"Li Heng! Over here! This is our class’s rest spot!"
Li Heng followed the sound of the voice and saw his class president, Lei Huailun, waving and shouting at him from the southern part of the gathering area.
This sort of shouting for a classmate seemed to be a common sight in the gathering area. Students from other classes didn’t react much, at most sparing Li Heng a few extra glances.
Seeing his class president calling out and many of his classmates already there, Li Heng didn’t hesitate to head over to their rest spot.
"Li Heng, nice! Looking at those two wolf legs and that pelt, you must have successfully killed a wolf. Congratulations! You’re the third person in our class to take down a wild wolf!" Lei Huailun said, slinging an arm over Li Heng’s shoulder.
"Heh heh, I just got lucky! Just got lucky!" Li Heng replied with a laugh.
Li Heng was a third-year in Class 5 at City Thirteenth Middle School. The atmosphere in their class was pretty good. There was no one he particularly disliked, nor was there anyone who acted all high and mighty, looking down on everyone else.
Besides, Li Heng was usually pretty funny and could be a total goofball at times. He was practically the class clown of Class 5, and his classmates all seemed to like him well enough.
"Li Heng, don’t just stand there. Come on over and rest. While you’re at it, why not tell everyone about your kill?"
The class president, Lei Huailun, was happy to see Li Heng’s success. As far as he knew, that made three people from Class 5 who had successfully killed a wild wolf.
In terms of numbers, out of ten classes, they were a solid top three, if not number one. As class president, this class honor was a point of pride for him.
"Awesome, Li Heng! Who would’ve thought our resident funny guy was such a badass? Go on, hand those wolf legs over to me. My family’s barbecue recipe is legendary!"
"Then I’ll leave it to you! Just save one leg for me. You can do whatever you want with the other one!"
Since his classmate had offered, Li Heng was happy to be generous. One wolf leg was more than enough to fill him up anyway, so he could easily share the other.
Besides, the wolf leg wasn’t a Soul Energy Item. He couldn’t take it out of the realm if he didn’t finish it, and it would just spoil if he kept it. It was better to use it to earn some goodwill.
Perhaps because meat was so expensive, the eyes of the other students lit up when they heard Li Heng was willing to share one of the wolf legs.
"Wait, Li Heng! Before we entered the Secret Realm, I don’t remember you wearing a bracelet, did you? And judging by those teeth, they look like wolf fangs... Could that be..."
Just as Li Heng was handing the two wolf legs to his classmate, another sharp-eyed student noticed the Wolf Fang Bracelet on his wrist.
As soon as the student finished speaking, all the other classmates turned to look at Li Heng’s right wrist.
Even though it was just a bracelet, the students staring at his wrist could feel a sharp aura emanating from the two wolf fangs.
"Soul Energy Equipment!"
Someone shouted it—no one knew who—and the entire Class 5 rest spot instantly erupted.
In an instant, Li Heng was swarmed by people.
"Li Heng! Quick, tell us, what kind of effects does it have?!"
"Brother Li, that’s sick!"
"Holy shit! Brother Li, what a play!"
"Li Heng! Can I touch it? Just for a second!"
"Holy shit! You killed one wolf and got Soul Energy Equipment to drop? Li Heng, your luck is insane!"
Seeing Li Heng instantly "drowned" by his classmates, the class president, Lei Huailun, frowned and raised his voice slightly. "What are you all doing? You think it was easy for him to kill that wolf? We can talk about the equipment later. Let him rest first!"
Hearing their class president speak up, the students calmed down a little. They slowly realized that Li Heng had just gotten back from fighting a wolf and really did need to rest.
But their enthusiasm was hard to contain. They all wanted to hear how Li Heng had killed the wolf and gotten the Soul Energy Equipment to drop, so they made a space for him, everyone wanting him to sit near them.
The girls, in particular, were full of enthusiasm.
It wasn’t that the students had never seen Soul Energy Equipment before. Some had even handled pieces in their daily lives, and those from wealthier families might even own some.
But this was the first time they had seen someone—one of their very own classmates—get Soul Energy Equipment as a drop from a Secret Realm Creature.
And since they were all a bunch of boisterous, energetic young people, their excitement was understandable.
After the initial burst of excitement, they calmed down quite a bit.
Still, they stared at Li Heng with wide eyes, waiting for him to tell his "story."
Seeing his classmates’ overwhelming enthusiasm, Li Heng felt he had no choice. He found a spot next to a girl he’d always thought was cute and sat down, preparing to speak.
’I’m only doing this because their enthusiasm is impossible to refuse. It’s definitely not an excuse to get closer to a cute girl.’
’Of course! I definitely won’t reveal the System or my Golden Finger that lets me upgrade items. The whole story will need some... "embellishing."’
The whole story took about five or six minutes to tell. During that time, students from other classes even drifted over to listen, and no one stopped them.
"So you can kill a wild wolf with just Level 3 Basic Swordsmanship and Level 3 Basic Body Technique! I have Level 2 Basic Bladesmanship and Level 3 Basic Body Technique... it’d probably still be a bit difficult for me."
"I have Level 2 Basic Bladesmanship and Level 3 Basic Body Technique, too. Why don’t... we team up?"
"No way! Just listening to Li Heng’s story was intense enough. If I had to actually face a wild wolf, I’d probably still lose. Yep... this Secret Realm exam is not for me!"
"I have Level 3 Basic Swordsmanship too, but my Body Technique isn’t even Level 2. I should probably find a partner!"
"My skills are all Level 3. I should be fine on my own."
Although the students’ initial fervor over Li Heng had cooled, his success—as the third person in their class to kill a wild wolf—had definitely sparked a wave of "wolf-hunting fever."
Students who had been hesitant before were now planning to form teams. A few even compared their own skills to Li Heng’s "experience" and gained a great deal of confidence.
Seeing his classmates lost in their own thoughts and even starting to discuss their upcoming "expeditions," Li Heng didn’t say any more. Instead, he turned to Lei Huailun.
"Class President! You said I was the third person in our class to kill a wild wolf. Who were the other two?"
Hearing Li Heng’s question, a smile spread across Lei Huailun’s face, and he deliberately raised his voice.
"The first one to kill a wild wolf was me, of course! As class president, I have to set an example! After I killed it, I came straight back to the gathering point to round everyone up."
Lei Huailun’s tone was filled with pride, but it didn’t feel like he was deliberately showing off. When he got to the second person, however, he paused for a moment. His smile faded slightly, but he continued.
"Li Heng, you’ll never guess who it was. The one who’s usually so quiet, Bai Shasha... she’s unbelievably fierce! I was stunned when I saw her. She was covered in blood and carrying two wolf heads!"
Huh?!
Bai Shasha?!
Wolf heads? And two of them?
’That name surprised Li Heng. That quiet, flat-chested loli... she’s that much of a badass?’