My Roleplay System
Chapter 144: The Hunt Begins!

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: The Hunt Begins!

Standing on top of a hill, overlooking both the wolves and the grassland, Lake and his team were discussing their next move.

"So, what’s the plan now?" Kate asked.

"Well, we now have control over the wolf pack, so our next agenda is to officially start the hunt, but we need to find out what our examiner’s stance is on the current situation," Lake replied, looking at Romero standing in the distance with his eyes closed. He seemed to be deep in thought.

Kate nodded her head in understanding, but Sylph still seemed a little confused.

"Why do we need his opinion?" tilting her head slightly, Sylph looked over to Lake for answers, but he felt too lazy to explain the situation to her.

Luckily for Sylph, Kate was more patient and willing to explain. "Well, the purpose of the exam is to go out and hunt wild beasts in the Field. However, our situation is quite a predicament for the academy’s side. If they were to consider ’tamed’ as ’hunted,’ then the pack of wolves we just tamed is already worth more than a 1000 points."

"That means we would’ve already passed the exam with this one move." Bramble’s eyes widened in astonishment as he looked at Lake.

Even Iris was also taken off guard when she heard Kate’s explanation, looking at Lake slightly shocked, but when she saw Lake’s nonchalant face, she couldn’t help but feel slightly irritated.

’Did he really plan all of this on his own?’ Kate was also somewhat lost in thought as she looked at Lake’s calm face.

When the two of them met up this morning and walked around the stronghold, Kate had definitely seen Lake purchase a vial of poison and its antidote.

If she were to believe that Lake knew that the Alpha Wolf wasn’t going to comply easily and brought the poison in advance, despite not having ever been to this field or even seen the Alpha Wolf before, then Lake’s ability to think ahead would be too terrifying.

In fact, she already expected that Lake had some sort of method of gathering information, as he simply seemed to know everything. However, she had nothing to prove this claim, so she never made mention of it before.

As everyone was having their own thoughts, Romero finally opened his eyes before walking over to the group.

Everyone looked over curiously as to what his answer was going to be as he seemed to have been lost in thought for a long time.

However, only Lake knew the true reason for Romero’s prolonged silence.

’Did he figure it out?’ Lake couldn’t help but wonder.

During this battle, Lake had used many skills that Romero had seen him use in the rift but under a different identity.

He didn’t plan to reveal his identity today, but after seeing Romero’s current situation through his fate, he felt that he should intervene a little if he wanted to speed up Romero’s growth.

By showing some of his abilities, he’d plant a seed of doubt in Romero’s mind that he’d use to influence his decisions ever so slightly. Normally, this wouldn’t have that astonishing an effect, but to Lake, a single word was enough to change someone’s entire fate.

When Romero arrived in front of them, he didn’t waste time before getting to the point, "In this exam, I am both your protector and the one responsible for grading your results. Therefore, I have the authority to decide how to grade your current performance within the confines of the rules the academy has provided me."

"However, the current situation is outside of those rules and therefore it is also out of my jurisdiction. When we arrive back in the stronghold, I’ll make an official report to the academy, and the verdict will be given then."

"For now, do you wish to continue hunting or will you be returning to the stronghold?" Romero asked as he stood straight with arms folded.

"Can I ask a question instead?" Lake said as he suddenly smiled.

Romero didn’t reply but nodded instead as he silently looked at him.

"What’s the verdict on the points if one of my wolves kills a creature?"

"Hm... In the exam, there’s a rule that states killing a creature through environmental factors will also count towards the point system. Since the wolves are also a part of the environment, any beast killed by the wolves would also count towards your points."

As Romero spoke, he couldn’t help but smile slightly. He was also a student of the academy once upon a time and knew exactly what kind of hellscape it is. When he heard Lake’s question, he immediately realized what he was trying to do and decided to play along.

In reality, he also had the authority to say no, but where was the fun in that?

The academy usually gives these points as the same type of points used for graduation in a one-to-one ratio. If by allowing Lake to acquire points through the wolf pack, wouldn’t he be crashing the academy’s point economy?

If he could do that, then he could finally consider himself as having repaid the academy for its "care" in full.

Lake was also had a smile on his face at this time.

The wolves were still quite disobedient and had a high chance of rebelling, but he had already conducted a plan to fix this.

"Alright, listen up, everyone. Since we’ve gotten the okay from our examiner, we can finally begin our hunt."

"All we did just now was preparation. With it out of the way, we can begin the hunt in full, but before that, I think it’s finally time I explain my plan to you."

Hearing that Lake was finally willing to explain his plan, everyone paid close attention.

