Reincarnated as a bamboo rat, it begins its extreme survival struggle.

[Experience +25]

Level: lv.5 (36/30)

After killing the Shadow Leopard, a large amount of experience flowed into Bell's body, bringing him an overflowing sense of happiness.

The experience required for the upgrade has been accumulated. All Bell needs to do is take a nap so he can digest the accumulated experience in his body and level up again.

Moreover, Bell could also take advantage of his dream state to continue tending to the tulip he had planted.

But before doing all that, Bell had to dismantle the shadow leopard's carcass in front of him.

Previously, Bell had watched many adventurers dismantle monster corpses in the bamboo forest, and he already had a general idea of ​​how to quickly and efficiently extract monster materials.

However, before dismantling the Shadow Leopard's carcass, Bell had to call back his little porter.

He, a single mouse, couldn't possibly carry such a large shadow leopard back; Bell's five-slot inventory couldn't hold all that stuff.

As a magical beast, the Shadow Leopard still possesses residual power even after its recent death, so there's no need to worry about attracting flies for the time being.

After dragging the shadow leopard's carcass to a secluded spot, Bell ran swiftly towards the mining camp.

Bell moved quickly, and as soon as he reached the edge of the camp, he saw Edu at the camp gate.

At this point, Edu had already put down the large amount of beast materials that the hunter had given him and was preparing to seek help from other adventurers in the camp.

After all, the appearance of monsters near the camp is a serious matter that must be taken seriously.

Monsters pose a threat to the safety of adventurers, especially in mining camps where there are many non-adventure miners.

No one knows whether the shadow leopard appearing here is an isolated incident or a harbinger of a large-scale monster attack.

But before Edu could report, Bale jumped onto his shoulder, and after understanding the situation, chose to take Edu away.

"Kid, we'll report this information later. Come with me first."

Belly leaned on Edu's shoulder to catch his breath; he didn't want Edu to report the information so easily.

Bell led Edu to the location of the Shadow Leopard's corpse, took out his iron sword, and while dismantling the Shadow Leopard's body, explained his thoughts.

“You need to gain more say in this camp. You can’t be a gofer for the rest of your life. Right now, the rewards you get for reporting information are extremely limited.”

"But this is the only way I can do it?"

Using his iron sword, Bell sliced ​​open the shadow leopard's belly and carefully skinned it, removing its fur, one of the most valuable parts of its body.

In Bell's perception, the Shadow Leopard's teeth, claws, and fur all harbored the power to manipulate shadows.

“Edu, if you simply report the information, the adventurers in the camp will pay attention, but that attention will be more focused on the magical beasts than on you.”

If a large number of monsters were to invade this camp, the adventurers would be too busy fighting them to keep an eye on you. Repairing the camp and dealing with casualties would be too much of a hassle. If no monsters appear, you'll become the butt of jokes again, completely insignificant.

Holding up the shadow leopard skin he had peeled off, Bell held out the jet-black silk-like fabric...

A hide of animal skin was draped over Edu's body, and the bloody, sticky inner surface of the skin immediately made Edu feel nauseous.

The magic on the shadow leopard's fur excited Edu's demi-human bloodline once again.

"But if you walk into the camp wearing this genuine monster skin and tell everyone that monsters have appeared near the camp, no matter how the adventurers prepare to fight the monsters, they will not forget you."

When the monster tide came, you were the hero who killed the first monster, alerting the camp. Even before the monster tide came, you were still a young man of great potential, capable of taking down a Shadow Panther at such a young age.

Bell explained the pros and cons of different choices for Edu.

Of course, there were some things Bell didn't say. For example, if Edu reported the information like that, the magical beast materials he had stripped from the Shadow Leopard would become extremely difficult to sell.

Bell wanted to see the trading markets of the human world; perhaps he could find the materials he needed there.

But a mere kid with no connections, bringing back magical beast materials from the Shadow Leopard in the bamboo forest all by himself, could easily attract the covetous eyes of others.

Rather than abandoning the monster materials and letting Eduard remain in his current state, drifting along as a low-level adventurer.

Bell, however, thought it would be better to mold Edu into a promising genius and let him make a name for himself among adventurers.

“Edu, do the math. If you continue living like this, doing odd jobs, how long will it take you to save enough money to take a formal introductory course at the Bards’ Guild?”

Leaving aside the expenses of attending various academies after becoming a novice bard, the sheer amount of energy you expend working to save money while attending classes will significantly hinder your prime development period, drastically reducing the time you have for physical training and professional skill development.

"And what about those who show extraordinary talent at a young age? I remember you told me that large adventure groups would select genius teenagers to cultivate fresh blood for themselves, since the cost for them to become stronger is much, much lower than that for ordinary people."

Bale unusually spoke at length, and every word hit Edu's sore spot.

Edu himself knew that those powerful adventurers had all consumed large amounts of supplements from a young age and received different customized training at different ages, laying a solid foundation for their future development.

