Chapter 29

"Hey, is it okay today?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I also want to go night hunting."

"It's fine."

Are you sure?

Night owls tend to attract various enemies.

Well, if you say so, I guess it's fine.

"Then, we'll hunt in the forest until evening. We'll return to the village of Legias in the afternoon and decide whether to hunt in the night forest."

"Yes."

"Where will we stay?"

"Preferably in Legias."

"It's close to the hunting grounds."

I see.

For an archer, this area is a good place.

There are no places to hide in the grasslands, but there are many in the forest.

"Let's go hunting in the forest. If you sense any danger, use 'Whisper' to contact me."

"Yes."

I take out the arrows created from the [Item Box].

I select the obsidian arrows and hand over the others.

"You can use these too."

"Yes!"

"Thank you."

For a while, we'll fight the rampaging silver pheasant (female).

I'll return Crescent and Helix.

I summon Wolf and Obsidian to prepare for hunting in the forest.

Fortunately, my MP bar didn't drain as much as I thought.

It's a benefit of leveling up.

There's a big difference from the early days.

"Keith, is that—"

"It's a switch. The forest is more convenient this way."

"Can I pet him?"

"Try to keep it moderate."

Adele immediately reached out to Wolf's neck, hugged him, and pressed her face into his fur.

Sorry, Wolf.

Please bear with it for a while.

But surprisingly, Wolf doesn't seem to mind.

He lets her do as she pleases.

Indeed, it's no wonder he aims to be the Fluffy Empire.

"Enjoy it in moderation?"

"Yes."

I urged Adele and headed to the forest for hunting.

The hunting went smoothly.

As expected, the forest is a good place for an archer.

Not only the archer but also their summoned monsters are well-suited.

The impression I had on the grassland is becoming even stronger.

The tiger, Mii-chan.

Despite her name, her performance is excellent.

Compared to Wolf, her attack power is not inferior and might even surpass his.

There are some concerns about detection, but I always have Wolf with me, so that's just my perception.

She's really strong.

I think she's strong enough to be a front-liner.

She takes damage, but she reduces the HP bar of the monsters at a much higher rate.

I feel sorry for the rampaging silver pheasant (female).

The snake, Toguro.

Clearly, he's well-suited for the forest.

He has attacked passive monsters several times, and the success rate of surprise attacks is very high.

He bites the throat of the rampaging silver pheasant (female) and wraps around its body, which is a bit scary.

Being attacked almost silently is terrifying, too terrifying.

This means there might be such snake monsters in the future.

We can't let our guard down.

With the overall combat power increased, the speed of hunting monsters has also increased.

As a result, the time spent searching for monsters has increased.

In such a situation, Wolf is the most reliable.

He finds monsters, chases them, and hunts them.

While moving at a speed that doesn't seem possible in the forest, he finds prey.

This is something humans can't imitate.

After a certain amount of hunting, I decided to check the effect of the spell.

The new spell I obtained is "Call Monster."

I selected it from the spell list in the virtual window and cast it.

The spell casting was completed.

"Call Monster!"

As I chanted the spell name, a large circular virtual window appeared in front of me.

Several markers were displayed in the circle.

A small inverted triangle was on top of the familiar red inverted triangle marker.

When I focused on that marker, simple information was displayed.

Rampaging Silver Pheasant (Female) Lv.2

Monster Target Passive

Hmm.

So it's like this.

Let's try calling this one.

Just by thinking "come," it seems to be heading this way.

I rechecked the marker.

Rampaging Silver Pheasant (Female) Lv.2

Monster Target Active Guided

It seems to have worked.

This could be very useful, right?

It consumes MP, but it's a quick way to earn experience by fighting monsters.

I confirmed this while intercepting and killing the approaching rampaging silver pheasant (female).

I tried "Call Monster" again.

This time, I wanted to see if I could select information from multiple markers.

I thought "rampaging silver pheasant (female)."

Most of them seem to be the target, but there are a few different monsters.

I returned the display and checked the revived marker.

Rampaging Silver Pheasant (Male) Lv.3

Monster Target Passive

It's the male.

If I can guide it, I want to fight it. I haven't hunted it yet.

Let's call this one.

I confirmed it coming this way by thinking "come."

The marker is approaching from the ten o'clock direction.

I sent a warning via Whisper.

"A strong one is coming from the left!"

"Yes!"

The word "strong" made them a bit nervous.

Both of their voices were a bit shaky.

From the position of the monster, I'm the closest.

Since it's my first time, I should intercept it.

It's indeed a rampaging silver pheasant (male), but its feathers are puffed up and it looks fat.

The feathers around its head are slightly standing up.

I'll take the initiative.

I cast the Physical Enchantment Fire on myself and engaged the enemy.

I thrust with my rod.

The monster easily dodged it, and I kicked it.

It hit, but the HP bar didn't decrease much.

Hmm?

This feeling is familiar.

The first time I fought Horn 'D' Rabbit.

When I fought Snow Ape.

With Wild Dog Leader, Boss, and Mutant.

They were the same.

This one is strong.

"Don't get too close!"

I warned via Whisper and faced the monster.

Then it disappeared from my sight.

Where is it?

There was a loud noise above me.

No, a strong wind suddenly blew from above.

Despite wearing armor, I felt pain all over my body.

Does this monster have a special wind attack?

My HP bar was reduced to just over 70%.

I selected and cast Aqua Heal while thrusting my rod at the monster above.

It hit.

Then, with a follow-up attack from Obsidian, the monster fell to the ground.

Wolf approached, but it jumped again and was aided by an arrow.

