Picking Up Attributes From Today c1-406

by Panda Reunion, 团圆小熊猫

  “Brat, are you out to aggravate me?” Ol’ Amos glared at him. “Can’t you see that this old man is in soul-state now?”

  “Uh...”

  A sweat droplet formed on Meng Lei’s forehead as he replied in embarrassment, “Sorry, I forgot about that! Hehe, I won’t hold back anymore, then!”

  After he spoke, he picked up the fragrant roasted meat and tucked in happily. The saying that anything would taste wonderful when one was hungry made a lot of sense. At the very least, Meng Lei was certainly eating very happily!

  In addition, the Seventh-Grade Crocodile-Backed Ox Python meat itself contained an abundant amount of magic elements. And since it lived in a hot spring like this, the meat texture naturally tasted even more delicious.

  “This feels great! Absolutely great!”

  Meng Lei gorged himself on the food, salivating as he did.

  “Hmph!”

  As Ol’ Amos stared at Meng Lei, whose mouth was covered in grease, he couldn’t help but lick his own lips. How he wished he could throw himself forward and take a few big bites himself!

  Unfortunately, he was in soul-state, so there was no way he could keep the food in him at all.

  Sob, what a hard life I lead...

  Oh well, I can only distract myself now!

  “Brat, you have both earth-elemental and fire-elemental magic talent?”

  “Three elements!”

  “Three elements?”

  “Yes, I have magic talent for three elements—earth, fire, and thunder!”

  “You also have thunder-elemental magic talent? Not bad! That’s pretty adequate!”

  “Adequate? I guess so!”

  “What about your elemental affinities? Any that are high-grade? A high-grade elemental affinity is the minimum requirement for breaking through to Saint Domain. If you don’t have even that, your future achievements will be limited.”

  “It’s so-so! Only my thunder and fire elemental affinities are of superior-grade, while my earth-elemental affinity is only high-grade. I can’t compare to you at all, Ol’ President!”

  (⊙_⊙) “What?” (⊙_⊙)

  Ol’ Amos gasped in surprise. Although he suspected that Meng Lei was posturing, he was still astonished by his exaggerated posturing, nonetheless. “Superior-grade for both thunder and fire elemental affinities? High-grade earth-elemental affinity? Kid, are you pulling my ear?”

  “Why would I pull your ear?”

  Meng Lei’s mouth was covered in grease from eating. “I have the best magic talent among all the freshmen that enrolled in Fire Dragon Magic Academy this year, you know! And I even get a scholarship grant of 5,000 gold coins per year!”

  “...”

  Ol’ Amos didn’t know what he should say anymore. It was only after a long while that he said sulkily, “Superior-grade elemental affinity in itself is already extremely rare, not to mention having superior-grade elemental affinities for two elements. It’s practically sheer dumb luck that a kid like you can actually have magic talent like that!”

  Sheer dumb luck?

  What’s with that choice of words?

  I’d picked those up with my own strength!

  If you’re that capable, then go pick up one yourself and show me!

  Meng Lei curled his lip indignantly. He didn’t want to pay any more attention to that old man who didn’t know how to properly choose his words.

  “By the way, I’ve noticed that your spiritual power is pretty strong, kid. Your speed of cultivation must be very fast, right? Which stage of cultivation have you reached?” asked Ol’ Amos.

  “It’s so-so, I guess. I’m only at the Seventh-Grade Great Magician realm.”

  “You’re only at the Great Magician realm when you have such wonderful magic talent?” Ol’ Amos snorted and asked in dissatisfaction, “Brat, have you been slacking instead of properly cultivating?”

  “O-only Seventh-Grade?”

  Meng Lei became displeased at once. “Ol’ President, you’re right. I’m already 15 years old, after all, and it has already been more than half a year since I’ve been introduced to magic, yet I’m only a Seventh-Grade Magician. My progress is indeed too slow!”

  “What? 15 years old? More than half a year since you’ve been introduced to magic!?”

  Ol’ Amos was so shocked that his jaw nearly dropped onto the floor. He couldn’t help suspecting whether or not he’d misheard. “It’s only been half a year since you’ve been introduced to magic? Oh my Dragon God! How can that be? I had taken a whole four and a half years to reach the Seventh-Grade Magician stage back then!”

