The morning mist had not yet dispersed, and a damp forest breeze brushed against the leaves. Leon crouched amidst a pile of rubble.
He was clad in a brand-new Bone set, observing the long drag marks not far away.
Flora was wearing a new set of armor, primarily blue and white. Its edges were adorned with soft, snow-like down, while the surface featured a scale-like hard plate structure that shimmered with a cold, metallic luster.
Leon vaguely remembered that it was a set made from Tobi-Kadachi materials.
The Tobi-Kadachi is a Fanged Wyvern known for its speed. It typically dwells in trees and can glide through the forest. By rubbing against surfaces as it moves, its fur can build up static electricity.
Only hunters of three stars or higher can accept hunting quests for it, which showed that Flora's strength was indeed extraordinary.
Flora climbed up a large tree and said to Leon, "Let's wait here for a bit. The three hunters who spotted the Great Jagras said it was at this location."
"Here?" Leon sounded skeptical. Although their current position wasn't far from the base, they had to climb down a cliff, and the terrain was mostly loose scree.
It didn't look like the kind of area a Great Jagras would frequent.
Flora was aware of this, of course, but mission logs were usually accurate, especially for emergency quests.
"What are you doubting for, you rookie, meow?" Coco leaned against the tree, idling playing with his Hunting Horn.
Leon had long since grown accustomed to this. He shared a silent look with Dumpling beside him and continued to wait in silence.
In the face of Coco, Dumpling felt nothing but awe.
As the minutes ticked by, Leon idly pulled up his status panel.
[NAME: LEON]
[LEVEL: LV.3 (2400/2500)]
[TRAIT: LONE WOLF]
Explanation: When hunting alone, experience gain and material drop rates are increased by 100%.
[STATS: STRENGTH 21, AGILITY 23, CONSTITUTION 16, PERCEPTION 15. (UNASSIGNED POINTS: 1)]
[EQUIPMENT: BONE KUKRI LV.2, BONE HELM, BONE MAIL, HUNTER'S VAMBRACES, HUNTER'S COIL, BONE GREAVES]
[EQUIPMENT SKILLS: HEALTH BOOST LV.1, ENTOMOLOGIST LV.1, TRACKING EXPERT LV.1, STEALTH LV.1, ATTACK BOOST LV.1]
[QUEST LIST]
There are currently no active quests.
Yesterday, after taking a short rest, Leon had snuck off to the training grounds in the middle of the night. He wanted to test the effects his attributes provided.
First was Strength. Leon used a wooden dummy for testing. Originally, it took seventeen strikes to break it, but after increasing his Strength by one point, it dropped to fifteen.
Agility increased his speed and reaction time. Using a hundred-meter sprint as a baseline, a one-point increase in Agility could shave off about 0.5 to 0.7 seconds.
Testing Constitution was more difficult, but it seemed to improve various physical foundations of his body.
Finally, there was Perception. Leon felt this was his least useful attribute. Although his five senses improved after an upgrade, it only seemed to help with sensing danger.
Based on years of gaming experience, Leon decided to focus on Strength. While the Sword and Shield was agile, it might suffer from a lack of damage in the late game.
The longer a hunt dragged on, the higher the risk became. He planned to solve this issue through his attributes.
Moreover, after last night's testing, Leon had a clear understanding of his current strength. His data was roughly equivalent to a two-star or three-star hunter.
While he still needed to sharpen his actual combat experience against monsters, he had already found his footing.
Suddenly, there was a violent disturbance above the rock wall!
Two massive yellow-green silhouettes tumbled down the cliff face, biting at each other fiercely and kicking up clouds of dust!
Seeing this, Leon's brow furrowed slightly.
He looked at Flora and asked, "Don't you think something... isn't quite right?"
Flora nodded and replied, "This place is too close to the base, and these two Great Jagras... they don't look like they're naturally fighting. It looks more like they were... driven here."
"You noticed it too?" Leon narrowed his eyes, staring into the distant shadows. He whispered, "I've felt like someone has been watching us for a while now."
Flora bit her lip and said in a low voice, "But... that doesn't make sense. There's no reason the Field Team Leader would..."
