Chapter 5: Bramble Demon

Chu Mu had received a very well-rounded education ever since he was born. This included physical exercise, so though it had been very challenging to run through the rough terrain, Chu Mu could still withstand it.

Chu Mu advanced along a small stream. The stream was formed by the snow on top of the sword-like mountain in the middle of the island. By walking against the water’s flow, Chu Mu wouldn’t get lost anymore.

“Mandy Monster?” Chu Mu suddenly slowed down, staring intently at a soul pet that was drinking 100 meters away.

Mandy Monsters had a trunk much like that of a lizard; with a pink body and sharp ears, they were part of the Beast Type of the Beast World. The Mandy Monsters were a short range fighter that excelled in defense and power while weaker in speed and agility.

“The Species Rank of the Mandy Monster should be around Medium.”

A Soul Pet’s power was decided by its stages, and stages could be improved through fighting, among other methods. As long as they were trained well, they could always be improved. From the first stage, to the fourth stage, to the ninth stage, and even higher.

Thus, stages weren’t an accurate measure of a soul pet’s potential and quality. “Species rank” was the most important indicator.

Species rank showed the species advantage of a soul pet.

Two soul pets could both be at the fifth stage, yet the soul pet with a species rank of Medium would be much stronger than the soul pet with a species rank of Low. This was an inherent advantage. It was like comparing a tiger and a dog. No matter how well you trained a dog, it would be still be hard for it to defeat a tiger.

Mandy Monsters were a popular choice. After all, Medium soul pets were usually easier to control and rose through stages quickly.

However, Chu Mu didn’t think highly of this rank. Mandy Monsters had a lot of restrictions, such as their slow speed; if it met a soul pet that was agile or could cast spells, it would lose without a doubt.

Chu Mu didn’t plan on lingering around this Mandy Monster. Mandy Monsters were quite mild, so if Chu Mu didn’t bother it, he wouldn’t get attacked.

As Chu Mu walked past the Mandy Monster, it pulled its head out of the water, its big eyes watching Chu Mu. Seeing that Chu Mu had no other intentions, it went back to drinking from the stream.

“Second Soul Pact, Capture!!”

Suddenly, a bright voice sounded out fervently!

Chu Mu immediately looked towards that place and saw a kid of his size trying to cast a soul pact.

Chu Mu knew this person. He was called Ge Sen and had brown hair with pale skin and freckles.

“Hehe, don’t even try to fight over it with me!” Though Ge Sen didn’t say anything, he could see the smug smile the guy was emanating, happy about casting his soul pact first.

Chu Mu smiled coldly and decisively walked away faster.

Once a soul pact was cast, there would be two results: One result was that the soul pet would become the trainer’s, and the other was that the soul pet would become enraged.

Though this particular Mandy Monster’s rank was Low, from its appearance, it seemed to be at at least the fourth stage. Being a fully healthy soul pet, the chances that the weak Ge Sen could capture it were less than 1%. And the consequences of failing was obviously…

“HAOOOO!!!”

Sure enough, the Mandy Monster was enraged, frenzily rampaging through the undergrowth towards Ge Sen.

Ge Sen’s smug smile instantly got wiped off of his face, and he ran, panicking, further into the undergrowth.

Chu Mu glanced at the messy undergrowth and laughed silently, ignoring the kid. As he advanced, the commotion slowly became distant.

Chu Mu prepared plenty of food and water for this long trek. The first day, Chu Mu advanced about 7 to 8 kilometers before the sky became dark.

Chu Mu hid within a small granite cave, blocking the entrance with rocks to prevent more savage soul pets from eating him.

In the night, Chu Mu started cultivating. Soul pet trainers mainly trained their soul power. Soul power was the source of energy, as well as the source of Chu Mu’s life.

On the morning of the second day, Chu Mu continued his trek. According to the foremen, the tall thorny areas were the dividing lines between the inside and the outsides parts of the island.

Chu Mu had long ago prepared his machete, hacking an entire road through the thorny undergrowth.

The thorny forest was at least 200 meters long with trees the height height of 3 to 4 meters, which was higher than some of the village walls. Chu Mu was small, so there were some places where he could fit right through.

In the thorny forest, people could get hurt no matter how careful they were. Soon, Chu Mu had new wounds, and his blood was dripping onto the ground.

“Huhu”

(TL: Meant to be the sound of something whistling through the air or rustling through the undergrowth)

Suddenly, a weird sound came from beside Chu Mu’s ears.

Chu Mu slowed down to a stop, suppressing his breathing.

“Huhuhu” The soft sound was heard again! Chu Mu laid down on his stomach, barely able to breath!

Suddenly, Chu Mu felt something at his ankles!

Chu Mu??quickly turned around to find a green snake like creature to coil around his ankle!

“Ahhhhh!!!” Before Chu Mu could react, he was pulled down and dragged along the ground into the depths of the forest.

Through the rough dragging he also saw the true identity of this green snake-like creature.

It wasn’t a snake, it was a moving thorn vine!

“Bramble Demon!” Two words immediately surfaced into Chu Mu’s head.

The bramble demon is a vine type creature in the Plant Kingdom. Only growing in thorny forests, it specializes in capturing creatures trekking through the forest. It is one of the more common carnivorous creatures of the Plant Kingdom.

Chu Mu knew that the moment he got pulled to the main body of the Bramble Demon, he would be dissected.

Without much time to think in the face of danger, Chu Mu quickly grasped his machete tightly, curled his body up, and facing the pain of brambles tearing through his face, he swung towards the tentacle!

Chu Mu used lots of force in this swing, so the vine snapped accordingly, leaking green fluid out of its amputated vine.

Kicking away the wriggling vine, Chu Mu didn’t dare to tarry any longer. Holding his machete, he quickly crawled through the thorny forest, escaping from the clutches of the Bramble Demon!

Darting madly through the forest, the sharp brambles kept cutting Chu Mu, but he didn’t dare to stop for a single second.

The boundless forest seemed to have no end. Chu Mu already felt so tired to the point that he?? couldn’t breath.

A few bright rays of sunlight flashed past, and the thorn forest finally became sparse. Chu Mu finally escaped the green grasps of the thorn forest, coming out far from unscathed.

“Good thing that the Bramble Demon was only stage two. If it were two more stages higher, with two more vines, I would have been in real danger!”

Chu Mu crouched behind a big rock, breathing heavily while thinking to himself with lingering fear.

The Bramble Demon’s Species Rank was Low, even lower than the Mandy Monster. However, the Bramble Demon was one of the more aggressive Plant Kingdom soul pets, with a strong early stage and a speedy improvement in ranks. If anyone caught this Bramble Demon, they would be able to get it to rank 7 or 8 within three months, so getting top ten wouldn’t be a problem at all for them.

In reality, the Bramble Demon Chu Mu met was very likely to be caught. However, it’s Species Rank was too low; though it had a strong early stage, it had no potential.

Chu Mu decisively gave up trying to catch the Bramble Demon.