Chapter 70: The Prison Hunter

As a night watchman, throughout your life you have heard countless legends, but there are few stories concerning Black River Prison. The Hunters of Prisoners are among the rare tales you’ve heard; they are charged with suppressing escapees and capturing the criminals of Black River Prison. They are like blades—utterly devoid of emotion.

Yet in all your days as a night watchman, you have never witnessed a Hunter act, nor seen any prisoner emerge from Black River Prison. Every Hunter is a blade that has forsaken emotion; only when the gravest emergencies arise do they intervene. In New City District 8, the legends of the Hunters abound; many monsters have perished at their hands, and they are the nightmares of every evildoer.

The Book Seller lay sprawled on the ground—though they had survived by luck, from the moment they boarded the Giant Crow, a mark of death was stamped upon their heart. If not for the blizzard interfering, they would have been found long ago.

The Book Seller rolled over, spread his limbs wide, and surrendered himself to fate: "Once I enter the prison, I’ll be able to see more fascinating books of life. Benefactor, perhaps one day I’ll see you there as well."

He shared information about certain criminals: "Those bastards are planning something big and won’t include me. Afraid I’ll drag them down, they have no idea how important knowledge is," he muttered to himself.

Morning Star rested his chin in thought—besides escaping, were these criminals up to something more?

"..."

"The blizzard is growing stronger. Too bad I won’t see it," the Book Seller hesitated, moving his right hand away from his chest.

In the distance, a flash of red glimmered in the Hunter’s eyes. A chain, lengthening like a ghostly serpent, sped through the snow toward its target.

In a split second, the chain pierced the Book Seller’s breastbone, plunging straight into his heart. Blood sprayed everywhere.

You glanced one last time at the Book Seller, who was stuffing memory-erasing slips of paper into his ears, a joyful curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

You sat before the hollow of a tree, quietly awaiting the arrival of the Hunter.

Morning Star could feel the oppressive presence—a force different from the Debt Collector’s, more direct and overwhelming.

The Hunter arrived...

You looked at him; he stood two and a half meters tall, his entire body encased in heavy black armor.

The Hunter gazed at you; you were not among his orders. He then looked at the Book Seller, at the scars on his face, and at the campfire behind you.

The Hunter opened his iron-clad hand, bent low, and handed you ten crooked Day Coins.

You have obtained 10 Day Coins!

Ten Day Coins, just like that—so straightforward. Morning Star hadn’t expected such an unceremonious reward; a simple confirmation, and the money was handed over.

It was a true fortune! He looked at his panel, and his wealth had more than doubled. Originally, he possessed just over eight Day Coins; now, it was eighteen in total.

From this reward, one could see how seriously Black River Prison regarded the matter, how important these escapees were. The Giant Crow transporting prisoners had not crashed in another district, but in New City District 8. For Black River Prison, criminals escaping in the district under their control—even if only one was not recaptured—was a monumental disgrace. They would not allow any criminal to escape District 8.

After embedding the chain in the Book Seller’s heart, the Hunter locked him up with it. Having secured his target, the Hunter spoke no further, leaving for his next mission.

The storm abated.

You stepped out of the tree hollow, looking toward the Hunter’s path—the Land of Pale Light...

The Land of Pale Light. Morning Star opened the herbalist’s map.

According to the text, these criminals all bore tracking marks in their hearts, but the blizzard had disrupted the signal.

Wait...

Morning Star pondered. If the blizzard could interfere, then the white mist permeating the Land of Pale Light should also disrupt tracking.

In other words, so long as these criminals had the ability to escape, for the sake of survival, they would keep running toward the Land of Pale Light, perhaps even to the perilous edge of the Land Without Light.

But for criminals like the Book Seller, who could barely look after themselves, resistance was out of the question.

Morning Star rubbed his hands together—many of these criminals were "treasures," after all, the bounty notices provided detailed information.

But there was a time limit; if they died, or ventured into places too dangerous, making money off criminals would become difficult.

As the storm cleared, Morning Star moved his game character to pay a visit to the Shadowbone Lands, for he had promised the Lantern Fox a tasty treat.

Defeating the Giant Ice-Eyed Stag without injury—the Lantern Fox had played a key role, and he deserved a proper reward.

After feeding the Lantern Fox, its giant shadow ability could be activated again, increasing the speed of the return journey.

You whistled, awakening the little donkey by the fire.

You planned your route and rode the donkey toward the Shadowbone Lands.

You arrived at the Shadowbone Lands.

You activated the Star of Dawn’s search and found a Shadowbone Flower.

You activated the Star of Dawn’s search and found another Shadowbone Flower.

You activated the Star of Dawn’s search and found a Shadowbone Bone.

…

Morning Star used the Star of Dawn to search the Shadowbone Lands as thoroughly as possible. Some Shadowbone Flowers were in such dangerous spots that, even with Black Rain Boots, harvesting them was nearly impossible.

Nevertheless, he managed to find a fine Shadowbone Bone.

The description of the Shadowbone Bone was simple: a material used for strengthening Shadowkind.

Items for strengthening Shadowkind generally had to be fed to the Lantern Fox.

Morning Star took out a Shadowbone Bone and set aside two Shadowbone Flowers as regular food.

The Lantern Fox, smelling the delicious scent, immediately poked its head out from his clothes and nuzzled closer.

You placed the Shadowbone Bone at the Lantern Fox’s tiny mouth.

After eating, the Lantern Fox curled up inside your clothing, basking in warmth.

The Lantern Fox’s loyalty rose to 100% (high trust), regarding you as a father.

Now, the Lantern Fox trusted you completely, believing that following you would allow it to explore the world and enjoy tasty meals.

After consuming the Shadowbone Bone, the Lantern Fox leveled up to 9, growing even more.

Oh—leveled up, not bad!

Morning Star checked his panel. The Lantern Fox’s health increased by two points, agility by five points, and its giant shadow form agility also rose by five points.

Its spiritual energy was fully restored, and it could activate the "Giant Shadow" ability again.

A bell rang; you gazed at the sky. The burning of the Day was weakening—due to the blizzard, its duration had shortened.

Once more, the wind and snow blew against your cheeks...

In the storm, no one can stop moving.

You took a deep breath and headed toward the Tower of Medicine...

Advancing...

(End of chapter)