  It’s impossible for others, but I’ve got a frickin’ cheating device, after all. Can others compare themselves with me?

  Meng Lei kept quiet and ate instead. He continued digging into the delicious Crocodile-Backed Ox Python meat, the very picture of someone low-profile that kept his strength and achievements deeply hidden.

  Ol’ Amos didn’t believe Meng Lei’s claims, however. He stared at Meng Lei and barked, “Brat, are you bluffing this old man here? If you’re 15 years old this year, how can you possibly have only been introduced to magic less than a year ago?”

  “Uh...”

  Meng Lei was mildly taken aback.

  “As a member of the Kroc clan, one is initiated into magic at 5, officially studies magic at 10, enrolls in a magic academy at 14, and is required to graduate at 20!”

  Ol’ Amos had a ferocious look in his eyes as he roared furiously, “Yet you’re telling me that you’ve only been introduced to magic less than a year ago?! What’s that, if not a bluff? You unfilial descendant, how dare you deceive me? How infuriating!”

  “Wait, wait! The Kroc clan?” Meng Lei hastily interrupted Ol’ Amos’ shouts. “Ol’ President, you must be mistaken. I’m not a member of the Kroc clan! Which clan is that, by the way? It doesn’t seem like there’s a clan like that in Fire Dragon Kingdom?!”

  Meng Lei wasn’t very sure because he wasn’t very familiar with the clans in Fire Dragon Kingdom.

  “Still trying to bluff me?!” Ol’ Amos sneered. “The Krocs is a clan that I’ve single-handedly built. There are a great number of talents and countless geniuses in the clan, and it’s ranked top among the three great clans of Fire Dragon Kingdom... Yet you’re saying that this clan doesn’t exist? Are you asking for a beating?”

  “Alright, I get it now!”

  Meng Lei figured out what was going on now. He didn’t bother speaking anymore—instead, he took out his magic communication device and dialed Fatty Hart’s magic code.

  “What are you doing?” asked Ol’ Amos with a glare.

  “Keep calm and wait for a while, Ol’ President!”

  After a short while, Fatty Hart’s round face appeared in the magic communication device. He was repeatedly yawning and looked sleepy-eyed and groggy. Evidently, he’d been woken up from his beauty sleep.

  “Old bro, what’s the big idea at a late hour like this?” A yawning Fatty Hart grumbled. “Don’t you know that disturbing someone’s rest is very impolite?”

  “Sorry about that! I’ll treat you to a good meal when we’re back in the academy!”

  After Meng Lei apologized, he went straight to the point and asked, “Fatty, let me ask you something. Have you heard of a clan called Kroc?”

  “The Kroc clan?” Fatty Hart shook his head. “Nope!”

  Meng Lei glanced at Ol’ Amos and tried to jog Hart’s memory. He said, “Think about it carefully again. I heard that this clan is ranked top among Fire Dragon Kingdom’s three great clans and is founded by Amos Kroc, the second president of Fire Dragon Magic Academy...”

  “The clan founded by the second academy president?” Fatty Hart rubbed his eyes and said dryly, “Old bro, are you joking with me? That’s old history from tens of thousands of years ago. How can it possibly exist all the way till now? It’s long been eliminated!”

  “Eliminated?”

  “Eliminated for sure. In any case, that clan doesn’t exist
in the Fire Dragon Kingdom, much less ranked top among the three great clans!”

  Chapter 70: Ninth-Grade Magical Beast, Titanic Dragon-Ape

  Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  How times had changed, and the stars had shifted!

  No matter in which world, nothing stayed eternally unchanging. This was a natural law of order that nobody could change.

  Ol’ Amos naturally understood this, but when he heard that the clan he had single-handedly built had already disappeared over the long course of history, he couldn’t help but be overcome by grief, nevertheless.

  “To be honest, I should’ve realized this a long time ago. When I was killed back then, the Krocs had lost their pillar. Being destroyed is something almost inevitable.”

  Ol’ Amos sighed softly, his grief unconcealable.

