Chapter 25

"Alright, let's go hunting for magic stones today!"

"Ooh!"

"Oh... indeed..."

The next day, except for one person, we greeted the morning with high spirits. We were now outside the northern gate of the capital.

"What's wrong, you're still low on energy, huh?"

"Of course, I am! I was forced to sleep yesterday, and thinking about going through those nightmare days again..."

Noll, the one with low energy, looked very gloomy. It was hard to tell from his expression, but I could tell from his voice.

I tried to cheer him up by giving him food, but it was in vain. Well, he did ask for seconds, so he's not completely hopeless.

"Hehe, don't worry, Noll. Big brother said he would hunt 600 in a day, which is just nonsense. I made sure to set him straight, okay?"

"Yes... I'm very sorry."

Thinking about last night still made me shudder. Honestly, it was a bit exciting, but I never want to go through that again.

Being tickled by a beautiful girl with electric shocks. I might have started to feel good, with serotonin overflowing.

I almost lost it. I almost opened a door I shouldn't have.

"Hmm... If that's the case, that's good... So, where are we going today?"

"Well, we've already been to the southern forest of the eagle warriors, so I think we'll go around the hunting grounds in the east, north, and west."

"Can we do all that in one day?"

"I think it'll be fine. We're just going to check things out. We'll see what kind of monsters are there, check their stats, and figure out which rare species are around."

This time, the main goal is to gather information. We won't be hunting for long periods; we'll judge the monsters and choose the most efficient place based on our current strength.

To make rare species spawn, the efficiency of hunting regular species also matters. The faster you hunt regular species, the faster rare species will spawn.

---

"Is this the northern cave?"

"It's kind of creepy."

We arrived at the monster habitat in the north on a magic carpet.

There was a large hole in a mountain with exposed rock, and it seemed to be the respawn point. Inside, it was cool and eerie.

Long, glowing crystal-like objects extended from the ground, making the cave bright enough to see.

There were rock pillars everywhere, and it was quite spacious. In front of us, large scorpions about a meter in size were wandering around.

"Those are big..."

"Wow, what impressive monsters."

"Don't be so relaxed."

They had a shiny purple body and were walking while clicking their pincers. Their tails had large stingers, and getting stung by one of those would probably make a hole in you.

Let's check their stats first.

---

● Species: Armored Scorpion

Level: 40

HP: 1000

MP: 0

Attack: 200

Defense: 6000

Agility: 15

Magic Resistance: 0

Special Ability: Poison Immune

Skill: Poison Stinger

---

What a high defense!? What is this thing? On the other hand, its HP is quite low.

Still, it has a poison stinger... That's a problem.

"Hmm, this is a tricky one."

"Is it a bad match-up?"

"No, it's not bad. But thinking about you..."

"Me?"

This would be a very good match-up for area hunting. Low HP and low agility. If we attack with defense-ignoring magic, it would be a very favorable monster.

If Estelle can attack them all at once with her magic, we can expect high efficiency.

"Hey, I'm thinking of having Noll act as the bait. The magic resistance is low, and the HP is low, so it might be an ideal monster."

"Bait? Lord Ohtsuka, are you... saying I should be the bait?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Of course, you're a demon! Why, why? Did I do something wrong!?"

"No, I don't want to burden you alone. I was thinking of taking turns with me. But Noll has Al-Rakie, so it's fine. If I were to be the bait, I couldn't make it poison immune. If we do this here, Noll has to be the bait."

"Oh, I see. I jumped to conclusions. I'm sorry..."

I should have explained it beforehand. The plan is for Noll and me to take turns as the bait, and Estelle will use area magic to clear them out.

The friendly fire in this world is a bit of a problem, but I'll make sure to keep a good distance from my allies.

"So, we can't hunt here, right?"

"That's right. But I want to see how the baiting works, so can we try it once? Here, use this. And wear Nike's shoes."

"Sure, no problem."

