[You have absorbed Qi]

[You have absorbed Qi]

[You have absorbed Qi]

Notifications continued to spam in the panel while Leon sat quietly, cultivating.

Emily stole a few glances from time to time as if she were interested in what Leon was doing. ’He’s at it again. Doesn’t he need any sleep?’ She wondered.

The chunk of meat on the stick continued to roll over the fire, roasting. Time passed slowly. It was as if the group of three weren’t inside a hidden realm but on an adventure trip around the world.

But nature wasn’t so merciful to always shower blessings.

Just when the environment felt comfortable, Sol rushed inside with a pale face. "It’s bad. A tyrant ice bear is charging straight here. A D-class beast."

Emily shot up to her feet abruptly. She unsheathed her sword and rushed outside.

The commotion broke Leon’s focus as well. He also got up and walked outside, but at an unhurried pace. ’Earlier I struggled to kill it. But with my increased strength and speed, let’s see how I compare to it now.’

But when he walked out, he froze. Emily had already started to fight against the monster. And even without her magic, she was ferocious. ’What the hell! Who is the real monster here?’

Emily moved like water, weaving between the monster’s legs and attacking it at the same time. Her attacks weren’t delivering much damage but she was hitting all the weak points with ease.

One hit at the right ankle. The bear slammed its fist in anger where Emily was just standing. Snow and ice shards exploded outward. But she had dodged it somehow. She circled a great distance and again struck the same point. Then again. And again. On the fourth strike, blood splattered from the beast’s ankle. Its left knee buckled as it collapsed on one leg.

Emily moved faster. She looked like she was dancing instead of fighting. Her every move was precise, coordinated. No extra effort, no wastage of energy. She struck the other ankle as well. The ice bear swung its arm at her, but she ducked and dodged, throwing three more strikes.

Schlk! Blood splattered again.

The bear’s neck was her next target on the hit list. She walked over it and started striking its neck.

Once!

Twice!

The monster howled in pain and threw its both arms back to drive her away or rip her apart. Emily jumped and flipped, dodging all the attacks.

Three more consecutive strikes landed on the neck. A thin line appeared. A smirk appeared on Emily’s face. ’Got you.’ She raised the sword and arced her hands behind her head.

And then...

Schlk. She shoved the sword in its neck, the tip piercing the flesh without any hindrance. Blood sprayed on her face and dress. But she wasn’t bothered about that.

Her muscles relaxed, shoulders shrugging down a little.

"You are the best, sis." Sol cheered up from the side.

Meanwhile Leon gulped. ’She... She was awesome. Those moves, those strikes... All were measured, efficient. How many monsters had she killed to be this confident and perfect? Even without her special abilities, she is fierce.’

Leon’s eyes then fell on the monster corpse. ’I had no contribution in killing it. She won’t mind if I ask for the monster core, right?’

Emily got down from the beast’s body and swept the beads of sweat forming on her forehead with a finger.

Sol walked up to her. "We won’t have to worry about food for the next few days. Well done sis." Sol said excitedly.

Emily only nodded.

Leon walked forward. "That was great. I am really surprised to see how well you handled it even without your magic."

Before Emily could say anything, Sol started. "Who do you think my sister is? She is one of the top swordswomen in our country. These low-class beasts are like bugs to my sister." He spoke proudly as if he were the one who had slain the monster.

"Yeah. I saw it. By the way, what are your plans for its body?" Leon looked at Emily and asked.

"Why? You want the body?"

"No. I just want the monster core. If possible, I mean."

"What’s monster core? Is it valuable?"

"To me, yes. I don’t know if you can sell it or not. And about what it is, it’s like a crystal inside each monster. I have a hobby of collecting them." Leon said while hiding his emotions.

"Sure." Before Sol could say anything else, Emily spoke. "But how many of those pills are you going to part with for the monster core?"

Leon was taken aback at first but then raised two fingers. "Will it be okay?"

"Deal." Emily said without hesitation. She had seen Noah’s condition and what the pill could do.

The three soon dragged the corpse inside. "You can dig out the core you are looking for." With that, she walked toward the fire again.

Sol went outside to finish his shift.

Leon stood beside the corpse alone.

"Systems."

[Yes, Host.]

"How can I dig out the core?" Leon asked. After killing, all corpses would be transported to the system’s storage on their own. But as this time he hadn’t killed it, the process didn’t follow.

[The core is situated beside the stomach.]

Leon looked at the beast’s body and brought out his sword. Then placing the sword on the body, he pushed it forward.

Within five minutes, he brought out the bloodied core.

Emily had been watching from the corner of her eye. But she didn’t say anything. After digging out the core, he went back to his place and sat down. But he didn’t swallow it like other times. Instead, he sat in the lotus position and started cultivating again.

Soon, the food was ready, and everyone ate their share. Leon resumed his cultivation after that. After Sol, it was Emily’s turn for duty. And then finally it was Leon’s turn.

Leon walked out of the cave and stretched a little. He brought out the core. He had already washed the blood with water. He swallowed it without hesitation. What he failed to notice was Emily looking at him from the corner of the cave’s entrance. And her eyes narrowed.