The Hunt (3)

'You have gained a level.'

I guess I didn't notice that when I killed the Griffith due to the explosion rocking my senses.

"Cool, I gained a level."

"Congratulations, Nick."

"Good job."

"Alright, now it's your turn, Sakura."

"Yaayy!"

We all walk over to another Punctastar and repeat the process. Josh and I whittle it down until it can no longer move. The warm, blue blood covering our weapons drips down to the ground. We carefully keep it pinned down while Sakura delivers the final blow. A flash of rage crosses her face as she digs into the creature with her dagger. Again, it flattens against the ground as it dies. It looks like several muscles hold it upright. While it's certainly thinner now, it doesn't soak into the ground and come apart like the Slime did when it died.

"I gained a level!" Sakura hops up and runs over to Josh, who hugs her.

"Good job."

"Amazing!" Woohee flies over to us, beaming. "We have to use a bunch of magic to beat one of those mean stars. Woohee's not strong enough to fight one yet."

"Really?" I think back to the incident with those less than reputable adventurers and how different the landscape looked from before I closed my eyes to when I opened them. "I've seen fairies fight before, and I have a hard time believing a creature like this would be much of a challenge."

"That's because leader was there. She's really, really, really strong and can even fight the giant lizard monsters on her own. Woohee needs four friends to fight one mean star." She holds up four fingers to emphasize her point. "Woohee gets really tired and can only kill a couple per day!"

[I guess I never really put too much thought into it, but it does seem that Inari is a lot stronger than the rest of the fairies. Presumably, Woohee is referring to Brontobeasts. I would never have thought Inari could handle one of those massive creatures alone. I should be more careful around her. Well, I guess it's a bit late for that. I'll try trusting her a bit more instead. She's had more than one opportunity to kill me and hasn't acted on it, so I've got that going for me.]

"Interesting. I was wondering why you hadn't cleaned this area up if it's such a problem."

"There are not enough fairies, and this is a really big forest!" Woohee's eyes start to water.

"Okay, it's okay, I understand. We're helping." I panic and wave my hands in front of me to stop her assault of sadness.

"Really?"

"Yes, of course. Isn't that right?" I look over at my party for confirmation.

"Yeah, we're here to help!" Sakura jumps up excitedly.

"Umm, I thought we were here to–"

"See? We already killed two of those Punctastars, and we can come back here tomorrow as well." I interrupt Josh and make another push. Woohee sniffs away her tears before responding.

"You will?"

"Yeah! It's actually great training for us, and we can sell the corpses." Woohee brightens up, and a big smile spreads across her face.

"Thank you! That's really helpful." After avoiding the potential catastrophe, I let out a sigh and turn back to the Punctastars.

"Alright, let's get back to work."

"Okay."

We spend the next hour or so taking down seven more of the star-shaped creatures. It's decided that we will each carry one carcass back to town and anything valuable that can be salvaged from the others. We pick out the three largest of the bunch and dismantle the rest. The monster cores are the most valuable parts, but we also remove the hides to bring them with us. After we pack up everything we can carry, Woohee guides us back to the den.

"See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Woohee!"

"Bye."

"Bye, bye! Bye, bye!" Woohee flies around excitedly while waving her arms over her head. We head down to the bottom of the cave to consolidate our spoils. We each have a pack to put the smaller things in and then lay the carcasses over our backs. From there, it's just a matter of returning to the gates. We're all pretty worn out after fighting for that long, but we set off anyways. I'm a little concerned that the corpses might attract some predators, but we arrive at the palisade unharried.

"Wow, quite the haul today, huh, kids?" Sampson is standing at the gate as usual. I've noticed that he seems to be happier lately, and I wonder what's changed in his life.

"Yeah, we got lucky."

"Punctastars are pretty tough, so I think it's more than just being lucky."

"Being tough just makes the fight more time-consuming."

"I suppose, either way, it's impressive."

"Thanks. Well, we're going to head to the guild for now."

"I'll see you, kids, later." We say our goodbyes and head toward the town square. On the way there, we get many strange looks while walking, but I just try to ignore them. If we keep doing this, it'll eventually become normal enough for people to pass us without batting an eye. We arrive at the Guildhall and lay everything out on a nearby table. I make sure to have Shelly help us because I trust her more than anyone else in the guild. Knowing how far she was willing to go out on a limb for Ashley meant a lot.

"You all look pretty happy today."

"I'll be happy when you pay us. For now, I'm cautiously optimistic."

"Don't lie; you have a huge smile on your face." I raise my hand to my cheeks and feel the breadth of my expression. I didn't realize how much I was smiling. It seems I'm very happy about our haul.

"You got me. So how much is this all worth?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Why don't you kids take a seat for now while I work everything out with the Guild Master."

"Okay, but don't tell her it was me. I don't think she likes me very much."

"Don't feel bad. I don't think she likes anyone."

"Talking about me behind my back?" The blue-haired Guild Master walks out of nowhere and stands next to Shelly."

"How can I talk behind you when you're looking at me?" Shelly ignores the tension in the air and responds with a quip. "Besides, I knew you could hear me the whole time."

"Whatever. What did you need to speak with me about?"

"The pricing for these Punctastars. We don't get them very often, and they're never in good condition when we do."

[Dammit. Maybe that's why everyone was surprised. If some kids bring back a monster that is normally an ordeal to fight, anyone would be surprised. I've drawn unnecessary attention to myself.]

"It was all thanks to Nick," Sakura says.

[God dammit! Now is not the time, Sakura!]

"I mean, I couldn't have done it without the two of you.

"No, it was mostly you, Nick. You even came up with a way to fight them without–"

"So, how much is this all worth?" I panic and interrupt Josh's praise to ask about the value of what we laid on the table.

"Hmm, a little anxious, aren't we?" I can't think of a response, so I just hold her gaze. I can feel her eyes prying into me, so I calm my breathing and try to relax. "You're pretty mature for your age. What's your secret?"

Again, I say nothing. I don't even blink. I don't want to react in any way that could endanger us. I still don't know how people will react if they find out we've been working with the fairies. Noticing my silence, the Guild Master continues.

"Very well, I'll look over the carcasses, and we'll get back to you with a price." Jezabel finally drops her pressure and walks into the back area. Three guild staff walk over to collect the Punctastars and then follow after her.

"You don't trust her, do you?" Shelly asks me with a smirk.

"Idle hands are the devil's tools, and she seems very bored." Shelly giggles lightly at my analysis.