Chapter 9: The Bardian dragon
Without the slightest bit of hesitation, the middle-aged man took out two satchels and tossed them over to Nero.
"It was nice doing business with you." Nero said as he received the satchels.
"If I may ask…. What cultivation does master have?" The middle-aged man asked.
"I don't know, it doesn't matter. If you need my help hunting down beasts then you can come here to look for me. But it has to be worth my time." Nero immediately replied.
The Rhedaia forest can be considered a mystical forest that bred various kinds of beasts. A level one ferocious beast can at most be severely damaged by a mortal and not an average mortal, but unable to die at the hands of one. Why is because, a level one beast already has exceptional abilities that a mortal cannot compare to neither can they withstand the power they unleash.
For instance, in the case of defense, attack, and speed, a level one ferocious beast has all these advantages over a mortal. Sometimes, even those highly skilled hunters that go hunting them down, find it hard to keep up with their speed, their attacks are easily and completely unfazed by their defenses, and their attacks can easily kill any mortal. This is why some mortals who need the resources that come from these beasts often request for the aid of martial artists, where they have to vomit blood as compensation for the trouble.
These mortals were unable to use their strength to survive, and if they beckon on the aid of a martial artist they would have to compensate no matter what it was or they could forget about their survival. This was the ad life of a mortal in the martial world.
"Do these beasts ever leave the forest?" Nero suddenly asked. "This village is close to the forest, it wouldn't be uncommon if you get attacked once in a while."
"They can't leave the forest.." The old man replied shaking his head. "According to the stories of old, an enchantment was placed on the Rhedaia forest to prevent ferocious beasts from running amok and killing the humans outside the forest."
Nero nodded his head; he thought it was possible. Although Nero didn't consider these beasts a threat to him, it didn't mean that they weren't dreadful to these mortals. In some cases, some beasts have the strength comparable to a martial artist. If a showdown of beasts and martial artists at the same level were to take place, unless that martial artist had some secret weapon or overbearing strength that far surpasses that of the beast, then the beast naturally has the win.
If these groups of beasts were to be unleashed even in the martial world, it would still cause a great loss to both sides.
"I see…. If anyone else needs my help they should come to find me after 4 days. If not, don't come knocking on my door." Nero said seriously and left the tavern to go to his room.
"I'll come to bring your food right away master." The words of the old man still caught in his throat when Nero disappeared.
"What a frightening fellow." The old man sucked in a cold breath. To him, these martial artists were akin to a god.
Nero got to his room and headed straight for the bathroom. His clothes were wet from sweat and blood. As usual, before he came out a new change of clothes and a hot meal were waiting for him. Nero ate, sat on the bed, and started to meditate.
Time passed gradually until the 5th day. Nero had been in his room for 4 complete days. He hadn't eaten or done anything else other than meditating. For a martial artist, this was considered normal.
"Master you have a visitor." A soft voice called out from the other side of the room. Nero who was immersed in meditation reluctantly opened his eyes and shouted, "Tell them to wait."
Nero had instructed that no one disturbs him while he meditates for 4 days. This was the 5th day so it was no surprise that he would have a visitor. For martial artists, meditation is crucial training for calming the mind and soul. It revolves around harnessing one's untapped potential and awakening their desires to move further in the path of cultivation.
During this period, they could on months or even years without food and they would still be filled with vigorous vitality. With the intake of the Heaven and Earth Qi to nourish the body and strengthen the bones and muscles, meditation plays an important role. Nero was seriously injured and this allocated time for meditation was important to him, but he didn't seem to have gained any new benefits. So going out to hunt wild beasts wasn't such a bad idea.
Nero came down from his room to the tavern. The brawny middle-aged man was sitting at the counter with the old man who owned the inn.
"Master you have finally come down." The old man said respectfully when he saw Nero.
The middle-aged man stood up, "Greetings master…"
"Skip the introductions, what are you here for?" Nero interrupted.
"I'm afraid I have to trouble master again for his assistance. I don't know if you have the strength sufficient enough to carry out this task but…. I have been asked to make an armor of a middle-grade mortal level and I need the scales of a Bardian dragon." The middle-aged man went straight to the point.
Hearing the Bardian dragon, the old man paled with fright. But what even frightened him more was Nero's reply.
"Done…. Mark out their territory on this map." Nero said and took out a map from his robe. This was the map given to him by the old man. The middle-aged man was shocked, he didn't expect Nero to quickly agree to his request.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone