Iya Continent: Card God

Sailboat Cliffs, located on the southwestern border of Sandel County, is a strategically important, rugged area, a pristine land teeming with magical beasts. Its terrain inherently makes it unsuitable for development. Successive dukes of the county have viewed it as a treasure trove of endless resources, issuing commissions to greedy adventurers. This not only reduced the prevalence of magical beasts but also attracted a constant stream of adventurers, leading to a flourishing of various industries.

Recently, the existence of a young white-headed two-spotted leopard was discovered, and this news immediately attracted many adventurers to form teams to come.

One of them was the red-haired Locke, who had been in Sandel City for a long time.

He assembled a team of five and ventured into the treacherous mountains to search for traces of the monster.

"Be careful, everyone. There aren't just white-headed double-spotted leopards here; there are many other ferocious magical beasts, including gold-level ones," Red-haired Locke warned.

Several novice adventurers swallowed hard, their eyes wide, their nerves on edge.

The cunning man named Bald seemed completely unconcerned, even chuckling to himself. "Tch, a gold-level magical beast? If there were really one around here, you wouldn't be here. Stop pretending. These young guys don't understand me, but don't I?"

Baldr, who had other thoughts in mind, suddenly shivered and glanced over, only to find Locke glaring at him unfriendly.

“Hehe…” Bald immediately revealed a humble and timid smile.

Red-haired Locke gave a strange smile, his gaze returning to the vigilance and patrol in the mountains.

At this moment, one of the team members said, "Has anyone heard about this?"

"What did you hear?"

"Before I came here, I heard rumors that someone saw the white-headed, two-spotted leopard cub covered in flames."

"Hmm?" Red-haired Locke looked puzzled. "Where did you hear this nonsense?"

Baldr couldn't help but say, "That white-headed, two-spotted leopard doesn't breathe fire or have its whole body bursting into flames. What nonsense!"

"I also find it strange, so I'm asking everyone..."

Locke solemnly declared, "It's best to say less about such irrelevant matters and focus on the search."

……

Below the cliffs, the coniferous forest is as dense as the sea.

A man and a woman were entering and walking towards them.

The two were Linta and the magician Abirgay.

"It seems quite a few people have come," Linta said calmly.

On the way here, we saw many adventurers, but none of them showed any interest in making friends. They had already formed teams before coming. And the companions they made at their destination were truly untrustworthy.

Abirgay said, "Yes, there are only two of us, so we're at a disadvantage."

Abiergai always felt that two people were too few to capture the white-headed leopard, far inferior to teams of five or six. Besides, he felt he was rather weak. Although Linta kept emphasizing that it was just capturing a cub, not a direct confrontation, the actual situation was always hard to predict.

“Ahead lies Sailboat Cliff, it really does look like a sailboat…” Linta murmured, gazing at the cliff face.

Abiergay asked, "What should we do next?"

Next?

Linta himself didn't know. If Pinecone were here, this place would be his home turf. He knew better than anyone how to find ferocious beasts.

"Let's get closer to the cliff first, then... find a place to rest, and we'll talk about the rest later."

“Okay.” Abirgay nodded.

I was exhausted after the long journey. Unlike the other person, who walked such a long way through the mountains without even breaking a sweat or showing any signs of fatigue.

The two then arrived at the foot of the sailboat cliff and found a cave where they could hide or rest.

"Pfft! Whoosh!"

Flames burned in Linta's palm, and the small fireball ignited the firewood.

The mountains are shrouded in heavy mist and humid air. The flames are perfectly timed.

"It wasn't a waste of time learning." Lin Ta nodded with great satisfaction.

The greatest use of the Fireball Technique is for starting fires in the wild.

Abiergai stretched out his slender, fair palm and placed it in front of the fire to warm it, praising, "Your fire technique is truly skillful."

"I practiced for a long time to familiarize myself with magic control; I don't have any talent for fire magic," Linta said frankly.

Abiergay had no doubt whatsoever.

Those who truly possess a talent for a certain elemental power will demonstrate extraordinary abilities in their first few uses.

However, this doesn't mean the other person possesses the talent to become a mage. A mage's use of magic differs from other schools. A mage's magic requires far more precise control. Simply put, other schools of magic merely transform magic into elemental power and cast it within a limited range. But a mage can precisely control their magic, projecting it hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of meters away!

"Linta, how do we find the white-headed double-spotted leopard next?" Abiergai returned to the main topic and asked about this matter.

We've come all this way not for picnics or tourism, but for hunting and trapping – that's the real purpose.

"Huh?" Lin Ta's expression froze slightly, his thoughts racing.

He himself didn't know, although he had happily agreed to come after receiving Daisy's information. But he was just taking it one step at a time and figuring out exactly what to do. He thought he should first go to Sailboat Cliff to familiarize himself with the terrain before making any further plans.

Now, it has indeed arrived. As for considerations…

Linta's eyes lit up, as if a shooting star had streaked across the sky.

No need to consider it!

"Wait."

Linta said with a confident smile.

"Huh? Wait?" Abirgay looked puzzled, not understanding what he meant.

Linta laughed and said, "Yes, it's all about waiting."

"We're not the only ones here to catch this white-headed leopard. Right?"

Abiergay nodded. "Yes, there are many people."

“Yes, there are a lot of people. With so many of them searching, isn’t it easier to find them than if the two of us searched together?” Linta said with a smile.

Abirgay suddenly realized, "So, it means we should wait until they find it, which is equivalent to us finding it? Then we'll take action."

Linta nodded slightly. "They will definitely make a commotion. We'll see where the commotion is in the mountains and then head there."

“That’s right…” Abilgai was greatly surprised. If it were him, he would have been foolish enough to go looking for her. How could the other person be so clear-headed?

Linta thought to herself: How shameless of me, but I just love doing this! Why bother looking? Someone else can help me find it! How would I know how to find it?

"call……!"

Lin Ta took a deep breath and walked to a corner of the cave.

Abirgay paused for a moment, looking at what Linta had done.

Lin Ta said to him, "I'm practicing my magic, so please don't bother me unless it's absolutely necessary, thank you."

“Oh.” Abirge nodded, his eyes fixed on Linta’s changes.

His pupils dilated suddenly, and the magical energy around him began to rapidly gather and circulate. This sign meant only one thing: he was about to advance! At this moment?

That's right, Linta has decided to advance to the advanced Bronze rank now.

His spiritual power had long since reached the high-level Bronze rank, and his magic power had also been cultivated to that level. However, due to his complete lack of understanding of how to control and wield magic power, he dared not advance rashly. Now, his release of magic power and use of skills were sufficiently proficient, and it was time to act.

Moreover, the higher one's strength level, the better it will be for hunting the white-headed double-spotted leopard.

There was something in the mountains telling me to go and find it.