could not have mistaken it.”
Arsen appeared somewhat helpless; he noticed that Ailina didn’t want to harm the Moon Spirit Leopard. If they had encountered it during a regular adventure, he naturally wouldn’t have initiated an attack and might have even helped Ailina tame it.
As for the mission, Arsen wouldn’t care too much even if they failed, since the mission commission wasn’t desperately needed by the team.
However, the problem now was that the Moon Spirit Leopard in Baron Tony’s Domain had already killed more than a dozen of the Domain’s residents and had been feeding on humans, turning into a fierce beast. If left alone, it might cause even more serious consequences.
After pondering for a moment, Ailina’s expression finally firmed up, and she bit her lip and said,
“Since it has eaten humans, it can no longer become an emissary of Goddess Fenrir. We should send this Moon Spirit Leopard to the Goddess’s Divine Country.”
For Elves, consuming any humanoid beings was unacceptable.
Moreover, Ailina had already felt the intense malice emitting from the Moon Spirit Leopard when it ambushed her; it had become impossible for the leopard to become an ally of Elves, and naturally, she abandoned the thought of taming it.
Arsen, too, breathed a sigh of relief. It was best for Ailina to think this way; they wouldn’t have to worry about accommodating a teammate’s feelings during the hunt.
Seeing Ailina’s resolve, Lis asked,
“How strong is this Moon Spirit Leopard?”
Frowning thoughtfully, Ailina replied,
“An adult Moon Spirit Leopard should possess Gold Level strength, and a very few can break through to Legendary. But this Moon Spirit Leopard seems to have only Silver High Rank strength. It probably didn’t receive Goddess Fenrir’s blessing in the Navia Forest and couldn’t break through its strength bottleneck.”
“That’s manageable; it hasn’t exceeded our expectations,” Arsen said, relieved to understand the species and strength of the magic beast. This meant the hunting mission was already halfway accomplished; all that remained was finding and successfully hunting it down.
“Ailina, you’re the most familiar with the habits of the Moon Spirit Leopard. Do you have an effective solution?” Arsen turned to Ailina and asked.
“Generally, Moon Spirit Leopards are active at night, adept at hiding and ambushes, and their strength dips significantly during the daytime.”
“If a Moon Spirit Leopard has received the Goddess’s blessing, it will gain the Moon Spirit’s protection, and its daytime strength won’t be affected. However, it’s clear that this leopard hasn’t received it.”
“So the most appropriate time for the hunt is during the day?” Arsen asked.
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“Right,” Ailina nodded. “Even though it’s only Silver High Rank, its speed and stealth are formidable at night, and its perception is strong. It will be very difficult for us to corner it.”
“But people from the Baron Domain say that it doesn’t appear during the day. Can you find it then?”
“I can try. Moon Spirit Leopards typically don’t have a fixed territory and usually roam about. However, this one has stayed in this Baron Domain for quite some time, so it should have a fixed hiding place. Tomorrow, I can try tracking its traces during the day,” Ailina said, outlining her plan clearly.
“Alright, let’s head back to rest for today, then. We’ll come back tomorrow morning to find this Moon Spirit Leopard!” With Ailina’s advice in mind, Arsen made a decisive call to continue the search for and to hunt the magic beast the next day.
Ya’er and Lunbos didn’t have any objections; they were content with following the plan.
Lis even more so. When on a mission, it’s most important to follow the plan. If one doesn’t stay put and instead strays from the team, runs around causing trouble, or recklessly fails in a quest, who would want to team up with you next time?