NOVEL NEXT Chapter 90: Job Change Quest
"Hehehe, what a pale and tender little monk..." On his journey westward, about half a day had passed when suddenly, a splendid fierce tiger leapt out, its eyes greedily fixed on Jiang Liu, drool dripping onto the ground as it spoke human words.
"A talking demon? So, it's a monster below level 20?" Seeing the tiger demon blocking the way, Jiang Liu thought to himself, assessing the strength of the tiger demon.
His own level had been 19 for some days now; even without the boost of skills and equipment, he was not weaker than this fierce tiger unarmed.
For Jiang Liu, this tiger demon that had jumped out was simply delivering experience points.
"Hehehe, nice demon. I, Old Sun, just happen to need a tiger skin skirt," said Sun Wukong, who had not fought with anyone for five hundred years and was now itching to fight. Although this lowly little demon was nothing significant, Sun Wukong didn't mind taking action since it dared to block his path.
"Hmph, a skinny monkey with hardly any meat on him," the tiger demon sneered disinterestedly at Sun Wukong's comment.
Comparatively, the tiger felt that Jiang Liu, this pale and tender human, would taste much better.
"Stupid demon, not knowing life from death!" Hearing the tiger demon's words, Sun Wukong reached into his ear, and the Ruyi Golden Cudgel grew with the wind. He raised his cudgel to strike.
"Wukong, wait!" Just as Sun Wukong had taken out his Golden Hoop, Jiang Liu hastily spoke up, stopping him.
A demon of a tiger demon's caliber also meant experience points. It would be wasteful if Sun Wukong killed it, turning it into a stolen kill, right?
If the level difference exceeded 10, they couldn't form a team, and experience points would be distributed based on contribution, leaving him with nothing.
"What's the matter, Master?" Sun Wukong asked, puzzled as he kept the cudgel hovering mid-air.
"Step back, let me handle this," said Jiang Liu as he took out his Demon-Subduing Staff and applied a Demon-Subduing Mantra and Arhat Fist BUFF on himself, feeling as though power surged through his body.
Fearing that Sun Wukong would snatch the kill, Jiang Liu raised his hand and launched a ball of intense flames, the Swift Fire Bead.
With a loud bang and an explosion, the fireball hit the tiger demon, sending it flying with a scream.
In Jiang Liu's eyes, he could clearly see the health bar over the tiger demon's head instantly drop by a significant amount.
The double damage special effect of the Redwood Ring, the Swift Fire Bead of the Great Perfection Realm, plus the added buff from the Arhat Fist and Demon-Subduing Mantra, nearly killed the tiger demon in one hit.
After blasting the tiger demon away, Jiang Liu sprang forward, chasing after it with his Demon-Subduing Staff raised high, smashing down hard.
Already severely injured by the attack of the Swift Fire Bead, the terrified tiger demon, barely daring to confront Jiang Liu, tried to flee dragging its grievous wounds.
However, the wounded beast couldn't run fast, and Jiang Liu quickly caught up, finishing the tiger demon off with a few swift strikes of his staff.
Notification: Gained 880 Experience Points, acquired 200 in gold.
Notification: Level up by 1, current level 20.
Notification: Unlocked Mission System feature, silently think "Mission List" to open.
Notification: Requisite level achieved, profession change mission available, please check by yourself.
With the death of the tiger demon, suddenly, a series of system notifications emerged one after another, bringing continual surprises for Jiang Liu.
Indeed, when he had reached level 10, he had unlocked the feature to expand his storage space, and now at level 20, he had unlocked new features.
The functionality of the Mission System was a pleasant surprise for Jiang Liu, as missions meant rewards, whether in the form of experience points or equipment and items, allowing him to accelerate his growth, which was, of course, great news.
Reaching level 20 and meeting the conditions for changing profession was a source of elation for Jiang Liu. Still, the necessary profession change mission sparked his curiosity.
He silently chanted "Mission List" in his heart, and indeed, the mission list opened.
However, there was only a lone job transfer mission in the list.
Job Transfer Mission (1/3): Single-handedly slaughter 100 monsters above level 10 to prove one's ability to transition to a more powerful profession, current number of monsters slain 0/100.
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"So, is this job transfer mission a series of three connected tasks?" Jiang Liu wondered as he looked at the mission description in the list.
Monsters above level 10? That would mean dealing with demons, wouldn't it? It's not easy to kill monsters of that caliber.
The main problem is finding 100 demons; that can't be an easy task, can it? Is the first transfer task this difficult?
"Master, it looks like you enjoy fighting even more than I, Old Sun," Sun Wukong said, gripping the golden hoop in his hand, watching as Jiang Liu swiftly killed a tiger demon with a few quick moves, his hair disheveled by the wind.
"Not bad, but these minor demons and creatures, you, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, personally taking action, don't you find it shameful? Wait till we encounter a powerful demon, then it wouldn't be too late for you to strike," Jiang Liu complimented Sun Wukong upon hearing his words.
Meanwhile, he opened his inventory space; indeed, it was just a demon, perhaps even lower in level than himself. Besides money, not even a single potion had dropped.
Having possessed the game system for so long, Jiang Liu had deduced a rule: the higher the level of the monsters he killed compared to his own, the greater the drop rate and the higher the likelihood of scoring good items.
"Hehehe, Master, even if you praise me like this, I, Old Sun, won't be pleased," Sun Wukong said with a full-face grin, his happiness causing his tail to wiggle, but his mouth refused to admit it.
Seeing Sun Wukong's demeanor, Jiang Liu smiled knowingly.
Sun Wukong's vanity is quite strong, as known from his frequent self-proclamations in the original story that he is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who had once caused Havoc in Heaven, and just the mention of his time as the Stable Attendant can infuriate him.
So, heaping praise and compliments seemed a good way to get along with him.
Others may stroke a cat, but why not stroke a monkey?
It seems there's nothing wrong with it.
"Alright, it's getting late. Let's have fried tiger meat tonight," Jiang Liu observed the sky and spoke without urgency to move on.
"Oh yes, oh yes," Sun Wukong eagerly nodded upon hearing there was food.
Jiang Liu's cooking had long since won him over.
Meanwhile, Sun Wukong volunteered to strip off the tiger's skin and clean out the insides of the large tiger.
The remaining tiger meat was all stored in the inventory space, and seeing Sun Wukong fold the tiger skin, Jiang Liu knew what he intended to do.
However, as he set up an iron pot and began frying the tiger meat, Jiang Liu turned his head, "Monkey, did you just say you were planning to make yourself a tiger skin skirt?"
"Yes, I, Old Sun, am still bare-bodied," Sun Wukong nodded and replied.
"Well, Wukong, I have an immature question, I'm not sure if I should ask," Jiang Liu hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Master, just ask."
"Wukong, you're a male monkey, right? Why do you like wearing skirts?"
"I didn't expect you to be that kind of monkey."