Hey, come on, dont be angry

I am not angry in any shape or form.

Then why wont you look at me?

Because Im embarrassed!!

Schnee was asleep for about 30 minutes. The fact that she had fallen asleep and that Shin had looked at her sleeping face prompted her to verbally attack him, blushing even more, about why he didnt wake her up.

Schnee went to the kitchen to prepare dinner: as time passed after she had woken up, she calmed down a little.

Your face wasnt weird at all, dont worry! ..I did take a screenshot though.

Shin? What did you just say?

Schnee didnt let Shins mumbles go unpunished. She was facing away from him, but in the blink of an eye she had grabbed his shoulders.

Well, you know, you were really cute, somy hand slipped

Your hand what!? Dont take photos of me sleeping without permission!!

You dont have to get so angrydo I have to delete it?

Of course!!

Schnee had started showing Shin more of her defenseless sides, but photos were still prohibited, apparently.

But you show me sides like that sometimes, dont you?

Because I dont stay that way, and I show them because I trust you. Anyone could see the photos, so I cant let them remainand besides

Besides?

Schnee paused, so Shin encouraged her to continue.

I want to look pretty before the person I love. Photos can be looked at many timesso I believe that even more.

As Shin seemed to fail to grasp how a maidens heart worked, Schnee made him sit down properly before starting to preach again.

I just dont get it.

Shin?

N-nothing!!!

In the end, they had dinner later than usual that night.

The next day, Shin headed outside the castle walls, with Lecus, Myu, and Gian in tow. Other students had joined Shins training sessions, but unlike the three with him now they were average, so he didnt bring them with him this time. He was planning to have them fight monsters which didnt normally appear in the area after all.

Awright, its time to release the frustration piled up in the training dungeon!!

Youre getting too excited again. If we die outside, its over, got it?

I already promised Mr. Shin that I wont do anything reckless! And I know that, thank you very much. Im just getting focused!

Sure you are.

Easy there, you two. Myu, dont make us worry, okay? Gian doesnt talk like this to people he doesnt care about, after all. Having high morale isnt a bad thing, so lets be careful on our end. Myu is different from before, after all.

Got it!

Hmph.

Myu was 100% eager while Gian looked at her, grumbling. Lecus calmed their bickering and tried to make them focus in the same direction. The three were also balanced mentally.

Youve hunted outside the castle walls before, right?

Yes, I think weve fought with all the monsters that normally appear around Erkunt.

Like all other students, Lecus party had also experienced fighting outside the institute. The monsters level were not very high, however, so the training dungeon was more effective for practice: they hadnt ventured outside too often.

The wolf boss was pretty strong!

There was a Forest Wolf pack, with a stronger one among them. I think it was level 150 or 160.

Lecus added an explanation to Myus vague comment. He continued saying that they found another group of students being attacked and helped them: Gian took down the boss of the pack and chased the monsters away.

Their strategy consisted of Myu going wild to attract the monsters attention, Lecus casting Hiding on Gian and ambushing the monsters. After crushing their legs to prevent them from escaping, Lecus finished them with magic. If the spells werent enough, Gian would deliver the final blow.

If the monsters werent focused on the group that was fighting them before us, it wouldnt have gone so well, though.

Lecus said that they had chased away the monsters, so even if they took down the boss they couldnt do the same with the rest if the pack. They could have chased them down, but prioritized tending to the wounded.

I think you made a good decision. The people that were fighting before you were in a pinch, right? If you pushed yourselves to chase the monsters and suffered a counterattack, your assistance would have meant nothing.

Some might protest that it would have been better to chase the monsters and finish them off, to prevent other people from being attacked. Forest Wolves, however, normally appeared around Erkunt: there were likely to be other packs too, so it wasnt so important to finish them off then and there.

I doubt well see Forest Wolves this time. According to guild research, the monsters spawning around here changed a lot: Mystic Wolves, and the powerful versions of Orcs and Goblins. Its not 100% confirmed, but Baghnakh-like monsters have been witnessed too. Stay on your toes, okay?

Yessir!!

Myu answered with energy, while the two boys simply nodded. Maybe not as much as her, but they were focused and eager too.

What kind of monster is that Baghnakh, by the way? We have looked it up, but didnt find much.

To put it simply, its like a huge mouth, about two mel tall. Imagine the head of a wolf-type monster, without ears and with a massive amount of fangs.

Baghnakhs were monsters quite similar to the weapon with the same name. Their level ranged between 150 and 200, about the limit that an average person could handle. Their fangs inflicted poison and paralysis: as they bit down on their prey, the victim would taste the fear of being slowly crushed to death as their HP slowly decreased.

