Lord of the Magical Beasts

After some discussion and deliberation, Yang Ling decided to adopt the model of the Troop Association and take up the role of Chief Elder, the person with the highest authority in the association. Goode would take up the mantle of Managing Elder and be responsible for general operations.

There was only one appointment for the Chief Elder, and as the person with the highest authority in the association, he was responsible for the long-term development plans of the entire association. The managing elders were different, their numbers could increase whenever there were suitable candidates. According to the several hundred years of experience from the Troop Association, they could add members until they had nine managing elders. This would not only balance the factions of the respective elders; it would also ensure that operations remained efficient.

Under the Council of Elders were the respective departments. Some were responsible for defending the association and guaranteeing the safety of their members. Some were responsible for the operations of the Beast Taming Ground. Others oversaw the serving and managing of the hunters who joined the association…

After giving due consideration to the operational and profit models of organizations such as the Troop Association, Association of Assassins, and Spellcaster Association, the group worked together and came up with a series of institutions adapted to fit the Hunter Association. They were going to supply a range of services to the hunters who joined the association.

First, the location of the association would be the hub for all of the hunters’ activities. With the Beast Taming Ground as its center, they would supply the hunters joining the association with services ranging from rearing Magical Beasts, to sales of resources, to giving out information and missions.

In the past, the hunters were all independently recruited by merchants or nobles and would frequently be denied payment by their employers for a variety of reasons, even after they risked their lives to complete the mission. They had no venue to voice these complaints. But with the formation of the Hunter Association, the hunters could head there directly to choose missions suitable for them. The association would appraise their results after they completed the mission, and they would no longer have to worry about having their rewards deducted.

Many people had to steel their nerves and head deep into the forest in order to earn a greater reward, while their employers would never pay extra should they meet with disaster.

In the end, the families of those who were met with misfortune would be pushed into the abyss of poverty. Some of the families even committed mass suicide in despair after receiving news of a hunter’s demise. These tragedies were a dark cloud that hung in the minds of every adventurer.

But they would no longer have that worry after joining the Hunter Association!

While they were on the relevant topic, Yang Ling had disregarded the intense opposition from the old butler, Murbaqi, and forcefully ruled that they would pay the families of hunters who had died while taking on a mission from the Hunter Association a huge sum of crystal coins as compensation. While the money might not be able to give them a lavish life, it was definitely enough for them to raise their children to adulthood and support the helpless elderly of their households.

With the five-colored Crystal Vein and the highly demanded magical staffs, Yang Ling was confident that there was enough money to get the association past its early struggles. As long as the Hunter Association got onto the right track, he need not worry about being unable to pay the compensation in the future.

In the past, after receiving a mission, hunters would head into the forest to search for the tracks of a specific Magical Beast. This was not only dangerous but also wasted a great amount of time. After joining the Hunter Association, they would be able to obtain information regarding a specific Magical Beast by paying a sum of crystal coins, which would be immensely beneficial to completing a mission within a short amount of time.

The hunters would find something every time they entered the forest. Some would pick up the corpse of a rare Magical Beast, some would chance across a few lone Magical Beasts, some would dig up a few precious medicinal herbs…

In the past, they would usually have to sell these unexpected acquisitions to black-hearted merchants at a cheap price. A Magical Beast Essence Crystal that was worth thousands of crystal coins might only be sold for a mere hundred crystal coins, or even a few dozen.

They no longer had to worry about this problem with the Hunter Association. There was going to be an appraiser within the association. Hunters could find out the latest market rate after getting an item appraised. They could then choose to sell it to a merchant outside or trade it with some other hunter. They could even sell it directly to the Beast Taming Ground within the association.

Any experienced hunter would have a hunting eagle or hunting dog with them. Sometimes, if the situation called for it, they had no choice but to part with their pets for some time. In the past, they had to get their partners or friends to help look after these pets. But it would become a much simpler task once the Hunter Association was set up. All they had to do was pay a few crystal coins to deposit their pets into the Beast Taming Ground.

The association also had an important role other than supplying hunters with a variety of services. Its other role was to test the overall abilities of the hunters and through that, give them specialized advice or training.

On the Tailun Continent, a level-one troop team could only accept missions of the lowest level, such as finding the missing cat of their employer. Only level-two troop teams could accept missions such as protecting merchant teams, and so on. The level of a troop team determined the level of the missions they could accept, and that directly impacted the troop team’s income.

Just like the troop teams, the missions in the Hunter Association would be split into levels. Hunters who were not too powerful yet would not be able to obtain higher-level missions. This way, every hunter would have to train continuously and try their best to raise their own levels.

