Chapter 9 - Discuss strategies for new hunt

On the same day.

At 15.04 pm.

....

After a long journey to the east of the Welsin plains, Nero decided to take a break as his comrades looked exhausted after traversing some rugged terrain and fighting off the weak monsters that intercepted them. Nero, along with the other members of team seven, lit a campfire in a small uninhabited cave, where they all relaxed and chatted happily while eating delicious rations.

"Luna, your explosion magic earlier was really great, you managed to take out 7 Trenths in one attack!" William praised Luna who was sitting by the campfire, smiling sweetly.

"N-No, my magic isn't that great, I still have a lot to learn. My explosion magic was amplified by this rod my parents gave me, hence the powerful explosion," Luna replied, she lowered her head, her eyes glancing around, and her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Eh? I just found out that the rod can strengthen magic, I thought it was just a decoration to make magic casters look cool, hahaha." William chuckled.

"E-Each rod has a stone called Manalite that can increase the effectiveness of mana depending on the quality of the stone, so the rod is not just a decoration for style, the rod is very important for us magic casters to increase magic attack power and magic effectiveness," explained Luna, shyly.

"Oh, I see. Thank you for explaining, Luna," William replied, smiling.

"Y-You're welcome...." Luna immediately blushed as William smiled and thanked her, she lowered her head dramatically, and hugged her rod tightly.

"Geez, your knowledge is so shallow, try increasing your knowledge by reading books, don't just think about muscles!" Lefina scolded William with a smug look on her face.

"I don't have time to read books, because training is number one. Hahaha." William laughed as he spoke.

"That's why your brain is so empty," Lefina taunted, pointing at William in disgust.

"Not knowing something doesn't mean my brain is completely empty. Now try to name all the martial arts techniques in a fighter class, you should know because your brain is not empty," William said, with a mocking expression.

"...." Lefina was speechless, actually she did not know the whole technique William was referring to, so she chose to look away and uttered an excuse: "Hmmp. I know all the techniques of the fighter class, my knowledge is vast, but mentioning them all is a waste of time, so there's no point in me heeding your challenge."

"You're so full of shit, Lefina...." William elbowed Lefina's right arm slowly with a sly expression, intending to provoke her.

"You really are an attractive girl, Lefina. Hoho." Mogi smiled, he meant to satirize Lefina who was dodging William's challenge.

"I-I'm not making excuses, I know all the techniques of the fighter class!" Lefina lied, she puffed out her cheeks, annoyed and pouting.

Seeing Lefina's funny behavior, William, Mogi, and Luna laughed together. Lefina who was being laughed at was getting more and more annoyed, she was grumpy by herself, ranting while swinging her arms. Meanwhile, Nero who was sitting away from the campfire, smiled happily at the team members growing closeness, he felt that the four of them were like his own family even though they had only met a few hours ago. Nero realized that adventuring was not just about hunting or earning money, but bonding was also a part of adventuring.

After finishing his rations, Nero opened a scroll that was a map of the Welsin plains, then he marked the location where his team was resting with a pencil and made a guide line to the east, more precisely to the center of the Welsin plains region. Nero planned to make a path to the place of handing over the evidence of hunting and gathering so that the task of team seven was completed, he chose a path that he thought was safe and easy to pass.

After marking the map, Nero checked the assignment paper given by the trainer, he read carefully from top to bottom. Hunt 30 slimes, completed. Hunting 10 wild boars, completed. Hunting 15 giant fowl monsters, completed. Gathering 7 bundles of herbs, completed. Gathering of 1 small bag of low materials, completed. Hunting 5 tree monsters, completed. Hunting 8 large wild dogs, not yet completed.

'There is one unfinished task. Hunting big wild dogs, huh? As far as I know, according to the information provided at the adventurer's base, there is only one type of big dog in the Welsin Plains: the Soil Hound. This type of dog relies on the soil element to attack; they like to group, move quickly, and use soil magic to hunt. Hmmmm. Should I use surprise attack tactics again? No, Soil Hounds have speed; they can dodge or run away immediately if we ambush them. Perhaps direct attack tactics will be more effective against Soil Hounds.' Nero thought as he touched his chin.

The other members of team seven noticed Nero who seemed to be seriously thinking about a plan, they all smiled slightly and in their minds Nero was such a good leader, thinking about safety and efficiency in adventure, so indirectly the four of them felt protected by the figure of Nero by their side.

Nero, who had been in deep thinking mode, suddenly realized that he was being watched by his comrades, he looked awkward when his four comrades looked at him with happy eyes.

