High School of Demon Hunting
Chapter 479 - 148: Details Matter_1

Chapter 479: Chapter 148: Details Matter_1

"Now that you’ve familiarized yourselves with the hunting ground, what is the next step?"

Deng Xiaojian’s questioning gaze swept to his left and right.

Zheng Qing hesitated before answering, "...We can start hunting now?"

"Such an uninspiring answer." Deng Xiaojian shook his head, "From the moment you stepped foot in the hunting ground, you’ve been in hunting mode. It’s not just about restraining demons with magic or suppressing them with talisman paper that counts as hunting."

"Everything you’ve done in the early stages to prepare, all that is part of hunting."

His words seemed incredibly insightful.

Zheng Qing tugged at the corner of his mouth, making no attempt to object.

"We could send out scouts now," Zhang Ji Xin confidently suggested, "Scouts need to enter the hunting ground to provide accurate information for the team’s next move. In addition, the wandering hunters need to start marking off their roaming range to deter prying eyes from the team."

"East? South? West? North? Northeast? Southwest? The hunting ground is so vast, where should the scouts begin their search? What is the main direction?" Deng Xiaojian promptly posed the next question.

The lead hunter of Absolution frowned, thought for a moment, then slowly proposed, "So before sending out the scouts... perhaps I should burn a tortoise shell?"

Action of burning a tortoise shell means they request the diviners to do some basic forecasting.

This is wizard slang.

In ancient times, wizards predicted good or bad luck by examining the cracks that occurred when they burnt tortoise shells or the shoulder blades of wild beasts.

That was one of the earliest forms of divination wizards mastered, thus bone burning gradually became synonym for divination.

"You could burn a shell, or consult crystal balls, or Tarot cards, but you need to use the right spell." Deng Xiaojian drew a colorful spell in the air as he spoke: "Clearly Visible."

"This is a spell used to perceive demon qi."

"In modern day hunting grounds, most teams prefer to use ’demon qi’ to differentiate between demons and ordinary spiritual beasts. If something has a chaotic, erratic and vicious aura, it’s demon qi, this is easy to distinguish."

"Demons come in all levels; naturally, their demon qi power also varies."

"For the weak ones, like the ’Baseball Monster’, which doesn’t have a mouth, nose, eyes, limbs, and is round and rolls around like a baseball, all it can do is bump into wizards to get a bit of the wizard’s vitality to survive. They’re among the lowest levels of demons, thus their demon qi level is defined as ’strength 1’."

"Those a bit stronger, like the Wild Demons formed by corrupting large animals such as tigers, panthers, wolves, hawks and falcons, not only inherit the animals’ sharp instincts and skilled hunting techniques but also amplify the demon’s ferocity and wickedness. They’re very dangerous. Due to differences in animal base, their demon qi levels normally range unpredictably from ’strength 2’ to ’strength 9’."

"Then there are the ’strength 10’ Wild Demon Kings... For any group of demons, their leader, the Wild Demon King, will typically reach the strength 10 level, nearly at True Monster level, which we refer to as the ’Registered Wizard’ level of demons. They’re very dangerous, but they offer considerable points."

"As for demons with a demon qi level of ’strength 10+’ and above, you will not encounter them in the newbie trial, so you don’t need to pay attention to that for now."

Deng Xiaojian spoke quickly while explaining.

Zheng Qing stopped trying to hand write down every word he said. He had already pulled out the shorthand quill he’d bought earlier from Green’s General Store from his grey cloth bag. He threw it onto his notebook and let it write frantically.

In the distance, the hunting ground echoed with resonating howls, as if the judges’ hunters were exchanging greetings with some secret language.

Having heard that, Deng Xiaojian frowned, pulled out his timer and checked the time.

"Hmm, our team should start the next part of training..." He put away his timer and took a deep breath: "So, I’ll remind you of a few things to pay attention to that we’ve talked about earlier..."

"Firstly, on the hunting ground, you should always be monitoring the temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and most importantly, the time. These variables will continuously affect your performance and the demon’s morale, so don’t overlook any tiny detail."

"Always remember, on the hunting ground, the details could mean victory or defeat."

"Secondly, as I’ve mentioned earlier, when using spells on the hunting ground, you must consider the environment. This is a rule you can interpret broadly."

"For instance, ’The sun rises brightly, valley winds blow gently’, besides being a universal magic boost, it also has additional effects like drying clothes and providing light at night. However, you must never use this spell in rainy weather, particularly at night when it’s raining. It’s not that the spell will be ineffective under such conditions, but it will consume more magic power and its effects will be substantially reduced. It would also increase the likelihood of spell backlash."

"Remember, on the hunting ground, every bit of magic power is a critically important strategic resource, you must not waste it."

"Lastly, it’s about hunting beasts, or hunting birds."

"Many hunting teams have one or several hunting animals to assist in locating prey, serve as lookout, or help carry out the hunt. These animals are usually accumulated as the wizard’s animal companions, they need training... Dogs, cats, hawks, falcons, and such are ideal."

"If any of you on the team have suitable animals, you can bring them the next time you visit. The judges have professional trainers who can provide basic training for them so that they can be of use in your rookie competition."

"I’m certain there isn’t any other rookie team with hunting animals besides yours." Deng Xiaojian grinned confidently, "This will surely give you a significant advantage on the hunting ground."

Zheng Qing sighed deeply and immediately turned to look at his team members.

"I don’t have an animal companion." Dylan raised his hand immediately and joked, "Most animals don’t really like the smell on me... And I can’t guarantee I’ll be very friendly to them on full moon nights, so..."

With that, he shrugged, indicating his resignation.

Zheng Qing turned to another person.

"I don’t have one either." Xin Fat Man swayed his plump palm, clearly a little disheartened, "My family always fears that I might cook my animal companion for meat and they always discourage me from raising them... But, what do you think of Tuan Tuan? He gets along well with us."

When Zheng Qing thought of that freeloading, bad-tempered and lazy orange cat at their dorm, he immediately shook his head dramatically.

"No way! Tuan Tuan definitely doesn’t have the will to be a hunting animal." As he denied this suggestion, the young student turned to look at Xiao Xiao.

Before he could say anything, Doctor Xiao rose his eyebrow, "What, are you thinking of using an old turtle as a hunting animal? Can it even move?! I think it would be more productive to shell it and use it for divination."

He had a point.

Zheng Qing couldn’t help but sigh.