  Saint Domain experts were lofty and stood high above. They were capable of building and supporting a clan, but at the point of their deaths, in the situation that they hadn’t yet groomed a successor, any clan would die out, no matter how powerful they were.

  Their success was dependent on the Saint Domain. But their destruction was also dependent on the Saint Domain!

  The list of such cases was endless.

  “Fortunately, an excellent descendant like you has emerged from the clan, so there’s still hope of making a comeback!

  “Yes! A comeback!”

  A jolt went through Ol’ Amos, and an intense gleam burst forth from his eyes. “Brat, from now on, you must shoulder the heavy responsibility of rebuilding the Kroc clan! You must cultivate diligently and refrain from slacking!

  “This old man will put in everything he has to teach, supervise, and aid you. We’ll strive to rebuild the clan as soon as possible, and let the glory of the Kroc clan make a comeback in Heaven’s Vault Continent!”

  Meng Lei was rather speechless.

  Rebuild the Kroc clan? What’s that got anything to do with me?! I’m not a member of the Kroc clan!

  However, these words weren’t to be uttered so carelessly. Meng Lei deliberated over his tone, and then he said seriously, “Ol’ President, regarding the heavy responsibility of rebuilding the Kroc clan, I must apologize, but I was born a commoner and have never had any concept of the Kroc clan.

  “Even if I accomplish much in my cultivation in the future and have intentions of founding a clan, I’d only build a clan that belongs to me, such as a Meng clan or something, and not some Kroc clan. I hope you can understand that!”

  “You—”

  Ol’ Amos was so furious that he was fuming. He glared viciously at Meng Lei, but Meng Lei didn’t wuss out this time. Instead, he refused to back down and glared back at him!

  Ol’ Amos could only reply resignedly, “Fine! We’ll do as you’ve said. In any case, you’re a descendant of my Kroc clan, and the blood of the Kroc clan flows within you—this is something that’ll never change. The clan that you build is also a continuation of the Kroc clan. We’re just putting old wine in new bottles!”

  “Ol’ President is understanding indeed!”

  Meng Lei burst into sneaky laughter.

  “Brat, I’ll have you know that this old man is very strict. If you dare to slack even the slightest bit, see if I don’t skin you!”

  The night passed peacefully.

  The next morning, Meng Lei left the canyon after having breakfast and embarked on the conquest of continuing his Magical Beast hunt. He was currently in the Seventh-Grade Magical Beasts’ zone of activity, and all Seventh-Grade Magical Beasts had their own territories.

  Thus, it was usually very difficult to encounter even a single Magical Beast even for a distance of several kilometers. There was nothing that Meng Lei could do about this. The only thing he could do was to continue to ride on the magic carpet and search for Magical Beasts. That was the fastest way to go about it!

  Even so, he had killed only a couple of Seventh-Grade Magical Beasts in the whole morning. His efficiency in hunting had become much lower than when he was in the outer boundaries, and Meng Lei was very dissatisfied with this.

  I earned only 310,000 gold coins after a whole morning. That’s too inefficient! I have to think of a way to speed up my money-making!

  Meng Lei mused silently inwardly. At this moment, faint sounds of battle could be heard coming from in front. Ol’ Amos, who was seated on the magic carpet, also noticed the commotion. He said, “There’s something going on over there. Let’s go over and watch the show!”

  “Yeah!”

  Meng Lei didn’t have any objections. He controlled the magic carpet and flew in the direction of the sounds. Now that the old man had regained freedom after being trapped underground for over 20,000 years, he wished very much to see all the sights there were to see and watch all the shows there were to watch.

  Thus, he had behaved like he was sightseeing the entire way. He looked at this and that, just like a country bumpkin who had entered the city!

  Roar!

  Howl!

  “Team One, block it!

  “Team Two, follow up with magic attacks!

  “Team Three, launch an ambush!”

  Before they had even gotten near, they could already hear intense sounds of battle from a far distance away. Trees were breaking, the ground was exploding, Magical Beasts were roaring, and people were constantly shouting. The battle was unusually intense!

  “Hahaha, from the look of it, some people are besieging Magical Beasts!” Ol’ Amos stroked his beard and, with an enthusiastic expression on his face, asked, “Brat, based on the sound, can you tell what kind of Magical Beast the unlucky fellow currently under siege is?”