That also happened if the victim was equipped with armor to resist the bites however. Baghnakhs did not have much attack power, compared to their high HP and defense, but their biting attacks had level 200+ offensive power, which would crush to bits any armor grade Rare and lower.

At the same level, only defense-oriented jobs could resist their bites. It just meant that they didnt die on the spot, however: being caught usually left no way out.

Thatspretty dangerous.

It depends on the person, but even Chosen Ones get eaten by them.

Shin used a word he knew Lecus and the others would know. Even Gian, who had the highest defense of the three, had a 50/50 chance of surviving a Baghnakh bite. Myu and Lecus would have probably resisted only a few seconds.

Its not confirmed that well find any, but the possibility is there. Some of them are difficult to detect even using skills, so never let your guard down.

Even the easily excited Myu nodded seriously now. They werent in the area inhabited by monsters yet, but there might be dangers hiding everywhere.

Outside Shin and Schnee, Myu had the highest detection skills. There was the chance of finding monsters that, if Myu didnt detect, would leave Gian and Lecus incapable of reacting in time. Shins warning probably made her realize it.

Okay, Myu, youre in front. We will only assist you if theres danger. Even though were here to help you, dont treat this lightly, got it?

Yes sir!

The three students answered in unison, then advanced, with Myu leading them. Gian was behind her, with Lecus in third position.

After a while, they started seeing trees along the road. To save time, Shins group picked a path that cut through a patch of woods. It was shorter, but presented a higher risk of being attacked by monsters or bandits than the more roundabout path.

Both for people and monsters, the woods were an ally that helped them conceal their presence. According to the information Shin gathered, the path they were walking on was the area with the highest number of reported casualties. Bandits were routinely wiped out by Erkunts military and vigilantes, so they rarely caused any real damage.

Shin reviewed this information mentally while walking, when a presence in the woods started moving towards the path.

Somethings coming!

When the presence was about 20 mel from their position, Myu spoke up. She had spotted the same presence Shin had noticed and stared to their right.

Its just one unit, but it seems pretty big.

Myu continued focusing on the approaching presence, trying to obtain as much information as possible before the fighting began. A player would be likely to use Clairvoyance or similar skills to see the monsters appearance immediately; for Myu and the others, however, acquiring skills was not an easy feat.

Looking at the three students drawing their weapons, Shin pondered whether to teach them skills or not.

(I know that skills can be taught in the same way as the game. But this is different from the time with Tiera)

Using Secret Book was easy, but would create all sorts of problems. In this world skills were extremely precious. Shin wanted to spread them, as means of fighting against monsters, but skills could be used against other people too.

Looking at the history of the continent of Eltnia, conflicts and battles had broken out time and again. Shin had learned of them when he looked up the Dusk of Majesty in Bayreuth and Falnido.

He couldnt know when, where, and how the skills he taught would be used, so he finally concluded that just teaching them on a whim could have ultimately worked against Lecus and the others.

Its coming out!!

While Shin was lost in thought, the monster had almost reached them. It rushed through the woods. A rustling sound could be heard from the bushes. A few moments after Myus warning, a shadow jumped out of the shrubs, as if leaping over Shins group.

Defend!!

Shin shouted to Myu and the others, who stared at the flying shadow without moving. The shadow had launched an attack towards them from the air.

The students reacted to Shins order: he had told them that against monsters defense was the first thing to focus on, as he put them through the wringer during training. Thanks to that, Myu and Gian parried the monsters attack with their weapons and Lecus used the spell he was chanting to deflect it.

Its a Greygunn.

Shin caught the projectile shot towards him and looked at it: it was a pointy scale. Myu and the others looked at the shadow, which had landed on the ground. It was a lion-like monster covered in lead-colored scales.

Its level was 248, a bit higher than Greygunns usual range. The size was approximately three mel long. Even with all four of its legs on the ground, its eyes were on the same level as Myu and the others.

Even though it looked like it was wearing armor, its movements were very quick and agile, its scales providing high defense. The large hooked claws on its front paws had very high attack power; while it didnt use magic, shooting its scales allowed the Greygunn to launch long-range attacks.

Some mutated species had elemental scales, which could be recognized by their color. The Greygunn facing against Shins party had colorless scales, signaling the lack of elemental attributes.

Ive never seen this monster before.

This guy is tough.

Myu and Gian, their weapons pointed at the Greygunn, growling and ready to pounce, tried to find the ideal distance to attack. They knew that it could shoot long-range attacks, so they didnt go too close without a plan.

Mr. Shin, could you let us handle this?

Shin thought that it was a bit too difficult for their first opponent, but Lecus asked him to leave it to them.

.go ahead and try.

In the future, they would probably have to fight opponents they had never seen before. Thinking that he could help them if something went wrong this time, Shin decided to let them fight on their own. Just in case, he prepared a defense skill that he could activate at any time.

Ill limit its movements with magic, so you two find an opening and strike. Attract its attention while I chant.

Got it!

Yeah.

Lecus gave instructions to Gian and Myu, then gathered magic power. The Greygunn noticed that Lecus was trying to do something, so it looked in his direction. Before it could attack, however, Gian stood in its way.

Im here too!!

Gian stepped to the Greygunns right side, while Myu struck her gauntlets together to attract its attention. Just as the monster looked in her direction, Gian struck his shield with his lance, causing a loud metallic sound to resonate in the surroundings.

Causing the monsters attention to shift just before it attacked, they disrupted its timing and forced it to be wary of both of them, blocking the monster from focusing on attacking a single enemy. In the game it wouldnt be very useful, but in the real world it was an effective strategy.

Myu and her party were putting in practice one of the tactics that Shin had taught them.

Here I go!!

The Greygunn was still undecided because of the sounds and fighting aura released by Myu and Gian, when lightning shot from behind Gian. Six bolts flew over Gian and struck, leaving the monster no time to react.

The bolts struck the monsters scales: its body shook and its movements slowed down. Lecus had prioritized the number of bolts, as they did not cause much damage. The monster growled, walked a few steps and glared at Lecus, still behind Gian.

Its rage-filled stare focused on Lecus: the monsters sight now probably only included the spear-wielding Gian and the wand-armed Lecus, an opening that Myu didnt miss. She did not raise her voice or make a sound as she slid towards the Greygunn.

Despite her quiet approach, the Greygunn probably perceived something: it tried jumping away, but Myus fists struck quicker than it could move away.

Haaa!!!

From a crouching position, Myus straight burst together with her aura. Her fist struck squarely against the monsters belly, with a blaze of flames.

Flame/Barehanded combination skill Crimson Lotus Straight.

Its highest quality was destroying shell or armor via a fiery explosion.

Some monsters were protected by thick shells, scales or even armor: one way of fighting them was to use skills such as Crimson Lotus Straight, which could damage armored parts.

The Greygunn they fought had no elemental affinities, so using a Flame elemental attack against the scales was not especially effective, but the flames were certainly had a more powerful effect on the body under its scales.

The explosion blew away part of the monsters scales, allowing the flames to reach its body, which burned through the monster.

It was the status condition Burn, caused by magical flame attacks. Greygunns had sturdy scales, but its naked body did not have especially high defense. It was the ideal chance to attack.

Heres one mowhoops, that was close!

Myu tried to strike the exposed part with a follow-up attack, but suddenly she rolled on the ground, putting distance between her and the Greygunn. The next moment, something flew through the space she had occupied moments before, hissing as it moved through the air.

Oh, you noticed, Im impressed.

Since it was her first time fighting this monster, Myu was paying special attention to the surroundings. Shin nodded happily, glad to see that the training was paying off.

Myu had moved away because she noticed something coming from behind: the attack had come from the Greygunns tail, long and slender, with a large scale attached to its tip. The tail could bend and extend freely, allowing the monster to deliver powerful attacks from outside the opponents field of view.

Its vicious claws and fangs were easily visible, but avoiding its tail, which often attacked from blind spots, was quite a feat during the first battle against a Greygunn. Myu managed to do so thanks to her high detection skills and agility, but Gian and Lecus might have not been able to imitate her.

It could have other attack methods too. Focus on its movements!

Lecus cast a buff on Myu and Gian, then shouted a warning.

The Greygunn, after learning that Myu could break through its armor, moved away from her. Gian then ran towards the monster, followed slightly later by Myu. The Greygunn looked towards Gian, but Myus movements and Lecus chanting disrupted its attention.

It chose to focus on the opponents that he knew could hurt it.

What, so you think I cant do anything?

Myu moved diagonally in front of the beast, which looked away from Gian: an opportunity that he didnt let go by.

Thanks to the buff and the Movement-type skill Sliding, Gian closed in on the Greygunn in a ready to attack stance: the skill allowed him to not change his stance as he neared the monster.

Depending on the user, it was possible to make it look like the attacker was not moving, something that the Greygunn was now experiencing.