Among advanced adventurers, only a very few with exceptional talent can grow rapidly without a solid foundation and become renowned powerhouses.

But Edu was unsure, and dared not easily fantasize, that he was such a person of amazing talent and extraordinary ability.

"Can I really become a genius?"

Edu asked somewhat uncertainly, but he wasn't stupid and could understand what Bell meant.

But he still hesitated. Having lived a hard life since childhood, Edu lacked the confidence to calmly handle any situation.

"Maybe you really are a genius, maybe you aren't, but that doesn't matter. Until the very end, no one knows how life's story will end. The important thing now is whether you're willing to stand up, believe in yourself, and pursue your dreams."

Is your dream simply to become an ordinary bard? Will your potential stop at that level?

Bell looked at Edu, his words more serious than ever before.

“I believe you will be the greatest bard of all time, and if you believe in yourself, I will help you all the way up.”

Thank you for the monthly pass and the donation! (Your names are so complicated, I don't recognize any of the characters.)

But I'm still grateful, I'll kowtow repeatedly!

Chapter 37 I made a sliding tackle

"There are signs of predatory magical beasts in the surrounding bamboo forest. We need to be on high alert."

Edu stood at the entrance of the mine camp and shouted, a shadow leopard pelt draped over his shoulders and a string of shadow leopard teeth and claws in his hand.

His appearance caused the two adventurers left at the camp entrance to look suspicious, and even the adventurers near the camp entrance turned their attention to him.

"Mr. Bell, what should I do? They're all staring at me. I'm so panicked..."

"Don't be a coward. Fear is just a feeling in your heart. You need to be bold."

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Edu muttered a complaint to Bell in animal language. Bell, perched on Edu's shoulder, could feel the muscles in his body tense.

But unlike the nervous Edu, Bale remained completely calm. He poked Edu's neck, indicating that nothing was wrong.

As expected, after Edu displayed such an attitude, the adventurers in charge of the camp took it very seriously.

These mid-level officers from the Long River Adventurer Group surrounded Edu and questioned him about the monsters that had appeared near the camp.

When they first entered the camp, a few low-level adventurers stared at Edu's monster materials, their eyes gleaming with greed.

But after these managers came out, they wisely withdrew their gaze and became extremely well-behaved.

For these adventurers who had already risen to minor leadership positions, the body material of a Shadow Leopard was no longer considered a rare commodity.

They were more concerned about the news that monsters had appeared near the camp.

From the perspective of the administrators, news of monsters appearing in the camp would affect the atmosphere. If monsters were to injure or even kill people, the administrators would go completely insane.

Managing a camp is not as easy as you might imagine.

People have many different ideas, and the entire mining camp is not entirely composed of adventurers; there are also many miners among them.

Now that the news of the Blood Hand Mercenary Group and the Long River Adventurer Group going to war has been confirmed, the people left behind in the camp already had different thoughts.

If the Warcraft incident is not handled properly, leading to instability within the camp, or even a mutiny or defection, those in charge will definitely have a tough time.

Not everyone is a general who can command thousands of troops. Under normal circumstances, it is difficult to manage a dozen or so people under one's command.

"Kid, what's the deal with this shadow leopard? Did those hunters who took you out kill it?"

The leading adventurer in charge questioned Edu.

After all, there weren't many people in the camp, and they knew that Edu had been taken out by those hunters and adventurers.

"That's right, sir. I went out with the hunters. They checked the traps, and I was responsible for bringing the prey caught in the traps back to the camp. These bamboo partridges are my reward."

Edu pointed to the wild animals he had brought back earlier and began to recount his experiences that day.

Before returning to camp, Bell taught him a lot of talking techniques, and the kid learned them very quickly, proving the old saying: "It's hard to learn good things, but it's easy to learn bad things."

"After I completed my mission and returned, the hunters continued checking other traps outside, returning earlier than expected."

As I was releasing the game and preparing to head out for my second transport mission, I encountered this shadow leopard about 500 meters from the camp.

As he spoke, Edu pointed to the shadow leopard skin on his shoulder and began to recount the encounter he and Bell had planned.

"I was on the road when I suddenly noticed that it had become very quiet. As you know, I can hear my animal friends talking. If the animals in the forest don't talk, it's a very unusual thing."

As the adventurers in charge listened to Edu's description, they easily imagined the scene in their minds: Edu walking down the street and finding himself being followed by a shadow leopard.

"At that time, I sensed the presence of the shadow leopard, but I didn't show that I had discovered it. I continued to walk forward while using my bamboo rat to observe the shadow leopard's movements."

"Just as the Shadow Leopard was about to pounce on me, my bamboo rat keenly sensed the opportunity. At that moment, I decisively turned around, slid in to narrowly dodge the attack, and plunged my dagger into its throat."

Edu recounted an extremely outrageous operation, a description that was considered absolutely mind-blowing even when Bell and he were compiling it together.

Sliding tackles and one-hit kills are not things that kids Edu's age can do.