Aim

The group could only watch how Clovis shocked them and left without even a single word from them. 

"That bitch." Lovelia gritted her teeth, glaring at Kanaria.

Vina was clenching her shield, never thinking that she would be too focused on the problem and forget their original objective. She did notice the two men near Kanaria, but she didn't realize Clovis left earlier. It seemed that Clovis was not an ordinary man. 

"Hmm…" Elina observed the group carefully. While she knew Kanaria and Jay, she had never seen Clovis. 'It doesn't seem like they are being forced. I can see the respect in their eyes, so the boy is good enough to become the captain of their group? It seems that I have to report this matter. Now, what should I do with Ivan?'

The guy, Ivan, clenched his fists for a moment before making a big smile. "Since she has joined a group, there's no helping it. Let's go and register our group."

The girls looked a bit perplexed and surprised, but they couldn't say anything after hearing his command.

Meanwhile, Jay kept laughing while saying, "Clovis, you're too good."

"Ha…" Kanaria covered her forehead, feeling troubled. "I originally thought that just telling him off was enough. Then, Clovis came up with this brilliant idea, allowing us to leave right away."

"I think I've told you that you should just make that guy your enemy so that he doesn't bother you anymore. You're too conservative." 

"My plan is Plan A! Yours is Plan B, and my family has told me that even if I don't like him, don't make him my enemy."

"So, Clovis's plan is Plan C? Yes, C for Clovis! Pfft… hahahaha!" 

Kanaria shook her head helplessly. 

Clovis listened to their conversation and said it with a solemn expression. "Do whatever you want. If they piss you off, just hit them. I will be responsible for your actions and protect you guys. That's my duty as a captain, and I know that you guys will also help me bring our group's name up there."

"Does that mean I can ask you to be my boyfriend to push him away, Clovis?" Kanaria grinned, teasing Clovis.

"Should I kiss you now to make it more believable?" Clovis replied with an emotionless face. 

Kanaria was tongue-tied.

"Hahaha. It's rare to see Kanaria get checkmated like this." Jay laughed while glancing at the registration area. "Still, they're going to aim for us tomorrow, you know that?" 

"Of course. Nevertheless, their group is funnier than us." Clovis shrugged. 

"Funnier? Their group?" Jay was confused for a few seconds before looking at the tag they had. It was '24th.' It took him an instant to understand what Clovis was talking about. "Pfffttt! Hahahaha! You're the best, Clovis."

"Huh, what?" Kanaria tilted her head in confusion. 

"So, you understand the reference?" Clovis shrugged.

"I don't watch that freaking one century old show. The cartoon was temporary, but memes are eternal." Jay pointed to the side. "By the way, since we're done here, I will leave and prepare myself for tomorrow. You both can do the shopping yourself, right?"

"There are a lot of items that I wish to buy, but they are small, so I think it's fine if I go by myself." Kanaria looked at Clovis, implying that she was thankful to him, so he didn't have to accompany her. 

"It's fine. Resting is a part of training. Besides, if I leave you here, they might gang up on you again." Clovis shook his head. 

"Then, I'll leave here." Jay waved his hand while walking away, leaving the two alone.

Kanaria looked at the register area with a smile. "Thank you, Clovis."

"While my family was in a similar situation, I never experienced your kind of life. So, I don't know how much my actions can impact everything around me politically." Clovis continued, "I told you to keep my name a secret. But if you encounter any problems, it's fine to use me as your shield. If my name can keep them away, then it's even better.

"I look at those girls, but none of their eyes glimmer with desire. It feels like they are just living because they were ordered to do so, unlike you and Jay. Without that desire, the genius will soon surpass them and widen the gaps.

"However, I don't want something like that. I want a group where all my friends can grow stronger with me. That's the reason why I want you and Jay to be part of my Libation Fiesta. 

"I might not look reliable yet, but feel free to do whatever you need. I will always be here to back you guys up." 

Kanaria stared at Clovis's face with admiration. She gave a big smile. "I can't help but understand my mother's actions back then."

"Mhmm?" Clovis tilted his head in confusion, not knowing which action she mentioned. 

"Anyway, let's go shopping! We need medicine, food supplies, and bullets!"

