The next day, I arrive at the Military Headquarters located in the center of the city. It wasn't a short excursion; the city is almost 16 km across, and our neighborhood is fairly close to the hospital I was treated in, which in turn is fairly close to the southwest border of the city.
The building is an impressive one: a 20 story cylindrical monolith of concrete and glass, with a diameter of at least 200 meters. Hundreds of people are milling in and out of the lobby from all directions. By chance, I recognize and wave at one of the 23 Battlemages that came to rescue me. His countenance displays confusion, then realization. He beckons me to come over.
"Hey, I'm Li Wei. You're that kid we found outside the walls, right?"
"That's me! Jianyu. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise! I've got to say, those were some clean, accurate swipes at the boar's eyes. We thought you might have been a stray Mage who had awakened early, but there's no Stardust in your Spiritual World."
"Yes, I got pretty lucky."
"Luck had nothing to do with it," he scoffs. "Unreal how you managed that as a regular kid, my mates and I brought you up in every conversation with others for days. Fantastic bar story, I'll tell you that much."
"I hope you didn't describe anything that might identify me…"
"Of course not, we aren't stupid. You were just a nondescript jungle kid. Have you been well? How's your leg?"
"My leg is fully healed, no need for concern. I came here to find one of you and request something. May I?"
"Shoot."
"My family has been facing financial issues as of late. I know hunting monsters is a viable profession, but my stone weapons aren't enough to face any demonic beasts above the Inferior Soldier level. I was wondering if you or any of your pals could lend me a sword or spear capable of slicing through the skin of most Soldier-class beasts? The Hunter's Union was my first thought, but I would surely be laughed out of their building; I am after all a 13 year old non-mage."
"Kid, such weapons aren't cheap. We're talking at least 50,000 yuan for a sword that can slice through the muscle of Great Soldiers, and even more for Advancing Soldiers. Maybe 20,000 for Average Soldiers."
"I only need to cut through skin, not muscle. I lack the strength to sever the stronger creatures' muscles regardless, but bleeding the creatures out only requires penetrating their skin. Plus, I don't plan on targeting Great or Advancing Soldiers."
"In that case, the 20,000 yuan swords are your best bet. Even if you only want to carve through skin, it's good to have something capable of more in case you really need to cut a monster's tendons or throat. I've actually got a few such weapons that I could go grab right now, any specifics you want?"
"Two short swords and a spear would be optimal, but I'll take any satisfactory substitutes."
"Gotcha, I'll be right back."
…
…
"I only found one short sword, but I've got your spear. Their combined value is about 30,000 yuan, but as long as you don't summon the wherewithal to attack an Advancing Soldier and break the weapons on its joints, you shouldn't be concerned about damaging them. I'm more worried about you biting off more than you can chew and having to recover them from your dead body. Please don't treat your life as a joke."
"Rest assured, I'll make every effort to analyze each creature I might fight. I won't engage unless I'm certain a kill is possible. Thank you for everything!"
"Don't thank me, you're doing a service to humanity by eliminating those wretched beasts. The weapons were collecting dust in my shed anyway. I guess I'll be seeing you, but it had better not be your corpse."
"I'll treat you to a meal when I come back with the weapons, alive."
…
…
The city is surrounded by a thick jungle on the south boundary and a mountainous region on the north boundary. Performing evasive maneuvers is far easier when I can duck behind trees and bushes, so I start walking across the all-too-familiar meadow to venture into the forest once again. Coincidentally, I'm equipped with very similar items as when I left: a spear on my back, a short sword strapped to my belt, and my trusty woven grass knapsack with food, water, and herbs.
I'm grateful for the sun's glare that at times peeks through the canopy of leaves; it's the end of fall season, and the occasional warmth slightly compensates for the cold ambient temperature. Besides, all other seasons are superior to summer's suffocating heat and humidity, so I shouldn't be complaining anyway.
As I settle into the perceptive and on-guard state of mind I subconsciously associate with life in the jungle, I continuously find it necessary to correct my habit of avoiding trails of clues that lead to magical beasts. I should be following them instead: abnormally large piles of droppings, huge feathers or fur hairs stuck to boulders or trees, tiny animals fleeing from one general region, etc.
How many times had I been on the verge of death from an attack by a demonic beast I did not expect to see? A few at least before I managed to pick up on these clues via careful observation, and a lot more before the instinct was ingrained into my bones to avoid them. I continue this train of thought, and it inevitably leads to the encounter I think about nearly every day. It was a few hours after having escaped from the incident into the jungle in the evening.