Chapter 56: Team Hunt

Unable to figure out his own feelings, Jash gave up, pulled out the sword from the wolf's body, and swung it downward to get rid of the blood smearing its surface.

"At least the sword is good," he remarked, looking at the sharp blade before sheathing it into its black sheath.

The sword he brought was quite powerful and a bit overkill for an F-rank dungeon, but it didn't really matter as there were hundreds, if not thousands, of such swords in the armory.

Still, he didn't just choose it for its aesthetics; the weight was just right, not too light or heavy. Every swing served to increase the damage done by the wielder.

Feeling the sensation of the gem placed on the hilt of the sword, he liked the balance between the ruggedness and the smoothness.

'These mana stone-imbued weapons are really one hell of an invention by the dwarven race.'

Recalling the dwarves, Jash's hand involuntarily touched the earring on his left ear. 'They sure are good at their inventions.'

"What? Already!"

A surprised voice brought Jash out of his reverie as he turned to look at the source.

"So you've finally gathered yourself, lil' girl," Jash mocked with a smug smile.

"Ugh. I can't stand you," Caera's mouth twitched as her eyes dodged the sight of the lifeless wolf.

She had only stabilized her emotions and followed behind Jash and was greeted by his blood-drenched form.

However, Jash didn't seem to mind and rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Not like we can stay near their bodies, so let's move forward, yeah?"

Despite her inner repulsion to the feat of killing, Caera reluctantly nodded and followed him from a distance, grumbling, "I don't want to get my clothes dirty."

Ignoring her lame excuse, Jash marched forward, always alert to his surroundings in case of any monsters.

'Since the report detailed only wolves, the boss monster would most likely be a wolf too, right?'

Shaking his head to focus on the present and putting the thought to the back of his mind, Jash sensed a presence near him.

He stopped in that instant and raised his hand to signal for Caera to take on her battle stance as well.

Trusting in her capabilities, he didn't even check on her. Instead, he unsheathed his sword silently, and inched closer to the presence he sensed earlier.

Caera, always attentive, noticed his signal. Immediately, she gripped her bow, nocking an arrow and aiming in the direction he moved in.

They were already quite far into the forest but encountered next to no monsters due to the prior cleaning done by the hunters.

Only a marginal number of monsters were left for the twins to practice their moves on.

—Swish!

Without any hint, Jash swung his sword but all it cut was empty air, making Caera focus on the area in front.

"3 Wolves!" she exclaimed, surprised to see one of them dodge the surprise attack and gathering together to surround Jash.

"Not on my watch," she muttered and directly shot the nocked arrow at the wolf whose vision was being blocked by Jash.

Without waiting for the result, she put the bow and quiver of arrows into her storage ring, bringing out her staff.

—Whoosh!

—Psst!

"Nice shot!" Jash whistled as he moved out of the way after hearing the wind and the arrow pierced one of the wolf's eyes, impairing it for a while.

Using the gap effectively, Jash dashed towards the wolves, who also noticed him but did not charge at him immediately.

Being animals, their senses were far better than humans', allowing them to sense the blood of their own kind on his body.

Naturally, it made them wary of Jash as he seemed like a hunter looking at his prey—the wolves.

Though these G-Rank monsters do not have the mental intellect to think so far, their beastly instincts made them aware of the danger.

Still, one of their kin had gotten injured and was howling in pain while one had died to this human, prompting them to howl and try to attack him.

Alas, it was too late.

Jash had already stabbed his sword in the middle of the injured wolf's head, bringing it near death's door.

—Awooooooo!

As it cried out in pain for the last time, its lifeless body slumped down, enraging the other two wolves, who howled in rage.

'Already!?' thought Jash as he immediately retreated, confusing the wolves since his weapon was still stabbed in their leader's head.

"F-Rank Spell: Fireball!" Caera shouted in determination.

"Damn! Why are you even shouting? Not cool at all!" Jash complained in his mouth, feeling the rising heat as it sizzled the moisture in the air.

The spell was quite weakened due to the moist environment, but it was still far stronger and concentrated than the last time Jash saw it.

The sight of it made him shudder as he couldn't help but imagine if he would be able to defend against it.

'Damn it! These mages are really more annoying than sneaky archers! Yet here she is, the combination of both!'

He cursed his luck for having such a talented younger sister; it made him feel like his advantage with the awakening time was really useless.

Fortunately, he didn't get a lot of time to lament his situation as the confused wolves also felt the rise in temperature, dumbfounding them and allowing the spell to strike true.

—Boom!

An explosion sounded as the small ball of fire with a diameter of 20 centimeters clashed with a 3.2 meter tall and 1.7 meter wide wolf.

Unexpectedly, it engulfed the wolf in flames while the other one tried to escape, prompting Jash to spring into action.

Unlike last time, Jash gripped the pair of daggers—gifted by Ziva—in his hands. He bent his knees a bit and channeled some of his mana around his legs.

In the next instant, he sprung up toward the wolf at high speed, taking it by surprise as it faced the other side.

His speed was comparable to Caera's, despite being 2 sub-ranks weaker than her.

Although the targeted wolf wanted to dodge, Jash had already reached its side and swung his daggers like a sword, lacerating the wolf's flank.

Due to the extent of the injury and sudden blood loss, the last wolf stumbled as its eyes darted to the burning wolf.

It had long died, but the fire didn't seem to wane as if wanting to leave only ash behind in the place of the wolf's body.

Not wanting to give the dying wolf a chance, Jash didn't show any mercy and stabbed both of its eyes, reaching for the brain, immediately killing it.

"Phew"

"That was some work," remarked Jash as he wiped the sweat on his forehead with the only clean part of his sleeve.

Meanwhile, Caera looked on with her jaw wide-open. The scene didn't make any sense to her.

Although Jash had easily soloed a lone wolf, tackling a group of them was different.

After all, that was common knowledge and it was logical as one could be attacked from behind while attacking one enemy.

Experience was a major prerequisite to fight a group of monsters yet Jash did it effortlessly, raising suspicions in her mind.

While Caera's reasoning was right, it was Jash who was the abnormal one.

Unaware, he complimented, "Good timing there!"

Putting aside her suspicions, she responded in kind, "Yeah, you too."

In the end, it was their first team hunt, and it went way too well for the first time.