Chapter 2

Wen Long pondered as he walked out of his house, seeing the young Elcat villagers gathering in large numbers at the village entrance. Many of them were carrying their luggage, taking three steps and looking back once to bid farewell to their families. Wen Long knew that these Elcats, like himself, were going out to find work in human villages.

"It seems this is the Elcat settlement: Cat Village. Indeed, Elcats are everywhere! Meow!"

Wen Long followed the crowd and continued walking forward. Before long, he reached the village entrance, where the gathered Elcats were all staring blankly ahead, seemingly waiting for something to appear.

Seeing everyone waiting, Wen Long also stopped and found a nearby large tree. He then sat down in the shade of the tree, preparing to rest while waiting. At that moment, a familiar voice sounded, and Wen Long looked in the direction of the voice, seeing a white-furred Elcat.

"Wen Long, are you, a good-for-nothing like you, also looking for a job now? Didn't you used to hide at home and refuse to go out to look for work? Meow!"

This Elcat was covered in white fur, wearing metal armor different from the other Elcats in the village, and had a gem-encrusted collar around its neck. It walked toward Wen Long with a haughty air.

Wen Long immediately recognized that this white cat was showing off, which made him very annoyed.

"Who is this? Oh, right, isn't this the white fur from next door? Dressed so flamboyantly, I almost didn't recognize him."

Wen Long searched his memory of this world and quickly identified the Elcat as the white fur who used to live next door.

In Wen Long's memory, after the white fur found a two-star hunter as a partner, he became particularly arrogant. Not only that, because Wen Long and the white fur's families were neighbors, the white fur's mother often boasted to Wen Long's mother about how successful her son was. This often made Wen Long's mother feel embarrassed, and she would frequently scold Wen Long. As a result, whenever Wen Long's mother spoke to him, she would always add a sentence, "Look at the white fur next door..."

This was undoubtedly what Wen Long hated the most.

"What's wrong? Is it strange for me to look for a job? Meow!" Wen Long said indifferently, trying not to look at the white fur's ugly face.

"Didn't you used to only hide at home and live off your parents? Why would you think of looking for work outside the village? But, someone like you, a good-for-nothing, can't possibly find a good job. Unlike me, my master is a two-star hunter!" As he said this, the white fur's smug expression was evident.

"Two-star hunter?"

When Wen Long heard this term, he was slightly stunned, and the hunter ranks of this world began to form in his mind.

"Stars are a symbol of a hunter's strength. The more stars, the stronger the hunter. The highest known rank is a five-star hunter, for whom the Hunter's Guild awards a five-star badge. However, above five-star hunters, there are legendary hunters whose strength has surpassed simple star ratings and cannot be measured by stars."

"Even among hunters of the same rank, there are differences. For example, two-star hunters are divided into初级, 中级, and 高级, represented by bronze, silver, and gold star badges, respectively. The highest one-star hunter has a gold star badge, while the lowest two-star hunter has a gold star and a bronze star badge."

"Given the white fur's love for showing off, if his master were a high-level or mid-level two-star hunter, he would have specifically mentioned it. Now, he only emphasizes that his master is a two-star hunter without mentioning the specific level, so it seems he is just a beginner two-star hunter..."

While Wen Long was analyzing the other's strength in his mind, the white fur continued to boast about his "heroic" deeds in Wen Long's ear.

"Just recently, we hunted a large monster bird! Have you seen a large monster bird? It's very powerful... Thanks to my heroic performance, we managed to..."

"Large monster bird? Humph, I could take care of that thing in a minute, unlike you who just clings to others... Seeing how arrogant he was, Wen Long, who had already gauged the other's strength, said disdainfully.

"Can you really take care of a large monster bird in a minute? Ha, don't brag... Even my master, a two-star hunter, finds it difficult to defeat a large monster bird. You? Besides, do you know what a two-star hunter means? It means we have our own estates, with villas built by the villagers, who treat us like heroes because only we can protect the village's safety..." The white fur laughed.

"Humph, a weakling like you can't understand my strength. Saying I can take care of it in a minute is already giving you face. In reality, if I use my full strength, it wouldn't take a minute, just thirty seconds, meow." Wen Long maintained a calm tone, completely unaffected by the other's provocation.

"You... who are you calling a weakling? Thirty seconds is something only the top hunters can do! How could someone like you!"

Wen Long was not bluffing. The thirty seconds he mentioned referred to his performance in the game, where, with top-tier equipment, he could easily defeat a large monster bird in a one-sided slaughter.

Of course, that was only in the game. Now, having crossed over to this world, Wen Long had lost his human body and become an Elcat, and he was unarmed except for his natural claws. He was unsure if he could still defeat a large monster bird in less than a minute, so he initially used a more conservative estimate.

However, even so, Wen Long did not intend to lose to the other in terms of spirit. After the other's further provocation, Wen Long adopted an attitude of "believe it or not, it's up to you" and ignored the white fur.

"There's no need to take such a person seriously. If we're talking about top hunters, I am one." This was Wen Long's thought, which, though unspoken, was clearly etched on his face through his disdainful expression.

However, the white fur had come to mock Wen Long, and not only did it have no effect, but he was also despised by Wen Long, which made him very angry.

"I'm asking you! Who are you calling a weakling? Meow!"

"I'm talking about you, weakling."

Seeing the other's persistence, Wen Long knew that simply ignoring him would not solve the problem. However, since they were in the village, he did not want to make too much noise, so he decided to demonstrate his strength slightly.

"Zzzz..."

Wen Long casually placed a claw on a rock at the village entrance and scratched it lightly, leaving five deep claw marks. Seeing these marks, the white fur was so frightened that he took a step back.

"You..."

"What? Or do you want to end up like this rock?"

Wen Long knew that his body had once fought a powerful Snow Lion King on a snowy mountain. Although he was scratched on the face by the Snow Lion King, he also left similar marks on the Snow Lion King's face. Since he had the strength to injure the Snow Lion King, breaking a few rocks at the village entrance was not a problem.

"Fine! Wen Long, since you're so confident, let's see your strength. Hunting isn't just about brute force. Don't end up being humiliated by the large monster bird! Meow!"

With that, the white fur walked away in a huff, muttering curses as he went. Clearly, Wen Long had given the always arrogant white fur a significant shock.

"Phew..." Wen Long sighed slightly, "There are such annoying guys even in Elcat society. When I played Monster Hunter, the Elcats in the game seemed much simpler. It seems that while the game world and the world I've crossed over to have many similarities, they are not exactly the same. Who knows what I'll encounter in the future..."

Seeing the white fur walk away, Wen Long couldn't help but recall how the kid next door used to act when he was still on Earth. He would always boast after doing well on exams... Although one was human and the other a cat, their smug expressions were identical.