I gave Noll the Wind Bracelet, which increases movement speed by 20%. We'll take turns using it as the bait.

We'll give up on area hunting here, but let's check the efficiency once.

"So, you'll run around once?"

"Yeah, that's right. When you've gathered enough monsters, circle back to make them cluster in one spot. Then Estelle will clear them out with her magic."

"Got it! I'll be back!"

Noll moved into the scorpions' target range and started to lure them. The cave was quite spacious, so the scorpions were spread out.

It would be more efficient and save MP to lure them into one spot and clear them out rather than taking them down one by one with magic.

After a while, Noll came back, followed by an uncountable number of scorpions. The sound of their pincers clicking was deafening.

I suggested it, but actually doing it is quite scary...

"Wow, that's a lot... Noll! I'm going to cast a spell, so come back!"

"Ugh, they're so creepy. Here we go!"

She started circling the group to gather them around the scorpions. They tried to chase her, but as they got closer, they became more densely packed and started to move more slowly.

Once the scorpions were gathered, I told Noll to move away. She ran back to us.

When she was out of the magic range, Estelle started her attack. A magic circle appeared centered on the gathered scorpions, and lightning bolts zapped through the area.

In an instant, the scorpions were struck by lightning and turned into drop items.

"Wow, that's refreshing."

"It's easier than hunting them one by one. But it's scary if the luring fails."

Thanks to the defense-ignoring magic, they were all wiped out in an instant. The drop items were scorpion shells, pincers, and a few stingers.

Seeing the items gathered in the center was very satisfying. There must have been more than 20 of them. This might be more efficient than the orc hunting we did last time.

When we finished collecting the items, light gathered, and the scorpions respawned. Among them was a particularly large and black scorpion. It seems to be the rare species here.

---

● Stinger

Species: Armored Scorpion

Level: 60

HP: 4000

MP: 0

Attack: 1300

Defense: 20000

Agility: 20

Magic Resistance: 0

Special Ability: Poison Immune, Special Effect Immune

Skill: Guided Poison Stinger

---

What is this... We can't handle this without a mage. And what's a guided poison stinger? Does it fly?

"Hey... This is a nasty one."

"Wow, it looks really tough."

"True. It has a thick, hard, and strong... thing."

"Don't emphasize that part... Anyway, Estelle, use three consecutive magic attacks. Noll, protect Estelle in case it fires its stinger."

Estelle emphasized a certain part, but I'm just imagining things, yeah.

I decided to have Estelle attack from a distance before Stinger noticed us. With that much HP, three hits should be enough.

Considering the possibility of a stinger attack, I positioned Noll in front of Estelle.

Estelle waved her staff, and a magic circle appeared above Stinger. Three lightning bolts struck in quick succession, and Stinger stopped moving.

What... Was all that caution for? It was taken down in an instant without a chance to fire its stinger.

"That was quick."

"That's why I said it was an ideal monster. But its physical defense is high, so Noll and I will have a hard time."

"Hmm... If you really need me to, I can be the bait alone."

We collected the items dropped by Stinger and checked my phone to see that I had gained one magic stone.

We were about to leave for the next place when Noll suddenly said he could be the bait alone.

This place is very efficient, so it's a very helpful offer...

"You were so reluctant before, what changed your mind? You don't have to push yourself."

"No, Lord Ohtsuka has been considerate, and I don't want to be a burden."

"Hmm, I see. If the other two places don't work out, I'll take you up on that. Don't worry about the time. We're not in a rush, so we'll head back if we get tired."

After seeing how you were yesterday, I realized I might have gone too far. It's not because Estelle scolded me or anything.

For now, we know that Noll can be the bait here, so let's check the other places and decide.

"Estelle... What kind of persuasion did you use? You seem so kind, like a different person."

"Secret. Right, big brother?"

When Noll asked, Estelle smiled and put her index finger to her lips while looking at me. Seeing that smile, I felt a shiver down my spine.