Konoha's Mission Master

"The negative effects will subside tomorrow, so we can continue hunting Dragon-level monsters."

After a moment's thought, Yakumo replied that the group's hunting plan would be to hunt every two days, so that Masako and the others... wouldn't be affected by the negative effects.

Elsewhere, a silver tube connected to Genos's back. He slowly closed his eyes and began to replenish his energy. The lights in the silver plaza gradually went out, leaving only the corner where Yakumo and the others were.

After settling Masako Mori, Yakumo stood up and reappeared on the silver platform. He looked at Chiyuki Yukotsu, who was engrossed in practicing her sword, and at Genos, who was fast asleep, and felt the peace and tranquility of the place for a moment.

"Add points to Intelligence, max it out."

Yakumo closed his eyes slightly, feeling the warm energy spreading within his mind. He had experienced this energy many times before, and his intelligence attribute was constantly improving.

Everything around him became clear and transparent; he could see through everything without activating his Soul Eye, including the mechanical structure inside Genos and the possibility of further advancement...

Microthermal energy continuously enhances intelligence attributes.

From 87.5, 88.4 to 89.9, the limit was reached.

This limit was so powerful that it could not be broken by the energy of the free attribute points. The slightly warm energy quickly dissipated and transformed back into free attribute points, which appeared on the game system panel.

"Do I need three Divine Revelation Scrolls to continue upgrading?"

Yakumo checked the system prompts and quietly calculated the cost of further upgrades in his mind. Three Divine Revelation Scrolls were equivalent to three Dao Transformation Scrolls, which would cost about 150,000 gold coins.

After offsetting the cost of using the Blade of the Blank, Yakumo had less than 500 gold coins left, so harvesting conquest points was the top priority.

"Before that, we need to spend the remaining attribute points."

Currently... there are 2.6 free attribute points remaining.

"Add some points to improve your physique."

Yakumo closed his eyes again, his free attribute points flowing through his fingertips, transforming into pure energy to comprehensively strengthen his body, making his muscle tissue more resilient under the baptism of energy.

This kind of reinforcement comes quickly and goes quickly.

When Yakumo opened his eyes again, the enhancement was complete, the fatigue in his body was swept away, and his spirit was much more refreshed.

Genos, who was replenishing his energy, opened his eyes and looked around the underground space with some vigilance. The alarm system he had set up before falling asleep had been triggered, and he felt a powerful energy fluctuation.

When he discovered that there were no new enemies intruding into the underground space, his golden eyes locked onto Yakumo, and the detection system indicated that this unknown powerhouse had become even stronger.

After Genos found that there was no danger around, he entered a state of replenishing energy, which is equivalent to sleep for humans. He had just been woken up by an accident and now needed to go back to sleep.

Yakumo slowly swung his sword in the open space, getting used to his physical strength and returning it to a state where he could use it at 100%. Only in that way could he unleash his full fighting power.

Now that his intelligence attribute has surpassed all other attributes, Yakumo's mastery of his physique is increasing at an extremely rapid pace, and he has already returned to his former state in less than half an hour.

Not far away, You Gu Qianxue was still passionately wielding her sword. Clearly, today's battle had given her a deeper understanding of master-level swordsmanship, which was why she was spending more time practicing it.

Yakumo refocused his attention on the game panel. After removing the boosts to all attributes, his intelligence attribute...

Intelligence attribute: 89.9 (learning ability, mental resistance)

Yakumo's current intelligence attribute is close to 90 points. If all attributes are increased by 10%, it will be close to 100 points. If Sage Mode is added, it will completely break the limit of 100 points.

He plans to give it a try.

That is, can the boost from Sage Mode exceed 100 points in Intelligence?

Yakumo left the coordinates for spatial teleportation on the spot, and with a flash of golden light, he appeared at the temporary base in the underground of L City. Here, he didn't need to worry about anyone's plans and could try things out with peace of mind.

"Sage Mode, activated!"

At this moment, the game panel clearly displayed...

Intelligence attribute: 102 points!

This is incredibly powerful, as if the energy of the soul alone could shatter mountains, as if it could freeze the passage of time, as if it could suppress the surrounding space and seal off this place.

At that moment, Yakumo thought of eight words.

In heaven and on earth, I am the only one who reigns supreme.

This is not an exaggeration, but rather because an intelligence level exceeding 100 brings about a transformation akin to a phoenix rising from the ashes, a kind of instantaneous violence powerful enough to suppress everything.

But very quickly, in about a second, the Intelligence attribute on the panel began to drop at an extremely fast speed, plummeting from 102 points to 99.9 points in an instant!

[Note: Only the Eternal Scroll can break through the ninth level limit.]

[Note: When players use Sage Mode in the future, they can adjust whether they enter a mode with a value of 100 or higher. Please note that using abilities above the ninth level multiple times will permanently damage your Intelligence attribute. The system has suppressed the Intelligence attribute, and Yakumo immediately came to this conclusion. The purpose of doing this is to keep the player in that state for a long time, causing permanent damage to the Intelligence attribute.]

"However, a hundred points in intelligence can be used as a new trump card."