After paying a certain amount of crystal coins, not only could hunters clearly determine their level and the missions they could accept, they could also receive the help of the association to raise their abilities as fast as possible. Of course, they had to pay a reasonable price. They could either pay a rather hefty sum or help the association complete a few missions for free.

After the preparations were complete, the territory was soon covered in notices about the formation of the Hunter Association. After that, the territory became engulfed in unprecedented commotion. There was a stir amongst the aborigines living deep in the mountains and forests, as well as the many troops and adventurers gathered within Wissen Town.

“Hunter Association, an adventurer’s haven, a homeland for Magical Beast Hunters…”

“Your family will be able to collect a thousand Purple Crystal Coins should you meet with misfortune if you join the Hunter Association. My god, a thousand Purple Crystal Coins!”

“Screening of general abilities for hunters, one-star hunter, two-star hunter…”

“Tsk tsk, hunters who are above five stars can even get a sum of crystal coins from the association every month even if they do nothing…”

…

The people engaged in heated discussions as they read the notice on the wall, all of them incredibly excited. The adventurers who did not have a fixed place to stay and had been wandering the land were even more elated, all of them swarming toward the Donau River.

Even though it was a rushed operation, Goode had quickly expanded the Beast Taming Ground into the Hunter Association after mobilizing a large number of resources from the territory. Other than the wide information hall, he had also built a simple inn and bar in the area. He planned to add on to the amenities in the future.

Even though some of the adventurers were a little skeptical and were merely here to catch the drama, after understanding the benefits of joining the Hunter Association, a large portion of the adventurers formed a line in the information hall, waiting to register themselves. There were so many people that the line extended from within the information hall to the area outside the building.

The applicants had to undergo a test of their abilities at the Beast Taming Ground after registering themselves in the information hall. It was reported that the hunters who ranked in the top ten each day would receive pointers and advice from the Chief Elder, the leader of the territory, and obtain a lavish reward. People quickly joined the queue to undergo the test, unwilling to waste even a second.

Killing the level-eight Magical Beast the Nine-headed Snake Monster, killing the Sword Saint Santiago, escaping an embattlement alone, killing enemies as he returned to the Magical Beast Territory from Montson… All these feats made the people respect the immensely powerful Yang Ling. In their hearts, they believed that the leader Yang Ling was the most powerful person in the Magical Beast Territory. Obtaining his pointers would be more valuable than training by themselves for several years.

Furthermore, the hunter Viola had transformed from a poor hunter into an influential noble within a short span of time. He had obtained the title of earl and land that many could only dream of having, just because he was the first to pledge his loyalty to Yang Ling. All this made the adventurers even more excited. Getting Yang Ling’s notes and pointers might be a rare opportunity for them to reach greater heights.

A vast hall, missions posted in a revolving magical orbit, smiling beauties from the various races, enjoying tea while walking around… Everything about the Hunter Association left behind a fresh and beautiful impression.

After fetching over a cup of jasmine tea from the servant and taking a huge gulp, a large bearded man grew incredibly excited as he looked at the many missions repeatedly revolving around the center of the hall, “Hehe, I will no longer have to worry about not having any missions if I join the Hunter Association. Now, I will have the crystal coins to drink and eat meat every single day!”

“Fool, quickly improving your abilities is more important!” After hitting his partner’s head, a horse-faced bloke said, “It says clearly on the notice that you will be unable to take up high-level missions if you are not strong enough. If you are still a one-star hunter after a few months, I would think that you can only stand by the door and see others eat meat!”

“That’s right, I wonder how many stars I will get. It is going to be a pity if I see missions with great rewards but am not qualified to take them!”

…

After their initial excitement and surprise, the hearts of the people were filled with worry as they wondered how many stars they would get. According to the rules of the Hunter Association, one would be able to receive higher level missions if their levels were higher, and that naturally led to higher rewards.

The news of the Magical Beast Territory setting up a Hunter Association and attracting a large number of adventurers quickly spread throughout the Tailun Continent, once again bringing a wave of commotion and attracting the attention of the various factions.

Hunter Association?

“Hehe, it’s getting more and more interesting!” Looking at the information brought to him by a black-robed man, Elder Klive remained expressionless but felt his heart quiver.

A resource-rich territory, an ancient family of powerful Summoners backing him, coupled with his rapidly improving abilities, intelligence, calm personality, and wide network… It looks like he had no choice but to reevaluate Yang Ling’s abilities. He might have to take the opportunity to strengthen their partnership with Yang Ling.

After a moment’s deliberation, Elder Klive summoned his personal guard and whispered a few instructions into his ear. The shocked guard left quickly and teleported out using the Magical Teleportation Formation, secretly returning to the headquarters of the Dark Association.