Leon drew his Bone Kukri and said calmly, "Let's deal with the trouble in front of us first."
Flora also drew the Flower Dagger from her waist and instructed solemnly, "Try not to stray too far from me."
The two Great Jagras noticed the humans. They stopped their infighting and unleashed harsh, grating roars simultaneously.
Mud-stained claws cracked the scree-covered ground as they charged toward Leon and Flora with the force of a gale!
Standing in the tree, Coco blew into his Hunting Horn.
The melody was stirring, like the thunderous beating of war drums.
A faint red glow flashed around Flora and Leon, giving their attack power a minor boost.
Dumpling gripped his bone club, searching for an opening to attack.
"The one on the left is mine!" Leon dodged to the side, using a slide to close the distance. He held the Bone Kukri in a reverse grip, the blade lowered, only to explode in a fierce upward diagonal slash an instant later, aimed straight for the Great Jagras's flank.
The Great Jagras roared in pain and swung its tail in a wide sweep. Leon leapt over it, rolled as he landed, and used the momentum to unleash a full combo, ending with a close-quarters shield bash—
THUMP!
Scale and small shield collided, sending sparks flying.
At the same time.
The other Great Jagras on the right was being led away by Flora.
Her movements were like those of an agile cat, her footsteps light and shifting as she instantly closed in on the monster.
The Flower Dagger in Flora's hand traced an elegant arc through the air, the blade opening a bloody gash on the Great Jagras's head.
Toxins seeped into the wound.
BOOM!
Just as the Great Jagras was about to retaliate, its back was firmly snagged by a Clutch Claw Flora had fired ahead of time.
With a leap, Flora was mounted on the Great Jagras's back.
"Leon!"
Before Leon could even react to Flora's shout, he saw her steady herself on the monster's back. Her body rose and fell with its struggles, but her balance remained unshaken.
"What are you standing there for!" Flora yelled. "Mount up! Make them crash into each other!"
Leon stunned for half a second before realizing Flora's intent. A rare smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
He evaded the Great Jagras's pounce, and the Clutch Claw on his arm shot out, locking onto the monster's neck.
SHING!
The claw hit with precision. Leon pulled hard and leapt into the air, his feet landing firmly on the Great Jagras's back.
"Ugh... this is harder to ride than I thought." Leon grit his teeth and gripped the thick mane tightly.
Although he had experience mounting an Anjanath, the two were completely different. The Great Jagras's back was flatter, leaving only the thick mane as a handhold.
The Great Jagras struggled frantically. Leon stayed low and tried to control its direction, the key 'Mounting' techniques Flora had explained during training flashing through his mind.
He adjusted his center of gravity multiple times, finally managing to force the Great Jagras to charge toward Flora's position.
"Not bad!" Flora said with a grin, yanking hard on the Clutch Claw cable.
The two Great Jagras began to sprint simultaneously, their heavy footsteps kicking up dust as they barreled toward each other!
"Almost there! Almost—!"
"Now!!"
BAM!!!!
The Great Jagras slammed into each other with a sound like a clap of thunder.
The massive impact kicked up a rolling wave of dust. Both monsters let out cries of agony as they lost their balance and tumbled to the ground.
Leon and Flora leapt away, landing steadily on the ground.
Seeing this, Dumpling seized the moment and leapt high into the air, pulling out a Barrel Bomb and detonating it right on a Great Jagras's head!
BOOM!!
The massive explosion sent smoke billowing. Both Great Jagras were blasted onto their backs, their eight legs flailing uselessly in the air.
Flora wiped the sweat from her forehead and laughed. "That's the first time I've ever tried that. I didn't think it would actually work."
"That idea of yours was... pretty wild." Leon flicked the blood off his Bone Kukri, his eyes remain vigilant as he watched the struggling monsters. "But I like it."
Flora nodded to Leon, then her tone shifted as she lowered her voice. "I saw the bushes on the rock wall move just now. Someone is there."
Leon narrowed his eyes and said in a low tone, "Perhaps our guests have grown impatient..."
"Don't be in such a hurry to end this fight." A sharp light flickered in Flora's eyes. She leaned in close to Leon's ear and whispered, "It's time we prepare a little surprise for them."
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