Natsuyu marveled inwardly at Kushida Kikyo's exceptionally developed figure, but then his thoughts shifted:
Women really are made of water; Kushida Kikyo sweats so much.
It was fine for now—the scent was fragrant—but if left for another day, it would probably turn sour...
Natsuyu turned away, choosing not to take advantage by staring at the half-drenched Kushida. He said with a smile:
"I underestimated our team's capabilities. I didn't expect to resolve that spider swarm so successfully without the armor even being tested. Instead, the armor just made everyone overheat. My apologies."
Kiana immediately chimed in, her radiant smile wide as she spoke loudly, "I think it was very useful! When brawling with monsters, I didn't even have to dodge!"
Sakuraba Ema, who was supporting and tending to Kushida, looked at Natsuyu's profile with a steady gaze and said softly:
"You shouldn't say that. Yuu-kun prepared the armor for our sake. I am very grateful to him."
Yukinoshita Yukino was more direct. She leaned against a tree with her arms crossed, looking cool as she said:
"When did you become so sentimental? Or do you honestly think we're the type of people who can't distinguish good intentions from bad and would make a fuss over nothing?"
Kushida Kikyo, having recovered some strength, stood up with Ema's support. After tidying her clothes so she looked less disheveled, she stepped in front of Natsuyu. She clasped her hands over her ample chest and looked up with a gentle smile, her beautiful large eyes sparkling:
"Yuu-kun is always thinking of us and helping us; we've seen it all, you know."
"Ema, Yukino, and I aren't very athletic; we definitely couldn't outrun those spider monsters. Yuu-kun prepared the armor to protect us."
"This time, it was because Yuu-kun's preparations were so thorough—and Kiana was so amazing—that the monsters never even got close."
"If we really had to fight them in melee, I'm sure the armor Yuu-kun made would have been a huge help."
Natsuyu hadn't expected such a strong reaction.
He had simply noticed that the rabbit-down padding made the armor too hot. Fearing they might be uncomfortable or resentful, he had brought it up proactively to prevent any friction.
His thought process was: If I point it out first, you can't be mad at me.
As it turned out, the girls genuinely thought Natsuyu was blaming himself. They all spoke up to validate and thank him, and even Yukinoshita Yukino had comforted him in her own awkward way.
Natsuyu mused to himself:
Aside from their "hidden mines," sharp tongues, and other flaws, they really are cute, sincere girls.
In a sense, those hidden flaws were part of their personality charm.
For instance, "Miss Cold Soba" truly understood the appeal of a "gap" personality. He really wanted to see her true colors one day; it would surely be an intense experience.
Natsuyu gave the lovely girls a warm smile and said:
"There's nothing I can do about the armor for now. We'll need to find better filling material later to improve it."
"Kikyo, you did a great job this time. Get some rest. I'm going to go collect the loot and materials."
Receiving the praise, Kushida Kikyo put on a shy, adorable smile while laughing triumphantly in her head:
Hehehe, Hahaha!
Now Natsuyu's favorability toward me must have skyrocketed! I'm surely his most important friend in the group now, right?
Natsuyu was very resourceful. With his excellent leadership, he had united everyone around him, binding the team together as one.
However, since he pursued "correctness" rather than just making friends, he hadn't made Kushida feel a sense of crisis yet.
Kushida had already decided: as long as she stayed on good terms with Natsuyu, she could use his connections to easily win over the others.
Especially that difficult Yukinoshita Yukino—with Natsuyu's help, she could definitely close the distance.
Step by step, Kushida Kikyo intended to become everyone's best friend!
Natsuyu used his Stone Axe to hack at the corpses of the Round-headed Spiders, sweeping all the dropped materials into his backpack.
The final haul consisted of:
Monster Meat × 120
Spider Silk × 18
Poison Glands × 15
And, of course, the experience gain.
[Natsuyu: Level 5 (14/35)]
Out of over twenty Round-headed Spiders, Natsuyu had secured the vast majority of the kills.