Clovis and Kanaria ended up buying a bit more things than they planned and even then, the items were of high quality. It seemed that they needed enough supply to ensure that the previous incident where they were helpless against Tier 1 beasts happened again.

Of course, Clovis had some thoughts about the items. Out of all the items the mall had, he decided to buy bandages, the tent, and four special water bottles. Since there was an opponent that forced them to go all out, Clovis had to sacrifice today's worth of items for the sake of the group.

In fact, he wanted to buy the clothes for Kanaria, but he thought it would be weird to do it right away for no reason. It was better to wait a bit longer until either the trust improved or her birthday. 

While walking back to the motel, Kanaria opened the map and said, "So, the competition will be held in this area."

There was a huge circle on the map.

"The hunt this time will be held in seven Tier 0 territories. Those seven beasts are: Quagga, Dodo, Thylacine, Phorusrhacos, Glyptodon, Dimetrodon, and Elasmotherium. There will be other species randomly appearing in their territories, but most of the time, we'll encounter these seven beasts."

Clovis looked at the map carefully. "Which one do you think we should aim for?"

"Birds like Phorusrhacos will be hard to fight. So, we shouldn't go to them. Instead, Dodo or Raphus cucullatus would be a much better target since they are flightless birds."

"But people will definitely hunt this dodo bird, right?" 

"Yes. Quagga is like a zebra, so they are easy to kill as well. On the other hand, the dangerous one would be Thylacine. They are known as Tasmanian tigers. Glyptodon has a very high defense, which makes it hard to kill. Meanwhile, Elasmotherium is a giant horned rhinoceros. Dimetrodon is the most dangerous, as it might not be a dinosaur, but it's an apex predator before the dinosaur."

Clovis thought for a moment. "So, which one do you think we should kill?"

"I am thinking about Quagga first. Since it's the first day and everyone starts at the same time, their population should still be quite high. On the second day, we will go to the Glyptodon. While it's true that their defense is quite powerful, our attack is more powerful. Then, we'll do our best to fight Thylacine on the last day."

Clovis shook his head, refusing the proposal. "I don't think we should do that. I agree with the first part, which is thinning the number of Quagga, but we'll only hunt here for a few hours."

"Huh? I thought about camping here since it's relatively safe."

"Yeah, but if you look at the number of the squad, you will know that their population will be drastically reduced after a few hours. So, we'll go straight to Elasmotherium's territory and camp there."

"While they are not as dangerous, they are still beasts, you know."

"That's exactly why. Think about other people as well. They will most likely do the same thing as you, so we'll be doing things half-step ahead and reducing their number. When people begin to come to Elasmotherium's territory, we'll head to the next territory, which is Thylacine. Glyptodon is a good target, but their defense is quite high. Even with our strength, our killing speed will decrease tremendously."

Kanaria frowned. "So, we'll risk our lives to kill Thylacines?"

"Are they more dangerous than the four Tier 1 beasts we fought?"

"…" Kanaria came to a realization and furiously shook her head. 

"Right? We'll go here. After that, we'll challenge this apex predator. If it's possible, it's good. But I don't want to be overconfident, so if it looks dangerous, we'll fall back right away." 

"I see." Kanaria contemplated for a moment. The plan looked reckless at first, but this way, they could take more kills than anyone else. "That's settled then."

"By the way, how do you find out about the kill?"

"They have a special syringe that has been programmed to only take one ml of essence from each beast. Just like humans, none of the beasts are exactly the same. So, each one ml of essence will carry a different DNA. They calculate it from there." 

"Oh? That's pretty interesting. So, we can't really cheat, huh?"

"Yeah. They have surrounded the area with soldiers as well, so no experts can help with the competition. However…" Kanaria raised a finger as her face became cold. "…there are times people cheat by making an alliance. There is also a chance that you kill other competitors." 

"That's quite dangerous. But can you steal their syringe?"

"No. Well, it's more like a grudge. While you can't get their points, they still die, reducing the number of competitors."

"I understand. This might be more dangerous than I originally thought. In any case, I will leave the command to you tomorrow."

"I will definitely guide you and Jay to the best of my ability. Well, personally, I want to beat them overwhelmingly." 

"You'll have the chance. I'll make sure you get that chance."