Allen stood at the entrance of the empty nest, the chill from the frost grenades still lingering in the air.

This haul had already exceeded his expectations. It was time to head back.

He glanced up in the direction of the distant airship route.

’Take that thing back?’

The thought had barely surfaced before Allen extinguished it.

His study and cultivation schedule at the academy was packed, leaving no time for extended field tests like this.

This was the perfect opportunity. He could travel from the Fire Element Highland, walk back through the Silent Forest, and return to the academy, thoroughly testing the performance of his mechanical bodies along the way.

A plan instantly formed in Allen’s mind. He immediately used DSeek to map out a brand-new "training" route.

It was the optimal path, cutting across the Fire Element Highland, passing through the edge of the Silent Forest, and finally leading back to the academy district.

"Let’s move out."

He carried the four cubs in his hands, donned the Stealth Cloak, and blended into the air, leaving behind only a faint, blurry outline.

Behind him, the seven remaining intact Spider Slayers moved their jointed legs without a sound, following closely.

High in the sky, five "Demon Eyes" were already in position, bringing everything within a fifty-kilometer radius under Allen’s control.

A death squad composed of a ghost and killing machines embarked on its "journey home."

...

「Three days later, at the border between the Fire Element Highland and the Silent Forest.」

A three-meter-long lizard-like Magical Beast, its scales glinting with a metallic sheen in the sun, was lazily napping on a massive boulder scorched hot by the sun.

It was at the top of the food chain in this area and had long grown accustomed to a life of ease.

Unfortunately for it, the script for its death had already been written.

Eight hundred meters away, on the other side of a slope, Allen didn’t even show himself.

[Action Plan: Coordinated Snipe.]

The command was issued through their mental link.

Five Spider Slayers, lying in ambush in different locations, silently raised the sniper modules on their backs, their barrels glowing faintly.

Five intersecting rays of light shot out, instantly piercing the Magical Beast’s head and heart.

The ferocious Magical Beast didn’t even have time to scream. Its body twitched once before falling completely still.

One Spider Slayer quickly moved forward, sliced open the corpse with its sharp forelimbs, retrieved a Fire Element Crystal Core, and then returned to the formation.

The return trip was, in itself, a mobile hunt.

For the past two days, he had been using this method to steamroll his way from the foot of the volcano.

His team was like a mobile, information-age military unit.

He had "Demon Eyes" in the sky for 24/7 reconnaissance and a kill squad of Spider Slayers on the ground.

He himself was like a ghost, patrolling this vast land under the cover of his Stealth Cloak.

Every single Magical Beast along the way met a grisly end.

Whether it was swarms of Flame Spirits or ambush-prone Magma Dogs, they were often riddled with sniper beams from all directions before they even knew what was happening.

Zero contact, zero risk, zero surprises.

This was no longer a hunt. It was a one-sided slaughter, an overwhelmingly superior assault.

The Magical Beasts of this region were learning the meaning of the Alchemy School’s "righteousness from above."

Allen himself didn’t even need to act; he was only responsible for giving orders and collecting the spoils.

His role had shifted from that of a Hunter to a player in a real-time strategy game, and this land was the map he was "clearing."

The feeling made him nostalgic, reminding him of his past life playing games in front of a computer.

As he ventured deeper into the Silent Forest, the fire elements in the air grew thin, replaced by the rich scent of vegetation and life.

The Spider Slayers also switched combat modes, shifting their focus from long-range sniping to a balance of target acquisition and high alert.

The forest environment was far more complex than the Fire Element Highland, better suited for concealment and ambushes.

Unfortunately, under the multi-angle, comprehensive surveillance of the "Demon Eyes," most forms of camouflage were utterly meaningless.

Behind a seemingly ordinary tree, a lurking fox had just poked its head out when three beams accurately blew its head off.

In a puddle, a venomous water python had barely emerged from the muddy water when it was blasted back to kingdom come.

As Allen traveled, the materials in his Space Ring piled up higher and higher.

Magic Beast Crystal Cores, rare leathers, poison sacs, tendons... He took anything and everything of value.

This continued until the afternoon of the fourth day, when he killed another unobservant Iron Armor Rhinoceros and was about to collect the materials.

Hmm?

Allen froze.

He glanced down at his ring.

’It’s full?’

It was only then that he realized just how abundant his haul over the past few days had been.

Materials from various Magical Beasts alone filled more than half the ring. Combined with the spoils from the Volcanic Fierce Ape’s nest, there really wasn’t much space left. He hadn’t dared to store his mechanical bodies in it the entire trip.

"Alright, time to head home."

Allen clicked his tongue, feeling a little unsatisfied.

’If I keep this up, I won’t have any place to put the loot. I can’t just carry it all, can I?’

Besides, he wasn’t far from the academy. He tightened the Spider Slayers’ formation and, without further delay, headed straight for the academy district.

...

「That evening, Allen returned to his workshop.」

He washed up thoroughly in the rest area. Only after doing all this did he sit down in a chair and let out a long sigh of relief.

The last few days had been exhausting. Although he hadn’t participated in combat on the way back, the constant travel and vigilance against poisonous creatures had left him mentally drained.

"Ah Fu."

"At your service, sir."

The mechanical body butler, Ah Fu, emerged from the shadows and bowed.

"First, help me sort and inventory this."

Allen dumped everything from his Space Ring onto the workshop floor.

CLATTER CLATTER—

In an instant, a small mountain of various materials formed on the metal floor.

There were gleaming Elemental Crystal Stones, beast hides pulsating with Magic Power, bones of all shapes and sizes, and boxes containing Soul Crystals and potions.

The most conspicuous items were the nine Transformation Crystals taken from the Volcanic Fierce Apes, which looked like burning gems.

Ah Fu began to sort them rapidly while DSeek recorded everything in real time.

[Generating loot list...]

[Volcanic Fierce Ape Transformation Crystal x 9]

[Volcanic Fierce Ape Soul x 6]

[Live Volcanic Fierce Ape Cub x 4]

[Various Fire-Attribute Elemental Crystal Cores x 242]

[Various other-attribute Magical Beast materials x 198]

[Rare Magic Plant Materials, 73 types in total...]

[...]

A long list unfurled before Allen’s eyes.

"Assess the total value."

[Calculating based on real-time prices from the Apprentice Trading Market...]

[Excluding the Volcanic Fierce Ape souls and Transformation Crystals, the estimated total profit for this expedition is: 19,500 Low-Tier Magic Stones.]

Nineteen thousand five hundred Magic Stones.

Even for an apprentice of the Alchemy School, this was a considerable sum.

And Allen had earned it in just one week.

"Not bad," Allen nodded to himself.

’This kind of large-scale hunting operation is fine once in a while, but doing it too often would attract an investigation from the Disciplinary Committee. After all, the ecosystem in the outer ring is primarily for research purposes.’

On this trip, he had used only one bomb and some grenades and landmines. Five Spider Slayers were destroyed, and the Middle-Tier Magic Stones in the energy cells of the seven surviving Spider Slayers were nearly depleted and needed replacement. He hadn’t used a single Scroll.

By that calculation, the expenses for this operation were around 4,500 Low-Level Magic Stones.

His gaze finally settled on the nine Transformation Crystals. They were the core objective of this trip.

"DSeek, bring up the construction plans for the ’Peacemaker’."

A massive virtual blueprint unfurled in the center of the room.

The plan had gone very smoothly this time.

Allen’s eyes fell on the main cannon array module. It required exactly five high-quality, fire-element Transformation Crystals.

That powerful war machine was now just one step away from becoming a reality.