Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 277: Four-Star Hunter Card

Mornings in Weir City were always beautiful — especially in this bountiful September.

The maid Xiao Ning had come to Wind Residence No. 53 early that morning. Today, the lord's small garden was ready for its corn harvest, and afterward she still needed to plant the winter wheat.

That lord was away on a mission — three years before he'd be back. And when he returned, this house would be reclaimed. What a shame.

So Xiao Ning had always tended the fields with great care, keeping the household running efficiently, earning as much as she could for the lord. It would be too unfair otherwise.

"Knock knock knock!"

Someone was at the door. Xiao Ning was mildly surprised — this was the Wind Residence district, where even neighbors were rare. Who would come knocking?

Still, she hurried to answer. There was no need to worry about safety in Weir City.

But when she opened the door, Xiao Ning froze. Standing outside was a tall woman with jet-black hair, dressed in fine black leather armor — strikingly beautiful, unmistakably noble, with a cold and composed expression.

The woman might not know Xiao Ning, but Xiao Ning knew her.

The Chief Internal Affairs Officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Code name: Night Owl. A figure so prominent that most people never got to see her in person. What was she doing here?Was this a dream?

Heart hammering, Xiao Ning bowed by reflex, doing her best to keep her voice steady: "Internal Affairs Officer, is there something I can help you with?"

Exactly as she had been taught in etiquette class at school.

"You're Xiao Ning?" Night Owl said quietly, though her mood was anything but quiet.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't be nervous. Has Li Wei's winter wheat been harvested? The corn should be ready today as well. When you're done, you can stop by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and have these supplies sent to him — it's the standard care package every player receives." Night Owl smiled and handed over a Resource Card.

"And this as well — you can include it with the supplies. No rush; just have it sorted before this evening."

"Yes, ma'am."

Xiao Ning accepted it respectfully. When she looked up, the Internal Affairs Officer was already gone. She didn't dare waste a second — she rushed off to harvest the corn. "No rush," she says, but if it were truly no rush, would the Internal Affairs Officer have come in person?

She was a maid, not an idiot.

"Haah."

In the distance, Night Owl boarded her carriage and closed her eyes with a hint of weariness. She hadn't expected a simple Pioneering Mission to turn into something like this —

Well. The corner of her mouth was getting harder to keep still.

Exhausting, keeping up the act.

Night Owl opened her eyes again and gazed at the passing scenery, her mood light and free. Ever since she received the delayed battle report this morning, she had been in excellent spirits.

That position should be secure now.

This Li Wei — she really hadn't seen it coming. Managing to keep the Scorpion and the Widow in line like that. He had some real ability.

But now he needed to guard against a raid. If she had known this would happen, she would have sent Lu Ziming over. Because after this battle, the sixth-ranked Scar Glenn would have to be furious — it would be strange if he wasn't.

Of course, Chu Wushuang over there was a steady Five-Star Cross-Border Player who would likely talk him out of it. Li Wei plus the Scorpion plus the Widow — if the three of them together could kill the Flame Duke, they could certainly take out Chu Wushuang. And with the Radiation Storm on the horizon, charging five hundred kilometers for a raid was not a wise move.

But come next spring, Scar Glenn would absolutely come for Li Wei.

By then, even with Five-Star Retention Cards for the Scorpion and the Widow, they could only stay three more months at most.

And at that point, the Ministry of Internal Affairs truly had no Five-Star Cross-Border Players left to send over. At the end of the day, this was just a Pioneering Mission.

There were more important matters, more important missions to attend to.

'Looking at it now, Li Wei should be fine. Scar Glenn's raid has maybe a forty percent chance of success.' After a long deliberation, Night Owl finally settled on a cautiously optimistic assessment.

As for what the Commerce Department would think and how they'd play it — that was entirely up to them.

If Li Wei and Scar Glenn tore each other apart, she wouldn't be losing anything either. As long as Hathaway held steady, it was fine.

In truth, right now, every other department was probably hoping to see exactly that — and would likely try to make it happen.

When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman wins. It was a timeless story.

