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Kleone, the security captain, introduced himself to the exploration team members and the crowd, then looked at Leonel Specula.
"Will the second match be conducted with what you provided us in advance last night?"
Leonel Specula nodded with a smile.
"Of course."
"Very well. Then I will announce the theme of the match. The second match is a hunting competition. The side that catches more valuable game within the time limit wins."
Bellum asked, surprised.
"Hunting? Suddenly?"
"Yes. It's the second match proposed by Leonel's exploration team. The time limit is until the clock tower in the plaza points to 6 PM. The hunting location is Mount Fenon behind us."
Davian shook his head and looked at Leonel Specula.
Hunting.
It was an unexpected match category.
They probably have a professional hunter among the troops they brought.
"The appraisal of the game's value will be done by Elder Mercato, who is in charge of the market merchants here."
Latia asked.
"Hunting? Has anyone here ever done that? Then who should we send out?"
Bellum pointed at Davian.
"Davian is probably the most suitable, since he's nimble, can use a sword, and even cast magic."
That was true.
But.
'If something were to happen...'
While Davian was pondering, Bonita spoke first.
"That's not going to work. What if we lose? Then who will go out for the third round?"
Bellum nodded.
"Ah! Should we save Davian for the last turn? I guess..."
Bellum stopped speaking abruptly and glanced at Latia.
Fortunately, she didn't seem offended or upset.
Bellum thought that Latia had definitely changed from before, and he skillfully steered the conversation to avoid upsetting Latia.
"...Since Davian is a jack-of-all-trades, it's better to save him for the third round, where we don't know what kind of match will be held, right?"
But Latia wasn't paying any attention at all.
She simply nodded once and looked at Bonita.
"Yeah. We should save Davian. Then isn't Bonita the most suitable on our side? To go to that mountain to hunt and come back within the time limit, you need to be agile."
Bonita also nodded.
"I was thinking the same thing. What do you think? Davian."
Latia, Liber, and Luna were too slow, and Nubes had already competed once.
So the remaining candidates were Davian, Bonita, and Bellum.
If Davian wasn't going, then Bonita was definitely the most suitable person to search the mountain and catch valuable game within the time limit.
"Well, I think so too. Bonita, can you do it?"
"What else can I do? I just need to go into the mountain, catch the strongest-looking beast, and come back, right? Simple."
Leonel's camp.
"How about it, Kane? Originally, we were planning to send out a professional hunter from our family. Do you have anyone among your men who specializes in hunting?"
Kane looked troubled.
The mercenary group he brought this time consisted of ten people in total.
According to the client's request to select those skilled in close combat, he had selected mercenaries said to be the best of the best, but unfortunately, there was no one who could replace a professional hunter.
"Although they can't compare to a professional hunter, they can definitely beat those student brats."
"You lost to those student brats, didn't you? And you're the captain of the mercenary group."
"Not this time. I just came up with a good strategy."
"A good strategy?"
"Yes. A very good strategy that will guarantee we won't lose."
Leonel slowly nodded.
"I'll trust you once. Who's the competitor?"
Mercenary Captain Kane turned around and shouted.
"Venato, come out."
"Yes, Captain!"
A man called Venato stepped forward.
He wasn't as massive as Kane, but he had well-defined muscles and a balanced frame.
"He's very fast and quite strong. He'll be able to catch a bear within the time limit."
Leonel made an empty compliment.
"He looks reliable."
Venato, who had no idea about the tension between Leonel and Kane, thumped his chest with his fist.
"Trust me! As you said, Captain, I don't even need until 6 PM to catch a bear! I'll be back soon!"
Leonel shook his head.
Stupid mercenaries.
"The goal isn't to come back quickly, but to catch more valuable game."
"Ah, yes! I know..."
Then Kane stopped Venato from speaking.
Kane approached Leonel and whispered.
"Don't worry. We're prepared to catch another bear as well."
"Another bear?"
"A grizzly bear."
Kane slightly raised his chin and pointed to where the Grizzly Bear exploration team was gathered.
Leonel's brow furrowed for a moment, then relaxed again.
"Hahaha. You said it was a good strategy. Is that it?"
"Trust me this time."
"Alright. I'll be expecting it."
Bonita and Venato made simple preparations and immediately left for Mount Fenon.
Luna looked at Bonita's receding back with worried eyes.
"Will she be alright? I know Bonita is skilled, but she's never hunted before. Monsters, you just charge at them when you encounter them, but wild animals aren't like that, are they? If they decide to run away, it won't be easy to catch them."
Nubes asked.
"Then she can just catch a monster, right?"
Bellum smacked Nubes' arm with his fist.
"Hey! What kind of monsters just suddenly pop up anywhere?"
"I see..."
Liber nodded.
"Bellum is right. Mount Fenon is famous for not having monsters. Thanks to that, there are a lot of wild animals. Hunting won't be too difficult. The problem is who catches what..."
The crowd gathered in the plaza dispersed like a receding tide.
There was still a lot of time left until 6 PM.
In the meantime, the mercenary group was seen heading somewhere in a group, following Kane's gestures.
"That's not the direction of the accommodation where Leonel's group is staying, is it?"
"That's right. Where are they going? I saw that his relationship with Leonel seemed to have worsened after losing the first game. Are they going for a daytime drink?"
"Maybe. He's so big, but he can't do anything against Leonel."
Davian confirmed which alley the mercenary group entered and then said to his friends.
"You guys go back to the accommodation first."
"What about you, Davian?"
"There's something I need to check."
"We'll go with you."
"It's not good to move around in a group."
Two hours later.
Somewhere on Mount Fenon.
On top of a high rock.
Thump.
Bonita Portis placed the wolf she had slung over her shoulder on the ground.
It was caught by hunting in the foothills below the mountain 30 minutes ago.
'I'm glad I came up higher.'
Bonita carried the wolf carcass all the way up here for fear that it might be taken by another wild animal.
In the distance, a huge beast could be seen between the bushes.
It was lying motionless, and its back was rising and falling slowly and evenly, as if it were taking a nap.
Yellow fur with black stripes.
A huge body.
It was a tiger.
'Sigh, even if I catch that, it'll be hard to carry around.'
There was still plenty of hunting time left.
'It's better to take it to the plaza and come back to the mountain.'
Bonita had no intention of ending today's hunt with that tiger.
What if the other side caught something even more amazing? How would she face her friends?
'Let's catch it first.'
Bonita lowered her body and approached the tiger.
She didn't even draw her sword to avoid being sensitive to the smell of metal.
Rustle. Rustle.
She was trying to walk as quietly as possible, but the thick leaves on the ground made noise.
Fortunately, the tiger didn't seem to have noticed Bonita's presence yet.
The distance was now about 20 meters.
The closer she got, the bigger it seemed than she thought.
Even though she was the ace of the first year of the swordsmanship department, she couldn't help but feel nervous.
She had heard that it could break a carriage with its paws.
'The speed of movement will be on a different level than that wolf from earlier.'
Since she had never hunted before, there was no way to predict the movement of the beast.
She could only rely on the painful training she had done so far and the internal strength she had cultivated throughout her life.
'Get as close as possible, and kill it in one blow. Even if I can't kill it, I have to start by inflicting a fatal wound.'
Now the remaining distance was about 10 meters.
Rustle. Rustle.
The clueless leaves continued to interfere with Bonita's stealth.
8 meters.
Bonita's body froze in place.
She had seen the tiger's ears perk up.
Fortunately, it hadn't fully woken up yet.
Bonita slowly brought her hand to the sword hilt.
Her feet were still firmly on the ground.
8 meters.
She could leap that in an instant.
Taaht.
At the same time as Bonita's foot kicked off the ground.
Sreung.
Bonita's sword smoothly and quickly came out of its scabbard.
A sword that was slightly thicker than the rapier usually used by female swordsmen and thinner than a normal longsword, unique to Bonita.
In fact, she had now cultivated enough internal and external strength to handle a longsword used by an adult male, but she was more comfortable with the thin sword she had been using since she was young.
The tiger, sensing Bonita's presence, suddenly stood up and turned its head.
An intense gaze that would have frozen anyone who wasn't strong-hearted in place.
Bonita couldn't help but flinch.
But she was a natural swordsman.
She knew better than anyone what kind of results a moment's hesitation could bring.
For a moment, her mind almost froze, but her rushing movements remained the same.
Now the distance between the tip of Bonita's sword and the tiger's neck was less than 2 meters.
But the tiger's movements were fast.
Much faster than Bonita had expected.
Kuaang!
The tiger roared loudly once and swung its paw as is.
Bonita clearly saw the tiger's paw and sharp claws.
The paw was bigger than Bonita's face.
The long and sharp claws were long enough to pierce through Bonita's torso.
"Tch!"
Bonita, using all her internal strength, rolled her body.
Whoosh.
The tiger's left paw ripped through the space where Bonita had been a moment ago.
"Even if you're just a beast!"
In the meantime, Bonita rolled her body not to the side that was easier to avoid, but to the side where there would be a gap after the paw passed.
Bonita, approaching the left side of the tiger, aimed for the gap created after it swung its paw.
Chwaak.
A clean cut.
It was the tiger's hide, which wouldn't budge with a mediocre attack, but Bonita Portis' attack was anything but mediocre.
Bright red blood gushed out from where the sword had deeply cut.
Kuaang!
The tiger roared loudly and this time attacked Bonita, who was right next to it, by swinging its neck.
The wide-open mouth was about to chew Bonita's upper body as is.
The fangs were much larger and sharper than the claws that had been rushing in a moment ago.
But Bonita didn't avoid the tiger's teeth.
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