Grinding EXP From Fireball Skill-Chapter 85: The Thief

Li Wei put on his Invisibility Cloak, grabbed his Magic Staff and Potions, and went out.

He even had the Magic Net Codex tucked in his pocket.

His entire fortune was on his person.

He was the kind of person robbers loved.

Before leaving the city, Li Wei had thought finding the Dark Valley would be difficult.

He was even worried he might get lost.

But it turned out that a random passerby he asked on the road was also heading to the Dark Valley.

Li Wei watched the pedestrians on the road and sighed inwardly, ’The City Lord’s Mansion is really willing to spend big.’

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to attract so many Professionals to help clear out the Dark Valley.

The environment inside the Dark Valley was complex and home to numerous Magic Beasts, making it unsuitable for military campaigns.

If they forcibly sent in an army to sweep through, the casualties would likely be immense.

Left with no choice, the City Lord’s Mansion had to bite the bullet and post a bounty quest at the Professional Association.

Killing a Tier One Magical Beast would earn a reward of thirty to two hundred Silver Coins.

Killing a Tier Two Magical Beast would earn a reward of three hundred to one thousand Silver Coins.

And that was just the quest reward for killing the Magic Beasts.

The Magic Beasts themselves also yielded important Magic Materials and Equipment Materials, which were quite valuable.

The profits from hunting Magic Beasts now were several times higher than usual.

That was why so many Professionals had been drawn here.

Li Wei followed the main crowd to the Dark Valley, where many Professionals had already gathered outside.

Some people were gathered at the valley entrance, calling out to form impromptu teams.

The moment Mage Li Wei appeared in his garb, someone immediately invited him to join their team.

"Thank you for the invitation, but I already have a team."

After declining the other invitations, he found the person from the City Lord’s Mansion in charge at the Dark Valley.

The quest to clear plants and rocks required coordinating with the supervisor from the City Lord’s Mansion.

"Hello, Your Excellency Mage, may I ask what I can do for you?"

A friendly, middle-aged man who looked like a steward asked.

He was protected by four soldiers in Armor standing beside him.

Li Wei said, "Hello, I’ve accepted a clearing quest. Which area needs to be cleared?"

Upon hearing this, the steward quickly asked, "Your Excellency Mage, what kind of Magic are you skilled in?"

"Fire Element Magic."

"In that case, I must trouble Your Excellency Mage to clear the large rocks on the right side of the valley. You only need to break the rocks into smaller pieces; we will send people to clear the rubble afterward."

"While clearing the rocks, please be careful not to ignite the forest and cause a wildfire," the steward reminded him.

Li Wei nodded. "Mm, I understand."

A short while later, the steward sent a soldier to lead Li Wei to the area that needed clearing.

Before they left, he gave Li Wei a diagram showing the scope of the area to be cleared.

The Dark Valley was filled with jagged, strange rocks. It was the massive boulders jutting out from the cliffs that blocked the Sun, keeping the valley in perpetual gloom.

Now, the City Lord’s Mansion wanted to clear away these large rocks.

Li Wei was only responsible for a small section of it.

After the soldier brought Li Wei to the destination, he turned and left.

Li Wei looked up at the large rock jutting out from the cliff before him, pondering how to begin.

According to the diagram, he just needed to blast these protruding rocks apart.

The problem was, many of the rocks were high up, and a careless mistake could get him crushed.

’For safety’s sake, I’ll go up there.’

"Shadow Attendant, take me up."

The Shadow Attendant emerged from behind him, grabbed Li Wei, and moved up along the cliff face.

Li Wei still couldn’t figure out how the Shadow Attendant moved.

It wasn’t flying, yet it could move without its feet touching the ground.

But to say it was flying wasn’t right either, as it had to cling to an object to move.

The Nightmare was shrouded in all sorts of mystery.

It made one curious. What exactly was a Nightmare?

Li Wei climbed to the top of the valley. He looked down at the rocks below, glanced left and right, and saw no one else.

He began Casting the Fireball Skill.

WHOOSH!

A Fireball shot toward the massive rock.