'And next month, Li Wei's side can even squeeze in six more slots at the limit.' Night Owl thought about this and couldn't help smiling. That He Yuying — a Four-Star Mountaineer, a genuinely solid Four-Star player, what a perfect opportunity — and instead of seizing it to grow stronger, she had been trying to coast and drag her feet. Stunned now, wasn't she? She'd be eliminated by a plot kill before the end of the month.

She returned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in good spirits, but the moment she stepped into her office, her assistant brought unwelcome news: "Ma'am — the Logistics Department, Commerce Department, Tactics Department, and Resources Department have all used this month's designated slots and inserted four players into Li Wei's Pioneering branch."

"What? That fast?"

Night Owl was genuinely surprised. Each month, all five departments had one designated slot to insert a player — and Li Wei's camp was now a Level 5 Scavenger Camp, meaning the minimum entry requirement was a Four-Star professional. Three-Stars couldn't be sent in anymore. This wasn't a beginner mission; there were standards.

Were they really that afraid Li Wei's camp wouldn't develop?

And did this even make sense?

Panicking and making reckless moves — had they lost their minds?

Or... did they genuinely want Li Wei to smash Scar Glenn to pieces? Losing one top-tier seed player from the competition wasn't necessarily a bad thing for them.

Night Owl paused, then waved a hand. The light in her office rippled like water, and two figures materialized before her.

One was the Chief Tactics Officer of the Tactics Department. The other was a white-haired old man — if Li Wei had been present, he would have recognized him immediately. This was Old John, the Four-Star player who had come with Hathaway and Ron back in the beginner world.

In that moment, Night Owl understood everything.

—

"Would you like to use one Black Iron Clearance Token to upgrade your Three-Star Hunter Card? You have already met the requirements: 15,000 hunting experience and 150 standard gold coins."

On the rooftop of the camp building, Li Wei calmly used the Black Iron token.

A bright light flared at his brow. The Three-Star Hunter Card flew out, merged with the Black Iron token, and returned to its place at his brow — joining the other three Profession Cards to form the Destiny Matrix.

The whole process was as simple and smooth as making a purchase.

Not even the mysterious visions of before. Utterly ordinary.

But Li Wei understood why. The higher your Destiny Grid, the less fanfare accompanied an upgrade. The lower it was, the more the system made you sit through the whole cinematic — so you'd appreciate what great power was being bestowed upon you.

Which was why Destiny Grid mattered, and grinding it was fundamental.

The next instant, a stream of notifications appeared.

[You have bound the Four-Star Hunter Card.]

[You have advanced to Four-Star Hunter. You have gained 5 free attribute points.]

[Hunter Destiny Grid has increased. Current value: 53.]

[Your Hunter profession talent has been enhanced. Passive shooting accuracy with most ranged weapons and bows is increased by 60%. You can now raise two Hunting Pets simultaneously and bind two Pet Cards at no cost. You can leverage the Hunter's advantages in most environments. You now have a solid edge in butchering prey, tanning hides, and gathering mountain goods.]

[Note: As a Hunter with a Destiny Grid of 53, your Perception has slightly increased. When your Hunter Destiny Grid reaches 60 and your Woodcutter Destiny Grid also reaches 60, your Perception may increase by an additional +1.]

[Friendly reminder: This is your second Profession Card. Its upgrade requirements are slightly higher than your first. It cannot be upgraded until your first Profession reaches Five-Star. Five-Star Hunter Card upgrade requirements: 30,000 hunting experience + 300 units of standard world resources / 150 standard gold coins + one Silver Clearance Token.]

—

Not bad.

Li Wei wasn't particularly surprised. He immediately spent one free attribute point to raise his Stamina from 340 to 350.

With the Flame Baron Rare Title equipped, his Life would reach 260, Stamina 400, Agility 36, Strength 32, Defense 23, Spiritual Power 18, and Perception +1.

Very strong. It would also passively activate the Scout Card's third talent — Weapon Mastery, reducing Encumbrance by 8 — and unlock the fourth talent: Mounted Archery Mastery.

Excellent.

The Rare Title could even replace the Bear Hunter and Dog Butcher titles entirely.

Only the Tracker and Rat Slayer titles couldn't be replaced.

Also, titles could apparently be merged with each other to form more powerful composite titles — and there were Destiny Titles in the mix as well. There was still a great deal to explore.

