I Have my Own Cult of Followers (3)

Toki's barrage didn't end until the boss monster was no longer moving. Its legs stopped twitching, and the entire abdomen was burned to a crisp.

"What a waste of materials..." Mina muttered in a soft whisper, lamenting the parts that became completely useless after getting burned.

Toki, who was slowly returning to her normal state, heard this and finally stopped attacking. She stared at the aftermath of her blind rampage and felt awkward. The abdomen may be softer than the carapace, but it should've been flexible. Perfect for light armor.

"Sorry, Hailey. I messed up the materials that can be used for your armor." Toki quickly apologized, claiming her errors. "Let me handle the processing fees of your commission later as an apology."

"Don't mind it, Toki. This is a joint subjugation after all. Let's just distribute the parts equally later."

Although Hailey did feel that it was a bit of a waste, it's not like she can't have an armor tailor-made for her with the other parts instead.

"I'll take dibs on the wings!" From afar, Liliy's high-pitched voice echoed, audibly excited.

It took her a bit of effort to return after getting sent flying for a few hundred meters by their collision. If not for the foliage slowing her down and the skill protecting her body, she may have flown even further away and would have ended up full of scratch wounds.

Toki and the others turned to her small figure, weaving through the thick undergrowth of the forest, waiting for her arrival before continuing their discussion.

"Oh, I leveled up!" Toki muttered in surprise as she checked her own status screen.

It was set to private, so the others couldn't see it, but hearing her words, they all checked their own status at the same time.

"I didn't level up, but I gained a new title. Did I miss the notification?" Mina asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Lily, on the other hand, jumped on the spot excitedly after seeing hers. "Oh, me too! I gained a title and leveled up twice!"

"What? Why is life so unfair..." Hailey sighed.

She only gained a bit of experience but didn't manage to level up at all. After all, she just leveled up before coming here. Although her experience bar was almost full, it was still a bit short of leveling up.

The title that Lily and Mina gained was the same: Insect's Nemesis. Toki already has that, so it was normal that she didn't get one, but Hailey, for some reason, missed out on it.

Just as she was about to lament her lack of luck, she turned to the beetle and saw something that made her face turn sour. "AH! My spear!"

She ran towards the boss monster and checked her spear, which was stuck in its throat. However, it was bent all over and was completely useless as a weapon now. Her eyes went teary, almost crying in lament.

"Why... Why am I this unlucky?"

Not only did she not level up and miss out on a special title, but she also lost her one and only weapon. The other three looked at her, pity visible in their gazes. Toki, one of the main reasons why her weapon got deformed, tapped her shoulder and apologized.

"Well, I'll pay for the costs, so just buy another one," she said with a sweet and appeasing voice. "If you want, you can take a leg or something extra and commission Ruin to make a spear for you. We'll let you go first as the top priority."

"Really?!" Hearing the offer, Hailey felt that luck was finally coming back to her life. "Then I want that Magic Spear Longinus from the commercial!"

"Hold your horses, miss. I said I'd pay for the costs, but not something that would require me to sell a quarter of my assets! That's like tens of billions worth!"

Lily, listening to their exchange, was flabbergasted. One was trying to be as thick-faced as possible, while the other was low-key boasting of her wealth. She sighed, not even daring to compare herself to either of the two. "Low profile is the best. But the wings are mine, ok?!"

This is this, and that is that. No matter how powerful Toki's financial prowess was, distributing the loot should still be fair and square.

With that call as the cue, the distribution of loot began. Lily, as she requested, got the wings. She refrained from anything else, thanks to the others yielding it to her. Hailey got half of the legs and one of the wings' covers. Mina only took the two horns and the eyes, saying that she had other uses for them, while Toki was left to handle the rest.

"... So, how are we going to carry this out of the forest?" Lily asked.

It was impossible for them to carry such a large corpse, probably weighing tons, to the outside. And among them, not a single soul had the dismantling skill. They could only turn to Toki, the de facto leader of their small group, and wait for her input.

"Don't worry," she said while lifting her last phone, with the screen a bit cracked. "I already called for a lift."

As if waiting for her words, a loud, rhythmic, whirring sound of rotor blades was heard approaching from afar. It was echoing so loudly that they all turned up and towards the north, seeing a large twin-blade helicopter approaching slowly.

It had a vacant loading bay in the middle, which was more than large enough to fit the body of the giant beetle sideways. As it approached, ropes fell from the sides, and two soldiers came down with it. The two, after landing on the ground, saluted toward Toki for a short moment before working on securing the Boss Monster's body with the ropes.

After a few minutes, they finished tying up the large-bodied monster and ordered the pilot to pull them up. The girls watched as the twin-rotor helicopter easily lifted up the boss monster's body and flew away.

"They'll bring the corpse to a dismantling site and proceed with the dismantling and preservation of the materials. It'll take about... Five hours?" Toki tilted her head while mentally estimating the time they would have to wait. "What do you all say if we hunt together until then?"

"Then let's go to City A's outer perimeter!" Mina raised her hand and suggested immediately.

However, the area she just mentioned was something that was recommended for beginner class level 5 or above. Two of them were below, making it a little dangerous to venture there. If they were normal.

"That sounds good! I heard the wolves there have pretty and soft fur! I can take one as a souvenir!" Lily exclaimed with excitement. "If matched with the wings, I can create a beautiful dress armor!"

Hailey opened her palms to show the others, "I don't have a weapon, though."

"I can take care of that."

"You mean the—!"

"No! Not the Longinus. I'll just let you use one of the prototype mass-produced models made under my Father's company."

"... That's not a dangerous kind, is it?"

"It's relatively safe."

"Relative? Relative to what? A grenade?"

Toki and Hailey's banter continued as Lily and Mina smiled and listened from behind. They slowly walked, heading to the exit of the forest. It was only a little after noon; they would still have plenty of time to hunt.

--- Present

Morning came, and as I wasn't really too injured, only low on blood, I was allowed an early release. When Mother asked for the bill, the hospital said that it had already been paid for beforehand. I guess Toki was the one who did it.

The ride home was peaceful, although Mother was still worried about my state. I told her many times already that I was fine, but she didn't really listen.

When we reached home, the first thing she said was for me to rest in my room. Since I needed to catch up with Toki and the others, I diligently followed her instructions, went to my room, and booted my computer from sleep.

"... Still no messages?"

It was a pretty weird occasion. After all, Mina and Hailey were always online, filling half the chat history with their names. "I just hope nothing's happened to them."

I guess being in an accident made me think a bit pessimistically. Before that, Toki! I need to contact that woman!

Although I doubt I could still get a slice of the cake, I could still ask her to let me touch the materials at least, right? Experience is experience, no matter the form.

Just as I was about to leave my desk, the phone that I had left charging for more than 24 hours began ringing. Curious, I looked at the caller ID and found that it was an unknown number.

"..."

Is it a prank call? Either way, answering it would be the first step in determining whatever it is.

After picking it up and listening to it, I heard a familiar voice echoing from the other side.

"(Mahiro? So you're finally back.)"

"Is this... Toki?"

How did she get my... There's no need to ask, I guess.

"(Yes, it's me. I just called to tell you that the boss materials are already gathered. In a week's time, they'll be ready for processing. I'll be calling you later when the time comes. Then, bye~!)"

"Wait!"

Before I could stop her, I heard the click that indicated the end of the call. I stared at the screen before saving the number, just in case. Who knows when I'll need to contact her, like last night?

For now, I've got a full day off... Or not. Who said I'd be wasting time?