  Meng Lei rolled his eyes. “How am I supposed to tell from the sound?!”

  “You actually have the cheek to call yourself a Magician when you can’t even tell something like that based on the sound?”

  Ol’ Amos side-eyed Meng Lei. Then, as he twisted his beard, he said with a smile, “A qualified Magician needs to be knowledgeable and multi-talented. Not only must they master their spells, but they must also be versed in other kinds of knowledge!

  “Listen closely to the sound—it resembles a dragon’s roar, yet it’s also like an ape’s cry. It sounds like a drumstick banging against a large drum, yet it also carries a rich and heavy whizzing of something hurtling through the air. Evidently, this is a Magical Beast from the Dragon-Ape family!

  “Now, look at the scale of the tremors in the ground and how rich and loud the beast cries are. This should be one of the physically-largest species of Dragon-Ape Magical Beasts. If I’m not wrong, the unlucky fellow currently under siege is probably the strongest and most valiant Magical Beast from the ape family on the continent—the Titanic Dragon-Ape!”

  “The Titanic Dragon-Ape?” Meng Lei frowned and asked, “What grade of Magical Beast is that?”

  “What? You don’t even know about the Titanic Dragon-Ape?”

  Ol’ Amos turned dissatisfied at once. He chastised him and said, “As a student of my Fire Dragon Magic Academy, foundational subjects like Comprehensive Continental History, Complete Collection of Magical Beasts, etc. are compulsory classes!

  “You actually don’t even know about a high-grade Magical Beast as famous as the Titanic Dragon-Ape? How did you pass the Complete Collection of Magical Beasts class?”

  Complete Collection of Magical Beasts? I’ve never taken that class before, alright?!

  “Ol’ President, Complete Collection of Magical Beasts is an elective now. It’s a subject meant to give away credits to those poor-performing students that can’t accumulate enough credits. I’ve never taken that class before at all!”

  Meng Lei shrugged as he replied with a helpless expression.

  “An elective?”

  Ol’ Amos was a little stunned. Then, he flew into a rage. “Preposterous! How preposterous! An important foundational subject like Complete Collection of Magical Beasts has actually become an elective now? Is there something wrong with the brain
of the current leader of the academy?!”

  Meng Lei shook his head inwardly. However, he lowered the altitude at which the magic carpet was flying at and entered the dense and dimly-lit forest. Then, he crept over carefully!

  A cliff several hundred meters tall appeared in front of him. A white veil-like waterfall crashed down from the top of the cliff, producing a deafening boom. It seriously had the elegance and grace of the poem “Straight down three thousand feet the white torrents run; descending from the Nine Heavens like the Milky Way1“!

  At the bottom of the waterfall was an enormous pool of water. The pool water flowed rapidly, and mists circled and drifted around it. Together with the verdant trees and shrubbery in the surroundings, the scenery was exceptionally alluring!

  Yet Meng Lei didn’t have the luxury of admiring the scenery at the moment because a hair-raising scene was currently taking place on the sandy shore right before the pool—dozens of fully-armed adventurers were currently besieging a gigantic beast!

  The behemoth had a King Kong-like body. Its muscles intertwined around each other and were incredibly strong and sturdy. Yet it had the head, sharp claws, as well as wings of a Colossal Dragon!

  It was completely the fusion of a Colossal Dragon and King Kong!

  “That’s the Titanic Dragon-Ape?”

  Meng Lei gazed at the behemoth in front of him that was over ten-meters-tall and emanating a horrifying aura. Fear and trepidation welled up in him. The aura of the monster in front of him was simply too horrifying. It was in a completely different class from a Seventh-Grade Magical Beast!

  “How strange! The Titanic Dragon-Ape is a Ninth-Grade Magical Beast. Why would it show up in a place like this? Oh, I get it now, so that’s the reason why. No wonder!”

  Chapter 71: Rapport In Coordination, Dragon-Ape Infant

  Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Roar!

  The four to five-stories-tall Titanic Dragon-Ape let out roar after roar. Its arms that contained Herculean strength delivered punch after punch as it launched frenzied attacks on the human adventurers.