Chapter 10: A Quiet Attack 

The early morning sunlight had just crept onto the windowsill when Lin Xing was awakened by a soft rustling sound.

He opened his eyes to see Lumiya tugging at his sleeve with her small paw, her golden vertical pupils tinged with a hint of grievance.

At some point, she had turned back into her beast form, and there was a sparkling strand of golden hair stuck to her tail, making her chase her own tail in circles.

“Why are you fighting with a hair?” Lin Xing held back a laugh as he sat up, gently moving her flailing little paws aside and carefully untangling the golden hair caught in her tail fur.

Sunlight filtered through the strand, reflecting the same luster as Lumiya’s scales. He teased absentmindedly, “Is our Lumiya about to start shedding? This fur is really quite silky.”

Lumiya slapped his hand away, her ears standing on end, but inside she was quietly panicking.

At her level, she shouldn’t have any issues with shedding. So how did a strand of hair get tangled on her tail?

She quickly picked up the golden hair with her mouth.

While Lin Xing tidied up the bed, she secretly used a tiny spark condensed at her fingertip to burn it to nothing, a trace of confusion flashing in her golden eyes.

After washing up and tidying their things, the two had just stepped out of the dormitory when they saw Little White hugging Snowball under a tree not far away, peering around.

Today, she wore a linen robe embroidered with pale pink cherry blossoms.

Snowball in her arms sported a matching fluffy scarf, his ice-blue fur sparkling like shattered diamonds in the morning light.

“Lin Xing! Lumiya!”

Little White waved and ran over, holding a plastic bag with a delicate insulated box inside.

“My mom sent freshly baked Flame Fruit Pastries. She especially saved two for you—try them!”

Lumiya’s eyes lit up like lanterns, her tail unconsciously wagging like a little motor.

She pressed her nose to the box, sniffing eagerly.

The rich aroma of fruit mingled with a faint trace of Magic Power, making her mouth water.

Lin Xing took the food box.

As soon as he opened the lid, Lumiya couldn’t wait to snatch a piece, nibbling away with her cheeks puffed out, golden pupils full of satisfaction.

“By the way,”

Little White suddenly remembered something, pulling a dog-eared Magic Plant Compendium from her backpack.

“We’ll be identifying Shadow Violets in Magic Botany class this morning. I stayed up late memorizing them. Did you two review?”

Lin Xing nodded—his Photographic Memory buff wasn’t for show; a single read-through and he’d basically memorized everything.

Lumiya, on the other hand, gave a huge yawn, rubbing her eyes with her paws.

What was so great about memorizing plants? Poisonous or not, just take a bite.

Very few plants affected her anyway; she’d rather catch a bit more sleep.

The three chatted and laughed as they walked toward the academic building.

When they passed a fenced-off patch of dense woods,

Lumiya suddenly stopped, her golden vertical pupils sweeping the area—there was a different aura inside.

She poked Lin Xing with her paw and wrinkled her nose.

“Does Lumiya want to go over there? That’s the venue for tomorrow’s Bounty Hunt. We can’t go in yet. Even though it looks small, there’s a whole world inside~”

Lin Xing glanced at Lumiya in his arms and said mysteriously.

Bounty Hunt’s venue? Lumiya looked at the Little World Fragment, her mouth twitching.

Is that all? The strongest thing inside is just a mere Tier 1 magical beast.

But that rotten Magic Power aura inside… Necromancy? Now that’s interesting!

Lumiya squinted her eyes in delight—now that’s what she called fish worth catching~

Lin Xing saw Lumiya gazing thoughtfully at the thicket and thought she was just curious about the Hunting Ground. Smiling, he ruffled her head.

“Tomorrow you can do whatever you want in there, but today you’ve got to finish your classes first.”

Lumiya huffed in tsundere fashion but still rubbed against his palm obediently.

That Dead Spirit Aura wouldn’t escape.

There’d be plenty of chances to investigate tomorrow.

The greenhouse for Magic Botany was warm and cozy, filled with all sorts of oddly-shaped plants exuding sweet traces of Magic Power.

Teacher Su had just placed a pot of deep purple-blooming Shadow Violets on the podium when Lumiya instinctively hugged her jerky and shrank back.

The magical waves from this flower were subtly similar to the Dead Spirit Aura she’d sensed earlier.

Though much weaker, it still made her a bit queasy.

“Shadow Violet is a semi-dark attribute magic plant,”

Teacher Su explained as he levitated the petals with Magic Power.

“Its pollen releases a numbing mist when exposed to bright light. Be sure to keep a half-meter distance when observing, and never touch the calyx.”

Little White hurriedly took notes, her pen rustling over the paper.

Snowball curiously edged close to the flowerpot, but Little White gently pressed his head down.

“Don’t touch, or you’ll get paralyzed.”

Lumiya finished her jerky and crouched on Lin Xing’s shoulder, golden eyes locked onto the pot of Shadow Violets.

She could sense that the roots of the flower seemed to be absorbing a faint trace of Necromancy Magic Power, the same source as the Dead Spirit Aura from the woods.

Could the abnormalities in this Hunting Ground be related to these magic plants?

She was mulling it over when Lin Xing handed her a small piece of Flame Fruit Jerky, breaking her train of thought.

“You looked distracted, so here’s a reward.”

Lin Xing lowered his voice with a smile.

Lumiya took the jerky and retreated to the back, deciding not to think so much. Anyway, all Necromancy types were just stinky rats—there was nothing a bit of fire couldn’t solve!

As soon as the bell rang for the end of class, the three of them hurried to the cafeteria. Little White excitedly plotted out their hunting route for tomorrow.

“I checked. The Bristle Pig herd is on the east lawn, and Shadow Foxes like to hide in the western shrubs. We can farm pigs on the east side first, then catch Shadow Foxes in the afternoon.”

Lin Xing nodded and took out a spare water bottle from his backpack, handing it to Lumiya.

“We’ll probably be there all day tomorrow, so we should prepare enough water and snacks.”

Lumiya took a sip, her tail swaying gently.

She didn’t tell the other two about her little discovery.

First, even if she did, no one but Lin Xing would believe her.

Second, this would be her very first true “fishing” battle in this world.

That afternoon, the three of them organized their hunting gear in the dorm.

Lin Xing checked his bow and Enchanted Arrows.

Little White sorted Healing Potions and Insect Repellent Potions into categories.

Lumiya lay off to the side, appearing to be dozing, but had actually fallen asleep long ago.

As the sun set, Lin Xing prepared Lumiya a sumptuous dinner—

her favorites: Fire-Roasted Meat and Milk Tea.

Lumiya ate contentedly, licking her paws while sprawled across Lin Xing’s legs.

Watching her lazy appearance, Lin Xing said with a laugh, “You can’t be this lazy tomorrow. You have to work hard, alright? Let’s try to win that Shapeshifting Crystal!”

Lumiya lifted her head, a crafty gleam flashing in her golden eyes.

Don’t worry, she would definitely work hard.

She absolutely had to show this guy who always wanted her to transform a thing or two!

Late at night, Lumiya lay on her bed, listening to Lin Xing’s steady breathing beside her, golden eyes faintly glowing in the darkness.

She could feel the Necromancy aura growing stronger as night deepened, and an unseen crisis lurking behind the hunt was quietly approaching.