Chapter 79: Chapter 79

Although the Earth Bear had almost no strength left to fight back, this creature's vitality was remarkably strong, and it wouldn't die immediately.

Seizing the moment before it breathed its last, Lin Mo didn't withdraw his sword but instead delivered an additional 【Cross Slash】 directly inside its throat.

The Earth Bear's windpipe was instantly severed by the sword energy, its internal organs ruptured, and blood gushed out. It soon stopped breathing.

【Cross Slash】 proficiency +10

Indeed, compared to the elite-level magical creatures encountered before, this Earth Bear provided 2 more proficiency points.

Lin Mo pulled out the Wolf Bone Sword, shook off the blood clinging to the blade, let out a long sigh of relief, and plopped down to sit on the ground.

This battle had been truly difficult.

Without his teammates, relying on himself alone, he probably couldn't have managed it.

It wasn't that Lin Mo couldn't defeat it—in fact, he had dealt most of the damage to this Earth Bear—but without his teammates' distractions, the pressure he faced would have been much greater, and the battle duration would have stretched to several times longer.

Getting injured while adventuring alone was quite dangerous and troublesome. Even with health potions, problems might not be perfectly resolved. Without anyone to care for and protect him, if he encountered troublesome magical creatures on the way back, he might truly perish.

Therefore, the vast majority of adventurers chose to form teams. Although the rewards might be lower, it was at least safer.

"Are you okay, Lin Mo?"

Alden hurried over from behind to check on Lin Mo's condition.

Lin Mo waved his hand and slowly stood up. "Don't worry, I'm not injured... How about Ellie? How is she?"

Alden himself was highly capable, Solan was a ranged fighter, while Carson and Rick were mostly blustering, serving only to attract the enemy's attention.

In this battle, the only one who actually got injured was Ellie.

"She's fine, just minor injuries. She'll recover after some rest..."

Alden replied with a somewhat strange expression.

He was now almost certain that Lin Mo indeed had some particular preferences.

Rick, Solan, and Carson came over and began dissecting the Earth Bear's corpse.

The already injured parts were beyond saving, but for the undamaged areas, they carefully skinned the bear according to the mission requirements, preserving the hide as intact as possible.

This process wasn't easy. Even though dead, the Earth Bear's body remained tough, requiring forceful repeated cutting.

After Alden and Lin Mo recovered their stamina and joined in to help, the task became much easier.

By the time they finished, it was almost dark. The group gathered their spoils and, instead of rushing to leave the area, set up camp not far away.

Although the Earth Bear was dead, its scent markings wouldn't disappear quickly, so normally no other magical creatures would enter this area temporarily, allowing them to spend a relatively safe night.

With the mission completed, the pressure visibly lifted from everyone. The team members gathered together, chatting animatedly.

They had another reason to be happy—there was a feast to be had tonight.

Most of the Earth Bear's meat was tough, but the paws and a small section around the waist and abdomen were exceptionally tender and delicious, renowned delicacies among adventurers. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novel⟡fire.net

Alden used several branches to prop up the entire severed bear paw, roasting it beside the campfire.

The approximately ten-pound section of abdominal meat was carefully portioned by Carson using his dagger.

Somewhat surprisingly, this usually quiet assassin possessed considerable culinary skills.

It was said he had previously worked at a tavern in Lania City, but came to Roland Town and switched to being an adventurer after growing tired of the boss's exploitation.

Lin Mo recalled what Lena at the association had told him during their chat earlier.

"The worse the times get, the more adventurers there are."

Ultimately, if people could live stable, peaceful lives, how many would willingly risk their necks for survival?

Many adventurers were simply unfortunate souls who couldn't make ends meet otherwise...

The bear paw indeed smelled fragrant, with a gelatinous texture that created a unique eating experience, but Lin Mo didn't particularly enjoy it.

In contrast, he found the meat roasted by Carson quite excellent—tender and juicy, somewhat resembling premium Wagyu beef, but even more delicious and less likely to cause greasiness.

After chatting with them for a while, feeling somewhat tired, Lin Mo took a plate of meat to rest alone nearby.

Ellie, who had been watching him, twitched her ears. After struggling internally for a long time, she finally couldn't resist the temptation and cautiously approached, almost like a thief.

Lin Mo offered the meat to her.

Ellie shook her head: "Carson gave me a lot earlier, I'm already full."

As she spoke, she rubbed her still-flat stomach.

She had removed her armor when her injuries were checked earlier.

Thanks to years of training, her body had excellent curves, well-proportioned and appearing very healthy.

The swell of her chest wasn't as exaggerated as the purple-robed mage he'd seen that day, but she was certainly more endowed than Lena.

Lin Mo's gaze then fell on her wrist, where a small patch of fine fur grew, about five to six centimeters long—something he hadn't seen on Lena. This indicated that Ellie's orc bloodline purity was higher than Lena's.

Noticing his gaze, Ellie immediately grew tense and hid her wrist behind her back.

"Why are you apologizing?"

Lin Mo asked, somewhat puzzled.

Ellie opened her mouth but couldn't find words, so she could only repeat: "I'm sorry..."

Lin Mo shook his head and looked up at the vast night sky.

The weather was clear tonight, with a full moon hanging high and stars shining brightly.

A gentle evening breeze brushed against his face, bringing a comfortable sense of relaxation.

"To this world, I'm probably a rather strange person."

Ellie didn't understand what he meant, tilting her head in confusion.

"I'm unaware of many common knowledge things others know, I don't like drinking ale, I haven't heard the stories Bards tell, and I'm not particularly drawn to those widely celebrated legendary epics..."

He turned his head to look at the still-bewildered girl. "What I want to say is, perhaps not everyone in this world holds the same views. There will always be people who see things differently, discovering unique colors."

"At least for me personally, I don't hold any prejudice against the half-orc race, nor will these slight different features affect my opinion of a person."

Saying he liked them might seem too abrupt and not easy to be believed or accepted, so Lin Mo chose these words to alleviate the worries in her heart.

Ellie stared at him somewhat dazedly, taking a long time to snap out of it.

These words seemed to touch the most vulnerable nerve deep within her heart, causing all the emotions she had long suppressed—resentment, bitterness, helplessness, grievance—to burst forth at this moment.

Under the moonlight, Lin Mo saw glistening teardrops welling up in the girl's eyes. After pooling for a long time, they finally traced paths down her cheeks...