My monster cards can evolve infinitely.

A bead of scarlet blood was slowly sliding down the blade of "Bavarian Moonlight".

Xiu Qi looked expressionlessly at the members of the "Gray Blade" team, whose expressions varied at that moment—

Captain Raine's expression was complex and unreadable, the orc Shatterbond's eyes widened, the dwarf Bucky's small eyes kept flashing, and the mage apprentice Ellie looked on with a hint of surprise.

"You f***ing..." Before the half-orc Shattered Bones could finish speaking, Captain Rein raised his hand to stop him.

Raine had already put down his longbow. His gaze swept over Xiuqi and then settled on the fallen wolf.

The beasts were no longer ferocious. They lay on the ground, convulsing with their eyes closed, clearly still recovering from the damage caused by Ellie's powerful [Light Spell].

"They're all yours..." the captain said in a deep voice, making the decision amidst the astonished gazes of his teammates.

Xiu Qi nodded slightly in response.

He strode towards the nearest wolf, raised his longsword, and gently thrust it...

The wolf, writhing in pain, twitched twice and then fell completely silent.

Ding--

[Monster Card Maker Xiuqi has successfully created a one-star common (white) card...]

The Contaminated Timber Wolf

The eighth one-star card.

He didn't stop and quickly moved on to the next end.

The longsword was swung with precision and deadly accuracy.

Ding--

The ninth image.

Nine one-star cards, just enough to meet the promotion standard.

As Xiuqi approached the last wolf, a shrill voice rang out;

"etc..."

He stopped and turned around to look at the sound.

A short figure stood up and pointed at the wolf lying motionless on the ground.

"This wolf... I struck first." Dwarf Bucky's tone was tinged with a hint of probing, his eyes fixed on Hugh's reaction.

The surroundings fell silent instantly.

Captain Raine raised his hand in astonishment as he tried to stop them, while the orc Shatterbond gripped the axe handle tightly, and the mage apprentice Ellie unconsciously swallowed.

The "princess" trotted down from the cave entrance, holding a large stick in both hands, staring fiercely at the other party.

Xiuqi glanced at the dwarf, then looked away.

It's just a wild wolf; all I need is its essence after killing it to make monster cards.

I have absolutely no interest in wolf skins, wolf teeth, wolf meat, or anything like that.

Of course, this was his secret, and he couldn't possibly tell the other party.

He has already achieved his initial goal of obtaining nine cards today, so having one more won't make a big difference.

Especially since they had "saved" him, Xiu Qi wasn't such an unreasonable person.

"Whoosh—hiss!"

A soft, sigh-like murmur rang out as "Bavarian Moonlight" returned to its scabbard at his waist.

Xiu Qi, with a lazy smile and a warm expression, looked at everyone.

"certainly,"

"Whoever's sword you fall under, you become their prey..."

"And the other wolf carcasses are all yours too."

He pointed to the wolf carcasses scattered on the ground and waved his hand with great magnanimity.

"Wolf pelts, wolf teeth, wolf meat—these are all valuable things," the dwarf said, his eyes filled with disbelief. "You don't want any of it?"

The other members of the "Gray Blade" squad also cast surprised glances, but only Captain Rein's eyes flashed with a look of "I knew it."

"These are all burdens to me," Xiu Qi slowly raised his head, gazing at the cold, clear light in the sky, his eyes extremely calm.

"I'm just enjoying the thrill of the hunt."

Do you simply enjoy killing?

Bucky the dwarf couldn't help but swallow, remembering the captain's fear of him, and felt a little regretful for his provocation.

He glanced quickly at Captain Ryan, who nodded almost imperceptibly.

The dwarf's expression shifted several times, and the dagger hovering over the wolf's head remained unswept.

"Since the spoils belong to me, it doesn't matter who does the work," Bucky said, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. He shrugged and gestured for others to proceed.

"please!"

Upon hearing this, Xiu Qi naturally didn't stand on ceremony. He walked up to the wolf and slowly lowered his right hand...

A cold, sharp light flashed by.

Ding--

The tenth image.

With a melodious tinkling sound, Xiuqi breathed a sigh of relief, and his gaze toward the dwarf softened even more.

Captain Ryan took in all of this, becoming even more certain of his judgment about the gray-robed youth.

Bloodthirsty, paranoid, extremely confident in his own abilities, and a mysterious spellcaster.

Although the two team members had been slightly offensive earlier, the act of helping out by chance just now somewhat redeemed the situation.

Seeing that the other person's eyes were softening, Ryan took the initiative to step forward;

Are you lost?

"Is it obvious?" Xiuqi gently wiped the dirt off the longsword with a cotton cloth.

"This area is shrouded in gray fog all day long, making it extremely easy to get lost," Renn said, taking a few more steps closer but always maintaining a safe distance.

"Especially at night, compasses can be severely hampered, and even the most experienced hunters can get lost."

Xiuqi had already sheathed his longsword again, and looked at the benevolent-looking Rein with interest: "Do you know how to get out?"

"Perhaps," the captain didn't answer directly, but stated the facts, "traveling at night is too dangerous. We plan to rest here for the night and continue our journey at dawn."

He paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully: "If you'd like, you can come with us."

This invitation surprised Xiu Qi somewhat, as the tense situation from just a few hours ago was still fresh in his mind.

He looked at Captain Ryan in front of him—the hunter's face seemed devoid of calculation, only showing a cautious weariness.

The orc beside him widened his eyes in surprise: "Captain, he—"

"Shut up, Bonebreaker!" Renn immediately interrupted him. "This gentleman is a noble mage, and it is our honor to have him join us temporarily."

Xiu Qi didn't answer immediately, but instead asked, "Conditions?"

"Equal cooperation," came the hunter captain's voice, "Loot will be distributed according to contribution."

"If we encounter danger, we should look after each other, but we cannot force each other to take risks."

The terms are very fair, and there's almost nothing to complain about.

And he was indeed lost. Now the most troublesome problem for him was how to get out of the forest, and it was obviously more reliable to go with an experienced team.

"make a deal."

As he finished speaking, Ryan visibly breathed a sigh of relief: "We'll camp down this gentle slope tonight, you can continue to stay on the slope."

Xiuqi nodded in agreement.

Soon, a warm campfire was lit in the quiet night, and five figures of different shapes sat together.

Xiuqi did not return to the cave, but chose to sit with the others.

He knew too little about adventure and the forest and was eager to gain more practical information.

Orcs and dwarves skewered wolf meat on branches and roasted it over a campfire.

Captain Ryan handed him a hard piece of dry rations and a small bag of water.

"The conditions are basic, please make do!" Rein's tone was stiff and gentle towards Xiuqi, clearly not his usual tone.

Xiuqi accepted it and said thank you.

He then took out a few dwarf energy cookies and distributed them to Raine and the other team members.

Raine and the mage apprentice Ellie took the cookies and started eating them right away.

The orc, Broken Bones, held the biscuit, hesitated for a moment, and mumbled a "thank you."

Dwarf Bucky stared at the cookie for a few seconds before cautiously taking a bite.

"So," Raine took a bite of his biscuit, glancing at Xiuqi.

"Why did you come to the Gray Forest alone?"