He had indeed learned a few things here, no matter how small they seemed.

The first thing was...the formation. The discipline and the level of confidence they showed during the exchanges were exactly what made this easier. The Boar was, by no means, weaker than the Verth practitioners it was against; in fact, it could even be said that it was a notch stronger than them combined.

And second, the Environmental Physics, which enabled them to bypass the Verth hardening in ways techniques couldn’t.

These were the main reasons; of course, the coordination, capability, and functionality were what enabled them to win the fight.

"The beasts of Draventhar are really strong, a bit too strong. Just a Stage Two Verth Wielding beast gave them this much trouble."

The cultivation of Verth was divided into three phases, the first one being the Mortal tier. In this, there are three major Verth realms, mainly being Verth Seeker, Verth Wielder, and Verth Shaper.

With each of them having three sub-realms, which are as important as the three major ones.

In Verth Seeker, one builds the structure and base of the foundation. That is, Verth Veins.

The practitioner traces and widens the body’s natural Verth pathways...threadlike channels that exist in every living Verth practitioner.

The sub-classes are, from Stage 1, Thread Opening, followed by Stage 2, Vein Widening, and lastly Stage 3, Full Circulation.

Their names spoke volumes, and they did exactly what they sounded like.

More than forty percent of Verth practitioners in the world of Verandis are in this realm. But this all changes when one enters the Verth Wielding Realm.

With the veins established successfully, the cultivator now builds his own reserves, that is, cavities within muscles and organ tissues where Verth accumulates and concentrates rather than openly flowing through.

They are dense, Verth-saturated tissues that hold charges like a battery. The size and depth are the major factors deciding how much power can be drawn and stored, alongside the purity of the Spirit Root.

It is also divided into three sub-realms, the Stage 1 being—First Pool, which is different. It’s a single pool formed near the Spirit Root, small but stable.

Stage 2, being the Pool Network, three to five pools are distributed across the entire body...connected by the vein network.

And lastly, Stage 3. The Deep Pools! From the already existing ones, pools increase in size and density rather than number. The same physical space holds ten times the Verth!

"Hmm?"

Coming out of his thoughts, Emperal’s eyes caught something rather interesting. Away from the group of four, there was another beastman watching them...grinding his teeth.

But the thing that surprised Emperal was that...despite being closer, the four of them didn’t detect him.

Emperal didn’t attempt to move, just watched curiously. He was similar to the one named Saeth, lean build and vertical pupils, but unlike the common gold eyes of Saeth...his were silver-coloured.

Suggesting his bloodline purity is a step higher than Saeth’s. He was slowly creeping up to the four cultivators who were unaware of the danger approaching.

"No way...does he plan to steal their game and the beast crystal? The guts."

Emperal muttered, shocked inwardly at the guts of the man. The thing was, he wasn’t even a Verth Wielder!

He was in Verth Seeking Stage 3!

"This...is going to be interesting."

Emperal adjusted his posture and sat in an alert position, enough to flee immediately if things went south.

But just as he was about to shift, the Infernal Dragon’s voice once again echoed within him.

"Emperal...I sense the aura of a Verth Spring on that individual."

"!!!"

...

"Dammit! Those bastards are charging way too much! Just the entry fees for sitting near that Verth Crystal cost one Verth Wielding Beast Core!? They might as well rob us and fuck our lives."

Calder cursed inwardly as his eyes darted towards the team of four. He had been watching them for a long time.

Their formation, their execution, and their kill. Everything.

"Well, at least Lady Luck didn’t abandon me entirely! Hah, this won’t be easy. I will die if I’m caught."

Calder lowered himself and bent down, his forearms and knees bent. He walked forward like a lizard trying to go unnoticed.

The next thing that happened surprised even Emperal from a distance. Calder’s pores opened visibly.

For a second, nothing happened. But in the next moment, a white, almost transparent gas slowly began diffusing from his pores!

"This sleeping gas will take a while to show its effects."

Calder muttered, the smoke was coming out in a very minor quantity, not even enough to put a Stage 2 Verth Seeker to sleep.

But he did just that. Creeping towards them slowly, he continued to release the gas in minor quantities.

He had already spotted them way before and had been spraying even less than the current one, but now that they had won, he sped things up, else there won’t be these Verth practitioners nor the Beast Core.

Sleeeee~

Unknown to the four individuals, who were talking and laughing, the sleeping gas slowly crept into their system.

And the most creepy thing about this ability was...they hadn’t even realized what they were inhaling!

It didn’t smell, nor did it cause any immediate changes in the body. It was silent and deadly.

"A bit closer! I’m almost there!"

Calder muttered, his silver eyes glowing eerily as he crept closer and closer.

"Haha! This is enough to sustain our expenses for almost a month!"

Boran laughed joyfully and patted his thigh, which produced high sound waves.

Varek nodded his head when he heard that, but before he could say anything, his ears twitched!

Alas...a second too late.

"Wait! Someth—!"

He didn’t even finish his sentence as his knees buckled unconsciously.

Thud!

Boran, surprised, rushed towards him! But midway, his eyes suddenly blurred. Stretching his hand, he reached for the stone beside him, but failed as his leg slipped.

Saeth managed to take a step forward towards Boran before collapsing!

"N-No!! Someone is using sleeping gas!!"

Liret muttered in horror. With one last push, she managed to concentrate the rest of the Verth in her eyes and managed to spot a...black-haired, silver-edged young man in the distance!

"...Dark eyes. Black hair with silver edges. I have your face!!" She paused as her consciousness slipped. "I don’t forget faces."