This was because Kiana and the others were intentionally giving him the "last hits."
Kiana hadn't killed many of the spiders outright; she simply beat them into a critical state so Natsuyu could finish them off.
Yukinoshita and the others, aside from moments where they couldn't hold back at critical junctures, had also yielded the kills to Natsuyu.
It was also partly because Natsuyu's killing efficiency was indeed quite high.
Reaching Level 5 took 7 points of experience, plus these 14... for this trip, my KDA is 21-0-9.
Natsuyu was relatively satisfied with this result.
The only minor regret was that if he had hunted them alone—slowly kiting the swarm—he could have claimed all the experience for himself.
But doing it that way wouldn't have been as efficient as clearing them all at once; it would have wasted a significant amount of time.
In the early stages, time spent on exploration and development was extremely precious.
Furthermore, this real combat served as a training exercise.
Kiana was already a battle-hardened powerhouse, so she went without saying.
The resilience shown by Yukinoshita Yukino and Sakuraba Ema gave Natsuyu peace of mind.
Kushida Kikyo had the weakest mental fortitude, but after this experience, he believed she would be able to stay calm and play her part in the next battle.
By leading the girls in this hunt, Natsuyu had fully grasped the ability levels of Sakuraba Ema and Kushida Kikyo. Combined with Yukinoshita, whom he had fought alongside before, only Kiana's true limits remained unknown.
However, Natsuyu trusted Kiana's strength completely; there was no need to test her.
"Not counting the four crossbows with some durability loss, I can now craft 18 more. That should last us a while."
"It still feels like a bit too few... These spiders should have several nests. If I dig them up, I can get more Spider Silk."
His "insufficient firepower phobia" flared up slightly. Natsuyu decided that while digging up the Spider Nests, he would also scout the surrounding area to see if there were any other Round-headed Spiders left in the forest.
He hoped there were more so he could keep grinding experience.
He also hoped there weren't any so they could claim this resource-rich forest without worrying about danger.
Thinking this, Natsuyu took out his Stone Workbench, gathered local resources, and crafted a new batch of arrows and stone axes.
Unfortunately, feathers were scarce, so he could only make Leaf Wooden Arrows with limited range.
"Let's keep exploring. Maybe we'll even find iron ore."
Natsuyu packed away the workbench, but as he took his first step, his keen senses picked up a strange sound.
Thump...
What was that?
Thump... Thump...
Natsuyu locked onto the direction of the sound. His excellent vision was blocked by the dense trees, showing nothing unusual, but his hearing screamed a warning: something heavy was approaching.
Thump, Thump!
The sound grew louder. Natsuyu looked up and saw a massive brown spider leap high out of the dense forest canopy. It paused at the peak of its arc before rapidly descending.
THUD!
The ground trembled slightly.
Boing—
The giant spider leaped again, pausing briefly at the apex to look down at Natsuyu from its high vantage point.
Natsuyu could see it clearly now: a spider with a body as large as a small hill. Its surface was covered in dark brown chitinous scales and bristling with sharp, hideous barbs. Eight glowing, pale-yellow beastly eyes stared down coldly.
An inexplicable chill rose in Natsuyu's heart, as if an invisible hand had gripped it. For a moment, his mind went blank.
Appraisal!
[Spider Warrior (Intermediate Monster)]
Physique: 3.0
Soul: 0.6
Charm: 0.4
Description: A variant born from Round-headed Spiders. It is six meters long and three meters tall, covered in heavy chitinous armor. It is massive yet possesses incredible jumping ability. Non-poisonous.
Possesses Level 1 Fear Pressure. Targets locked by its gaze suffer soul oppression. Prolonged exposure leads to five stages: Lowered Mood, Fear, Dread, Mental Instability, and Madness.
Drops: Spider Silk, Monster Meat.
It was an Achievement goal—an Intermediate Monster!