The hunt

Three weeks into our hunting adventure and the ship we were originally going to take arrived. The three idiot heroes got off looking all smug because they thought they could increase the gap between them and shield boy. That was until they were hit in the face with some of the gains from our latest hunting adventure.

They were in a tizzy asking how we arrived before them when scythe dude informed them of my amazing boat that could drive itself and arrived almost three weeks ago. They were so ready to widen the gap, only to realize that they were left behind long ago. I laughed in their faces about how stupid they were just to add to their embarrassment.

We separated from them to continue our hunt for the day. This was our fourth trip back to the town to sell the monsters we didn't need and it's only an hour after lunch. Shield hero's efficiency in taking care of the monsters skyrocketed with the inclusion of scythe dude and magical girl.

Fitoria really helped in our party's effectiveness against monsters because Sophia and I are back-line fighters. She attracted attention while we dealt with any monsters trying to attack her from her flanks. I created equipment for Fitoria as well. She got a nice bracelet that contains a skintight mech suit. I wanted to create a magic mech, so I went small scale and created a basic one that just enhances strength and speed for Fitoria.

Our training also got an upgrade. Usually we summon elementals that match our respective strengths, but this has a limit. The environment can't handle some of the battles that take place between the elementals and my party. I had to find a way for us to train while not blowing up the island and it hit me. If I can't increase our enemy's strength can I decrease our own?

I got to work on creating magic seals that add extra resistance without effecting the surroundings. With this we could also hunt with shield hero's party without destroying every enemy in one hit.

We keep at it with hunting small fry before twelve bosses show up ready to fight. Magical girl buffs the front liners and I slow down nine of them while the others focus on the three in front.

We try to kill them cleanly because their hides sell better when intact. Clean kills count as neck snaps from the filio queens, severed spinal cords from the raccoon girl or scythe dude, and arrows to the eye from the murder floof.

Shield boy, magical girl, and I serve as crowd control, buffer and debuffer, respectively.

When the twelve bosses are dealt with and small fry stop coming our way, we start splitting the goods.

"So as per the deal. I will be taking nine of the bosses and twenty percent of the smaller monsters.", I say as I restore all of the bodies and store my share in the gate. Shield hero and scythe dude start splitting the rest between each other.

We split the loot up in this way because I have a lot of uses for the boss monsters in equipment crafting and the small monsters are great resources for alchemy. I don't tell them my gate restores used resources though because I want to get a lot of it while here. They were iffy about the split ratio at first because the bosses sell for massive moolah, but I convinced them by making equipment for each of them.

I was going to make them equipment anyway but decided to use some materials from the gate along with boss monsters that we hunted down.

Raccoon girl got a sword that can channel her unique light sword technique to do both better physical and magical damage without breaking. Filo got a harness for her cart that can change with her when she turns human and adds buffs for speed when mana is poured into it.

Shield hero can only use shields, so I gave him an attachment for his shield that goes on his arm that boosts the effects and learning speed of his multiple shield forms. I gave the same to the adventurer couple because their weapons work like the weapons of the heroes and can change their form for various boosts in certain areas.

We went back to town after having a picnic in the woods for lunch. We split up with the couple and headed to the beach for some fun after a hard day's work. I love swimming in giant bodies of water with my lamia tail because I can move extremely fast.

Filo joins me in the water while everyone else sits on the beach or floats in the shallows. Most just want to relax from a long day's work. While Sophia would join me, she hates getting sand in her fur. Filo dives to explore under water with me following close behind. The first thing I see when I open my eyes are the beautiful rays of light from the sun illuminating the coral reefs under my feet. It is an incredibly captivating sight that draws my eyes to the giant ocean temple in a clearing of the reef.

Filo and I enter the temple to see what wonders await us. There is an air pocket after ascending some stairs into the main room. I cast a light spell because there aren't any light sources that survived the test of time in the temple.

The old walls look like they have seen better days. The furnishing of the interior is mush from rotting and sea water creeping up and making the whole place a humid mess. The only thing in decent condition is the dragon hourglass in the back of the room on a stone platform.

Wait hourglass? I walk up to it before putting my hand on it with my gauntlets equipped and sure enough it is a dragon hourglass.

Fuck! It says that there is only one week left before the next wave. If we found it earlier, we could have gotten the island evacuated and ships prepared. I grab Filo and teleport to the beach where the rest were and watch as Sophia rockets to attention. She knows I only teleport when it's an emergency and we can understand each other from spending so much time together.

The others notice the tense aura that I'm giving off, so they ask what's wrong. I teleport everyone into the ocean temple and show them the dragon hourglass. Shield hero has a grim expression on his face because he doesn't like the idea of fighting monsters without a footing on land.

We return to the inn and change out of our swimsuits before shield hero opens a portal to the palace to talk to the queen. We have a plan to bring ships with us by inviting the crew members to our party. Shield hero just needs to run the plan by the queen while I start preparations for a backup plan in case the first one doesn't work.

==================one week later===================

One week of preparation paid off well. There was an initial fear from adventurers on the island and a rush for boats to the mainland, but after the request for assistance in the upcoming wave was posted many stopped panicking and started preparing to fight.

The idiot trio kicked hunting monsters into high gear as well. With the adventurers preparing the ships and shield hero consulting the queen about strategies to lessen casualties, no one was hunting monsters. The trio were in a leveling frenzy. They didn't focus on improving their skill or getting better equipment, just leveling.

I had shadow elementals tail the idiots and pickup every monster they left behind. They kept the boss monsters but left the smaller monsters and many unique ones as well.

With only an hour left before the wave starts, everyone participating was on a ship ready to fight.