With a BOOM, a large chunk of the rock was blasted away. A cascade of rubble fell into the valley, creating a tremendous noise.

Dust and smoke billowed up. Seeing this, people in the distance quickly moved to avoid the dangerous area.

Some, however, were courting death out of curiosity and moved closer, trying to get a clear look at what was happening.

Li Wei looked down. Most of the rock had been shattered, but a small part remained on the cliff face.

Even though it was just a small part, it was still a very large piece.

’The Fireball Skill consumes too much Mana, and its power seems a bit excessive. I only need to break the rock off. It will shatter into smaller pieces when it falls. There’s no need to completely blast it to bits. That would be too much of a waste of Mana.’

Having figured this out, Li Wei switched to using the Chain of Small Fireballs Skill.

Although there was no one in sight, he still habitually concealed his full strength.

He unhurriedly controlled the small fireballs, launching them to bombard the base of the rock and peel it away from the cliff.

KAKAKA!

A series of harsh, piercing cries rang out.

Several Flying Magical Beasts charged toward Li Wei.

Li Wei calmly glanced at the Flying Magical Beasts in the air before continuing to bombard the rock on the cliff.

The Flying Magical Beasts circled above his head a few times. Seeing that he was unfazed and was still bombarding the rock, destroying their home, they dove down in a rage.

Once the Flying Magical Beasts got close, Li Wei’s Magic Staff suddenly shot out five small fireballs.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

Caught by the sudden attack, the diving Flying Magical Beasts couldn’t react in time and hurriedly tried to brake and dodge.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Smoke poured from three of the Flying Magical Beasts as they fell from the sky. The remaining one, which had been flying further back, turned and fled in a sorry state.

Li Wei saw the Flying Magical Beast escape but didn’t give chase.

He couldn’t catch it anyway.

In mid-air, the injured Flying Magical Beasts struggled to regain their ability to fly.

But more small fireballs were waiting for them.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

In the end, all three injured Flying Magical Beasts were killed by the Chain of Small Fireballs Skill. Their bodies plummeted to the ground, smashing into a pulp.

"These are Wind Cry Sparrows. Shadow Attendant, go pluck the white feather from under their necks."

Each Wind Cry Sparrow has only one of these white neck feathers.

It serves as proof of having killed a Wind Cry Sparrow.

Those three Wind Cry Sparrows were all Tier One Magical Beasts, which could be exchanged for a good amount of Contribution.

Unfortunately, their bodies were blown apart and then smashed to a pulp, making it impossible to collect any valuable materials.

It was a bit of a waste, but ultimately not a great loss.

In a short while, the Shadow Attendant returned with three long, white plumes.

One was half-scorched, but it wouldn’t affect turning in the quest.

Li Wei resumed bombarding the rocks to complete his clearing quest.

Completing the clearing quest for this area would directly earn him five Contribution points, which was five hundred Silver Coins.

A few more troublemaking Flying Magical Beasts, and he could probably scrape together seven Contribution points.

Standing at the top of the valley and bombarding rocks with the Chain of Small Fireballs Skill was much simpler than entering the Dark Valley to hunt for Tier Two Magical Beasts.

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

Li Wei raised his Magic Staff, a Fireball at its tip not yet launched.

He tilted his head, listening with confusion.

After a moment, he looked at his Shadow Attendant and asked.

"Strange. Did you hear something?"

The Shadow Attendant shook its head, thought for a moment, and then went out for a bit.

It returned holding a bird’s nest containing several fist-sized eggs.

It held up the nest, looking at Li Wei.

Li Wei shook his head and told it to put the eggs down.

"Not that. Are there any more eggs? Find some more."

He didn’t recognize what kind of eggs they were, but if they were Wind Cry Sparrow Magic Beast Eggs, they should be worth some money.

The Shadow Attendant turned to search for more nests and eggs.

A moment later, a shadow approached Li Wei.

Li Wei sensed the fluctuation of Shadow Element and asked without turning his head, "Find anything?"

There was no reply. He whipped his head around and saw a figure behind him, holding several eggs and preparing to slip away.

It seemed they had come to steal the eggs, only to be caught red-handed by Li Wei.