After a moment's thought, Li Wei made his decision: the remaining four free attribute points would all go into Perception — raising it from +1 to +3.

That way, the Tracker title could be replaced in most situations. Only against particularly elusive or unpredictable targets would he need to equip it for the full Perception +5.

Otherwise, he could simply switch between the Flame Baron and Rat Slayer titles as needed.

That would save a significant amount of Stamina and Spiritual Power.

Of course, right now Li Wei actually only spent two free attribute points — raising Perception to 2. Past experience had taught him well: boosting a major attribute too quickly came with severe side effects.

"Getting a bit drowsy."

The moment the points were allocated, Li Wei felt a wave of dizziness. Within half a minute, he watched his Spiritual Power drain at an alarming rate.

From 18 down to 15, then to 9, finally stopping at 8. Just raising Perception to 2 had consumed 10 points of Spiritual Power.

If he had slipped and added all four at once, he would have been knocked out for another ten days or more.

That was a terrifying thought.

Li Wei changed into casual clothes and checked the sky — it was around seven in the morning, sunlight flooding down from a cloudless sky. Good weather. But there was no more time to waste. Farmland No. 4's wheat needed harvesting.

He grabbed a few sacks, loaded up a handcart, and headed straight to Field No. 4. Benjamin and his second patrol squad were on watch there. Above, a flock of mutant birds circled in the sky. On the ground, two cook women were cleaning the mutant birds that had been shot down, while two patrol members processed the feathers — all of it taken down from first light until now.

On a typical day, over a hundred mutant birds could be shot down.

"My lord! The camp is all clear. Farmland No. 4 has not been damaged by the mutant birds."

Benjamin set down his siege crossbow and greeted Li Wei.

"Good work. You're a solid shot."

Li Wei nodded approvingly. These mutant birds were cunning and aggressive — they had to be taken down from over a hundred meters away. Get any closer and they could whip up a gust strong enough to strip the wheat stalks bare.

Fortunately, the corrosive acid-spitting mutant vultures had all been shot down by Li Yue some time ago. Otherwise things would have been far worse.

Even so, Benjamin's patrol squad kept three sniper rifles ready at all times. Any mutant vulture that appeared had to be eliminated at three hundred meters — absolutely no exceptions.

"Thank you for the kind words, my lord. I'm just average."

Benjamin smiled modestly. Li Wei said nothing more, then glanced over at the natural person Mark nearby. The man looked calm. "How's he doing?"

"My lord — he seems more aware than he looks. He eats, he sleeps. We brought him along today and he hasn't done anything unusual."

"Mark... Mark..."

The man suddenly called out twice and looked toward Li Wei, as if he had something to say.

His condition seemed noticeably better today.

"Mark — is there something you want?" Li Wei asked.

"Mark... Mark..."

The man grew agitated, gesturing with his one hand, even trying to write something. A patrol member handed him a stick. He scratched at the ground for a long time but couldn't produce anything legible — as if his memory and certain cognitive functions had been locked away. He clearly wanted to communicate something, but —

"My lord, I think he's trying to thank you," one of the patrol members said with a smile.

"Is that so?" Li Wei gave him a skeptical look, thinking the man was making things up.

But Mark immediately nodded vigorously.

Well. All that effort just to say thank you. Anyone watching would have thought he had critical intelligence to report.

"Alright, Mark — you don't need to thank me. Eat well, take care of yourself, and do good work. The world is what it is now, but we can still start over."

Li Wei laughed and clapped Mark on the shoulder.

"Mark... Mark..."

Mark repeated the two syllables, clearly excited but unable to express himself. He looked around for a moment, then ran over and lifted a sandbag that had been used for flood control with his single hand — still calling out "Mark, Mark."

"My lord, I think he's saying he'll work hard. He may have lost a hand, but he's got plenty of strength. He's grateful for the chance to start over that you've given him."

The patrol member named Carter offered a rapid translation.

Four syllables turned into a whole speech — impressive vocabulary.

Still, Mark's strength was genuinely remarkable. Without an active bound Profession Card, Li Wei couldn't check his specific stats. Maybe it was worth trying to bind one and see?