"Inside this grassland, there exist a few Rank Two overlord creatures, including the Alpha Wolf. Among them are the Fire Mane Lion, the Giant Horned Bison, and the Electric Viper."

Everyone’s eyes widened when they heard Lake mention three other Rank Two creatures.

Even Romero raised an eyebrow, not expecting there to be four Rank Two creatures occupying this seemingly simple grassland.

"The Fire Mane Lion is highly territorial and rarely leaves its area of influence, only coming out to hunt for food before retreating to its hideout. It’s a high-level Rank Two creature, so hunting it would require some effort."

"The Electric Viper lives in the bay but occasionally comes out to hunt for food as well. Its strength is around the middle of Rank Two. A little bit easier to hunt compared to the flame lion, but the electric current around it makes it a little tricky to deal with."

"Finally, it’s the Giant Horned Bison."

Hearing Lake rant about the different creatures left Kate and the rest somewhat flustered. Before he could continue to explain, Iris was the first to cut him off.

"Why do you talk like you expect us to hunt them?" Folding her arms, she frowned her brows as she looked at Lake.

"Isn’t that obvious?" Lake smiled brightly as he replied, "It’s because we are."

Sylph, Iris, and Bramble were instantly stunned upon hearing Lake’s answer. Kate frowned slightly but eventually sighed. She knew Lake well enough to expect that this was coming, so she didn’t ask questions.

However, just because she didn’t ask, didn’t mean that the others wouldn’t.

"Why the hell would we do that?!" Iris exclaimed, "I admit that I don’t know much about your world’s classification of beasts, but I know that a Rank Two creature isn’t something that we should be dealing with at our level!"

"My sister is right. Our strength could barely be considered a High-Rank Martial Apprentice if we go all out. To fight such high-leveled Rank Two creatures is a bit much, don’t you think?"

"Even with the support of the wolves, it would still take some effort to kill them all, which we could spend accumulating a mass amount of points by hunting Rank One or low-rank creatures."

Hearing Bramble’s calm explanation, Kate would have to agree with his logic. It would definitely be more efficient to hunt a hundred lower-rank creatures instead of wasting energy on a single high-rank one, but with her understanding of Lake, she knew he wouldn’t suggest this without a purpose.

"Well, while you do make a point, could you at least let me finish what I was saying?"

Bramble and Iris nodded their heads after a while, willing to hear Lake out. Sylph had been quiet all this time as it didn’t matter to her who they fought. She was too weak to participate in the battle either way...

"Like I was saying, the last creature is the Giant Horned Bison. Its strength is the weakest among the four overlords, but its defense is so high that not even the Alpha Wolf, a creature around the Middle of Rank Two, could break its skin."

"It usually leads a herd of bison around with it, a mix of Rank One and Low-Rank creatures."

After hearing Lake out, Bramble and Iris lowered their heads in contemplation.

"I admit that the Bison could be worthwhile to hunt if we focused only on the lower-ranked creatures, but if even the Alpha Wolf can’t deal with the Rank Two Bison, how do you expect us to deal with it?"

Hearing Bramble’s question, Lake didn’t explain but instead looked over to Sylph.

"Sylph, by any chance, are there any limits on your blessing of strength and speed?"

"Huh, ah, T-There are a few limits," Sylph was startled by Lake’s sudden question and answered hurriedly, "There’s a limit to how long the enhancements can last, roughly an hour, but as long as I’m nearby, I can cast it again almost immediately after its effects wear out. However, casting it on too many people at once can be really draining. Maybe a maximum of 50 is my limit?"

"Hm, fifty should be enough. What about the boosting effect itself? Is there a limit or can it boost anyone regardless of their base strength?"

"No, there isn’t a limit. The enhancement can boost anyone by a flat amount regardless of level."

"Then there’s no problem."

"Wait, you can’t possibly be thinking..." Kate, who was passively listening, suddenly widened her eyes in realization to what Lake was plotting.

Lake smirked as he looked at Sylph who still seemed somewhat confused.

"Sylph, you’ll be in charge of buffing the wolves during this hunt and will be moving with me during the upcoming hunt."

"Huh?"

Sylph’s eyes widened slightly before her face lit up with excitement.

Kate also seemed slightly thrown off by Lake’s decision. A few hours ago, she could have sworn Lake hated Sylph’s mere existence. Yet now he is willing to work with her, so her surprise is warranted.

Iris seemed like she was about to jump up upon hearing Lake’s order, but Bramble held her down and prevented her from doing anything drastic as he watched with a smile.

Lake, on the other hand, was thinking to himself.

’I hope I don’t regret this...’

After hearing Kate’s perspective of him when it came to the fairies, Lake had decided to finally give them a chance.

Now, he could only hope that this decision doesn’t come back to bite him...