Even if it's only for a second, Yakumo is certain that... that one second of attribute is absolutely enough to severely injure a god-level monster. From this perspective... he has a near-certain victory in future battles against god-level monsters.

After reaching his own conclusion, Yakumo vanished in a golden light.

When he reappeared on the silver platform, Genos, who was in a charging state, was awakened by the alert system again. After seeing that the person who suddenly appeared was Yakumo, he lowered his head and fell asleep again.

In the blink of an eye, a night has passed.

Despite not having slept all night, Yukotsu Chiyuki was still practicing his swordsmanship in a corner, full of energy. Judging from the changes in his aura, Yakumo could deduce that his swordsmanship skills were approaching the level of a grandmaster.

As dawn broke, Genosven emerged from its charging state, the lights on the silver platform regained their properties, and many special machines rose from the ground.

On the gleaming silver equipment stand, numerous heavy weapons were laid out, along with arms and legs that Genos could replace; it was more like Genos's personal armory.

Yakumo prepared a simple breakfast, using Wood Release to create some wood and finally started a fire. He also took the time to cook porridge for Mori Masako, who now has to be fed by Yakumo after losing her sight.

Sensing Yakumo's emotions, Mori Masako sipped the soft, slightly sweet rice porridge, feeling a sweet joy in her heart. Unfortunately... she wanted to eat grilled sea king meat, and the porridge couldn't make her feel full at all.

After the meal, Yougu Qianxue cleared away the dishes.

At this moment, Genos was selecting weapons to replenish himself. Some of his weapons had been damaged in yesterday's battle, and some of his heavy weapons also needed to be reloaded.

Meanwhile, Yuuki Chiyuki was still engrossed in practicing his swordsmanship in a corner. If Yakumo hadn't called him this morning... he probably wouldn't have eaten breakfast at all.

He seemed to have entered some kind of spell, which could only be broken by breaking through to the Grandmaster level in swordsmanship. In Yakumo's view, although his strength changed every day, his actual progress was stagnant.

Haste makes waste; balance work and rest.

You Gu Qianxue ultimately failed to understand these two sentences.

After observing for a moment, Yakumo approached Genos, who was selecting a weapon. Although the two had joined forces to kill the Nature King the night before, they were not exactly friends.

He now intends to seek further cooperation.

"What are your plans for the future?" Yakumo asked.

Genos paused slightly as he assembled the weapon, then answered after a moment's thought.

"Let's go back to City A first, see some old friends, and then continue to other cities to hunt monsters."

"Have you never thought about coexisting peacefully with weirdos?"

After hearing this, Yakumo continued to ask questions.

"Peace? They've killed so many people."

How can we achieve peace?

Genos clenched his fists, radiating a terrifying aura as he spoke about the topic, his eyes turning a brilliant gold with rage.

"Would you like to come with me?"

"How should we proceed?"

Genos suppressed his anger and asked.

"Wandering through twelve cities ruled by monsters, hunting down monsters starting with Tiger-level monsters... all the way to God-level monsters."

"As long as there are eccentrics in the world, we will never stop moving forward."

Yakumo already knew that Genos wouldn't refuse the offer, because his attitude towards monsters was always one of annihilation—it was hatred.

Genos's hatred will become the opportunity for the group to unite.

"Did you also have family members who died at the hands of a strange person?"

Genos did not answer immediately, but instead asked a question.

"Of course not."

Yakumo frowned slightly as he answered Genos.

"So, you once had a loved one who died at the hands of a strange man?"

"No, not here either."

"Then why did you choose such a difficult path?"

Genos continued to ask, his eyes fixed on Yakumo, secretly maximizing the monitoring system's capabilities, trying to analyze the credible parts of Yakumo's words.

He had no friendship with Yakumo, and at this moment he was only wary.

"You said that monsters killed many humans. Putting aside feelings of anger, this is a war between two races. As a human, do I need a reason to use my weapons to protect my fellow human beings?"

Yakumo's furrowed brows relaxed, and he asked in return.

He certainly wouldn't reveal that it was for battle points, and with his superb physical control and mental fortitude, Yakumo was confident that he wouldn't let Genos discover that he was hiding something.

Genos's eyes shone even brighter, and his brain's monitoring system moved at an extremely fast pace, from the slightest movements of his arms to the facial expressions he made when he said those words.

Genos was carefully analyzing all of these things.

The answer is... the other person wasn't lying.

But his intuition told him that the other party was hiding something.

However, the parts that were being concealed no longer mattered; Genos was certain that the person before him was indeed planning to kill monsters all over the world.

Anyone who is an enemy of a freak is his friend!

"Hello, my name is Genos, and I'd like to join your team."

"You can call me Yakumo. Welcome to the team."

A smile appeared on Yakumo's face as he stepped forward and shook hands with Genos in greeting. His joy was even greater than what was on his face.

He is now more confident in hunting down god-level monsters.

"By the way, how many of the former S-class heroes are still alive?"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Yakumo asked.

"Tornado, Child Emperor, King, Watchdog Man".

"Bang, the old man was severely injured in that battle. Both of his arms were severed. He has now retired to the second line and is in charge of training heroes."