"Forget it!"
Fang Yu refused.
Good magic equipment could wait, once his cultivation improved, he would obtain it.
Defeat a demon?
With his current strength, he was still far from that level.
For things without certainty, it was better to proceed steadily.
Leng Qing smiled charmingly and said,
"I'll assist from the side. How about that?"
Fang Yu was somewhat surprised. "Really?"
"Really." Leng Qing nodded.
"Then shall we go take a look?"
Fang Yu was tempted.
With this powerful woman accompanying him, even facing a demon would be relatively safe.
Moreover, if he missed this opportunity, he would not have such favorable conditions next time.
All gain, no loss.
"Then let's go." Leng Qing smiled faintly.
"Alright." Fang Yu nodded.
Shortly after a wisp of cyan light appeared beneath Leng Qing's feet.
It enveloped the two of them. She grabbed Fang Yu, and like a gust of wind, they moved out of the house.
In less than ten minutes, the surrounding scenery changed.
When Fang Yu came back to his senses, he found himself standing on a street.
Not far ahead was the commercial district.
"This…"
This was a relatively remote area of Bo City. Under normal circumstances, it would take half an hour to reach.
Yet under Leng Qing's magic, it took only ten minutes.
"Follow me."
Leng Qing walked ahead casually, as if strolling through a garden.
"Okay."
Fang Yu did not hesitate and quickly followed.
After some time, the two arrived at a dark alley between two rows of tall buildings.
Leng Qing stood at the entrance of the alley.
According to reports from members of the Judgement council every late night, inexplicable tremors would occur here, accompanied by strange gnawing sounds and a foul stench.
She had immediately judged that an unknown demon was lurking here.
Since she had come to Bo City this time, she decided to resolve it along the way.
"Something's wrong here."
Standing on the blackened ground, Fang Yu looked at the scattered rubble and bloodstains on the walls. He held his breath.
What kind of place is this?
"You'll get used to it. In the future, the scenes you face will be even more oppressive," Leng Qing said with a faint smile as she looked at him.
"…Alright." Fang Yu responded with difficulty.
The problem was, it was hard to get used to.
Fang Yu considered himself fairly bold. Back when he had been abandoned, he had even slept beside a grave.
But this environment was truly oppressive.
Visually, the blood smeared everywhere exerted immense pressure on the mind.
He took a deep breath.
Only after calming himself for a moment did Fang Yu recover.
Next, the two walked deeper into the pitch-black alley.
After a short while, a strange rumbling sound emerged, like something digging a tunnel.
"It's here."
Leng Qing spoke and turned to Fang Yu. "It's your turn."
"Alright!"
With nervous anticipation, Fang Yu stepped further into the alley.
Just as he was nearing the end, a demon wind carrying a putrid stench suddenly surged outward from ahead, violently battering Fang Yu's face.
Looking forward, there was a deep darkness. Such darkness easily gave rise to fear of the unknown. Combined with the eerie wind blowing from ahead, goosebumps spread across his entire body.
"Guu!"
Suddenly, a horrifying shriek echoed from the darkness ahead.
A sinister blue eye protruded eerily from the shadows. Its pupil was as large as a basketball, and the fleshy tumors surrounding the eye writhed, making one's skin crawl.
By the faint reflected light, Fang Yu could roughly make out its outline.
It was a neck.
A neck as thick as a tree trunk that one person could barely wrap their arms around. The neck and head were almost indistinguishable. Where the head should be, there was only that basketball-sized eye and a huge mouth stuffed with rotten food!!
Its body length was nearly three meters.
Upon seeing this demon, Fang Yu felt a trace of danger.
It was a Giant-Eyed Rat!
He had studied it in Demonology class. It lived underground for long periods and was adept at digging tunnels. It preferred to dwell in places like city sewers where it could not easily be found. Its neck could extend, and its eye could release a penetrating dark crimson beam.
This creature was like a filthy rat, reproducing at an astonishing rate and possessing strong survivability. In the underground pipelines and landfill soil of any city, there would always be a few hidden. They generally fed on leftover human scraps. Only when starved to a certain extent would they attack and eat people.
"Guu!"
Suddenly, the Giant-Eyed Rat's pupil seemed to be condensing something. Its basketball-sized pupil contracted violently!
When the energy reached a critical point, a crimson beam shot out from its eye in an instant!
The scarlet ray tore through the air, shooting straight toward Fang Yu!
Fang Yu was nearly scared out of his wits. This thing did not even give a warning before attacking him.
Fortunately, he had been on alert, and after a month of adapting to the oppressive aura of demons.
Moreover, after becoming a Mage, his physique had also grown stronger.
Facing such a situation for the first time, he relied on his reflexes and immediately performed a side roll!
At the spot where he had just been standing, a charred hole appeared. Had he failed to dodge, that hole would have been in Fang Yu's chest.
After a moment, Fang Yu stood up and let out a breath.
Behind him, Leng Qing had watched the entire exchange, her eyes filled with approval.
Not bad.
However, for Fang Yu to confront a Giant-Eyed Rat alone, relying solely on Basic-Tier Level One Ice Magic was not enough.
Her magic was ready at any moment. If Fang Yu fell into danger, she would intervene.
Boom!
A loud rumble echoed as the entire alley trembled.
Seeing that its beam had failed against this agile human, the Giant-Eyed Rat grew enraged and charged forward on its sharp limbs.
Danger was closing in. Fang Yu did not dare hesitate.
"Ice Spread: Freeze!"
Without the slightest pause or interruption, Fang Yu executed the spell in one fluid motion, fully displaying the results of his hard training.
White frost energy swirled around Fang Yu's position. Those tiny frost sprites transformed into surging soldiers, rapidly spreading and covering the four limbs of the Giant-Eyed Rat that was charging toward him!