"Aqua Heal!"

I nearly fully recovered my HP and approached the monster.

I slammed it to the ground with my rod and kicked it.

Wolf bit its head and dragged it.

Then, Mii-chan bit its neck.

The two started to chew.

This is not good.

The two are entering the wild.

No, the area around their mouths is red.

Wipe it off properly!

The monster died easily.

At first, it seemed strong.

But it was powerless against the overwhelming number.

"Are you okay?"

I stopped Irena with a hand while looking at the dead rampaging silver pheasant (male).

It's a mess.

Can items be obtained from it in this state?

No, when I stabbed the skinning knife, I could get the items.

Does the damage given not matter?

Just to be safe, I also performed [Appraisal].

[Material Item] Silver Pheasant's Extreme Colorful Wing Raw Material Quality D+ Rarity 2 Weight 1

The wing of a rampaging silver pheasant (male). Generally used for arrow feathers.

It is also often used as a decoration due to its vibrant colors.

The quality seems to be a bit low.

Well, the wing looks damaged, so it can't be helped.

I put it in the [Item Box] and called out to the two.

"That was good support. Keep it up."

"Yes!"

We can continue hunting like this.

So far, the biggest threat in this area is the stray horse.

The other threats at night are the ant ball and bat ambush.

We can only deal with the ants by being aggressive to prevent them from gathering.

For ambushes, we rely on the danger detection ability of the summoned monsters, but it's not perfect.

We need to improve our defense as soon as possible.

It's difficult to hunt stray horses consistently.

Going back to the grassland to hunt rabbits might be better.

We should secure a stable supply of leather to request the creation of armor.

They aim to be back-liners, but they can't neglect defense.

I've been ambushed several times.

None of them were good memories.

But since we're having a good time hunting in the forest, I don't want to break this flow.

We decided to continue hunting.

After that, the hunting went smoothly.

We encountered a Parallel Raccoon, but it wasn't a problem.

The fireball attack isn't scary unless it's an ambush.

Then, we encountered a Bloody Wood.

In the deep forest, it was dark, so we could find it.

However, it was a tough opponent.

Arrows don't deal much damage.

Toguro, the snake, can't deal effective damage either.

Mii-chan, the tiger, can attack, but she gets entangled in the roots.

Leaving it to Wolf and Obsidian is inefficient.

So, I dealt with it alone.

I focused on throwing techniques to finish it off.

"Keith, why wrestling moves?"

"It's a suplex."

"No, it's a back drop. The throw you did just now."

"It's a suplex."

"No, the monster's upper body was slammed to the ground, so it's definitely a back drop."

"It's a suplex."

It's important, so I denied it completely.

What others see is not the issue.

It's a matter of how I feel.

Yeah, it's a proper escape from reality.

I know that.

Still, Irena seems to be the type who points out things.

I'll remember that.

We continued deeper into the forest to the west.

As we moved further from the village, we saw fewer other players.

Fortunately, there were plenty of monsters.

We were hunting them smoothly.

Compared to my early days, the pace is clearly faster.

Considering the number of party members and the 'Union' state, we should be able to level up soon.

That should lead to faster completion of quests.

I hope they do their best.

In the western forest, there's a place where we can't proceed any further.

We reached such a place.

In the past, when I went north from my master's house, there was a cliff, but this is different.

If you go straight, you somehow end up back where you started.

It's a green corridor.

It's clearly a path, as if it's telling us to go through.

But we can't.

We end up back where we started.

After trying a few times, I saw something like a human soul floating above.

"You do not yet have the qualifications to pass here. Leave immediately."

A voice sounded like an info message.

Something is missing.

We need to come back after obtaining the qualifications.

"We can't pass here."

"Should we go back?"

"Well, there's no choice."

Let's go back honestly.

We continued hunting while heading back to the village of Legias.

At one point, the prey seemed to run out, so I used "Call Monster" twice.

With the earth magic spell Dowsing, I didn't find much obsidian.

But I found a decent amount of wound-sealing grass.

My HP bar was reduced in many situations, but it was within the range that could be covered by potions.

In terms of income and expenses, it should be a significant profit.

We continued hunting, taking a large detour, so we arrived at the village of Legias in the evening.

Main Character: Keith

Race: Human Male Race Level 5

Job: Summoner (Summoner) Level 4

Bonus Points Remaining: 17

Set Skills:

Staff Level 4, Strike Level 2, Kick Level 2, Joint Techniques Level 3, Throwing Techniques Level 3

Dodge Level 3, Block Level 2, Summoning Magic Level 5

Light Magic Level 2, Wind Magic Level 3, Earth Magic Level 2, Water Magic Level 3

Fire Magic Level 1, Dark Magic Level 1

Alchemy Level 3, Pharmacist Level 2, Glassworking Level 3

Coordination Level 5, Appraisal Level 4, Identification Level 4, Cold Resistance Level 2, Grappling Level 3

Horse Riding Level 4, Precision Operation Level 3, Jumping Level 1, Heat Resistance Level 3

Equipment: Kay's Rod, Wild Rabbit Chest Armor + Series, Snow Ape Arm Guards,

Wild Horse Boots +, Snow Ape Leather Helmet, Backpack

Item Box x2

Held Items: Skinning Knife

Titles: Apprentice of the Old Summoner (Temporary), Guardian of Livestock

Summoned Monsters:

Wolf, Wolf Level 4

Crescent, Horse Level 3 (Resting)

Helix, Hawk Level 3 (Resting)

Obsidian, Owl Level 3

Companions:

Adele & Mii-chan

Irena & Toguro