When Gians spear struck the monsters exposed neck, the creature emitted a growl as if shocked from being attacked out of nowhere.

One more!

The spears tip, still stabbed in the monsters neck, glowed a deep purple, which then spread to the monsters neck and the surrounding area.

!?!

The Greygunn jumped away, the spear fell out and blood started staining its scales, blood the same color as Gians weapon.

Water/Spear combination skill Venom Spear.

The skill made it possible for the spears tip to transmit a strong poison, which inflicted another status ailment to the monster.

In this world, there were several types of poison: the one inflicted by Venom Spear affected magic power. Because of this, it was not very effective if the target had higher INT than the user.

The Greygunns stats, however, were mostly focused on physical aspects, so the poison did not just cause the monster damage.

Its moving slower!

As Gian had struck the neck, near the heart, the poison acted quickly. The Greygunn could not react in time to avoid Myus next attack. She dodged the monsters tail and struck the same spot as before.

Haaahh!!!

With a dull sound, the ground trembled. Myus strong step added even more power to her fists, causing the monsters large body to be launched in the air, its scales scattered by the attacks shockwaves.

Dont let up!

Gotcha!

Myu wasnt the only one to move: aiming at the moment the monster landed, Lecus shot more lightning bolts, followed by another attack by Gian.

The Greygunn, slowed down by the damage and poison, could not dodge the lightning. Bracing for impact, it focused on Gian. The spears tip was met by the scales on the monsters forehead, the hardest it had. Since Gian had aimed between the scales, the monster figured that it couldnt break through them: for a monster, it displayed considerable intelligence.

Youre ready to receive my attack!? You got to be really confident in those scales!!

Gian shouted. Powered by Lecus buff, the spear struck the scales and slightly stabbed them, but failed to pierce through. His movements stopped, but the attack did not.

Take this!!

Lightening sprang forth from the spears tip, burning the monsters head. Thanks to the weapon breaking through the scales, the lightning ran through the monsters body better than Lecus magic bolts. Because of the point of entry, the Greygunns whole body shook violently.

When the lightning stopped, the beasts front right paw lost strength, causing it to collapse to the ground.

Youre finish- Myu, stand back!!

Gian was ready to deliver the final blow, but suddenly he jumped between the monster and Lecus, holding his shield high. Myu too quickly understood what he meant and put distance between her and the monster.

The Greygunns scales stood up: about the same time as Gian took a defensive stance, then they shot in all directions, like large throwing knives.

Gian blocked them with his shield, Myu with her gauntlets. Lecus, behind Gian, did not need to defend himself and continued chanting.

Gian!

Following Lecus call, Gian jumped aside. Lecus wand was already pointed at the monster.

This is it!!

A single bolt flew from the wand. A single, large bolt, very different from the Thunder Line bolts Lecus had shot at the beginning of the fight.

Lightning Magic Skill Thunderbolt.

It couldnt be used to shoot multiple bolts in different directions like Thunder Line, but the damage it caused was much higher.

The Greygunn, unable to move, had no means of avoiding the thunderbolt: completely defenseless after shooting all its scales, it was struck directly. Without even a whimper, it collapsed completely, smoke rising from its body. Myu quickly approached it and struck it with a chop.

The sound of cracking bones echoed and the monsters HP reached zero.

Well done.

Shin praised Myu, who had delivered the final blow. Monsters, like all animals, never gave up on trying to survive, until their last breath. Some tried to take their enemies with them, others feigned weakness to strike during an opening. It was thus important to keep attacking, even if the enemy stopped moving.

Shin too did not know at first, but one of the highest causes of death among adventurers was to hesitate before finishing off a monster, thus allowing them a chance to attack. To prevent this, he had often told the three students to never let up before the monster was clearly dead.

Gian, Lecus, you did well too. You fought well, without letting it focus on a single target. I think you will be able to hold your own also against stronger foes.

Attacking an opponent that couldnt move could be stressful, so Shin actively praised them after the victory. They had actually shown good cooperation, so Shin thought that if it was three vs one, they could probably take one even a level 300 monster.

Okay, lets go. Monsters will keep attacking, they dont care about our circumstances. We might have to fight consecutive battles, but never lose your focus.

The three students answered Shins words with renewed energy. They werent exactly his disciples, but Shin was pleased by their growth.

Considering the time limit, I guess were close.

To me, it felt a bit too long, even.

Really?

You cant consider this a job, can you Shin?

Wellyoure right.

Twenty days had passed since Shin had accepted the training request: the institutes holiday period would soon be over, which also meant that the training sessions with Lecus party would be over as well.