"W-Why are you guys looking at me? Do you need something from me?" Nero asked, smiling wryly.

"Nothing. It's just that I feel that you are a young man who has a wise, mature mind. You always guide those of us who lack the knowledge and experience, and then you always put our safety first—I remember well when we were hunting wild boars, you deliberately placed us in a safe place while you were in the most dangerous position," William praised, smiling warmly.

"Hoho. William is right, it's a bit embarrassing for me to say, but when I've started to get to know you, I somehow feel like I'm by the side of my father who is always guiding me. Hoho." Mogi said so while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

Luna just nodded her head three times with optimistic face, indicating that she also agreed with William's words.

"I'm lazy to admit it, but you do act like a wise adult, as if you were an adult reincarnated as a youngster," Lefina said, glancing at Nero sarcastically.

Nero was astonished when his comrades thought of him as a wise and mature figure, he was so happy when he heard it, it was an honor for him when people near him felt comfortable.

"I feel proud of myself if you guys think of me that way. I also feel lucky to have been brought together by good people like you four." Nero said so with a happy smile.

"Hahaha..." William laughed loudly, then he walked over to Nero, then sat down beside him, and embraced him tightly, "You're really an interesting person, Nero. I'm also very happy to know you. Honestly, unique people like you are very hard to find in this world. Hahaha."

"N-No, the unique person you're referring to is probably a lot in this world, it's just that you just found me," Nero replied, smiling wryly, he seemed to be having trouble breathing while being embraced by William.

"By the way, what are you doing with that map and assignment paper?" Asked William, pointing at the two objects in turn.

"Ah, I'm outlining the path we'll take to go to the task gathering point. Then, there's one task we haven't completed yet and I'm thinking of the right tactics to hunt down a group of Soil Hound," Nero replied, slowly he pushed away William's hand embrace.

"I see. Soil Hound, huh. Hmmm. I think this monster is quite troublesome because it moves very fast and they like to attack in groups." William furrowed his brow in worry.

"For me it doesn't matter, even though the Soil Hound has fast movement, but I have the provocation ability, so the monster will become focused on me and not run around," Lefina said.

"I-I also have area magic that can slow down the movement of targets that come into range. That slowing magic is called Endless Swamp." Luna pointed at herself with a blushed face.

"Thank you for speaking up, it's helped me. With the abilities of you two, I can create a well-thought-out tactic to eliminate the Soil Hound effectively. The Provocation ability as well as the Endless Swamp magic, it's a perfect combination to fight a fast-moving enemy!" Nero smiled with relief.

"Hoho. Actually, I've often hunted fast-moving animals with my father, but if the target becomes slow it would be better. Hoho." Mogi wiped her sweat with a handkerchief as he spoke.

Nero nodded. "I agree, fighting an enemy with fast movement is self-defeating. So, we'll use direct attack tactics, the formation is; 1-2-1-1. Lefina is in the front to attract the enemy's attention, William and I are in the center to protect the back position, Luna is in the back position, while Mogi is placed in the farthest position because his body movement is very slow. Any other suggestions? Or does anyone object to this tactic?"

"Hmmp. No matter what tactics we use, I will never lose against these weak monsters of the Welsin plains," Lefina retorted, dismissively.

"I agree. I like the safety of the rearmost position. Hoho," Mogi replied.

Luna shook her head, a sign that she had no other suggestions and agreed with Nero's tactics.

"I disagree...." William said as he raised his right hand.

The other Team Seven members were a little surprised by William's objection, they all glanced at William with curious eyes.

"Oh. What the reason?" Nero asked, smiling a little.

"Soil Hounds can attack from a long distance using earth magic, it would be better for us to use a 1-3-1 formation to be more efficient. You no longer need to glance behind you, guarding Luna from the Soil Hound's attacks, then if Luna in the center position, she can protect both of us and Lefina with her protective magic, of course you can also protect Luna more easily since she is near you," William replied.

"Oh, cool, you're right William! That formation looks more convincing. We'll use the 1-3-1 formation. Thanks for the suggestion, William."

"No problem, buddy."

"Tactics and formations have been set, it's time for us to discuss the stages of the assault against the Soil Hounds!" Nero emphasized.

The members of Team Seven gathered in a circle as they listened to Nero explain the stages of the attack. They all looked serious as they listened and focused their minds so that there would be no miscommunication when the hunt began. Sometimes one of them would make suggestions to make the stages of the attack even better. After the explanation of the stages of the attack had been completed, Nero and his comrades were getting ready to continue their journey, they extinguished the campfire and packed up.

To be continued....